Woman's chronicle. (Little Rock, Ark.) 1888-1???, 1890-11-29

the large body of preachers now setting their faces
like flint against what they are pleased to term
ian Innovation" namely women amongst the law
makers. This prophet of evil admonishes his
brethren, ultimately, if not from the very first,
women will constitute the bulk, if not the whole
of the lay representation In the general confer
ence Is this state of affairs to be contemplated
by man with complacency? The question whether
the business will not be as well transacted need
not be considered. The question is, what will be-
come Of the men? And it does not concern laymen
only. The ministry may, and perhaps will, for
ever preserve the inequality between ministerial
and Law representation, but what of that? With
solid one-third laymen, all women, their numsri-
cal majority will be rope Of sand Then look
out for women preachers, women presiding elders,
and women bishops In view of these possibili-
ties-nay, probabilities, if not certainties-let
every manly man walk boldly in the spirit Of
man yet free, to the Methodist polls, and vote
with emphasis, No!'
This brother leaves us to infer that earth can
hold climax Of no greater horror than woman
in bishops chair. And yet why should this be
so repugnant when these brethren enjoy telling
(amongst themselves) that woman was once pope
of Rome, unanimously elected, too, by the whole
body of cardinals. To be sure those reverend
voters did not then know that she was woman,
they merely chose the most eminent candidate,
which is valuable proof that all this dscrimina-
ton against women is a mere matter of sex pre-
JUDGE.
This famous woman, who not only sat amongst
but ruled over, all the lawmakers of Christendom
for three years, was an Englishwomen who entered
the monastery of Fuda, disguised as monk,
early in the ninth century. There she became a
very successful professor, and SO high rose her
reputation for pety and learning that the cardinals
with one consent elected the supposed monk to
the successor of Pope Leo ~.
This story was first vouched for by Catholic
historian (also monk of Fulda) named Maranus
Icotus All subsequent church historians copied
it after Marianus, and not single infallible pope
threw any doubt upon The subject during period
of four hundred years, in which time theretwere
over one hundred of them, probably all wellqual-
flied to know, who served as guardians Of the
truth 1t was not until some time in the fifteenth
century that the historian Plautus began to deny
Pope Joan.
But so firmly was it believed throughout the
whole infallibe Church, that Joan, disguised as a
man, had really reigned as Christs vice regent at
Rome, from 853 to 855 A. D., that even so late as
some time in 400, "a bust Of the popess was
placed in the Cathedral Of Sienna along with those
of the other pspes bearing the inscription, John
VIII, woman from England The statue occu-
pied this position till the beginning Of the seven
teenth century,
Now it is not at all surprising that Catholic his
torians are trying to get rid of the Pope Joan they
once so fondly believed in. (Nor even that u
sagacious Protestant historian has been found to
second their efforts.) 1t is very embarrassing
story to those who believe in the inferiority Of
women, and the art Of denying uncomfortable
truths has certainly not been wholly unheard Of
before in that Church II Peter, who brazenly
denied his own Master, could still be sufficiently
rehabilitated afterwards to hold up his head, what
is to hinder his followers from denying mere
Woman2