Stocking preached to some six hundred women, with
half as many children. They were a rude, noisy company, not one of
them all caring for the truth; and there was no moment when at least
half a dozen voices could not be heard besides the preacher's. When
he closed, as many as twenty cried out, "Now let Miss Fiske preach."
So he withdrew, and left her to their tender mercies. Her preaching
was soon finished. She simply told them, that when she knew their
language better, she would come and talk with them, but she could
not talk at the same time that they did, for God had given her a
very small voice, and her words would no more mingle with theirs
than oil and water. They said, "Oil and water never mix; but we will
be silent if you will come and preach." Months passed on, and she
again visited the village. The women remembered her promise, and
hundreds came together; but they did not remember to be silent. As
soon as she began, they began; and if she asked them to be quiet,
each exhorted her neighbor, at the top of her voice, to be still;
and the louder the uproar, of course the louder the reproofs. At
length Miss Fiske said, "I cannot say any more, unless you all put
your fingers on your mouths.
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