Samantha Among the Brethren, Part 5. - Josiah Allen\'s Wife (Marietta Holley)
SAMANTHA
AMONG THE BRETHREN.
By
"Josiah Allen's Wife"
(Marietta Holley)
Part 5
CHAPTER XVIII.
Josiah's face wuz smooth and placid, he hadn't took a mite of sense of
what I had been a-sayin', and I knew it. Men don't. They know at the
most it is only _talk_, wimmen hain't got it in their power to _do_
anything. And I s'pose they reason on it in this way--a little wind
storm is soon over, it relieves old Natur and don't hurt anything.
Yes, my pardner's face wuz as calm as the figger on the outside of the
almanac a-holdin' the bottle, and his axent wuz mildly wonderin' and
gently sarcestickle.
"How a steeple would look a-pintin' down! That is a true woman's idee."
[Illustration: SISTER FILKINS.]
Sez I, "I would have it a-pintin' down towards the depths of darkness
that wuz in that man's heart that roze it up, and the infamy of the deed
that kep him in the meetin' house and turned his victim out of it."
"I d'no as she wuz his victim," sez Josiah.
Sez I, "Every one knows that in the first place Simeon Lathers wuz the
man that led her astray."
"It wuzn't proved," sez Josiah, a-turnin' the almanac over and lookin'
at the advertisement on the back side on't.
"And why wuzn't it proved?" sez I, "because he held a big piece of gold
against the mouths of the witnesses."
"I didn't see any in front of my mouth," sez Josiah, lookin' 'shamed but
some composed.
"And you know what the story wuz," sez he, "accordin' to that, he did it
all to try her faith."
I wouldn't encourage Josiah by even smilin' at his words, though I knew
well what the story wuz he referred to.
It wuz at a Conference meetin', when Simeon Lathers wuz jest a-beginnin'
to take notice of how pretty Irene Filkins wuz.
She had gone forward to the anxious seat, with some other young females,
their minds bein' wrought on, so it wuz spozed, by Deacon Lathers's
eloquent exhortations, and urgin's to 'em to come forward and be saved.
And they had gone up onto the anxious seat a-sheddin' tears, and they
all knelt down there, and Deacon Lathers he went right up and knelt down
right by Sister Irene Filkins, and them that wuz there say, that right
while he wuz a-prayin' loud and strong for 'em all, and her specially,
he put his arm round her and acted in such a way that she resented it
bitterly.
She wuz a good, virtuous girl then, any way.
And she resented his overtoors in such a indignant and decided way that
it drawed the attention of a hull lot of brothers and sisters towards
'em.
And Deacon Lathers got right up from his knees and sez, "Bretheren and
sisters, let us sing these lines:
"He did it all to try her faith."
I remembered this story, but I wuzn't goin' to encourage Josiah Allen
by lettin' my attention be drawed off by any anectotes--nor I didn't
smile--oh, no I But I went right on with a hull lot of burnin'
indignatin in my axents, and sez I, "Josiah Allen, can you look me in
the face and say that it wuzn't money and bad men's influence that keep
such men as Deacon Widrig and Simeon Lathers in the meetin' house?" Sez
I, "If they wuz poor men would they have been kep', or if it wuzn't for
the influence of men that like hard drink?"
"Wall, as it were," sez Josiah, "I--that is--wall, it is a-gettin'
bed-time, Samantha."
And he wound up the clock and went to bed.
And I set there, all rousted up in my mind, for more'n a hour--and I
dropped more'n seven stitches in Josiah's heel, and didn't care if I
did.
But I have episoded fearfully, and to resoom and go on.
Miss Henn wuz mad, and she wuz one of our most enterprizen' sisters, and
we felt that she wuz a great loss.
Things looked dretful dark. And Sister Bobbet, who is very tender
hearted, shed tears several times a-talkin' about the hard times that
had come onto our meetin' house, and how Zion wuz a-languishin', etc.,
etc.
