The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-04-22
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She was little, sad-eyed woman,
and she sat i'm the back seat at the
Methodist conference. Women weren't
supposed to be among the elect in
their black frock coats and white
cravats In the front part of the church,
but she was farther back than the
regulations demanded and occupied
the uttermost corner of the last pew.
she had been there through every ses-
sion and seemed to speak to no one
| except a minister with bent shoulders
and thin, grayish hair which dropped
| dejectedly on his coat collar. The
| coat was a good one, for preachers
must look respectable but it was ILL
| fitting and shiny at the seams. His
clothes showed that only the most
eXacting, painstaking attention had
kept them presentable. Often he came
TO the back pew and q brief whispered
| conversation ensued and the faded
| face of the woman lighted up strange
! ly as they spoke together She was
| so shabby, this frail. little woman.
| by as brown when it is shabby. Black,
even If rusty and gray with wear, will
| give an effect Of company dress"
| Blue has a look Of interest in life and
| gray has certain distinction, while
| green is cheerful and plum color even
| in its last stages of dissolution, i'm
| parts an air of opulence, but worn,
| dingy brown is hopelessly poverty
| stricken.
The minister's wife was all i'm brown
| of the most depressing shade Ine
| material of her gown had never cost
more than twenty-five cents a yard
| and was so old in fashion that it was
almost modern, for it had a sort Of
| overskirt all around. Her bonnet had
| originally been of the same hue, but
it had faded until it was dull mud
| color. with its cheap ribbons and for
lorn little feather. one time when
her bent, old minister rose to second
motion, unimportant enough, her
eyes looked almost young and she
clasped her hands in nervous pride
on the back of the next pew.
When the bishop began to read the
appointments the anxiety in her poor
old face was pitiful to see and at least
one woman who knew something
about that long "back list" as
facetious preacher called it, turned
away her head that she might not
see the painful look deepen.
Down in the front seats, where the
most prominent clergymen congre-
gated, were several who had known
all along that they were to go back
or go on to fat, comfortable places, to
luxurious parsonaSes, to carved pull
pits facing carved pews in which sat
richly clad congregations waiting to
hear something pleasant about them
selves. The days when these minis
ters had taken thought about what
they should eat or they should
drink, or wherewitnal they should
be clothed, lay so far in the
dim distance that they had faded
from memory. There were other eag-
er, alert faces in which the morning
of youth still glowed, who exultant
knew that they had gained a foot
hold on the ladder reaching to su-
premacy in their chosen life work. The
sunshine outside looked very bright
to them that April afternoon. There
the sympathetic eye snrank, for they
We're old and white of hair and weary
of foot and brain. They had strug-
gled in hard pastorates all the long
years and now in extreme age were
dependent on a meagre dole of church
charity for mere subsistence. There
was neither hope. nor fear, nor in
terest in their apathetic faces. For
them could be no appointment until
that which Another than the bishop
should make, when some minister
would say over their dead faces:
BLESSED are the dead who die in the
Lord"
The little, old woman in the back
seat listened with a painful intent
ness to the bishops voice. A few
minutes before she had said softly.
to the woman who came in and sat
by her side 1--WE do hope Wen get
an appointment to 4 this time.
Benjamin can't stand it as we'll as he
used to, this preaching three times
ON Sunday and riding so far. We
had 10 pay out so much for medicine
last year. and the doctor, am there
are daughter Liza's children that we
have TO take care Of Five hundred
dollars year don't go far, specially
when you don't get it all paid to you.
| haven't had a new bonnet in ten
years" she added. half alphabetically.
Just then the bishop read a name
out loud and full and the little, old
woman's head dropped down on the
next pew and tears made dingy spots
on her faded brown dress across her
knee. "Oh, dear" she half sobbed,
"lls the same old place and they're
SO tired of us. They say BENJAMIN
breaches too long and talks through
his nose and they want a young man
with a stylish wife. oh, dear. They
don't want us back again and they
haven't nearly paid last years salary
! s'pose it's all right" Then
her husband came down the aisle, his
long coat humping up awkwardly in
the back and she smiled at him
brightly through .er tears and the two
walked out of he door. her hand
clinging to his sleeve.
Saucy Bess.
MUSICAL GOSSIP.