The Worthington advance., 1899-10-20
THE DETECTION. OF
80. MARIA. ANN GIBBS
BY Paul Laurence Dunbar.

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THERE had been a wonderful sea-
son of grace at Bethel chapel since
the advent of the new minister, and
the number of converts who had en-
tered the fold put the record of other
years and other pastors to shame.
Seats that had been empty were filled !;
collections that had been meager were
now ample. The church had been i'm
proved; a coat of paint had been put
On the outside, and the interior had
been adorned by a strip of carpet down
the two aisles and pink calcimining on
the walls. Rev. Eleazar Jackson had
proved most successful shepherd. The
fact was shown by the rotundity of his
form, which bespoke good meals, and
the newness of his clothes, which ar
gued generous contributions.
He was not only very eloquent man,
but had social attainments of hig
order. He was immensely popular with
the sisters, and was on such good terms
with the brothers that they forgot to
be jealous of him. When he happened
around about an hour before dinner
time, and some solicitous sister killed
for him the fattening fowl which her
husband had been watching with eager
eyes, Mr.. Jackson averted any storm
which might have followed by such a
genial presence and such a raciness of
narration at the table that the head
of the house forgot his anger and
pressed the preacher to have some more
of the chicken.
Notwithstanding this equality of re-
gard on~the part of both brothers and
sisters, it was yet noticeable that the
larger number of the converts were
drawn from the ,tenderer sex-but hu-
man nature is human nature, women
are very much women, and the preach
er was bachelor.
Among these gentle converts none
was more jealous, more ardent or more
constant than Maria Ann Gibbs. She
and her bosom friend, Lucindy Wood
ward, had "come th'oo'' on the same
night, and it was a wonderful event.
They shouted all over Bethel chapel.
When one went up one aisle the other
came down the other. When one cried
'Hallelujah!" the other shouted
"Glory!" When one skipped the other
jumped, and finally they met in front
of the altar, and binding each other in
a joyous embrace, they swayed back
and forth to the rhythm of the hymn
that was rising even above their own
reJoicings, and which asserted that
"Jedgment Day is a-rollin' roun'.
Err how I long to be there!'
It was wonderfully affecting sight,
and it was not long before the whole
church was in tumult of rejoicings.
These two damsels were very popular
among their people. and every young
man who had looked with longing eyes
at Lucindy, or sighed for the brown
hand of Maria Ann, joined in the shout
ing, if he was one of the 'saved," or,
If he was not, fastened up to fall pros
trate at the mourners' bench. Thus
were Rev. Eleazar Jackson's meetings
great success, and his name became
great in the land.
From the moment of their conversion
Lucindy and Maria Ann went hand in
hand into the good work for the bene-
fit of the church, and they were spoken
of as especially active young members.
There was not a sociable to be given,
nor donation party to be planned, nor
a special rally to be effected, but that
these two consulted each other and car
ried the affair to successful issue.
Rev. Eleazar often called attention to
them in his exhortations from the pull
pit, spoke of the beautiful harmony
between them, and pointed it out as
an example to the rest of his flock.
He had happy turn for phrase-mak-
ing, which he exercised when he called
the two twin sisters in the great new
birth O. grace"
For year the church grew and
waxed strong, and the minister's power
continued and peace reigned. Then as
the rain clouds creep slowly over the
mountafn-top and bring the storm
laundering; down into the valley, so
ominous signs began to appear upon
the horizon of Bethel's religious and So
cial life. At first these warning clouds
were scarcely perceptible; in fact. there
were those unbelievers who said that
there would be no storm; but the NUT
terings grew louder.
The first sign of danger was apparent
In the growing GOODNESS between Lu-
cindy and Maria Ann. They were not
openly or aggressivsly enemies, but
from being % that high spiritual plane,
where the outward signs Of Fellowship
were not needed, and on which they
called each other by their first names,
they had come down to level which
required, to indicate their relations one
to the other, the interchange of isis
ter Gibbs and "Sister Woodyard.' y
There had been time when they had
treated each other with loving and ia
miliar discourtesy, but now they were
scrupulous1y polite. IF one broke in
upon the others remarks in church
council, It was with an Excuse me,
Sic Gibbs or IT beg yo' pa'don, Sis