THE 
 CHURCH AT LIBERTYVILLE
 
 CfwrcfjatlUbertiMUe 
 
 AS SEEN BY 
 THOMAS BRADLEY 
 
 Edited by 
 JOHN WESLEY CONLEY, D. D. 
 
 That he might present it to himself a 
 glorious church 
 
 Paul 
 
 Philadelphia 
 rif fitft anb J%otolanb 
 1630 Chestnut Street
 
 Copyright 1906 by the 
 AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY 
 
 Published January, 1907 
 
 from tbe Society's own
 
 Contents 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. EXPLANATORY 7 
 
 II. A CASE OF DISCIPLINE 12 
 
 III. MRS. PAXTON AND THE MISSION SUNDAY- 
 
 SCHOOL 21 
 
 IV. THE PASTOR'S VACATION 33 
 
 V. CHIEFLY CONCERNING MRS. DOLITTLE . . 46 
 
 VI. JUDGE STRAIGHT AND SOME OTHERS ... 59 
 
 VII. WINDS OF DOCTRINE 73 
 
 VIII. THE FINANCE COMMITTEE 85 
 
 IX. THE SEXTON AND OTHER TROUBLES ... 98 
 
 X. CONTRARY MINDS 109 
 
 XI. CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH 122 
 
 XII. FINDING A PASTOR 138 
 
 XIII. AUNT DORCAS 158 
 
 XIV. RULES AND REGULATIONS 172 
 
 XV. A FAITHFUL STEWARD 187
 
 THE CHURCH AT 
 LIBERTYVILLE 
 
 ^explanatory 
 
 [IBERTYVILLE is a flourishing 
 Western town, or city its residents 
 call it. It is something of a rail- 
 road center, has a variety of factories, and 
 is surrounded by a broad stretch of exceed- 
 ingly fertile farming country. It has a 
 thoroughly mixed population, all classes, all 
 sections of the country, and many foreign 
 lands being well represented. It has its full 
 share of the enterprise, boastfulness, demo- 
 cratic spirit, conceit, interest in politics, and 
 carelessness about religion, characteristic of 
 some portions, at least, of the section of 
 the country in which it is located. 
 
 The First Baptist Church was organized 
 back in the fifties, and for many years has 
 been one of the leading churches of the 
 7
 
 Cbe Gbuccb at 
 
 place. It has had an interesting history 
 and, on the whole, has had a prosperous 
 career. Of course it has had its ups and 
 downs. It had a long struggle with a bur- 
 densome debt which an over-ambitious pas- 
 tor encouraged it to incur, but did not help 
 it pay; for when the debt began to be 
 troublesome, he resigned and went to 
 another church to lead it in a building and 
 mortgaging enterprise. He claimed that a 
 church debt is a good thing, and his con- 
 duct showed that he regarded it as a good 
 thing to run away from. 
 
 I remember that it was a day of great 
 rejoicing in the Libertyville church when 
 the mortgage papers were burned. But 
 there were other troubles besides the debt. 
 I distinctly recall one time when the work 
 was not going on satisfactorily ; in fact con- 
 ditions were very discouraging. Two of 
 the deacons became fully convinced that the 
 difficulty was with the pastor, and that his 
 usefulness on that field was ended, and 
 finally, after they had frequently conferred 
 together upon the subject, and had taken a 
 few others into their confidence, they de- 
 cided that it was their duty " to wait upon " 
 their pastor and tell him how they felt. 
 With a solemn sense of the responsibility 
 8
 
 Biplanatorg 
 
 resting upon them, and of their own un- 
 worthiness and with most earnest assur- 
 ances of their great love for him, and for 
 the church, they told him that they thought 
 his work in Libertyville was done and sug- 
 gested that in the near future he resign. 
 Of course they wanted him to take a little 
 time to look around and secure another pas- 
 torate; but greatly to their surprise he did 
 not appreciate their great kindness and 
 their disinterested and unselfish motives in 
 coming to him, and told them that if they 
 would mind their own business and not go 
 around talking to everybody about the pas- 
 tor it would be much better for them and 
 for the church, and that he did not believe 
 the church would ever prosper until there 
 were some radical changes in its official 
 Board. 
 
 On the following Sunday he told the 
 church that two of the deacons had asked 
 him to resign, and that he would leave at 
 once if the people wanted him to go, but 
 that he would never be driven out by a 
 couple of meddlesome deacons, who were 
 trying to run things in a high-handed way. 
 I think he pursued an unwise course. Sev- 
 eral stormy business meetings followed, and 
 when the air cleared again it was found 
 9
 
 Cbc Cburcb at libertcvUIc 
 
 that the pastor and the two deacons had 
 all resigned. 
 
 There were other periods of brief dis- 
 turbance, but all things considered, it was 
 a prosperous and harmonious church, and 
 was widely known for its good works. 
 
 But I must explain how it happens that 
 I am writing about the Libertyville church. 
 For thirty years, from 1868, when I came 
 to Libertyville to engage in business, until 
 1898, when I retired from business and re- 
 moved to another city to make my home, I 
 was an active member of this church. 
 
 Having leisure now I find my mind dwell- 
 ing upon the experiences of those years, 
 and it has occurred to me that others might 
 be interested in some of the things which 
 interest me so much. I do not want to 
 gossip about my old friends, but I have a 
 feeling that they are friends who are worth 
 knowing, and that it will be of profit to 
 others to become acquainted with them. 
 
 I have no thought of attempting to write 
 a history of the church ; few would care to 
 read that ; but I simply want to write down 
 what comes to me as I live over again in 
 memory the delightful years I spent in the 
 dear old church. I want to tell of the dif- 
 ferent kinds of good folks whom I knew, 
 10
 
 Explanatory 
 
 and introduce them to any who may care 
 to read what I shall write. 
 
 I sincerely hope that I may deal justly 
 and kindly with all whom I may mention. 
 It is possible that I shall make some mis- 
 takes, as some things which I shall record 
 are based upon hearsay, and then too, my 
 memory may be at fault sometimes; but I 
 shall be careful and try not to do injustice 
 to any one. I trust that I may have as 
 generous an appreciation of the virtues of 
 my friends, and as charitable a view of their 
 faults, as I want them to have of mine. 
 
 I have a good friend who writes poetry, 
 although he insists that he simply writes 
 rhymes and that it should not be dignified 
 with the name poetry. Well, be that as it 
 may, he gets some excellent thoughts into 
 his rhymes, and that is more than some 
 poets do. I have persuaded him to do some 
 writing for me to liven up a little these 
 reminiscences. 
 
