FREDERICK DOUGLASS                       11

fashion  came,  standing  in  a  seemingly       never-ending
line in order to shake hands with the great Doug-
lass, betraying every mark of satisfaction  and  pride.      It
was truly a never-to-be-forgotten scene by those who witness-
ed it and could appreciate the contrast and its significance. It
was a fine subject for an artist large enough of soul to take
in the whole situation.
     When the hour came to speak, Mr. Douglass had an
audience that taxed the reaching power of his remarkably
penetrating voice. The audience was about equally divided
between white and colored people. He was in fine trim in
every way. He had already won the hearts of the people
before he had said a word. When he was introduced and
rose to speak, he was greeted with an ovation, which for
genuine heartedness, I have never seen equaled or surpassed.
    The orator confessed that for the time being he was not
mindful that this was Missouri. He was not mindful that
some of his audience were white and some black. There was
something superb in his pride of bearing and his splendid
confidence in himself. The weight of seventy years of strug-
gle, suffering and triumph bore lightly upon him. He faced
the great audience with no shrinking from duty or fear for the
effect of his words. He knew he could afford to be frank,
truthful and fearless. The freedom of the town was his and
he determined to use the possession to say what was in his
inmost soul. In truth, I was amazed at the way Mr. Doug-
lass went at his audience, and I was equally amazed at the
manner in which they received what he had to say.  They
laughed, they cried and they shouted in whatever way he bade
them, irrespective of his color or his theme. An illustration




			

African Methodist Episcopal Church Review, Vol. 23, Num. 1

Frederick Douglass at Springfield, Mo.

Laing

Volume:  23
Issue Number:  01
Page Number:  07
Date:  07/1906