tibraxy of Ithe Cheolojfcal ^eroinarp 
 
 PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 Rufus H. LeFevre 
 
 BXT87S 
 .8.HSD7 
 
Bishop James W. Hott. 
 
THE LIFE AND CAREER 
 
 JAMES WILLIAM HOTUJULD. 
 
 Late Bishop of the 
 United Brethren in Christ 
 
 MARION R. DRURY, D.D. 
 
 With an Introduction by 
 
 LEWIS BOOKWALTER, D.D. 
 
 President Western College 
 
 Dayton, Ohio 
 
 United Brethren Publishing House 
 
 1902 
 
Copyright, 1902 
 
 By the 
 
 United Brethren Publishing House 
 
Tn that ©hrisiiau Horn* 
 
 To TOftoss spietg and Faithfulness 
 
 games lUilliatn #ott 
 
 ©weed S0 txwch for Iris Strong Ljf s gquipmeut 
 
 This Tribute to bis TOemorg 
 
 is S*oirat«ri 
 
 "^flith Sincerest Affection 
 
 Sp-His Frwnri 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2009 with funding from 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/lifecareerofjaOOdrur 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The writing of this book has been a labor of love 
 and gratitude. It was undertaken at the request of 
 Bishop Hott's family and near friends, and it has been 
 carried to completion as early as was consistent with 
 the painstaking necessary to accuracy and thorough- 
 ness. The labor involved, with the extensive corre- 
 spondence required, will be appreciated by all literary 
 workers, especially in view of the fact that the author 
 is the busy pastor of a large parish. 
 
 The work was greatly hastened and lightened by the 
 cordial cooperation of the bishop's brothers, J. E. and 
 G. P. Hott, and by his son-in-law, J. G. Huber, who 
 placed valuable materials at my disposal. A visit to 
 the home of his aged mother in Virginia, and conver- 
 sations with her, were of great value in bringing me 
 into sympathetic touch with the whole life, early and 
 later, which I was to sketch. The time spent amid the 
 scenes of Mr. Hott's childhood days and early ministry 
 was an inspiration to me, besides furnishing many im- 
 portant facts and incidents. 
 
 To each and all who have kindly given me aid in 
 any way, I would herein extend my most sincere 
 thanks. 
 
 That the reader may the better appreciate my connec- 
 tion and labors with this biography, some items some- 
 what personal may be permitted. My first personal 
 knowledge of James W. Hott was in the autumn of 
 1873, soon after his removal to Dayton, Ohio, and his 
 entrance upon his work for the Missionary Society. I 
 
vi Preface 
 
 was a student in the theological Seminary, and he was a 
 well-matured preacher and leader in church work, and 
 then but twenty-nine years of age. During the following- 
 year, while I was a student-pastor, he preached for me 
 at different times and gave practical encouragement to 
 my work. My most intimate acquaintance with him, 
 however, began at the General Conference, at Lisbon, 
 Iowa, in May, 1881. He was then the editor of the 
 Religious Telescope, and I was the pastor of the First 
 United Brethren Church in Cedar Rapids, and the au- 
 thorized reporter of the conference for a daily paper in 
 that city. For some reason the bishop soon became 
 much interested in the daily morning reports of the 
 conference work. Our duties brought us much to- 
 gether. 
 
 As the conference was drawing to a close, the bishop 
 one day asked me whether I would take the assistant 
 editorship of the Telescope if it should be tendered 
 me. (It was at this conference the editor was given 
 authority to choose his assistant.) I said: "No; I 
 cannot consider it. I am engaged in important church 
 work at Cedar Rapids, and I cannot leave." Nothing 
 further was said about the matter, and I returned to 
 my work and was happy in it. About a month after 
 the adjournment of the conference I received a tele- 
 gram informing me of my appointment to the office 
 mentioned. Being a practical printer, and having had 
 considerable experience in writing for the press, and 
 in harmony with the advice of trusted friends, I de- 
 cided to accept the proffer made me. I therefore soon 
 closed my pastoral labors, and within a few weeks be- 
 gan my work with the editor of the Telescope, a rela- 
 tion in which I spent eight happy years. At the Gen- 
 eral Conference at Fostoria, Ohio, in 1885, we were 
 both present to report the proceedings, occupying posi- 
 tions facing each other at the same table. When the 
 announcement was made that J. W. Hott was reelected 
 
Preface vii 
 
 editor of the Telescope, he immediately whispered 
 across the table, "You are elected, too." 
 
 These were years of congenial fellowship and pleas- 
 ant colabor, in a work in which we found mutual de- 
 light, and resulting in a friendship, making this book, 
 a memorial of love, not only a possibility, but now a joy 
 realized. 
 
 It has been thought best by the publisher not to have 
 too large a book, and so I have been compelled to con- 
 dense and compress, and also to omit many things 
 which might otherwise have been recorded and have 
 had interest. But what is put into this life-story is 
 sufficiently full to give a clear and fair portraiture of 
 the life of this noble, useful, and beloved man. 
 
 That the distinguishing qualities of Bishop James 
 W. Hott, faith, love, and heart-devotion to Christ and 
 to his work, may be emulated and shared by all who 
 peruse these pages is the supreme wish of his friend, 
 the author, Marion E. Drury. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Preface, ------- ▼ 
 
 Introduction, - - - - - xr 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Ancestry, Birth, and Early Life. 
 
 Antecedent Influences— The Hotts in America— Marriage of 
 Parents of J. W. Hott— Tneir Character— Their First-born 
 Son— The Father, Ministry and Death— The Mother, Char- 
 acter and Influence— Home Influences— James William 
 Hott's Boyhood— Beginnings in Sunday School —Industry 
 and Courage— The Hott Home. - - - 21 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Early Education, Conversion, and Call to Ministry. 
 
 Family Inheritance— Home School— "Subscription " School 
 —A Teacher's Estimate— Debating Society— University of 
 Life— Conversion— New Aims— Prayers Answered Call 
 to the Ministry— First Sermon— Preparatory Education — 
 Higher Education. - - - - - 33 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Early Ministry, Marriage, and Home. 
 
 Beginning Ministry— Appointed Junior Preacher on Win- 
 chester Circuit — Civil War Experiences — Success — Or- 
 dained — New Suit of Clothes Given Him — Marriage — 
 Pastorate at Martinsburg— Conference at Rohrersville, 
 Md.— Edenburg Pastorate— Church villePastorate— Elected 
 Delegate to the General Conference— Boonsboro Pastorate 
 —Again Elected Delegate to General Conference— Grow- 
 ing Popularity— Salaries— Happy Home— Children. - 45 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Called to a New Work. 
 
 Good Record in Ministry— In the General Conference— Vigor 
 of Early Manhood— Secret Society Question— Elected Mis- 
 sionary Treasurer— Removal to Dayton— First Death in 
 Family— Arduous Work— Centenary of the Church— Re- 
 cognized Leadership — Happy Relations with General 
 Church Officers. - - - - - - 57 
 
X Contents 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Editorial Career. 
 
 Westfleld General Conference— Delegate from Virginia Again 
 —Elected Editor of the Religious Telescope— VJ hy Chosen 
 to this Office— W. O. Tobey Assistant Editor— New Edi- 
 torial Policy— Qualifications for Religious Editor— Editor- 
 ial Greeting — Hardwork and Breakdown in Health — 
 General Conference of 1881 — Reelected Editor — Given 
 Power to Choose His Assistant— Delegate to Ecumenical 
 Conference — Death of His Father— Telescope' 1 s Fiftieth An- 
 niversary—Received the Degree of Doctor of Divinity- 
 General Conference of 1885— Church Commission— Dr. Hott 
 a Member— Editorial Policy— Versatile Writer— Courtesy 
 to Opponents — Courage and Faithfulness— Qualities as an 
 Editor. - - - - - - - 64 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Editorial Table-Talk. 
 
 Extracts from Editorials— Choice Brief Utterances. - - 78 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Traveler, Lecturer, Author. 
 
 Delegate to London Conference—" Behind the Editor's Back " 
 —Atlantic Voyage— Tour through Ireland and Scotland 
 —Experiences and Privileges in London— Travel Contin- 
 ued -In Paris, Florence, Rome, Athens, Constantinople- 
 Tour of Syria and Palestine on Horseback— In Egypt- 
 Preaching in Cairo— Homeward Journey— Appreciation 
 of Native Land— Value of Foreign Travel— Lectures— Pop- 
 ular Elements— Author of Books— Other Writings— Dis- 
 tinctive Qualities as Writer. - - - - 89 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Bishop and Church Leader. 
 
 York General Conference— Work of Church Commission Ap- 
 proved — Division in Church— Progressive Legislation — 
 .1. W. Hott Elected Bishop— Farewell to the Telescope— 
 Dr. Berger's Estimate of Fitness for Bishop's Office— Paci- 
 fic Coast District— Holding Conferences— Opposition of 
 Radicals— Removal of Family to Woodbridge, California- 
 Litigation in Oregon— California Conference— Travel and 
 Work — Death of a Brother — California State Sunday- 
 School Convention— Spokane Church Dedication— Mis- 
 sion Located at Los Angeles— Prosperity of Coast Work 
 W. J. Shuey's Visit to Coast— Marriage of Bishop Hott's 
 Daughters— Dayton General Conference— Bishop's Ad- 
 dress— Reelected Bishop— New District— Great Activity- 
 Johnstown Council— School of Divinitv Conducted— Visit 
 to Africa and Germany— Fort Wayne Meeting of Board of 
 Missions — Busy Summer— Winter in California — Los 
 Angeles Church Dedicated— Received Degree of Doctor of 
 Laws— Biennial Young People's Convention — At Interna- 
 tional Christian Endeavor Convention— New Tour of Con- 
 ferences— Toledo General Conference— Reelected Bishop- 
 Stationed on Ohio District— Bible Conference— Death of 
 Mrs. Hott— The Bishop's Sorrow— Comfort in Work. - 100 
 
Contents xi 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Last General Conference, Sickness, and Death. 
 
 Centennial General Conference-Historic Places— Centennial 
 Address— New Legislation— Elected Bishop for Fourth 
 Time— Taken Sick— Second Marriage— Protracted Illness 
 —Vital Energies Exhausted— A Patient Sufferer— Death- 
 Funeral— Burial in Woodland Cemetery— Expressions of 
 Grief. - - - - - . - 131 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Letters. 
 
 ^ ishop Hott as a Letter-Writer— Poor Penmanship— Letters 
 
 to His Mother— Letters to M. R. Drury. - - - 140 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Preaching and Sermons. 
 
 Bishop Hott a Preacher— Results of Pastoral Labors— Charac- 
 teristics as a Preacher— Ideals of Preaching— Sermons on 
 SpecialOccasions— Outlinesof Sermons— Popular Preacher 
 —Sermon Preparation, Power of Analysis— "The New 
 Commandment" — Conference Sermons — Last Sermon. 150 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Domestic and Social Life. 
 
 Love of Home and Family— Beautiful Home— Home Ideals- 
 Family Worship— Hospitality— Always a Gentleman- 
 Habit of Conversation with Strangers — Friends and 
 Friendship — Sunny Side — Sense of Humor — Story of 
 Young Preacher— Social Light. - - - - 181 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 An Appreciation. 
 
 Man Above the Common Herd— Baby Named for Mr. Hott— 
 Testimonials of Early Friends— Bishop Dickson's Esti- 
 mate—From Y. M. C. A. Secretary— Former Pastor's Trib- 
 ute—Tender Expressions of W. J. Shuey— Appreciative 
 Words of Bishops Kephart and Mills— Other Personal 
 Words — Virginia Conference Action — Expressions of 
 Church Boards— Tributes of Religious and Secular Press 
 —Dr. Beardshear's Appreciation— Best Monument. - 189 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 Bishop Hott's Place as a Church Leader — Broadminded 
 Churchman — Unspairing Worker— Broadly Educated- 
 Dominated by Religion— Extracts From Diary— Loved 
 the House of God and His Church— Life a Legacy to 
 Friends— Summary. ... - 202 
 
 Index. - - - - - • - 213 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Bishop Jambs W. Hott, Frontispiece 
 
 Boyhood Home of Jamks W. Hott, 25 
 
 Stone Church in Which Bishop Hott Was Converted, 38 
 
 Pleasant Valley Church, the Home Church of 
 
 Bishop Hott, - - - - -43 
 
 Jakes W. Hott at the Age of Twenty, - 47 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hott soon after Their Marriage, - 49 
 
 Mr. Hott when Missionary Treasurer, - 59 
 
 Bishop and Mrs. Hott in California in 1890, - 107 
 
 Aged Parents of Bishop Hott, ... - 142 
 
 Bishop Hott's Williams-Street Home, Dayton, Ohio, 183 
 
 Bishop Hott, Mother, Daughter, and Granddaughter, 190 
 
 xiil 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Biography possesses an interest peculiarly its own. 
 A well-written sketch of a noble life has a value and a 
 charm second to no other species of writing. Biog- 
 raphy is but another name for what we call history, 
 and it has been well said that "history is the essence 
 of innumerable biographies." Great characters are the 
 embodiment, the personification of the best thought and 
 life of their times. Such men become, in turn, the 
 rnolders of advancing thought, and finally the inspir- 
 ing subjects for brush and chisel and pen. Says Car- 
 lyle, "There is no heroic poem in the world but is at 
 bottom a biography, the life of a man." 
 
 To perpetuate the memory of those who have lived 
 illustrious lives is to render to the world a service of 
 inestimable value. Even the preserving of their features 
 on canvas or in marble is well worthy the effort of the 
 master artists, the products of whose genius have 
 adorned the galleries and gardens of the civilized world. 
 But it is the part of the biographer, and his great privi- 
 lege, not only to hand down the name and memory of 
 the good and great, but to portray and preserve their 
 very life itself, the essence and secret of their good- 
 ness and greatness. The hero of the biographer does 
 not stand before us a piece of statuary, but breathes, 
 and walks, and acts, a living man. 
 
 Bishop James William Hott, whose biography is 
 given in this volume by his friend. Dr. M. R. Drury, 
 was a man of rare gifts and intensely active life. His 
 career, so suddenly closed, and, as it seems to us, at 
 
xvi Introduction 
 
 the very height of his usefulness, was one of marked 
 character. There was a vigor and freshness, an energy 
 and boldness, in his life, and a steady progress and 
 achieving, which attracted early and admiring atten- 
 tion and made him a recognized and inspiring leader. 
 He is a splendid subject for a rarely interesting life- 
 narrative, and the biographer has come fully up to his 
 inviting task. 
 
 Bishop Hott was a man of versatility and wide range 
 of knowledge. Although he had not the advantages of 
 the schools of higher learning, yet he was such a tire- 
 less student and keen observer that he became, in a 
 true sense, an educated, scholarly man. He was a vig- 
 orous writer, whether preparing an editorial, a maga- 
 zine article, or a book. As a preacher and lecturer he 
 was original, clear, and forcible, and often eloquent. 
 He was a ready man in an unusually wide field. 
 
 Bishop Hott, with his clear ideas and strong nature, 
 could not but be a man given to having his own opin- 
 ions and expressing them. While always according to 
 others the right to their views, he demanded the right 
 to adhere to his own. It was his originality and his 
 positive, though kind, advocacy of his opinions which 
 made him the valuable man in counsel and in action 
 that he was, and gave him the high place he held in the 
 general esteem. In the final analysis of character, we 
 place our highest estimate, not upon the negative, but 
 the positive virtues. As says Holmes, "We don't care 
 most for those flat-pattern flowers that press best in the 
 herbarium." 
 
 Mr. Hott's biographer has necessarily given the pic- 
 ture, not of a sweet-spirited, gentle man only, but the 
 picture of a character in which with the milder vir- 
 tues are united those vigorous, positive traits which are 
 always found in leaders. 
 
 Bishop Hott was progressive but not radical. He 
 was tenacious for the valuable in the old, but was ever 
 
Introduction xvii 
 
 ready and eager for any new helpful methods of inter- 
 preting and applying truth. In the recent past the 
 changes made or attempted in almost all fields of 
 thought have been so rapid and radical that many men 
 have either fallen behind and gotten out of joint with 
 the times, or have been swept off their feet. Bishop 
 Hott was possessed of that mental acuteness and that 
 intellectual grasp which combined to make him both 
 ready and rational in handling the great questions of 
 the hour. 
 
 His career covers a period in our Church when its 
 life was unfolding and strength developing the most 
 rapidly, a period of our history the most marked by 
 progressive thought and measures. He was in the 
 forefront of every forward movement. He was a val- 
 uable man during times when broadening views and a 
 larger future required an intelligent, judicious, and 
 forcible presentation before the Church. His biog- 
 raphy, hence, is also a history of this intensely inter- 
 esting period of the Church's life, and so possesses 
 special interest and value. 
 
 If it were asked of the writer that he name that 
 special gift or trait of Bishop Hott's which -made him 
 the strong, marked man he was, the reply would be that, 
 in his judgment, his strength of character did not lie 
 in the possession of any one gift in a remarkable de- 
 gree, but rather in having a remarkably well-rounded 
 general endowment; and in that these well-propor- 
 tioned capacities were all developed together with un- 
 usual judgment, care, and persistence. Bishop Hott, 
 hence, was one of the readiest and ablest all-round men 
 one would meet. Many men were stronger in some few 
 fields, but few men so strong in so many fields of 
 thought and effort; and, always, in every field, there 
 was that accompanying vigor, directness, and prac- 
 ticality which in such a marked way was characteris- 
 tic of the man. Hence it was that he was always— a 
 
 2 
 
xviii Introduction 
 
 strong statement, but true — he was always equal to the 
 occasion. Also, in his performance of regular duties 
 there was a delightful originality and freshness; he 
 seemed never to drop into mere treadmill routine. 
 
 Bishop Hott had a great heart ; he was whole-souled, 
 philanthropic, full of the juice of humanity, one who 
 rejoiced with those who rejoiced and wept with those 
 who wept. His heart-power was a prominent, all- 
 pervasive element of his strength. He was "fervent 
 in spirit." Along with the deliberate convictions of his 
 mind went the warm impulses of his heart. With him, 
 to believe in a cause was to throw his whole soul into 
 it; to esteem a man was to be his friend; to believe in 
 the Christ was to love him. What has been named 
 "energy" in his nature would perhaps be better called 
 "ardor," "devotedness." 
 
 There was, after all, one supreme element in Bishop 
 Hott's character, one determining force at the center 
 of his life — his lofty devotion to Christ and the pro- 
 motion of his kingdom in the earth. From his entrance 
 upon his life-work in early youth, through all the years, 
 in every field to which the Church called him, his de- 
 votement of himself was complete. He gave himself 
 to his sacred work in every energy of soul and body, 
 without stint, and often, as it would seem, beyond his 
 strength. He stands forth as an illustrious example 
 of the best type of self-sacrificing service. We con- 
 template his noble life only with admiration ; we be- 
 come inspired with like high ambitions. It is this 
 heroic, tireless devotion which so signally characterized 
 the living man that gives to this faithful, true sketch 
 of his life its vigor and sustained interest. 
 
 The biographer, Dr. Drury, having been so long and 
 intimately associated with Dr. Hott in the editorial 
 work of the Religious Telescope, is especially qualified 
 to give to the Church and world the true story of his 
 life. No time or labor has been spared in gathering 
 
Introduction xix 
 
 material touching all periods of Mr. Hott's career, from 
 original sources. The general plan of the book is well 
 devised, its outline in chapters is especially skillful, 
 and the whole is wrought out, down to well-chosen 
 particulars, with admirable tact and taste. 
 
 Our Church literature is becoming rich in biography. 
 The older leaders have been passing away, and volume 
 is following volume of the record of their noble lives. 
 There are no books we prize more highly than these. 
 
 Another leader has left us, and now, to the cherished 
 list of biographies is added this one, the authorized 
 and full memoir of our so recently lamented Bishop 
 Hott. The merit of the man and the merit of the book 
 will make this a widely-read volume. 
 
 L. BOOKWALTER. 
 
 Toledo, Iowa, September 13, 1902. 
 
THE LIFE AND CAREER OF 
 JAMES WILLIAM HOTT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Ancestry, Birth, and Early Life. 
 
 To be well born is a heritage of inestimable worth. 
 Parentage, however, is not everything in determining 
 character or in shaping destiny. There are other fac- 
 tors which must be taken into the account when the 
 sum total of life is made up. These include that mys- 
 terious power known as environment, education, and 
 religion; for it must be admitted that, however noble 
 may be the blood of one's ancestry, he is not thereby 
 guaranteed nobility in character and life. There must 
 enter into any human excellence the elements of choice 
 and high purpose, for without these even the best in- 
 herited family traits and favoring external influences 
 will be unavailing. 
 
 Still, it must be accepted as true, that, primarily, 
 the preponderating characteristics of a life, moral and 
 intellectual, as well as physical, are inherited. Hence 
 it is that in the study of a man's character, and in 
 making an estimate of his strength and worth, it is 
 necessary to know something of antecedent bloods and 
 tendencies. This knowledge will serve as a key to the 
 life, or as the stream leading to its distant and vital 
 sources. 
 
 Next to this study, early home influences must 
 be considered. In what atmosphere did the young 
 
 21 
 
22 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 human plant grow ? What of the influence of parental 
 character and government ? Here will be found forces 
 which have had a lasting effect on the after life that 
 well deserve earnest contemplation. This is all the 
 more true when the early training produces such per- 
 manent impressions as those so clearly manifest in the 
 character and career of James William Hott. 
 
 The history of the Hotts in America embraces a 
 period of nearly two hundred years. Though the head 
 of the family came from Germany, his ancestors were 
 originally from France, whence they were driven be- 
 cause of their Protestant faith, finding a refuge and 
 a home on German soil. From there they came to this 
 country many years before the Revolutionary War, 
 one branch of the family becoming the owners of large 
 tracts of land in the early settlement of the Shenan- 
 doah Valley, in Virginia. 
 
 They were a patriotic and liberty-loving people. At 
 least one member of the family, George Hott, was a 
 soldier in the war for American independence, and his 
 musket, a relic of historic interest, is still preserved. 
 
 The father of the subject of this biography was 
 Jacob F. Hott. On the 17th of August, 1843, he was 
 married to Jane Streit, a noble young woman reared in 
 his own neighborhood. She was a year younger than 
 himself and was of Scotch-German ancestry. This 
 union of sturdy and unlike types, mental and other- 
 wise, proved a most happy one. Their very dissimilari- 
 ties made each the fitting complement of the other. 
 The limitations in one were well balanced by the 
 other's stronger qualities. Both were unselfish to a 
 notable degree, losing sight of every personal desire 
 and purpose in the sublime and holy end of their united 
 lives. This must be regarded as the secret of their 
 happy home, for their home was one of uniform and 
 joyous content, a condition not possible where selfish- 
 ness reigns in either the wife or the husband. Unsel- 
 
Ancestry, Birth, and Early Life 23 
 
 fish love alone can make marriage a blessing and home 
 a refuge of peace and delight. Such affection prompts 
 the sweetest courtesies and inspires the most perfect 
 and unwavering devotion. 
 
 In the light of the best human experience, and of 
 that home now under review, the following lines have a 
 profound meaning : 
 
 "For marriage, good friend, is a problem 
 Resolved by this golden key- 
 If each one will live for the other, 
 Your home like a heaven will be." 
 
 For this home, begun and maintained in mutual love 
 and confidence, a good foundation was laid years be- 
 fore. Both the husband and wife were converted at 
 an early age. Long before their marriage their lives 
 were consecrated to unselfish living, and at once they 
 identified themselves with the people of God, becoming 
 members of the Church of the United Brethren in 
 Christ. 
 
 Jacob F. Hott was reared under Lutheran influences, 
 being carefully instructed in the catechism of that de- 
 nomination. His conversion took place at the age of 
 fourteen, under the labors of a young minister of the 
 United Brethren Church. This event won his heart 
 and life for loyal service in the Church through whose 
 agency he had thus been led to take upon himself the 
 vows of Christian living. He always remained de- 
 votedly attached to the Church of his early choice. He 
 and Jacob Markwood, the brilliant and eloquent bishop 
 in later years, became members of the Church at the 
 same time. 
 
 After their marriage, Jacob and Jane Hott settled 
 on a farm eight miles north of Winchester, Frederick 
 County, Virginia, which had belonged to the Hott fam- 
 ily since 1740, the deed of that date bearing the seal 
 of King George. This is in the far-famed Shenandoah 
 Valley, a valley as remarkable for the noble men and 
 
24 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 women it has produced as for its picturesque land- 
 scapes and the fruitfulness of its gardens and fields. 
 Indeed, in the estimates of highest values, it is more 
 distinguished for its homoculture than for its agri- 
 culture. No greater tribute can be paid to any country 
 than that it produces men — pure, broad-minded, stal- 
 wart men — men whose greatness is measured by their 
 usefulness to their fellows. 
 
 It was in this beautiful historic valley, at the quiet 
 retreat of a typical rural home, that James William 
 Hott was born, November 15, 1844. He was the first 
 child to make his advent into that new home, where a 
 consecrated shrine had already been established, and 
 where God was reverently and habitually worshiped. 
 It was here, within sacred portals, that a new life was 
 planted and a new career begun. It was here that 
 this life early grew downward, its roots taking a deep 
 hold on truth and piety, and upward, into the beauty, 
 fragrance, and fruitage of manly character and useful 
 endeavor. 
 
 In the early years of this child, his father, through 
 his activity and helpful services in prayer and revival 
 meetings, was led into the gospel ministry. His health, 
 however, not being vigorous, his work in this capacity 
 was chiefly as a local, or speaking more accurately, as 
 a lay preacher. Though bearing a preacher's license 
 from the quarterly conference for many years, he was 
 not received into Virginia Conference till 1859. He 
 then completed the course of ministerial study, as re- 
 quired by the Church, and was ordained. His labors 
 as a minister, however, continued as before, being con- 
 fined to preaching in destitute localities where open- 
 ings for evangelistic work presented themselves, and 
 in assisting presiding elders and pastors in revival and 
 other meetings. He was, in fact, throughout a period 
 of more than forty years, a missionary preacher. 
 
 It was on a beautiful Sunday, August 31, 1884, after 
 
Ancestry, Birth, and Early Life 25 
 
 having taught his class in Sunday school and having 
 participated in the public services in the old Pleasant 
 Valley Church, the meeting-house near by, where the 
 family worshiped for many years, the Kev. Jacob F. 
 Hott suddenly came to the end of his earth-life, at the 
 age of nearly sixty-three years. This humble and 
 faithful man, useful and honored and beloved, died as 
 he lived, surrounded by his kindred, with abounding 
 devotion to Christ and the Church. His last words 
 were, "Oh, how light!" and the promise of old, "At 
 evening time it shall be light," had a strange, though 
 significant fulfillment. 
 
 The mother of James W. Hott still lives on the old 
 Pleasant Valley farm. In the eighty-first year of her 
 age, with faculties well preserved, the sun of her life 
 having a golden setting outrivaling the coming on of 
 the evening time under far-famed Italian skies. She 
 is not only in a very worthy sense a mother in Israel, 
 but she is still the mother of her children, with all the 
 fondness and devotion of her early motherhood. She 
 still calls her first-born "Jimmie," or "James William," 
 and habitually speaks of him with reverent affection. 
 Though tenderly cherishing the sweet memories of the 
 years gone, she does not live in the past. Her radiant 
 face is steadfastly set to the future, and her spirit is 
 strong with the Christian's courage and hope. 
 
 Throughout her life her intellectual acuteness was 
 not more marked than the constancy of her religious 
 life. She was not only a mother to her children, but 
 she was their teacher and ideal in nobleness of charac- 
 ter and conduct. By both precept and example she 
 permanently impressed herself on their affections and 
 life. She lived for them, not simply to enjoy them, 
 but that she might rear them to nobility and useful- 
 ness. To this end she devoted her best energies, and 
 at the same time was never unmindful of her daily 
 need of heavenly guidance. She was, therefore, a 
 
26 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 woman of prayer. She oft gathered her darling babes 
 in her arms alone and about the family hearth in tear- 
 ful, believing intercession, while her husband was away 
 preaching the word of Christ. 
 
 These were the parents of James William Hott. 
 These were the guardian angels of the tender years of 
 his childhood. These were the home teachers, whose 
 household was ever subject to rules of piety and who 
 conscientiously sought to follow the apostolic injunc- 
 tion to bring up their children in "the nurture and 
 admonition of the Lord." There was never any dis- 
 agreement between them in matters of family govern- 
 ment and discipline. How successful they were in 
 meeting their parental obligations is impressively 
 shown in the lives of their offspring. 
 
 It will serve to enhance the lesson of the quality of 
 parental influence to remember that when their son 
 was a boy there were no free schools in Virginia, and 
 that there was then no juvenile literature worthy the 
 name. He was a lad nearly ten years of age before the 
 Children's Friend, the first child's paper of the United 
 Brethren Church, was founded. That was before the 
 age of children's books, too. What was, therefore, lack- 
 ing then in books and schools and other now prevalent 
 agencies for the development of noble character, made 
 the child dependent for wise training on contact with 
 nature and the refining and molding influence of the 
 home life. That there were advantages in this kind of 
 a school cannot be questioned, but there were likewise 
 very great disadvantages, which we can hardly ap- 
 preciate in these days of superior educational and re- 
 ligious privileges. 
 
 There were many things which had great power in 
 shaping the life of this youth. One was the unre- 
 stricted freedom of his country home. Another was 
 its moral atmosphere. whi<m was as pure and stimulat- 
 ing as was the air of the mountains plainly visible 
 
Ancestry, Birth, and Early Life 27 
 
 from his dooryard. What a place for a bright, earnest, 
 and affectionate boy to grow up, and in which to re- 
 ceive his first lessons in essential virtue! It is not 
 strange that these scenes and influences of his child- 
 hood should have made a lasting impression on his 
 mind, and that in later years he should so often have 
 spoken with deepest gratitude of his father and mother 
 and his early home. 
 
 When James William Hott was a small boy the 
 Sunday school was practically in its infancy, being 
 comparatively a new agency for religious teaching and 
 training. He was a Sunday-school scholar, however, 
 from very tender years. As was the custom in rural 
 districts in those days, the school was confined to the 
 summer months. There were no helps then for either 
 scholars or teachers. The one text-book was the Bible, 
 or, more strictly speaking, the New Testament. The 
 teaching for the most part was simple, and consisted 
 in having the pupils read the Scriptures and commit 
 particular portions to memory. This, however, was a 
 very effective kind of teaching then, as it is to-day, 
 and must ever be. To know the Word of God is itself 
 a practical education. 
 
 This boy was only seven years old when his mother 
 presented him with a small pocket edition of the New 
 Testament. To-day that little book is among her choice 
 keepsakes. Though the daily companion of a growing 
 and studious lad for many years in field and shop and 
 home, showing the marks of rugged usage, it is still 
 well preserved. 
 
 He was but nine years of age when he had for his 
 teacher in the Sunday school, one summer, William 
 Meracle, who is still living at Holla, Missouri. He 
 says he remembers well when Jimmie Hott learned 
 the Ten Commandments. He had offered a prize of a 
 little book to the member of his class who would com- 
 mit the commandments to memory. When the time 
 
28 lAfe and Career of James William Hott 
 
 came for the memory-contest the boy Jimmie was in 
 his place, eager and expectant. His feet did not reach 
 the floor as he sat on the rude church seat, but were 
 kept swinging in mid air, as his eyes sparkled and his 
 heart throbbed with excited interest in the occasion. 
 In due time his turn came to recite. He got down on 
 the floor, stood erect, with his head little higher than 
 the backs of the seats, and repeated the commandments 
 "by heart" with perfect ease, winning the prize, which 
 he kept and cherished throughout his life. 
 
 The extremely sensitive nature of this country lad 
 quickly responded to the free surroundings of his child- 
 hood home. The open fields, skirted by woods of oak, 
 pine, walnut, and other trees, with their wild flowers 
 and the music of birds, were his playground and gym- 
 nasium. The little daily events happening about his 
 home had entrancing interest to him — the visits of 
 kindred and itinerant preachers, the Sunday services 
 in the neighboring meeting-house, companionship with 
 other children, the conversation in the family circle, 
 all these fairly invested his simple rural life with a 
 magical charm and power. 
 
 The whole period of his childhood was one in which 
 simplicity and contentment were happily blended, a 
 period which he always looked back to with a peculiar 
 fondness. He never lost sympathetic touch with the 
 humble conditions of his budding life. 
 
 To the moral character and practical wisdom of his 
 home associations must be attributed, largely, the in- 
 fluences which silently and surely were used to make 
 the future man. Natural scenery and rural life no 
 doubt had their potency, but without the diligent train- 
 ing of godly parents, a country retreat, even free from 
 moral taint, would have been insufficient for the best 
 character-building. And it is worthy of note that most 
 of the great men and women of civilized lands have 
 passed their early years in rural surroundings, in coun- 
 
Ancestry, Birth, and Early Life 29 
 
 try homes, amid scenes of transforming purity and 
 power. 
 
 James Hott was always regarded a good boy, though 
 he had a temper that sometimes well nigh got the mas- 
 tery of him. He was good in a relative sense. Despite 
 his faults, for he had them in youth as well as in after 
 life, he was noble-hearted, industrious, honest, truth- 
 ful, obedient, and trustworthy. He was a genuine boy, 
 loving fun, and being fond of all kinds of boyish sports 
 and games. He was skillful in running and jumping, 
 and was an expert player of "corner ball," a game much 
 indulged in in his school days. Though not possessing 
 a large or strong body, he was nevertheless so vigorous 
 and quick in his movements that he easily became a 
 leader in exercises of an athletic sort. 
 
 His ready wit, keen sense of humor, and abounding 
 good nature, not only won him friends, but made him 
 a delightful and trusted companion. 
 
 These characteristics were notably present with him 
 throughout his life. In his manhood years he could 
 easily be a boy again. (A man is to be pitied who lacks 
 this ability.) They strikingly exhibited themselves in 
 his sympathetic appreciation of the freedom and play- 
 fulness of children and their love of nature and out- 
 door activities, and at times were manifest in his 
 somewhat dramatic habits in pulpit and platform 
 addresses. 
 
 His industry and skill in farm labor, in the use of 
 the ax, and his aptness with tools in making pieces 
 of household furniture, among which is a walnut rock- 
 ing-chair still prized and well preserved, were promi- 
 nent features of his early life. In his youth he was 
 courageous, often to the point of recklessness. He 
 seemed naturally to be without fear. His favorite 
 method of "breaking" wild colts was to go to the field, 
 drive the horses into a corner, and then leap upon the 
 one to be broken, and, without bridle or saddle, ride 
 
30 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 it, despite the most vigorous protests, till perfectly sub- 
 dued. 
 
 Once during his young manhood the locks on the 
 doors of his father's barn were broken and two fine 
 horses were stolen. It was about midnight when the 
 theft occurred. Being awakened by a faithful dog, 
 and finding the horses gone, James quickly ran to a 
 neighbor's, took a fine racer from the stable without 
 leave, and started in pursuit of the thieves. Anticipat- 
 ing the course they would take, he took a shorter but 
 quite precipitous route through the woods. He soon 
 overtook them, and at his call they abandoned their 
 booty and fled. He returned home about two o'clock 
 in the morning with the horses, singing and whistling 
 over his triumph, as he came up the road. 
 
 This quality of courage, that served the boy and the 
 young man so well on many occasions, was likewise of 
 inestimable value in the great battles of manhood's 
 years. In this as well as in other respects there is a 
 clear verification of the saying, "The boy is father to 
 the man." 
 
 The house constituting his childhood home is in a 
 good state of preservation and in use, being occupied 
 by his mother and his sister and her family. It has two 
 parts, a brick, built about eighty years ago, and a log 
 part that is more than one hundred years old. The 
 structure is oblong in shape, and has a roomy porch 
 along the entire south side. It is a spacious two- 
 story house with eight rooms, and has the characteris- 
 tic kitchen fireplace of the olden time. It stands at 
 the edge of a beautiful meadow, with surroundings of 
 trees and farm buildings much as they were fifty and 
 more years ago. Near by is an old building, now used 
 as a shop, which was once the dwelling of Christian 
 Crum, of historic memory, whose hospitality Bishop 
 Newcomer and other pioneer preachers shared. Here 
 they preached, and built the first altars of the United 
 
Ancestry, Birth, and Marly Life 31 
 
 Brethren Church in that section. These facts give to 
 this homestead more than ordinary historic promi- 
 nence and interest. 
 
 The Hott home was always a place where itinerant 
 preachers were heartily welcomed. Many availed them- 
 selves of its hospitable entertainment and fellowship. 
 The impressions of these associations were deep and 
 abiding on the mind and heart of the children, espe- 
 cially of James William, who found great delight in 
 caring for the visitors' horses, and in listening to their 
 conversation in the family, in which ofttimes thrilling 
 incidents and experiences were related. Among the 
 esteemed visitors here were J. J. Glossbrenner and 
 Jacob Markwood, afterwards bishops, John Haney, 
 G. W. Statton, W. K. Coursey, J. Bachtel, C. B. Ham- 
 mack, H. B. Winton, Geo. B. Bimel, and I. Baltzell. 
 That these fathers of the Church in Virginia had a 
 mighty influence on the life and work of this youth is 
 clearly evidenced by his frequent and cordial references 
 to them in after years. 
 
 These, and other ministers of different churches, lit- 
 tle suspected at the time how their lives were studied 
 and copied by the children in that home, especially 
 how the manners, tone of voice, gesture, and move- 
 ments were imitated by the boys. Of course, this was 
 done in due reverence and with profound respect for 
 the noble men themselves. This mingling with so 
 many preachers, so diversified in dress, habits, and 
 other distinguishing traits, led them to the copying 
 of faults and crudities as well as qualities of manly 
 excellence. At one time during a ministerial associa- 
 tion when a number of preachers were staying in their 
 home, it some way became known that the boys were 
 good in mimicry, and they were persuaded to give an 
 exhibition of their aptness in imitating certain 
 preachers, which they did to the great amusement of 
 their ministerial auditors. But it should be stated 
 
32 Life and Career of James William JtLott 
 
 here that the parents never permitted the caricature 
 of even the faults or eccentricities of God's ministers 
 by their children, as they did not the arguing of ques- 
 tions where two evils were compared or against con- 
 scientious convictions. 
 
 Under the influences which have been indicated, 
 James W. Hott, in his boyhood, learned to love his 
 home and the Church of his parents. In the.se two in- 
 stitutions, primarily and essentially, the foundations 
 of his symmetrical life-structure were deeply and 
 firmly laid. The impressions and memories of these 
 f ormative years he always cherished with devout thank- 
 fulness. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Early Education, Conversion, and Call to 
 the Ministry. 
 
 Too much must not be ascribed to the family an- 
 cestry or to the inherited qualities of him whose biog- 
 raphy is herein given. Already reference has been made 
 to his worthy parentage, and some allusion has been 
 made to the characteristics which came to him by in- 
 heritance; but if his success and eminence were to be 
 attributed to these alone, he must be set down as a 
 genius, as having gifts of an extraordinary character, 
 and his career, therefore, would be without practical 
 lessons to people generally. If, then, the study of his 
 life is to be helpful in stimulating youthful ambition 
 and achievement and in giving manly courage and 
 purpose and power in life's best endeavors, he must be 
 presented, as he was indeed, as a man among men. 
 Some men may be born great, but surely not many. 
 The one test of human greatness given by our Lord is 
 usefulness, as shown in ability and disposition to serve 
 others. So, in the present instance it shall be the pur- 
 pose to show that the influences and means leading to 
 his successful life are such as others have and may 
 utilize if they choose to do so. Chief among the forces 
 contributing to human success is not genius, unless it 
 be the genius of a noble soul joined with hard work. 
 But even such a genius as that must find its main- 
 spring and guiding power in early education. 
 
 It is training that makes a career of eminence and 
 value possible. It is study and industry beginning in 
 childhood. This is the divine law, and it is the human 
 8 33 
 
34 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 law as well, for it has its root in the law of human 
 necessity and possibility. It is enforced by direct di- 
 vine precept, as also by numerous illustrious examples 
 from Moses down to the present time. 
 
 So, in looking for the natural causes and influences 
 which may be regarded as primary in the attainments 
 and prominence of James W. Hott, we shall not find 
 them in his excellent family inheritance, or in any- 
 thing peculiar to himself. Rather, we shall find them 
 in his early education, in the wise use he made of his 
 opportunities for study and learning. The real 
 training for his life work was received in the home 
 rather than in the school. His home was the chief 
 school of his boyhood. His first and most diligent 
 teachers were his parents, who cared more for their 
 children's moral and mental culture than they did that 
 they might shine in society, acquire wealth, or attain 
 to worldly fame. The school they kept was one of stand- 
 ard excellence. That it was chiefly a Bible school, 
 with its lessons taught in informal conversations and 
 illustrated in noble thinking and living, detracts noth- 
 ing from its educational power and value. It gave 
 a healthful stimulus to reading and inquiry. But 
 here there were limitations. While the home library 
 contained some valuable books, there were few of a 
 character suited to a boy's mind. And yet it was por- 
 ing over such volumes as were here found, especially 
 at night, by the aid of the dim pine light in the old- 
 fashioned fireplace, that enabled him to lay so well the 
 foundations of knowledge and power of thought that so 
 distinguished him in his mature years. His insatiable 
 mental thirst was the key which unlocked the treasure- 
 houses which yielded to him these rich acquisitions. 
 
 The lessons of that fireplace, with its flickering light, 
 were never forgotten. Through all his public life, the 
 sermons and addresses, editorial and other writings, of 
 James W. Hott, fairly sparkled with the light kindled 
 
Conversion and Call to the Ministry 35 
 
 at that home hearth. But he was not wholly without 
 other school opportunities. His parents gave him the 
 best advantages of this kind that their community af- 
 forded. These were furnished in the "subscription" 
 schools held one "quarter," about sixty days, each win- 
 ter in the neighborhood. The first school of this char- 
 acter that he attended was held in an apartment of the 
 Green Spring "Stone Church," fitted up for school 
 purposes, about a mile from his home. This church is 
 still standing, with the wooden partition separating 
 the schoolroom from the place of worship. It was 
 erected about the year 1811, and is now little more than 
 a silent landmark of past generations. Later, a frame 
 schoolhouse wa3 erected in another part of the com- 
 munity, evidencing the educational spirit of the peo- 
 ple, where a like school was held, supported by those 
 who appreciated and used its advantages. 
 
 The school education of this boy was limited to the 
 opportunities afforded by schools of this primitive type. 
 After he was old enough to be of service on the farm 
 he did not go to school at all except in the winter sea- 
 son for two months, and then only till he was sixteen 
 years of age. His teachers were of the characteristic 
 stern type of the time, and some of them believed in 
 the free use of the rod as an effective aid in promoting 
 moral, mental, and physical discipline. However, there 
 was one lad who never received his instruction in that 
 way. One of his most capable and highly-esteemed 
 teachers, Thomas W. Robinson, who is still living, 
 bears this enthusiastic testimony to him : 
 
 "He never came to class without well-studied les- 
 sons, reciting in no perfunctory manner, but with en- 
 thusiasm and earnestness, and when recess came he 
 was among the first to engage in playing 'corner ball,' 
 a game much indulged in at that time and greatly en- 
 joyed by him. 
 