 As I look over the years spent in the 
 Libertyville church I heartily approve the 
 following, which he handed to me a few 
 days ago : 
 
 There are many, many good folks, 
 That down here we live among; 
 
 II
 
 Cbe Cbutcb at 
 
 Tis the bad and not the good ones, 
 Who are likely to die young. 
 
 There are many kinds of good folks, 
 They belong to different lots; 
 
 Some are good, real good all over, 
 Some are only good in spots. 
 
 Some are good from love or duty, 
 Some are good because of fear; 
 
 Some are frank and open-hearted, 
 Some are just a little queer. 
 
 II 
 
 a Case ot >iscipltne 
 
 There are those who are good, 
 
 But sorely they try us, 
 For it seems that their goodness 
 
 Is cut on the bias. 
 
 JOR many years I was one of the 
 deacons of the Libertyville church ; 
 and I have a distinct recollection 
 of the brethren who served with me and of 
 many of our meetings. They were all good 
 men, but differed widely in their way of 
 looking at things, and sometimes we had 
 questions before us upon which it was not 
 easy for us to reach an agreement. There 
 
 12
 
 Zl Case of Discipline 
 
 comes to my mind now the meeting at 
 which we considered the case of Harry 
 Weeks. The deacons were all present 
 Stearns, Goodwill, Smith, Eager, Perkins, 
 myself, and Doctor Spear. I say " Doctor," 
 for he was particular about having his hon- 
 orary title employed, although he had been 
 out of the active ministry for many years 
 and had been giving his time to secular af- 
 fairs. He was always careful to put in the 
 " D. D." when he signed his name, and Mrs. 
 Spear habitually referred to him as " the 
 doctor." There were two things about him 
 which I was never able fully to under- 
 stand one was, how he secured his doctor- 
 ate, and the other was, why he quit preach- 
 ing. I may say in passing, although I 
 cannot vouch for the truth of it, that it was 
 currently reported that he contributed a 
 generous sum of money to a small college, 
 and also made large promises in the way of 
 influence, and that the college out of grati- 
 tude for such disinterested kindness con- 
 ferred this degree upon him. This is prob- 
 ably a correct explanation, for he certainly 
 was not thus honored because of large 
 scholastic attainments, or marked success 
 in the ministry. As to his giving up the 
 pastorate, he reported that he quit preach-
 
 ttbe Cbutcb at XibertsviUe 
 
 ing because of throat trouble and failure of 
 his voice. But if this were the case he must 
 have made a remarkable recovery, for dur- 
 ing my long acquaintance with him his voice 
 was the strongest thing about him. Some 
 said his second wife's money had something 
 to do with his giving up the ministry, but 
 I do not know about this and I must not 
 gossip. I do know, however, that he 
 married a wealthy widow. 
 
 At the time of this particular meeting to 
 consider the case of Harry Weeks, Rev. 
 Joshua Green was pastor. He was a young 
 man fresh from the theological seminary 
 and had some rather over-wrought views as 
 to the necessity of church discipline. He 
 preached a sermon on the subject, in which 
 he said : " The church is weighted down, 
 handicapped, and corrupted with a worldly, 
 sinful, and unworthy membership. Judg- 
 ment must begin at the house of God, the 
 Augean stables must be cleansed; our first 
 work must be with a whip of small cords, 
 that the church of God may be purified and 
 made meet for the Master's use." This ser- 
 mon was preached the Sunday before the 
 deacons' meeting of which I am about to tell 
 you. The pastor called the meeting to or- 
 der and after a few preliminary matters had 
 14
 
 B Case ot EMscipltne 
 
 been disposed of he said : " Now, brethren, 
 we will listen to the report of our committee 
 on the case of Mr. Harry Weeks." Deacon 
 Stearns, who regarded it as his special 
 prerogative to serve as chairman of all such 
 committees, had been duly appointed at a 
 previous meeting. He was a small, spare 
 man, who looked and acted as though he 
 thought it a sin to enjoy anything in this 
 life, and especially anything that ministered 
 to the wants of the body. He was given to 
 various dietetic vagaries and rarely ate 
 more than two meals a day, and his looks 
 indicated that they did not agree with him. 
 
 " In cooking for Obadiah," his wife had 
 been heard to say, " I do not have to consult 
 his taste, for he never eats anything because 
 he likes it." 
 
 He was somewhat stooped, and his head, 
 set well forward on his shoulders, gave his 
 long nose a peculiarly insinuating appear- 
 ance. His face always wore the determined 
 look of the man who never questions his 
 own opinions, and who knows no difference 
 between a mountain and a mole-hill. Called 
 upon to report, he arose and solemnly wiped 
 and adjusted his spectacles, drew a formid- 
 able-looking paper from his side pocket, 
 cleared his throat and read: 
 
 IS
 
 Gbe Cburcb at 
 
 WHEREAS, Mr. Harry Weeks, a member of the 
 First Baptist Church, of Libertyville, has so far 
 forgotten his covenant obligations as to disgrace 
 himself and scandalize the church by becoming 
 openly intoxicated; and 
 
 WHEREAS, for the church to continue in its 
 membership persons guilty of outbreaking sin is 
 for it to become partaker with them in guilt, 
 therefore, 
 
 Resolved, that we, the deacons of said church, 
 do hereby recommend that the hand of fellowship 
 be withdrawn from the said Harry Weeks, and 
 that he be duly excluded from the church. 
 (Signed) DEACON OBADIAH STEARNS, 
 REV. JABEZ SPEAR, D. D., 
 
 Committee. 
 
 Following the reading of this report, 
 the pastor said : " I greatly regret the ne- 
 cessity for such severe measures, but since 
 coming to Libertyville, I have noted with 
 increasing concern the laxity of discipline 
 in the church and the growing spirit of 
 worldliness, and feel that it is time for 
 the work of purifying the church to begin." 
 
 " I would like to ask," said Charley Good- 
 will I call him Charley, for that is what 
 everybody called him " if the committee 
 saw Harry and tried to help him back to 
 the right way of living." 
 
 " Permit me to say in behalf of the 
 committee," replied Doctor Spear, " that 
 16
 
 B Case of Discipline 
 
 we waited upon Mr. Weeks, and found him 
 uncommunicative and apparently wanting 
 in any proper appreciation of the enormity 
 and disgraceful character of his sin. He 
 said he was sorry and that he did not want 
 to be turned out of the church, but he also 
 said that he did not believe your committee 
 had the remotest idea of what his tempta- 
 tions were. Just as though a mere boy 
 could teach men of our experience. We 
 labored faithfully with him, but saw no 
 evidence of godly repentance, and so were 
 compelled to report as we have." 
 