And I told Sister Bobbet in confidence, and also in public, that it wuz
time to talk about Zion's languishin' when we had done all we could to
help her up. And I didn't believe Zion would languish so much if she had
a little help gin her when she needed it.
And Miss Bobbet said "she felt jest so about it, but she couldn't help
bein' cast down." And so most all of the sisters said. Submit Tewksbury
wept, and shed tears time and agin, a-talkin' about it, and so several
of 'em did. But I sez to 'em--
"Good land!" sez I. "We have seen jest as hard times in the Methodist
meetin' house before, time and agin, and we wimmen have always laid holt
and worked, and laid plans, and worked, and worked, and with the Lord's
help have sailed the old ship Zion through the dark waters into safety,
and we can do it agin."
Though what we wuz to do we knew not, and the few male men who didn't
jine in the hardness, said they couldn't see no way out of it, but what
the minister would have to go, and the meetin' house be shet up for a
spell.
But we female wimmen felt that we could not have it so any way. And we
jined together, and met in each other's housen (not publickly, oh no! we
knew our places too well as Methodist Sisters).
We didn't make no move in public, but we kinder met round to each
other's housen, sort o' private like, and talked, and talked, and
prayed--we all knew that wuzn't aginst the church rules, so we jest
rastled in prayer, for help to pay our honest debts, and keep the
Methodist meetin' house from disgrace, for the men wuz that worked up
and madded, that they didn't seem to care whether the meetin' house come
to nothin' or not.
Wall, after settin' day after day (not public settin', oh, no! we knew
our places too well, and wouldn't be ketched a-settin' public till we
had a right to).
After settin' and talkin' it over back and forth, we concluded the very
best thing we could do wuz to give a big fair and try to sell things
enough to raise some money.
It wuz a fearful tuff job we had took onto ourselves, for we had got to
make all the things to sell out of what we could get holt of, for, of
course, our husbands all kep the money purses in their own hands, as
the way of male pardners is. But we laid out to beset 'em when they wuz
cleverer than common (owin' to extra good vittles) and get enough money
out of 'em to buy the materials to work with, bedquilts (crazy, and
otherwise), embroidered towels, shawl straps, knit socks and suspenders,
rugs, chair covers, lap robes, etc., etc., etc.
It wuz a tremendus hard undertakin' we had took onto ourselves, with all
our spring's work on hand, and not one of us Sisters kep a hired girl
at the time, and we had to do our own house cleanin', paintin' floors,
makin' soap, spring sewin', etc., besides our common housework.
But the very worst on't wuz the meetin' house wuz in such a shape that
we couldn't do a thing till that wuz fixed.
The men had undertook to fix over the meetin' house jest before the
hardness commenced. The men and wimmen both had labored side by side to
fix up the old house a little.
The men had said that in such church work as that wimmen had a perfect
right to help, to stand side by side with the male brothers, and do
half, or more than half, or even _all_ the work. They said it wuzn't
aginst the Discipline, and all the Bishops wuz in favor of it, and
always had been. They said it wuz right accordin' to the Articles. But
when it come to the hard and arjuous duties of drawin' salleries with
'em, or settin' up on Conferences with 'em, why there a line had to
be drawed, wimmen must not be permitted to strain herself in no such
ways--nor resk the tender delicacy of her nature, by settin' in a
meetin' house as a delegate by the side of a man once a year. It wuz too
resky. But we could lay holt and work with 'em in public, or in private,
which we felt wuz indeed a privelege, for the interests of the Methodist
meetin' house wuz dear to our hearts, and so wuz our pardners'
approvals--and they wuz all on 'em unanimus on this pint--we could
_work_ all we wanted to.
So we had laid holt and worked right along with the men from day to day,
with their full and free consents, and a little help from 'em, till we
had got the work partly done. We had got the little Sabbath-school room
painted and papered, and the cushions of the main room new covered, and
we had engaged to have it frescoed, but the frescoer had turned out to
be a perfect fraud, and, of all the lookin' things, that meetin' house
wuz about the worst. The plaster, or whatever it wuz he had put on, had
to be all scraped off before it could be papered, the paper wuz bought,
and the scrapin' had begun.