 "He was full of life, vigorous, hopeful, energetic, 
 
36 Life and Career of James William Ilott 
 
 capable, with great determination, brooking no ordi- 
 nary obstacles. I thought, with health and strength, 
 there was a future for him, and when the eminence 
 was attained I was not surprised. He possessed that 
 sometimes rare commodity called common sense, in an 
 eminent degree, with much sympathy and geniality, 
 making himself greatly loved by all his schoolmates. 
 
 "Though the years have been many and our path- 
 ways widely separated, there are no brighter spots that 
 come up with such distinctness, with such rare pleas- 
 ure, with such a halo of gladness around them, as 
 when memory travels back to over forty years ago and 
 calls up the old 'Mountain' schoolhouse and school, and 
 Jimmie Hott, as we called him, as student, as friend, 
 and at all times an earnest, conscientious seeker after 
 truth and knowledge." 
 
 Mr. Robinson also says that this student of his was 
 a good speller and debater, and that he rarely missed a 
 meeting of the debating and spelling societies. The 
 debating society was the lyceum of the time, in which 
 all sorts of knotty questions were discussed. In these 
 he learned to utilize his knowledge and to think before 
 an audience. One familiar with those days, and the 
 actors in the scenes referred to, says : "From his youth, 
 Jimmie was a master in this field. Not that he could 
 argue a question so well, but he took the judges and 
 the audience by storm, swaying them by sheer force of 
 feeling, and leading them captive at his will, a cer- 
 tain indescribable quality of tone in his voice contrib- 
 uting in no small degree to the accomplishment of his 
 end. With an eloquent appeal to the feelings of the 
 judges he would smash the strongest arguments of his 
 opponents and leave them wondering how it came 
 about. He cared little for the argument, but much for 
 the decision of the judges. And this he seldom failed 
 to get. He was equally skillful in the use of the comic 
 and pathetic, gesture and tone, tears and terror." 
 
Conversion and Call to the Ministry 37 
 
 It was in these schools and in the debating societies 
 that good beginnings were made by the young student 
 and debater, in acquiring studious habits and a genu- 
 ine love for learning. Though the text-books of the 
 time were not ideal, and the curriculum of studies was 
 limited, the schools did effective work. Then, as now, 
 it was not so much what the student got out of the 
 books, but what he got out of himself. 
 
 Though this eager learner made such commendable 
 progress in reading and public speaking, he was always 
 a poor writer. All who are at all acquainted with his 
 penmanship know that. Whether that was the fault 
 of his teachers or due to a lack of painstaking, we are 
 not told, but this we know, that in this field where pro- 
 ficiency is so desirable, he never got beyond the "pot 
 hooks" and "hangers." Once after he became bishop 
 he saw an editorial in the Telescope asking corre- 
 spondents to be more careful with their writing, and, 
 suspecting it might have reference to himself, he wrote: 
 "Say, can't your 'boys' make out my fine copy? or was 
 that editorial meant for some other fellow? Now, 
 really, I never have any trouble reading my 'copy.' 
 You used to be proficient and sufficient. Have your 
 guessing powers declined with the w T eight of years? I 
 hope not. Eeally, I can't take that editorial. Oh, Dr. 
 Kephart wrote it ! Now I see ! Well, well ! How 
 about his 'pot hooks' ?" 
 
 Strictly speaking, the education of this youth, which 
 in after years became so varied and extensive, was in 
 the university of life, in which he diligently studied 
 men and current events as well as books, till in the 
 best sense he became a widely-informed and thoroughly 
 cultured man. He is a notable example of what a 
 young man can make out of himself, where favorable 
 circumstances and a college training are wanting. He 
 well deserves the distinction, if such a distinction is 
 ever deserved, of being self-made. 
 
38 -Life and Career of James William Hotl 
 
 In his education we are reminded of the purpose of 
 John Eliot, the apostle to the American Indians, who 
 gives an indication of how he acquired his education in 
 the following closing words in his famous Indian 
 grammar: "We must not sit still and look for mira- 
 cles. Up and be doing, and the Lord will be with thee. 
 Prayer and pains, through faith in Jesus Christ, will 
 do anything." Mr. Hott, through the greater part of 
 half a century, was a constant illustration of the 
 truth of these emphatic words. 
 
 To have acquired so complete an education, largely 
 through his own endeavors, and in the midst of the 
 exacting demands of official duties in many relations, 
 is one of the marvelous feats of his career. In it is 
 found surpassing encouragement for the poor boy, who, 
 with honest and industrious purpose, desires to make 
 the most possible out of his life. 
 
 We now come to a new and distinct epoch in the life 
 of James W. Hott. It is marked by an event which 
 was no insignificant factor in his preparation for his 
 wide usefulness. This event was his conversion, at the 
 age of thirteen, in the old Stone Church previously re- 
 ferred to. The immediate agent in leading him pub- 
 licly to confess Christ as his Saviour was a pious Meth- 
 odist class-leader by the name of Andrew Hyatt. It 
 was during a time of deep religious awakening in the 
 community. Many were turning to the Lord. Even 
 at this time the young were not overlooked. One even- 
 ing Mr. Hyatt, who was especially active in the good 
 work going on, went to Mrs. Hott and anxiously in- 
 quired, "Where is Jimmie?" "He is here," answered 
 the mother, also deeply solicitous for the spiritual 
 welfare of her son ; whereupon the zealous soul-winner 
 sought him out and led him to the altar, where he was 
 happily converted. 
 
 In after years, when relating his Christian expe- 
 rience, Mr. Hott always referred with affectionate ten- 
 
Conversion and Call to the Ministry 39 
 
 derness to this humble man as being the human in- 
 strument in his salvation. It is a striking instance of 
 the power and far-reaching influence of personal ef- 
 fort in winning souls. 
 
 The preachers in this revival meeting were Isaiah 
 Baltzell and Samuel B. Evers. Mr. Baltzell, then a 
 young man in the ministry, afterwards became widely 
 known in the Church as a writer of music. His songs 
 as well as his preaching have had a rich fruitage. 
 Who can estimate the possibilities of a single soul 
 thus won to Christ and his service ? 
 
 It was in the same church where his conversion oc- 
 curred that this young disciple also attended Sunday 
 school. One of his early teachers relates that, at an 
 experience meeting, about a year after his new life be- 
 gan, he deliberately arose and walked to the altar, and, 
 with deep emotion he pointed to the place of his sur- 
 render to Christ, saying, "Right there God for Christ's 
 sake spoke peace to my soul." The courage and clear- 
 ness with which this testimony was given struck a re- 
 sponsive chord, and there was a spontaneous "shout 
 in the camp." 
 
 In that very suggestive and helpful book, "Sacred 
 Hours with Young Christians," written in the years 
 of ripe Christian experience, Mr. Hott says that, in 
 the supreme moment of his conversion, he was so lost 
 in a sense of his sinfulness, and so drawn out in love 
 to Christ, whom by faith he saw on the cross, that for 
 some time he was utterly unconscious of all earthly 
 things. Then overflowing joy filled his soul. For 
 hours before, deepest darkness had enshrouded his 
 heart. It became so dense that all earthly objects were 
 lost to view. The last things remembered before the 
 light of a new life dawned upon him were the prayers 
 of loved ones to Jesus to take into his forgiving love a 
 struggling soul. Then followed a season alone with 
 Christ, who filled the soul with light and peace. The 
 
40 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 next consciousness of things about was the presence of 
 a loved mother and father and others in rejoicing, 
 singing, 
 
 "Happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away." 
 
 But this new experience meant more than the en- 
 trance on a new life. Though the convert was so 
 young, he saw life as it had not appeared to him be- 
 fore. With this changed vision came a new and definite 
 aim — an aim that gave his life ever after notable unity 
 and strength. 
 
 What was that aim? It was to live like his new 
 Master — to live a life of ministry to needy fellow- 
 men. There could be no higher aim than that, for 
 service is the highest conception and privilege of the 
 Christian life. In accepting Christ's mastery he 
 gained a notable self-mastery. 
 
 This new vision in life began early to manifest 
 itself in reading and study, and in taking up active 
 Christian duties. His initiation into these duties was 
 about the home altar. When his father was away 
 preaching, the mother conducted the family worship. 
 Here the lad Jimmie took his first lessons in the life 
 of godly living, often leading in prayer and in the 
 reading of the Scriptures. Here, too, he heard his 
 parents pray for the spread of Christ's kingdom, and 
 that the Lord would "send forth laborers into his 
 harvest." 
 
 How these prayers were answered may easily be seen 
 when it is known that the eight children growing up 
 in that home (one died in infancy) early became 
 Christians, and five of the six sons were called into 
 the gospel ministry. Eeferring to this fact, and the 
 influence of his home, Mr. Hott wrote in 1884, soon 
 after the death of his father: "There were no deflec- 
 tions from the parental example. Each in turn, eight 
 in all, six brothers and two sisters, gave heart and life 
 
Conversion and Call to the Ministry 41 
 
 to Christ, and walking in the example of godly parents, 
 grew to manhood and womanhood. The father, Jesse- 
 like, stood and saw his children pass in order, and be- 
 hold God chose the eldest son, then the second, then 
 the third, a daughter, placing her beside a minister of 
 Jesus Christ, then the fourth, then the fifth, counting 
 them worthy to be put into the Master's path of toil 
 for souls. The father stood tearfully by as the Master 
 allowed only two to remain in the home, and marked 
 the eighth and last for his crowning jewel, and who 
 also turned his heart and head to the great mission of 
 saving men. This last son only passed a few terms at 
 school when he came home and died. Death took him 
 to show what he could do in a happy home." 
 
 It is not strange that these noble sons should be 
 called to the work of the Christian ministry; for it is 
 in the order of God's plan that his ministers should 
 come from homes whose atmosphere is charged with 
 the pure ozone of an earnest spiritual life. It is amid 
 such holy influences that the deepest and most abiding 
 religious impressions are made and the most loyal and 
 heroic characters are formed and drilled for their life 
 work. 
 
 In October, 1895, Bishop Hott wrote for the Watch- 
 word an account of his first sermon, some extracts 
 from which will serve to throw additional light on his 
 call to the ministry. He says: "As I now recall that 
 first effort to preach, there come strange, sweet, sad 
 memories which I dare not report. It was a cold, 
 stormy night in the late winter or early spring of 
 1861, probably in March, at Mt. Pleasant Church, Win- 
 chester Circuit, Virginia Conference, a neat frame 
 church. The pastors were J. D. Freed and C. T. 
 Stearn, who were present to begin a protracted meet- 
 ing. ... I was only a boy, three or four months 
 past sixteen years of age, and had no license to preach 
 or even to exhort, though I had undertaken to deliver 
 
42 Itife and Jareer of James William Hott 
 
 an exhortation some weeks before in a Methodist 
 church n the same county,' 
 
 He had felt his. call ^o preach from the time of his 
 -"•diversion at thirteen, The first suggestion that he 
 should be licensed 'lowever came from the presiding 
 elder, H„ Bo Winton, following . quarterly conference 
 in the home church, when thL official said to the father, 
 pointing to his son, "We ought "oave given license 
 to this boy to-day," to which the .ather simply replied, 
 "Oh, no, not yet for a while. ' 
 
 The next intimation that e was to become a 
 preacher was when asked to preach his first sermon, to 
 which reference has been made. Of his preparation 
 for his work, Mr. Hott says: "The preparation for 
 such a duty was peculiar for what it had, and also for 
 what it had not in it. I had been accustomed to speak 
 in class-meetings as called on by the leader, and in ex- 
 perience meetings, for three years. My father was a 
 local preacher, and for his day had an excellent li- 
 brary. It had, as I remember, Webster's Unabridged 
 Dictionary, Clark's Commentaries, Dick's Works, and 
 all the books in the preachers' course of study, Watson's 
 Bible Dictionary, a number of the standard poets, and 
 numerous devotional books. Of course, the sermon and 
 sketch books were there, though father never used them 
 in the preparation of sermons. . . . Such books 
 as have been referred to I had read almost constantly 
 at odd hours, by day and by a pine light at night. Our 
 home was a kind of Bible school, or theological semi- 
 nary from the first, in which both father and mother 
 were daily teachers. There was no formal school or 
 lessons, to be sure, but the themes and doctrines of these 
 books were discussed, as was also the sermonic state- 
 ment of truth." 
 
 Of the manner in which this school was conducted 
 a brother next younger than James says: "Evenings 
 at home must be counted for much. Father was a 
 
Conversion and Call to the Ministry 43 
 
 studeni of close and constant application. The lamp 
 was in the center of the table, and the children gath- 
 ered around it with mother near by, and, notwithstand- 
 ing her sewing or knitting, she always took sufficient 
 interest in what was passing to interpose wise counsel 
 or just observation upon all the subjects of the hour. 
 The subjects considered from time to time took a very 
 wide range — theological, philosophical, scientific, liter- 
 ary, historical, social, ethical, practical, in short every- 
 thing that seemed important for children to know in 
 order to prepare them for the duties and responsibili- 
 ties of life. But the best and most important of all 
 that was studied there was Jesus Christ and his atone- 
 ment. National and popular evils were examined from 
 a biblical standpoint till their true character and in- 
 fluence were deeply fixed on the young minds." 
 
 It was in this home school that the call repeatedly 
 came to this young man, now sixteen, to be a preacher 
 of the everlasting gospel, and in it a large measure of 
 his educational preparation was received. But his 
 teaching was not alone human. 
 
 The text of his first sermon was John 14 : 6, "I am 
 the way." He preached without notes, but not with 
 entire satisfaction to himself. One who heard his first 
 effort says the young preacher afterwards told him 
 that he thought of a good deal more to say after he sat 
 down than he did while on his feet — an experience not 
 uncommon with beginners in public speaking. 
 
 The disappointment over this maiden effort at 
 preaching was not without its compensating benefits. 
 In the weeks that followed, he preached at Smoketown 
 and Pleasant Valley. At the latter place, that being 
 his home church, his neighbors and kindred came to 
 hear him. He preached from John 3 : 16. These ef- 
 forts not only served to give added emphasis to the in- 
 ward conviction of his call to preach, but that to preach 
 effectively his messages must be born from above. "A 
 
44 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 fourth effort," he says, "brought the crisis of my life. 
 God must help me and enable me to preach from the 
 heart, or the thought of the ministry must be forever 
 abandoned. I could do no better than to throw myself 
 into such an issue. The conflict was overwhelming. 
 Discouragements were crushing. I knew not what to 
 do but to stake all on the issue. I was all alone. I had 
 no one to counsel. Broken-hearted, I fell into the 
 hands of Christ. He had mercy on me for his dear 
 name's sake." 
 
 It is here, at this early period in his life, that we 
 learn the one great secret of his singular pulpit power 
 in the years that followed. The one distinguishing 
 quality of his ministry was his heart power. His 
 preaching was nothing but "the bursting out of light 
 which was first burst in or up from where God is," and 
 out of conscious fellowship with him in prayer. 
 
CHAPTER HI. 
 Early Ministry, Marriage, and Home. 
 
 James W. Hott was given his first formal authority 
 to preach the gospel April 8, 1861, his license bearing 
 the signature of Jacob Markwood, presiding elder. 
 The following February, at Edenburg, Shenandoah 
 County, Virginia, he was received into Virginia Con- 
 ference, and given annual conference license, signed 
 by Bishop J. J. Glossbrenner. Five other applicants 
 to preach were received into the conference at the 
 same time. These were, J. K. Nelson, C. T. Stearn, 
 A. M. Evers, J. M. Canter, and H. A. Bovey. This 
 was a class of noble young men, three of whom are yet 
 living and engaged in the active ministry. 
 
 These new recruits in the ministerial ranks began 
 their life work at a very trying time in the history of 
 the Church and of the nation, just at the opening of 
 the Civil War. 
 
 Beginning with 1862, Virginia Conference met in 
 two sections for four years, the northern part in Mary- 
 land, within the territory occupied by the Union army, 
 and the southern portion within the Confederate lines. 
 Bishop Markwood presided over the northern branch 
 and Bishop Glossbrenner over the southern. 
 
 The minutes of the Edenburg conference, which con- 
 vened February 14, 1862, as the secretary says, consti- 
 tute the "minutes of that portion of Virginia Confer- 
 ence which met four years as a portion only, owing to 
 the obstruction formed by the Civil War." At this 
 conference Mr. Hott received his appointment as an 
 itinerant minister, being made junior preacher with 
 
 45 
 
46 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 J. K. Nelson, on Winchester Circuit. This was the 
 charge on which he had been born and reared, and at 
 this time it embraced three counties and had twenty 
 preaching places. From the records it seems that his 
 appointments for the three years following were made 
 by the northern section of the conference, and for 
 two years more Nelson and Hott continued as the 
 Winchester preachers. Their labors together during 
 these three years were very arduous, and were a severe 
 tax on both spiritual and nervous energy. Their duties 
 called them within the lines of both armies, and they 
 carried passes from each; but the war and the bitter 
 feelings it occasioned caused many hardships and 
 hindrances which were not only perplexing, but in- 
 volved great hazard of life. 
 
 Despite the obstacles encountered, however, these 
 were years of great religious interest among the peo- 
 ple, and it was the joy of the young pastor and his col- 
 league to see numerous revivals in which some six 
 hundred were converted and added to the Church. 
 
 When we remember that this junior preacher began 
 his ministry when only a little past sixteen years of 
 age, and that among his friends and kindred, where 
 usually the prophet is without honor, we can easily 
 imagine what must have been his natural gifts, and 
 the esteem in which he was held. Then when we think 
 of the troublous times when he entered this work, we 
 can likewise easily imagine the severe tests to which 
 he must have been frequently put. The anxiety felt 
 for him while on his long preaching tours was very 
 great, especially by his devoted mother, through all 
 this period of cruel civil strife. Yet, though exposed 
 to very great dangers, he carried a revolver only during 
 a single trip. He found it a burden and a source of 
 temptation to him, so he discarded its use entirely, 
 preferring to entrust himself and his interests to the 
 keeping of Him whose servant he was. 
 
James W. Hott at the Age <>f Twenty. 
 
Early Ministry, Marriage, and Home 47 
 
 He was the boy preacher of the conference, and s|ill 
 had his home with his parents, and was but twenty- 
 one when the war closed. His faithfulness and suc- 
 cess during these four years which tried men's souls 
 won for hirn not only unstinted praise from his friends, 
 but even the respect and admiration of his enemies. 
 
 It was at a meeting of the northern portion of the 
 conference, early in 1864, that Mr. Hott received or- 
 dination at the hands of his dear friend, Bishop Gloss- 
 brenner, assisted by Bishop Markwood. The way the 
 bishop came to be at the conference is thus explained 
 by Dr. A. W. Drury, in his "Life of Glossbrenner" : 
 
 "At the close of 1863 Bishop Glossbrenner applied 
 to the Confederate authorities for a pass with a view 
 to attending Pennsylvania Conference, and also the 
 northern half of Virginia Conference. The pass was 
 obtained from President Davis. . . . He took with 
 him his youngest daughter, Josie, then eighteen years 
 of age, and journeyed northward. . . . The first 
 Union picket he met was a young Mr. Bonewell, son of 
 the Rev. J. W. Bonewell, of the United Brethren 
 Church. This young man recognized him, having 
 seen him at his father's home in Chambersburg, Penn- 
 sylvania. He was obliged to detain him until he ob- 
 tained permission to admit him. . . . The regula- 
 tions were so strict with reference to crossing the 
 Potomac in the neighborhood of Martinsburg that the 
 desired permission could not be obtained. 
 
 "Bishop Glossbrenner then returned to near Win- 
 chester, to the home of the Rev. Jacob P. Hott. At this 
 time, his son, the Bev. J. W. Hott, returned from his 
 circuit. Bishop Glossbrenner had not seen him for a 
 considerable time, as after he had joined the confer- 
 ence in 1862, his field had been, for the most part, north 
 of the Confederate lines. When the Bishop mot him 
 he kissed him. The Rev. -T. W. Hott told him that he 
 was satisfied he could pass through Morgan County 
 
48 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 and cross the Potomac at another point, where the au- 
 thorities were not so strict. He loaned him some money 
 and accompanied him. The bishop preached several 
 times on week-nights on the way." 
 
 Permission to pass was secured, and, crossing the 
 river, the bishop went to Hagerstown, Maryland, where 
 he tarried a short time and then went on to Chambers- 
 burg. Returning, he stopped at Boonsboro, Maryland, 
 where the northern part of Virginia Conference was 
 held. The meeting of the bishop and the young 
 preacher at this conference was an ever memorable 
 event in both their lives, and it served to cement more 
 closely the bonds of their friendship, which were never 
 broken in later years. 
 
 At one of the conferences Mr. Hott attended in 
 Maryland during the war, he wore a suit of gray 
 clothes, made by his mother from goods which she had 
 woven. The brethren there not being pleased to see 
 one of their number in "rebel" attire, raised money and 
 purchased a becoming black suit, which they presented 
 to him. 
 
 He came near losing a good suit of clothes once; it 
 may have been this very one. He was returning from 
 one of his preaching tours, and when within a mile of 
 home he discovered a neighbor's house on fire. He 
 joined in the effort to quench the flames, and in so do- 
 ing, his clothes, to say the least, were greatly damaged. 
 It was so in many things, that in his thoughtfulness 
 and zeal for the welfare of others he seemed to be 
 wholly unmindful of his own interests. 
 
 May 31, 1864, when not yet twenty years of age, Mr. 
 Hott was married to Martha A. Ramey, two years his 
 senior, the eldest daughter of Presley and Elizabeth 
 Hammack Ramey, born and reared near the historic 
 town of Winchester. She belonged to one of the best 
 known families in the valley of Virginia, their names 
 being synonyms for nobleness of character, piety, and 
 
Mr. and Mrs. TIott soon after Tiiktr Marriagk. 
 
Early Ministry, Marriage, and Home 49 
 
 integrity. She was converted in her girlhood, and 
 joined the United Brethren Church, in whose fellow- 
 ship she continued to live all her life. She was unsel- 
 fishly devoted to her husband and to the Church, and 
 cheerfully gave herself to the toils and sacrifices of an 
 itinerant minister's wife. 
 
 After spending another year on his home charge 
 after his marriage, Mr. Hott was assigned to a new- 
 field, Martinsburg, where he remained but one year. 
 Here his labors were prospered and extensive revivals 
 resulted. 
 
 It was during his last year at Winchester that A. M. 
 Evers, who was the pastor at Crosskeys, Eockingham 
 County, had his noble riding-horse stolen. The horse 
 was taken to Martinsburg and sold. However, later 
 the animal was recovered, as Mr. Evers says, "largely 
 through the kindness and untiring efforts of Brother 
 Hott." This was another characteristic piece of prac- 
 tical friendliness to a brother in need, and what did a 
 United Brethren preacher need in those days more 
 than a good horse? 
 
 The year at Martinsburg brought the boy preacher 
 to the 1866 session of Virginia Conference, the first 
 after the war. This was indeed a memorable meeting. 
 Brethren in the ministry separated for years met again 
 and rejoiced in tearful gratitude in the good provi- 
 dence that had been over them in the years of their 
 enforced separation. 
 
 In 1884, after a visit to Virginia, when these memo- 
 ries were revived, Mr. Hott, in writing for the Re- 
 ligious Telescope, says: "The first full conference of 
 ministers ever witnessed by the writer made an im- 
 pression on his heart never to be effaced. It was the 
 meeting of the Virginia Conference at Rohrersvillo, 
 Washington County, Maryland, February 8, 1866. In 
 1862 six persons became members of that conference, 
 joining the band of brethren laboring south of the 
 
 4 
 
50 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 military lines, meeting at Edenburg, Shenandoah 
 County, Virginia. All these are living and continue 
 in the ministry, though only three remain members of 
 the old conference. The writer is among the last 
 named. Subsequently I met with the brethren who la- 
 bored north of the war lines, in three sessions. 
 
 "When we met at Rohrersville the cloud of war had 
 passed. The sound of arms and the roar of the cannon 
 and the tramp of the war horse in Virginia and Mary- 
 land were all silent. Fathers and brothers, husbands 
 and sons, had come home from the army to rest on the 
 bosom and arms of loved ones. But alas ! not all ! not 
 all!" 
 
 The unusual character of this conference is indi- 
 cated by a few lines in the secretary's record: "The 
 morning experience meeting was most refreshing, and 
 one long to be remembered. The sermon by Bishop 
 Glossbrenner was, as usual with our beloved bishop, in- 
 structive, and tending to encourage believers to sweetly 
 anticipate the home on high by the earnest within the 
 heart." 
 
 The Lord's Supper was observed after this sermon. 
 Of this Mr. Hott further says: "I can see Bishop 
 Glossbrenner yet as he stood leaning on the pulpit, 
 while great tears ran thick and fast down his cheeks 
 as he saw the brethren of his own afflicted conference 
 once again gathered in love about the communion 
 board. No one who was present will ever forget the 
 grace and love and salvation which flowed." 
 
 This was not only a memorable meeting, but it has 
 special historical significance. Brethren had not only 
 been separated through four testing years, but the 
 times had been restless and exciting. The preachers 
 in Virginia had remained at their places from several 
 considerations. They loved the people, and believed 
 they should not forsake them in their struggles and 
 affliction, and so they continued faithfully to bear to 
 
Marly Ministry, Marriage, and Home 51 
 
 them the consolations of the gospel. They believed 
 the war would soon close, and that they owed it to God, 
 and their people, and to their native State, to toil in 
 clouds and sorrow till the storms were over. This they 
 did, remaining true to the Union cause. 
 
 Writing further of the bitter experiences of these 
 perilous times, Mr. Hott gives this important testi- 
 mony: "These four years were long, dark, and painful 
 years. All our ministers had gone, day and night, at 
 the peril of their lives. No men ever risked so much 
 for the privilege of preaching the gospel of Christ and 
 being United Brethren preachers. One was shot at 
 while riding inoffensively on the highway. ... A 
 number of others had been arrested and carried before 
 the authorities for trial. Three, at least, had been 
 shamefully kept in prison for weeks because they 
 would not and did not take the oath of allegiance to 
 the Confederacy. . . . The writer had the honor 
 of being three times arrested, though each time he was 
 soon released. 
 
 "In the Maryland portion of the conference the state 
 of things had been different. A few times when in- 
 vasions by the southern army had been made, a season 
 of fright and alarm and loss had been experienced. 
 The battles of Antietam and South Mountain had 
 bathed the territory in blood. But these seasons were 
 few in number. Some of the brethren in the confer- 
 ence had allowed their sympathies, in a measure, to be 
 withdrawn from the Virginia brethren. They could 
 not understand why the preachers remained in Vir- 
 ginia if they were not rebels. (Ministers of the gospel 
 in the Southern Confederacy were exempt from mili- 
 tary service, a fact which showed the high religious 
 sentiment and character of the Southern people.)" 
 
 This conference rejoiced not only over the Union 
 saved, but brethren united in the tenderest bonds of 
 brotherly love and fellowship. 
 
52 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 Mr. Hott's next pastorate was at Edenburg, or as 
 he calls it in the record he has left of his work, Wood- 
 stock Circuit. To this he was appointed at the Rohrers- 
 ville conference. Here he remained two years. 
 
 In 1868 he was assigned to Churchville, Augusta 
 County, Virginia, the home of Bishop Glossbrenner 
 and other old and influential United Brethren families. 
 Here he worked three years, his labors being highly 
 successful and his relations most congenial. It was 
 during the second year of his ministry at Churchville 
 that an extensive revival occurred, and among the con- 
 verts was C. H. Crowell, who has been for many years 
 a leading member of Virginia Conference. 
 
 It was while serving this charge that Mr. Hott was 
 elected a delegate to the General Conference which 
 convened in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in May, 1869. He 
 was then but twenty-four and a half years old, and 
 bore the distinction of being the youngest member of 
 that body. His colleagues were J. W. Howe and G. W. 
 Statton. He was an exceedingly modest member, speak- 
 ing but few times during the session. 
 
 This Conference, composed of representative men 
 from the entire Church, made a profound impression 
 on this junior member. It was a revelation to him. 
 In it he saw and heard and admired many of the 
 strong men of the denomination. He listened with 
 intense interest to the two and a half days' discussion 
 of the secret-society question, then a mooted question, 
 by the ablest debaters on the floor. He cast his vote 
 for the rigid law against secret societies, with which, 
 in harmony with his life-long training, he was then in 
 hearty sympathy. In later years he greatly modified 
 his views in regard to these organizations, especially 
 as to the methods of dealing with those connected with 
 them. 
 
 At this Conference he earnestly supported the meas- 
 ure adopted looking to the founding of a theological 
 
Early Ministry, Marriage, and Home 53 
 
 seminary for the Church. He returned to his home 
 and work with a better conception of the Church's mis- 
 sion, and with an enlarged appreciation of its power 
 and possibilities as an agency for the world's evangeli- 
 zation. Henceforth he was destined to live in a larger 
 world, with broader sympathies, and with a more in- 
 telligent understanding of the varied activities and 
 needs of the denomination to whose interests he was 
 so warmly devoted. 
 
 After his three years of fruitful ministry at Church- 
 ville, Mr. Hott was next stationed at Boonsboro, Mary- 
 land. This was in 1871. The circuit embraced sev- 
 eral churches, strong in numbers and wealth, and was 
 a better charge than he had previously served. This 
 was a well-deserved testimony to his growing power 
 and popularity as a preacher and pastor. 
 
 In the autumn of his second year at this place, he 
 was again chosen to represent his conference in the 
 General Conference, which was to meet in Dayton, 
 Ohio, the headquarters of United Brethren Church in- 
 terests, in May, 1873. At the session of his conference, 
 held early in that year, he was transferred to Hagers- 
 town, one of the oldest and most important churches 
 in the conference. This appointment, too, was clearly 
 in the line of promotion. But his pastorate here was 
 short, for at the General Conference he was called into 
 the general work of the Church. With this Confer- 
 ence the period of his early ministry closes. He had 
 been a pastor for eleven years and a few months. These 
 had been years of earnest, and much of the time heroic 
 toil in the Master's service. They had been years of 
 growing power and usefulness. The boy preacher had 
 been a diligent student, continuously adding to his 
 mental furnishing through the passing years. 
 
 Though beginning to preach when so young, and 
 without special school preparation, he made such faith- 
 ful and wise use of his opportunities for improvement 
 
54 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 that he early came to be an able and popular preacher 
 and an excellent expositor of the Word of God. His 
 preaching was always a delight to himself, because it 
 was a service of the heart. From the first, he preached 
 the great essential doctrines of the gospel, and those 
 who knew him best in the years he was a circuit-rider, 
 with large and difficult parishes, in times of war and 
 through the trying period of reaction following, bear 
 uniform testimony to his strenuous life, to his faith- 
 fulness and self-sacrifice, to his tact and helpfulness 
 as a pastor, and to his success as a soul-winner. But 
 as his distinctive qualities as a preacher will have 
 special consideration in later chapters, further refer- 
 ence to them, for the present, will be deferred. 
 
 It will be of interest, however, before passing from 
 this period to notice a few things which properly fall 
 within it. We have now followed the boy preacher 
 from place to place, we have seen his development in 
 manly character and influence, and the gradually in- 
 creasing recognition accorded his worth throughout 
 this probationary period of his ministry. A very sim- 
 ple and suggestive illustration of his progress as a 
 preacher and church leader is found in the compensa- 
 tion he received for his services. While it does not 
 wholly indicate the growing acceptability of his minis- 
 try, yet in the main it does. The following table is 
 from a book containing an extensive record of his work 
 from the time he began preaching: 
 
 SALARIES. 
 
 1862, Winchester Circuit $107 25 
 
 1863, Winchester Circuit 130 00 
 
 1864, Winchester Circuit 140 00 
 
 1865, Martinsburg Circuit 350 00 
 
 1866, Woodstock Circuit 190 00 
 
 1867, Woodstock Circuit 300 00 
 
 1868, Churchville Circuit 320 00 
 
Early Ministry, 31arriage, and Home 55 
 
 1869, Churchville Circuit 330 58 
 
 1870, Churchville Circuit 350 00 
 
 1871, Boonsboro Circuit 500 00 
 
 1872, Boonsboro Circuit 600 00 
 
 During these years the record also shows that the 
 pastor on these several charges was the recipient of 
 generous tokens of esteem and good-will in special 
 gifts, sometimes aggregating handsome sums. These 
 were indicative that as pastor he enjoyed the confi- 
 dence and affection and cordial support of his people. 
 
 The statistical records of the conference, while not 
 complete for all these years, are sufficiently full to 
 show that Mr. Hott's ministry was abundantly fruit- 
 ful in the results of evangelistic labor, in numerous 
 conversions and accessions to the Church. 
 
 Then these years of laborious toil and fruit-bearing 
 were years of joyous and beautiful home life. Hus- 
 band and wife were ardently devoted to each other, 
 and each lived to perfect the happiness of the other. 
 That unselfish love dominated them which makes mar- 
 riage and home and children a peculiar blessing. 
 Wherever they lived, and however humble their cottage, 
 their home was a haven of sweet rest, for love and con- 
 tentment were resident with them. Into this home 
 there came during these happy years of itinerant life, 
 four beautiful children. The divine promise to those 
 who fear the Lord was signally verified, "Thy children 
 shall be like olive plants round thy table." 
 
 While residing at Edenburc, their first child. Etta, 
 was born, now Mrs. D. E. Lorenz, residing in "New 
 York City. Churchville was the birthplace of their 
 second daughter, Louella, now Mrs. J. H. Francis, of 
 Los Angeles, California. During their residence at 
 Boonsboro a third little girl came to adorn their home, 
 Jennie, who two years later died in Davton, Ohio, 
 bringing to them their first creat family sorrow. Mat- 
 
56 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 tie, the youngest, the wile of the Kev. J. G. Huber, of 
 Dayton, Ohio, was born at Hagerstown during the 
 brief pastorate of her father in that city. 
 
 Never were parents and children happier in their 
 relations than were these. Mutual love, which is the 
 only bond of true domestic happiness, was the crown- 
 ing and controlling virtue there. Such a home is not 
 only earth's chief school of virtue, but it is a fitting 
 type of heaven. What a benediction and model it is in 
 any community ! Happy is the church whose pastor 
 has such a home ! What a beautiful crowning a home 
 like this is to these years spent in the blessed ministry 
 of the glorious gospel of the Christ ! 
 
CHAPTEK IV. 
 
 Called to a New Work. 
 
 As has been previously stated, Mr. Hott was elected 
 a second time to a seat in the General Conference of 
 his denomination, in the fall of 1872. At this time he 
 was twenty-eight years of age, and had been nearly 
 eleven years in the ministry. His colleagues were the 
 same as the four years before — J. W. Howe and G. W. 
 Statton, already veteran preachers in Virginia Con- 
 ference. His election at the head of his delegation 
 was not only a compliment to himself, but it was a 
 clear proof that he represented a constituency that 
 knew how to appreciate the grit, grace, and ability that 
 go into making a successful pastor and wise church- 
 man in difficult fields. That he possessed these quali- 
 ties in ample measure was clearly proved in his work 
 as pastor and evangelist on five different charges. Tt 
 is, however, his retirement from this special work that 
 furnishes the occasion for a resume of the results of 
 his labors to this time, which brings into sharper re- 
 lief the multitude of good achievements which he has 
 crowded into the years of his ministry. 
 
 His record in preaching and as a soul-winner, often 
 under very trying conditions, and in laying permanent- 
 foundations for the Church where he labored, is one 
 which does credit and honor to himself and to the 
 cause of Christ. It is a pleasure to refer to a record 
 such as this, which would serve as an example and in- 
 spiration to every young minister who has yet to shape 
 his character and career in the highest of all earthly 
 callings. 
 
 57 
 
58 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 The General Conference met in Dayton, Ohio, May 
 15, 1873. Mr. Hott was there at almost the precise 
 period of middle life. He was but twenty-eight and a 
 half years of age, yet a young man. His experience in 
 the Conference of four years before enabled him to 
 come to this session with the ready capacity for intelli- 
 gent participation in the proceedings, which only fa- 
 miliarity with the work to be done can give. He 
 possessed a maturity and power rarely found in one of 
 his years. His hair and beard were jet black, giving 
 him an appearance remarkable in contrast with the 
 last years of his life. His eye was clear and keen, and 
 the freshness of youth was yet in his face. His step 
 was quick and elastic, and his spirit had the buoyancy 
 of the morning. His whole being was literally sur- 
 charged with that nervous energy that is so characteris- 
 tic of the world's greatest leaders. He was faultlessly 
 attired in a suit of conventional black, of strictly 
 clerical pattern. In dress, manners, and speech he 
 was a typical Virginian of that day. His bearing was 
 manly, courteous, and dignified, and there was a free- 
 dom and tact about his participation in the Conference 
 business which not only attracted attention, but which 
 commanded the admiration and respect of his fellow- 
 delegates. He was a ready, though not a frequent 
 speaker on questions before the Conference. Some of 
 his speeches were notably bright and eloquent, and won 
 for him a recognition and a prominence which come 
 in deliberative assemblies only to men of good sense 
 and practical ideas. He gave his earnest support to 
 the proposition favoring lay-delegation in the councils 
 of the Church, and other measures of a progressive 
 character. 
 
 At this time the lines were sharply drawn on the 
 secret-society question. The two parties were known 
 as the "radicals" and the "liberals." On any matter 
 having any relation to this vexatious question Mr. 
 
Mr. Hott when Missionary Treasurer. 
 
Called to a New Work 59 
 
 Hott always voted with the radicals, in strict accord 
 with his own convictions and the traditions of the 
 Church. However, in his spirit and in his relations 
 with men, his position would have been that of a mod- 
 erate conservative rather than a partisan radical. It is 
 well to note this fact at this time, as it will have an 
 important bearing upon his future official relations 
 and influence. 
 
 It was on the tenth day of the Conference, after the 
 principal business was finished, that the election of the 
 general Church officers — bishops, editors, secretaries, 
 etc. — took place. The choice for treasurer of the Home, 
 Frontier, and Foreign Missionary Society fell upon 
 J. W. Hott, a result wholly unexpected to himself and 
 friends, and yet easily accounted for in his character 
 and varied abilities. From what had been seen of him 
 in the Conference and what was known of his careful 
 business habits, it was believed he would be a safe man 
 with whom to entrust the financial management of the 
 Church's missionary society. It might have seemed to 
 some too great an honor and responsibility conferred 
 on one so young, but in the light of subsequent events 
 it is clear that no mistake was made in his selection. 
 
 At the close of the General Conference Mr. Hott re- 
 turned to his home and arranged to move his family to 
 Dayton, and for his early entrance upon the new work 
 to which he had been called. On the 2d day of July, 
 1873, obedient to the voice of the Church, and following 
 what seemed to him the indication of Providence, he 
 parted with his highly-esteemed congregation at Hagers- 
 town. Writing soon after of the sundering of the happy 
 relations there, he says: "The force of this separation 
 was keenly realized. To be withdrawn from a congre- 
 gation for whose spiritual good one has toiled, and to 
 be renloved from those who have need to be early led to 
 Jesus, presses a minister's heart with pain. This sepa- 
 ration was the more undesirable because it severed me 
 
60 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 for four years from the connection I had held with 
 the hard-working ministers of Virginia Conference for 
 nearly twelve years, some of them years of battle and 
 of blood." 
 
 After a few days, Mr. Hott and family arrived in 
 Dayton where they were to make their future home, 
 not only for four years, but for more than five times 
 that number. They were given a cordial reception, but 
 ere they had had time to become settled in their own 
 home they were stricken with a sudden and unex- 
 pected sorrow in the death of Jennie May, the next to 
 the youngest member of the household, then just two 
 years old. This affliction was especially severe because 
 the bereaved family was in a strange city, far removed 
 from the kindred and friends of other years. But the 
 kindness and sympathy of new friends brought com- 
 fort and support, and the aching head and heart found 
 repose in the love and grace of the divine Comforter. 
 Afterwards, writing of the lesson of this sorrowful visi- 
 tation, Mr. Hott said: "Altogether, we have a better 
 view of human sympathy, a clearer comprehension of 
 the influence and power of brotherly-kindness, and, I 
 trust, a stronger confidence in the religion of the Lord 
 Jesus. The tasks of life are heavy, but the heart leans 
 with faith on God, and the hands must toil on, while 
 we look for the bright morning to come with its day 
 of endless glory." 
 
 During the quadrennium following his entrance 
 into the general services of the Church, Mr. Hott was 
 not only the treasurer of the Missionary Society, but 
 he was also the treasurer and soliciting agent of the 
 Church-Erection Society, then in its infancy. Though 
 the first steps toward the organization of this society 
 were taken at the General Conference in 1869, little was 
 done to promote it till 1872, when the first work of so- 
 liciting funds for it was begun. This society, so 
 closely related in its purposes and interests to the Mis- 
 
Called to a New Work 61 
 
 sionary Society, was entirely under the control of that 
 society till 1889, and was managed by its officers. 
 
 Thus the causes of missions and church extension 
 became the all-controlling objects of the endeavors of 
 their new representative for the next four years. To 
 their promotion he brought the energy and enthusiasm 
 and consecration of his body, mind, and heart. These 
 were years of extensive travel, visiting conferences and 
 holding special meetings in the interest of these enter- 
 prises, now rapidly growing in public favor. In this 
 way he became widely acquainted with the Church, its 
 ministers and people, its needs and possibilities, and 
 with marvelous zeal and adaptation he devoted himself 
 to the duties of his office. The energy and tact, and 
 faith and success, which characterized his work in this 
 new field, in private solicitation, and in the convincing 
 appeals at conferences and elsewhere, and through the 
 Church press, won for him the sympathy and commen- 
 dation of the Church. 
 
 The year 1874 was observed throughout the United 
 Brethren Church as the centenary of its founding. 
 This was made the occasion of special efforts to raise 
 centennial funds for missions, church erection, and 
 Union Biblical Seminary, the latter being the new 
 theological school of the Church. While Mr. Hott was 
 not connected with this institution, he was among its 
 warmest supporters, and devoted himself with great 
 earnestness to the holding of centenary meetings where 
 its interests were presented, and in collecting funds 
 for the causes directly committed to him. In tins 
 work he met with gratifying success, his efforts being 
 signally blessed in the promotion of the forward move- 
 ments of the denomination during that year. While 
 the centenary purpose was conducive to the strength- 
 ening and enlargement of the general enterprises and 
 institutions of the Church, it also turned to the ad- 
 vantage of local interests, in church-building, etc., in 
 
62 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 a large degree. Mr. Hott's reports, in the Religious 
 Telescope, of centenary meetings held in the confer- 
 ences and on other occasions, had not a little to do in 
 stimulating the aims and successes of the year's dis- 
 tinctive undertakings. 
 
