50 ADVENTURES IN IDEALISM 



man who one could not for a moment doubt to be all 

 sincerity and uprightness, that she asked him to give 

 several talks on Russia in the neighboring churches. 



"The people here," she said, "are so utterly ignorant 

 about the state of affairs in Russia, they are fed on 

 such deliberate falsehood as those articles of the 'Prin- 

 cess X,' that enlightened, sincere and trustworthy 

 information like yours would be much appreciated." 



Glad of an opportunity to spread the truth about 

 Russia, my husband accepted the invitation. For four 

 or five consecutive Sundays he spoke on that topic in 

 the churches of the neighborhood, with introductory 

 remarks by Miss Scott-Sexton. 



Meanwhile his responsibilities in the laboratory grew. 

 In December, 1888, a well-known lawyer of Fort Col- 

 lins was Tound dead, and his wife was accused of 

 poisoning him. The trial was held in Denver and 

 Dr. O'Brien was chosen as the chemical expert to 

 give the court and jury an analysis of the contents of 

 the murdered man's stomach. The case was an exceed- 

 ingly complicated one, and it kept Dr. O'Brien in 

 Denver for three months, on and off. Not only the 

 laboratory but the class-room had to be left under my 

 husband's care. Since he was a boy of eleven, tutor- 

 ing and teaching had been second nature to him. Time 

 and time again the students would come to him, telling 

 him how much they enjoyed his classes, how clear_and 

 simple he made the work. Frequently, too, the director 

 of the college complimented him upon the work he was 