[Illustration: "APPEARIN' IN PUBLIC."]
The young male and female church members had give a public concert
together, and raised enough money to get the paper--it wuz very nice,
and fifty cents a roll (double roll). These young females appearin' in
public for this purpose wuz very agreeable to the hull meetin' house,
and wuz right accordin' to the rules of the Methodist Meetin' House, for
I remember I asked about it when the question first come up about
sendin' female delegates to the Conference, and all the male members of
our meetin' house wuz so horrified at the idee.
I sez, "I'll bet there wouldn't one of the delegates yell half so loud
es she that wuz Mahala Gowdey at the concert. Her voice is a sulferino
of the very keenest edge and highest tone, and she puts in sights and
sights of quavers."
But they all said that wuz a _very_ different thing.
And sez I, "How different? She wuz a yellin' in public for the good
of the Methodist Meetin' House (it wuz her voice that drawed the big
congregatin, we all know). And them wimmen delegates would only have to
'yea' and 'nay' in a still small voice for the good of the same. I can't
see why it would be so much more indelicate and unbecomin' in them"--and
sez I, "they would have bonnets and shawls on, and she that wuz Mahala
had on a low neck and short sleeves." But they wouldn't yield, and I
wouldn't nuther.
But I am a eppisodin fearful, and to resoom. Wall, as I said, the
scrapin' had begun. One side of the room wuz partly cleaned so the paper
could go on, and then the fuss come up, and there it wuz, as you may
say, neither hay nor grass, neither frescoed nor papered nor nuthin'.
And of all the lookin' sights it wuz.
Wall, of course, if we had a fair in that meetin' house, we couldn't
have it in such a lookin' place to disgrace us in the eyes of Baptists
and 'Piscopals.
No, that meetin' house had got to be scraped, and we wimmen had got to
do the scrapin' with case knives.
It wuz a hard job. I couldn't help thinkin' quite a number of thoughts
as I stood on a barell with a board acrost it, afraid as death of
fallin' and a workin' for dear life, and the other female sisters a
standin' round on similar barells, all a-workin' fur beyond their
strengths, and all afraid of fallin', and we all a-knowin' what we had
got ahead on us a paperin' and a gettin' up the fair.
CHAPTER XIX.
Couldn't help a-methinkin' to myself several times. It duz seem to me
that there hain't a question a-comin' up before that Conference that
is harder to tackle than this plasterin' and the conundrum that is up
before us Jonesville wimmen how to raise 300 dollars out of nuthin', and
to make peace in a meetin' house where anarky is now rainin' down.
But I only thought these thoughts to myself, fur I knew every women
there wuz peacible and law abidin' and there wuzn't one of 'em but
what would ruther fall offen her barell then go agin the rules of the
Methodist Meetin' House.
Yes, I tried to curb down my rebellous thoughts, and did, pretty much
all the time. And good land! we worked so hard that we hadn't time
to tackle very curius and peculier thoughts, them that wuz dretful
strainin' and wearin' on the mind. Not of our own accord we didn't, fur
we had to jest nip in and work the hull durin' time.
[Illustration: "EVERY NIGHT JOSIAH WOULD TACKLE ME ON IT."]
And then we all knew how deathly opposed our pardners wuz to our takin'
any public part in meetin' house matters or mountin' rostrums, and that
thought quelled us down a sight.
Of course when these subjects wuz brung up before us, and turned round
and round in front of our eyes, why we had to look at 'em and be rousted
up by 'em more or less. It was Nater.
And Josiah not havin' anything to do evenin's only to set and look at
the ceilin'. Every single night when I would go home from the meetin'
house, Josiah would tackle me on it, on the danger of allowin' wimmen
to ventur out of her spear in Meetin' House matters, and specially the
Conference.
It begin to set in New York the very day we tackled the meetin' in
Jonesville with a extra grip.