 These years of Church-wide endeavors, and the 
 friendly relations they brought, made this working 
 church officer not only a prominent figure in the con- 
 nectional activities of the denomination, but a man 
 ardently loved for his spirit and work's sake. His 
 ability as a preacher and writer became well known 
 during this period. His broad sympathies with men 
 and worthy causes had had a practical exemplification. 
 His zeal, intelligence, and capacity for safe leadership 
 had been abundantly demonstrated. His piety and 
 charity were unquestioned. While a man of strong 
 and positive convictions relating to essential moral 
 principles, as well as of church polity, he was neverthe- 
 less so respectful of the opinions and rights of others, 
 and so conciliatory in his spirit toward those differing 
 with him in matters of principle or expediency, he had 
 grown to have a mighty hold on the confidence and 
 heart of the Church. In these qualities will be found 
 the chief reasons for his growing popularity and wide 
 influence as a man and as a leader in aggressive Chris- 
 tian work. 
 
 Mr. Hott's happy relations with other general offi- 
 cers of the Church during this quadrennium deserve 
 special mention. He had the confidence and cordial 
 support of the bishops at the conferences and else- 
 where. His office brought him into close associations 
 with the Missionary Secretary, the Rev. D. K. Flick- 
 inger, so long the indefatigable worker in that field. 
 He came, likewise, into intimate touch with Dr. W. J. 
 Shuey, the Agent of the United Brethren Publishing 
 House, which resulted in a friendship between them 
 like that of Jonathan and David. His frequent con- 
 
Called to a New Work 63 
 
 tributions to the Religious Telescope relating to his 
 work and on general subjects, brought him into dose 
 contact with the editor of that paper, the Kev. Milton 
 Wright, with whom he maintained most agreeable re- 
 lations. The same is true of the mutual cordiality 
 which existed between himself and Dr. D. Berger, edi- 
 tor of the Sunday-school literature, and the Eev. Wil- 
 liam Mittendorf, the German editor, and of the mem- 
 bers of the several Church boards. 
 
 That his rare ability to work harmoniously with 
 others, and whose duties caused the frequent crossing 
 of paths, and his uniform brotherly spirit and bear- 
 ing, had much to do with the forming and perpetuat- 
 ing of these delightful friendships and fellowships, 
 there is no question. In these dominating qualities are 
 to be found the mainspring to his manly strength and 
 to his commanding leadership and power in very wide 
 relations with fellow-men. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Editorial Career. 
 
 The seventeenth General Conference met at West- 
 field, Illinois, May 10, 1877. The preceding four years 
 had witnessed marked advances in the Church. The 
 membership was now 144,881, a gain of more than nine- 
 teen thousand in four years. In the same period there 
 was an increase of two hundred and fifty-two houses 
 of worship, with corresponding growth in all the con- 
 nectional interests. One hundred and twenty dele- 
 gates, besides the four bishops, were entitled to seats 
 in the Conference. The secret-society question re- 
 ceived the attention of the Conference, the rule of the 
 Church being changed somewhat, but not essentially 
 modified in its prohibitory features. Lay delegation 
 in the annual conferences was authorized, and pro 
 rata representation and other progressive measures re- 
 ceived substantial encouragement. An educational ad- 
 dress was delivered by the Rev. E. S. Chapman, and 
 Bishop J. J. Glossbrenner preached an appropriate ser- 
 mon on the character and work of Bishop David Ed- 
 wards, who had died June 6, 1876. The Conference 
 was in session twelve days, and the business was partic- 
 ipated in with the earnestness of men loyal to Christ 
 and the Church. 
 
 J. W. Hott had been elected for the third time to 
 represent his conference in this quadrennial assembly. 
 His colleagues were the same as in the two previous 
 conferences. Though he had not been working within 
 the conference for four years, his reelection at the head 
 
 64 
 
Editorial Career 65 
 
 of his delegation was a worthy tribute to the high es- 
 teem in which he was held throughout the Church in 
 Virginia. 
 
 At this General Conference the secret-society ques- 
 tion was made an issue in the election of some of the 
 general officers of the Church, as had previously been 
 the case. For eight years the columns of the Religious 
 Telescope were under the most vigilant radical super- 
 vision. Speaking of this fact, Dr. Berger, in his his- 
 tory of the Church, says: "The very intensity of its 
 radicalism began in time to react upon itself, and many 
 earnest supporters of the Church law on secrecy desired 
 a change in the control of the paper, and a new editor, 
 of more moderate views, was chosen, to give a truer 
 expression of the sentiment of the Church." This man 
 was James W. Hott. His election was not only a recog- 
 nition of his strong intellectual manhood and his var- 
 ied experience in pastoral and general church work, but 
 rather of that higher wisdom which he was believed 
 to possess, the capacity for calm and judicious leader- 
 ship in directing the thought and work of the denomi- 
 nation. 
 
 Though the choice fell upon one who was by educa- 
 tion and loyalty to the traditions of the Church a radi- 
 cal, and though he had stood with the radical party 
 on the one exciting question in the two previous Gen- 
 eral Conferences, he was not by nature or principle an 
 extreme radical. This had been clearly demonstrated 
 in his record as a preacher in the Civil War. No mat- 
 ter what he was in his sentiments by inheritance, or 
 what he may have thought himself to be in his earlier 
 years, in mature life, and with the wider experience and 
 observation afforded by four years of mingling with 
 representative people, ministers and laymen, widely 
 through the Church in the discharge of official duties, 
 he came to see the wisdom of moderate views on the 
 vexing question at issue. He could not be an extrem- 
 
 5 
 
66 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 ist, either radical or liberal. And yet his loyalty to the 
 Church was always above successful challenge. So 
 when a new editor was to be chosen for the chief organ 
 of the denomination, it was natural that a man with 
 a true heart and a conciliatory spirit should be se- 
 lected. This meant that even many who were classed 
 as radicals were weary of the extreme radicalism of 
 the paper. That is the primary reason the editorial 
 control of the Religious Telescope was placed in the 
 hands of Mr. Hott in 1877. And his able management 
 of the paper in the twelve years that followed proved 
 the wisdom of the choice. 
 
 The General Conference, however, that put this new 
 occupant in the editorial chair, elected the Rev. W. O. 
 Tobey, a pronounced radical, to be assistant editor. 
 Mr. Tobey had been the associate editor the four years 
 before under the rigid radical regimen. He was a ready 
 and scholarly writer, faithful, painstaking, and 
 churchly, but it was not felt that the destinies of the 
 paper, in such a stormy period, could be safely en- 
 trusted to him. While Mr. Hott possessed the quali- 
 ties of wise conservatism and conciliation, Mr. Tobey 
 was extreme and unyielding. Both were alike honest 
 in their convictions, but they were utterly unlike in 
 partisan temper and attitude toward those differing 
 with them on questions in dispute in the Church. 
 Their dispositions were naturally and sharply antago- 
 nistic. This antagonism, however, it should be said, 
 was never bitter nor unbrotherly. It was rather of un- 
 like natures which could never be wholly congenial. 
 
 During the entire time of Mr. Tobey's connection 
 with the paper he wrote over a signature. This was 
 the policy of the times, not that an associate editorship 
 was an impossibility, but that the editors should each 
 be held responsible for his own utterances. Mr. Hott 
 preferred the continuance of this order, and it was evi- 
 dently to his advantage that it should not be changed 
 
Editorial Career 67 
 
 at the time he entered on his editorial duties; for, the 
 Church eared not so much for the expressions of the 
 paper as such, as it did for those of the men in charge 
 of the paper, as judged by their personal writings. Mr. 
 Hott did not hesitate to face the issues which this per- 
 sonal responsibility involved. In harmony with his 
 own convictions, he adopted a policy which was steadily 
 maintained through the years. The attitude of the 
 paper, at first, was not so much changed as was its tone. 
 If he did not change its head, he did change its heart. 
 In this way he came to be loved and trusted, and, to 
 the great body of the Church, conducted the paper with 
 marked acceptability. 
 
 He was a well-known writer in the Church long be- 
 fore he became an editor. From the time of his early 
 ministry he had been a frequent contributor to the 
 Church press and other periodicals. Out of a deep 
 personal experience as a Christian he was always able 
 to strike a responsive chord in the lives of those whom 
 he touched through his pen, as he had done by his 
 preaching. Indeed, his tact and readiness in writing 
 had always shown his unusual aptitude in the field of 
 church journalism, and that he possessed the real in- 
 stinct of the religious editor. This mysterious and 
 indefinable gift was manifest not only in the character 
 and variety of his writings, but in the wakeful enter- 
 prise, vigor, and sprightliness which ever characterized 
 the management of his paper. 
 
 In his editorial greeting, published June 13, 1877, 
 Mr. Hott's type of mind and spirit are clearly seen. 
 He says: "The editorial control of the Religious Tele- 
 scope is a duty which comes to my hand unanticipated, 
 and it is not without many fears that I have accepted 
 a responsibility so great. Accustomed, till recently, to 
 work in the pulpit and pastoral relation, from early 
 life, it has cost a severe struggle to undertake a work 
 of so great interest, knowing that former study and 
 habits have not been such as to prepare me for it. 
 
68 -Life and Career of James William Mott 
 
 "I cannot be wholly ignorant of the vast interests of 
 the Church and the souls of the people of our com- 
 munion, depending in a large measure upon the spirit 
 and tone of our Church periodical. At least enough 
 is known to suggest the sacredness of the trust com- 
 mitted to my care. The wants of the people are not 
 only such as require variety of talents and gifts, but, 
 being spiritual and eternal, they demand the purest 
 purpose of the heart. 
 
 "The bonds which unite us in this great Church fel- 
 lowship are of the noblest kind known on earth, and 
 as such can only be strengthened by helps which sup- 
 ply the growth of our better nature and lead us to a 
 more complete communion with God. When William 
 Otterbein saw Martin Boehm filled with the spirit of 
 Christ he embraced him, and exclaimed, 'We are 
 brethren.' " 
 
 Other pertinent references to our Church history fol- 
 low. The editor then emphasizes the duty of the 
 Church to make the preaching of Christ its supreme 
 business, and then adds : "This fact shows us clearly 
 that if we as a Church are to grow and prosper, we 
 must be essentially and intensely aggressive. If our 
 churches are to grow up pure and strong and so be pre- 
 served for the generations to come, there must be felt 
 in every channel the thought of an earnest life," etc. 
 
 To these ends, and to the promotion of all the de- 
 partments of the Church, Mr. Hott pledged unstinted 
 devotion, hoping "to be honest, impartial, and kind 
 in associations with the brethren, and I trust most of 
 all to please God." 
 
 There is pervading the entire greeting the earnest 
 desire to serve the highest interests of the Church, to 
 increase the influence of the Church organ, and also 
 the feeling that success must depend largely on the co- 
 operation of other?. 
 
 While Mr. Hott worked with remarkable ease, he 
 
Jhklitorial Career 69 
 
 nevertheless found his editorial duties too laborious 
 for his physical strength. For several weeks at one 
 time he suffered from a severe attack of nervous pros- 
 tration. Though he recovered slowly from this break- 
 down, he at length regained his strength and came to 
 the end of the quadrennium in his usual vigor and 
 health. 
 
 The General Conference of 1881 met in Lisbon, 
 Iowa. It was the largest Conference in the history of 
 the Church, up to that time. With the strong pro- 
 gressive spirit manifest, there was a decided weaken- 
 ing on the traditional principles, so called, of the 
 Church, as compared with the four years previous, a 
 test vote standing sixty-eight radical to fifty-seven lib- 
 eral. But there was less disposition on the liberal side 
 to discuoS the mooted question than there had been for 
 many years, one of the leading liberals declaring that, 
 personally, he had no more battles to fight, adding, "I 
 believe our people will settle this question whether we 
 are willing to do it or not." The new accessions to 
 the Church and to the ministry, and a broader spirit of 
 church life were plainly doing what could not be done 
 by law and argument. 
 
 J. W. Hott was reelected editor of the Religious 
 Telescope by a very flattering vote. This was a splen- 
 did testimonial of approval of his last four years' work. 
 He was again a member of the Conference from Vir- 
 ginia, his associate delegates being J. W. Howe and 
 A. M. Evers. It is safe to say that no more active and 
 influential member occupied a seat in the body. 
 
 Through his influence the Conference decided to have 
 but one editor of the Religious Telescope, and that he 
 should be given the authority to choose his own as- 
 sistant, subject to the approval of the Board of Trus- 
 tees of the Publishing House. In harmony with this 
 action, the present writer was chosen assistant editor, 
 serving eight years in that relation. My close asso- 
 
70 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 ciation with Mi*. Hott during those years of editorial 
 eolabor was unmarred with a single collision, and left 
 not behind the memory of a single unpleasant incident. 
 The intimacy of these years only served to increase my 
 esteem and to deepen my affection for an intimate daily 
 fellow-worker. The more I knew of him in the varied 
 relations in which I was privileged to meet him, the 
 more I saw in him to respect, to admire, and to honor. 
 
 The editor's policy as he entered on his second term's 
 work was well indicated in the following words from 
 his new greeting, June 15, 1881 : "While the Telescope 
 shall be kept in the front ranks of reform, while it 
 shall be conservative and unflinching in its main- 
 tenance of the principles, usages, and institutions of 
 the Church, it shall aim to be broad, catholic, and 
 Christian in every case." The spirit and purpose of 
 this declaration were too plain to be misunderstood. 
 
 There were three things during this quadrennial 
 term which made this period especially notable to Edi- 
 tor Hott. The first was his being sent as a delegate to 
 the Ecumenical Conference, held in London in Sep- 
 tember, 1881, and his subsequent travels in Europe, 
 Palestine, and Egypt, which will be spoken of particu- 
 larly elsewhere. The second was the death of his hon- 
 ored father, in 1884, previously mentioned; and third, 
 the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the found- 
 ing of the Religious Telescope, December 31, 1884. 
 This latter event marked an important era in the jour- 
 nalism of the Church, and was auspiciously observed 
 by issuing a special historical number of the paper, 
 with cover and illustrations. Nothing so elaborate had 
 ever been undertaken before in the Church. It was a 
 notable achievement, admirably conceived and exe- 
 cuted, and betokening praiseworthy skill and enter- 
 prise on the part of the editor and publisher. 
 
 In June, 1882, Mr. Hott received the honorary degree 
 of Doctor of Divinity from both Western and Avalon 
 
Editorial Career 71 
 
 colleges, a tribute to his character and eminent serv- 
 ices in the Church worthily bestowed. 
 
 The General Conference of 1885 met May 14, in Fos- 
 toria, Ohio. The quadrennium had been a period of 
 general prosperity and growth, the membership of the 
 Church having increased nearly 11,000. In the ad- 
 dress of the Board of Bishops, the Conference was ad- 
 vised to give special attention to the Constitution of 
 the Church, that a question that had caused long and 
 animated discussion might be settled. Early in the 
 session a committee was appointed to consider this mat- 
 ter. The committee recommended the appointment of 
 a "Church Commission" of twenty-seven members, "to 
 consider our present Confession of Faith and Consti- 
 tution, and prepare such a form of belief, and such 
 amended fundamental rules for the government of the 
 Church in the future as will, in their judgment, be best 
 adapted to secure its growth and efficiency in the work 
 of evangelizing the world." 
 
 This opened the way for one of the most remarkable 
 debates ever known in the councils of the Church, at 
 the close of which the plan for the revising of the Con- 
 fession of Faith and amending the Constitution was 
 approved by the decisive vote of 78 to 42. This was a 
 notable triumph for the growing liberal sentiment in 
 the Church, and it marks the beginning of a broader 
 and freer church life. At this Conference a modified 
 rule on secret societies, proposed by the same commit- 
 tee submitting the previous proposition, was adopted 
 by a vote of 76 to 38. 
 
 Dr. Hott was a member of this celebrated "Commit- 
 tee No. 6," and was an influential champion of its 
 recommendations. That the Telescope, under his di- 
 rection, had contributed largely to these results is be- 
 yond dispute. That he should have been reelected to 
 its editorial control after these enactments so vitally 
 to effect the future life and polity of the Church, and 
 
72 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 by a larger vote than he had ever received, was an en- 
 dorsement well merited. 
 
 On the twelfth day of the General Conference the 
 members of the Church Commission were elected ; five 
 from each of the episcopal districts except the Pacific 
 Coast District, which was to have but two — twenty- 
 seven in all. J. W. Hott was one of those chosen to 
 represent the East District. When the Commission 
 met in Dayton, Ohio, in November, 1885, he served 
 on the Committee on Confession of Faith, being one 
 of its most wakeful members. His associates on this 
 committee were : Bishops J. J. Glossbrenner, N. Cas- 
 tle, and M. Wright, Drs. H. Garst, G. A. Funkhouser, 
 and W. M. Beardshear, and Bevs. J. B. Evans and P. 
 C. Hetzler. After being in session six days, the Com- 
 mission agreed upon a revised Confession of Faith and 
 an amended Constitution for the Church. This work 
 was then submitted to the whole Church for approval or 
 rejection at the general election of delegates to the 
 General Conference in November, 1888, after three 
 years' consideration and discussion, and was almost 
 unanimously approved. 
 
 In his salutation on beginning his third term in the 
 editorial work, June 10, 1885, Dr. Hott pledged his 
 most earnest effort "to adapt the paper more than ever 
 to the wants of the entire Church." In the same con- 
 nection he also says: "It is impossible for the editor 
 not to have his own personal opinions upon the vari- 
 ous subjects that are agitated among us. But should 
 it appear that he has too much selfishness and too little 
 charity and grace to accord to others their personal 
 rights and opinions without constant antagonism and 
 criticism or slight, he will justly be regarded as un- 
 fitted and unworthy to edit a paper for the sons of Ot- 
 terbein and Boehm, who gave origin to our Church 
 name in the words, 'We are brethren.' " 
 
 In the same paper in which these utterances are 
 
Editorial Career 73 
 
 found is an editorial entitled, "What to Do Now," in 
 which counsel is given to "mutual toleration of differ- 
 ences of sentiments as to the non-substantials of re- 
 ligion, and consecration to the great mission of saving 
 men from formality and sin and worldly conformity, by 
 the power of Christ and his gospel." These are urged 
 as essential conditions to peace and prosperity. 
 
 Another introductory editorial was on "The Com- 
 mission and Constitution." In this the editor states 
 plainly what the policy of the Telescope, would be in 
 regard to the actions of the General Conference. He 
 then adds: "The Commission for the revision of the 
 Constitution and Confession of Faith of the Church 
 is now a fact in our Church, and it is to be so regarded 
 by all." 
 
 The four years that followed were years of extended 
 and animated discussion in the Church organ. The 
 "Commission Act" and what it contemplated furnished 
 a great variety of themes for both liberal and radical 
 writers. The editor, however, kept a strong hand on 
 the helm. He wisely maintained that the things set- 
 tled by the General Conference should be regarded as 
 settled, and that discussion should be confined to future 
 and pertinent questions. 
 
 This policy was scrupulously followed throughout the 
 quadrennium. During this transition era the editor 
 maintained a serene and lovable spirit. He met. with 
 great opposition, bitter things being said about him, 
 but he never turned aside from what he felt to be tbe 
 path of duty. He never became vindictive or partisan, 
 even in the treatment of those who were the most 
 stoutly opposed to his editorial policy. 
 
 I was with him during much of this memorable 
 struggle. His opponents were uniformly treated with 
 Christian courtesy and fairness. It was this policy, 
 steadfastly adhered to, that strengthened his course 
 and that weakened the opposition. The very spirit of 
 
74 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 his critics helped him, and this on the principle that 
 nothing builds up a cause like persecution. 
 
 For those that were conscientious and consistent in 
 their opposition to his editorial policy he entertained 
 the most profound respect and esteem. While differ- 
 ing with them, he never became embittered against 
 them. In this he demonstrated the strength of his own 
 character and the value of his service to the Church, 
 as in nothing else. With him the cause was more than 
 personal pique or pride, and he was satisfied to see it 
 triumph. 
 
 The twelve years of Dr. Hott's editorial career em- 
 brace a period of peculiar unrest and testing in the 
 Church. That he made no mistakes would not be 
 claimed by his most ardent friends, but it is easily 
 within the truth to say, that to his judicious and kindly 
 leadership, as much as to any other human agency, was 
 due the successful passing of the Church from narrow 
 and restrained conditions to a life and power fraught 
 with larger possibilities. 
 
 To what was his large success in the field of religious 
 journalism due? Not alone to his natural gifts or to 
 his acquired abilities, though he was well endowed in 
 both of these respects. Nor is it to be accounted for on 
 the ground of mere intellectual sagacity, magnetic en- 
 thusiasm, or to his rare facility in adapting himself 
 to the age in which he lived, though these were among 
 his largely developed traits. Rather, he was a man of 
 unusual heart power, and this dominated his editorial 
 life and thought as it did his pulpit efforts. His writ- 
 ings, while evincing a wide and firm grasp of truth, 
 expressed with logical clearness and force, were pre- 
 eminently of a devotional or spiritual type. . They pos- 
 sessed that vital quality, real, though unseen, tbat im- 
 presses and wins men, and which is not easily defined. 
 He had a passion for souls, and with it the genius for 
 winning them, both by tongue and pen. 
 
Editorial Career 75 
 
 He was a strong and versatile writer. He was espe- 
 cially happy in choosing titles for his editorials. He 
 had no hobbies. He did not follow the beaten paths. 
 His knowledge, sympathies, and endeavors were world- 
 wide in their reach. 
 
 In his editorial work on the Telescope, Dr. Hott 
 found a broad field for the exercise of his fruitful gifts. 
 His work was uniformly performed with enthusiasm, 
 as if he enjoyed it, as he surely did. 
 
 He had exalted ideals of the province and power of 
 the religious press as an agency for good in the world. 
 His skill in the management of the paper was not less 
 marked than were his ability and wisdom as a writer. 
 He was broad-minded in his recognition and treat- 
 ment of men throughout the Church, though occa- 
 sionally he was accused of being narrow and sectional 
 in his feelings. Brethren in the East sometimes 
 thought him partial to the West, and brethren in the 
 West at times complained of his favoritism for the 
 East. These very criticisms were unmistakable evi- 
 dences of his independence and impartiality. He oc- 
 cupied an eminence which enabled him to survey the 
 whole Church with its diversified conditions and needs, 
 while his critics occupied lower planes and were often 
 influenced by local and personal considerations. 
 
 His kindliness of spirit toward those who differed 
 with him on church questions, and his generous treat- 
 ment of them, was noticeable in the courtesies shown 
 them, and in the cordial recognition given them in fre- 
 quent editorial expressions. 
 
 In speaking of courtesy and the spirit of concilia- 
 tion for which Dr. Hott was noted, not only as an edi- 
 tor, but as a man, for he was ever a dignified Christian 
 gentleman, it is well to remember that the entire period 
 of his twelve years' editorial life was largely given to 
 earnest discussion of matters of church polity and 
 kindred questions. He came to this throne of power 
 
76 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 just as the transition from a lower to a higher plane 
 of church life and activity was beginning, and from 
 a sphere narrow and circumscribed by restrictive legis- 
 lation and impractical traditions to an open and broad 
 field for untrammeled service in the world's evangeliza- 
 tion. During these years the Telescope rendered zeal- 
 ous and heroic service on behalf of the Church and its 
 forward movements. 
 
 While discharging his duties with becoming modesty, 
 Dr. Hott did not lack the courage to follow his convic- 
 tions of right. His editorials will bear careful study. 
 They show a man doing his own thinking, not only on 
 church questions, but on world-wide conditions and 
 movements. They rarely contain lengthy quotations 
 from contemporary editors or from other writings. He 
 preferred mentally to digest what he read, and then to 
 give the results of his own independent thinking. He 
 gathered precious ores from the mines of the whole 
 world, from which he extracted the rich coin of current 
 and vital thought which he sent out bright from the 
 mint of his own brain. 
 
 His writings do not consist of vapid moralizings on 
 the good and wise sayings of other people. Neither do 
 they bear the air of patronizing lectures, or "I told you 
 so" admonitions. 
 
 The products of his pen have a freshness, variety, 
 humanness, and religious quality that made him the 
 popular editor he was. He was not an advice-giver, 
 but a leader in religious thought and activity. He 
 wore no clouded spectacles, he had no pet theories, re- 
 ligious or otherwise, to which he was wedded, he was 
 not a reformer on paper, he was not a time-server, but 
 an open, frank, thoughtful, sympathetic, helpful writer 
 for young and old, for the strong and prosperous, and 
 for the weak, tempted, and discouraged. He was a 
 magnetic editor as he was a magnetic preacher. 
 
 It has been said by a writer of large experience, him- 
 
Editorial Career 77 
 
 self an editor, that "the ideal editor fulfills a threefold 
 function — he is creator, administrator, and writer. He 
 forms his own conception of what the journal is to be, 
 what place it is to fill, what work it is to do, what cir- 
 cle of readers it is to address; he organizes it to do that 
 work, secures the writers, examines their contributions, 
 measures them by their relation to his conception and 
 their adaptation to its execution; and he molds all 
 writers by his own strong, clear, vigorous writing; 
 leads by his pen, and others follow. Now it is very 
 rare that any editor fulfills all three functions." And 
 yet it may be truthfully said that Dr. Hott possessed 
 this rare ability in a very essential sense, winning for 
 himself recognition as a very prince of religious jour- 
 nalists. He usually secured his best contributions by 
 special solicitation from men of well-known ability as 
 writers. This was before the days of publishing "syn- 
 dicate" articles, a custom now much in vogue, which 
 tends greatly to cheapen a paper in the estimation of 
 thoughtful readers, no matter how meritorious the arti- 
 cles thus secured in themselves may be. No journal, 
 religious or secular, has ever gained commanding in- 
 fluence through communications of that sort. So as 
 editor of the Religious Telescope Dr. Hott gave his 
 paper an individuality and a power by his ability to 
 fulfill the functions of creator, administrator, and 
 writer, which justly entitle him to the rank of an ideal 
 editor. His editorial work has ceased, but his editorial 
 influence will abide as a rich heritage to the Church 
 and the world. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 Editorial Table Talk. 
 
 In this chapter it is proposed to give some extracts 
 from Dr. Hott's varied editorial writings which will 
 serve to indicate the general character, style, and spirit 
 of his thought, as well as to show the principles and 
 motives which were supreme in his life. An entire 
 volume could easily be made up of choice utterances, 
 wise, pungent, and gracious, from this source. Such 
 a collection of extracts would not only prove instruc- 
 tive and inspiring to the general reader, but as an index 
 to the life of the man it would have surpassing value. 
 But the present purpose is not to attempt a work so 
 extended or exhaustive, but rather to bring together a 
 few paragraphs from his editorials which deserve to be 
 printed and preserved in connection with the story of 
 his life. 
 
 Writing of his mother, in 1884, soon after the death 
 of his father, Dr. Hott said : "Through all these years 
 of toil and trial and care and sickness and love she 
 has been the guardian angel of light in our joyou« 
 home. Her heart was the treasury where we left our 
 childish cares and sorrows." 
 
 Speaking of his father in the same connection, he 
 paid to him this beautiful tribute: "He is with the 
 angels now, and will hardly care for the poor tribute of 
 love wounded hearts can pay. His honesty would stop 
 the pen which would dare to record a flattering word ; 
 and yet, the reader will allow that we put one tribute 
 on the tomb of one who subscribed for and read the 
 
 78 
 
Editorial Table Talk 79 
 
 Telescope from its first issue, and to whom it ever came 
 as a message from God, next to the Bible. 
 
 "Father was an honest man. He went to heaven 
 without a dishonest penny left to his family. Living 
 among the society of friends, scrupulously honest, any 
 deflection would have been easily detected. One of 
 them said, 'He was a guiding star.' In word, promise, 
 dealing, religious profession he never knew deception. 
 He had the common weaknesses of men, but was honest 
 in his heart of hearts. No father ever held to him the 
 profounder faith of his family as to piety and moral 
 integrity than he. He was the first and last man in 
 whom they trusted as a Christian." 
 
 What of a boy and man who had such a father and 
 mother, and who loved them with such reverent devo- 
 tion? He will never go far wrong. His affection for 
 his parents in his childhood found unfailing expres- 
 sion in the respect and obedience due them, and in 
 manhood, with the cares and responsibilities of his own 
 home, and in the midst of the strenuous demands of 
 official duties, he never ceased to cherish with a tender 
 fondness the ones to whom he was not only indebted for 
 his being, but for the heritage of wise and godly train- 
 ing. 
 
 Dr. Hott had a very high appreciation of friendship. 
 Once when describing "Some Kinds of Friends" he 
 mentioned last of all one of whom he says : "Somehow 
 he loves you. You do not know how or why he does so, 
 but you can see and feel that you have a place in his 
 heart. He is pleased when you show appreciations, be- 
 cause somehow he lets you feel that your sympathy and 
 good opinion and love are something within themselves 
 which he prizes highly. He rejoices in your superiority 
 and independence. When your own mind and heart 
 act for themselves, he looks upon them with fooling 
 somewhat akin to those of a mother's heart when she 
 sees her babe stand up and walk across the floor alone. 
 
80 Life and Career of James William Ilott 
 
 When you enter upon a career of prosperity be rejoices 
 with you and bids you God-speed. He judges your 
 worth, and breathes a double blessing on your achieve- 
 ment. When you sorrow and are sore afflicted, he pours 
 out his tears with yours, and through all the long dark 
 night of sorrow he sits at your side and mysteriously 
 lifts the burden and gloom from your heavy heart by 
 the silent tears that fall and the warm heart-thrdb that 
 yearns to bear away your pains. When you suffer and 
 when you sin, he still comes close to your side and ten- 
 derly, lovingly lifts you up to your former self again. 
 He never lets you go. Through changes of youth, 
 through trials of manhood, through falls and blunders 
 and pains and sorrows and defeats and successes he 
 still holds fast your hand, and ever tries to lift you up. 
 He reminds you of your mother. He makes you think 
 of Christ, or the God of boundless sympathy and love, 
 somewhere in the universe, who holds you up. Such a 
 friend is worth millions. Be such a friend as that to 
 some sad heart. Surely it is Christlike to be such." 
 
 On "Keeping Sweet" : "A man to be a success as a 
 Christian must absolutely keep sweet. Pickles may do 
 well enough in their place; but if it please the Master, 
 let us have as few of them in the church as possible. 
 Let us keep our people sweet by seeking to have our- 
 selves and them filled with the love of Christ." 
 
 In the midst of a great revival in which he was an 
 interested and valued worker, the editor wrote : "Men 
 are not made godlike by towering intellect, or by mar- 
 velous intellectual achievements, but by humble and un- 
 sullied love. The likeness is a heart likeness. Men 
 have divine power who have heart power. This heart 
 power is not a mere blubber of the emotions, but a tre- 
 mendous engine which drives the whole machinery of 
 life. It enables a man to undertake that which is to 
 others regarded as impossible. It makes the world's 
 heroes, and to heroism adds giant achievements. Heart 
 
Editorial Table Talk 81 
 
 power strikes the heart and takes possession of the cita- 
 del of man's nature. A preacher without a heart be- 
 hind his work is a feeble instrument in the Master's 
 cause, no matter how talented or eloquent he may be." 
 
 In an editorial homily on "Old Nails," a stinging re- 
 buke is given to those who practice repeating old ser- 
 mons, "big sermons," "sugar-sticks." They often re- 
 mind the hearer of the remark of the colored brother 
 to his master respecting the rock-powder with which he 
 was trying to burst a rock: "To tell the truth, massa," 
 he said, "I beliebe dat powder was shot once afore." 
 "These old sermons, like rusty nails, will not drive well. 
 They will not fasten in a sure place. They are often 
 weak just where they should be strong. It may seem 
 like economy and time-saving to use these rusty old 
 sermons, but it is not so. If you want to have real 
 sweetness and pleasure in preaching the blessed word 
 of Christ you must throw away the old sermons and 
 dig down into the sacred mine of God's wealth, and 
 bring out the burning new truths which God has 
 planted there especially for us." 
 
 This advice was strictly in harmony with the writer's 
 own practice. 
 
 On "Care for the Children" : "The little boy of to- 
 day will be the preacher and teacher and business-man 
 of to-morrow. The little girl of to-day will be the ten- 
 der minister of the home to-morrow. In a few days the 
 whole mass of men and women who stand in the cur- 
 rent of toil and trade to-day will be in eternity, and 
 the children you pass indifferently by will stand in 
 their places. He who speaks a kind word to the child 
 of to-day puts a smile on the brow of to-morrow. He 
 who directs the current of thought, affection, and pur- 
 suit of the child of to-day makes the destiny of to- 
 morrow. Care for the children." 
 
 Few men have written more felicitously of home than 
 did the editor of the Telescope at various times. Ha 
 I 
 
82 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 himself had a beautiful home, and he knew well the 
 secret of its delightful charms. He says: "Home is 
 the synonym of love. And yet there are homes, so 
 called, with but little love ; and so it comes to pass that 
 there are homes and homes where husbands and wives, 
 fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, keep the heart 
 concealed. But here is not home. Give us the home 
 where the heart of love comes to the forefront ; where 
 the husband loves the wife, and is not afraid to let her 
 know it ; where he loves his children, and is willing that 
 it should go on record. There are homes that are shriv- 
 eled and dying, and from which the children turn away 
 to haunts of vice, frozen to death because there is no 
 love, deep and blessed, building its foundations of faith 
 and its fires of devotion." 
 
 A good lesson is taught, characteristically drawn 
 from an incident once observed in his travels, which 
 was put into an editorial entitled "On the Wrong 
 Train." One paragraph reads: "A young man, seek- 
 ing a companion for life in his own home, who chooses 
 a haughty spirit or a gadabout, dancing, flirt of a girl, 
 links his destiny with the wrong train. She will land 
 him in disgrace. He would better go to the prayer- 
 meeting to seek a wife, and to the home of pious influ- 
 ences and habits. He will reach a better destination 
 by a much more pleasant route." 
 
 The holiday greetings of Dr. Hott always contained 
 sweet and inspiring messages of hope, cheer, and trust. 
 At Christmas, 1885, he said: "We would wipe away 
 every sorrowful tear on this glad day. We would 
 smooth out every furrow from the cheek of the aged 
 with the delight which should spread over every coun- 
 tenance. We would place a smile on every cheek and 
 a song in every mouth. The laughter should be holy 
 gladness, and the song a melody of praise to our God. 
 We would garnish the overshadowing heavens with the 
 streams of light, and over every sorrow of the past a 
 
Editorial Table Talk 83 
 
 bow of promise should span eternal arches of hope for 
 the times to come." 
 
 In the same year this was a part of his New-Year 
 greeting : "A happy New Year ! What better than this 
 can we wish you? May your hearts be filled with love 
 to God and your fellow-men, and your own hearts reap 
 the harvest which comes from a life growing out of 
 such a spirit. May every day of your life prove a step 
 heavenward — homeward — to the land of song unend- 
 ing, and glory unclouded, bliss eternal." 
 
 Thanksgiving, 1888: "And so the annual season of 
 our thanksgiving has come again. Again we turn our 
 opening hearts to the great Sun, whose beams of love 
 and tenderness have shone upon us another full year. 
 The winter brought of snow and rain. The spring- 
 time brought the carpeted green of earth, and new hope 
 and promise in a newly-waking life. The summer ful- 
 filled the promise of the opening spring, and handed 
 the fruits and grains to autumn to ripen for the garner 
 and storehouse; and so God has been merciful to all his 
 people." 
 
 The preaching needed to-day: "The spiritual 
 preacher of to-day is the man the people want to hear. 
 He who comes freshest from the throne of God will 
 have the people to hear him, and that gladly. The 
 man who brings the burning message of Christ and 
 eternal things to the people with the loving heart of 
 the Master will have no lack of hearers." This was 
 said in a strong editorial on "The Christianity of To- 
 day." 
 
 As editor of the Telescope, Dr. Hott never lost his 
 passion for soul-winning. In the revival season he 
 always sought to make the paper especially helpful to 
 pastors. In February, 1886, in writing of the greatest 
 of all works, he said: "It is the greatest of all works 
 to lead a soul to Christ, when looked upon from its 
 manward and benevolent side. What can any man do 
 
84r Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 for a fellow to be compared with introducing him to 
 the acquaintance and fellowship of such a Christ V 
 
 A beautiful and tender Easter message, 1886, opens 
 thus: "The world saw a new life on the morning of 
 the third day after the burial of Jesus. While Marj 
 Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Salome 
 prepared the spices that they might come and anoint 
 the body of Jesus, the angels were coming down to 
 open the grave, not for the anointing, but for the com- 
 ing forth of the living Jesus. The events of that morn- 
 ing are wonderful to contemplate." 
 
 Power of a tear: "The mightiest material force in 
 the world is a tear. The most eloquent utterance that 
 is ever made by man to his fellow-man is that made in 
 a tear. It is the most divine of all expressions. It is 
 nearer God than ten thousand armies. It is the tear 
 that utters the thought of the soul. It speaks the direct 
 language of the inner being. Words come of intellect 
 and reason and thought. Tears come from the heart. 
 Words speak the conclusions of cold logic, stern and 
 real. The tear is just the soul speaking, regardless of 
 all that is in the universe. It asks no questions about 
 this or that, about the here or the yonder. It tells its 
 own pathetic and tender story, without regard to aught 
 that is, and hindered by all that words can mention. 
 The tear is no irrigation of thought; it is the rain- 
 fall of the clear, lofty heavens of the soul ; it is the dew- 
 fall from the inner skies; it is the distilled manna of 
 God in our wilderness." 
 
 Memorial Day suggested a beautiful tribute to the 
 ministry of flowers on many occasions, and closes as 
 follows: "Never comes the ministry of flowers so 
 sweet and so profound as when they garland the cham- 
 ber and the casket where lies a mother, a sister, a wife, 
 a daughter, or a darling little babe cold and quiet in 
 the bosom of death. What language of love and blend- 
 ing hope and unmeasured sorrow they tell! The pil- 
 
Editorial Table Talk 85 
 
 low of bloom with the immortelle of 'Mother,' 'Rest,'— 
 what love is pillowed there ! That harp of beauty and 
 fragrance, what a strain of sorrow floats over its silent 
 strings of roses and lilies and forget-me-nots! Those 
 blooming crowns remind us of love's coronation." 
 
 When in California, in 1887, Dr. Hott met with a 
 painful accident, which led to the writing of a sugges- 
 tive meditation on "Shut in with God," in which the 
 following touching paragraph occurs: "For two weeks 
 the writer has been held the prisoner of suffering and 
 disappointment. Wherein he has been shut out from 
 the pursuits and plans and hopes of life, he has been 
 shut in with God. New fields of meditation have been 
 opened. Other arenas of grace have been discovered. 
 Places and plans of God's love and goodness in sur- 
 prising communion with him have been made known. 
 Where before there was naught but barren and deso- 
 late deserts, there have sprung up fountains of living 
 water. Where there was no voice of love and cheer, 
 there have been all day long the singing of birds and 
 the music of celestial spheres." 
 
 What compensations are here for pain and disap- 
 pointment ! 
 
 Some of Dr. Hott's sayings are of the type of 
 proverbs, choice epigrams, happy sentences, bright and 
 luminous with the wisdom that comes from above. A 
 few of thousands which might be given follow, closing 
 this chapter: 
 
 "The man who manifests a spirit thoroughly candid 
 and Christian is worthy of the respect of his stoutest 
 opponents, and has it." 
 
 "Beware of mingling in a family feud or a church 
 quarrel." 
 
 "Remember that a clean conscience is worth more 
 than all gold." 
 
 "It does not matter how ugly a man is if his heart 
 is only right." 
 
SG Life and Career of James William Ilott 
 
 "It is to the discredit of the church when the sur- 
 roundings of a church-house or parsonage are wanting 
 in neatness and good order." 
 
 "Original men are wanted nowadays — men who are 
 heroic and wise enough to do good in the every-day 
 opportunities of life." 
 
 "Faith travels best up hill." 
 
 "Goodness toils by its own methods. It wins by its 
 own smiles. It conquers with its own sword of gold." 
 
 "Test your religion by the command to love your 
 enemies." 
 
 "The love of novelty has destroyed thousands of 
 souls." 
 
 "Prayer is the sublimest attitude ever assumed by 
 fallen man." 
 
 "The Christian's joy is one of love, of friendship, of 
 safety, of inheritance, of life, beauty, hope, triumph, 
 and assurance. It is the joy of the day — an eternal 
 day." 
 
 "Backbone in character is a good thing where it has 
 a body to suit it." 
 
 "If God appoints the duty, he will also give the 
 strength." 
 
 "The desire for immediate returns has always been 
 shortsighted and at war with the true riches of faith." 
 
 "No man can attain to a life of greatness or gran- 
 deur or goodness without his mind and heart are first 
 possessed of a great desire. Great deeds are born of 
 great desires and great ambitions. Great lives come 
 of great ideas." 
 
 "In soul-saving it is of supreme importance that we 
 rightly appreciate the value of saving one soul. Indi- 
 vidual, personal work is the most successful of all ef- 
 forts for souls." 
 
 "It is the utmost folly to run after one's accusers. 
 Nothing is to be gained by so doing, and much may be 
 lost." 
 
Editorial Table Talk b7 
 
 "No man can safely run the heavenly way who does 
 not keep his eye steadily on the track. The success 
 of the Christian does not depend so much on good reso- 
 lutions and good impulses and good desires, good as all 
 these are and essential, as upon constant faithfulness. 
 Steady, ceaseless piety, which watches every moment, 
 will see the signal of danger and discern the finger- 
 board of God." 
 
 "At home is the place to establish the fundamentals 
 of a pious life. Christ told the demoniac to go home to 
 his own house, and show his kindred what great things 
 the Lord had done for him. There is where he sends 
 us now." 
 
 "No one should trouble himself about false accusa- 
 tions. Let him be sure they are false, and then leave 
 them to die unnoticed. They will die, and the darts 
 of the accuser will recoil upon himself and to his cer- 
 tain shame and sorrow." 
 
 "The world will keep Christmas to the end of time. 
 Its memories will grow more hallowed and sweet with 
 every passing year." 
 
 "There is no duty in which you may not find a pleas- 
 ure for Christ's sake." 
 
 "Just a few grains of holy living are worth more 
 tUan a bushel of loud professions." 
 
 "We will never make friends by lamenting that we 
 have none, or by blaming others for our not being the 
 object of the good feelings and kindly considerations 
 of those about us. We would better set ourselves to 
 loving somebody." 
 
 "God's calendar has but one day — that is to-day." 
 
 "Satan's calendar has but one day — that is to-mor- 
 row." 
 
 "There is not a grief possible to the human heart 
 that Jesus cannot assuage. There is not a sorrow that 
 can press the soul that he cannot lift. There is not a 
 trouble that can roll over the bosom of mortals that 
 
88 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 Christ cannot roll back. His presence is paradise. His 
 truth is a rock of safety. His promise is a draft on 
 infinite resources. His providences are the training- 
 school of happiness. His love is heaven." 
 