 "Yes," added Deacon Stearns, "I fully 
 agree with the pastor, that this is a time for 
 decisive action. I never was in favor of 
 taking that scapegrace Weeks into the 
 church. I knew he would not hold out, 
 and have been looking for just this thing. 
 He was brought up a Unitarian and never 
 had any clear understanding of the doc- 
 trines of grace, and the sooner we cut him 
 off the better for the church ; and there are 
 others who must mend their ways or they 
 will have to go too. I am thankful the 
 good work is begun, and that we have a 
 pastor who believes in vigorous church 
 discipline." 
 
 " But," said Deacon Perkins, " we who 
 B 17
 
 fcbe Cburcb at 
 
 are strong ought to bear the infirmities of 
 the weak. It has always seemed to me that 
 church discipline means to save, rather than 
 to cast out. It was said of the Master, 
 ' A bruised reed will he not break and 
 smoking flax will he not quench.' If there 
 is any hope at all of saving Harry Weeks, 
 I am in favor of giving him another trial." 
 " That is just my idea exactly," broke 
 in Charley Goodwill, " and now let me tell 
 you what I did. I was not appointed on 
 any committee, but I went to see Harry, 
 poor fellow, on my own responsibility ; and 
 I found him sick and broken-hearted. He 
 said he meant to do right, and for months 
 fought an awful appetite and was appar- 
 ently getting the better of it, and prayed 
 constantly for God to help him. He said 
 no one who had not experienced it could 
 ever know what such a struggle meant. He 
 has to work very hard, and last week some 
 special orders came in at the factory and 
 he had to work all night ; and in the morn- 
 ing just as he was starting for his room, 
 tired, half -sick, and terribly depressed, a 
 man offered him a drink of beer. He said 
 that in an instant it seemed as though he 
 was possessed with the very demons of 
 darkness, and reason and everything else 
 18
 
 a Cade of Discipline 
 
 were swallowed up and he knew nothing 
 but an insane desire to drink, and he seized 
 the cup and drank it and went down. He 
 said he loved the church, and that the few 
 months he had been a member had been the 
 best of his life, and that he would like to 
 try again, but he was so weak and so dis- 
 graced that he feared there was no use of 
 his trying any more. He cried like a child 
 and seemed to be standing right on the 
 brink of the pit of despair, and if we take 
 this action I believe we will push him off. 
 I tell you, brethren, I will never vote for 
 that report. If the church of Jesus Christ 
 is for anything in this world it is to help 
 such poor fellows." 
 
 " Praise the Lord," said Deacon Eager. 
 
 Deacon Stearns again spoke : " I would 
 not belittle the view taken by Brother Good- 
 will, but this is not a question to be de- 
 cided by emotion or sentiment; we must 
 recognize the dignity of our position as the 
 conservators of the purity of the church, 
 and must act from a stern sense of duty. 
 ' If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off.' " 
 
 " But," exclaimed Charley Goodwill, 
 
 " Harry Weeks is not the right hand of this 
 
 church, but he is a weak member, needing 
 
 our patience and help, and I would rather 
 
 19
 
 Gbe Cburcb at 
 
 cut off my right hand than raise it in vote 
 to expel the poor fellow from the church." 
 
 Deacon Smith, a middle-aged, intelligent, 
 broad-minded man, now spoke : " I appre- 
 ciate the fact that there are times when se- 
 vere measures of discipline are necessary. 
 Amputation in surgery is sometimes de- 
 manded, but the first thought is to save if 
 possible. So in the church, exclusion should 
 be the last resort after all other measures 
 have failed. This is Harry Weeks' first of- 
 fense. I am most heartily in favor of giv- 
 ing him another trial, not to watch him and 
 suspect him, but to get close to him and 
 help him. Perhaps we ought to regard it 
 as giving us another chance rather than 
 him, for I must confess that I fear I have 
 not done my duty in trying to help him to 
 better things." 
 
 The pastor added, " Perhaps I have not 
 given sufficient thought to this aspect of 
 church discipline. At all events, I am in 
 favor of giving Harry Weeks another 
 chance." 
 
 But Deacon Stearns was not satisfied. 
 " I have heard this kind of talk before. It 
 will do no good. I had hoped that the day 
 for better things had come. But since you 
 all seem opposed to this report I have con- 
 20
 
 Olce. parton an> tbe mtddton SunDas*scbool 
 
 ferred with Doctor Spear and if there is 
 no objection we will withdraw it and con- 
 sider ourselves relieved from all further 
 responsibility in this matter." 
 
 " If there is no objection," said the pas- 
 tor, " the report is withdrawn, and Brother 
 Harry Weeks will continue a member of 
 this church." 
 
 There was no objection. 
 
 Ill 
 fflrs. parton anO tbe mission 
 
 Some are good, so very good, 
 
 They never halt nor waver, 
 But their goodness is the insipid sort, 
 
 Which has no strength nor flavor. 
 
 |HEN my poetic friend handed me 
 the above I thought at once of Mrs. 
 Paxton and her experience in the 
 mission Sunday-school. 
 
 Shortly after Rev. Joshua Green became 
 our pastor he insisted that our church must 
 have a mission, and he selected what was 
 known as " Squatters' Ranch " as a suitable 
 location for it. 
 
 21
 
 Cbc Cburcb at Xibcrtvvillc 
 
 Trustee Slocum was afraid the church 
 could not stand the additional expense, and 
 thought we had work enough in our church 
 school, without bothering ourselves about 
 the hoodlums of that disreputable part of 
 the city. 
 
 Mrs. Paxton said : " I am delighted 
 with our dear pastor's plan; we ought to 
 have more interest in these poor, dear chil- 
 dren, whose lives are so restricted and 
 whose hungry hearts are continually yearn- 
 ing for better things. I for one shall place 
 myself upon the altar for this work." 
 
 Mrs. Paxton was a good woman. When 
 pressed for an opinion all her neighbors 
 would admit this. She had been a faithful 
 member of the church many years. The 
 chief characteristic of her face was a sweet, 
 sickly, wearisome smile, which was always 
 there, and which was as expressionless as 
 the windows to a vacant house. But Mrs. 
 Paxton was a good woman, so good, in fact, 
 that ordinary people did not care to be 
 with her very much. 
 
 At one time Deacon Eager felt called 
 upon to urge Mr. Paxton to come into 
 the church, but he replied : " We have too 
 much religion in the family already, and 
 I am not willing to get any until Mrs. Pax- 
 22
 
 fflrs. parton an& tbe mission Sun&as*gcbool 
 
 ton reduces her investment." Now that I 
 have referred to her domestic affairs I am 
 reminded of her first husband, and before 
 telling of her mission Sunday-school experi- 
 ence I think I must say just a word about 
 her resignation at the time of his death, as 
 many spoke of it at the time. 
 
