The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1877-02-17

Hrs. Van Cstt, the Preaching Widow.
Mrs. Maggie Newton Van Colt, the
popular preacher, and the first lady it
is said who was licensed to preach in
the Methodist Church in America, is
s'6nishing up" series of protracted
meetings in the Thirteeth Street Metho.
dist Church. In conversing with q
Herald reporter recently she said-s'It
Is nine years this February since I be-
gan to preach, and two years previous
to that I was engaged in mis-
sion work SO that have had quite an
experience in the ministry"
You are we'll paid for your services,
presume, :" limited the reporter.
swell, it's just in this way" replied
the widow, laying one chubby little
hand on the reporters arm, by way of
emphasizing her remarks. 81 60 to
whatever church-Methodist, you un.
derstand-that invites me, and then the y
pay me just what they have mind to.
Sometimes it's more and sometimes its
less, but it is never 5 very startling
amount. guess there's no one in the
City of New York but can show larger
figures than can. tell you those that
think they're going to get rich in the
Methodist Church are awfully mis-
taken"
"If you are paid SO poorly, why do
you continue?"
~ continue it for the good of souls.
My labor in the ministry is chiefly one
of love, unadulterated by worldly am
bition or gain"
"That is certainly commendable,' 81
replied the scribe patronizingly. "And
what is the result of your labors? Is this
branch of Babylon going to sink in its
wickedness? Is it"
81 predict" interrupted the stentor-
ian voice of the fascinating Widow Van
Colt, q mighty shaking in this great
city. Before the putting forth of the
leaves the people here shall know there
is God in Israel. Why, last November
1 was preaching in Pittsburgh, Pa ,
holding sort of temperance meetings
there, and the people who were opposed
to it scoffed and ridiculed our efforts.
Do you know what was the result?'
The reporter averred ignorance of the
result.
swell, I received letter while ago
saying that since the 1st of November
s., 900 names had been enrolled on the
banners o. temperance; and l feel that
a greater revolution is going to be ex-
perienced here.''
"Are the brokers the ones appointed
to do itp" inquired the reporter, mean
ingly.
Mrs. Van Colt looked little puzzled
for a moment. Then her face cleared
a trifle, and she answered hesitatingly {:
"N-o-o-o, not exactly; but think the
brokers' prayes-meeting, as it is called,
is one of the agencies. Through the
influence of the meetings great many
of the Christian brokers will, think,
be quickened, and many be converted.
All it wants for its success is a fervent
clinging to Christ, and prayer and
faith will accomplish the WORK. 1t is
one of the grandest moves that has been
made in New York for some time. After
leave this church am going up to
Sixty-first Street to hold meetings in
the Methodist Church there from there
l am going to Newburgh, N. Y; from
thence to Pittsburgh; thence to St.
Louis, and from St. Louis to the Pacific
Coast. 1 shall be in San Francisco
most of the time. These are all booked
engagements, said Mrs. Van Colt,
with little pardonable show of i'm.
portance.
Mrs. Van Colt is only Al years of
age, and retains much of the vigor and
enthusiasm that must have character
lied her youth. 1t is evident from her
personal appearance that she is not a
believer in fasting, or else that sort of
penalty is productive of great bulk, for
the widows plumpness suggests q
weight Of $50 pounds. 1t is never al
lowed, however, to seem cumbrous, for
no sylph could glide across the plat
form with more ease and grace than
does this clerical giant in the ministra-
tons of her sanity calling. Her face
is large, full and rosy, lit up with large
gray eyes. The forehead is broad aud
high, surmounted With puffs of chest
nut hair, which add immensely to the
widows attractions. Although black
is the chosen color of Mrs. Van Colts
attire, her dress is of the heaviest silk,
made with court train and devoid of
fiounces, but, though fashionably cut,
there are no elaborate trimmings in the
way of plaits or fringes. A neat boot
peeps from beneath the skirt as the
lady moves to and fro on the platform.
Her hands are white and plump, as be-
comes a lady of such enbonp0int. In
fact, Mrs. Van Colt is q woman OF
taste and refinement; for, discarding
the conventional cuff, her wrists are
encircled with plaitings of soft lace.
| She, however, retains the linen collar
for her neck, which is fastened with a
jet breach, in harmony with the SIM
plicity of her dress. Being q woman
of taste and sensibility she delights in
sweet perfumes, rightly thinking that
true religion is not found in asceticism.
Therefore she gratifies her senses with
essence of violet, and so plentiful is her
supply that while she exhorts sinners
to repentance and tries to show them
the narrow but shiny path to salvation,
modest flower that loves to bloom in
shadowy corners of the field. Though
protesting Methodism, Mrs. Van Colt,
in seeking to be q preacher of the
Word, evidently does not believe that
her mission calls for self-denial in
creature comforts which 80 add to the
pleasures of life. Earnest, enthusi-
astic, but practical in her method OF
preaching, she evidently is sincere in
her belief that she is ordained by ma
ture for the work.-NeD York Herald.
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