 "Love is a giver, and is thus excellent above all other 
 graces." 
 
 "The opportunity of an education is an opportunity 
 that comes to life but once. If the strategic hour is 
 lost once, it is lost forever." 
 
 "Would you move men to a better life, then move 
 yourself." 
 
 "Awhile ago there were great councils of the church 
 to discuss and proclaim dogmas and try heretics; but 
 to-day the sublimest spectacle the sun ever looked upon 
 since it saw God in human flesh in the person of Jesus 
 Christ is the union of Christian effort in the accom- 
 plishing of the objects for which Jesus, the Son of God, 
 died on Calvary eighteen hundred years ago." 
 
 "Make Christ and his love and his religion supreme 
 in your home, and you will always have a happy home." 
 
 "A great heart and a noble soul cannot descend to 
 personal animosities and bitter hatreds even toward an 
 enemy." 
 
 Those who knew James W. Hott well will easily rec- 
 ognize in these brief sayings of his a striking likeness 
 of him as a man and as a humble follower of the Man 
 of Galilee. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 Traveler, Lecturer, Author. 
 
 The General Conference of 1881 authorized the ap- 
 pointment of two delegates to attend the Methodist 
 Ecumenical Conference, to be held in London, in Sep- 
 tember of that year. There was some objection to this 
 action on the ground that the United Brethren Church 
 is not a Methodist body. However, it was agreed that, 
 as the conference was to be made up of representatives 
 from churches holding the Arminian theology, it was 
 perfectly consistent for the United Brethren to have 
 representation in this important gathering. There- 
 upon, Dr. H. A. Thompson and the Rev. J. W. Hott 
 were appointed delegates, with the Rev. W. J. Shuey 
 and Dr. Z. Warner as alternates. 
 
 For weeks following the General Conference, Mr. 
 Hott was busy in arranging for his trip abroad. July 
 27 he took his leave of Dayton, placing the Religious 
 Telescope in the hands of his new assistant, who had 
 then been in the office but two weeks. He first went to 
 his old home in Virginia, where he left his family with 
 his parents, with whom they were to sojourn during his 
 absence. 
 
 After the editor's departure, his assistant, in an edi- 
 torial entitled, "Behind the Editor's Back," took occa- 
 sion to say some things about him that would serve 
 to give his readers a better knowledge of his character 
 and work, and to awaken special interest in his foreign 
 travels. After giving a brief sketch of the life and 
 labors of Mr. Hott, the editorial referred to said : "A 
 delicate and beautiful compliment was paid Brother 
 
 89 
 
90 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 Hott at the General Conference when the bishops ap- 
 pointed him, with Dr. Thompson, to represent the 
 United Brethren Church in the Ecumenical Confer- 
 ence of Arminian and Methodist churches which meets 
 in London, England, in the early part of September 
 next. . . . He will leave New York on the steamer 
 City of Berlin August 6. He expects to make a tour 
 through England, Scotland, and Ireland before the 
 conference, and afterwards spend a month on the con- 
 tinent, going as far east as Switzerland. This trip 
 will occupy a number of weeks, and will furnish the 
 editor a grand opportunity for needed rest and that 
 recuperation which wearied human nature requires. 
 And the whole Church will join in the prayer that such 
 rest and recuperation of body and mind may come to 
 him as will enable him yet to give many years to the 
 Master's service. Brother Hott will continue to write 
 for the Telescope during his absence. The weekly let- 
 ters from his pen which we shall have will be a feature 
 of general interest and delight to all the Telescope 
 family." 
 
 After a farewell meeting, held in the old John Street 
 Methodist Church, in New York, in which many of 
 the delegates to the London conference participated, 
 the good ship, City of Berlin, one of the best steamers 
 then crossing the Atlantic, was boarded, and the good- 
 bys to friends and native land were taken. 
 
 The voyage across the Atlantic, barring sea-sickness, 
 was a delightful one. The passengers were a noble com- 
 pany of men and women, many of them having emi- 
 nence in different parts of the United States — minis- 
 ters, lawyers, journalists, prominent business men, and 
 others. In an account of the voyage, in a letter to the 
 Telescope, Mr. Hott said : "It is to be doubted whether 
 ever a company of persons crossed the Atlantic more 
 pleasantly, or found more congenial associations in 
 a voyage. As we near Queenstown, where many per- 
 
Traveler, Lecturer, Author 91 
 
 sons will leave the ship, there is real sorrow at the 
 thought of parting." 
 
 After a voyage of eight days, land was sighted, "the 
 grandest thing possible" at such a time. After passing 
 the custom-house at Queenstown, those intending to 
 land there did not do so owing to the fact that the 
 hotels were crowded, but were taken by special steamer 
 to Cork, where they landed about two o'clock in the 
 morning, having had a delightful moonlight ride up 
 the river Lee. 
 
 Here a company of twenty-six was organized for a 
 tour through Ireland, Scotland, and England, under 
 the tourist agent, Mr. E. M. Jenkins, of New York. 
 The trip through the southern part of the Emerald 
 Isle was made on Irish jaunting-cars, two-wheeled ve- 
 hicles, well suited to sight-seeing. This trip was taken 
 by Mr. Hott with enthusiastic delight. He wrote 
 charming accounts of his visits to historic places, 
 places rendered famous in literature and in connection 
 with notable names. Then his keen eye did not over- 
 look statues and monuments of poets and soldiers and 
 patriots, the old and noted castles, cathedrals, and other 
 places of absorbing interest in this land of legends and 
 romance. His whole being was thrilled with satisfac- 
 tion as he visited the scenes of the labors of the witty 
 Dean Swift, the poet, Goldsmith, the orator, Burke, 
 the great commentator, Adam Clarke, and others illus- 
 trious in history and song. 
 
 The same fascinating experiences were enjoyed in 
 Scotland and England. Mr. Hott wrote extensively of 
 all he saw and of the impressions made on him during 
 his travels. He was a close observer, and, besides, his 
 familiarity with history enabled him to "take in" vastly 
 more than is the case with the average traveler. Of 
 him it was said by a friend while he was taking this 
 trip through many lands, that everything he touched 
 stuck to him. This was said in commendation of bis* 
 
92 Life and Career of James William IIoM 
 
 rare facility in observation, and in reference to kis 
 ability to describe so well the things his eyes looked 
 upon in the Old World. 
 
 But his extensive writing meant a laborious trip; 
 for while his days were spent in sight-seeing and in 
 taking notes, his nights were often largely taken up im 
 writing his graphic sketches for the Telescope, whil« 
 his fellow-travelers were asleep. Yet in all his journey- 
 ings he found a strange exhilaration and joy from 
 which he never wearied. Like the eager hunter in pur- 
 suit of bewitching game, so this traveler was lured on 
 from day to day with high hopes and with oft-repeated 
 surprises in the privileges and opportunities afforded. 
 
 The Ecumenical Conference was in session eight 
 days in London. This was a great meeting, leading- 
 divines and educators of the Arminian bodies of the 
 world participating in the deliberations. The inspira- 
 tional features of the conference, together with its op- 
 portunities for world-wide fellowships, were among the 
 chief advantages realized. 
 
 During his stay in London, almost two weeks, our 
 visitor was the guest of Mr. W. Saxby and family, who 
 showed him much kindness, which he greatly ap- 
 preciated. These weeks in the world's metropolis fur- 
 nished ample opportunities for the study of many 
 phases of London life, and for visiting Westminster 
 Abbey and other places rich in historic and other memo- 
 ries. The results of these observations and study were 
 given in a number of most interesting letters, entitled 
 "Strayings About London." These included accounts 
 of his visits to places and institutions of most absorb- 
 ing interest with capable guides, thus affording him 
 the best possible advantages for pleasing and instruc- 
 tive observations. Among the privileges he enjoyed 
 while in London, he esteemed none higher than hear- 
 ing such preachers of renown as Charles H. Spurgeon 
 and Newman Hall, in their own churches. 
 
Traveler, Lecturer, Author 93 
 
 At the first Mr. Hott's tour abroad was not planned 
 to extend much beyond London ; but when there he 
 felt his trip would lack completeness, both for himself 
 and the Church, unless he should farther continue his 
 travels. Hence, on the 17th of September he left Lorn 
 don for Rome, going by the way of Paris, where a Sab- 
 bath was passed. The stop in this city was short, and 
 yet it was long enough to get a good view of Parisian 
 life. The aim was to join the Palestine company afc 
 Pisa, and then visit Florence, the city of art, and then 
 go on to Rome. A few days in this classic city, with 
 its history of thousands of years, and its memories, 
 sacred and otherwise, had entrancing interest. The 
 sight of ancient ruins, the catacombs, and noted paint- 
 ings of the masters, made a profound impression. 
 
 A week was spent at Athens, a week in Constanti- 
 nople, and then the voyage was continued, landing at 
 Beirut, the seaport of Syria. From here a tour of 
 Syria and the Holy Land was made, occupying about 
 thirty days. The company consisted of twelve tourists, 
 besides numerous guides, stewards, and muleteers. 
 
 The dream of years was now about to be realized, 
 and the land made sacred in Bible story was to be 
 traversed from north to south. The entire trip was 
 made on horseback, and this mode of travel, and dwell- 
 ing in tents at night, furnished afterwards the theme 
 of one of his most entertaining lectures, "Tent Life in 
 Palestine." It was one of the crowning joys of his life 
 to have had the privilege of visiting Jerusalem, Beth- 
 lehem, and the Jordan Valley, and other places sacred 
 in memories indescribably dear to the Christian be- 
 liever. These scenes made a deep and lasting impres- 
 sion on both his mind and heart. 
 
 The time from November 26 to December 6 was spent 
 in Egypt, among its strange scenes and peoples. This 
 land is likewise full of sacred associations, and its cus- 
 toms and history, its monuments and ruins were sub- 
 jects for most interesting observation and study. 
 
94 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 Spending a Sunday in Cairo, Mr. Hott was asked 
 to preach in the United Presbyterian mission in that 
 city. Having only a tourist suit with him, he said to 
 the other preachers of the company who had their cleri- 
 cal apparel with them, "Lend me a suit and I will 
 preach." The suit was forthcoming, and he preached 
 at the hour of the English service, with his usual readi- 
 ness and delight. 
 
 From Alexandria the homeward journey was begun, 
 December 6. The return trip was by the way of 
 Triest, Venice, Milan, Paris, London, sailing from 
 Liverpool December 22, and reaching New York, Janu- 
 ary 2, 1882, after an absence of five- months. 
 
 During these months so full of interest everywhere, 
 Mr. Hott had traveled over 16,000 miles— 11,000 on 
 water and 5,000 on land. About 500 miles were trav- 
 eled on horseback and on donkeys while in Palestine 
 and Egypt — all making a most remarkable journey, 
 rich in varied and instructive experiences and in pleas- 
 ant and inspiring memories. 
 
 Writing for the Telescope, the returning editor said : 
 "Glad to get back? Glad to get to America again! 
 Glad to get home? Who can tell how glad? Who can 
 appreciate it but one who has experienced it? The 
 cars had been too slow and the vessel too tardy with the 
 waves. The nights were too long and the days too 
 tedious. But days and nights came and went, and 
 God was good ; and Tuesday morning, January 3, I was 
 again with my little family under father's and mother's 
 roof, with brothers and sisters who had come to wel- 
 come my return, . . . and that was the happiest 
 hour I ever saw." 
 
 "Of all countries upon our globe none is fairer than 
 our own broad land. Egypt and Palestine garner won- 
 derful and sacred treasures of antiquity. Greece, Italy, 
 and indeed all Europe are full of the foot-prints of 
 the giant Time, who has led his hosts of kings, poets, 
 
Traveler, Lecturer, Author 95 
 
 architects, artists, and warriors over the mountains 
 and the plains, and through cities of renown. There 
 are tropical skies in which the heavens appear more 
 glorious, and under which delicate flowers and fruits 
 grow more luxuriantly in valleys guarded by the Alps 
 and the Appenines. There are in England a wealth 
 and a strength of government which have elements ono 
 would like to weave into our own republic; but in 
 America there is an individuality and personal man- 
 hood which, with all its perils, is our crown of glory. 
 Our free institutions and free church, and our free 
 people and almost boundless plains, make a garden of 
 retreat for the oppressed of the nations of the earth. 
 Here every man may have a home, every heart its joy, 
 every woman her love, and every man his family. Here 
 God in his providence and grace is working out a new 
 problem in the destiny of the race, and making a new 
 revelation of himself to the world." 
 
 Thus it will be seen how the travels of the editor 
 abroad served to enhance his appreciation of his home 
 land. This trip through distant lands was of great 
 value, not only in increasing his resources of knowl- 
 edge and broadening his life, but in furnishing him 
 almost limitless materials for use in his future work. 
 
 The educational value of a trip of this kind is by no 
 means small. There were good opportunities for the 
 study of ancient history under favoring conditions, 
 and for the investigation of present-day conditions, 
 social, political, and otherwise. And with one so ready 
 to see and learn, such a tour had advantages which 
 only those making it can adequately appreciate. 
 
 Mr. Hott's travels in this country were very exten- 
 sive, through many years his work and the interests he 
 represented making this both desirable and necessary. 
 He was such an observant traveler that in this way he 
 gained much in his knowledge of the Church and the 
 country in their wide interests and relations. His 
 
96 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 visits to the Yosemite Valley, California, and to other 
 places where the natural scenery has such charms to 
 the appreciative beholder, were utilized, not merely to 
 his own profit, but to multitudes who read the fascinat- 
 ing sketches written from these marvelous scenes. It 
 is safe to say that few travelers had so great ability to 
 get so much out of new and old scenes and in meeting 
 people as did he. 
 
 During the winter of 1894 and extending to the fol- 
 lowing spring, he made an episcopal visit to Africa and 
 Germany, which will be spoken of elsewhere in con- 
 nection with his official life. 
 
 After his return from his travels abroad he was much 
 in demand for lectures. He had been a popular plat- 
 form speaker, however, for many years before this, one 
 of his best lectures being that on "Character," which 
 was both entertaining and instructive, and having 
 special value to young people. He lectured frequently 
 for churches, schools, and Young Men's Christian As- 
 sociations on a variety of themes chiefly of a practical 
 character. Of his several lectures on his travels, none 
 was more popular than that "With the Bible in Bible 
 Lands." He had visited these lands with his eyes open, 
 and with the Bible open as well, verifying historic 
 statements and allusions to places, manners and cus- 
 toms, etc., and so he was able to make many things in 
 the Scripture narrative more real and earthly, and yet 
 more divine and precious. 
 
 As a lecturer Mr. Hott had the happy faculty of 
 readily putting himself in accord with things. This 
 was evidenced once in a characteristic way when he 
 was to deliver a lecture some distance from Dayton. 
 His train was late. When he arrived at the station 
 where he was directed to stop, he found that the place 
 he was to lecture was four miles distant. He was soon 
 driven to the place, however, where his audience was in 
 waiting. On beginning his lecture, he said : "Ladies 
 
Traveler, Lecturer, Author 97 
 
 and Gentlemen : I am here at last. I came to the sta- 
 tion over yonder by express, and from there here I came 
 by telegraph." He thus struck the humorous side of 
 the audience, and had them with him to the last. In 
 this way, by some clever maneuver, he gained the at- 
 tention of his hearers when he delivered a missionary 
 lecture or other address, thus overcoming all restraint. 
 The ability thus to bring one's audience into full sym- 
 pathy with him and his subject is one of the necessary 
 requisites of a popular platform speaker, which he 
 possessed to a notable degree. 
 
 As an author Dr. Hott holds deserved eminence. 
 His readiness and experience as an editorial writer 
 were of great value to him in making the important 
 contributions he did to the more permanent literature 
 of his times. Upon his return from his first visit to 
 foreign lands he wrote a large volume entitled "Jour- 
 neyings in the Old World," which met with popular 
 favor, passing through several editions. It is a meri- 
 torious work, and ranks high among books of its class. 
 
 In 1886, as editor of the Telescope-, he wrote a series 
 of articles extending through several months, entitled 
 "Talks with Young Christians." There had been dur- 
 ing the previous winter extensive revivals in the 
 Church, and this series of practical papers was under- 
 taken at the suggestion of the present writer. There 
 were many thousands of converts needing simple and 
 suggestive directions in walking in the new life upon 
 which they had entered, and there was no one better 
 fitted to "talk" to them sympathetically and helpfully 
 than one who always carried a heart in passionate love 
 with souls. This one accepted the task, and from the 
 first it was a labor of love. He had not only been a dili- 
 gent worker in a great revival that winter, in which he 
 had led many into the light and joys of personal sal- 
 vation, but he had urged the importance of this work 
 
98 Life and Career of James William Ilott 
 
 on the whole Church in the earnest and burning mes- 
 sages that went out weekly from his pen. 
 
 In 1892 this series of talks was published in a valua- 
 ble book, entitled, "Sacred Hours with Young Chris- 
 tians," with a very cordial introduction by Dr. Theo- 
 dore L. Cuyler, the veteran Brooklyn pastor. This book 
 is an exceedingly helpful companion for the young dis- 
 ciple of Christ. 
 
 Dr. Hott also wrote for "Christian Doctrine," a theo- 
 logical work edited by Bishop Weaver, the chapter on 
 "The Atonement." In this the necessity, the nature, 
 and the extent of the atonement of Christ are ably 
 presented with special reference to the biblical teach- 
 ings on the subject. 
 
 In 1888 a large volume was published entitled, "That 
 Unknown Country, or What Living Hen Believe Con- 
 cerning Punishment after Death," to which Dr. Hott 
 contributed a chapter. This treatise not only gives his 
 views on the subject, but the teaching of the United 
 Brethren Church as well. It is a clear, succinct doc- 
 trinal statement, and is an important contribution to 
 the notable discussion with which it is connected. 
 
 The introduction to the "Life of Bishop David Ed- 
 wards," by Dr. L. Davis, and to the "Life of Bishop 
 J. J. Glossbrenner," by Prof. A. W. Drury, D. D., was 
 written by Dr. Hott. He was a warm personal friend 
 and admirer of both of these men, so long in the episco- 
 pal office, and his tribute to their character and distin- 
 guished services is most befitting — a cordial, grateful, 
 and affectionate tribute and lasting memorial. 
 
 All of Mr. Hott's writings, whether for the periodi- 
 cal literature of the Church, or for the books that bear 
 his name, are characteristic of a candid, thoughtful 
 mind and of a heart deep in love with men and loyal to 
 God. This does not imply that they were faultless, or 
 that they are not open to just criticism, but rather that 
 they are marked by intellectual and heart sincerity, a 
 
Traveler, Lecturer, Author 99 
 
 quality always essential to popular esteem and impres- 
 siveness. The products of his pen must, therefore, have 
 permanent value, not only in the archives of the 
 Church, but in the hearts and lives of grateful thou- 
 sands who have been blessed through the ministry of 
 printed thought. These will have an undying interest 
 in what he has written. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Bishop and Church Leader. 
 
 The twentieth General Conference met in York, Pa., 
 May 9, 1889. Bishop Glossbrenner had died during 
 the quadrennium. All the other bishops were present. 
 For the sixth time James W. Hott was a delegate from 
 Virginia Conference to this quadrennial gathering. 
 His colleagues at this session were J. W. Howe, C. P. 
 Dyche, and A. P. Funkhouser. 
 
 This was the first General Conference after the 
 adoption of pro rata representation, and the largest 
 that had ever assembled, being composed of 124 mem- 
 bers besides the six bishops. It was an unusual Con- 
 ference, chiefly because it was charged with the re- 
 sponsibility of acting upon the work of the Church 
 Commission appointed four years before. The third 
 day of the Conference this work came up for consid- 
 eration, and, after being ably and earnestly discussed, 
 it was approved by the decisive vote of 110 to 20. 
 
 Immediately following this action I)r. Hott offered 
 a series of resolutions expressive of feelings of good 
 will and brotherly love toward those voting in the 
 minority. But this "olive branch" was declined by 
 those to whom it referred, and no action was taken on 
 the paper. 
 
 On the Monday following, May 13, the bishops offi- 
 cially proclaimed the Confession of Faith and Consti- 
 tution as ratified by the General Conference, to be the 
 fundamental belief and organic law of the Church of 
 the United Brethren in Christ. 
 
 At this juncture a part of the dissenting minority 
 100 
 
Bishop and Church Leader 101 
 
 withdrew, and, going to a public hall, they organized 
 another general conference and proceeded to transact 
 business as if they were the representatives of the 
 Church. This was the beginning of the withdrawal of 
 a few thousand members from the Church and the or- 
 ganization of a new religious body. Though claiming 
 for a time that they were the true Church, the courts 
 decided otherwise, and they were compelled to relin- 
 quish all claim to the property of the Church. 
 
 With the approval of the work of the Commission 
 there ended a long, and at times, acrimonious struggle 
 to secure changes in the polity of the Church, which 
 hitherto had been prevented by certain restrictive con- 
 stitutional enactments. The part which the editor of 
 the Religious Telescope had in bringing about this 
 happy consummation was by no means insignificant. 
 During the four years the Commission and its work 
 were before the Church he directed the policy of the 
 paper, true to the Church, with great skill and in ad- 
 mirable spirit. The quadrennium brought great 
 changes in the sentiment of the Church, both in the 
 ministry and laity, as was shown in the popular vote 
 approving the work of the Commission. 
 
 Among other new measures that received the ap- 
 proval of this conference were those relating to lay rep- 
 resentation in the General Conference, the admission 
 of women to the ministry on the same terms as men, 
 and the founding of the United Brethren Quarterly 
 Review. 
 
 It was at the hands of this Conference that Dr. Hott 
 received his first election to the bishop's office. Previ- 
 ous to the election it had been agreed that there should 
 be four bishops elected to serve the districts lying east 
 of the Rocky Mountains, and that a missionary bishop 
 should be elected for the Pacific Coast, and to reside 
 within the district, whose duties, in addition to hold- 
 ing the coast conferences, should include missionary 
 
102 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 and evangelistic work. On the first ballot Bishops 
 Weaver, Kephart, Castle, and Dickson were reelected. 
 
 After the first ballot had been taken for the Coast 
 bishop, in which Mr. Hott received a very compli- 
 mentary vote, he arose and thanked the Conference for 
 the confidence and appreciation expressed and asked 
 that his name be not further used for that work. There 
 was no election from the next ballot, and the morning 
 session adjourned. In the afternoon, when a third 
 ballot was ordered, Dr. Hott, addressing the presiding 
 bishop, said: "I wish to do the most delicate thing of 
 my life. I want to do it in the love of the Lord Jesus. 
 This morning our brethren urged a form of work for 
 me which I could not consent to take. After the second 
 ballot has been cast by the brethren, and privately the 
 matter has been urged upon my attention, I wish to 
 recall the opposition which I made to your wishes. If 
 you shall make such thought for me in the work of God. 
 I shall then consent to go. I should be glad, however, 
 if you would find another. I think you understand 
 me. I pray that God may bless you." The ballot was 
 then taken, and, despite the strong wish expressed, Dr. 
 Hott was elected by a splendid vote. As he took his 
 seat on the platform, at the invitation of Bishop 
 Weaver, he was greeted with earnest applause. 
 
 It is not disclosing any secret when it is said that 
 Bishop Hott much preferred to remain in the editorial 
 work. He had no aspirations for anything higher than 
 that field afforded, so it was with great reluctance that 
 he gave his consent to accept another office, even one of 
 higher dignity and honor. 
 
 There were good reasons for this reluctance. His 
 long experience as an editor had given him a very high 
 appreciation of the power of the religious press. He 
 well knew that to direct the Church's thought and 
 broadening life and activities through this agency 
 meant far more than to be a bishop. This feeling was 
 
Bishop and Church Leader 103 
 
 not due to a mere selfish ambition to be great, but 
 rather to his deep love for the Church and his desire to 
 be of the greatest possible use in promoting its welfare. 
 He was never a time-server, and could not be, but was 
 a diplomat and statesman in aggressive churchcraft, 
 always abreast of the spirit of the times, and a ready 
 and capable leader in advance movements in Christian 
 endeavor. But it was a man with these distinguishing 
 qualities that was likewise demanded by the Church 
 for its episcopal service. 
 
 In his final words as editor of our Church paper, 
 after reviewing the period of his labors in that ca- 
 pacity, Dr. Hott evidences deep pain of heart when he 
 says : "The writer regrets most of all to sever his rela- 
 tions with the readers of the Religious Telescope. He 
 has learned to regard the preachers of the entire 
 Church as his truest friends. He tried to gather the 
 wants and toils and trials and sorrows and bereave- 
 ments of the readers of the Telescope to his own heart, 
 and so to be the better prepared to minister to their 
 comfort and growth in the Christian life. This sepa- 
 ration has in it that tenderness which a pastor feels 
 when he parts from his long-watched and much-loved 
 flock. May others lead this large company to pastures 
 of tender grass and waters of quietness. We shall 
 meet again on the banks of the river of life; there the 
 flowers always bloom and the summer lasts forever." 
 
 To use the language of our Church historian, Dr. 
 Berger, "That was a wise choice which the General 
 Conference made when it added Dr. James W. Hott 
 to the episcopal board. He was in the full vigor of 
 early middle life, being in the forty-fifth year of his 
 age, and had attained the ripe maturity of a strong in- 
 tellectual manhood. He possessed the advantages 
 gained through a broad and varied experience as 
 preacher and editor, and by extensive travel in our own 
 and foreign countries. To this he added a fervent de- 
 
104 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 "votion to the Church in which he was born, and to 
 which he had hitherto given his life in unremitting 
 service." 
 
 Bishop Hott left Dayton June 3, 1889, for his first 
 visit to the new and distant diocese to which he had 
 been assigned. In an account of his westward trip, 
 entitled, "Drifting Toward a Distant Sea," the follow- 
 ing is the opening paragraph : "The moorings are cut 
 loose. The anchor is lifted. June 3, 1889, the frail 
 bark is drifting toward a distant and unknown sea. 
 Drifting! what a word this is! It must, in this case, 
 mean, carried by the currents of providence and borne 
 to a destiny unknown." 
 
 His first conference was at Walla Walla, which con- 
 vened at Oakesdale, Washington, June 12. He was 
 given a very cordial reception, his preaching and coun- 
 sel being warmly commended. Writing of the confer- 
 ence, Bishop Castle, who was present, says: "Bishop 
 Hott in his first visit won an easy captivity of the af- 
 fections of this body of devoted ministers and people. 
 He came with the gospel. That always wins in this 
 conference." 
 
 At this conference steps were taken to establish a 
 church in Spokane, a new town of 20,000 population, 
 and rapidly growing. The bishop gave his earnest sup- 
 port to this forward movement, and later visited 
 Spokane, where he found a "nucleus for a fine working 
 church." Thus the quadrennium opened with this new 
 enterprise well launched, a forerunner of numerous 
 other like undertakings on the Coast. 
 
 The bishop's next conference was the Oregon, which 
 met at Philomath, July 11. There he had a new and 
 trying experience. He found that the majority of the 
 preachers had gone off with the schism at the General 
 Conference, and were claiming the church property in 
 that State. They did not recognize him as the bishop, 
 and were determined that he should not preside. The 
 
Bishop and Church Leader L05 
 
 conference was to be held in the chapel of Philomath 
 College, the regular place of church worship in that 
 place. The evening before the time set for the opening 
 session the bishop received a notice forbidding him the 
 use of the chapel. When he arrived the next day he 
 found the door closed and guarded. As he was about 
 to put his hand on the door-knob, one of the guards 
 said, "You cannot enter here; this door is locked." 
 Bishop Castle, whose home was then in Philomath, and 
 who was a witness to this episode, says: "Then you 
 ought to have seen a little Virginian, with all the state- 
 liness of sterling manhood and the magistrature of a 
 bishop, 'ride the whirlwind and direct the storm.' 
 'Brother, I 've come here to hold a conference, and I 
 want you to stand from this door ! You have no right 
 here. The notice you served on me is of no force; it is 
 not legal; it will not stand the test in any court in 
 this country. I have rights in this country, and I am 
 going to maintain them. I am going to hold a confer- 
 ence in this house. You are here without any author- 
 ity, and you will regret the day of this assumption of 
 power! Do you know what you are doing? I have 
 legal advice in the matter from a reliable counsel in 
 your own State.' " 
 
 Later the guards, when threatened with arrest, shmk 
 away, and when leaving said, "If you go in, you do it 
 at your own peril." "The bishop, responding to this," 
 says Bishop Castle, "said, 'Come on, we '11 assume all 
 responsibilities,' and thus led the way into the college 
 chapel, where the conference was organized, and unin- 
 terruptedly conducted its business to a close." 
 
 The conference as organized was made up only of 
 ministers loyal to the bishop and the Church. They 
 passed strong resolutions of gratitude to the General 
 Conference for sending to them in their time of trial 
 Bishop J. W. Hott. His welcome was earnest and af- 
 fectionate. 
 
106 Life and Career of James William ITott 
 
 Following this conference the bishop wrote for the 
 Telescope: "The work in Oregon is fairly started. 
 The question as to whether we are to have a Church 
 and conference here is settled. The element of re- 
 sistance and ceaseless warring has gone from us. We 
 can build in the future if we will, and God be with us 
 to send salvation to the hearts of the people and bless 
 his preached word. Five persons united with the 
 Church last Sabbath night. God was with us all the 
 time." 
 
 This seems like strange language when it is known 
 that this was the thirty-sixth session of Oregon Confer- 
 ence ; but the radicals were strong here, and they stub- 
 bornly resisted the authority of the General Conference. 
 A long contest in the civil courts followed to quiet the 
 title of the property of the Church in that State, of 
 which there will be further reference later. 
 
 Bishop Hott now returned to Dayton to arrange for 
 the removal of his family to Woodbridge, California, 
 the place he had chosen for his episcopal residence for 
 the ensuing four years. The Telescope, speaking of 
 his return from the Coast, said, "His courage and tact 
 in managing the affairs of the Church in Washington 
 Territory and Oregon have been highly commendable, 
 and have served to assure the Church that he is the 
 man to take the superintendency of our important 
 church interests on the Coast." 
 
 The next week the Telescope contained this personal 
 note: "Bishop Hott occupied the pulpit of our Sum- 
 mit Street Church, this city, last Sabbath morning, 
 preaching an excellent and appropriate sermon from 
 the text, 'Here we have no continuing city, but we seek 
 one to come.' The bishop had been a member of this 
 congregation, with his family, the past sixteen years; 
 and as he was soon to remove to the Pacific Coast, the 
 sermon partook of the nature of a farewell address to 
 those with whom he had been so many years associated 
 
ilSHOP AND MRS. HOTT IN CALIFORNIA -IN 1890. 
 
Bishop and Church Leader 107 
 
 as a neighbor and church-worker. He was greeted with 
 a magnificent audience." 
 
 Two weeks later the bishop preached on Sunday 
 morning for the First Church congregation, and in the 
 afternoon addressed a men's meeting in the Y. M. C. A. 
 hall. These meetings were largely attended, and were 
 accompanied with earnest expressions of esteem and 
 good will. 
 
 The bishop and his family were tendered a farewell 
 reception at Summit Street Church on the Monday 
 evening prior to their departure. Fitting addresses 
 were made by Dr. W. J. Shuey, Bishop Weaver, Dr. G. 
 A. Funkhouser, and others, to which the bishop made 
 a happy and impressive response. Mrs. Hott received 
 a fine silver plate and the bishop a beautiful gold- 
 headed cane, gifts from their Sunday-school classes. 
 These testimonials were the grateful expression of love 
 from those who had long enjoyed their faithful services 
 as teachers. 
 
 With this warm-hearted good-by in Dayton, the long 
 journey to Woodbridge, California, was taken, where 
 they found a royal greeting and welcome awaiting 
 them. Woodbridge is a beautiful village, thirty-five 
 miles south of Sacramento, and was at that time the 
 seat of San Joaquin Valley College, a school of the 
 Church. There the bishop and family found a delight- 
 ful home amid congenial surroundings and associa- 
 tions. 
 
 Soon after reaching his new home the bishop was un- 
 expectedly summoned to Oregon to look after the 
 Church litigation pending there. The trip of seven 
 hundred miles, made by rail over the famous "Shasta 
 Route," was quite in contrast with making the journey 
 by stage, as Bishop Weaver and others had done in 
 visiting our work on the Coast some years before. 
 
 The litigation in Oregon was forced on the Church 
 by those who had withdrawn from it; but under the 
 
108 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 wise and' tactful leadership favorable decisions were at 
 last reached. The courts were slow in coming to a per- 
 fect understanding of the case, and early decisions were 
 adverse to the Church, but finally in the court of high- 
 est resort a decision was handed down fully vindicat- 
 ing all the claims of the Church as to its identity and 
 property rights. 
 
 California Conference met in Sacramento, October 
 9. The session was harmonious and attended with an 
 excellent devotional spirit. This conference lost only 
 a few members by the radical withdrawal, and they 
 were nearly all local and superannuated preachers. 
 Bishop Hott was accorded the warmest possible wel- 
 come, and the conference found in him a brother in- 
 deed, who entered into their life and work with a zeal 
 and heartiness which made his presence an inspiration 
 and benediction. He was delighted to meet there the 
 Rev. D. Shuck, formerly a bishop in the Church, and 
 who organized the conference twenty-five years before, 
 and the Revs. T. J. Bauder and J. L. Field, also vet- 
 erans there. The Rev. W. C. Day, D. D., a former 
 pastor of the bishop, was the secretary of the confer- 
 ence. The city press gave the conference cordial rec- 
 ognition, and the bishop's preaching was spoken of in 
 terms of highest appreciation. 
 
 The three conferences now mentioned comprised the 
 entire district over which Bishop Hott had the super- 
 intendence. The holding of the annual sessions of 
 these bodies was really a small part of his work. "The 
 care of all the churches," in the midst of the trying 
 conditions in the Church life, the opening of new mis- 
 sions in promising centers, aiding pastors in evangelis- 
 tic work, and the dedication of churches, involved ar- 
 duous and continued toil. He saw the field to be large 
 and urgent, and he deeply felt that the Church had a 
 commission to occupy it. To this end his splendid 
 powers of brain and soul were unstintedly devoted. 
 
Bishop and Church Leader 109 
 
 In giving a report of the district for the year, the 
 bishop said : "Our work on this coast is scattered over 
 a vast territory, and this, with many other things, ren- 
 ders it difficult to supply and organize it well. The 
 field is a difficult, needy, and yet a hopeful one. There 
 is no part of our great country where the conditions of 
 the present and the promises of the future demand so 
 much and so earnestly of the Church. The founda- 
 tions of what might well be called an empire are now 
 being laid west of the Rocky Mountains." And this 
 he makes the occasion of an earnest appeal for the 
 hearty support of the work on the Coast by the entire 
 denomination. 
 
 During the following winter Bishop Hott visited the 
 churches in southern California. He spent two weeks 
 with the Rev. M. S. Bovey at Riverside in fruitful re- 
 vival work. Seventeen were hopefully converted, and 
 the church was much strengthened in its life. He did 
 a like work at other points, much to the encourage- 
 ment of pastors and people. "What a welcome they 
 gave me, all for the Master's sake," was one of the 
 bishop's earnest expressions as he afterwards told of 
 how he was received by the churches. 
 
 In the early spring of 1890, a general Young People's 
 Convention having been called to meet in Dayton, 
 Ohio, June 4 and 5, Bishop Hott wrote the committee 
 issuing the call: "We must keep our young people 
 churchly in their organization. We are shut up to it 
 by the law of self-preservation. I presume the way to 
 do is to organize as you propose to do, and that with a 
 view of carrying the matter to the annual conferences. 
 I do believe the organization of our young people in 
 all the churches of our Zion would be a great stimulus 
 to the Church and Christian work." 
 
 This convention was held, the Young People's Chris- 
 tian Union was organized, and a unique plan was 
 adopted for the denominational control of all the 
 
110 Life and Career of James William Jlott 
 
 young people's societies of the Church. Being in deep 
 sympathy with the young, this movement at once en- 
 listed the bishop's most sympathetic cooperation. 
 
 In June Bishop Hott started on a new round of his 
 conferences. His first was the Oregon, held at Philo- 
 math, beginning June 11. Here he received the sad 
 news of the death of a cherished brother, the Rev. C. M. 
 Hott, the new pastor at Woodbridge. This brother 
 had gone to the Coast from Boonsboro, Maryland, 
 where he had lived eight years, two as presiding elder 
 and six as a faithful and loved pastor, the December 
 previous, at the solicitation of the bishop, that he might 
 help in the great work of that needy field. He was 
 just beginning what promised to be a pastorate of un- 
 usual vigor and fruitfulness, when suddenly he was 
 cut down. He died June 15. The sorrow which this 
 event occasioned his brother was unspeakable, and be- 
 sides, a wide circle of friends was stirred, for the de- 
 ceased was a man of noble character, an able preacher, 
 and had been in the ministry for twenty-two years. 
 
 Because of this sorrowful visitation the bishop was 
 not able to attend Walla Walla conference that year, 
 and the Rev. W. S. Gilbert, then president of Philo- 
 math College, was asked to do that work, which he 
 did with great acceptability. 
 
 That summer Bishop Hott attended the California 
 State Sunday- School Convention, and was a favorite 
 speaker on the program. Dr. E. S. Chapman, in writ- 
 ing the Telescope of his work, says: "We piled the 
 work upon him in preparing the program, and the 
 more we gave him to do the better he did it. The many 
 puns played on his suggestive name were soon for- 
 gotten in the intensity of the enthusiasm and interest 
 which he kindled in the hearts of all who were present. 
 He made an impression on the Christian workers of 
 the State which has been and will continue to be help- 
 ful to the Church which he represents on our Coast." 
 
Bishop and Church Leader 111 
 
 The San Francisco Christian Advocate, speaking of 
 the bishop's addresses on "Modern Customs in Bible 
 Lands," said: "He showed how much illumination 
 many of the words of Scripture receive by the study 
 of the customs which prevail to-day in those lands. Dr. 
 Hott is a true brother in Christ, and his presence was 
 very much enjoyed by the convention." 
 
 The bishop supplied the pulpit of the Woodbridge 
 church three months, completing the conference year 
 of his brother. During this time he had the joy of 
 welcoming to the fellowship of the Church sixteen new 
 members. 
 
 The California Conference was held at Selma, con- 
 vening October 8. The next week the bishop went to 
 Oregon. After spending a few days in Philomath in 
 special meetings, attended with marked spiritual re- 
 sults, he visited and preached in other parts of the 
 State and in Washington, dedicated the new church 
 in Spokane, November 9, a beautiful house of worship, 
 which, with the parsonage, cost $6,600. The success 
 of this enterprise was realized under the leadership of 
 the Eev. C. C. Bell, who had been the pastor there from 
 the beginning. Writing of this event, the bishop said : 
 "This we count one of the grandest achievements of 
 our Church anywhere." The children of the Church, 
 through the letter-box of the Telescope, contributed 
 over $700 to the funds for this praiseworthy mission 
 enterprise. 
 
 In his second annual report of his district, in Febru- 
 ary, 1891, Bishop Hott, after referring to the feeling 
 of depression caused by the division in the Church on 
 the Coast, said: "The struggle is not ended, but we 
 have passed the most trying ordeal and are better or- 
 ganized for aggressive work for Christ and humanity 
 than before. The promise for the future is for the 
 most part encouraging." 
 
 On the 7th of February the bishop turned his steps 
 
112 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 toward southern California again. At Selma he 
 stopped and preached eight days in special meetings. 
 One of the converts was a grandson of the bishop's first 
 Sunday-school teacher. This, and like incidents were 
 to him sources of joy and inspiration. While on this 
 trip he was again summoned to Oregon to testify in 
 the Church case having a hearing there. A few days 
 later he was called back to Woodbridge by a telegram 
 announcing the serious illness of Dr. J. J. Eiley, the 
 physician who had given him such skillful and patient 
 care after his accident in the Yosemite Valley, four 
 years before. He was able to reach Woodbridge just 
 in time to officiate at the funeral of his devoted friend. 
 
 These movements of the bishop show how very ac- 
 tive his life was during his term of church service on 
 the Coast. The long distances which he had to travel 
 but added to his laborious duties. 
 
 As the first anniversary of the Young People's Chris- 
 tian Union drew near, the officers of the organization 
 felt it would be wise to open a home mission some- 
 where to be supported by the young people of the 
 Church. After consultation with Bishop Hott it was 
 decided to observe May 31, 1891, as Young People's 
 Day in the Church, and that offerings be taken on that 
 day for a new mission church to be planted in Los 
 Angeles, California. Learning of this action, the 
 bishop wrote: "I am rejoiced to see you open up for 
 Los Angeles. God is in that plan, I am sure. How 
 often I have prayed for some such opening there. The 
 Young People's Christian Union will put a star of the 
 first magnitude in its constellation of many stars by 
 this opening up of the work in that beautiful city of 
 southern California." 
 
 This movement for a church there was wisely guided 
 by the bishop through several interesting stages — first 
 the purchase of a lot on the corner of Pico and Hope 
 streets for $2,750, then the building of a chapel cost- 
 
Bishop and Church leader 113 
 
 ing $1,000, and later a beautiful modern church at a 
 cost of $10,000. 
 
 Bishop Hott that year attended the annual meetings 
 of the several Church boards held in May, in Dayton, 
 Ohio. Here he received a very warm greeting after 
 two years' absence and work on the coast. The Mis- 
 sionary Board approved the work undertaken in Los 
 Angeles, and appointed the Rev. E. A. Starkey to be 
 the first pastor and missionary in that city, and it was 
 he who laid the foundations there for the present flour- 
 ishing church, though the church-house was built un- 
 der the pastorate of the Rev. J. S. Pitman. 
 
 Returning to the Coast soon after the May anniver- 
 saries, Bishop Hott resumed his work with renewed 
 zeal and hopefulness. For two years more his toils for 
 the Church and the cause of Christ were abundant and 
 fruitful. He preached, lectured, and traveled almost 
 constantly. According to the record of his work which 
 he kept, he preached seventy-six times for the church 
 in Woodbridge during his four years' residence there. 
 He so delighted to preach the gospel that he rarely ever 
 declined an invitation to do so. 
 
 Under his aggressive supervision and untiring la- 
 bors the Church on his district had great prosperity. 
 He had been able to enlist a number of strong men 
 from the East to join in the work there. Among these 
 were the Rev. W. S. Gilbert, who became president of 
 the college at Philomath, Oregon, in 1889, and the 
 Rev. J. G. Huber, who became president of San Joaquin 
 Valley College, at Woodbridge, California, in 1891, 
 both from Miami Conference. The latter succeeded 
 the Rev. D. A. Mobley, who had for years been at the 
 head of the educational work of the Church in that 
 State. 
 
 New churches were established at Spokane, Wash- 
 ington ; Julieta, Idaho ; Hood River, Eugene, and Port- 
 land, Oregon; and in Los Angeles and other places in 
 s 
 
114 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 California. To all these enterprises the bishop gave 
 the heartiest personal support. 
 
