The two ladies were of course delighted at his triumph, and overwhelmed
him with congratulations; but Mrs. Chapman, "the born duchess", as she
was called, saw instantly what an advantage would accrue to the small
band of abolitionists from the alliance of this able young aristocrat,
with his suddenly revealed gift. That evening she used all the arts of
persuasion to induce him to relinquish his profession and cast his
fortune to sink or swim on the broad ocean of reform. She argued that
Webster and Everett had the field; that years must elapse before he
could win equality with those veterans; while as an anti-slavery orator,
a fresh field would be open to his genius, in which he would meet with
no competitor. The hour only waited for the man, and what a glorious
reward to have finally secured--the freedom of a whole race! Unhappily
this coincided with a natural inclination in Phillips, of which we have
already spoken, and a few days later he decided to follow her advice.
One could heartily wish that the born duchess had left Wendell Phillips
to work out his own salvation. It is hardly the sign of a strong
character for a man to be guided in the choice of a profession by
feminine counsel; but he was still young, tender-hearted, and
susceptible, and if left to himself might have escaped the impending
danger. It was a temptation at once to his ambition as an orator and the
latent heroism in him,--his disposition to self-sacrifice.
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