WOMEN IN THE PULPIT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 164, 13 July 1877, Page 4

WOMEN IN THE PULPIT.

(From, tha New "Eork times) . j The ? dftfoieaal of tha fie-ft'lfta' Phoebe Hahaford bj her congregation is a tpaite*-; of general notoriety. In her caae the experiment of a female pastor has proved a failure. So far as •aso-be learned, tbe only chargo brought against Misa Hanaford was the,, charge that s^e was hot a man., This' she attempted neither to palliate nor deny, and aha was therefore deprived of her -pastorate io order that' her place might be filled by a man. Those enthusiastic ■reformers who advocate ihe. admission of women, to the ministry have uniformly looked only at one side of the matter. They insist that inasmuch as a woman cab write and deliver a'sermbp at least'aa well as the majority of male ministers, there can be no valid argumeafc against a female ministry. They ' fail, however, to perceive the inevitable effeot which female pastors mast have a pon i their congregations. Nature will maintain the just balahoe of the sexes iu ecfllesiaaticaKaffairs, aad she will not permit a, pretty woman to be substituted rot? ah ascetic clergylhah without striving to produce corresponding changes among the flock. When the experiment waa first tried in a rural New England town some twenty years ego it was clamorously asserted that it had hcilliaotly succeeded. In a short tfene, however, acute observers noticed that the youog men , of tlie congregation were ■jtudergoing a curiqus change. They hecame abnormally, regular in their aiiteudahce c at meeting, and although they showed astern determination to occupy the front seats, they alao manifested a wioning modesty of manner previously unknown in the history of their sex. They would sit with upturned eyes gassing at their pastor ahd' drinking in Her eloquence with every token of earnest admiration. Sometimes they would be affected to , tears, and would hide their aye's with perfumed handkerchiefs. In casual cpnverßation they always mentioned the minister as "our dear pastor," and constantly quoted her as an,authority upon' all questions of morals and manners. A little later and ihe price of worsted .began, to rise. The cause of thia was soon known. Every one of tha thirty-four young men were en. gaged "in working slippers for their pastor. As this was a doty to whieh they were unaccustomed; tbey naturally spoiled an immense quantity of wbr ited, and mislaid or broke innumerable needles. Before the pastor had been six months in the pulpit she had received thirty-four pairs of slippers, nine-tenths of which were embroidered w|fch a. cross, while, the remainder bore, in leStera. of white floss-silk; the legend, ' " Bless my pastor." ' After Jhe slippers should have come, in regular ecclesiastical order, the usual, smoking caps- but It is obvious that the latter would have been grossly inappropriate gifts to a female pastor. Much ingenuity was displayed in pro-vi-iing aubstitutas. One yonng man knit out of scarlet worsted a "*■ cloud " for the: pastoral head-, and another braided with his own hands a magnificent "switch '' of back baji**, the material for which he purchased: from a "professional hair-dresser. The' majority .of the young men, however, expressed their pious devotion in embroidered handkerchiefs and lace collars, although it ia rumored that an ill-advised widower, who was perhaps the most outspoken of the pastor's admirers, sent her a — -that is to say, a garment made by bis own hands out of she best quality of steel, and modelled upon one' formerly the property of .his!, deceased wife. It is further asserted that his present was returned to him, and, that , he therefore left town in a depressed state of mind, ckrryiog his blighted hopes with him. As fche pastor did not wear a gown or surplice, the young men, after they had_overwheUned ber with- slippers and handkerchiefs, were at a loss whatrjo do next. They finally . '-hit' 'upon" tbe happy thought of making a magnificent overskirt pt red cashmere, embroidered 1 ; with blue, and ornamented with altern-ate-yellow silk dogs and green silk horaesfroea in the angle of each scallop.' Uneof the young men surreptitiously helped himself to a pattern irom bia sisters', wardrobe, and produced it, under, a strict vow ot secrecy, to his admiring associates at their. next Dorcas teapart/ Great diificblty "was .experienced in cuttiog out the garment, .but by carefully ripping the pattern apart, and making a fac simile oi each piece, the

new overskirt was made ready for sewing. The unconquerable tendency of some of the youog men to sew exclflaifrely with white cotton *ie<f to ff_que&fc disputes and delays; b&6 at Mt tbe. garment wad accurately gewed together with black silk. Determined to improve on the original patters^ they put half a dozen pockets in the skirt, and .attached a buckle and strap to the waisthand, together with six metal suspender buttons. Tben the garment nicely perfumed and neatiy folded, was sent to the parsonage, with a note written in fine Italian hand, ahd brealfchiog the earnest affection of thirty-four pious and innocent hearts. What was the surprise of those young men fco learn on the following Sunday that the pastor would no longer conduct the Bible-class of which they were the sole members. They called upon her to beg a few moment's conversation upon fche truei meaning of Ezekiel's wheels, but were told that the pastor was busy, and that she begged to refer them fco Ipeacon Smith. They felt that something was wrong, but they could not imagine what the matter really was. In the course of the next fortnight however, the pastor suddenly brought home a husband from eome distant town, who, 'being of ,aa sscitable, and withal worldly nature, soon allowed it to become known that.be. felt perfect confidence in his ability to thrash the irr&yerent rascals who had insulted his Wife by sending her a preposterously red p-i-tt— t.. 7

After that, the young men loat all interest in religious things, and returued^with great unanimity to their wallowing at the billiard-fable, and, it was 'generally felt that the experiment of a female pastor had not succeeded. But the fault Was nofin the pastor's ; sermoqs, nor .fn any lack of piety or discretion on. her part. The failure of the experiment iwas the natural** result • of the attempt to reverse/the* proper sex | of the pulpit, and it. iW Surprising ; that ;no reformer can perceive what a power'ful argument agaiust~a female ministry this state of things constitutes. * :*