 In the spring of 1892 Dr. W. J. Shuey, the Publish- 
 ing Agent at Dayton, paid a visit to the Coast, and at- 
 tended the Walla Walla and Oregon conferences, giv- 
 ing great encouragement to the bishop and the work 
 there. He also visited the bishop at his home at Wood- 
 bridge, and there preached the baccalaureate at the 
 commencement of the college. While there the home 
 of the bishop was the scene of an event of very delight- 
 ful interest. It was the marriage of the bishop's two 
 daughters, June 2, the ceremony being performed by 
 himself, assisted by Dr. Shuey. Lou Ella was married 
 to Professor J. H. Francis, and Mattie to President 
 J. G. Huber, both members of the faculty of the col- 
 lege. 
 
 There are many incidents of the work during the 
 two following years, of the bishop's preaching for our 
 own and other churches, of his lecturing, and writing 
 extensively for the Church papers, etc., which would 
 have interest, but space is wanting. We have now had 
 a somewhat comprehensive view of Bishop Hott's work 
 during his first term in the episcopal office, and we must 
 now turn to other scenes and labors. 
 
 The twenty-first General Conference convened in 
 Dayton, Ohio, May 11, 1893. The bishops, Weaver, 
 Dickson, Castle, Kephart, and Hott were all present. 
 The past quadrennial term had witnessed the signal 
 triumph of the Church in the litigation resulting: from 
 the division caused four years before, and the Confer- 
 ence gathered under very assuring and hopeful 
 auspices. Laymen, among whom were two women 
 delegates, had seats in this body for the first time. The 
 bishops' address, which was read by Bishop Hott. and 
 had been prepared by him, was a very comprehensive 
 and able church paper, some of its ringing utterances 
 calling forth enthusiastic applause. Its key-note was 
 
Bishop and Church Leader 115 
 
 "aggressiveness." Keferring to the address in his re- 
 sponse to the address of welcome to the conference, 
 President Beardshear called it the "grandest address 
 which the noble bishops of this Church ever gave to us 
 in our history" 
 
 Among the closing paragraphs of the address, under 
 the heading, "A Word of Counsel," is this strikingly 
 clear analysis of the Church's chief mission: "In our 
 work of evangelization three great interests demand 
 supreme consideration. Three demands rise colossus- 
 like before you. The first is for a trained, thoroughly 
 equipped, consecrated ministry; the second is for a 
 missionary treasury filled with the Lord's money, for 
 use in the Lord's cause ; the third is a strong Church- 
 Erection Society, mightily equipped for aiding in 
 building churches in our great, growing, and wicked 
 towns and cities. These are the trinity of our Church's 
 needs. Give us these and the Church will dig out the 
 very foundation and corner-stone of the kingdom of 
 darkness." 
 
 The bishop's commanding skill and foresight as a 
 church leader were never more markedly conspicuous 
 than in this now historic paper. 
 
 On the eighth day of its session the General Confer- 
 ence elected the bishops for the coming four years, 
 choosing Jonathan Weaver (bishop emeritus), N. Cas- 
 tle, E. B. Kephart, J. W. Hott, and G. A. Funkhouser. 
 Dr. Eunkhouser declining the office later in the session, 
 J. S. Mills, of Iowa Conference, was elected in his 
 place. 
 
 The General Conference adopted the rotary plan for 
 attending the conferences by the bishops, but decided 
 that they should arrange to reside as follows: one 
 bishop east of the Allegheny Mountains, one between 
 the Allegheny Mountains and the Mississippi Kiver, 
 one between the Mississippi Eiver and the Rocky 
 Mountains, and one on the Pacific Coast. In harmony 
 
116 Life and Career of Ja))ies William Hott 
 
 with this action the episcopal residences for the quad- 
 rennium were as follows: Bishop Kephart, Baltimore, 
 Maryland; Bishop Castle, Elkhart, Indiana; Bishop 
 Hott, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Bishop Mills, Eugene, Ore- 
 gon. Bishop Weaver, now holding an emeritus rela- 
 tion because of his age and feebleness, continued to 
 reside in Dayton, Ohio. 
 
 In the autumn of 1893 Bishop Hott held the follow- 
 ing conferences : Lower Wabash, Central Illinois, 
 Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Northwest Kansas, Neosho, 
 and Des Moines, and in the spring of 1894 he presided 
 at the Southern Missouri, Arkansas Valley, Southwest 
 Kansas, and East Nebraska. The same purposeful 
 earnestness that had distinguished him in his Coast 
 work was now displayed in his new field. He was every- 
 where warmly received, and his fresh, versatile preach- 
 ing, plain and practical addresses to licentiates, and 
 his wakeful leadership, won for him the confidence and 
 esteem of ministers and people. 
 
 The semiannual meeting of the Board of Bishops 
 was held in Johnstown, Pa., November 28, 1893. At 
 this time Bishop Hott was asked to visit the missions 
 and churches in Africa and Germany in the fall of 
 1894, and the conference calendar for the next year 
 was arranged accordingly. 
 
 In connection with this meeting the bishops called a 
 "Church Council," to consider ways and means for the 
 successful carrying forward of the work of the Church 
 especially planned for by the last General Conference. 
 To this council were invited the general officers of the 
 Church, the leading educators, and others interested in 
 the progress of the denomination, ministers and lay- 
 men. This meeting, though not large, was quite rep- 
 resentative. Many questions came up for considera- 
 tion, but that which received chief emphasis was the 
 educational work. It was resolved to encourage efforts 
 to relieve our institutions of learning, the Seminary 
 
Bishop and Church Leader 117 
 
 and colleges, from their burdensome debts, during the 
 quadrennium. The bishops were asked to prepare an 
 address to the Church to this end, which they did. 
 
 In keeping with the recommendation of the Johns- 
 town meeting, several of the colleges called councils to 
 consider their interests. Bishop Hott was present at 
 meetings of this character where aggressive measures 
 were adopted for the relief of Lane University, and 
 Western and York colleges, institutions on his district. 
 A similar meeting at Otterbein University, presided 
 over by Bishop Castle, resulted within a few months 
 in raising $86,000, which gave that institution substan- 
 tial relief. 
 
 After holding his conferences in the spring of 1894, 
 Bishop Hott visited the churches in Texas, preaching 
 and encouraging the struggling workers there. 
 
 He with all the other bishops of the Church attended 
 the commencement of Union Biblical Seminary early 
 in May, and later in the month the meetings of the 
 Missionary and Church-Erection boards in Fostoria, 
 Ohio, giving vigilant attention to the interests repre- 
 sented by these institutions. 
 
 Beginning June 8, Bishop Hott conducted a summer 
 school of divinity of four weeks at Lecompton, Kansas. 
 This was attended by ministers of Kansas and Mis- 
 souri, and was designed especially to be helpful to 
 young men pursuing the course of study in the con- 
 ferences. The school was attended with very gratify- 
 ing interest and results. Each summer during the 
 quadrennium a like school was held, the bishop's teach- 
 ing, lectures, and preaching giving great satisfaction. 
 In this kind of work he was ready and practical, and 
 never failed to be a favorite leader. 
 
 Beginning with the Tennessee, August 23, Bishop 
 Hott held conferences as follows: Erie, East Ohio, 
 Parkersburg, Allegheny, East German, East Pennsyl- 
 vania. At the latter conference he received a hand- 
 
118 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 somely mounted cane, made of wood from the floor of 
 the historic Isaac Long Barn, of near Lancaster, Pa., 
 in which Otterbein and Boehm first met in a great 
 meeting, and where Otterbein, after hearing Boehm 
 preach, embraced him, saying, "We are brethren." The 
 cane was the gift of Mr. D. D. Good, a warm personal 
 friend of the bishop. The memento was much ap- 
 preciated because of its historic associations. 
 
 Tuesday evening, November 13, a very impressive 
 meeting was held in the college chapel, at Westerville, 
 Ohio, when five missionaries, the Rev. J. R. King and 
 wife, the Rev. A. T. Howard and wife, and Miss Minnie 
 Eaton, were formally consecrated to the work in Africa. 
 The address of the occasion was delivered by Bishop 
 Hott, who was to accompany these new recruits to 
 their chosen field, from Acts 13 : 2, 3. In the Tele- 
 scope's report of his effort it was said, "He was at his 
 best, and held the audience spellbound for three-quar- 
 ters of an hour." President T. J. Sanders, Dr. W. M. 
 Bell, Dr. G. A. Funkhouser, and Mrs. L. K. Miller par- 
 ticipated in the touching ceremonies. 
 
 Wednesday, November 28, Bishop Hott and wife, the 
 five missionaries named above, and Miss Florence M. 
 Cronise, who had been previously set apart in conse- 
 cration for African mission service, sailed from New 
 York. After a safe voyage of eight days the party 
 landed at Liverpool. From there, writing of the voy- 
 age, the bishop said : "Most of the company have been 
 miserably sick. The ladies and myself have fared the 
 worst. Mrs. King soon got over it, and has done well. 
 Mrs. Howard, Miss Cronise, and Miss Eaton have been 
 sick most all the time. Brother King was ill for a day 
 or two, and since has been courageous, while Mr. How- 
 ard has not missed a meal, I am told. I have been 
 abed and from meals about half the time. Sympathy 
 devoted to Mrs. Hott has been worse than wasted, for 
 she has not missed a meal, and has, indeed, thus far, 
 
Itishop and Church -Leader 119 
 
 proved the best sailor of the company. God has been 
 good to us, and our hearts cry out always to him from 
 the solitude and wonder of the mighty waters." 
 
 After a day spent in Liverpool, passage was taken on 
 the steamer Cabenda for Freetown, where all arrived 
 in good health, Saturday night, December 22, on the 
 twenty-fifth day out from New York. The next day 
 they were met on their vessel by missionaries L. O. 
 Burtner and wife, I. N. Cain, Mrs. West, Dr. Hatfield, 
 and the Misses Thomas and Schenck. This was a 
 happy meeting to all. 
 
 Writing the next day in a private letter to the editor 
 of the Telescope, the bishop said: "My heart is filled 
 with many emotions, and my mind with many thoughts 
 I cannot express. It opens to one's view another world, 
 to come here." 
 
 Two small boats, rowed by native boatmen, carried 
 the missionaries, new and old, to their desired destina- 
 tion; the bishop and wife and those in the employ of 
 the Parent Board, to Shengeh, and those of the 
 Woman's Board, to Rotifunk. 
 
 The first Sunday in Shengeh Bishop Hott preached 
 in Flickinger Chapel, from Rom. 1 : 11, "For I long to 
 see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual 
 gift, to the end that ye may be established." About 
 one hundred and fifty people were present, and the 
 place and the new and strange relations all united to 
 make the occasion deeply impressive to every one. In 
 the evening a reception was given the bishop and the 
 missionaries. Several welcome addresses were made 
 by natives, and one on behalf of the missionaries, by 
 Mr. Burtner. The hearty greetings were happily re- 
 sponded to by the bishop and others. This reception 
 was in itself a splendid tribute to the character and 
 fruits of the missionary work done at this station. 
 
 The next Wednesday a tour of visitation of the sev- 
 eral mission stations occupied by the Church was be- 
 
120 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 gun by the bishop, accompanied by Messrs. Burtner, 
 Howard, and King. At Danville they were the guests 
 of the Rev. D. F. Wilberforce, who was educated in 
 Dayton, and well known to the bishop, a man of great 
 influence in that country. Mr. Wilberforce and wife 
 gave them royal entertainment after the "American 
 fashion." At Bonthe the station was in charge of the 
 Rev. J. A. Evans, also an old friend of the bishop and 
 a member of Virginia Conference. Mr. Evans had then 
 seen many years in missionary service in Africa, and 
 the meeting there was one of mutual delight. At these, 
 and other places visited the bishop preached to atten- 
 tive native audiences, and otherwise, by counsel and 
 cheer, gave encouragement to the work and the workers. 
 
 The Sherbro Conference convened in Shengeh, Janu- 
 ary 15, and was presided over by the visiting bishop. 
 Mr. King, in reporting the conference, says, "Bishop 
 Hott exhibited his characteristic force and spirituality 
 in the opening, which were well maintained all through 
 the conference." One evening, after a sermon by a 
 native preacher, the bishop conducted an altar service, 
 of which Mr. King says, "The fervency of the prayers 
 of the penitents and of their praising God would have 
 been an inspiration to the gloomiest pessimist on the 
 subject of missions." 
 
 The conference closed on Sunday. It was a red- 
 letter day. Fourteen children were presented for bap- 
 tism by their parents or guardians. The bishop 
 touched every heart in the sermon that followed the 
 baptismal service. 
 
 At the conference Bishop Hott met not only the mis- 
 sionaries of both the boards of the Church, but many 
 native workers and others, fruits of the years of faith- 
 ful seed-sowing in that needy land. His presence and 
 counsel gave great encouragement to the soldiers who 
 hold these outposts of the King's army. They felt that 
 his visit was of great value to the work in Africa, and 
 
Bishop and Church Leader 121 
 
 that it would have a like value to the Church at home, 
 in giving added interest in missions, which it surely 
 did. 
 
 The interests of the Woman's Missionary Associa- 
 tion in Africa received the same earnest oversight from 
 the bishop as those of the General Board. He visited 
 their stations and schools, being shown marked honors 
 everywhere. At Bompeh, where the women have a 
 prosperous station, and where a Sabbath was spent, lie 
 dedicated a church, wholly built by the natives. 
 
 But the time had come, all too soon, when this tour 
 and sojourn in this dark land must close. Six weeks 
 had been spent here, and the bishop had preached 
 eighteen times, lectured twice, and given twenty or 
 more impromptu addresses, besides traveling exten- 
 sively and investigating the conditions and needs of 
 the work. What were now his impressions ? While re- 
 garding the black wall of heathenism as appalling, yet 
 now from the standpoint of his own study and observa- 
 tion, he felt that missionary work was making steady 
 progress here. He considered the training-school for 
 the education of native workers one of the most prom- 
 ising features of the work. 
 
 After final consultation with some of the mission- 
 aries who had accompanied them, at Freetown, and 
 planning for a house of rest on Mount Leicester, near 
 that city, for the use of missionaries when sick or 
 needing rest, Bishop and Mrs. Hott took their departure 
 February 6. They reached Liverpool on the 21st, and 
 went at once to London, where a most enjoyable Sab- 
 bath was passed, hearing Joseph Parker preach in City 
 Temple in the morning, one of the canons of the Epis- 
 copal Church in Westminster Abbey in the afternoon, 
 and the Bishop of Marlborough in St. Paul's Cathedral, 
 the largest and most magnificent Protestant church in 
 the world, in the evening. It was a day of long-cher- 
 ished privileges and delights. 
 
122 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 The following week, the bishop, accompanied by his 
 wife, went directly to that part of Germany where the 
 United Brethren Church has had successful missions 
 for many years. He spent two weeks there, holding 
 the German Conference and making a tour of the prin- 
 cipal missions and churches and making a careful 
 study of the work. The bishop preached at a number 
 of places, the Rev. H. Barkemeyer, the presiding elder, 
 acting as interpreter. Though he had studied German 
 some, he was not able to use it in preaching. In writ- 
 ing of a very interesting service in Galnow he breaks 
 forth with this lament, "Oh, that I were a Dutchman, 
 full-fledged, for a month, just to preach to them in 
 their own language!" 
 
 At Falkenstein he was announced to preach March 
 10, but by an order from the mayor of the city, he was 
 forbidden to do so. It was believed that the order was 
 inspired by the preachers of the state church. This 
 was a new experience. He had preached in many lands, 
 and this was the first time he was ever forbidden to 
 preach the gospel, and that in Christian Germany! 
 
 The bishop's visit to the Fatherland was helpful to 
 preachers and people who have been gathered into the 
 Church there. He found them deeply spiritual in their 
 religious life, but having a great struggle for existence, 
 largely due to the bitter opposition of the state church. 
 But this only intensified his desire that they might be 
 blessed with a larger freedom in spiritual worship. 
 
 This mission of oversight and encouragement being 
 finished, the bishop turned his steps homeward, he and 
 Mrs. Hott reaching New York in safety and good 
 health April 1. Speaking of these months of absence 
 in Africa and Germany, the Telescope said on their 
 return : "The bishop's letters which we have published 
 have had very great interest, and have stimulated a 
 deeper feeling of churchly interest in the missions to 
 which he made this episcopal tour of visitation." 
 
Bishop and Church Leader 123 
 
 As indicating the intense laborious life which Bishop 
 Hott again resumed on his return, it may be noted 
 that Easter Sunday was spent in New York City, where 
 he preached in the Presbyterian Church of the Good 
 Shepherd. Then, after preaching in other places, visit- 
 ing his mother in Virginia, he lectured in Columbus, 
 Ohio, the evening of April 23, and the next day deliv- 
 ered the Founders' Day address at Otterbein Univer- 
 sity. Sunday, May 5, while attending the Seminary 
 anniversaries, he gave an able address on "The Young 
 People's Society in the Life of the Church," in connec- 
 tion with the annual meeting of the Executive Council 
 of the Young People's Christian Union. 
 
 At the meeting of the Board of Missions a few days 
 later, at Port Wayne, Indiana, he gave a very full and 
 encouraging report of his visit to Africa and Germany, 
 presenting in a very graphic manner the conditions 
 and needs in those mission fields, from the standpoint 
 of his own observation and study. It was at this time 
 that the sanitarium at Mount Leicester was authorized, 
 a project he earnestly advised and encouraged. To the 
 furthering of this enterprise he gave persistent atten- 
 tion during several months that followed, in connec- 
 tion with other duties. So great was his conviction 
 that sick and wearied missionaries should have this 
 place for rest and recuperation, he was unwearied in 
 his appeals on its behalf, both in the Church periodi- 
 cals and in the conferences, till it was a happy realiza- 
 tion. By his own personal efforts considerable sums 
 were secured for this good work. 
 
 This Fort Wayne meeting of the Board was one of 
 the most aggressive in spirit and plans in its history. 
 Steps were taken to strengthen and enlarge the mis- 
 sions already established, to plant a new mission in 
 Japan, and to extend the work in our own southland. 
 The meeting closed with an able and thrilling sermon 
 by Bishop Hott on "The Preaching of the Gospel." 
 
124 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 A busy summer followed, in which the bishop 
 preached and lectured at various summer assemblies, 
 and then came to his autumn tour of conferences, 
 which opened with White River, at Lapel, Indiana, 
 August 28. He had not presided over these confer- 
 ences before. Everywhere he was received with the 
 utmost cordiality. This tour closed with the West 
 Nebraska Conference, the last of October. 
 
 Of a visit made to York College, President Reese 
 said: "We appreciated the bishop's visit here. His 
 excellent lectures and inspiring preaching were a rich 
 treat to our people." 
 
 About the middle of December Bishop and Mrs. Hott 
 started for California to visit a daughter at Stockton. 
 Though one object of this trip was to secure needed rest, 
 the bishop preached often on the Coast in our own and 
 other churches. He dedicated a church at Durham, 
 California, January 26, 1896, for the Rev. F. Fisher, 
 and February 9 he had the great joy of dedicating the 
 beautiful new church at Los Angeles, which he had 
 helped to plant and nourish in its beginnings. The 
 completion of this elegant modern house of worship, 
 at a cost of $10,000, was a splendid tribute to the zeal 
 and courage of the Rev. J. S. Pitman, the pastor, and 
 his loyal people. It will be remembered that to this 
 enterprise the young people of the Church contributed 
 about $5,000. The success of this work was in large 
 part due to his wise planning and efforts when the 
 Coast bishop, and was a splendid victory for the Church 
 in southern California. 
 
 Returning east, Bishop Hott held Colorado Confer- 
 ence, beginning March 12, and East Nebraska and Iowa 
 conferences the two weeks following. Though residing 
 within the bounds of the latter conference, this was 
 the first time he presided over one of its annual ses- 
 sions. His courtesy, ability, and fairness made for 
 him warm and lasting friends. 
 
Bishop and Church Leader 125 
 
 The annual sermon at the commencement of Union 
 Biblical Seminary, in May, was preached by Bishop 
 Hott from John 20 : 18, "I have seen the Lord," the 
 theme being, "The Supreme Spiritual Vision." The 
 sermon was strong, practical, and timely, and was only 
 another illustration of his remarkable versatility and 
 readiness in adapting himself to special occasions. 
 
 After attending the meetings of the Missionary and 
 Church-Erection boards at Alexis, Illinois, and par- 
 ticipating in their deliberations with his accustomed 
 heartiness, he met important engagements in many 
 different places, at Lane University, Lecompton, Kan- 
 sas, receiving the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, 
 and then attended the general Young People's Conven- 
 tion of the Church, which met at Des Moines, Iowa, 
 June 21. Here he gave the closing address on "Young 
 People and Evangelism," a magnificent parting mes- 
 sage to the delegates on the conditions and joys of 
 soul-winning. 
 
 Writing of this gathering for the Watchword, the 
 bishop said : "It was a great convention for the young, 
 for ideas, methods, exercises, fellowship, hope, enthu- 
 siasm, enlargement, education, aggressiveness, conse- 
 cration, all peculiarly fitted for the young heart and 
 life. . ' . . The convention exalted great themes. 
 No little and mean issues gained prominence." 
 
 The International Christian Endeavor Convention 
 met -in Washington, D. C, July 9. Bishop Hott was 
 there representing the United Brethren Church, and 
 having an important place on the program of that 
 great meeting. The theme of his address was, "Per- 
 sonal Responsibility in Soul- Winning." The Washing- 
 ton Star spoke highly of the address and published a 
 generous synopsis of it, together with a good portrait 
 cut of the bishop. 
 
 A new circuit of conferences began with Miami,* at 
 Lewisburg, Ohio, September 2. At none of these had 
 
126 Life and Career of James William Ilott 
 
 he previously presided. Under his guidance business 
 and religion were happily commingled and these gath- 
 erings were real seasons of spiritual and churchly up- 
 lift. Writing for the Telescope of October 28, of the 
 six Ohio conferences, the bishop said: "The most 
 thorough Christian courtesy, and brotherly fellowship, 
 and churchly sympathy and regard were shown by all 
 the conferences to myself and to all the general officers 
 of the Church." 
 
 In the spring of 1897 he held Pennsylvania, Mary- 
 land, and Virginia conferences, completing his second 
 quadrennial term in the general superintendency of 
 the Church. Under the plans for episcopal supervision 
 he had now visited all parts of the Church, being self- 
 sacrificing and abundant in labors. That his intense 
 activity and churchly devotion and enterprise should 
 have awakened some opposition to his administration 
 of affairs in certain cases, and that this would follow 
 him to the next General Conference, was to be ex- 
 pected. It was the opposition which great men, ag- 
 gressive leaders, men who do something, always have 
 to meet. To this, however, he gave no heed, though 
 conscious of it, but maintained with unwavering fidel- 
 ity his relations to all his brethren, especially to those 
 in the general service of the Church, and to all the in- 
 terests of the denomination he loved so well. His high- 
 minded purpose and zeal, with his broad charity, so 
 characteristic of his whole life, were not disturbed by 
 these things. His manly and Christian equipoise un- 
 der all circumstances was not only a leading trait of 
 his character, but an element of strength and worth of 
 incalculable service under varied conditions and re- 
 quirements. 
 
 The twenty-second General Conference convened in 
 Toledo, Iowa, May 13, 1897. All the bishops were pres- 
 ent and one hundred and ninety-one other delegates, 
 lay and clerical, making this the largest and most rep- 
 
Bishop and Church Leader 127 
 
 resentative meeting of the kind that had ever assem- 
 bled in the history of the Church. The past quadren- 
 nium had been one of general prosperity and growth. 
 The increase in the membership of the Church was 
 about 36,000 for the four years. The triumphant suc- 
 cess of the litigation forced upon the Church by the 
 seceders following the 1889 conference, was the occa- 
 sion of special rejoicing and hope. Though the legal 
 struggle was not yet over, it was felt the end was near. 
 The legislation of the session was generally wise and 
 progressive. Among the measures looking to the in- 
 creased efficiency of the Church were the putting of in- 
 creased emphasis on a higher standard of qualification 
 for the ministry, providing for the employment of dea- 
 conesses, and the stationing of the bishops, each on a 
 district for the entire quadrennium. 
 
 Bishop Hott was elected for the third time one of 
 the general superintendents of the Church, though the 
 vote showed the result of evident opposition. While 
 this was a source of unspeakable humiliation and grief 
 to one of his sensitive make-up, his feelings never 
 found expression in any public act or word. His seren- 
 ity and nobleness of character were notably preserved, 
 and he gave himself with renewed zeal and efficiency 
 to the cause of his Master and his Church. 
 
 The other bishops were all reelected, and the assign- 
 ments for the ensuing four years were made as follows : 
 The Ohio District, Bishop Hott ; East District, Bishop 
 Kephart; Central District, Bishop Castle; West Dis- 
 trict, Bishop Mills. 
 
 Bishop Hott chose Dayton, Ohio, as his episcopal 
 residence. Thus he had his home where he had for- 
 merly lived and where he had many and devoted 
 friends. Soon after the General Conference he began 
 to plan for his coming conferences, and to arrange to 
 make their sessions seasons for the deepening of the 
 spiritual life of ministers and people, as well as for 
 
128 Life arid Career of James William Hott 
 
 the usual business. He prepared Bible readings on 
 vital and practical themes, which he gave at the open- 
 ing of the daily sessions. 
 
 This is the spirit with which a new quadrennium was 
 entered, and this only broadened and deepened with the 
 passing of the years, making this preeminently the 
 crowning period of his active and useful life. 
 
 In 1899 a conference of ministers and Christian 
 workers for Bible study for the deepening of the spirit- 
 ual life was held May 2 to 7, under the auspices of 
 Union Biblical Seminary and the pastors of the United 
 Brethren churches of Dayton, Ohio. Bishop Hott was 
 the president of the association arranging for this con- 
 ference, and worked assiduously for its success. He was 
 especially solicitous that the pastors of churches on his 
 district should attend the conference and share its 
 blessings. Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman, recognized as one 
 of the spiritual leaders of the world, conducted the con- 
 ference. It was largely attended by ministers from 
 many States, who testified to its great helpfulness. The 
 bishop assisted in planning and holding similar meet- 
 ings at the close of the Seminary year the two follow- 
 ing years, with like good results. 
 
 In his management of his conferences, and in the 
 versatility of his methods of study and work, Bishop 
 Hott showed a wonderful facility in getting out of the 
 beaten paths. This was true of him also as a preacher, 
 writer, and thinker. 
 
 The conferences of his district were held without 
 special or unpleasant incidents during the quadren- 
 nium, the bishop's associations with the members be- 
 ing of the most pleasant character. His oversight of 
 the work and his administration of the discipline of 
 the Church were marked by wisdom and prudence. 
 His intellectual endowments, scholarly attainments, 
 and unusual preaching ability, and that wide outlook 
 upon the world which comes from large experience in 
 
Bishop and Church Leader 129 
 
 dealing with men, together with his ethical integrity 
 and physical energy, comprised a remarkable catalogue 
 of qualifications for the office of a Christian bishop. 
 It was the possession of these elements of strength that 
 enabled him to endure so well the incessant drafts on 
 his vital energies through so many laborious years. 
 There was never any question of the wisdom of the 
 Church in its laying its hands upon James W. Hott 
 and investing him with the functions of so exalted 
 and trying a position. 
 
 This quadrennium, however, while furnishing him 
 unequaled opportunities for wide and effective service 
 to the Church, was destined to bring to him the most 
 crushing sorrow of his life, in the long and painful 
 illness of Mrs. Hott, which terminated in her death 
 August 7, 1899. For two years she was the one object 
 of her devoted husband's tender watchfulness and care. 
 Through all her helpless and weary sufferings she main- 
 tained a beautiful calmness and resignation which 
 greatly impressed her friends. This disposition was in 
 sweet accord with her cheerful and even-tempered 
 Christian life. She had been the faithful and affec- 
 tionate wife of a minister of the gospel for thirty-five 
 years, being his ready support and most trusted coun- 
 selor in all the responsible duties to which the Church 
 had called him. She was a true minister's companion, 
 always sympathetic and helpful in cooperation. Her 
 life closed with the beautiful radiance all about her 
 of the day which had preceded, triumphant and 
 peaceful. 
 
 The funeral service was held in the bishop's Wil- 
 liams Street home, Dayton, Ohio, August 9. The pas- 
 tor, the Eev. C. W. Kurtz, read the Scripture lesson. 
 Dr. H. H. Fout offered prayer, and Dr. G. M. Mathews, 
 a former pastor, read a biographical sketch of the life 
 of Mrs. Hott. Dr. W. J. Shuey and Bishop Weaver 
 
130 Life and Career of James William Jlott 
 
 made tender and comforting addresses. The interment 
 took place in Woodland Cemetery. 
 
 Bishop Hott had the profound sympathy of the 
 Church in this great bereavement, but he found his 
 chief comfort in his work, to which he continued to 
 devote himself with unfaltering zeal and courage. His 
 spirit and life seemed only to have been sweetened and 
 enriched by the deep shadows through which he had 
 passed. With the discipline which the experiences of 
 sorrow brought him, there came only clearer visions of 
 life, present and future, and he gave himself with a 
 new fidelity and earnestness to the one work to which 
 he was consecrated. All the resourcefulness of his be- 
 ing he poured into that. No sacrifice or labor was too 
 great that he might preach Christ and lead the Church 
 to a loftier and holier sense of the dignity and respon- 
 sibility of its divine mission. 
 
 It was in this spirit, warm and strong in heart, ra- 
 diant in his love for Christ and passionate in his love 
 for souls, though wearied in body and brain, that 
 Bishop James W. Hott came to the close of the third 
 quadrennial term of his episcopal service. 
 
CHAPTEK IX. 
 
 Last General Conference, Sickness, and Death. 
 
 The twenty-third General Conference was held in 
 Frederick City, Maryland, May 9 to 21, 1901. All the 
 bishops were present except Bishop Weaver, who had 
 died during the quadrenniurn. 
 
 This Conference was made memorable as marking 
 the centennial anniversary of the formal organization 
 of the Church. Then, it was held on historic ground, 
 amid the scenes of the early labors of the fathers of 
 the Church, Otterbein, Boehm, and others. The house 
 in which the first conference was held in 1800, known 
 in the history of the Church as the Peter Kemp home, 
 still in a good state of preservation, is only two miles 
 from Frederick, and to it the members of the confer- 
 ence paid a visit on Monday, May 13, and there held 
 impressive memorial services, led by Bishop Mills. The 
 next day a pilgrimage was made to Baltimore to the 
 church and tomb of Otterbein, the human founder of 
 the denomination, where fitting addresses and other 
 exercises in memory of the character and work of Wil- 
 liam Otterbein were held, participated in by the bishops 
 and others. 
 
 At the next regular session of the General Confer- 
 ence, Bishop Hott, the presiding officer, said: "It is 
 probable that no General Conference in the history of 
 our beloved Church has ever assembled with such 
 memories lying back of it as those carried by us to 
 this morning's session from yesterday and the day be- 
 fore. Since our last business session we visited the 
 scenes of the first conference, held one hundred years 
 
 131 
 
132 Life and Career of James William JBbtt 
 
 ago by the fathers at the home of Peter Kemp, and 
 yesterday we mingled in holy fellowship and service 
 within the walls where Otterbein, the founder of our 
 beloved Zion, ministered the word of God for so many 
 years, and stood by the tomb where his dust rests in 
 peace. We come up to this morning's session filled, I 
 doubt not, with such hopes for our Zion, and such 
 hopes for the kingdom of God, as have not before 
 rested upon us, and with such purposes of holy conse- 
 cration of our lives and of our powers and of our serv- 
 ices, to the great end sought by our fathers, as have 
 not before entered into the experience of our lives." 
 
 The historic features of this Conference were fur- 
 ther signalized in a series of centennial addresses 
 delivered during the Conference, and which have since 
 been published in a volume of over two hundred pages. 
 One of these centenary addresses was delivered by 
 Bishop Hott. His theme, one in which he found rare 
 delight, was "The Heroism of the Fathers." It was the 
 earnest tribute of a grateful and loyal son to the mem- 
 ory of the fathers, who laid so wisely and well the foun- 
 dations of the Church. It abounded in graphic and 
 eloquent allusions to the first conference, and the 
 "plain men, stalwart sons of nature, mighty in holy 
 deeds," that composed it. Otterbein and Boehm and 
 Newcomer were there, the two first named being elected 
 bishops, and others with "great minds and loyal 
 hearts." 
 
 Speaking of the difficulties the fathers encountered, 
 Bishop Hott said, in part: "I wish I could experience 
 for one hour the emotions of Bishop Otterbein as he 
 rode through this city out to Peter Kemp's to the con- 
 ference of 1800. I wish that my soul might thrill with 
 the sensations that stirred his great nature as he opened 
 that conference with prayer and exhortation. What 
 would we not give to have live in us for one hour the 
 feelings of Bishop Newcomer as he knelt on the sum- 
 
Last General Conference, Sickness, Death 133 
 
 mit of the Allegheny Mountains beside the stone altar 
 he had reared, and, Jacob-like, saw the angels of God 
 going up and coming down before him, then reverently 
 rose and took his lonely way to the opening fields of 
 God in Ohio ? What a figure he was as he knelt alone 
 on the banks of a swollen stream in central Ohio and 
 thanked God with all his soul for delivering him safely 
 across! Behind the fathers were spiritual power and 
 God; before them, wilderness and hope. It is a manly 
 man that walks undaunted in the darkness. Our 
 fathers walked and worked in the shadows, shadows of 
 the early morning; fixed their eyes on the Cross and 
 the coming day, and made a Church for themselves 
 and their little ones." 
 
 This thrilling and characteristic address closed with 
 a reference to the spirit of consecration which belonged 
 to the fathers of the Church. "The fathers were not 
 inspired by ecclesiastical ambitions. There is an en- 
 thusiasm kindled by church pride. It was not known 
 to them. . . . No earthly emoluments allured 
 them. They asked no marble shaft for their last rest- 
 ing-place. They gave themselves not expecting to re- 
 ceive gains. They gave the world a Church made 
 sacred to us by their prayers and tears and sacrificing 
 toils. Were I permitted, I should like here and now 
 to call the long roll of names of these illustrious men 
 of God." 
 
 Little did the bishop think, when paying these just 
 encomiums to the fathers, so strong and heroic, that he 
 so soon would be gathered with them. 
 
 His address at the service held in memory of de- 
 ceased members of the Conference, was one not to be 
 forgotten by those who heard it. Its spirit was sweet, 
 sympathetic, and tender, well befitting the speaker and 
 the occasion. 
 
 The legislation of this Conference generally was of 
 a high order of merit. The event of the session was the 
 
134 Life and Career of James William Ilott 
 
 adoption, by a vote of 126 to 42, of a plan for equal lay 
 and ministerial representation in the General Confer- 
 ence, on a pro rata basis. And thus was enacted a law, 
 by a gratifyingly large vote, that will vitally affect the 
 future life and polity of the Church. Other enact- 
 ments, though of minor importance, were progressive 
 in spirit, well befitting a Church with its face clearly 
 set to the future. The centenary character of this 
 General Conference gave new and added emphasis to 
 the providential history and mission of the Church. 
 
 For the fourth time J. W. Hott was elected to the 
 bishop's office. His colleagues, Castle, Kephart, and 
 Mills were also reelected. The district plan of super- 
 intendence adopted four years before had given such 
 satisfaction that it was continued, and the bishops were 
 stationed as follows: East District, Mills; Ohio Dis- 
 trict, Kephart; Central District, Hott; West District, 
 Castle. 
 
 On the day preceding the final adjournment of the 
 Conference, Bishop Hott was taken quite ill, and was 
 so prostrated that he decided to return to his home as 
 early as possible. His devoted friend, Dr. D. R. Miller, 
 was a traveling companion from Frederick to Dayton. 
 On the way they discussed matters at some length that 
 had been before the General Conference. He then re- 
 ferred to the superintendents' districts as arranged by 
 the Conference, and especially to the one to which he 
 had been assigned. Then he said: "Mine is a good 
 district. It has in it some excellent conferences and 
 many noble men. It is a fine field for full and vigorous 
 work of the bishop. I may get to it and do some of the 
 work expected of me, but that with me is a question." 
 Then, pausing for a moment, he looked Dr. Miller 
 firmly in the face, and said, "Yes, I may possibly get 
 to my district and do a little work, but only a little, if 
 any. I shall not complete the work assigned me by 
 the Conference." Then, with some degree of em- 
 
Last General Conference, Sickness, Death 135 
 
 phasis, he added, "D. R., I shall never attend another 
 General Conference. I shall never again meet you in 
 a Conference. I am going home to die rather than to 
 engage in active service. If it were' ordered so, I should 
 be pleased to give my district a full term of service, 
 but I am assured that the Master is ordering other- 
 wise, and I shall accept as wise and just his order." 
 
 How the bishop became thus impressed that his end 
 was near he did not state. At the time, however, he 
 was calm, deliberate, and capable, and as a thoughtful, 
 dutiful child he seemed submissive to whatsoever the 
 whisperings of the Father might be. 
 
 While there seemed then to be no serious occasion 
 for such fears, in the light of subsequent events his 
 premonition was seen to be well grounded. It was 
 hoped by his friends that, with rest after the strain of. 
 the General Conference and four years of most exact- 
 ing care and toil, he would regain his wonted vigor. 
 By all visible seeming he had the best of his career yet 
 before him, and the Church needed him as it needed 
 few other men. 
 
 May 29, at the home of his son-in-law, the Rev. J. G. 
 Huber, Dayton, Ohio, Bishop Hott was married to 
 Miss Marie Shank, a lady of rare Christian virtues and 
 refinement. She had been reared and educated in the 
 Church, and belongs to one of the wealthy and influ- 
 ential families of the Miami Valley. The marriage 
 was solemnized by Dr. G. M. Mathews, in the presence 
 of two of the bishop's daughters and sons-in-law, Dr. 
 and Mrs. Lorenz, of New York City, and the Rev. and 
 Mrs. J. G. Huber. This was felt to be a very happy 
 union, Mrs. Hott being admirably adapted to the duties 
 and responsibilities of a minister's wife, and especially 
 to be the wife of a bishop in the Church. After a sea- 
 son of rest in Virginia, Bishop and Mrs. Hott proposed 
 to make their home in the central West, where his 
 episcopal residence should be located during- the next 
 
136 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 four years. But alas for human plans and expecta- 
 tions! The visit to the dear old Virginia home, with 
 all its fascinating charms, was never made. Nothing 
 was ever done in a definite way as to the choice of a 
 place of residence within the Central District, though 
 there was some correspondence about it. The physical 
 prostration of the bishop steadily became more com- 
 plete and alarming. His sickness was an indescribable 
 one. From the first, in his mind it seemed a hopeless 
 fight. Early in the struggle the fear he would not re- 
 cover utterly and absolutely left him. He sought its 
 return, but in vain. The physicians could not locate 
 any fatal disease, nor could he himself absolutely fix 
 upon any organ where the breakdown and pain were- 
 most pronounced. His courage and iron will, that had 
 given him victory in so many severe struggles, some- 
 how failed him now. To the grief of his friends, he 
 slowly lost interest in the objects and employments of 
 his life and love, and they were saddened in view of 
 the inevitable. But he was ever kind and patient, ever 
 gentle and thoughtful. Long weeks of sleepless nights 
 and torn, tried nerves were no excuse- for impatient 
 words when noises of playing children reached his 
 room. He never, never spoke a hasty or unkind word, 
 nor did he ever in his days of health indulge in harsh 
 criticism of a friend or member of the family. The 
 law of kindness was on his lips to the last. 
 
 But he had put the pressure of will on. his life so 
 long that the whole system, the entire mechanism, gave 
 way at once, and there was no material left for 
 repairs. The fuel supply was exhausted. Day 
 after day he made the impression upon his faithful 
 attendants of a man utterly exhausted, but who could 
 not find his resting-place. He could neither eat, drink, 
 nor sleep — nature would not let him die nor would it 
 provide a transient shelter for repose until his hour 
 was here. Many, many times he said, "Oh, that I had 
 
Last General Conference, Sickness, Death 137 
 
 the wings of a dove! How quickly then I would fly 
 away and be at rest." His body had served l:'m well, 
 but his travels and labors, his unwearied devotk n to his 
 invalid wife, together with his work on the Ohio Dis- 
 trict — these shattered his nerves; they wore Him out, 
 and his strength ebbed away never to come back. 
 
 Eminent spacialists were consulted. They agreed in 
 diagnosis, but none could prescribe a remedy. The 
 best of care in sanitarium, hospital, and home was 
 given him, but failed to give relief or hope. The af- 
 fectionate care of wife and children could do nothing 
 but call forth from the patient the warmest expres- 
 sions of appreciation for what was done for him, even 
 to the last day. Nothing could be done to restore the 
 wasted, exhausted vital energies of either body _ or 
 brain, and after months of weary and painful affliction 
 Bishop James W. Hott died, January 9, 1902, in the 
 fifty-eighth year of his age. He had been forty years 
 a minister, and. nearly thirteen years a bishop. 
 
 A year or more before his demise he began to decline 
 in health and vigor, though he did not relinquish his 
 labors and anxious care for the Church and its pros- 
 perity. Every energy of his being was summoned for 
 his crowning work in the historic Frederick Confer- 
 ence, to which he had looked with deepest interest, and 
 of which he had expectantly written, during the four 
 years preceding ; and when the work of that gathering 
 was over, he hastened to his home, the work of his 
 strenuous life finished. 
 
 During the last weeks of his life he sent loving mes- 
 sages to the Church and to his dear old mother in her 
 far-off Virginia home. There was something deeply 
 pathetic about some of his last utterances, occasioned 
 by his grievous affliction. It was a sorrowful and yet 
 a sweet privilege to Mrs. Hott to be at his bedside dur- 
 ing the tedious months of his prostration, and tenderly 
 to minister to his comfort till he breathed his last. 
 
138 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 The last two and one-half years of his life he made 
 his home with his youngest daughter, Mattie, and his 
 shelter here was to him an unspeakable solace during 
 the long months of his affliction. While he himself de- 
 cided to make trial of the improved processes of a sani- 
 tarium, when the hour came his leave-taking from his 
 library and home was most pathetic. 
 
 As his condition became more critical, his eldest 
 daughter, Mrs. D. E. Lorenz, of New York City, has- 
 tened to assist in his care. His second daughter, Mrs. 
 J. H. Francis, of Los Angeles, California, also came, 
 and during the dark days of approaching death min- 
 istered lovingly to his needs. His brother, the Kev. 
 George P. Hott, of Dayton, Virginia, arrived two days 
 before the end, and received fullest and warmest recog- 
 nition. He and the two daughters from a distance re- 
 mained for the sad burial services. 
 
