Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1915-07-22
P XIII-Continued,

news in them from Joan. The great
est piece of Jews that came from
Mary, who dealt with it by the page,
and which was briefly treated by Joan,
was the staggering information that
the congregation had asked for Mr..
P~resbrey's resignation. This news
came while Eric was in Munich, COM
pleting a brief course of study in that
city. some little time before he was
to return to America. He had gone
first to Vienna and then to Munich,
after finishing the course at the BeauX
| Arts.
From all that he could make out of
the disconnected, almost eXuberant
letter, Mr.. Presbrey had undertaken
to put himself and God over and above
Horace Blagden in the management of
the church, with dire consequences to
at least one of the allies. q am quot
ing Mary almost literally.) 1t seemed
that Mr.. Presbrey misconstructed a
certain listlessness on the part of the
great man of Corinth; he took it that
Mr.. Blagden was losing his force as a
dominant leader. that he no longer
held the reins in a rigid grip, SO to
speak. h worthy pastor took heart.
He assumed an independence that,
through cultivation, grew rapidly into
arrogance. He openly defield Horace
at a time when it seemed most unlike
ly that that gentleman would rise from
the ashes of his hopes to take issue
with him.
The controversy had a trivial be-
ginning. Mr.. Presbrey took sides"
in a choir squabble. The soprano and
the tenor, 1t appears, quarreled
over the proper way to interpret a
duet in one of the Easter anthems.
The fact that it was a c%ontralto and
bass duet doesn't seem to have mat
tered, although you'd think it would.
| The bass and tho cnntraltn yyara MT
consulted. They were ignored. For
tunately for the congregation, they
sung it in their own sweet way and no
one was aware of the fact that the
anthem was ruthlessly spoiled until it
became known that the soprano and
tenor were not on speaking terms with
each other.
Then the pews began to take notice
Of the d~issension in the loft. Inside of
a fortnight, the entire congregation
was involved. Mr.. Presbrey came out
f~lat-footed for the tenor. who. On
spectacle support of a teacher in the
Sunday school-his wife, by the way
and did not smoke nor drink. More
over. he advised his pupils to abstain
from smoking and drinking. Neither
habits was good for the voice, he ex-
planned. The Soprano, on the other
hand, was a good looking young wom-
an, who went to Boston twice a week
to take lessons, and who spent all
she earned on hats and things to be-
deck herself with. so that the men in
the pews would think she could sing,
couldn't. Also she was given to
singing secular n of a rather
buoyant character at public en-
t~erta1nments in the opera house,
and she had spent an entire season in
the chorus of the English Opera COM
pany. in Boston. ostensibly for the
training it was said, but, according to
certain aides in the congregation, in
the hope that she might some day be
requested to appear in tights. The
soprano was conscious Of a very good
figure.
We'll. to get back to Mary's letter:
Mr.. Blagden suddenly threw off his
lethargy, The soprano, it so happened,
had been elevated to the choir on his
recommendation, and a. he paid the
weekly salaries Of the quartet out of
his own purse, no one had the right to
object to his selection. although nearly
every woman in the church knew of
someone better qualified than Miss
Smith. And so, in the midst of petty
strife. Horace, like the big man that
he was, snapped his fingers smartly
and the whole congregation scurrie1
back to the fold in a most amiable way.
The surprised MI. Prebrey was left
N1SAASs ~ oA4oA SANA ~ AZ "a w AoSS III
result Of his convictions.
He resolved to stand his ground. The
soprano must go. Likewise the fiddler
who came in occasionally to play obli-
gatos to her solos. The First Congrc-
gational church was not a dance house.
To the intense anaZement Of every
one he bluntly announced in open
meeting that a new soprano would be
engaged for the ensuing quarter.
Horace could hardly believe his ears.
Miss Smith is hired by the year. Mr..
Presbrey," he said stiffly, arising from
his seat in Congregational meeting.
I trust 0 will pardon the liberty
take in reminding you, Mr.. Blagden,
that she is no hired by the congre-
CATION remarked the minister, mildly.
Horace responded with his wintry
smile. by the same token, she should
be dismissed by the person who hired
her"
"A change is absolutely necessary,
SIR
Horace was thoughtful for a momen
81 understand they need a soprano in
the Second church. If you insist on her
to recommend her for the position
there
The threat in these words was toe
thinly yelled to escape the attention OF
the members who filled the chapel. Nc
matter how gravely they had divided
oSoA'S SdSh LIN Il lie CllOIT SQUAD
BILE. they became a unit of apprehension
in view Of the catastrophe that sud
denly loomed up before them.
If Miss Smith went to the Second
church. there also would go the mighty
Blagdens. And then. what would be-
come of the mortgage on the church?
Someone sprang to his feet and sug-
gested that the matter be deferred for a
fortnight or SO. Mr.. Presbrey had the
temerity to say the Second church
could have Miss Smith and be welcome
to all she could bring with her.
That was the beginning. It went from
bad to worse, Mr.. P%resbrey finally re.
sorting to personalities. He said tina,
it was time to throw off the yoke. Mr.
Blagden, he explained, was scarcely
the one to regulate the policies of {
great church when one stopped to con.
slider the unhappy results of his eff.
forts to bring w his own son in Christ
Moreover, had 1t not been for the in.
Prevention Of himself and Mrs. Pres
brey, those two excellent young per
sons. h Midthornes. might have beer
hectored into a natural defiance of al
the laws of God and man, Simply be
cause the home influences that sur
rounded them were not calculated t.