So's I can truly say, the Meetin' House wuz on me day and night. For
workin' on it es I did, all day long, and Josiah a-talkin' abut it till
bed time, and I a-dreamin' abut it a sight, that, and the Conference.
Truly, if I couldn't set on the Conference, the Conference sot on me,
from mornin' till night, and from night till mornin'.
I spoze it wuz Josiah's skairful talk that brung it onto me, it wuz
brung on nite mairs mostly, in the nite time.
He would talk _very_ skairful, and what he called deep, and repeat pages
of Casper Keeler's arguments, and they would appear to me (drawed also
by nite mairs) every page on 'em lookin' fairly lurid.
I suffered.
Josiah would set with the _World_ and other papers in his hand,
a-perusin' of 'em, while I would be a-washin' up my dishes, and the very
minute I would get 'em done and my sleeves rolled down, he would tackle
me, and often he wouldn't wait for me to get my work done up, or even
supper got, but would begin on me as I filled up my tea kettle, and keep
up a stiddy drizzle of argument till bed time, and as I say, when he
left off, the nite mairs would begin.
I suffered beyond tellin' almost.
The secont night of my arjuous labors on the meetin' house, he began
wild and eloquent about wimmen bein' on Conferences, and mountin'
rostrums. And sez he, "That is suthin' that we Methodist men can't
stand."
[Illustration: "IS ROSTRUMS MUCH HIGHER THAN THEM BARELLS TO STAND ON?"]
And I, havin' stood up on a barell all day a-scrapin' the ceilin', and
not bein' recuperated yet from the skairtness and dizziness of my day's
work, I sez to him:
"Is rostrums much higher than them barells we have to stand on to the
meetin' house?"
And Josiah said, "it wuz suthin' altogether different." And he assured
me agin,
"That in any modest, unpretendin' way the Methodist Church wuz willin'
to accept wimmen's work. It wuzn't aginst the Discipline. And that is
why," sez he, "that wimmen have all through the ages been allowed to do
most all the hard work in the church--such as raisin' money for church
work--earnin' money in all sorts of ways to carry on the different kinds
of charity work connected with it--teachin' the children, nursin' the
sick, carryin' on hospital work, etc., etc. But," sez he, "this is
fur, fur different from gettin' up on a rostrum, or tryin' to set on a
Conference. Why," sez he, in a haughty tone, "I should think they'd know
without havin' to be told that laymen don't mean women."
Sez I, "Them very laymen that are tryin' to keep wimmen out of the
Conference wouldn't have got in themselves if it hadn't been for
wimmen's votes. If they can legally vote for men to get in why can't men
vote for them?"
"That is the pint," sez Josiah, "that is the very pint I have been
tryin' to explain to you. Wimmen can help men to office, but men can't
help wimmen; that is law, that is statesmanship. I have been a-tryin' to
explain it to you that the word laymen _always_ means woman when she can
help men in any way, but _not_ when he can help her, or in any other
sense."
Sez I, "It seemed to mean wimmen when Metilda Henn wuz turned out of the
meetin' house."
"Oh, yes," sez Josiah in a reasonin' tone, "the word laymen always means
wimmen when it is used in a punishin' and condemnatory sense, or in the
case of work and so fourth, but when it comes to settin' up in high
places, or drawin' sallerys, or anything else difficult, it alweys means
men."
Sez I, in a very dry axent, "Then the word man, when it is used in
church matters, always means wimmen, so fur as scrubbin' is concerned,
and drowdgin' round?"
"Yes," sez Josiah haughtily, "And it always means men in the higher and
more difficult matters of decidin' questions, drawin' sallerys, settin'
on Conferences, etc. It has long been settled to be so," sez he.
"Who settled it?" sez I.
"Why the men, of course," sez he. "The men have always made the rules
of the churches, and translated the Bibles, and everything else that is
difficult," sez he. Sez I, in fearful dry axents, almost husky ones, "It
seems to take quite a knack to know jest when the word laymen means men
and when it means wimmen."