 The funeral was held in the Oak Street Church 
 Monday afternoon, January 13. Dr. H. H. Fout, the 
 former pastor of the church, had charge of the services, 
 Mr. Huber, the present pastor, being a member of the 
 sorrowing family. In introducing the services Dr. 
 Fout, with deep emotion, said: 
 
 "My friends, we have come together to-day to render 
 the last service that love, and grief, and assured hope 
 can. give to our distinguished friend and brother, whom 
 we knew so well and loved so warmly. It is difficult 
 for us to realize that Bishop Hott is dead. The Church 
 of his choice and love, in whose history he has wrought 
 so conspicuously during the past quarter of a century, 
 sits to-day under the shadow of a great sorrow; and 
 while we are assembled, thousands are looking this way 
 with hearts overburdened with grief because of a sense 
 of loss, and overflowing with joy because he lived. The 
 presence to-day of this large audience speaks more elo- 
 quently than words of the place he held in the affec- 
 tions of the people. Our hearts ache with a sense of 
 
Last General Conference, Sickness, Death 139 
 
 personal loss. He opened to us his heart and his home. 
 When our burdens were the heaviest, he helped us to 
 carry them, and when our spirits were gloomiest he 
 often spoke the word that made us hope again. 
 
 "We ai-e here to thank God for the rich inheritance 
 he has left us. His virtues remain with us in tender, 
 loving memory. They are ours forever. . . . Our 
 dear, departed bishop has left an enduring memorial 
 in the hearts of hundreds and thousands who have been 
 touched by his life, and won to Christ by his ministry." 
 
 These remarks were followed by a brief invocation 
 by Dr. I. L. Kephart, while the organist played softly 
 and slowly, "Lead, Kindly Light." 
 
 Prayer was offered by Dr. Funkhouser, and an ap- 
 preciative sketch of the bishop's life was read by Dr. 
 G. M. Mathews. Addresses were made by Bishops 
 Kephart and Mills, in which fitting tributes were paid 
 to their departed associate, and by Dr. W. M. Bell and 
 Dr. W. J. Shuey. The latter had long been intimately 
 associated with the bishop, and he spoke with deep 
 feeling as a close personal friend. Dr. J. P. Landis 
 gave a tribute of love and gratitude from the present 
 writer, who had been so many years associated with the 
 bishop in editorial work. A telegram from Bishop 
 Castle, from the Pacific Coast, was read, asking to 
 have read Isaiah 52 : 7 and I. Corinthians 15 : 55-58. 
 
 The Union Biblical Seminary Quartet sang several 
 beautiful hymns of consolation and hope, "Peace, Be 
 Still," "We are going down the valley," and "Wonder- 
 ful Peace." The services in the church closed with a 
 prayer of gratitude and hope by Dr. W. E. Funk. The 
 occasion will always be memorable for its impressive- 
 ness. 
 
 The body of Bishop Hott was carried by his brethren 
 in the ministry to the grave, in Woodland Cemetery, 
 where it was deposited to await the event of promised 
 resurrection. In this beautiful city of the dead now 
 
140 lAfe and Career of James William Jlott 
 
 rest the remains of three of the beloved bishops of th« 
 Church — Edwards, Weaver, Hott. 
 
 The wide expressions of grief which the death of 
 Bishop Hott called forth, are sufficient to indicate the 
 large and deep hold he had on the Church, and many 
 have been led to wonder at the providence of God that 
 he should not have lived beyond fifty-seven years. 
 
 There must be something unusual about a life with 
 so humble a beginning, beset with obstacles, tbat rises 
 to such eminence and power. Such a life was that of 
 James W. Hott. This country boy, with humble and 
 poor parents, and with nothing advantageous to give 
 him earthly prestige, in the providence of God rises 
 through successive stages to the very pinnacle of com- 
 manding influence and leadership in a great Church. 
 By what law was this ascent made but by that of noble 
 living and personal worth ? The way of righteouanefB 
 is the way to- truest honor and surest succese. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Letters. 
 
 The art of letter-writing is sometimes said to be one 
 of the lost arts, but that was not the case with James 
 W. Hott. He was notably accomplished as a letter- 
 writer. Much of his correspondence for the Religious 
 Telescope, when he was its editor and since, was of the 
 nature of letter-writing. He had the happy faculty of 
 writing about what he saw and heard, even about things 
 in themselves trivial, in a way to interest and please 
 his readers. There was always an ease and gracious- 
 ness about his writings of this character that made and 
 perpetuated the closest friendships. 
 
 On the score of penmanship merely, the bishop was 
 never a good writer. He wrote a hand exceedingly 
 difficult to read by those not familiar with it; but 
 those accustomed to his writing, like the Telescope 
 compositors, proof-readers, and familiar friends, could 
 read it with comparative ease. 
 
 His poor writing did not come with the stress of 
 public duties which required rapid penmanship. He 
 was always a poor writer. When a young man, during 
 the days of his courtship, it is said he was accustomed 
 to employ a brother to perform the part of John 
 Alden. 
 
 It is also said that when he first wrote a letter to his 
 mother on a typewriter she protested against his doing 
 so again, assigning as a reason that, in reading a type- 
 written letter she got all there was in it at the first 
 reading, but that from a letter written in his own hand 
 she was always able to get something new out of it at 
 
 141 
 
142 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 every reading. Asking his mother as to the correctness 
 of this alleged statement, she simply said, "I think 
 they have exaggerated it some." However this may 
 be, many of the bishop's correspondents have had an 
 experience not unlike that of his mother, often pro- 
 vokingly annoying. But he wrote rapidly, and often 
 under difficulties, as when traveling and late at night, 
 and it is a marvel that his voluminous correspondence 
 had such uniform sprightliness and interest. His let- 
 ters were strongly typical of the man. 
 
 Among the sweetest and best letters Bishop Hott 
 ever wrote are those written to his mother, of which 
 hundreds are preserved. He wrote her often. The few 
 that here follow are characteristic. In the first one 
 there are tender references to the deaths of his sister 
 Ella and brother Charlie. 
 
 "Woodbridge, Cal., January 29, 1891. 
 
 "Dear Mother : Your letter dated January 16 came 
 to me last evening. Oh, I was so glad to have a line — 
 a dear good letter — from your own hand once more. I 
 appreciate it the more because I know how hard it was 
 for you to write. I can imagine how broken in spirit 
 you are. I have written to you once or twice since we 
 heard of Ella's death. 
 
 "I see now, dear mother, that our home is over yon- 
 der. We shall all go there to rest by and by. God 
 knows best whom to call home first. None were so well 
 prepared as dear Ella and Charlie. All would say 
 that. 
 
 "I do not know why we should be so sad because they 
 go. If they had been called to some position of earthly 
 joy and honor we should all have been greatly de- 
 lighted. But it is to a much greater honor and joy 
 that they have been called. They have no pain or sor- 
 row, or care or trials. They are at home with the Sav- 
 ior. They see the King in his beauty. It was not long 
 
Letters 143 
 
 before Brother Charlie went that he said you were all 
 with him in the room — David, father, and all. We 
 shall all be together soon. . . . 
 
 "Yes, I would love to be with you and stay a long,, 
 long time, but I am here, far away ; still my heart is not 
 far from you. I love you as tenderly as ever, yea, more 
 than ever before. I pray for you every day. We often 
 talk of you in our little family. Of course, it is a 
 great trial for me to be so far away from you in these 
 sorrows; but distance is nothing with God. He is 
 everywhere, and we can pray to him and love each 
 other as if we were together. I hope to see you again 
 in the flesh, but I do not know when. I hope you will 
 cultivate a hopeful and cheerful spirit. Excessive 
 grief cannot help you or us. God will bring us to- 
 gether again. . . . May the God of all comfort be 
 with you and keep you. 
 
 "Your affectionate son, 
 
 "J. W. Hott." 
 
 Here is a part of a beautiful Christmas letter : 
 
 "Dayton, Ohio, December 22, 1897. 
 
 "Darling Mother: Have I not told you that your 
 dear good Christmas letter came promptly to us ? Well, 
 it did, and in it the check for Christmas present to 
 us. How can I thank you as I ought? Not in all my 
 life has my heart been more touched to tenderness and 
 love than by this entirely unexpected remembrance in 
 so handsome a sum; and the joy was the greater that 
 you were thoughtful enough to say that you had been 
 able alike to remember all those so dear to us. And 
 now Martha joins me in sincerest thanks to you and 
 many a loving wish for you a happy Ctmstmas. We 
 shall always remember your loving gift with highest 
 appreciation and love. . . . There will be sent you 
 from Dayton a solid silver spoon as a little Christmas 
 
144 Life, and Career of James William Hott 
 
 present, with this request that if you like it you use it 
 every meal. . . . Give my love to all the dear ones 
 there. My dear mother, how I do wish you could be 
 here with us during this cold weather. We never had 
 so comfortable a home in all our lives, and never so 
 few to enjoy it with us. You may not have thought 
 that we are getting old and have none of our children 
 with us. 
 
 "Here is a big heartful of love to you all. 
 
 "Your loving son, 
 
 "Jimmie." 
 
 This is a letter written to his mother after receiving 
 one from her in regard to the death of Mrs. Hott a 
 short time before : 
 
 "Dayton, Ohio, August 23, 1899. 
 
 "My Darling Mother: You loving letter came to 
 me yesterday. Many thanks to you for it. Yes, yes, 
 I know how your great loving heart has been broken 
 for us all here. 
 
 "There is so much about all the sweet, sad past of 
 which I would love to write you. In truth, I am too 
 broken down to write you at all. This fall, late, I hope 
 to see you. How I am to live I cannot plan. When I 
 think how you have walked alone these fifteen years I 
 ought not to complain that I am asked to follow in the 
 same steps a few short years; then we shall be to- 
 gether again. We have so many things for which we 
 ought to be thankful. Not the least in our comfort is 
 the fact that for two years God gave it to me to care 
 for her here under such favorable surroundings. I dare 
 to say that no one could be more tenderly cared for 
 than was she. Her life was, for the last two years, a 
 beautiful going down of the sun. ... I start in 
 for a three months' tour of conferences to-morrow. I 
 will write you as often as I can. Though I am in sor- 
 
Letters 145 
 
 row, I am not cast down. My hope is in the Father of 
 us all, and he sustains me. He has held me up through 
 these months past, and will do so in the future, I am 
 sure. I can do no better than to trust him, and I do. 
 May the God of peace and love keep you always. 
 
 "Your loving son, 
 
 "JlMMIE." 
 
 There are two letters written only a short time prior 
 to his death. The first one is not dated, though plainly 
 written in the last stages of his sickness, and the other 
 one, while written December 3, was not mailed till 
 after his death. They both bear evidence of a loyal 
 and noble son, whose devotion to his mother remained 
 with him to the end as one of the most distinct traits 
 of his character. These last letters follow: 
 
 "My Dear Mother : It has been weeks since I have 
 written a line to any one. Now I will try to pencil 
 you a few lines, if only a few. I am too weak andV 
 nervous to write long at a time. I have now been shut 
 in my room five weeks, and have suffered much. I do 
 not think any one could have been cared for better. I 
 spend most of my time in bed. Walk about the room 
 and hall for five minutes at a time. . . . Am very 
 weak. 
 
 "The above writing represents two efforts. I never 
 loved you as much as I do now. God is good and al- 
 ways has been. I thank you for all your sweet love to 
 me, in all the past and now. I doubt if the doctors 
 know what is the matter with me. If so, they do not 
 tell me. If I am to get well, it will take a long time ; 
 so it seems. I am some stronger than I was a few days 
 ago. How it will go with me the dear Lord knows and 
 keeps in his secrets. I have all my conferences planned 
 for, so that I have peace of mind. Oh, it is so hard to 
 stay here and suffer and wait when there is so much 
 
 10 
 
146 Life and Career of James William Ilott 
 
 to do. But I leave that all with the Lord. ... I 
 ought not write so much about myself, only I know 
 how anxious you are to know about me. I do not know 
 how all this is to go with me. I have been looking the 
 future, and the crossing to it, openly in the face for 
 weeks. I only feel assured that in any event the loving 
 Lord will not forsake me. There are many more that 
 we love over there than here, and soon we shall all be 
 home. How I long to see you ! I love you with all my 
 heart. I must close this. God bless you all. 
 "In undying love, Your son, 
 
 "J. W. Hott." 
 
 "Dayton, Ohio, December 3, 1901. 
 
 "Dear Mother: Your letter of love came duly to 
 me. I thank you for all it contains. I would love to 
 see you once more. This, it seems, cannot be. I often 
 think of you and long for your welfare. I would love 
 to be a comfort to you and all in these last days. I 
 know I am a source of great anxiety to you and all my 
 kindred. Suda wrote me a dear good letter, which came 
 two days ago. How I would love to see her and you 
 all in the old-time joy and health and love. I thank 
 you all for all your sweet love, and long to be forgiven 
 for all the sorrow and pains and anguish I have brought 
 to you. I shall not see you all again, but no doubt will 
 carry memories of you with me forever. The full 
 meaning of this I cannot comprehend now. This is a 
 poor letter, but it seems all that I can produce now. I 
 love you all as ever. I could only wish that your days 
 might be full of blessing and sunshine. I remain, 
 "Your most unworthy son, 
 
 "J. W. Hott." 
 
 "P. S. The last six months have so changed me that 
 I could not write to you, though I longed to be able to 
 do so. This is a poor letter, and perhaps ought not to 
 
Letters 147 
 
 be written or sent, but this much it will tell you, that 
 you are always remembered by me. You know that 
 we are in great sorrow, and my condition is not un- 
 derstood by my people, nor by the Church, and cannot 
 be. It is a great mystery to myself — the mystery of 
 all mysteries. I think of Suda and Jimmie and their 
 children with great tenderness and love. How un- 
 worthy the love she bears me I am! I long that your 
 days on earth may end with better conditions than my 
 own. I have many things I would like to say, but can- 
 not write them, nor would they profit us if said. 
 "From your oldest son, 
 
 "J. W. HOTT." 
 
 These two letters, containing the last messages of the 
 bishop to loved ones, are characteristic. They show 
 his thought and care of others. Suda is his sister and 
 Jimmie his brother-in-law, who live with and care for 
 his mother. 
 
 The following letter contains an expression of ap- 
 preciation, whether deserved or not, that shows Bishop 
 Hott was not a believer in exclusive posthumous com- 
 mendation : 
 
 "London, England, September 12, 1881. 
 
 "My Dear Brother Drury: The Telescope of Au- 
 gust 31 is here to-day — just two weeks after you put it 
 to the press. Well done! You have made a good and 
 interesting and judiciously arranged paper. I could 
 not wish it better. Before this time you have received 
 something from me. I sent you a letter on the confer- 
 ence last week and will send you more. . . . How 
 much I should love to see you all ! I imagine you are 
 real snug in your improved quarters. My kindest re- 
 gards to your family and to any of the dear friends 
 who ask after me, Your brother, 
 
 "J. W. Hott." 
 
148 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 In response to a letter written Mr. Hott respecting 
 the painful accident which befell him as he was coming 
 out of the Yosemite Valley, there came this letter: 
 
 "Woodbridge, Cal., June 17, 1887. 
 
 "Rev. M. R. Drury. 
 
 "Dear Brother : Your kind letter came to me a few 
 days ago. I have not been in a condition to write any- 
 thing for the press. It has taken all my time and at- 
 tention and strength to grapple with the wreck in this 
 foot of mine. I never knew what one member could suf- 
 fer. God has been wonderfully good in many ways, and, 
 as I can now see, not least in allowing me to reach the 
 home of Brother Statton and this community, where 
 unbounded sympathy and kindness have been about me 
 everywhere, and where I have had the most faithful 
 attention of a skilled physician and surgeon, Dr. Riley. 
 Though I suffer severely, I get four or five hours' sleep 
 each night. Last night I did that well, at least, with- 
 out anything to induce sleep. The swelling has largely 
 subsided, the bruises have been healed, and the broken 
 bones are evidently joining together properly. In a few 
 weeks, at most, I hope to be able to start homeward. 
 
 "Yours as ever, 
 
 "J. W. Hott/' 
 
 A letter of sympathy, written the bishop after the 
 death of his cherished brother, the Rev. C. M. Hott, 
 brought this response: 
 
 "WOODBRIDGE, CALIFORNIA, July 23, 1890. 
 
 "Rev. M. R. Drury. 
 
 "Dear Brother: Your kind letter of condolence 
 came to me some days ago. I assure you every token 
 of remembrance by those with whom I have labored in 
 
Letters 149 
 
 other and happier years, comes to us with tenderest 
 thankfulness. God has given us to walk in deep soli- 
 tude and overwhelming sorrow. A few months ago we 
 were very happy here. Charlie was a good, unselfish, 
 broad-minded counselor. Then, he was so strong in 
 the pulpit, and devout in spirit and life, that he made a 
 tower of strength here for us that gave me good cour- 
 age for the work. What a hold he had on the people! 
 Now he lies out in the cemetery, and has no voice to 
 speak. No, I must think differently. He 'hath ob- 
 tained a better inheritance.' . . . You see, we are 
 needing some strong men here. We are so much in 
 need of a few commanding men. I mean men of com- 
 manding influence and character. This morning I 
 went down to the parsonage, and somehow my heart 
 grew homesick and I heart-sick. I would love to see 
 you and have a long talk with you. I often wonder 
 when and where we shall meet again. You cannot 
 imagine that I have forgotten the years of our mutual 
 toil together. If I had them to go over again I would 
 try to make them sweeter and better to those with whom 
 I toiled, and more Christian and spiritual to myself. 
 As it was, I tried to do the best I could. Doubtless 
 you understand that. I have often felt that I wanted 
 to tell you many things which I thought and felt in the 
 way of appreciation, but lacked opportunity. I pre- 
 sume many things must remain unspoken till we are 
 clothed upon of immortality. I wonder after all what 
 we do carry of earth and of earth's ties and memories 
 through that mysterious change we call death. Re- 
 cently I have had great anxiety on that subject, re- 
 specting much I should like to know, and seem to be 
 in the dark. But Father knows, and we shall know 
 more by and by. Till then we doubtless do well to hope 
 and wait. . . 
 
 "Your brother, 
 
 "J. W. HOTT." 
 
150 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 Bishop Hott's appreciation of sympathy is indicated 
 in the following brief reply to a letter written him on 
 hearing of the death of Mrs. Hott : 
 
 "Dayton, Ohio, August 14, 1899. 
 
 "Rev. M. B. and Mrs. Drury. 
 
 "My Dear Brother and Sister Drury: This is to 
 thank you for your loving and comforting letter, which 
 comes to us as we walk in the valley of a deep sorrow. 
 
 "Your brother, 
 
 "J. W. Hott." 
 
 The letters of the bishop could easily be extended, 
 but these are sufficient for present purposes. They are 
 typical, and serve to show especially his great tender- 
 ness of heart, sweetness of spirit, and generosity of 
 soul. The utterances in these letters, which were never 
 intended for the public, like the little daily deeds of 
 life, are the clearest revelation of character and the 
 surest criterion of the thoughts and intents of the na- 
 ture within. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Preaching and Sermons. 
 
 Whatever else Bishop Hott was, he was preeminently 
 a preacher — warm-hearted, thoughtful, evangelical, 
 eloquent. When only a boy he attracted wide atten- 
 tion as a preacher and as an expounder of the Word 
 of God. In 1870 he preached at a camp-meeting in 
 Page County, Virginia. A man by the name of Ben- 
 jamin Hensley heard him, and was so impressed that, 
 on meeting his neighbor, James Maiden, he said with 
 earnestness, "Jimmie, I have heard the man with ten 
 talents to-day." 
 
 Mr. Hott's zeal and power in the pulpit early made 
 him the favorite and pride of his conference and of 
 the churches he served. The new demands upon him 
 from time to time, through the several degrees of his 
 advancement, seemed to call out not only more preach- 
 ing force, but more organizing and guiding power as 
 well. His preaching was uniformly of the cheerful, 
 soulful type. In this may be found one of the chief 
 secrets of his superior power in the pulpit and on the 
 platform. In the days of his pastoral labors he was 
 especially successful in work among young people. 
 His active sympathy with evangelistic work caused 
 him to devote his energies largely to winning souls, a 
 work in which he met with marked success. 
 
 The statistics of his conference during the period of 
 his work in it are so very meager that it is impossible 
 to ascertain with definiteness the results of his labors; 
 but from the records for a few years, and from reason- 
 able estimates for the remainder of the time, it is prob- 
 
 151 
 
152 Life and Career of James William Holt 
 
 able that about one thousand people were converted 
 under his pastoral ministry, most of whom were re- 
 ceived into the Church. 
 
 In revival meetings Mr. Hott was characterized by- 
 tremendous earnestness and loving tact, both in the 
 pulpit and in personal work. He easily forgot all 
 formality and aimed at practical results. 
 
 He had a good preaching voice. It was strong and 
 ofttimes musical. There were many times, in great 
 churches and convention halls, or in meetings in the 
 open air, when his voice rang out with extraordinary 
 volume and power. He likewise had a winsome 
 manner. 
 
 There were two elements that entered largely into 
 his preaching: In the first place, the proclamation of 
 the gospel of Jesus Christ was a personal joy to him, 
 and was ever and everywhere a bell summoning stray- 
 ing sheep back to the fold. In the second place, his 
 preaching abounded in those qualities which afford 
 comfort and encouragement to the struggling and sor- 
 rowful. He preached the gospel of good cheer, and 
 that with all his heart; hence he rarely failed to win 
 and hold the attention of his hearers. This was not 
 due alone to his pleasing pulpit address, though that 
 was markedly attractive. His preaching was strong, 
 both in thought and in the simplicity and force of his 
 language. He had that peculiar and almost indefinable 
 gift of recognizing manhood in his hearers. He had a 
 deep and abiding conviction that only so far as man is 
 in Christ and like Christ can he attain to the standard 
 which the Creator — Redeemer — would have him reach. 
 This made him a mighty preacher of the essential gos- 
 pel; for he believed, without the least misgiving, that 
 the Christianity of the Bible is the only gospel worth 
 preaching in the highways and hedges of humanity, 
 because it alone is the one power of God unto salva- 
 tion for all who will accept it. 
 
Preaching and Sermons 153 
 
 The preaching of Bishop Hott did not consist of in- 
 sipid appeals and aimless exhortations which leave no 
 permanent impression. Rather, his sermons invariably 
 had a solid foundation in doctrinal truth, expressed, 
 not in the language of the schools, but of the English 
 Scriptures and of the common people. As has always 
 been the case with great preachers, so it was with him, 
 his messages had their root in Bible truth and a deep 
 personal experience of the reality of that truth, enab- 
 ling him to speak with a fervor and conviction, which 
 sent the message home with unerring precision. 
 
 Then another distinct characteristic of his preach- 
 ing was its striking parabolic form, resembling that of 
 the Master Preacher, of whom it is said, "Without a 
 parable spake he not unto them." His vivid imagina- 
 tion and his remarkable aptness in drawing lessons 
 from nature and from the common occurrences of life, 
 enabled him to illustrate his sermons with the most 
 lifelike pictures, which are to the mind what diagrams 
 are to the eye. They were the windows of truth which 
 let in the light and made the message convincing. 
 
 In this connection it is deserving of mention that 
 the preaching of Bishop Hott had a peculiar charm for 
 young men. This was a notable fact, and the fre- 
 quency of his calls to preach on commencement occa- 
 sions, and to address meetings under the auspices of the 
 Young Men's Christian Association, is ample proof of 
 this statement. That he was thus popular with young 
 men was no doubt due to the fact, as previously re- 
 marked, that he recognized the manhood of his hearers, 
 and this won for him their confidence and attention. 
 He preached a strong, manly Christianity, which, like 
 the preaching of St. Paul, abounded in the strongest 
 appeals to manhood : "Quit you like men, be strong." 
 "Endure hardness like a good soldier of Jesus Christ." 
 "Fight the good fight of faith." "So run that ye may 
 obtain." 
 
154 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 The preacher who thus respects the manhood of his 
 hearers, and does not simply throw out to them hand- 
 fuls of "commonplaces decked in baby words," or who 
 does not "dilute the strength of his message with the 
 water of sentiment and namby-pamby whimperings," is 
 the preacher of winning power and usefulness. And 
 it should never be forgotten that only those who have 
 the power to win the young to Christ's service and to 
 train them wisely therein, are deserving of special dis- 
 tinction as leaders in the church or as benefactors of the 
 race. The preacher or other Christian worker who has 
 learned the secret of successfully working for the life 
 and growth of the young has learned the secret of the 
 highest service to the world, the most far-reaching and 
 permanent service to his fellow-men. This is the un- 
 mistakable teaching of the centuries, in all human ex- 
 perience, from the days of Abraham to the present. 
 
 It is, therefore, a matter for devout gratitude that 
 we have in Bishop Hott so worthy an example of one 
 who had the sanctified genius of so preaching the gos- 
 pel to the young as to save them from the guilt and 
 power of sin, and to build them up in holy character 
 and living. 
 
 The bishop's own ideals of preaching are suggestively 
 given in an article in the Religious Telescope of Octo- 
 ber 1, 1891, entitled "The Interesting Sermon." In 
 this he says: "It is a crime for a sermon to be dull, 
 prosy, and dry. An uninteresting, sleep-inspiring 
 preacher is a criminal. The gospel is the most inter- 
 esting theme that has ever been handled by the lips of 
 man. Its facts are the profoundest to awaken lofty 
 thought; its range the broadest to enkindle and ex- 
 pand the imagination ; its love the most passionate and 
 holy and divine to stir the heart to its profoundest 
 depths. The calling of the ministry is divine, and 
 should awaken all the powers and exercises of the 
 mind, heart, and body. Its relation to the hearer is of 
 
Preaching and Sermons 155 
 
 eternal moment. Therefore, for a sermon to be unin- 
 teresting is a crime against the gospel message, against 
 the divine commission and the soul of the hearer, 
 against the very spirit of the gospel. 
 
 "Some sermons have too much argument in them. 
 Logic is a cold study, and usually much logic cools off 
 the sermon. The preacher argues away like a mechanic 
 boring a hole in a great timber with a modern boring 
 machine. The logic is intended to penetrate the minds 
 of the hearers. The sermon is the preacher's logical 
 power and his ability to bore his audience. True 
 preaching is declaring, proclaiming the gospel more 
 than proving some theory which has no saving efficacy 
 in it. Now and then a sermon on Christian evidences 
 may be well, indeed; but the gospel truth has been 
 proved ten thousand times. Now it wants preaching — 
 warm, earnest, heart-felt, heart-breaking, heart-inspir- 
 ing preaching. That kind is always interesting. 
 
 "Some sermons are too metaphysical to interest peo- 
 ple. It makes one shiver to hear a preacher announce 
 a good text and then at once to pour into the people a 
 cold metaphysical drizzle three-fourths of an hour long. 
 To these drizzles we prefer a shower of grace. I would 
 rather have an old-fashioned storm, full of lightning 
 and thunder, in the pulpit than one of these cold driz- 
 zles. 
 
 "Many a sermon is uninteresting because it is too 
 loosely prepared. The hearer can tell in the first five 
 sentences that the preacher has made imperfect prepa- 
 ration. He has words and stuff enough to make the 
 size of a sermon, but too much straw and chaff instead 
 of wheat. The speaker lacks the warmth born of a new 
 idea. A hearer said the other day, 'I do not think that 
 preacher has had a new thought for a year.' No doubt 
 the criticism was too severe; but platitudes and com- 
 monplace observations, monologues in the pulpit, lack 
 the fire which stirs men's souls. Some one has tersely 
 
156 Life and Career af James William Hott 
 
 and truthfully said that a sermon should make the 
 hearer glad, or make him sad, or make him mad. Every 
 sermon is a new thing, and it ought to put old truths 
 in new forms. 
 
 "Too many sermons lack in interest because of a 
 mere essay style. They lack division and paragraphing 
 and punctuation. They are just 'long-drawn-out-ed- 
 ness.' There are no peaks of thought from which you 
 look over the valley and upon other lofty peaks. They 
 have the plane and monotony of the desert. They are 
 like a sentence without division, or capitalization, or 
 punctuation. They are this way: 'Thenthemariners 
 wereafraidandcriedeverymantohisgodandcastforththe 
 waresthatwereintheshipintotheseatolightenitofthem 
 butjonahwasgonedownintothesidesoftheshipandhelay 
 andwasfastasleep.' We want points in the pulpit, not 
 smart things. There is nothing more disgusting than 
 a cheap witicism in a sermon. It makes a man weary 
 and heart-sick to hear a preacher, instead of preaching 
 the great inspiring truth of God, trying to be smart, 
 and to say smart things. This cracking cheap jokes in 
 the pulpit is most awful. 
 
 "How can the preacher make the sermon interesting '? 
 
 "1. Put more warm Bible facts into it. Do not 
 merely use the Bible for a text, but for development and 
 illustration as well. The Bible is the most interesting 
 book in the world. Its historic parts are full of illus- 
 trations for the sermon. They show truth in the con- 
 crete. They give God's truth clothed in flesh and filled 
 with life — the truth with hands and feet and heart. 
 That is always more interesting and impressive than 
 abstract truth. . . . 
 
 "2. Many sermons would be vastly more interesting 
 if the preacher would press the text a little harder. 
 Often the preacher is hard pressed for a text, but does 
 not in turn press the text. There is an old story of a 
 man who had four propositions in his sermon: (1) He 
 
Preaching and Sermons 157 
 
 would come up to his text; (2) he would go round about 
 the text; (3) he would pass through the text; (4) and 
 lastly he would depart from his text. It is very com- 
 mon nowadays for preachers to preach from the text. 
 It often discourages a hearer to have a preacher an- 
 nounce a good text and then at once start off on a slow 
 trot to some place a quarter or a half mile in a north- 
 easterly direction from the text. It is better to make 
 the context, that which precedes and that which suc- 
 ceeds, two jaws of a vice with which to squeeze the 
 text real hard. Many a dry sermon might have warm 
 juice in it if the preacher would just press the text a 
 little harder. 
 
 "3. Many sermons would be greatly improved at the 
 last by cutting them squarely off. There is great need 
 of compressing the last fifteen or twenty minutes of 
 many sermons into five minutes. Oh, for a compressor 
 or curtailer of the sermon! One-half of our sermons 
 are injured, if not absolutely spoiled, by being too long. 
 They are continued and tapered out till they seem to 
 be endless. . . . The interesting preacher can al- 
 ways make the sermon somewhat pleasing by quitting. 
 
 "4. A preacher and his sermon must be steeped in 
 prayer. How can the Holy Spirit use a sermon unless 
 the preacher is softened by prayer? Before modern 
 homiletics was so well understood, generally, by our 
 preachers, and before we got so precise in our tastes 
 about the fit of our sermons, the giants of the church 
 made much preparation in prayer. Our old preachers 
 used to kneel down and engage in silent prayer upon 
 entering the pulpit. That has gone out of vogue, I 
 believe ; they say it smacks of cant, and that it is well 
 that it is out of use. Well, it may be so; I am not 
 sure. . . . Better praying would vastly improve our 
 preaching. Oh, for God in the sermon, for living, soul- 
 stirring, and soul-loving sermons!" 
 
 We have here a very clear indication of the style, 
 
158 Life and Career of James William llott 
 
 spirit, and habits of the writer in his own varied and 
 powerful preaching. 
 
 In 1887 Bishop Hott preached the baccalaureate at 
 the commencement of San Joaquin Valley College, on 
 the occasion of his first visit to the Pacific Coast. The 
 Rev. I. K. Statton, a life-long friend of the bishop, 
 then college pastor at Woodbridge, says of that ser- 
 mon: "It was a masterful effort for freshness and 
 vigor of thought, logical deductions, and heart power, 
 which won and moved these staid, businesslike Cali- 
 fornians in such a manner as they were not used to." 
 
 At the biennial convention of the Young People's 
 Christian Union, held in Lebanon, Pa., in July, 1900, 
 the convention sermon was preached by Bishop Hott, 
 and it could not have been better suited to the occa- 
 sion. The discourse was strong, simple, and copiously 
 illustrated, and made a profound impression. The 
 following is the outline of the sermon as found in his 
 Bible: 
 
 How Many Loaves'? 
 
 Text: "How many loaves have ye?" (Matt. 15: 34). 
 
 Introduction. 1. Healing miracles much empha- 
 sized. 2. Need to dwell upon feeding. Preserve be- 
 fore healing. 3. Twice fed the multitude: In the 
 early spring, soon after the death of John the Baptist ; 
 five thousand with five loaves and two fishes, twelve 
 basketfuls remaining; all the Gospels mention it. 
 Again in the summer, four thousand with seven loaves 
 and a few fishes. Matthew and Mark give it. 
 
 THE ELEMENTS IN MIRACLE. 
 
 I. His sympathy for the masses. 
 
 1. He anticipates. Not appealed to as before, (a) 
 They had been with Him three days — parts of two 
 nights; (b) He wants nothing to eat. 
 
Preaching and Sermons 159 
 
 II. Human, instrumentality in supply. 
 
 1. He wishes to enlist disciples, (.a) Tells them of 
 his sympathy, (b) Wanted to use them, (c) Ap- 
 pealed to them for supply. 
 
 2. He used their scanty supply, (a) Took it lov- 
 ingly, (b) Gave thanks — blessed, (c) Had the disci- 
 ples orderly distribute, (d) Had the disciples gather 
 the fragments. Such is the story, blessed. 
 
 LESSONS. 
 
 1. Jesus to-day is full of compassion. Pictures of 
 Christ cursing the world are false. 
 
 2. He reveals himself to us to enlist us. 
 
 3. He calls upon us for the supply of the world's 
 needs. 
 
 Loaves. What? How many? 
 
 1. Sympathy and love like His, that sees others' 
 needs, and feels others' perils. 
 
 2. Readiness to distribute like Jesus, in prayer, 
 fellowship, help. 
 
 3. Faith to offer the loaves we know are inadequate. 
 Our resources fail. Danger of forgetting. His former 
 use of our meager supply. 
 
 4. He deigns to use our scanty lives. Our feeble 
 prayers, small offerings, silent tears, kind words, 
 broken, humble, poor, but blameless life. His blessings 
 make all a supply. 
 
 5. He honors us in this use. 
 Conclusion. 
 
 1. How many loaves have we? 
 
 2. Have we fully offered what we have? A young 
 man at Westfield said, "I will give myself. Forsaking 
 all I take Him." 
 
 While Bishop Hott's sermons may have lacked some- 
 what in scholarly finish, they were ever characterized 
 by great vigor and freshness. His manner of preach- 
 
160 Life ana Career of James William Hott 
 
 ing was clearly his own, and when at his best he had 
 few equals. Few men, certainly few in the United 
 Brethren Church, have ever known better how to at- 
 tract the eye and ear of the public. His many calls 
 for preaching is in evidence of this fact. He not only 
 preached widely throughout his own denomination, but 
 he often filled the pulpits of otber churches with great 
 acceptability. When living on the Pacific Coast he 
 preached and lectured frequently for the Brooklyn 
 Presbyterian Church, at Oakland, California, of which 
 Dr. E. S. Chapman was then the pastor. He also 
 preached in the leading churches of Portland, Stock- 
 ton, Los Angeles, and other cities. The same was true 
 in the East. Lists of the sermons preached in some of 
 these places he left in a book devoted to such purposes. 
 One of these lists shows that he preached thirteen times 
 in Grace Methodist Church, Dayton, Ohio. Another 
 shows that he preached seventeen times at the Na- 
 tional Soldiers' Home. He supplied the pulpit there 
 for some time during the last illness of Chaplain Wm. 
 Earnshaw, to whom he was warmly attached, and 
 after his death he was offered the chaplaincy of the 
 Home, which he declined, preferring to continue in 
 the service of the Church of his choice and love. 
 
 During one year, 1878-79, the Summit Street United 
 Brethren Church, of Dayton, Ohio, was without a 
 regular pastor, the pulpit being supplied by J. W. Hott 
 and W. O. Tobey, editors of the Religious Telescope, 
 and S. M. Hippard, agent of Union Biblical Seminary. 
 This was at a time when this congregation was heavily 
 in debt and passing through a period of peculiar trials 
 and unrest, and the preaching of Mr. Hott had much 
 to do in promoting harmony and good will. His ser- 
 mons were marked by a deep spirituality and great 
 kindness of heart. In that year the subjects of the 
 first three sermons preached were : "The Cross Made 
 of None Effect," "The Sinner Saved," and "Looking 
 
Preaching and Sermons 161 
 
 at Unseen Things." He was always a favorite preacher 
 in that church. 
 
 Bishop Hott's sermons were sometimes marvelous 
 specimens of analysis. This, however, was not so ap- 
 parent to the hearer, as his skeletons in preaching were 
 never placed on exhibition. In the sermon they were 
 all clothed with flesh and filled with life, and so had 
 proportion and comeliness. A notable example of his 
 power and habit of analysis in preparing his sermons 
 is found in the following outline : 
 
 The New Commandment. 
 
 Text : "A new commandment I give unto you, that 
 ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye 
 also love one another. By this shall all men know that 
 ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" 
 (John 13: 34, 35). 
 
 Introduction. 
 
 1. There are few new things. In books, art, music. 
 
 2. Solomon says, "No new thing" (Eccl. 1:9). 
 
 3. Jesus, as to facts and teachings, always new. 
 
 Illustration : Supper scene — among (a) ambitions, 
 (b) jealousies, (c) denied, (d) betrayed. He loves all; 
 washes feet of all. 
 
 An inspiring, new program for the world. 
 
 I. Brotherly love, as the law of Christianity and the 
 race, came from Jesus as a new commandment. 
 
 1. Start on text of this last great sermon. 
 
 2. See I. John 2 : 8. 
 
 3. Love in the world before, but — 
 
 4. Jesus organized into law. Companionship of 
 Jesus is law. 
 
 Three great principles sought mastery. 
 
162 Jbife and Career of James William Hott 
 
 1. Power. Jupiterisrn, Caesarism, Imperialism. 
 Eome its example, (a) In self -perpetuation 
 of God. (b) In control of world. Em- 
 perors won deification by blood. As in "Quo 
 Vadis." Acts of senate swayed by despotism. 
 
 2. Wisdom. Philosophy. Greece, its example. 
 Philosophy came from mythology. Wisdom 
 enslaved power. 
 
 3. Justice, law. (a) Scene of Moses giving the 
 law. (b) World's first lesson in law. Juda- 
 ism its example. Rabbis, teachers. 
 
 Jesus, a solitary figure. 
 
 Rose above all. With few disciples, mostly women. 
 With symbols of Rome, Greece, Judaism crowding 
 Him, gave law of brotherhood. 
 
 A new commandment. 
 
 Fill all power, wisdom, law, with love. 
 
 II. Manner of establishing this new law. 
 "I give it." "I" in His teachings. 
 
 1. Jesus' relation to Roman power, (a) Ignored 
 political methods wholly. See Luke 20 : 25, "Render." 
 (&) Touched Roman instrument of death, the cross, 
 and made it the symbol of love forever. 
 
 2. Jesus' relation to philosophy, wisdom, (a) Ig- 
 nored all learned methods. Never philosophizes. Never 
 seeks truth. See John 7: 15, "How knoweth," etc. (&) 
 Is all truth. Does not make wisdom the door to his 
 kingdom. Philosophers did. They said, "None ad- 
 mitted here but mathematicians." He said, "Ye must 
 be born again." 
 
 3. Jesus' relation to Hebrew law of justice, (a) 
 Fulfilled. Of the second table. One "honor," five aw- 
 ful negatives — kill, adultery, steal, false witness, covet. 
 (&) Epitomizes table. Matt. 22 : 39, "Thy neighbor as 
 thyself." (c) Analyzes and treats the law. Matt. 5: 
 
Preaching and Sermons 163 
 
 38-48, "Eye for eye," etc. V. 38, answer, v. 39. "Love 
 thy neighbour and hate thine enemy." V. 43, answer, 
 vs. 44-48. 
 
 Love, the new commandment in His life. 
 
 1. He lived his teachings. 
 
 2. Gave the world himself. 
 
 III. New law in present, personal experience. 
 
 1. Born in true convert. "If we love one another, 
 God abideth in us" (I. John 4: 12). 
 
 2. Opens new fountain of joy in heart. 
 
 3. Reveals a new world about us. 
 
 IV. Test and proof of discipleship. 
 
 See I. Corinthians 13. Not (1) eloquent profession; 
 (2) wisdom; (3) faith; (4) benevolence; (5) martyr- 
 dom; — but love. "By this shall men know." 
 
 V. Example of Jesus gives us the measure of our 
 conformity to this law. 
 
 Not an inspiration to love as if he had said, "Since 
 I loved," ye ought, but a pattern, type — "Even as I 
 have loved you." (1) Unselfishly; (2) ceaselessly; (3) 
 to the end. 
 
 In 1897 Scioto Conference was held in the old Dres- 
 bach Church, near Circleville, Ohio, and was presided 
 over by Bishop Hott. This church was built in 1829. 
 Here the General Conference of 1833 was held, pre- 
 sided over by Bishop Henry Kumler, Sr. There were 
 but six conferences in the entire Church then. 
 Heistand and Brown were the other bishops. The 
 General Conference of 1841, so famous in our Church 
 history, also assembled in this church, with twenty- 
 three members, including two bishops. Here the con- 
 stitution that gave the Church so much trouble in after 
 years was adopted. With these historic memories be- 
 fore him, Bishop Hott preached a characteristic and 
 timely sermon, of which the following is a synopsis: 
 
164: Life and Career of James William Hott 
 The Mantle of the Fathers. 
 
 " 'And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from 
 him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the 
 Lord, the God of Elijah?' (II. Kings 2: 14). 
 
 "We have been assembled three days in this old 
 church erected nearly seventy years ago, in which our 
 fathers assembled in the General Conference of 1833, 
 and again in 1841. These historic memories were al- 
 luded to at the opening of our conference, yet I have 
 not been able to free myself from their influence, as 
 doubtless you have not. These early ministers are not 
 here. 'Your fathers, where are they ? and the prophets, 
 do they live for ever?' Elijah's history is well known 
 to every Bible reader. His peculiar life and ministry 
 are studied by all in all ages. But the time came 
 'when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a 
 whirlwind.' So our fathers passed away. 
 
 "Transition is the law of life. The history of our 
 own Church is but a type of all church history, and 
 all the general currents and circles of history. There 
 stands out first the good revival period, the era of spir- 
 itual power, when the Spirit of God moves upon the 
 face of the waters. This is followed by the period of 
 crystallization, or the effort to form spiritual conditions 
 and thoughts into creed and dogma. Here our fathers 
 framed and adopted the constitution of the Church 
 and endeavored to fix the creed for all time to come. 
 Then follows an era of criticism and testing, of dogma 
 and new thought, and new statement of thought. This 
 is followed again by the larger spiritual manifestation 
 under new and different conditions. We are now to 
 expect a large outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 "One asks, naturally, What is the effect of these 
 transitions? Can the world and the church hope for 
 as much under the life of Elisha as it shared under 
 Elijah? In another form of statement, Is the world 
 
Preaching and Sermons 165 
 
 changing for the better, or for the worse? Respecting 
 this there are two views : There is, first, the pessimis- 
 tic view. It holds that the world is growing worse; 
 it points to the formality of the church, and the world- 
 iiness in professing Christians; at the parade and 
 show of religious piety where its real spirit is wanting ; 
 at the general greed for gain in the world, and at the 
 oppression of the poor by great monopolies. 
 
