Los Angeles herald., 1892-07-18
THE GROWTH OF AN ORDER.
The Organization of tho Kings Daueh.
ters and the Work Tt Does.

The Organization of the Kings Daueh-
ters and the Work Tt Does.
There is lady who has carried her
name into almost every household in the
United States by the works of her pen.
Everybody reads her writings, every
lady praises them and everybody humbly
confesses that the sentiments expressed
have done them good. The accom-
plished author is Mrs. Margaret Bot
tome, president of the Order Of the
Kings Daughters. Her style is simple
and pithy, but ornamented with attrac-
tive trinkets Of language. She breaches
o monthly sermon in very unsermon-
like manner. Perhaps the best tribute
to the excellence of her lectures is the
persistency of men to read them, despite
injunctions to the contrary.
On the morning of Jan. IS, 1885, a
company of ten women met at the resi-
dence of Mrs. Bottome, in New York
city, for the purpose of forming IAN
outward union to embody the union of
spirit already born of God" In the
language of Mrs. Mary Lowe Dickinson,
so well known through verses from her
gifted pen and her connection with the
Shut In and other societies, sAfter
consideration of the good to be gained
and the good to be done by binding
themselves together by triple cord,
whose strands were faith, hope and love,
they decided to organize themselves into
an order, or sisterhood of service, hoping
by this closer union to increase their
usefulness many fold" The name
chosen for the new order was The Kings
Daughters.
The badge decided upon was a rib
bon of royal purple, to be worn with
or without the Maltese cross. At this
first meeting Mrs. Bottome was elected
president, and Mrs. Dickinson vice pres
ident, and they still retain these re-
spective positions in the larger order of
the Kings Daughters and Sons. The
growth of the new society was marvel
GUS. Within a. year its members num-
bered more than 10000, although no eff
fort was made to advertise the order or
its work. Never was less said by the
originators of any work. Yet from al
most every state Of the Union, and from
over the sea, come the questions as to
the significance of the new order, and
asking of its methods and purposes and
hopes, until today certainly not less
than 100000 Sons and Daughters of the
King are pledged to service sin his
There is nothing aggressive in
the order; it wages no warfare save
with sorrow or suffering. Its inner
most thought is "to move silently and
steadily upon human hearts, doing its
blessed work with no herald and no
plaudit."
The order was duly incorporated, and
with Gin his name" as the watchword
the organization has gone forward in its
work.
Mrs Bottome, the president, is the
dominant personality of the order. Her
"drawing room Bible readings" which
had become feature of Christian work
in wicked" New York before the organ
ization Of the order, have SO increased
in interest that they are now given in
the hall of the Y. W. G. A. in that city.
/ 1t is no wonder the ladies of st. Louis,
and the Kings Daughters especially, are
desirous to have her stop few days in
this city on her way to the annual as
sembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian
church. 1t is the custom every year to
have some prominent woman attend the
assembly and deliver an address.
They evidently think that there is
some truth in Hugo's dictum that "the
Nineteenth century is woman's cell
tury," even if the statement in its en-
tirety must be taken cum grano. Mrs.
Margaret Bottome and Miss Frances E. 4
Willard, president Of the w. c. T. u, 4
will attend the assembly this year,
which meets at Pertle Springs Aug. "a,
%, 26. Both ladies have objection TO
travelling on Sunday and their st. Louis
sisters hope to have them reach the city
about Aug. 10 and remain until Aug.
80. But if the ladies do not delay at 81.
Louis the Kings Daughters of Missouri
will do honor TO Mrs. Bottome at Pertle
Springs, for they have decided to hold
their first annual convention there coin
cident with the assembly. The Cum
berland Presbyterian church has a sum-
mer camp at Pertle Springs.--St. Louis
Post-Dispatch.