 Mrs. Sharp declared : " She certainly did 
 not love him very much or she could not 
 smile as she does whenever his death is 
 mentioned." 
 
 The pastor told me in confidence that 
 she actually asked him to have the doxology 
 sung at the funeral. I suppose we ought 
 not to talk about such things, but I must 
 say that her resignation seemed to me to be 
 a little overdone. I do not think Mrs. Sharp 
 was right in attributing it to lack of love 
 for her husband, but it was simply her way 
 of doing. 
 
 When my wife said to her : " My dear 
 sister, you have my deepest sympathy in 
 your great bereavement," she smiled and re- 
 plied : " It is all right ; I would not bring 
 him back if I could." 
 
 When Mrs. Sharp heard this she said: 
 " Poor man ; I don't believe he would come 
 back if he could." 
 
 But then Mrs. Sharp was never very 
 23
 
 Cburcb at Xtbettsvtlle 
 
 charitable in her judgments. Still, Deacon 
 Perkins, who was present during his last 
 hours, said that when he was told that he 
 had but a short time to live he gave a sigh 
 as of relief and said : " I am willing to go ; 
 I don't care to stay here any longer." 
 
 I admit that Mrs. Sharp probably mis- 
 interpreted his meaning, still I do think 
 Deacon Perkins was right when he said: 
 " There is such a thing as being too re- 
 signed." But I must come back to the 
 mission Sunday-school in " Squatters' 
 Ranch." 
 
 Pastor Green called a number of us to- 
 gether a couple of weeks before the time 
 fixed for opening the school to plan for 
 the work. He had had some experience 
 in a mission school in Chicago. " The 
 most difficult pupils to manage in this 
 school," he said, " will be the boys from 
 ten to fourteen years of age." 
 
 Mrs. Paxton spoke up at once. " I shall 
 be delighted to take a class of such boys. 
 They have never felt the beneficent power 
 of kindness and love. My heart goes out 
 toward them, and I am confident that I can 
 do them good." 
 
 " I had a class of that kind in Pittsburg 
 once," Mrs. Sharp replied, " and you 
 24
 
 ttlrs. parton and tbe dlieeion 5un$ag0cbool 
 
 couldn't hire me to try such a job again. 
 The only way to manage such little rascals 
 is to have two teachers for every boy, one 
 to hold him and another to teach him." 
 
 " My dear, I fear you did not try the 
 all-prevailing power of love upon them," 
 said Mrs. Paxton, while her habitual smile 
 lighted up with the joy of anticipated 
 conquests. 
 
 " Love's all right and I believe in it," 
 Mrs. Sharp replied, " but I don't believe in 
 casting pearls before swine." 
 
 " But I know what power love has," re- 
 plied Mrs. Paxton ; " you ought to see how 
 my dear boys at the jail are touched by my 
 visits to them, and how deeply they are 
 moved when I talk with them about the 
 innocency of their childhood days and their 
 mothers' love." 
 
 I had met the sheriff, a friend of mine, 
 the day before and he had said : " Mr. Brad- 
 ley, can't you give that Mrs. Paxton work 
 enough to do so she will stay away from 
 the jail? The boys are saying that they 
 must have a change of venue or some other 
 change that will protect them from her 
 smiles and sweetness. They insist that they 
 were never sentenced to the kind of punish- 
 ment which she is inflicting upon them." 
 25
 
 Gbe Cburcb at 
 
 But the mission Sunday-school was 
 opened in due time. It so happened that 
 my class was next to that of Mrs. Paxton, 
 and I could not help noting some of the 
 things which happened in that quarter. 
 
 " My dear," she said to a frowzy-headed, 
 dirty, ragged urchin, and was about to ask 
 his name, when another boy shouted : " He 
 ain't a deer; he's a Dago." She smiled her 
 most subduing smile and laid her hand lov- 
 ingly on the red head of the interrupter: 
 " It is not nice to use such names. The 
 Bible says, ' Little children, love one 
 another." At this juncture another boy, 
 noticing her hand, exclaimed : " Teacher, 
 teacher, look out there; you'll burn your 
 hand." In the roar that followed some- 
 body managed to stick a pin into the red- 
 headed boy and he jumped so that he almost 
 upset Mrs. Paxton's chair. The class then, 
 as by some sort of magic, became very 
 quiet and respectful, and Mrs. Paxton pro- 
 ceeded to enroll their names. But such 
 names! As I remember them now, there 
 were Jesse James, John Sullivan, Pete 
 Dailey, Buffalo Bill, and several others. 
 This was organization day, and no attempt 
 was made to teach the lesson. When the 
 roll was called at the close, the names in 
 26
 
 . ipaiton and tbe mission SunDa^scbool 
 
 Mrs. Paxton's class created a sensation, and 
 every boy in the class responded to each 
 name, and Airs Paxton looked on helpless, 
 but still smiling. 
 
 On the next Sunday the school assembled 
 in the midst of great confusion, but at 
 length order was secured and the superin- 
 tendent said a few words on the importance 
 of singing and expressed a hope that all 
 would sing. 
 
 Mrs. Paxton said to her class, as she 
 gave them books and assisted them in find- 
 ing the place : " Now, my dear boys, there 
 is nothing so sweet and inspiring and help- 
 ful as music, and I hope every one of you 
 will take part in this beautiful service." 
 The boys were quiet and seemingly much 
 interested, and she smiled with peculiar 
 satisfaction, evidently thinking that love 
 was telling, and that Mrs. Sharp would 
 soon see what a woman imbued with the 
 right spirit could do. " Now, all ready ; 
 sing," said Brother Joy; and they sang, 
 everybody sang, every boy in Mrs. Paxton's 
 class sang, utterly regardless of time or 
 tune, seeming to think that the important 
 thing was noise. It was something ex- 
 traordinary. Instead of an organ, a calliope 
 was needed to lead such singing, and noth- 
 27
 
 Cbe Cburcb at 
 
 ing short of a megaphone would have made 
 Brother Joy's voice heard. At the end of 
 the second verse the superintendent tried to 
 stop the cyclone of song. The organ 
 stopped and the leader stopped, but the 
 tumult went on to the end of the hymn. 
 
 The smile on Mrs. Paxton's face for the 
 first time in years almost disappeared, and 
 there were traces of a troubled and alarmed 
 look. 
 
 The superintendent did not think best to 
 attempt a second song that day. 
 