 "Secondly, the optimist claims that the world is get- 
 ting better. He asserts that the church and world have 
 higher religious ideals, (which accounts for the pessi- 
 mistic views,) that there is greater light upon error 
 and sin, that there are larger and better conceptions 
 of God, broader recognition of the brotherhood of 
 man, more good people in the world, more servants of 
 mankind in true love, more true love for mankind, bet- 
 ter governments in the world, more and better educa- 
 tional, reformatory, and humane institutions, hun- 
 dreds more of laborers in hospitals and prisons, and 
 thousands of missionaries in heathen lands, with much 
 better appliances for Christian work in all lands. 
 
 "This discourse is not to try directly to settle the 
 mind of any one as to these views. Probably we all 
 have our own ideas of these things. There are a few 
 facts this text and its surroundings, as well as all his- 
 tory, teach us. 
 
 "I. The fathers had their Jordan to cross. It was 
 so with Elijah. His life was illustrious. He was now 
 on his way to the fastnesses of the Moab mountains, 
 where he was to find the station where would halt the 
 chariot of fire and steeds of fire to bear him up into 
 heaven. Yet is the old prophet confronted with the 
 Jordan. Our fathers met their difficulties. 
 
 "1. There were the low standards of morals in the 
 public mind. We are accustomed to hear persons sigh 
 for the good old times long past, when man thought 
 «nd did only good, and when all things were as they 
 
166 Life and Career of James William Hotl 
 
 ought to be. No one can locate these good times. Go 
 back to the times so pointed out by those of our day, 
 and way back there is some one with the same spirit 
 who rises and calls for the good old times. So on and 
 on. Those good old days are largely a myth. Take, for 
 illustration, the great temperance struggle. When our 
 fathers here began legislation against the traffic in 
 strong drink, they simply prescribed that preachers 
 should not be allowed to manufacture and sell intoxi- 
 cating drinks. And did preachers do so? Yes, and 
 public sentiment allowed preachers to do so, and to 
 drink intoxicants. Then the fathers legislated against 
 the members of the church dealing in liquors. This 
 was far in advance of public sentiment. It was a Jor- 
 dan which stood in the way of the fathers, and they 
 crossed it. 
 
 "2. Church formalism. We sometimes think our 
 fathers lived in saintly times. Far from it. Otterbein 
 found himself chilled and opposed and criticised, and 
 practically, though not formally, cast out of an evan- 
 gelical church because he proclaimed the religious ex- 
 perience of a holy life. Boehm was confronted by the 
 same. George A. Guething, whose gentleness and 
 sweetness of spirit have been handed down to our day 
 in the very nature, spirit, and life of his descendants, 
 was expelled from an orthodox church for his spiritual 
 preaching and life. Formalism was a wide, deep Jor- 
 dan, which the mantles of our fathers had to smite. 
 
 "II. The church of to-day has its own Jordans. 
 Elisha must reach his field of toil and divine commis- 
 sion by way of the Jordan crossing. The fathers are 
 only gone when the church is confronted by new prob- 
 lems. There are advances and changes of society. The 
 church cannot stop them any more than you can blow 
 out the sun in the morning as it climbs above the 
 clouds and mountains of the East. There is a progress 
 of the world; there is a change in the methods of 
 
Preaching and Sermons 167 
 
 thought, and its basis as well as processes are not the 
 same as in the days of the fathers. Conclusions of 
 thought have ripened into convictions, opinions, and 
 faiths far from those held by the fathers. There must 
 therefore be different methods of reaching and saving 
 men. To these tasks let us come with the heritage be- 
 queathed by the fathers. When Elisha was left to the 
 duties of a new day he held in his hands the mantle of 
 Elijah. 
 
 "III. We have the same helps our fathers had. 
 
 "1. We have the same God. We walk in his light 
 as the fathers did. All will agree to this. 
 
 "2. We have the same Bible. Oh, we have some re- 
 visions, and versions, and translations that our fathers 
 did not have, but these can only help us the better to 
 understand the Bible. 
 
 "3. We have the same Holy Spirit. He is not less 
 in the world now than he was then. 
 
 "4. We have the same power of a godly life that our 
 fathers had. These are the saving powers God uses in 
 the world — the Bible, the Spirit, the holy life; upon 
 these our fathers depended, and upon these we shall al- 
 ways depend. The one enforces the other. The. Bible 
 is the basis. The Spirit is the inward witness. To 
 these the godly life bears witness to the world. 
 
 "Men may not read the Bible, but they will read us. 
 Men may not recognize or own the Holy Spirit, but 
 they will catch the spirit of our lives. These abide 
 forever. 
 
 "IV. We must take up the mantle of our fathers. 
 No man has a present power who does not connect with 
 the heritage given by the fathers. Elijah promised a 
 double portion of his spirit to Elisha only upon the 
 condition that he see him when he is taken away. 
 He who loses sight of the ascending Elijahs loses the 
 present spirit of God. Elisha might have pleaded for 
 a new and different mantle. The sheepskin or goat- 
 
168 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 skin mantle was good enough for, and even fitted to 
 the prophet of the wilderness and the mountain and 
 desert and the cave, but not for him. His office would 
 be in the city of Samaria, and not in the caves along 
 the brook Cherith. He must stand in high social rank, 
 and hence not the old mantle, but a broadcloth mantle. 
 Not so with Elisha. He took up the mantle which fell 
 from Elijah. So must we use the Bible. So must we 
 bow to the Holy Spirit. So must we show the power 
 of the godly life. These symbolize to us all power. 
 They smite every Jordan. We must use them for our 
 times and our Jordans. To be as wise and good as our 
 fathers were we must be wiser and better than our 
 fathers were. We must bear their mantles with a cour- 
 age for our times, a simplicity for our times, with the 
 spirit for our times. There must be the spirit of con- 
 secration for our days and our Jordans. Our fathers 
 joyed at the promises of their children. They expected 
 us to be better than they. They gave to us a heritage 
 of their times with their prayers, and thought, and 
 hope for the future. We shall lay our times into the 
 lap of those who are appointed to come after us. 
 
 "Here once again were gathered the fathers — the 
 Kumlers, Spayth, Khinehart, Hiestand, Brown, Erb, 
 Eussel, Edwards, Glossbrenner, Davis; and here came 
 such as Montgomery, Vandemark, Hanby, and others 
 like unto them. They have all crossed the last Jordan. 
 By and by we shall lay down our mantles beyond the 
 last river and overtake the illustrious ones in that bet- 
 ter country where they have gathered and where they 
 have entered into rest. May the mantles of the fathers 
 fall upon us, and a double portion of their spirit be 
 ours. May we take up the mantles of the ascended 
 Elijahs and with them smite the waters." 
 
 Bishop Hott's conference sermons always had great 
 appropriateness. They were burning gospel messages, 
 full of the marrow of truth and inspiration, and they 
 
Preaching and Sermons 169 
 
 invariably found a responsive chord in the hearts of 
 ministers and laymen alike. Several specimens of ser- 
 mons of this character are preserved in the conference 
 minutes, and are models of excellence in thought, il- 
 lustration, and language. These are all worthy of pub- 
 lication in permanent form, but the limits of this vol- 
 ume preclude the introduction here of more than one 
 of these discourses. This one was delivered at the Au- 
 glaize Conference, at Decatur, Indiana, in 1897. It 
 was preached without manuscript, as the bishop's cus- 
 tom was, and was secured by a stenographer, under the 
 direction of the enterprising conference secretary, the 
 Rev. J. W. Lower. The theme and message are such 
 as to make this truly a typical conference sermon. 
 
 "The Law and Motive of Christian Service. 
 
 "'Servants for Jesus' sake' (II. Corinthians 4:5). 
 
 "The whole of the verse reads : 'For we preach not 
 ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves 
 your servants for Jesus' sake.' The text suggests two 
 lines of observation: First, the great purpose of the 
 Christian life. No life can attain to the loftiest plane 
 of a true life which has not a supreme purposes — a 
 great aim. An aimless life, a life without a purpose, 
 must always fall far short of the possibilities of a God- 
 made man or woman. The plane and purpose of a 
 Christian life in the text is set forth in two words, 
 'Your servants' ; it sets forth therefore the ideal of the 
 Christian life, not only for ministers of the gospel of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, but other sincere followers of 
 Jesus. This plan of life is suggested to us very readily 
 and naturally by the universal law of ministry and 
 service which has control and dominion over all things 
 so far as we know in all worlds. The earth was made 
 for service and abides in its strength and glory through 
 the passing ages as the servant of man. The sea, with 
 
170 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 its mighty deep and vast bosom, is one great servant 
 of all about it. Every beast that walks upon the face 
 of the earth, every bird that tunes its notes to music- 
 sweet, only serves. The sun that shines far away in the 
 heavens shines not for its own glory and for its own 
 adornment, but that it may carry its benediction 
 around the globe and to other worlds; that it may go 
 this morning into every church, into every home where 
 afflicted mothers or fathers may not find way to the 
 sanctuary of God ; that it may scatter the darkness and 
 night of our world. All those stars that light the 
 heavens by night only shine to serve. It were a strange 
 thing if man were an exception to this universal law, 
 were it not? God himself exists to serve. I know 
 there was an old theology that we were taught, some 
 of us, when we were children, that God existed only 
 for his own infinite glory. He is not merely a great 
 egotist. That was the first conception of God that was 
 taught to some of us, but that is not the conception of 
 God that Christianity holds to-day. It is not the true 
 conception of Jesus Christ that Christianity gives to 
 the world. No ! God is love, and lives to serve, always 
 serves. God exists to-day to pour his benediction upon 
 every son and daughter of the race. There is some- 
 , where, I don't recall just now where, a picture, painted 
 by a modern artist, of Christ just in the act of pro- 
 nouncing on the world his curse for the world having 
 rejected him; it is a marvelous painting, but there is 
 no such Christ ; there is no such God ; it is false to the 
 core. 
 
 "This life of service, to the Christian, is very much 
 more fully brought to us in the divine commandments. 
 In the very first history we have of the race, God placed 
 Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to dress it and 
 keep it. A long time ago God said: 'Choose you this 
 day whom ye will serve.' 'Love the Lord and servo 
 him.' 'In honor serving one another.' That is the New 
 
Preaching and Sermons 171 
 
 Testament idea. The last final echo of God's infinite, 
 eternal benediction is, 'Well done, thou good and faith- 
 ful servant' ; that is law and God, that is Christianity. 
 This is suggested to us and enforced by the whole ex- 
 ample of Jesus Christ. The whole life of Christ is a 
 life of service from the first to the last. He never met 
 a man with a load on his shoulder that he didn't take 
 it upon his own if the man would allow it. Jesus 
 Christ never met a woman with a great sorrow in her 
 heart that he didn't take that sorrow out of her heart 
 and lay it on his own if she would allow him to do it. 
 From the morning of his early life to the last day, the 
 whole life of Jesus was one of ministry. In reading 
 that marvelous book, 'Ben Hur,' you surely do not for- 
 get where they are starting with Ben Hur as a slave 
 through the pressing crowd to the ship where he is to 
 become a galley-slave. As the crowds press by him 
 there comes a lad, a boy pressing through the crowd 
 with a cup of cold water. You said, 'That is Jesus, 
 son of Mary.' It is a representation of the Master, al- 
 ways the life of Jesus. 
 
 "Growing toward the close of that life that picture 
 stands out more and more prominent. In company 
 with the disciples on the way to Jerusalem, in the 
 crowd a woman comes; in either hand she holds the 
 hand of a darling boy — two of the disciples of Christ. 
 She says to the Master, 'I want to make a request of 
 you ; grant thou that these my two sons may sit, one on 
 thy right hand, and one on thy left hand, in the king- 
 dom.' He is on his way to Calvary, and the answer 
 comes, 'Can they drink of the cup which I am to drink?' 
 They don't understand it and they say, 'We can,' and, 
 turning to them, he says, 'You shall indeed drink of 
 the cup, but to sit on my right hand or my left hand it 
 is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for 
 whom it is prepared of my Father.' And then he goes 
 on to say: 'Whosoever will be chief among you or 
 
1 72 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 great among you let him be your minister. But who- 
 soever will be greatest among you let him be a bond 
 slave; let him be a servant of all.' That is the doctrine 
 of Christ. Go a little further over on the southwestern 
 side of the city, where the Savior is with his disciples 
 before he goes down to the garden of Gethsemane, as 
 he goes over to eat the passover with the disciples, to 
 the house of some stranger. I wonder whose house it 
 was. I wish I knew. I tramped around Jerusalem to 
 see where he took his last night's supper with the dis- 
 ciples, and I said, 'I wish I knew where it was that he 
 did eat with the disciples.' It is the good man's house, 
 the house of the good man and the Savior is in the 
 home of 'the good man of the house,' and the disciples 
 are gathered about him and there is a dispute among 
 them as to who shall be the greatest. He says to them, 
 'I, your Lord and Master, am among you as one who 
 serves.' And then he girded himself with a towel and 
 took a basin around to one disciple and to another and 
 washed their feet and then completed by wiping their 
 feet with his own hands, and he says, 'If I your Lord 
 and Master do the most menial things for you, how 
 ought you not to wash one another's feet.' Oh! this 
 proud heart of mine, learn a lesson from my Lord and 
 Master. That is the great lesson that it presents to us; 
 and then I go so far as to say that is the lesson that is 
 given up so thoroughly and completely that we now 
 fully recognize it as the great and vast truth of Chris- 
 tianity. We may be selfish and proud, we may want to 
 be ministers, but Jesus Christ standing there says, 
 'The Son of man comes not to be ministered to, but to 
 minister and give his life a ransom for many.' 
 
 "Secondly, the text suggests the supreme motive of 
 the Christian life. 
 
 "Every life must have a great motive; every true 
 life must have a supreme inspiration. Many a man 
 is a weak man because he is not an inspired man, be- 
 
Preaching and Sermons 173 
 
 cause he has not a motive-propelling power. The apos- 
 tle puts it here in three words, Tor Jesus' sake.' That, 
 he says, is the supreme motive in Christian service; I 
 like that theology. Emerson said this, 'If you would 
 elevate me you must get above me.' I think that is 
 very plainly and simply said. If you would elevate me 
 you must get above me. If man is out in the dark he 
 is not inspired to the plane of service; that elevation 
 and inspiration may be accomplished— must be accom- 
 plished outside and above himself. It is the tragedy of 
 the cross ; it is the vision of the face of the Savior ; it 
 is the lesson of God Almighty; the apostle puts it, 'For 
 Jesus' sake.' That is not for our own aggrandizement, 
 not for our own development ; that may be a very beau- 
 tiful motive, for we are creatures that must cultivate 
 ourselves. Not for the beneficial purpose upon society. 
 Great-hearted philanthropy is to be commended, but it 
 is far short of that beautiful, inspiring motive which is 
 presented in the words of the apostle, Tor the sake of 
 Jesus'; that is to say, that we do something for some 
 one which we would not do for that one except for our 
 regard for another. 
 
 "God has shown us this principle. You have read 
 how the Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian, Poti- 
 phar, for Joseph's sake. You remember how the Lord 
 blessed the house of Obed-edom because of the ark of 
 the covenant. Then act under this great law of sub- 
 stitution. A man comes to your house and he would 
 like to be entertained by you. You never saw him, but 
 you know United Brethren ministers to be good people, 
 and you take him in. A man comes to your house 
 and wants entertainment over the Sabbath. He 
 says, 'Once, away back in Pennsylvania, when I 
 was a boy, your father and I used to know each other; 
 we were boys together; went to school together.' You 
 take the stranger into the house and give him the best 
 meal and bed you can give him. Why? Because of 
 
174 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 your father's love and your father's fellowship with 
 him. He was my father's friend — it is for father's 
 sake. We have one of the most beautiful stories in all 
 literature, the story of David and Jonathan. Jonathan 
 knew that David had taken the kingdom from him. 
 He didn't object, because the Father had given him it, 
 but he says, 'Kemember me when you come on your 
 throne.' When Jonathan and Saul were slain in bat- 
 tle David went and gathered the bodies and buried 
 them. Twenty long years passed, when he removed his 
 throne up to Jerusalem ; you remember the last parting 
 of Jonathan — 'When you come on your throne remem- 
 ber me.' David cast his eyes round about him and 
 said, 'Is there any left yet of the house of Saul, that I 
 may show him kindness for the sake of Jonathan ?' and 
 they said, 'There is one Ziba, a servant of the house of 
 Saul, that might remember him'; and they called him 
 in and he said, 'Are you a servant of the house of 
 Saul?' and he said, 'I am'; and David said, 'Is there 
 any left of the house of Jonathan or the house of Saul, 
 that I may show him favor for Jonathan's sakef and 
 he said: 'There is one, and he was a boy about two 
 years old on the day his father Jonathan was slain in 
 battle. His nurse ran away with him, let him fall, and 
 broke both his feet. He is the son of Jonathan.' And 
 David said, 'Go bring him.' I think I can see Mephibo- 
 sheth crawling on his knees, and David must have seen 
 something of the likeness of his dear friend Jonathan 
 as he looked in his face. David said, 'Let all the pri- 
 vate lands of Saul be given him, but let him sit at my 
 table'; and as long as David kept his palace that crip- 
 pled man sat at the table of David for Jonathan's sake. 
 You and I were crippled in the race, crippled in bat- 
 tle, crippled in the awful conflict, but to-day we sit at 
 the table of our Lord and King, for Jesus' sake. 
 
 "So we have the application of this great law. We 
 serve our fellow-man as we would not serve our fellow- 
 
Preaching caul /Sermons 175 
 
 man save because of our relation to and regard for 
 Jesus Christ. You have read probably the story of an 
 old monk who was seen on his way to a place of worship 
 one morning with a pitcher of water in one hand and 
 a fagot of fire in the other. Some one asked him 
 what he meant, and he answered, 'With this fagot I 
 would burn up heaven, with this water I would put out 
 the fires of hell, that I might serve only for the sake of 
 my blessed loving Christ.' That is the loftiest con- 
 ception of the apostle in these words, 'For Jesus' sake.' 
 "That is so, first, because of what Jesus is, because 
 of what Jesus suffered, and because of what Jesus 
 does. Because of these things I serve my fellow-man. 
 That is the subjective form of it. On the other hand, 
 in order that there may be the more perfect manifesta- 
 tion and revelation of Jesus Christ to the world. There- 
 fore I serve in order that Christ be made known to the 
 world. There is a very great desire upon the part of 
 a man who is a Christian that Christ shall be under- 
 stood by the world — by men by whom he has never been 
 understood. I have heard in the last year of men who 
 have been hardened under the influence of evil, that 
 they have stood up in great meetings and cursed the 
 name of Jesus Christ. Why? Because Christ was by 
 them totally misunderstood. No man who understands 
 Christ, no man who understands his character, no man 
 who understands the spirit of Christianity, in his sober 
 senses can do other than bless Christ. Therefore the 
 longing of my heart is that they might know Jesus. I 
 know something of him. Years ago I took my little 
 children, — they were just little girls growing up like 
 olive plants about my house, — I took them hundreds of 
 miles over to my own father's house that they might 
 be there two or three months to be with my father, that 
 they might know my father, that they might learn my 
 father. They often heard me tell sweet stories about 
 his life as it touched my life when I was a little boy. 
 
1 76 .Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 I wanted those daughters of mine to know what a dear 
 father he was ; what a great heart he had ; what a sweet 
 spirit he had; what he bore to the world; what a char- 
 acter of sunlight and beauty he lived. As I think now 
 about it, it is the joy of my heart that my own darling 
 children in the home of my father learned to know 
 him; and afterwards, when one of them grew to wom- 
 anhood she painted me one of the most beautiful 
 life-size portraits of my father; she caught his sweet 
 spirit and life. I am a thousandfold more anxious that 
 those children shall know Christ. I am a thousandfold 
 more anxious that the children all about me shall know 
 Christ and understand his life and character; that is 
 why I serve; but for that, for the service of my Lord 
 Jesus Christ, I should to-day close this service, close 
 my Bible, and go home and never preach another ser- 
 mon. 
 
 "Second, in order that this life and character of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ may be reproduced in the world. 
 Oh, that is the one longing of the heart of the true 
 preacher, that is the one supreme longing of the heart 
 of every true disciple of Christ. May I say to you in 
 that thought Christianity is unlike every other re- 
 ligion of the world? Some of you attended the Con- 
 gress of Religions in Chicago ; you must have sat there 
 and heard those Hindoo priests' beautiful theories. I 
 heard one of them preach regeneration there, self- 
 regeneration of the soul; he said, 'This is Hindooism,' 
 and pointing to the sins of Christian nations said, 'This 
 is Christianity'; I said, 'How false you are, how un- 
 true !' I am willing to take and compare Hindoo ideals 
 with Christian ideals ; I am ready to compare Christian 
 ideals with all the religions of the world. Christ never 
 said, 'This is true and that is true; here is the truth'; 
 he said, 'I am the truth ; judge my gospel by me.' That 
 is a challenge. Jesus stood up before every struggling 
 religion of the world and said, 'I am the way, the 
 
Preaching and Sermons 177 
 
 truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father 
 but by me.' What Christianity has undertaken to do 
 from that day till now is the incarnation of his life in 
 the lives of men. It is for this cause that we serve, 
 and this attainment for Jesus is an inspiration. 
 
 "What is the result of this long service for Jesus' 
 sake? If our life of service as Christians is placed 
 under this law of love and is rendered for Jesus' sake, 
 labor in the service will be made easy. You ask the 
 question very naturally, 'Is Christian service hard?' 
 Yes. No. It depends altogether on how you view it. 
 You ask that man who loves his wife if toil at the bank 
 or on the farm, or toil here or toil there, is hard for 
 him. He says: 'Were you never married? Had you 
 never a wife, and have you no children ?' To that man 
 whose heart is inspired by love for a sweet home, whose 
 heart is inspired by love for a dear wife, whose heart is 
 inspired by sweet ministerings of little children which 
 God has sent as angels of light around his home, to 
 that man the labor of life is easy. A great deal of labor 
 is to be done in the Christian service; there is a great 
 deal of labor that is not congenial to the natural man. 
 A great many people come into church to-day, about 
 the same as a person who is sick goes to the hospital; 
 they want the preacher to come to visit them once or 
 twice a month, and if they see him go to the house of 
 Mrs. Jones oftener than to their own, then they think, 
 'I '11 just call for my letter.' May the Lord have mercy 
 on the man and woman who so construe the life of 
 service! You ought to be able in your church rela- 
 tions not only to carry your own burdens, but those 
 of others. I read a little while ago a little incident. I 
 don't know whether it was historically true, but it was 
 in the spirit true. Some little boys in a charity house 
 in London were sitting around the table, usually in 
 charge of a man. Sometimes they were alone at the 
 table, when one of the little boys invoked the blessing. 
 
178 JLife and Career of James William Hott 
 
 They all bowed their heads and he said, 'Lord Jesus, 
 be thou with us this night and bless what thou hast 
 provided. Amen.' And they all said, 'Amen.' One 
 little boy who had often heard that grace given before 
 said, 'I wonder why Jesus never comes here; we often 
 ask him to come.' And another little boy said, 'I sup- 
 pose the reason he does not come is because he has not 
 any place.' Another little fellow said, 'If that is so, 
 we will make a place for him,' and they had another 
 place prepared, and then went along eating their meal 
 and forgot what they had done, when an old laboring 
 man, on his way home, tired and almost sick, and 
 knowing the character of the house, knocked at the 
 door and asked if he could get a little something to 
 eat; and one of the boys said, 'I suppose Jesus is busy 
 to-night and has sent this man.' Then they said, 'We 
 have been looking for Jesus and he didn't come, and 
 we suppose he sent you.' And they had him sit down 
 at the table and eat their soup with them. He repre- 
 sented Jesus to them. My brother, one of you may 
 pick up a little boy on the street and get him into Sab- 
 bath school; he represents Jesus. And you may see 
 Jesus in that poor little girl whose father is a drunkard 
 and whose mother has the weight of a dozen lives on 
 her broken heart. All service will be sweet that you do 
 for the church because of Christ. In all these we 
 would see the face of the Savior ; you say, 'Jesus repre- 
 sents this,' and labor is easy. 
 
 "When this life of service is put under the law of 
 love for Jesus' sake, sacrifice will be made light. The 
 first law of the Christian life is sacrifice. Christ said, 
 'If any man will be my disciple let him deny himself.' 
 You don't want self-denial; you want self-aggrandize- 
 ment. I do, in my natural condition, but Jesus Christ 
 put it down in a commandment, and said, 'If any man 
 will come after me, let him deny himself.' It is the 
 sweetest path any man ever tried to walk on — the walk 
 
Preaching and Sermons 179 
 
 of self-denial. You and your wife have had a little 
 disagreement; you were going to have a friend spend 
 a week or two with you, and you were talking about it 
 and which room you would let that person occupy ; you 
 wanted him to occupy one room and possibly your wife 
 wanted to give your room up to him. Or it was about 
 the purchase of a suite of furniture; you wanted to 
 get one kind and she wanted another; she wanted to 
 get one kind of piano and you wanted another kind. 
 There was no bad feeling. You talk to the children, 
 and get one of the boys on your side, and then you get 
 another, and then you get the girls, and finally you get 
 all the children on your side as to which room you 
 would have and what you would do, and you set a time 
 that you will put it to a vote in the evening, and then 
 you will talk it over and that night you are going to 
 settle it; and as you begin to talk you look into the 
 face of your wife, and you remember how loyal and 
 true she has stood by you through the long years of 
 your life, and you remember how she nursed you while 
 you were sick and brought you back to life and health, 
 and you remember how you buried your little girl, and 
 how your heart was broken and you had no more cour- 
 age, and she came and kissed you and helped you out 
 of your sorrow when your heart was all broken, and 
 you think what a broken reed you were. You notice 
 what a slender frame she has and what a sickly woman 
 she is, and you know what a great heart she has, and 
 when she looks into your eyes with eyes of love as you 
 are just getting ready to discuss it, you say, 'My dar- 
 ling, you can fix it just the way you want it; I would 
 like for you to have it just the way you want it'; and 
 the children were all on your side, and they wondered, 
 but you were happy as an angel. This is an illustra- 
 tion of self-denial. O thou Christ, thou perfect pat- 
 tern, teach us how sweet it is to deny ourselves! 
 
 "It i6 more than twentv years now since a widowed 
 
180 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 mother had two sons in college; they were preparing 
 themselves for life work. She made every sacrifice and 
 saved every dime and dollar she could, because she 
 wasn't rich, and she wanted to keep them in college. 
 One day the news came home in a letter that the two 
 boys had both resolved to give themselves to the minis- 
 try of the gospel. When that mother read those lines 
 she had to brush the tears out of her eyes, and she said, 
 'How happy I am!' Years went on, and news came 
 home that they had both given themselves to foreign 
 missionary work, and would go to a foreign field to 
 labor. That mother shed tears that day, and she said, 
 'My boys in a foreign field!' She had imagined them 
 in some fine church at home, but the thought that they 
 should go far away into fields so wide, where the night 
 was so dark — she couldn't endure it. She wrote against 
 it, but they wrote kindly but very firmly; at last she 
 just had to give up. They went down to the steamer 
 with half a dozen more also going to a foreign field. 
 She went on board that great steamer, and often kissed 
 them, because it would be a long, long time before she 
 would ever see them again, but the time was quickly 
 gone and she had to go off on the plank. She kissed 
 them again and again, and the plank was taken in and 
 she could only signal to the boys on the upper deck, 
 and by signal they could recognize each other to the 
 last. The old vessel began to swing and the distance 
 between the shore and the vessel to widen, and great 
 tears ran down the boys' cheeks as she threw kisses at 
 them. They were passing farther and farther away, 
 until at last their faces began to mingle in the crowd 
 and she could not tell them one from another, and as 
 the old vessel went out on the mighty deep the mother's 
 heart sank like lead and she turned away from the 
 vessel and laid her hand on her heart and turned her 
 face up to the sky and said, 'Jesus, Jesus, I give these 
 boys up for thee'; and as she stood there, there came 
 
Preaching and Sermons 181 
 
 into her heart a peace, a light like that of those around 
 the throne. 
 
 "The sweetest experience you and I have ever had is 
 that of giving up something for Jesus. It makes a life 
 beautiful; it ennobles the person; it gives sweetness and 
 tenderness to our lives; it attaches others to it in all 
 relations of life. After all, there is not anything that 
 draws us to another like service. I take my shoes off 
 my feet to that woman who gives her life to her child, 
 or to the men who gave their lives in foreign fields in 
 hard service, in the gospel ministry, in statesmanship, 
 and in the world ; in every place that character of serv- 
 ice rises above all others. There is something beauti- 
 ful in the whole life of Jesus ; there is something beau- 
 tiful in his teachings; but the one thing to-day that 
 gives Jesus Christ the masterful character is that he 
 died for the world. 
 
 "May God grant that your life and mine may be 
 wrought out into the beautiful and blessed inspiration 
 of these words, Tor Jesus' sake.' " 
 
 Bishop Hott's last sermon was preached in the Oak 
 Street United Brethren Church, Dayton, Ohio. Text, 
 Colossians 1 : 18. The theme was, "Christ Our Head." 
 The analysis was clear and the conclusion most practi- 
 cal and earnest, a plea to the church to be unswerving 
 in fidelity to Jesus our loving Head. While the sermon 
 had strong elements, it, however, lacked in his old- 
 time warmth, ability, and enthusiasm. The last ser- 
 mon he attempted to prepare was on that immortal 
 text, John 3 : 16. Thus his mind to the last held firmly 
 to these great central themes of the gospel. In Christ 
 alone he trusted and in him he had a sure and stead- 
 fast hope "entering into that which is within the veil." 
 
 The sources of his power as a preacher were his sim- 
 ple faith in God and his clear insight into spiritual 
 realities. He lived with God, and his ministry was 
 God-honored. Though dead he yet speaketh. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Domestic and Social Life. 
 
 Nowhere was Bishop Hott more at home than when 
 at home. His home was his citadel. It was his joy 
 and his comfort. Here all care was laid aside, and he 
 entered with all his earnest soul into the life of his wife 
 and children. He never carried life's shadows and 
 burdens across the threshold of his home. Light and 
 brightness filled the whole horizon of his domestic life. 
 
 He greatly enjoyed being with his family, joining 
 with them in conversation, singing, and reading. His 
 sunny hopefulness and playful humor made him most 
 companionable in all these things. The last time his 
 voice rose in song was a few weeks before his death. 
 His daughter, Mrs. Huber, sang for him with the 
 piano, "Rocked in the cradle of the deep." It was one 
 of his favorite hymns, and he joined in parts of it with 
 a sweet and genuine enthusiasm. 
 
 Notwithstanding his exceptionally busy life, he found 
 time for mingling with his children. He was their 
 favorite companion, and most loved and trusted coun- 
 selor. I do not know that I ever knew a husband more 
 devoted to his wife, or a father more affectionate 
 toward his children than was he ; and I know, too, that 
 devotion and affection could hardly have been more 
 cordially reciprocated than was his. In their home, 
 love was mutual, a necessary condition to a truly happy 
 home. 
 
 It is said that the home of Spurgeon could be de- 
 scribed by only one word — beautiful. Admitted as I 
 was to the inner circle of Bishop Hott's home life, 
 
 182 
 
Bishop Hott's Williams-Street Home, Dayton, Ohio. 
 
Domestic and Social Life 183 
 
 through a period of years, I must say that I know of 
 no single word that so adequately describes it. It is 
 descriptive not only of the character and relationships 
 of father, mother, and children, but of the sacred 
 place where they dwelt. The home was beautiful, not 
 the house in which they lived so much, but the atmos- 
 phere, taste, refinement, orderly and modest furnish- 
 ings, and supreme content, the things which really 
 make an ideal home. 
 
 For one who was away from home so much, who 
 traveled so extensively, separation from his family was 
 a great cross and trial. But after a week, month, or 
 months of absence, how joyous were the reunions, and 
 how sweet the renewed fellowships ! 
 
 Bishop Hott's ideals for home life were high, espe- 
 cially the Christian home. His conceptions of the re- 
 lations and privileges of parents and children were of 
 the most exalted type. These often found expression 
 in his sermons and in his editorial and other writings. 
 Once writing of "The Home School," after speaking of 
 other and important educational agencies, he said, 
 "There is another school, mightier than these. It is 
 that which is found in every home." Then speaking of 
 the possibilities of home training and usefulness, he 
 urged that there be great carefulness in at least six es- 
 sentials : 
 
 1. There ought to be greater familiarity between 
 parents and children than there is in the great ma- 
 jority of the homes. The home school is one of love. 
 
 2. Parents should take more interest in conversa- 
 tion upon subjects that interest the young. 
 
 3. Parents should always show to their children 
 that they expect them to pursue paths of nobleness in 
 life and character. It is a death-blow when a father 
 or mother tells a son or daughter that he or she is of 
 no account, and will never come to any good end. 
 
 4. Let children be instructed more, and not driven 
 
184 Life and Career of James William Jlott 
 
 and scolded. It is murder to manhood and woman- 
 hood to drive children here and there as cattle are 
 driven. 
 
 5. Give the home the light and blessing of good 
 books and good periodical literature. 
 
 6. Let God's Word be read daily in every home, and 
 its teachings be briefly commented upon in connection 
 with the family worship. 
 
 These wise directions always found forceful illus- 
 tration in the bishop's own home. His teaching in 
 these respects was not a matter of theory and precept, 
 but of practice. 
 
 In speaking of his happy home life, I cannot re- 
 frain from mentioning the helpful experiences I have 
 had in connection with family worship where he was 
 the leader. Of course, his home always had a family 
 altar. Here parents and children daily and joyfully 
 lifted their hearts to God in devout prayer. But I have 
 reference to his delightful way of conducting the fam- 
 ily devotions where he lodged during conferences, and 
 at other times where I have been privileged to be with 
 him. His reading of the Scriptures was usually ac- 
 companied with pointed and suggestive and instruc- 
 tive exposition. His pertinent and fresh comments 
 were always a means of grace. Then, his prayers were 
 likewise full of that simple, tender supplication which 
 always seemed to be born of close fellowship with the 
 Master. While the very tone and confidence of the 
 prayer were suggestive of gracious familiarity with 
 him, there was never the slightest irreverence in his 
 address to the divine Lord. I have been greatly moved 
 under his public prayers, but some way it always 
 seemed to me that there was a spontaniety and beauty 
 about his prayers in the family that gave them un- 
 usual power. He was even a greater man in prayer 
 than he was in preaching. Many are the families that 
 have had a conscious lifting heavenward by his pres- 
 
Domestic and Social Life 185 
 
 ence and prayers as they gathered about the hallowed 
 home altar. 
 
 He was noted for his almost boundless hospitality. 
 It used to be said that he and his wife took charge of 
 everybody. In this, reference was had to their charac- 
 teristic generosity in entertaining people from different 
 parts of the Church, especially those visiting the Pub- 
 lishing House. They always had a spare bed, and a 
 place about their ample board for a friend or a stranger, 
 all in keeping with the free and hospitable home of 
 their early life. How much in contrast this is with 
 much of our present life where the scriptural injunc- 
 tion to practice hospitality has become almost a dead 
 letter ! 
 
 In his general social life Bishop Hott was rather a 
 unique character. His ease and grace on all occasions 
 were notable. He was a gentleman of the old school 
 of manners, dignified, but always kind and courteous. 
 His friendship and geniality were proverbial. He 
 could easily adapt himself to his surroundings. If he 
 were with the cultured, lovers of art and music, he was 
 happily at home with them, for his own broad culture 
 and his keen sense of the beautiful in the wide realm 
 of art made him at once an interested and sympathetic 
 companion. If he were in the gardens, parks, or 
 mountains, he was at home there, for he never forgot 
 the "native hills and valleys of the Old Dominion." 
 
 As it was with Beecher, so it was with this man. 
 His privato conversations were full of the wit and wis- 
 dom which marked his public addresses, and each in 
 its own appropriate place. Sometimes in private he 
 would break out into a discourse equal to any he could 
 deliver in public. His mind was always full until it 
 overflowed in this way, after which he needed an entire 
 change of thought, and took relief in humor and harm- 
 less nonsense. Sometimes his humor bubbled over on 
 going into the home where entertained after his great- 
 
186 Life and Career of James William Mott 
 
 est intellectual efforts. His power of unpremeditated 
 speech, both private and public, was often a surprise to 
 his friends. 
 
 In his travels Bishop Hott had the excellent Chris- 
 tian habit of conversation with strangers — a habit well 
 suited to foster a broad human sympathy. Then, too, 
 he was very happy in improving such impromptu con- 
 versations in speaking a modest word for righteous- 
 ness and the Righteous One, and that with no air of 
 preaching. In this way, too, he gathered many of his 
 best illustrations for preaching. 
 
 Few men have had so many friends as this itinerant 
 preacher, for few have known so well as he how to im- 
 prove opportunities for making and retaining them. 
 There was a charm about his friendship which was as 
 transparent and sincere as it was rare. His very na- 
 ture overflowed with friendliness, which found glad 
 expression in innumerable ways. He ever delighted to 
 show it toward the needy, whether it was their souls, 
 minds, or bodies that were in want. If it was the soul 
 that was hungry and lost, he not only knew how to lead 
 it to salvation, but was never happier than when en- 
 gaged in this highest ministry of brotherly kindness. 
 If the mind was lacking in culture and power, and 
 there was a thirst for these things, he rejoiced to 
 show the way to the abundant fountains of supply. 
 If the body was sick and suffering, his friendship as- 
 sumed a very practical form. So in the broad sympa- 
 thies of his being and in the serious activities of his 
 life he was dominated by the Christlike spirit of friend- 
 ship and helpfulness. 
 
 His friendship for his friends, those to whom he was 
 closely related by the ties of blood and association, was 
 true and steadfast. He delighted in them, not for what 
 he could get from them, but for what he might con- 
 tribute to their good and joy. It is friendship of this 
 generous sort that forgets self and finds the highest 
 
Domestic and /Social Life 187 
 
 satisfaction in the happiness of others. He found a 
 peculiar delight in the presence of his friends in hia 
 home, in taking a walk or a drive together, or in shar- 
 ing with them uplifting thoughts and experiences, or 
 the exquisite raptures of communion with nature. His 
 friendship was of this winsome, entertaining, cheerful 
 type. It had in it also the element of faithfulness. A 
 friend who knew him intimately for years says : "His 
 loyalty to a friend could never be shaken. Coolness or 
 ingratitude or infidelity on the part of a friend 
 wounded him to the core, but could not change his at- 
 titude toward that friend. This was one of the sur- 
 prising excellencies of his character." 
 
 Bishop Hott's life and character had a remarkably 
 bright, sunny side. Wherever he went he was a mes- 
 senger of good cheer. He had a merry heart, which 
 the wise proverb-writer says "doeth good like a medi- 
 cine." I do not remember to have seen him at any 
 time during my long and intimate acquaintance with 
 him, when this quality seemed to be absent from him. 
 He even knew how to take a cheerful view of serious 
 things. He had perplexities, and met with opposition, 
 but he did not let these things "turn" the milk of hu- 
 man kindness within him. He could be cheerful and 
 blithesome without being flippant or coarse. He. en- 
 joyed a good story, and could tell one. Many a time 
 have I known him to turn from his desk to tell an 
 amusing story, or to speak of some ludicrous remark 
 or episode, and even when a joke was told at his ex- 
 pense, to laugh as heartily as if some one else had been 
 the butt of it. No one who ever heard him laugh 
 heartily, as he often did when something especially 
 pleased him, will ever forget it. 
 
 He had a keen sense of humor. This gave to his 
 writings a peculiar brightness and fascination, to his 
 sermons and lectures not only brilliancy, but dramatic 
 interest as well, and to his social conversation a charm 
 
188 Life and Career of James William llott 
 
 and beauty that ever made it entertaining and pleas- 
 ing. In the domestic and social circle and about the 
 dinner-table he was a very prince among entertain- 
 ers. And, in all his sallies of wit, in all the stories he 
 told, in all the riddles he propounded, there was never 
 the slightest approach to anything irreverent or un- 
 dignified, anything unworthy a gentleman and a Chris- 
 tian. To be able to say this in truth is to be able to 
 pay him one of the highest of compliments. He was 
 one of the cleanest Christian men I have ever known. 
 He was a man whose personal purity in any sense I 
 never heard called in question. 
 
 There is a little story which the bishop used to tell, 
 and which he enjoyed, though, in a sense, it contained 
 a personal criticism. It is connected with the first ses- 
 sion of Oregon Conference at which he presided, in 
 1889. The conference there had been greatly reduced 
 by the withdrawal of the radicals. Bishop Castle was 
 present. In view of the few working members the 
 bishops constituted themselves a committee to exam- 
 ine some of the unordained preachers. They submitted 
 a list of questions in writing. One question was, 
 "What do you consider good preaching?" To this one 
 of the members of the class answered, "Think like 
 Bishop Weaver, place your right hand to your right 
 ear like Bishop Castle, open your mouth like Bishop 
 Hott, and holler like the Methodists." Bishop Castle 
 would have refused the answer, but Bishop Hott re- 
 plied, "Any young man that can answer a question like 
 that, give him 100 per cent." 
 
 One side of the bishop's many-sidedness was surely 
 his magnetic, generous, winning social side. This made 
 him the center around which the members of his house- 
 hold revolved in harmonious concert like the planets 
 about the central sun. It made him the joy of happy 
 children, and the one object of fawning delight to his 
 grandchildren, of whom he had seven at the time of 
 
Domestic and Social Life 189 
 
 his death. It made him the charmed center on which 
 all eyes were fixed in the social circle. This social in- 
 stinct and power was one of the gifts with which God 
 had been pleased to endow him, a gift enriched and en- 
 larged by grace, which its possessor learned to use so 
 well in the most kindly and helpful services to fellow- 
 men. The life of our Lord, like this one, teaches us the 
 great mission of social kindness as an agency for doing 
 good. 
 
CHAPTEK XIII. 
 An Appreciation. 
 
 It has well been said that there are men and classes 
 of men that occupy positions above the common herd. 
 Such a man was Bishop James W. Hott. In nobility 
 and strength of character, generosity and good sense, 
 industry and cheerfulness, he was above the common 
 herd. For one to write of his manifold virtues who 
 long knew and admired him, is to bring to his memory 
 a grateful tribute of appreciation and love. To have 
 thus known him is to cherish and revere the qualities 
 of nobleness and worth which he possessed. 
 
