The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-10-30

Her Work Among the Country FOLK.
Norwich. Oct. 2S.-A remarkable person, in
deed. is Miss Deborah Knox. the girl preacher
OF Westerly and OF tho country towns OF east-
ern Connecticut and western Rhode Island.
She comes OF most remarkable preaching
stock. too. since she Ia lineRl descendant OF
John Knox. tho great Scotch reformer.
and hor Rhode Island friends affirm she
Is very much like him In respect OF her
personal and intellectual parts. She is
only 10 years old. a rural district school
teacher, and this winter Is teaching n little
company OF boys and girls In the village
schoolhouse at Woodvlle In the pine wilder
moss Of western Rhode Island. woodvllle Is
moro than half dozen miles north OF her
home at Westerly. Lena Deborah Knox
boards around" at the Woodville farm
houses during the week. and on Saturday af-
ternoon some Woodville farmer bitches up
Dobbin " and drives Miss Knox to Westerly.
where she spends the Sunday quietly with
her family IL she is not preaching. On Monday
morning carly she returns in similar way
to her village schoolroom. 1t is on Sunday.
however that tho spirit OF the Presbyterian
John Knox usually evokes forcible echo OF
itself In Deborah's SOUL and in carryall or top
bugEy or rough and common North Stoning-
ton blackboard with a rough and ready but
worshlpful country lad or farmer to drive.
she journeys all about the great ragged. lone
some hills OF southwestern Connecticut.
preaching wherever tho people ask her to. In
country churches. town halls. and Gross
road" schoolhouses.
A connolly and interesting but not pretty
young woman is Deborah Knox. OF medium
height. strong and shapely with q square.
frm pale face. dark. almost black, hair. and
rather heavy, rather dark eyebrows. Her eyes
are her most expressive feature. unusually
large and luminous. too dark to be violet. too
sombre to be brown. and not Opaque and
scintillant enough to be termed black. Very
grave and steady and earnest eyes they are
ordinarily. but Mother are they too austero or
fanatical looking. for when she smiles gayly.
us che not intreluently does. an arch and
merry look leaps into them, denotin. that she
Is by no means devoid of n sense OF the ludi-
crous In her nature and that at times 1t sup
plants momentarly. the wonted and rather
OF her mission.
In what way was this artless young country
itinernnt religious exhortor and missionary
among the rough and boisterous and rather
her Ws Wa woTa
itself almost satisfactorily, explains i to her
own own mind nm. she was led" by The spirit OF the
talking about her mission. to dedicate, her,
self to the work of reclaimng souls. and that
tradition" in The l,nox family. all the
well as in Scotland. have been persons
Of sturdy and heroic ideals. with the
Miss Deborah Rnox has mu th' Of the tough and
and sturdy old John Knox. she has. in a socia!
and superncial way. at least. none ut all OF
that old heros rasping. e1asperating. and
cross-grained roughness and ferocity OF man
bly, refined. delicate. and smooth Of speech.
and her quiet demeanor and well moduated
hard baskwoeds nen Of the the e Connecticut and
hhode Island border towns has a sooth-
nS and o Se", SO tat b
or. by a ribald curiosity, remain often
1t is no ex x to saynnot only to sing
ngs: and finally; as they say down East,
Miss Knox certainly has done q great work in
the short time she has been rural apostle-;
began to travel and preach among the hills
not many months later-and the circle OF her
apostolic influence among the hardy hunters d,aa
Widening Wherever you may Le trayelline ~
but to speak tho name Of Deborah
native, and you have friend In him at once.
Who viii sfy Ti1h e!pkng srHg 81 oahsS
eood as sood gifted
3 gosh d,Ee ever hist In swaller O. eidertt
CIT soWs s rsh Say ou
Dye hear?', In North stonington the people
in about equal quantities-large quantitics-
and neither does them any harm. apparently.
Deborah extended her mis- lopary campaign
into the thrifty old town, OF North Stonington;
sns
and talk to them. On sunday morning. less
than two weeks ago. she spoke to a large and
Ashwillet a pleasant hamlet that has the look
of having just crept out Of the dark and ragged
about it. and now the Ashwillet people would
like to have her talk to them every sunday.
village. or hamlet. most OF the Inhabitants
thereof steatthiiy axow the conyiftiO1 amGnG
the ntares outer the old as the
wish b, We e.. s9uld git her every SUNDAY an
comes on the preaching platform Of rural
laml. but she Is not at all abashed:. She seats
herself in platform wicker chair from some
hood. and then the deacon makes a few re-
marks" and introduces her to- her congregation:
s II. haO * r tbs s qqss
form. and. without removing her hat. talks
earnestly. but In a low; congregational tone.
ness Of a sanctiied and holy mind" and the
49,
Word" At the end OF her discourse the con-
gregaton quietly disperses in little Whisper
Ing knots OF people and Deborah goes to her
Sunday dinner with the deacon's or the par
sons wife.
In Preston City. tlling big. hard. rather
sterile farm. IS queer .c,rusty. cranky; irasei;
bic old bachelor Steve Mech. 80 called. 70
years old. who throws away" the n,SlighIorss
other iuxuries:" and Meech has been. away
above proof" az the distillers say. IN his pro;
fessed invulnerability to the truths OF revealed
religion. Stephen goes barefoot during a
large part Of ths year-yet he Is rich as GlrPsus.
OF OF taxing Hi bath in a cold spring near his
house at sunrise every day. breaking the leo
into its frigid and crystal water. Well. old Steve
logged down into Ashwillet and was at the
meeting there when Miss Deborah preached
In the chapel" outer curiosity" he said to
neighbor who had asked him what on earth
had fetched out ter r'ligous meetn' sech an
old sinner an reprobate an mossback rs him."
In less than fifteen minutes after Miss De-
borah had begun 10 preach. though, old Steve
had htehed himself forward over the back Of
was hanging thnre. In midair in about