 The next thing on the programme was 
 the collection. Mrs. Paxton rallied at once 
 from the shock of the singing, and ex- 
 plained : " Now we are going to give some- 
 thing for the dear Lord's work. He said, 
 ' It is more blessed to give than to receive.' 
 We ought to give from love and gratitude 
 to him for all the good things he has given 
 to us." 
 
 " He ain't never give me no good things," 
 exclaimed one of the boys. But the collec- 
 tion went on and the result was indeed a 
 " collection." I saw a poker chip (at least 
 I supposed it was that), a nail, a beer check, 
 a piece of tobacco, and several buttons. The 
 only money in it all was a punched nickel. 
 I shall not attempt to relate all that hap- 
 28
 
 ffllra. parton an& tbe ftliggton SunOag*scbool 
 
 pened that day, but at the close I heard Mrs. 
 Paxton asking her boys each to find a 
 passage of Scripture which had the word 
 love in it and be prepared to recite it the 
 following Sunday. 
 
 The next Sunday, after the singing, 
 which was slightly improved, Mrs. Paxton 
 began talking to her class about the Bible. 
 She held up a Bible and asked : " How many 
 of my dear boys can tell me what book this 
 is?" One exclaimed: "A prayer-book"; 
 another, " Catechism " ; another, " A cook- 
 book." " Oh, no ; you are all mistaken ; it 
 is the Bible ; all say ' Bible,' " and they all 
 said " Bible " in a way that caused a mo- 
 mentary suspension of all other operations 
 in the school. She then said : " There are 
 two divisions to the Bible ; who can tell me 
 what they are? " " Long division and short 
 division," was the prompt reply. " No, no," 
 and the smile was beginning to fade from 
 her face. " I mean two parts ; who can tell 
 me what they are ? " " Forepart and back- 
 part." " My dears, you ought to stop to 
 think before you speak so disrespectfully 
 about God's book," and her smile was 
 almost gone. 
 
 Mr. Paxton was present, and while not 
 seeming to listen, I could see that he was 
 29
 
 Gbe Cburcb at Xtbertgville 
 
 greatly interested for some reason in his 
 wife's work. " Now," she continued, " there 
 are two parts to the Bible; one is called 
 the Old Testament ; what is the other ? " 
 At once the red-headed boy shouted: 
 " Young Testament." I do not know what 
 she would have done next, but just then 
 one of the boys exclaimed : " Teacher, I got 
 a verse about love ! " Her smile returned. 
 " How many of you remembered my re- 
 quest to learn a verse on love ? " Every 
 hand went up, and several of the boys stood 
 up to express their eagerness to recite a 
 passage of Scripture. 
 
 Mrs. Paxton's face beamed with expect- 
 ancy. I do not know how those boys ever 
 found those passages of Scripture, but they 
 must have had help. Here are some of 
 them as I recall them: 
 
 The first boy stood up and in a voice to 
 be heard all over the room said : " Let us 
 take our fill of love." The next one, look- 
 ing directly at Mr. Paxton, exclaimed: 
 " Husbands, love your wives." The next, 
 a poor, hungry-looking urchin, recited in a 
 high-pitched voice : " Make me savory meat, 
 such as I love." Another : " With their 
 mouth they showed much love " ; and the 
 next : '" Every one loveth gifts." 
 30
 
 (lire, parton an& tbe mission SunOaE8cbool 
 
 There was consternation depicted on the 
 face of Mrs. Paxton, as it came the red- 
 headed boy's turn. I glanced at Mr. Pax- 
 ton. He was looking out of the window, 
 but a broad smile covered his features. 
 The boy spoke with a voice that held the 
 attention of every one in the room : " Stay 
 me with flagons, comfort me with apples ; 
 for I am sick of love." When he sat down 
 Mrs. Paxton was deathly pale and at once 
 arose and went to her husband and said she 
 was ill and must go home. 
 
 She never returned to the school. She 
 said her health would not permit the extra 
 work. Her husband was very anxious to 
 have her continue and expressed a great 
 interest in the neglected boys of " Squatters' 
 Ranch." 
 
 Mrs. Sharp said : " I don't think he cares 
 so much for what his wife can do for the 
 boys as for what the boys can do for her." 
 But she never came back, and in the course 
 of a few weeks she was in her place in the 
 church with her old smile fully restored. 
 
 After she gave up the boys in the mission 
 school a young fellow, James Rush the 
 boys called him " Jim " took the class. 
 He was just home from college, where he 
 had been right-tackle on the football team,
 
 Sbe Gburcb at 
 
 and was an all-around athlete and fine fel- 
 low. The first Sunday that he taught the 
 class I was surprised to see the boys all 
 gathered close around him and evidently 
 filled with interest. I listened and heard 
 him telling them all about the great foot- 
 ball game in which he had taken part a 
 short time before. I wondered how he 
 could get any religious lessons out of foot- 
 ball, but before he was through he was tell- 
 ing them of the training he had to go 
 through and how a fellow could not amount 
 to anything anywhere without training. 
 
 The next Sunday they were all comparing 
 jack-knives, and before they had done they 
 were " cutting knives," and then I heard 
 Brother Rush explaining to the boys that 
 the best knife was the one that had the best 
 stuff in it, and that boys must have good 
 stuff in their characters if they were going 
 to do anything worth while and stand up 
 against the world. 
 
 I went to the Sunday-school some time 
 ago, when I was back on a visit, and it is 
 wonderful what has been accomplished. 
 Brother James Rush is superintendent now, 
 and he has a young men's club in connec- 
 tion with the school that is doing a splendid 
 work. As I listened to the well-drilled 
 32
 
 Pastor's Vacation 
 
 chorus under the direction of a red-headed 
 young man, and heard the inspiring sing- 
 ing, I remembered the scene ten years be- 
 fore, and said : " Love has conquered love 
 and common sense." 
 
 IV 
 
 Cbe pastor's Vacation 
 
 Some are thoughtful, loving and kind, 
 Unselfish, warm-hearted and true ; 
 
 While some are harsh and stern of mind, 
 And unsympathetic, whatever they do. 
 
 OFTEN think of Rev. Joshua 
 Green's first vacation. He worked 
 very hard and had been with us 
 four years without any rest. He often said 
 that he could find no time for a vacation. 
 He was sincere in this and really believed it. 
 But his work began to wear on him, and it 
 became evident that his health was failing. 
 He, however, made no complaints and, if 
 possible, worked harder than ever. 
 
