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Mr. Dole allowed his pupils to be regarded as mutual teachers, so that all were allowed to ask questions and offer suggestions. Availing myself of this license, others were encouraged to follow my example, so that our class soon became the place of animating discussions, and as our tolerant teacher allowed both sides of a question to be discussed I found it became to me a great source of pleasure and profit. Indeed, I never can recollect a time when my mind grew into a knowledge of religious truths faster, than under the influence of these free and animated discussions.

The effect of these debates was felt throughout the whole community, so that our class of seven soon increased to forty-six, including the most influential members of the community.

About this time a latent suspicion seemed to be aroused, lest the church creed be endangered by this license of free inquiry and fair discussion; and a meeting of some of the leading church members was called, wherein this Bible-class was represented as being a dangerous influence, involving the exposure of the creed to the charge of fallibility.

To prevent this, it was agreed that the tolerant Deacon Dole must be exchanged for the intolerant Deacon Smith in order that free discussion might be effectually put down. And Deacon Smith suggested, that the way to put down free discussion was, to put down Mrs. Packard!

This he engaged to do, in case they would install him as teacher. This being done, the battle commenced, and I found our license had expired with our kind teacher's resignation. Ignorant as I was of this conspiracy against the right of private opinions, I continued to use this God-given right, as my judgment and conscience dictated, until I found, by open opposition, that it was the express object of the change, to abolish all expression of any views which did not harmonize with the Presbyterian Church creed. I knew and felt that it was their determination to fetter me, and bring me into unquestioning acknowledgment of their doctrines, as the sum total of all important truths.

Of course I could not do this, and be honest to myself; but from this point, I had the precaution to put into a written form, every idea I uttered in conflict with what Deacon Smith thought orthodox views, so as to avoid being misrepresented; and I almost uniformly read these papers to Mr. Packard, before presenting them to the class, and secured from him his consent to my reading them.

This digested form of presenting my ideas, tended to increase rather than diminish the interest in favor of my new views, so that finally after Mr. Packard had given his consent to my reading my articles, Mr. Smith would refuse to have them read.

Up to this point, Mr. Packard acted the man, and the Christian, in his treatment of me. But now came the fatal crisis when evil influences overcame him!

One afternoon Deacon Smith visited him in his study, and held a secret interview with him of two hours length, when he left him a different man. That evening just before retiring to rest, he remarked in a very pleasant tone:

"Wife, I want to talk with you a little while, come here!"

I went into his extended arms, and sat upon his lap, and encircled his neck with my arm, when he remarked in a very mild tone of voice:

"Now, wife, hadn't you better give up these Bible-class discussions? Deacon Smith thinks you had better, and so do some others, and I think you had better too."

"Husband, I should be very glad to get rid of the responsibility if I can do so honorably, but I do not like to yield a natural right to the dictation of bigotry and intolerance, as Deacon Smith demands; but I am willing to say to the class that as Deacon Smith, and Mr. Packard, and others, have expressed a wish that I withdraw my discussions from the class, I do so, at their request, not from any desire to shrink from investigation on my part, but for the sake of peace, as they view it."

"No, wife, that won't do -- you must resign yourself."

"Won't that be resigning, and that too on a truthful basis?"

"No, you must tell them it is your choice to give them up."

"But, dear, it is not my choice!"

"But you can make it so, under the circumstances."

"Yes, I can make it so, by stating the truth; but I can't by telling a lie."

"Well, you must do it!"

"O husband! how can you yield to such an evil influence? Only think! Here you have pledged before God and man that you will be my protector, until death part us, and now you are tempted to become my persecutor! Do be a man, and go to the class, in defiance of Deacon Smith, and say to the class:

"My wife has just as good a right to her opinions as you have to yours, and I shall protect her in that right. You need not believe her opinions unless you choose; but she has a right to defend her honest opinions as well as yourselves. I shall not suffer her to be molested in this right.

"Then you will be a man -- a protector of your wife and you will deserve honor, and you will have it. But if you become my persecutor and go against me, as Deacon Smith desires, you will deserve dishonor, and you will surely get it. Don't fall into this fatal snare, which the evil one has surely laid for you."