A DELIGHTFULLY NOVEL IDEA.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 38, 26 March 1873, Page 3

A DELIGHTFULLY NOVEL IDEA.

A xumber of High Church ladies have formed themselves into a society called, “The Phcebes,” whose self-imposed duty is to clean out the churches which they frequent. A correspondent of a contemporary thus humorously describes their operations:—Just at first it is considered well to undertake the charge of but one church, until the society shall be fully organised; so one fabric has been selected as the first for the Phcebes to commeiiee operations upon. The work is* done on Friday and Saturday afternoons, and as soon as the daily service on Friday morning is over the Phcebes muster in the chureh. Lady A—~’z carriage l sets hef down at the door, and the brougham of , the Hon. Misses B—-—- comes next. The humbler cab brings Miss C and Mrs. fl is seen lurrying round the edrner on foot; and so ontillthe number of Phcebes is complete. Then the church doors are locked, that profane eyes may not gaze on what is be ng done. From the hour when the doors areclosed upon the workers, rank vanishes and perfect equality reigns ; the Phcebes are then oply known by their numbers. Thus Phoebe No. 1 goes onher kneestapolish the tiles of the chancel floor; Phoebe No. 2, carefully, gio red, Attacks, with blacklead brushes, the stove; .Phcebes 4,5, 6, and 7 are sweeping out the pews and beating up the hassocks; while Phoebe No. 8 has taken the brass eagle of the lectern in hand, And, under her vigorous exertions, its youth seems to be renewed. The society.has duly been in working order for a few weeks, and has had some difficulties to eneoun-

ter, chief amongst which is the utter ignorance of the Phcebes of how the work ought to be done. As one lady describes their difficulties: “I always thought,”-she said, “ that a housemaid has the easiest life in the world, but it is quite a mistake. You have no idea how hard it is to polish a stove; and scouring a floor is painfully dreadful As to beating the dust out of the hassocks, it is not to be thought of; and if you just take my advice you will leave it for the present, and some day I will get a woman in to do it. I know it is against the rules, but I would sooner send a furniture-van and have them done at home than break my back, as I have been doing.”