 At the woman's meetings Mrs. Dolittle 
 
 remarked : " I am sure Brother Green is 
 
 not well. I am afraid he is going into an 
 
 early decline. If he would only give up 
 
 c 33
 
 Gbe Cburcb at OLtbcrtfivlllc 
 
 Doctor Slocum and employ Doctor Postwell 
 he would soon be all right." 
 
 " Doctor Postwell, indeed," said Mrs. 
 Sharp. " If I wanted to die I would send 
 for him. He made short work of old 
 Squire Hobbs. He isn't fit to doctor a 
 
 Before Mrs. Sharp could tell what he 
 was not fit to doctor, Mrs. Paxton, think- 
 ing she saw trouble coming, interrupted 
 her and smiling sweetly said : " My dears, 
 we must remember that Doctor Slocum is 
 an official member of our church, and it 
 might cause hard feelings if our pastor 
 should employ some other physician." 
 
 " Yes," added Mrs. Perkins, " I suppose 
 he must take church medicine if it kills 
 him. I for one don't believe in being as 
 sectarian as all that." 
 
 " But," said Mrs. Paxton, " we must be 
 willing to sacrifice our personal feelings for 
 the good of the cause." 
 
 " I suppose," added Mrs. Dolittle, " that 
 is the way you felt when you had Doctor 
 Slocum treat your first husband." I have 
 often noticed that when people get dis- 
 cussing the relative merits of their family 
 physicians they are quite liable to lose their 
 tempers. It was fortunate, therefore, that 
 just at this stage of the conversation the 
 34
 
 Cbc pastor'0 Vacation 
 
 pastor came in and the discussion stopped. 
 But my wife said that several remarked to 
 her that the pastor did certainly look ill. 
 
 At the next deacons' meeting I brought 
 the matter up and Charley Goodwill said: 
 " It is very evident that the pastor is not 
 well, and that something ought to be done 
 about it." 
 
 Deacon Smith, who was also head usher, 
 said : " I have noticed quite a marked fall- 
 ing off in the congregations lately. The 
 pastor's preaching is not so interesting as 
 it used to be. He takes an awful gloomy 
 view of things. There is Mr. Hope, who 
 used to come regularly to church, and he 
 gave liberally too, has not been near for 
 three months. I told him the other day that 
 we missed him and invited him to come 
 again and he replied : ' I like a good funeral 
 sermon once in a while, but I can't stand 
 one every Sunday.' " 
 
 I noticed Deacon Stearns was getting 
 restless while Brother Smith was speaking; 
 he now interrupted him. " I regard that as 
 an insult to our pastor, and am surprised 
 that any one would repeat such a state- 
 ment. I for one want to say that I never 
 heard Brother Green preach so well before 
 as he has done of late. His sermons are 
 
 35
 
 Cbe Cburcb at 
 
 powerful and searching. He is hewing to 
 the line. He is just coming to see the sins 
 of the people and the degeneracy of the 
 times. The fact that the congregations are 
 falling off is a hopeful indication. The 
 apostle says : ' The time will come when 
 they will not endure sound doctrine.' In 
 my humble judgment that time has arrived 
 in Libertyville and Brother Green has come 
 to the kingdom for a time like this." 
 
 " Well," replied Deacon Smith, " I don't 
 believe the gospel was designed to drive 
 people away. Jesus said: ' If I be lifted 
 up, I will draw all men unto me,' and I 
 don't see how the world is going to be 
 converted by preaching to empty pews and 
 to a few old, hard-headed saints, who never 
 take anything to themselves anyhow." 
 
 Deacon Stearns evidently thought this 
 was designed as a reflection upon himself, 
 and was about to reply when Brother Good- 
 will spoke : " It is not a question, brethren, 
 of sound doctrine or empty pews, but it is 
 a question of Brother Green's health. Doc- 
 tor Slocum tells me that the pastor is in a 
 very critical condition nervously, and is in 
 danger of complete collapse unless he has 
 a good rest with a thorough change. I am 
 heartily in favor of his having a vacation, 
 36
 
 Cbc pastot'0 Vacation 
 
 and I am thinking some of going along 
 with him to see that he rests and has a good 
 time." 
 
 Charley Goodwill was a general favorite 
 and was always doing generous and helpful 
 things. He had a large class of young 
 people in the Sunday-school and was popu- 
 lar among them. His genial face, cheerful 
 voice, and warm handshake were full of 
 inspiration to courage and hopefulness. His 
 name told just what he was. 
 
 Perhaps I ought to say in passing that 
 Deacon Stearns thought he made too much 
 of the social element in his class-work, and 
 also thought he lacked dignity. In fact, 
 he felt called upon at one time to labor with 
 him in reference to this. It crept out in 
 some way, some time afterward, that 
 Brother Goodwill said to him : " I would 
 rather have no dignity at all than to have 
 the dignity of an icicle, and I would rather 
 speak without thinking than to speak after 
 the kind of thinking which some people do." 
 
 The deacon told Mrs. Stearns that his 
 interview was unsatisfactory, and she did 
 not express any regret. He observed this 
 and said : " If Charley Goodwill did not 
 have so many sympathizers it would be 
 much better for him and also for the church. 
 37
 
 Gbe Cbutcb at XtbertgvUle 
 
 But I have done my duty by him whether 
 it does any good or not." 
 
 Doctor Spear was greatly troubled about 
 his teaching and was afraid he was not en- 
 tirely sound and was sure that many of 
 his Scripture interpretations did not agree 
 with Matthew Henry, and he also felt that 
 he did not get hold of the deep spiritual 
 teachings of the word. 
 
 When some one told Brother Goodwill 
 about this he said : " I would rather not be 
 sound than to be all sound." 
 
 But I am not a judge of these matters. 
 I do know, however, that he made his 
 teaching practical, and that he greatly in- 
 terested and helped the young people. It 
 is possible that if he had gotten hold of the 
 deeper things and had stuck close to Mat- 
 thew Henry, his class would have been as 
 small and his teaching as dry as that of 
 Doctor Spear. But I must come back to 
 the deacons' meeting and to the pastor's 
 vacation. 
 
 No sooner had Charley Goodwill spoken 
 of a vacation than Doctor Spear was 
 aroused. " I preached for ten years," said 
 he, " and never thought of such a thing as 
 a vacation. I gave myself to my work and 
 the Lord gave me strength to do it. The 
 38
 
 Cbe pastor's Vacation 
 
 devil never takes any vacation. In my 
 judgment this modern vacation fad is de- 
 stroying the church. The trouble with 
 preachers to-day is they are too lazy and 
 spend too much time studying higher criti- 
 cism. If they would be content to preach 
 the old gospel and get out and do more 
 visiting the Lord would take care of them. 
 I know from experience. I know as you 
 cannot, and you can't change my opinion." 
 
