The Price of a Bible and a Grumpy Husband
A Preston man’s fiery reaction to his wife lending their only Bible captures the domestic tensions and religious rigidity of territorial life.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A Preston man was very angry on going home the other day to find that his wife had lent the only Bible in the house. He said it was a disgrace that in this period of Christian enlightenment a family should have only one copy of the Bible. It seems he wanted to settle a debate as to whether it was he or Cephas who said 'Consistency, thou art a jewel.'
“He said it was a disgrace that in this period of Christian enlightenment a family should have only one copy of the Bible.”
This brief snippet of domestic friction reveals how scarce reading materials and religious texts were in isolated pioneer outposts. It mirrors modern debates over information access and the 'echo chamber' effect, though in this case, the husband was simply desperate to win a petty argument by citing the Good Book.
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