"That is so," sez Josiah. "It takes a man's mind to grapple with it;
wimmen's minds are too weak to tackle it It is jest as it is with that
word 'men' in the Declaration of Independence. Now that word 'men', in
that Declaration, means men some of the time, and some of the time men
and wimmen both. It means both sexes when it relates to punishment,
taxin' property, obeyin' the laws strictly, etc., etc., and then it goes
right on the very next minute and means men only, as to wit, namely,
votin', takin' charge of public matters, makin' laws, etc.
"I tell you it takes deep minds to foller on and see jest to a hair
where the division is made. It takes statesmanship.
"Now take that claws, 'All men are born free and equal.'
"Now half of that means men, and the other half men and wimmen. Now to
understand them words perfect you have got to divide the tex. 'Men are
born.' That means men and wimmen both--men and wimmen are both born,
nobody can dispute that. Then comes the next claws, 'Free and equal.'
Now that means men only--anybody with one eye can see that.
"Then the claws, 'True government consists.' That means men and wimmen
both--consists--of course the government consists of men and wimmen,
'twould be a fool who would dispute that. 'In the consent of the
governed.' That means men alone. Do you see, Samantha?" sez he.
I kep' my eye fixed on the tea kettle, fer I stood with my tea-pot in
hand waitin' for it to bile--"I see a great deal, Josiah Allen."
[Illustration: CHURCH WORK.]
"Wall," sez he, "I am glad on't. Now to sum it up," sez he, with some
the mean of a preacher--or, ruther, a exhauster--"to sum the matter all
up, the words 'bretheren,' 'laymen,' etc., always means wimmen so fur
as this: punishment for all offenses, strict obedience to the rules of
the church, work of any kind and all kinds, raisin' money, givin' money
all that is possible, teachin' in the Sabbath school, gettin' up
missionary and charitable societies, carryin' on the same with no help
from the male sect leavin' that sect free to look after their half of
the meanin' of the word--sallerys, office, makin' the laws that bind
both of the sexes, rulin' things generally, translatin' Bibles to suit
their own idees, preachin' at 'em, etc., etc. Do you see, Samantha?" sez
he, proudly and loftily.
"Yes," sez I, as I filled up my tea-pot, for the water had at last
biled. "Yes, I see."
And I spoze he thought he had convinced me, for he acted high headeder
and haughtier for as much as an hour and a half. And I didn't say
anything to break it up, for I see he had stated it jest as he and all
his sect looked at it, and good land! I couldn't convince the hull male
sect if I tried--clergymen, statesmen and all--so I didn't try, and I
wuz truly beat out with my day's work, and I didn't drop more than one
idee more. I simply dropped this remark es I poured out his tea and put
some good cream into it--I merely sez:
"There is three times es many wimmen in the meetin' house es there is
men."
"Yes," sez he, "that is one of the pints I have been explainin' to you,"
and then he went on agin real high headed, and skairt, about the old
ground, of the willingness of the meetin' house to shelter wimmen in its
folds, and how much they needed gaurdin' and guidin', and about their
delicacy of frame, and how unfitted they wuz to tackle anything hard,
and what a grief it wuz to the male sect to see 'em a-tryin' to set on
Conferences or mount rostrums, etc., etc.
And I didn't try to break up his argument, but simply repeated the
question I had put to him--for es I said before, I wuz tired, and
skairt, and giddy yet from my hard labor and my great and hazardus
elevatin'; I had not, es you may say, recovered yet from my
recuperation, and so I sez agin them words--
"Is rostrums much higher than them barells to stand on?" And Josiah said
agin, "it wuz suthin' entirely different;" he said barells and rostrums
wuz so fur apart that you couldn't look at both on 'em in one day
hardly, let alone a minute. And he went on once more with a long
argument full of Bible quotations and everything.
And I wuz too tuckered out to say much more. But I did contend for it to
the last, that I didn't believe a rostrum would be any more tottlin' and
skairful a place than the barell I had been a-standin' on all day, nor
the work I'd do on it any harder than the scrapin' of the ceilin' of
that meetin house.
