ELIZABETH AS AN EVANGELISTIC LABORER.
Rejoicing greatly with "the ninety and nine," the pious zeal of Elizabeth
wept over "the lost sheep in the wilderness," and she longed to go out
among the mountains as a personal coworker with the chief Shepherd and
bring them to the fold. In fact, her ideal of the destitute regions she
had dreamed of was substantially answered by territory near her home, and
providentially brought to her notice.
On "Washington Mountain" were several neighborhoods of irreligious settlers
at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Our itinerant ministers had
occasionally passed; over the foothills and given off a message or two
among these neglected inhabitants, but in the main they were destitute of
Gospel truth and the means of grace. Elizabeth had not been more than
a year or two in the adjoining valley before she more clearly saw that
evangelical labor, as well as religious privileges, had providentially
called the family to their present location.
True, she was a woman, and the Master had chosen "men to preach," and
"women to guide the house," and win souls in a quiet manner. But she could
attend faithfully to household affairs, and also do something as a private
member to lead sinners to Jesus, even though miles away on the dark
mountain; for she was an expert rider, very spry and strong, and only
thirty years of age, and had a fleet, easy horse that could climb those
slopes and fly across those table-lands and be back home in a few hours.
So, in the name and fear of the Lord, this cultured woman began among the
rough settlers of Washington Mountain as a religious visitor from, house
to house. At first her visits were between 1 P.M. and sunset; but as the
people became awakened, and gathered in groups, requiring more exhortation
and wrestling prayer, she spent more time with them, frequently mounting
her boy behind her for company, and always reaching home before she slept.
Local preachers and exhorters followed up the work. The circuit preachers,
by an occasional visit, gathered the lambs into folds, and thus the fields
were cultivated, while this pioneer woman searched out other destitute
groups and introduced them to Gospel privileges and blessings.
In this rapid riding and visiting, as a true shepherdess, hunting up the
lost, she cautiously occupied mostly fair afternoons, and on an average,
in moderate weather, only one or two afternoons a week. But in a few years
even that amount of time, well employed, produced glorious results. Her
work in this line was somewhat like that of a modern "Bible reader," only
that it was much more rapid. What would her father have thought, when
teaching his proud daughter horsemanship, if he had been told what use she
would make of it?
What a contrast between the riding done by this woman now, and a dozen
years ago in the same county! In skill, and speed of movement, and grace
of attitude she is much the same; but how different her dress, her
countenance, her aims and hopes! Her father then was proud of his darling;
now, how mortified and angry would he be could he see her spring to her
saddle and start off toward Washington Mountain, in search of souls! "God
seeth not as man seeth." Then he beheld the "proud afar off," but now
"giveth grace to the humble," and crowneth her labors with divine approval
and success, while he giveth to her heart the "peace that passeth
understanding," and the sweet promise that "they that turn many to
righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ever!"
What Mrs. Elizabeth did to save souls on the mountain was only in the line
of extraordinary labors, and was not made an excuse for neglecting any of
her ordinary church duties. As before observed, her visits being mainly in
fair weather, and only once or twice a week, except in times of revival,
she counted them as many people do one or two weekly recreations, not
allowed to interfere with anything else.
Indeed, they did not satisfy her own zeal for extraordinary work. She
scattered some of the young people of the mountain among the Methodist
families of Lenox and Pittsfield as domestic help, greatly to their
advantage. She invited her church associates to her house for extra prayer
meetings, for the special benefit of serious persons from the mountain and
other neglected neighborhoods nearer her home, thus bringing them under
strong religious influences. Of course all the young laborers from the
mountain, working for families not too far off, would want to attend such
meetings and see their kindred, and their employers would encourage them
and lead them to faithful cross-bearing on such occasions.
She even set up a private school for neglected children, and her church
classmates put some of their own children into it "to help leaven it," as
she suggested, and it became, in answer to their united prayers, a revival
school. One family[1] who thus assisted her had two little boys converted
in her school, right among the ragged, ignorant children, and they grew
so strong in the work of these daily prayer meetings that one of them[2]
became an able itinerant minister, and the other,[3] in the wilderness to
which both families subsequently moved, became a class leader, having
for several years some of these same schoolmates (then, like himself, in
midlife) in his class, and even Mr. and Mrs. Arnold themselves and several
of their children! So glorious are often the compensations of true zeal,
even in "the life that now is."
[Footnote 1: That of Thomas Hubbard.]
[Footnote 2: Rev. Elijah B. Hubbard.]
[Footnote 3: Jabez Hubbard.]