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SAMANTHA

AMONG THE BRETHREN.

By

"Josiah Allen's Wife"

(Marietta Holley)


Part 1


_With Illustrations_.




1890




TO

All Women

WHO WORK, TRYING TO BRING INTO DARK LIVES

THE BRIGHTNESS AND HOPE OF A

BETTER COUNTRY,

_THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED_.



PREFACE.


Again it come to pass, in the fulness of time, that my companion, Josiah
Allen, see me walk up and take my ink stand off of the manteltry piece,
and carry it with a calm and majestick gait to the corner of the settin'
room table devoted by me to literary pursuits. And he sez to me:

"What are you goin' to tackle now, Samantha?"

And sez I, with quite a good deal of dignity, "The Cause of Eternal
Justice, Josiah Allen."

"Anythin' else?" sez he, lookin' sort o' oneasy at me. (That man
realizes his shortcomin's, I believe, a good deal of the time, he duz.)

"Yes," sez I, "I lay out in petickuler to tackle the Meetin' House. She
is in the wrong on't, and I want to set her right."

Josiah looked sort o' relieved like, but he sez out, in a kind of a pert
way, es he set there a-shellin corn for the hens:

"A Meetin' House hadn't ort to be called she--it is a he."

And sez I, "How do you know?"

And he sez, "Because it stands to reason it is. And I'd like to know
what you have got to say about him any way?"

Sez I, "That 'him' don't sound right, Josiah Allen. It sounds more right
and nateral to call it'she.' Why," sez I, "hain't we always hearn about
the Mother Church, and don