And I don't believe it would, I stand jest as firm on it to-day as I did
then.
CHAPTER XX.
Wall, we got the scrapin' done after three hard and arjous days' works,
and then we preceeded to clean the house. The day we set to clean the
meetin' house prior and before paperin', we all met in good season, for
we knew the hardships of the job in front of us, and we all felt that we
wanted to tackle it with our full strengths.
Sister Henzy, wife of Deacon Henzy, got there jest as I did. She wuz in
middlin' good spirits and a old yeller belzerine dress.
Sister Gowdy had the ganders and newraligy and wore a flannel for 'em
round her head, but she wuz in workin' spirits, her will wuz up in arms,
and nerved up her body.
Sister Meechim wuz a-makin' soap, and so wuz Sister Sypher, and Sister
Mead, and me. But we all felt that soap come after religion, not before.
"Cleanliness _next_ to godliness."
So we wuz all willin' to act accordin' and tackle the old meetin' house
with a willin' mind.
Wall, we wuz all engaged in the very heat of the warfare, as you may
say, a-scrubbin' the floors, and a-scourin' the benches by the door,
and a-blackin' the 2 stoves that stood jest inside of the door. We wuz
workin' jest as hard as wimmen ever worked--and all of the wimmen who
wuzn't engaged in scourin' and moppin' wuz a-settin' round in the pews
a-workin' hard on articles for the fair--when all of a suddin the
outside door opened and in come Josiah Allen with 3 of the other men
bretheren.
They had jest got the great news of wimmen bein' apinted for
Deaconesses, and had come down on the first minute to tell us. She that
wuz Celestine Bobbet wuz the only female present that had heard of it.
Josiah had heard it to the post-office, and he couldn't wait till noon
to tell me about it, and Deacon Gowdy wuz anxius Miss Gowdy should hear
it as soon es possible. Deacon Sypher wanted his wife to know at once
that if she wuzn't married she could have become a deaconess under his
derectin'.
And Josiah wanted me to know immegietly that I, too, could have had the
privilege if I had been a more single woman, of becomin' a deaconess,
and have had the chance of workin' all my hull life for the meetin'
house, with a man to direct my movements and take charge on me, and tell
me what to do, from day to day and from hour to hour.
And Deacon Henzy was anxious Miss Henzy should get the news as quick as
she could. So they all hastened down to the meetin' house to tell us.
And we left off our work for a minute to hear 'em. It wuzn't nowhere
near time for us to go home.
Josiah had lots of further business to do in Jonesville and so had the
other men. But the news had excited 'em, and exhilerated 'em so, that
they had dropped everything, and hastened right down to tell us, and
then they wuz a-goin' back agin immegietly.
I, myself, took the news coolly, or as cool as I could, with my
temperature up to five or five and a half, owin' to the hard work and
the heat.
[Illustration: THE LAST NEWS FROM THE CONFERENCE.]
Miss Gowdy also took it pretty calm. She leaned on her mop handle,
partly for rest (for she was tuckered out) and partly out of good
manners, and didn't say much.
But Miss Sypheris such a admirin'woman, she looked fairly radiant at the
news, and she spoke up to her husband in her enthusiastik warm-hearted
way--
"Why, Deacon Sypher, is it possible that I, too, could become a deacon,
jest like you?"
"No," sez Deacon Sypher solemnly, "no, Drusilly, not like me. But you
wimmen have got the privelege now, if you are single, of workin' all
your days at church work under the direction of us men."
"Then I could work at the Deacon trade under you," sez she admirin'ly,
"I could work jest like you--pass round the bread and wine and the
contribution box Sundays?"
"Oh, no, Drusilly," sez he condesendinly, "these hard and arjuous dutys
belong to the male deaconship. That is their own one pertickiler work,
that wimmen can't infringe upon. Their hull strength is spent in these
duties, wimmen deacons have other fields of labor, such as relievin'
the wants of the sick and sufferin', sittin' up nights with small-pox
patients, takin' care of the sufferin' poor, etc., etc."