 Thus it is that he who has a permanent place in the 
 esteem and affection of his fellowmen leaves memorials 
 to his name more enduring than monuments of brass or 
 stone. The expressions of appreciation which follow 
 are the testimonials of living tablets of this sort. They 
 are the estimates which personal friends put upon the 
 worth and work of a man of towering influence as a 
 preacher and orator, editor and author, and church- 
 leader, after his earthly career is finished. They like- 
 wise represent the common judgment of multitudes of 
 others who knew him well. This chapter, therefore, 
 will be in the nature of a memorial to the life assured 
 of this immortality. 
 
 When Mr. Hott was only a young preacher in Vir- 
 ginia his brilliant and winning personality made him 
 many friends. Among these was Ephraim Keubush, 
 who attended a revival meeting he held in the autumn 
 of 1863, in which thirty-three persons were converted. 
 His ardent appreciation of the boy preacher was shown 
 
 190 
 
Bishop Hott, Mother, Daughter, and Granddaughter. ,,,„ 
 
An Appreciation 191 
 
 in naming his first-born son for him — James Hott. A 
 sister of Mrs. Ruebush once said to her, "1 do not see 
 why you gave the child that name." After hearing Mr. 
 Hott preach, some time after, her criticisms vanished 
 and she said apologetically, "I understand now why 
 you gave him that name." 
 
 Mr. Hiram Fries, a school friend and childhood as- 
 sociate of Mi*. Hott, says, "He had the same indomi- 
 table will and energy when a boy that so distinguished 
 him in later life." 
 
 One of the striking facts of Bishop Hott's life is that 
 the friends of his early manhood were his cherished 
 friends through life. C. T. Stearn and A. M. Evers, 
 who became members of Virginia Conference with him 
 in 1862, have both written of their early associate and 
 fellow-laborer, since his death, in terms of warmest 
 appreciation. 
 
 Mr. Stearn says : "A feeling of profound sorrow, 
 however not unmixed with sweetest pleasure, comes to 
 me whenever I think of my life-long friend and dear 
 brother who has gone from us, and whose loving pres- 
 ence will never again greet us on this side of the mys- 
 terious river." 
 
 Mr. Evers says : "Dr. Hott and I entered the minis- 
 try about the same time, and were associated in church 
 work for many years. I always considered him tal- 
 ented. His prayers and sermons were soul-inspiring. 
 He was self-made and scholarly, and seems to have 
 died too soon." 
 
 The Rev. J. W. Howe, who knew Bishop Hott from 
 his boyhood, and who was a member of Virginia Con- 
 ference with him, and a fellow-worker there, once said 
 when referring to the bishop's early life and labors, 
 "We had little idea then that we had among us a man 
 of such character and force who would make himself 
 felt in wider circles." 
 
 Dr. J. Dickson, who was for twenty-four years one 
 
192 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 of the honored bishops of the Church, and who was 
 long and intimately acquainted with James W. Hott 
 in many relations, says of him : "Bishop Hott was in 
 some respects an extraordinary man, and deserves 
 much credit for what he made of himself and the work 
 he did. With his many disadvantages of early life in 
 the way of education he may be called great; that is, 
 great comparatively. Some- of the great men of the 
 world have come up in just that way. With a good 
 foundation, the gift of nature, to build on, they have 
 proved prodigies of mental and moral power, and have 
 been useful in their generation. 
 
 "My first meeting with Bishop Hott was at the Gen- 
 eral Conference of 1869. He was, I suppose, then 
 about twenty-five years of age, the youngest member of 
 that body. I do not remember of any special part he 
 took in the deliberations of the conference; and that 
 showed good sense as well as modesty on his part. 
 After the following General Conference I became more 
 intimate with him, officially as well as otherwise. I 
 heard his talks at the annual conferences on the dif- 
 ferent interests he represented; they were always 
 timely and forcible. I remember well the first visit 
 he made to Upper Wabash Conference. I was sick and 
 could not get out on Sunday morning. The meeting 
 was in the woods, and Hott was put up to preach the 
 conference sermon, and I learned that the people were 
 completely captivated with his effort. In after years 
 when I visited Dayton, Bishop Hott's and Dr. Davis's 
 were my stopping-places. Bishop Hott was a very genial 
 man, no matter where you met him. His children, I 
 thought, always admired him. I am sure they had great 
 reverence and respect for him, and his was a Christian 
 home, in the full sense of the word. That he had his 
 failings is true, — that seems to be the inheritance of 
 all of us, — but that he was a man of ability and good, 
 withal, I think but few who knew him will question." 
 
An Appreciation 193 
 
 D. A. Sinclair, the general secretary of the Young 
 Men's Christian Association, of Dayton, Ohio, for 
 nearly thirty years, and who knew Bishop* Hott well 
 during this long period, especially in his sympathies 
 and work for young men, bears this cordial testimony : 
 
 "No words of mine are adequate to express the love 
 and high regard I have had for the late Bishop Hott. 
 He was my companion in travel across the continent, 
 and no man could wish a more helpful, happy, and in- 
 spiring associate to journey with. He never failed to 
 give our young men a strong, inspiring message when 
 he addressed our members. His words always brought 
 hope, help, and health to his hearers." 
 
 Few men have come nearer to the heart of Bishop 
 Hott than Dr. George M. Mathews, who was for five 
 years his pastor, and who was also intimate with him 
 in other relations. The following is his characteriza- 
 tion of the man: 
 
 "Bishop Hott was a self-made man, of great force and 
 character, and of unusual power as a leader. He was 
 recognized, both within and without the denomina- 
 tion, as an able preacher, strong writer, efficient pre- 
 siding officer, and a wholesome counselor. He pos- 
 sessed great heart power, as well as strong mental 
 endowments. His superior natural gifts, enforced by 
 those acquired by life-long, persistent study, put him 
 in the class of leaders in the denomination. He had 
 positive convictions, which gave him recognized leader- 
 ship. He was kind, amiable, and companionable, al- 
 ways drawing about him warm friends, and casting 
 sunshine upon all with whom he mingled. He was ag- 
 gressive and progressive, always at the front in every 
 movement and enterprise looking to the good of the 
 Church and the salvation of men. He had a deep and 
 genuine interest in young people, which led him gen- 
 erously to support the Seminary and our colleges. He 
 was always a friend of the Young Men's Christian 
 
 13 
 
194 Life and Career of James William Jiolt 
 
 Association, and gave his full energies to the support 
 of the young people's movement of our Church. His 
 soul burned for young men and their life-equipment. 
 . . . He knew how to help his pastor in all these 
 things, especially in revivals. I have known him to 
 stand in the pulpit and preach with great ability, self- 
 poise, and eloquence, and the next moment bow at the 
 altar with his open Bible, instructing penitents in the 
 way of life. And, if strong men at the altar were strug- 
 gling in darkness and doubt, he would encircle them in 
 his arms, and with melted heart and flowing tears ac- 
 tually love them into the kingdom. 
 
 "He was an optimist. He was always full of faith, 
 and hope, and sunshine. He preached and lived the 
 gospel of good cheer. He believed in God, and Christ, 
 and heaven, and the Bible, and the church, and the fu- 
 ture life, with all its glories and blessedness." 
 
 In an official capacity and as a brother man, very 
 intimate relations existed between Dr. W. J. Shuey, 
 so long the United Brethren Publishing Agent, and 
 Bishop Hott. In his address at the bishop's funeral, 
 Dr. Shuey said : 
 
 "I never had a brother after the flesh, but Brother 
 Hott came as nearly as the unreality could be. I found 
 him in private life a man of pure* thoughts and pure 
 words. I never heard him utter an undignified word ; 
 not one unbecoming sentence for a man who was to be 
 himself an example of moral and spiritual purity to 
 others, and a teacher of righteousness of the highest 
 character known to men — a man with a clean heart 
 and clean lips. 
 
 "Bishop Hott was a man of wide reading, and there- 
 fore had larg) conceptions of human affairs and of the 
 world's needs. His yearnings were for the redemption 
 of the whole human race. He was a friend and com- 
 panion of rare affection and firmness. He could be 
 implicitly trusted. His sense of honor was keen and 
 
An Appreciation 195 
 
 determined. Gratefulness for kindness shown him 
 was overflowing. Among his latest expressions were 
 those of thankfulness to those who ministered to his 
 needs. 
 
 "When his afflictions came, my heart was touched, 
 and as I often visited him and conversed with him 
 from time to time, even unto his latest breath, I could 
 have wept my life away, that he might be spared. 
 
 "He lived a strenuous life. I heard one distin- 
 guished physician say to him, when he was lamenting 
 the little he had done for men, 'You have done as much 
 in thirty years as Methuselah did in almost a thousand 
 years.' One year of Brother Hott's strenuous life was 
 equal to two of ordinary activity. He died, as we see 
 it, prematurely. We don't understand it; but he has 
 crowded into these years an immense amount of labor 
 in the Master's vineyard, and eternity alone will re- 
 veal the magnitude of his influence, of his usefulness, 
 of his effectiveness in molding and fashioning the 
 minds and the hearts of the men and women with whom 
 he had to do. 
 
 "I saw him breathe his last breath, and I thought of 
 the little baby lines that our mothers taught us when 
 they laid us to rest: 
 
 " 'Now I lay me down to sleep, 
 
 I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep ; 
 
 If I should die before I wake. 
 
 I pray thee, Lord, my soul to take.' " 
 
 Bishops Kephart and Mills, associated with Bishop 
 Hott in the episcopal office, attended the funeral of 
 their deceased brother and fellow-servant in the work 
 of the Church, speaking words of appreciative com- 
 mendation. Bishop Kephart said: "I have known 
 Bishop Hott for a number of years, and I have always 
 found him to be a warm-hearted, genial, open-hearted 
 friend, frank and candid, a true friend, indeed, one 
 
196 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 whose hands never tired in lending assistance, one 
 whose heart never grew cold, but always in sympathy, 
 and always in love, and abounding cheer; and he had 
 a word of comfort to every individual." 
 
 Bishop Mills's tribute was one of keen and discrim- 
 inating analysis of his associate's salient and distin- 
 guishing qualities, of which the following is the out- 
 line: 
 
 "First, his natural qualities, qualities which came by 
 heritage and environment. Coming from a noble an- 
 cestry, coming from a lovely environment amid the 
 valleys and mountains, it could hardly be other than 
 it was. First, he had a productive or fruitful mind. 
 Second, he had a large gift of imagination, seeing 
 things in their ideal relations, clothed with beauty. 
 Third, he had a warm, generous heart. He loved his 
 family. He loved his friends. They all had a refuge 
 in that large heart, so warm, so generous, so full of 
 sympathy and love. Fourth, he had a large gift of 
 language, verbal expression, which enabled him to turn 
 his thoughts, the products of his imagination, the emo- 
 tions of the heart, into choice sentences and para- 
 graphs. Fifth, his was an enthusiastic nature; that 
 comes from the South. Sixth, he had a large social 
 nature. Lastly, he had a very active temperament. 
 
 "Second, his cultivated or acquired qualities were, 
 first, knowledge — a large and varied fund of knowl- 
 edge; second, a beautiful Christian character, adorned 
 with the graces of the Spirit; third, oratorical habits; 
 fourth, piety, love for God, love for his fellow-men, the 
 product of the work of grace in his own life; fifth, a 
 dignified, courteous demeanor in his relations with 
 others. He had that peculiar dignity which we all re- 
 member so well in our associations with Bishop Gloss- 
 brenner; with such warmth would he shake hands, with 
 such courtesy he would meet or depart, all clothing in 
 a beautiful way the character of the Christian gentle- 
 
An Appreciation 197 
 
 man. And, lastly, a vigorous, strong faith in God, in 
 the gospel, and in his own mission in this life." 
 
 Dr. W. M. Bell, whose associations with Bishop Hott 
 were closest in connection with the missionary work of 
 the Church, says : "Bishop Ilott leaves behind him in- 
 fluences that he put in motion, which a multitude of 
 hearts will feel for the long years that are to come. 
 He leaves behind him memories that will be cherished 
 in numberless homes, and that will be a blessing to 
 those whom he served and helped in life." What 
 greater tribute than this, that he is destined to live in 
 the multitudes of those whom his life has touched and 
 helped ! 
 
 The bishop's old conference, the Virginia, has al- 
 ways felt it had a better right to take pride in his name 
 and achievements than any other. Long before his 
 reputation had gone out through the Church, his con- 
 ference and people among whom he labored with so 
 much zeal and success had learned to appreciate his 
 superior gifts, his warm heart, his spiritual earnestness, 
 his intensely practical common sense, and his tender 
 sympathies, those qualities which made him a valued 
 friend and counselor. At the session of his conference 
 held in Lacey Spring, in March following the bishop's 
 death, it was fitting that the Rev. C. H. Crowell, con- 
 verted under his ministry, should have been asked to 
 prepare the tender memorial paper that was adopted, 
 of which the following is the opening paragraph: 
 "There are times when we are called upon to perform 
 duties that are both painful and pleasing. The pres- 
 ent hour brings us to such a task. The thought that 
 our dear brother and fellow-laborer, Bishop Hott, is 
 dead, almost overwhelms us with grief; but when our 
 thoughts turn to his noble Christian life, so full of 
 faith and good works, and then to the assurance that 
 while he is absent from the body he is present with the 
 Lord, a stream of joy flows into our sorrow-filled hearts 
 
198 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 until they overflow with praise and. thanksgiving. In 
 his death our loss is great, but to him to die was gain." 
 
 The Board of Directors of Union Biblical Seminary, 
 of which Bishop Hott had been a deeply interested and 
 valued member since 1873, adopted the following paper 
 in May, 1902, at its first meeting after his death : 
 
 "Whereas, The Board of Directors of Union Bibli- 
 cal Seminary has lost one of its most honored and 
 valued members during the past year, in the death of 
 Bishop James W. Hott, D. D., so long officially con- 
 nected with this institution in different relations, one 
 of its most devoted friends, and a broad-minded and 
 generous supporter of its aims and work ; therefore, 
 
 "Resolved, 1. That, while recognizing the great lo3s 
 the Church has sustained in his removal from our 
 counsels and fellowship, we would hereby gratefully 
 record our profound appreciation of his distinguished 
 character as a man and leader among us, and of his 
 varied services in different fields, especially in behalf 
 of higher ministerial education in our denomination. 
 
 "2. That while we miss his presence and counsels, 
 we shall ever cherish with affectionate gratitude the 
 memory of his noble and useful life." 
 
 At the annual meeting of the Church-Erection and 
 Missionary boards, in Harrisburg, Pa., in May, 1902, the 
 following paper, prepared by Dr. W. M. Weekley, was 
 adopted, expressing the feelings of these bodies, of 
 which Bishop Hott had been a member for many years : 
 
 "Amid life's duties, we are called upon every little 
 while to lay a loved one away to rest, or to pay a tribute 
 to the memory of some one already gone to the unseen 
 land. For this purpose, we pause a moment to-day. 
 Bishop James W. Hott, long an active, honored mem- 
 ber of these boards, quietly fell asleep in death on the 
 9th day of last January, after a lingering illness of 
 many months. Having been brought up amid the 
 sweet influences of a Christian home and led early to 
 
An Appreciation 199 
 
 accept Christ as a personal Savior, he soon yielded to 
 the conviction that preaching the gospel was his life 
 work, and while yet in his teens entered actively upon 
 his chosen profession. As to his ability and success as 
 a preacher, his adaptation to the work of a pastor, his 
 geniality as a presiding officer, his intense zeal as a 
 church worker, his anxious and constant longing for 
 the prosperity of his Zion, his pure home life, we do 
 not say anything. These things are known to the 
 whole Church. 
 
 "For four years, from May, 1897, to May, 1901, he 
 was chairman of our executive committee, and during 
 all this time the most cordial relationship existed be- 
 tween him and his fellow-committeemen. It was never 
 too cold or too hot for him to attend our meetings 
 when the business of the boards demanded considera- 
 tion. He was never too busy or too weary to be pres- 
 ent, if by so doing he could aid in solving the prob- 
 lems which so often came before that committee. While 
 he was deeply concerned in all our work, and held 
 strong convictions as to methods and measures, he was, 
 nevertheless, always courteous in his treatment of his 
 colaborers, and ever ready to make concessions in mat- 
 ters of judgment for the sake of harmony and good 
 will. He was a devoted friend of the Church-Erection 
 and Missionary societies, and always stood for what 
 they represent. Early in the history of the former he 
 secured a number of bequests for it, some of which 
 have already materialized. His conception of mission 
 work was broad and generous, and kept him in peculiar 
 touch with the great, onward march of the gospel of 
 Christ. 
 
 "But our fellow-toiler is with us no more. His 
 ashes rest in the beautiful Woodland Cemetery, Dayton, 
 Ohio, by the side of the sainted bishops, Weaver and 
 Edwards, and many others who wrought so well in the 
 Church ; but his soul rests with God. The cares and 
 
200 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 toils and faith-struggles of a busy life are all over and 
 past. 
 
 "Though in heaven, he is still our brother, and no 
 doubt as deeply concerned in us and for the causes we 
 represent as he ever was when with us in his bodily 
 presence. We extend to his bereft family our sincer- 
 est sympathy, and pray that where the shadows have 
 fallen the light may also shine." 
 
 Iowa Conference, at its session in March, 1902, whose 
 superintendent Bishop Hott was, held an appreciative 
 service in his memory, at which a memorial paper by 
 the Rev. E. Harper, who was present at the bishop's 
 ordination, at Boonsboro, Md., in 1864, was adopted. 
 Other conferences where the bishop had presided, and 
 where he was held in the highest esteem, gave similar 
 expressions of their appreciation of his character and 
 eminent public services. 
 
 The woman's missionary work of the Church had in 
 Bishop Hott an ardent friend and supporter. After 
 his death the Woman's Evangel gave this grateful and 
 well-merited tribute: "The Woman's Missionary As- 
 sociation, which has received so many kind ministries 
 from our much-esteemed Bishop Hott, will feel keenly 
 his departure. He had so long been a resident of Day- 
 ton, and for so many years a cheerful toiler in the 
 United Brethren Publishing House, after that a habit- 
 ual visitor as he met the different boards, and kindly 
 responded to calls for consultation from us, that now 
 that his voice is forever hushed there is a loneliness in 
 these halls that is felt and commented upon by those 
 remaining. Because of the burning summer heat many 
 a shock has been gathered in early autumn." 
 
 The religious and secular press of the country was 
 likewise generous in the encomiums accorded Bishop 
 Hott, only a few of which can find room here. 
 
 The Religious Telescope says: "Words cannot ex- 
 press our sense of loss to the Church and his district 
 
An Appreciation 201 
 
 by his premature death. lie fell in the midst of his 
 usefulness, in the prime of his life; but he has gone 
 from his sufferings to be crowned in heaven. He rests 
 in peace. Let his example of ceaseless and joyous toil 
 for the Master inspire us who survive him to a higher 
 consecration and better service for Christ and the 
 Church." 
 
 Bishop Hott having been so long the editor of the 
 Religious Telescope, and afterwards one of its most 
 popular contributors, was well known to the religious 
 editors of the country. Their notices of his death are, 
 therefore, in the nature of personal testimonials of his 
 widely-recognized abilities. 
 
 The Western Christian Advocate, of Cincinnati, 
 says: "He was an indefatigable worker, and he aged 
 prematurely under excessive burdens of toil and re- 
 sponsibility. In the pulpit and on the platform he was 
 a recognized force, while as a writer he made a strong 
 impression on his denomination." 
 
 The editor of the Evangelical, of Harrisburg, Pa., 
 Dr. H. B. Hartzler, testifies: "Bishop Hott, in charac- 
 ter and service, was an honor to the Church he so faith- 
 fully and effectively served, and his precious memory 
 is a heritage to be long and tenderly cherished. We 
 met the departed bishop only once, but as a fellow- 
 editor we knew and loved him as a friend for many 
 years, and as a friend we mourn his departure." 
 
 The Daily Journal of Dayton, Ohio, where the 
 bishop was so well known, without aiming to be in- 
 vidious in comparisons, expresses itself thus : "Bishop 
 Hott was a towering figure in the United Brethren 
 Church. He was probably its best known bishop, and 
 also had a wider acquaintance among other denomina- 
 tions than his fellow-bishops." 
 
 Dr. J. B. Kanaga, in a "friend's tribute," in the 
 Evangelical Messenger, of Cleveland, Ohio, cordially 
 writes: "The lately deceased Bishop Hott was a man 
 
202 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 of such broad and generous sympathies as to be worthy 
 of a tribute from friends and brethren of other de- 
 nominations. As a preacher he was perhaps more 
 widely known than any other man in his denomina- 
 tion. On many great occasions other churches sought 
 his services both for lectures and sermons. His polish 
 and eloquence and catholic spirit made him deservedly 
 popular." 
 
 The late Dr. William Beardshear, one of Bishop 
 Hott's most devoted friends, and whose strenuous life 
 closed much as the bishop's did, in response to a re- 
 quest for some words for this appreciation, said: "It 
 will give me unfeigned pleasure to write something re- 
 garding Bishop Hott. I shall not be able to do it for 
 the next month or so, as I am just home from a pro- 
 tracted absence, with a good deal of work on hand. Suc- 
 cess to you in this great and commendable undertak- 
 ing." But before the opportunity came to write the 
 promised appreciation his own fatal illness came, and 
 the noble-souled, broad-minded Beardshear had fin- 
 ished his laborious career and had gone to his reward 
 and crown. 
 
 These generous words of appreciation are not with- 
 out their deep significance. They are the warm and 
 willing expressions of living fellow-men about a fellow- 
 man and a fellow-toiler, deceased. They tell of vir- 
 tues recognized, of character and usefulness attained, 
 and of enduring laurels won, as well as of a wide and 
 profound sense of loss felt. This is the grandest possi- 
 ble monument — that reared in the affections and lives 
 of grateful men and women. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 The universal and warm expressions of esteem and 
 sorrow which the death of Bishop Hott called forth 
 from every part of the Church, and from without the 
 denomination as well, are sufficient to indicate some- 
 thing of the strength of his character, and of his power 
 to impress himself upon the lives and affections of his 
 fellow-men. It is safe to say that few men, if any, 
 have exerted a wider influence upon the progress of 
 the Church with which he was identified and its insti- 
 tutions, during his public life, within the past thirty 
 years, than did James W. Hott. During this period 
 the Church of the United Brethren in Christ not only 
 doubled its membership, but its power and efficiency 
 were increased many times over, as an agency for the 
 intellectual, moral, and spiritual welfare of the world. 
 All the general enterprises and institutions which now 
 distinguish the denomination have grown from the 
 stage of small things to their present magnitude and 
 commanding influence within the generation of his 
 public career. The mere statement of these facts is 
 sufficient to impress us with our indebtedness to wise, 
 courageous, and loyal leaders for the substantial ad- 
 vances of this period. 
 
 It may be claimed by some that others have done 
 more to promote particular features or departments of 
 the Church's life than did this man, worthy as he is of 
 recognition: but who, in a general way, has given more 
 effective aid to all the awressive movements of the 
 time than did he? Who did more to prepare the way 
 208 
 
204 Life and Career of James William llott 
 
 for the Church expansion that so marked recent years 
 than did he? Who has contributed more helpfully to 
 the enlarged literary spirit of the denomination by the 
 contributions of his own pen than he? Who has ex- 
 erted a more permanent influence on the thinking oi 
 the ministry and on the general progress of the Church 
 and the age than did he? Those who have been con- 
 temporary with him in leadership and labor may have 
 excelled in specialization of effort and achievement, 
 but no one surely exhibited greater interest, a broader 
 sympathy, or a more capable helpfulness in all depart- 
 ments embraced in the Church's varied work. 
 
 But he was more than a broad-minded, aggressive 
 churchman. His kinship with humanity was one of his 
 marked characteristics. This gave him a ready and 
 strong grasp on world-wide problems and movements 
 relating to human progress and betterment. This, like- 
 wise, led him into the closest fellowship with other re- 
 ligious denominations, and to give his active support 
 to the great reform and evangelistic efforts of his day. 
 He did not hesitate to identify himself with any "cause 
 that needs assistance," nor to oppose "the wrongs that 
 need resistance," whether political or ecclesiastical, 
 social or industrial. There was as much versatility in 
 his relations with worthy causes, and his efforts on 
 their behalf, as there was in his thinking, and speak- 
 ing, and writing. While others wrought well in their 
 own distinctive spheres, Bishop Hott, as has been said 
 of another, plowed and sowed, and lived to see harvest- 
 ing in every field. The life of such a man, in his coun- 
 try or in his church, is the life of the epoch in which 
 he has lived. The story of a successful general is the 
 story of his successful campaigns. 
 
 The history of Bishop Hott as it has been sketched 
 shows that he was an unsparing worker. The aim has 
 been to present him. not so much as a genius or hero, 
 but as a worker. He had a marvelous capacity for 
 
Conclusion 205 
 
 work. He always worked with remarkable ease, and 
 yet with an intensity that could not fail to be a heavy 
 drain upon his vital forces of body, mind, and heart. 
 He did not have a larg^ or a strong body, but his energy 
 scarcely knew any bounds, so that the amount of work 
 he was able to do, and do well, was a marvel to all who 
 knew him. 
 
 He had not the advantages of collegiate training. 
 Entering the active ministry when less than seventeen 
 years of age, his reading and study, which gave him his 
 well-informed and well-disciplined mind, were carried 
 on with scrupulous diligence and persistency through 
 a period of many years, while at the same time meet- 
 ing successfully his manifold duties in various rela- 
 tions. He was such a diligent student of men and of 
 books that early in life he gained wide recognition for 
 his scholarly habits and attainments. He was an early 
 riser all his life, using early and late hours in enlarg- 
 ing his resources of information and learning. His ac- 
 quaintance with the world's best literature, with the 
 different schools of philosophy and theological thought, 
 together with the facility he acquired in using the 
 funds of knowledge gathered, always astonished and 
 pleased his friends. Though he never matriculated as 
 a student, he attended classes in Greek and theology 
 in Union Biblical Seminary for a time after he be- 
 came editor of the Religious Telescope. Later he stud- 
 ied German, and became so proficient in the use of the 
 language that he was able to make considerable use of 
 it in a colloquial way. His studious habits were quite 
 remarkable for one who had led such a busy life. To 
 make these varied acquisitions meant years of almost 
 incessant labor and study. It is not strange, therefore, 
 that his vital powers should have become exhausted in 
 the midst of his greatest usefulness, and at the height 
 of his influence, and that his career should have sud- 
 denly been brought to a close at so early an age. 
 
2<H) Life and Career of James William Jlott 
 
 How much he lived and how well he wrought in forty 
 busy years ! Those not familiar with his active life 
 can little appreciate the amount of work he really did, 
 and with what jealousy almost every hour of time was 
 redeemed. Much of his best work was done while rid- 
 ing on trains in his extensive travels — reading books 
 and magazines, writing editorials, and preparing ser- 
 mons and addresses for special occasions. 
 
 All this meant laborious travel and ceaseless tension. 
 Such a life should have had frequent seasons of pro- 
 longed relaxation. Alas, however, he found little time 
 for "unbending the bow"; but, as has been indicated 
 previously, his chief relaxation came in the unbending 
 which a merry heart afforded in the fellowship of his 
 family and other close friends. 
 
 It was in his earnest, happy Christian life, however, 
 that Bishop Hott, after all, was most distinguished. 
 His whole career was dominated by religion. He was 
 a devout and regular reader of the Bible in the early 
 morning. He never entered upon the duties of the day 
 without prayer. Even in his travels he never went to 
 sleep on the train without prayer, his petitions includ- 
 ing the engineer. 
 
 There was, too, marvelous uniformity in his re- 
 ligious zeal and spirit. He had not two lives, one re- 
 ligious and the other secular. There were no moun- 
 tain-top and valley experiences alternating with the 
 seasons, or resultant from his own feelings, physical or 
 mental, or from his surroundings, in his life, as is 
 often the case, even with many devout people. His 
 whole life was one of uniform and irrevocable devo- 
 tion to his divine Master. Even his mirthfulness and 
 humor that so enriched and brightened his life, his 
 playful moods, and the bits of fun that ever and anon 
 spiced his conversation and his writings, were never a 
 reflection on his religious character or his consecration 
 to God. In his humorous moments he was reverent, 
 
Conclusion 207 
 
 and in his most serious moods and efforts he was often 
 humorous. In all this there was a spontaneity and 
 naturalness that strongly appealed to the hearts of 
 those who saw and heard him. 
 
 As indicating Bishop Hott's devout spirit and life- 
 long religious habits in daily living, a few extracts 
 from his diary are worth quoting. On New Year's day, 
 1876, he wrote: "God is on his throne and Jesus is my 
 Redeemer. Because Christ lives I am willing to begin 
 this year. How poor, how weak! but Jesus is strong 
 and I am his. This morning I look up to Christ as I 
 never did before. O Jesus, thou hast saved me; keep 
 thine arms around me ! I must seek to become wiser 
 and better each day, and must do some good every day. 
 Amen." 
 
 Two days after the funeral of Bishop Edwards this 
 was his entry : "I cannot escape the gloom which comes 
 upon me at the remembrance of the loss of our dear 
 Brother Edwards." Then, quoting from the bishop's 
 last words, "I would like to live to preach salvation 
 through Christ alone, if it is the will of the Lord," he 
 adds this prayer, "Oh, may the Lord bring me near to 
 Christ my Savior. Jesus, make me all thine own*. Oh, 
 do!" 
 
 These are characteristic records from his diary, and 
 are indicative not only of a spiritual mind, but of the 
 prayer habit of his life. In one case the entry scorns 
 to have been in the morning, and is as follows: "I be- 
 gin this day with a new spirit of consecration and 
 prayer. O God, bless me." He began and closed the 
 day in a devotional attitude. This was the rule of his 
 life from his boyhood. To this must be attributed his 
 luminous and hopeful Christian experience. He was 
 in daily touch with the divine One, and his supplies 
 for the freshening and fructifying of his heart and life 
 were drawn from the living fountains. 
 
 It was Bishop Hott's prayer life, his close fellowship 
 
2U8 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 with God, that put into all his religious exercises so 
 much freshness and fragrance. His religion was of the 
 optimistic type, because born of a large and unwaver- 
 ing faith. This was manifest in his public prayers, 
 his preaching, and daily living. 
 
 He loved the house of God, and was a constant and 
 sincere worshiper in it. When not preaching he gladly 
 took the place of a humble disciple of his Master, par- 
 ticipating in the worship with enthusiastic delight. He 
 joined heartily in the singing, he listened eagerly to the 
 preaching, and his whole soul responded to the breath- 
 ings of prayer, and to the messages of truth. On go- 
 ing into the house of the Lord it was his custom to 
 assume a reverent attitude, to bow his head and offer 
 a silent prayer for the divine blessing. This was his 
 rule whether at home or among strangers, and it no 
 doubt had much to do in stimulating a keen spiritual 
 appetite, and in promoting growth in the graces of the 
 Spirit, and in power in Christian service. Of this we 
 are sure, he had a very high appreciation of the privi- 
 leges and value of the Sabbath day. In the last weeks 
 of his life, when confined to his home, he would ex- 
 press on the Sabbath a great and fervent desire to be 
 once again in the house of God. And the testimony of 
 the family is : "How beautifully he would talk to us 
 all on those Sabbaths. He would dwell on the past, 
 and the sweet and perfect home life of the years agone 
 would sing itself into language that brought tears to 
 our eyes and added a hundredfold to the sacredness of 
 God's holy day." 
 
 The bishop was ever loyal to his Church. He knew 
 and loved the Church of his parents and of his early 
 choice. Though ever loyally devoted to the interests 
 and work of his own denomination, he was not secta- 
 rian or narrow in his feelings or affiliations. He was a 
 man of generous impulses and broad sympathies. He 
 was himself a liberal giver to Christian causes, for one 
 
Conclusion 2 09 
 
 of his ability. He practiced economy in his own per- 
 sonal expenses that he might be able to give. His gen- 
 erosity far exceeded the tenth in his gifts. He gave 
 freely as he was prospered, and he gave to all the in- 
 terests of the Church, but he seemed most interested in 
 the colleges, Union Biblical Seminary, and missions. 
 He gave many hundreds of dollars to these great in- 
 terests. The young men in the ministry of the Church 
 can never know how he loved them and what large 
 plans and hopes he had for them. His enthusiasm and 
 regard for them, and his desire for their best possible 
 furnishing, in mind and heart, for their work, literally 
 knew no bounds. These are among the practical fruits 
 of his full consecration of himself, his gifts, and his 
 possessions to the use of his divine Master, in promot- 
 ing his kingdom here in the earth. 
 
 Bishop Hott was alike practical and helpful in his 
 local church relations and work. For eight years I 
 was a member of the same church to which he belonged. 
 We were both teachers in the Sunday school. I can 
 testify to his great helpfulness in carrying local re- 
 sponsibilities in church work, of his deep interest in 
 his class and their spiritual good, of his real instinct 
 for souls, of his wise counsel to inquirers in times of 
 revival, of his ready and loyal support of his pastor in 
 his plans and methods, and in preaching for him fre- 
 quently, of the joyousness with which he participated 
 in the services of the holy communion, and of the lib- 
 eral financial support which he gave to all the inter- 
 ests of both the local and general Church. There are 
 very hallowed memories which gather about those years 
 of fellowship and service in the Master's cause. 
 
 Bishop Hott's regard for order, accuracy, neatness, 
 thoroughness was apparent in all the details and habits 
 of his daily life. He possessed the genius of pains- 
 taking industry. He hnd a splendid vocabulary of 
 good English which he had at ready command. He did 
 
 14 
 
210 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 not often repeat himself. Even on like occasions, or 
 when speaking or writing on the same theme, he had 
 marvelous facility in injecting new elements, which 
 contributed immeasurably to timeliness and power. 
 All these qualities were markedly prominent in his 
 life, and had an important bearing on every phase of 
 his useful career. Those who knew him well can best 
 appreciate this statement, and yet even they may not 
 have been conscious of the real secret of his power — 
 his strong heart life and his intellectual sincerity and 
 integrity. It was his inner life, so deep and vigorous, 
 which so distinctly influenced and controlled his outer 
 life. 
 
 In thus attempting to present a true life-sketch of 
 the career of the noble-souled, tireless, and consecrated 
 Bishop Hott, the aim has been to make the story of 
 his prodigious activities and achievements a practical 
 lesson, especially to the young. Here is the outline of 
 the lesson : To be well born is to. be well taught ; the 
 training of a child begins with the training of the 
 parents; the place and importance of the home in lay- 
 ing permanent foundations for character and useful- 
 ness ; the reality and value of early piety ; the possibili- 
 ties of industrious and studious habits; what a con- 
 scientious regard for duty, prayer, and unwavering 
 confidence in God's word will do; the essential impor- 
 tance of unreserved devotion to our work; the power 
 and worth of the individual ; how one man may be used 
 to do a great work. Where could worthier lessons be 
 found ? 
 
 Such a life is a rich legacy to friends, the Church, 
 and the world. It is an assuring beacon light to all 
 whose lot is cast in poverty and necessitated struggle. 
 Indeed, it is more; it is an urgent and abiding sum- 
 mons to us all to unquestioning faithfulness in the use 
 of God-given talents; for it is faithfulness in the use 
 of entrusted gifts, rather than the mere possession of 
 
Conclusion 2 1 1 
 
 them, that makes any life great or deserving of honor. 
 Fidelity is the one supreme law and test of character 
 and permanent usefulness. 
 
 Few men have exceeded Bishop Hott in the quality 
 of his work, and in the wide extent of his influence, and 
 all because he performed faithfully the work committed 
 to him by the Lord. His life, therefore, should be an 
 inspiration to preachers and others, old and young. 
 It happily exemplifies the results of a life of right- 
 eousness. It portrays the beauty and rewards of a life 
 spent in the service of his fellow-men. 
 
 It is not to be inferred from what is here said, how- 
 ever, that this man was without weaknesses and faults. 
 He was sometimes impulsive in speech and action; he 
 was not above the liability to error in judgment. No, 
 he was human ; he was not perfect ; he was not fault- 
 less. No one was more deeply conscious of his failings 
 than he was himself ; yet he was a man of God. He be- 
 lieved himself to be called of God and sent of God to do 
 the work of God, and to this end he gave the undivided 
 and unwearied devotion of his entire being. This is 
 godliness. With all his limitations, his controlling 
 ambition was to be a true servant of Jesus Christ. To 
 him holiness was not so much an attainment as it was 
 a right attitude toward God, in trust, obedience, and 
 love. It was this that made him like David and others, 
 true to God, "a man after God's own heart." In his 
 heart-attitude and relations he was loyal to God and 
 men. This was the secret of the power he wielded. He 
 was indeed a good man and useful in his day and 
 generation. He has finished his earthly career. His 
 tired, worn-out body rests, but his influence goes on. 
 He lived well in his age, and he will live in future 
 ages. His work is imperishable. His memory shall 
 not fade. He shall shine as the stars forever and ever. 
 
 To know James W. Hott in his earthly relations and 
 ministries was to respect, esteem, and love him. May 
 
212 Life and Career of James William Hott 
 
 those who learn to know him through this affectionate 
 memorial learn likewise to appreciate his priceless in- 
 fluence and to emulate his virtues, and to love and 
 serve his God. In this way his memory, now so fresh 
 and fragrant in affection and good deeds, shall have 
 immortality. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 AFRICA, Visit to, 116, 118. 
 Appreciations, 190. 
 
 Baltzell, I., 31, 39. 
 Beardshear, Pres. W. M., 72, 115, 
 
 202. 
 Bell, Dr. Wm. M., 197. 
 Berger, Dr. D., 63, 65, 103. 
 Board of Missions, 123, 125, 198. 
 Boonsboro Circuit, 53. 
 
 California Conference, 108, 111. 
 California, Visit to, 85, 124. 
 Castle, Bishop N., 72, 102, 127, 134. 
 Civil War, 45, 51. 
 Chapman, Rev. E. S., 110. 
 Churchville Circuit, 52. 
 Centennial General Conference, 
 
 131. 
 Centenary Address, 132. 
 Church Council, 116. 
 Church Commission, 71, 100. 
 Church Division, 101. 
 Church Litigation, 127. 
 Coast District, On, 104. 
 Confession of Faith, 71, 100. 
 Crowell, Rev. C. H., 52, 197. 
 Crum, Christian, 30. 
 
 Dayton, Ohio, Removal to, 59. 
 Dayton, Ohio, Episcopal Resi- 
 dence in, 127. 
 Diary Extracts, 207. 
 Drury, Dr. M. R, i>!», sr». 
 
 Kast Pennsylvania Conference, 
 
 117. 
 Edenburg Circuit, 45, .50, 52. 
 
 Editorial Greetings, 67, 70, TZ 
 
 Editorial Writings- 
 Character of, 74. 
 Specimens of, 79. 
 Sayings and Epigrams, 85. 
 Style, 78, 98. 
 
 Edwards, Bishop D., 64. 
 
 Ecumenical Conference, 70, 89, 
 92. 
 
 Evers, Rev. A. M., 45, 191. 
 
 Fout, Dr. H. H., 129. 
 Funkhouser, Dr. G. A., 115. 
 
 General Conferences, 52,53, 58, 
 
 64, 69, 71, 100, 114, 126, 131. 
 Germany, Visit to, 116, 122. 
 Glossbrenner, Bishop J. J., 45, 
 
 47,50. 
 
 Hagerstown, Removal from, 59. 
 Harper, Rev. E., 200. 
 Hartzler, Dr. H. B., 201. 
 Home Life, 182. 
 Hott, Bishop J. W.— 
 
 Ancestry, 22. 
 
 Birth, 24. 
 
 Bishop, 100. 
 
 Boyhood, 27. 
 
 Boy Preacher, 47. 
 
 Call to the Ministry, 43. 
 
 Characteristics, 29, 62, 65, 74, 
 126, 203. 
 
 Conversion, 38. 
 
 Death, 137. 
 
 Early Education, 34, 42. 
 
 Editor Religious Telescope, 64. 
 
 213 
 
214 
 
 Index 
 
 Election to General Confer- 
 ence, 52. 
 
 Family, 55, 60. 
 
 First Sermon, 43. 
 
 Funeral, 138. 
 
 Habits, 209. 
 
 Influence, 203. 
 
 Last Sermon, 181. 
 
 Licensed to Preach, 45. 
 
 Marriage, 48. 
 
 Missionary Treasurer, 59. 
 
 Personal Appearance, 58. 
 
 Piety, 207. 
 
 Physical Breakdown, 69. 
 
 Salaries, 54. 
 
 Second Marriage, 135. 
 
 Sickness, 134. 
 
 Titles, 70, 125. 
 Hott, Rev. C. M., 110. 
 Hott, Rev. Jacob F., 22, 25, 78. 
 Hott, Mrs. Jane, 25, 78. 
 Hott, Mrs. Martha A., Death of, 
 
 129. 
 Howe, Rev. J. W., 100, 191. 
 
 Kanaga, Dr. J. B., 201. 
 Kephart, Bishop E. B., 195. 
 Lecturer and Lectures, 93, 9(i. 
 Letters and Letter-Writing, 141. 
 Lay Delegation, 64, 114, 134. 
 Los Angeles Mission, 112, 124. 
 
 Maktinsburg Circuit, 49. 
 Mathews, Dr. Geo. M., 193. 
 Meracle, Wm., 27. 
 Mills, Bishop J. S., 196. 
 Miller, Dr. D. R., 134. 
 Missions, Expansion of, 123. 
 
 Oregon Conference, 104, 110, 114. 
 
 Philomath College, 105, 110. 
 Preaching, Character of, 151. 
 
 Robinson, Thos. W., 35. 
 
 San Joaquin Valley College, 
 
 107. 
 Scioto Conference, 163. 
 Secret Society Question, 65, 71. 
 Selma, California, Visit to, 112. 
 Sermon, The Interesting, 154. 
 Sermons and Outlines— 
 
 "How Many Loaves," 158. 
 
 "The New Commandment," 
 161. 
 
 "The Mantle of the Fathers," 
 164. 
 
 "The Law and Motive of 
 Christian Service," 169. 
 Shuey, Dr. W. J., 129, 194. 
 Sinclair, Mr. D. A., 193. 
 Social Qualities, 185. 
 Statton, Rev. I. K., 158. 
 Stearn, Rev. C. T., 191. 
 Stone Church, Old, 38. 
 
 Tobey, Rev. W. O., 66. 
 Travels, 89. 
 
 United Brethren Quarterly Re- 
 view, 101. 
 
 Union Biblical Seminary, 61, 
 125, 128, 198, 205. 
 
 Virginia Conference, 45, 49, 197. 
 
 Walla Walla Conference, 104, 
 110, 114. 
 
 Weekley, Dr. W. M., 198. 
 
 Westerville, Visit to, 118. 
 
 Woodbridge, California, Re- 
 moval to, 106. 
 
 Works, Literary, 97. 
 
 Young People's Christian 
 Union, 109, 112, 125, 128. 
 
 Young Men, Sympathy for, 153, 
 193. 
 
 214