 " But, Doctor Spear, I have always sup- 
 posed," said Deacon Smith, " that you left 
 the ministry because your health broke 
 down ; perhaps if you had taken a vacation 
 you might still be preaching the gospel." 
 
 " No, no, you misunderstand," the doctor 
 said ; " my voice failed, and that is quite 
 a different thing." 
 
 I think I have already stated that it was 
 currently reported that his voice failed at 
 the same time that he married a rich widow, 
 but no allusion was made to this. Deacon 
 Perkins, however, did add : " But it seems, 
 doctor, that rest enabled you to entirely re- 
 cover your voice." The doctor was not 
 pleased at the turn matters had taken and 
 replied with some feeling : " I insist that 
 my private matters be not discussed. I 
 am opposed to Brother Green's taking a 
 39
 
 Gbe Cburcb at Xtbertfivllle 
 
 vacation, but if you all insist upon it I shall 
 not make any trouble." 
 
 After further debate it was voted to rec- 
 ommend that our pastor have a month's 
 vacation on full salary. Deacon Stearns 
 voted against it, and Doctor Spear did not 
 vote at all. All the others voted heartily 
 for it. 
 
 When Brother Goodwill called and told 
 the pastor what was proposed he said : " I 
 do not think I ought to go away. I fear 
 I would be unfaithful to dying souls and 
 then, as Doctor Spear often says, ' The 
 devil never takes a vacation.' " 
 
 " But, pastor," interrupted Brother Good- 
 will, " you certainly do not take the devil 
 as your example. When the Master was 
 here he said to his apostles at one time, 
 ' Come ye yourselves apart into a desert 
 place and rest awhile/ and what you need 
 is to get apart into some desert place where 
 the fishing and boating are good and rest 
 awhile." 
 
 " But," said the pastor, " I cannot leave 
 my wife and the children ; I am needed here 
 to help look after things." 
 
 Mrs. Green, a good, sensible, devoted 
 wife, appreciating the situation and long- 
 ing for some of the sunshine of former days 
 40
 
 Cbe pastor's IDacatton 
 
 in the home, at once spoke : " Oh, we shall 
 miss you greatly, but we can get along all 
 right and will appreciate you all the better 
 when you come back; and then if you do 
 not go and should break down, as the doctor 
 fears you will, I do not know what we 
 would do." 
 
 Finally the pastor told Brother Goodwill 
 that he would think about it. That even- 
 ing the trustees had a meeting and made up 
 a liberal purse to pay the pastor's vacation 
 expenses. 
 
 When the recommendation of the dea- 
 cons was laid before the church for action 
 I shall never forget the remarks made by 
 Elder Heartwell. Elder Heartwell was an 
 aged minister, who had been a faithful 
 pastor for nearly fifty years and having 
 been compelled to give up work on account 
 of failing strength, was making his home 
 with his daughter, Mrs. Sweet. Everybody 
 loved the elder, and his presence was a 
 blessing to the church. His prayer-meeting 
 talks were wonderfully helpful. He had 
 grown old with a charity, a sweetness, and 
 a hopefulness beautiful to see. 
 
 After several had spoken in favor of the 
 vacation, Deacon Stearns arose and said: 
 " If Brother Green needs a vacation on
 
 Cburcb at ILibert^vtlle 
 
 account of his health, I suppose he ought 
 to have it, but I want to bear testimony 
 that I never heard him or any one else 
 preach more of the real old heart-searching, 
 bone-and-marrow dividing and law-magni- 
 fying truth than he has of late. It has 
 been like manna to my soul, and if giving 
 him a vacation is going to change his 
 preaching, I am opposed to his going, and 
 I believe that if he will stand to his post 
 and continue this kind of preaching the 
 Lord will take care of his health." 
 
 I saw Doctor Spear start to get up and 
 then take his seat again. I suspect he was 
 afraid the question of his losing his voice 
 and quitting the ministry might be brought 
 up again. 
 
 Then Elder Heartwell slowly rose. It 
 was evident by the saddened expression of 
 his benevolent face that his mind was 
 troubled. " My thoughts go back to-night," 
 he said, " to a very painful experience of 
 many years ago. Though it was so long 
 ago I cannot recall it without great sad- 
 ness, and I seldom ever speak of it. I 
 was a young minister then in my first pas- 
 torate. I had worked very hard in college 
 and seminary, having been compelled to 
 pay my own way. I entered upon my 
 42
 
 Cbc pastor's Vacation 
 
 pastorate weakened in body and given 
 somewhat to looking upon the darker side 
 of things. I worked on for three years with 
 fair success, but took no rest. Then I be- 
 gan to be overwhelmed with the awfulness 
 of the sins around me, and irritated by 
 what I thought the coldness and worldliness 
 of the church. I preached a hard and for- 
 bidding religion and took a grim pleasure 
 in doing so. Some of the brethren spoke 
 to me about it, but I resented it, and thought 
 them cowardly and hypocritical. My wife 
 talked kindly with me and tried to help me, 
 but I thought she was becoming time- 
 serving and was afraid my salary would 
 not be paid. Matters went from bad to 
 worse. The congregations dwindled to a 
 mere handful, and I charged the trouble to 
 the church. I was nervous, irritable, and 
 headstrong. 
 
 " Finally the deacons in what seemed to 
 me then a heartless way waited on me and 
 told me that they thought my usefulness in 
 that field was done and requested me to 
 resign. I told them that the Lord had called 
 me there and that I would never be driven 
 away by a pack of cowardly, sneaking dea- 
 cons, who thought a good deal more of 
 serving themselves than they did the Lord. 
 43
 
 Gbe Cburcb at Xtbertsville 
 
 Oh, how vividly I recall it! I worked on 
 a few weeks and then they declared the 
 pulpit vacant and shut me out. I had lost 
 all faith in men and now I lost faith in 
 God, and railed against him and vowed 
 that I would never be guilty of preaching 
 again. My wife and little boy went home 
 to her folks and I tried to find work. It 
 makes me shudder to think of those days. 
 Then I fell sick and lay in the hospital for 
 weeks. My wife came and cared for me 
 with great tenderness till I was able to 
 go home with her to the dear old farm on 
 the shore of a beautiful lake. Then came 
 weeks of rest, sweet, calm, soothing rest, 
 through those long, beautiful June days. I 
 got where I could row on the lake and 
 wander through the woods, wife was fre- 
 quently with me, and somehow life began 
 to take on a new meaning. 
 
