Eben Craig , who was the Putney singing master and felt himself responsible for the choir , fidgeted uneasily . He tried to catch Frances 's eye , but she was absorbed in reading the mission report she had found in the rack , and Eben was finally forced to tiptoe down to the Spenslow pew and whisper , `` Miss Spenslow , the minister is waiting for the doxology . Are n't you going to take the organ ? '' Frances looked up calmly . Her clear , placid voice was audible not only to those in the nearby pews , but to the minister . `` No , Mr. Craig . You know if a woman is n't fit to speak in the church she ca n't be fit to sing in it either . '' Eben Craig looked exceedingly foolish . He tiptoed gingerly back to his place . The minister , with an unusual flush on his thin , ascetic face , rose suddenly and gave out the opening hymn . Nobody who heard the singing in Putney church that day ever forgot it . Untrained basses and tenors , unrelieved by a single female voice , are not inspiring . There were no announcements of society meetings for the forthcoming week . On the way home from church that day irate husbands and fathers scolded , argued , or pleaded , according to their several dispositions . One and all met with the same calm statement that if a noble , self-sacrificing woman like Mrs. Cotterell were not good enough to speak in the Putney church , ordinary , everyday women could not be fit to take any part whatever in its work . Sunday School that afternoon was a harrowing failure . Out of all the corps of teachers only one was a man , and he alone was at his post . In the Christian Endeavour meeting on Tuesday night the feminine element sat dumb and unresponsive . The Putney women never did things by halves . The men held out for two weeks .
At the end of that time they `` happened '' to meet at the manse and talked the matter over with the harassed XXXXX .
Mr. Nobody basses eye face flush men minister organ woman