I had long heard so many conflicting opinions about the Bible—­some saying it taught woman’s emancipation and some her subjection—­that, during this visit of my children, the thought came to me that it Would be well to collect every biblical reference to women in one small compact volume, and see on which side the balance of influence really was.  To this end I proposed to organize a committee of competent women, with some Latin, Greek, and Hebrew scholars in England and the United States, for a thorough revision of the Old and New Testaments, and to ascertain what the status of woman really was under the Jewish and Christian religion.  As the Church has thus far interpreted the Bible as teaching woman’s subjection, and none of the revisions by learned ecclesiastics have thrown any new light on the question, it seemed to me pre-eminently proper and timely for women themselves to review the book.  As they are now studying theology in many institutions of learning, asking to be ordained as preachers, elders, deacons, and to be admitted, as delegates, to Synods and General Assemblies, and are refused on Bible grounds, it seemed to me high time for women to consider those scriptural arguments and authorities.

A happy coincidence enabled me at last to begin this work.  While my daughter, Mrs. Stanton Blatch, was with me, our friend Miss Frances Lord, on our earnest invitation, came to America to visit us.  She landed in New York the 4th of August, 1886.  As it was Sunday she could not telegraph, hence there was no one to meet her, and, as we all sat chatting on the front piazza, suddenly, to our surprise and delight, she drove up.  After a few days’ rest and general talk of passing events, I laid the subject so near my heart before her and my daughter.  They responded promptly and heartily, and we immediately set to work.  I wrote to every woman who I thought might join such a committee, and Miss Lord ran through the Bible in a few days, marking each chapter that in any way referred to women.  We found that the work would not be so great as we imagined, as all the facts and teachings in regard to women occupied less than one-tenth of the whole Scriptures.  We purchased some cheap Bibles, cut out the texts, pasted them at the head of the page, and, underneath, wrote our commentaries as clearly and concisely as possible.  We did not intend to have sermons or essays, but brief comments, to keep “The Woman’s Bible” as small as possible.

Miss Lord and I worked several weeks together, and Mrs. Blatch and I, during the winter of 1887, wrote all our commentaries on the Pentateuch.  But we could not succeed in forming the committee, nor, after writing innumerable letters, make the women understand what we wanted to do.  I still have the commentaries of the few who responded, and the letters of those who declined—­a most varied and amusing bundle of manuscripts in themselves.  Some said the Bible had no special authority with them; that, like the