 " I shall never forget that day when wife 
 had been sitting near me in a beautiful 
 spot in the orchard and talking to me of 
 her own rest, faith, and hope, until at last 
 I completely melted and bowed in prayer. 
 I had not prayed before for months. The 
 whole hated past came before me and I 
 saw what a miserable sinner I had been 
 and pleaded for forgiveness. Then there 
 44
 
 pastor's Vacation 
 
 came almost like a voice from heaven, and 
 as sweet music to my heart the words, ' Like 
 as a father.' A blessed calm filled my soul 
 as I repeated, ' Like as a father.' The birds 
 sang in the trees above me and all nature 
 seemed full of a rich refrain ' Like as a 
 father.' I saw the gospel as I had never 
 seen it before, and there with my wife 
 weeping for joy, I rededicated my life to a 
 larger, richer ministry than I had ever 
 known before." 
 
 When the elder sat down there was a 
 stillness in the room that was almost op- 
 pressive and many eyes were filled with 
 tears. The moderator spoke in a subdued 
 voice : " All who are in favor of granting 
 a vacation to our pastor will raise the right 
 hand." Every one raised the hand, Doctor 
 Spear and Deacon Stearns voting with the 
 others. 
 
 So the pastor had his vacation, with 
 Charley Goodwill, hunting, rowing, swim- 
 ming, fishing in northern Wisconsin. 
 
 His first text on his return was, " Who 
 giveth us richly all things to enjoy." It 
 was a sermon full of gladness, thankfulness, 
 and inspiration. Mrs. Green bowed her 
 head and quietly wept tears of joy, and at 
 the close of the service Deacon Stearns was 
 45
 
 be Cburcb at libertsvtiie 
 
 one of the first to grasp his hand and 
 exclaim : " Pastor, your vacation has done 
 you good." 
 
 Gbteflg Concerning mirs. Dolittle 
 
 Whatever they do, wherever they are, 
 Some are always on the alert, 
 
 To find some personal harm or slight, 
 And their feelings are sure to be hurt. 
 
 |RS. JEREMIAH DOLITTLE 
 was a member of the church, al- 
 though it must be confessed that 
 her membership never brought much satis- 
 faction either to herself or to the church. 
 Her husband, who was also a member, had 
 never, in her estimation, received proper 
 recognition. She remained away from the 
 church six months at one time because her 
 husband was defeated by a rival candidate 
 for deacon. 
 
 Mr. Dolittle was a mild, subdued, inof- 
 fensive man, who seemed to have but one 
 all-absorbing ambition, and that was to 
 agree in everything with his wife. 
 
 Deacon Perkins once said to me : "I 
 46
 
 Concerning flflrs. Dolittle 
 
 have no kind of patience with such a 
 dummy for a man," but I replied : " Brother 
 Perkins, you must remember that Brother 
 Dolittle has a harder lot than some others." 
 
 Mrs. Dolittle was frequently annoyed 
 with her husband for not standing up more 
 for what she thought were his rights. She 
 would say to him : " Jeremiah Dolittle, if 
 you had the spunk of a mouse you wouldn't 
 let folks run over you as you do." And he 
 would meekly reply : " Yes, my dear ; I 
 know you are right, and I will try to do 
 better." 
 
 One day in the public school, where little 
 Dorothy Dolittle, their youngest child, was 
 attending, the teacher was explaining to the 
 children the different orders of animals, and 
 in describing the highest class, said : " Ver- 
 tebrates have backbones," and then added 
 by way of illustration : " Men are verte- 
 brates." 
 
 Little Dorothy's hand went up. " What 
 is it, my dear?" asked the teacher. 
 
 " My ma says my pa hasn't got any 
 backbone," was the very unexpected reply. 
 
 The people generally agreed with this 
 verdict of Mrs. Dolittle respecting her 
 husband, but many were disposed to blame 
 her for his unfortunate deficiency. Her 
 
 47
 
 Cburcb at Xtbettsville 
 
 feelings were often seriously hurt because 
 of the treatment which her children re- 
 ceived. She thought no one understood or 
 appreciated them. I have noticed that to be 
 quite common with spoiled children. 
 
 In speaking to Mrs. Smith of her boy, 
 Tom, she said : " Thomas is an exceptionally 
 bright and well-behaved boy. I am really 
 very proud of him, and greatly regret that 
 he cannot have better advantages and as- 
 sociates than can be found in Libertyville. 
 I often am sorry that we ever came to this 
 wretched place to live." 
 
 Mrs. Smith, whose boy was in the same 
 class in school with Tom, replied : " I un- 
 derstand he failed in his last examination 
 and cannot go into the next grade." 
 
 "Failed!" exclaimed Mrs. Dolittle. 
 " That was due entirely to an incompetent 
 and prejudiced teacher, and the conduct of 
 some children who get no training at home." 
 This she said with a significant look at Mrs. 
 Smith. " But," she went on, " I have seen 
 the teacher and told her some things she 
 will remember, and have laid the case before 
 the Board of Education, and have given 
 them to understand that there will be seri- 
 ous trouble if this matter is not fixed up, 
 and they have promised to see what can be 
 48
 
 Cbtefls Concerning fllrs. Doltttle 
 
 done about it." I never heard how it came 
 out. 
 
 Deacon Stearns said to me one day : " I 
 am confident that little reprobate, Tom Do- 
 little, is headed straight for the peniten- 
 tiary," and the tone in which he said it, and 
 the look on his face, indicated that he 
 wished he was already there. The trouble 
 was he had caught the boy in his orchard, 
 helping himself to apples. It ought to be 
 said here, in passing, that there was a con- 
 dition of perpetual warfare between Deacon 
 Stearns and the boys of the community. It 
 must be confessed that the deacon was not 
 characterized by that geniality and large- 
 hearted generosity which boys like. But 
 I referred to Tom in order to tell of a little 
 trouble which arose in the Sunday-school. 
 
 It so happened that he was in Mrs. 
 Sharp's class. One day Tom was restless, 
 in fact, he had not known anything about 
 his lesson for several Sundays, and had 
 caused considerable trouble, so Mrs. Sharp 
 told my wife. Finally Mrs. Sharp lost her 
 patience and said : " Tom Dolittle, stop your 
 whispering this instant, and behave yourself. 
 I've had trouble enough with you. If you 
 never know anything about the lesson your- 
 self, you are not going to be allowed to 
 D 49
 
 Cburcb at 
 
 spoil the class for those whose parents do 
 teach them something." Unfortunately, 
 Mrs. Sharp did not speak very low, and 
 several of us heard what she said. Mrs. 
 Dolittle was one. Immediately she arose 
 and crossed over to Mrs. Sharp's class, and 
 not deigning to notice her, she said : 
 " Thomas, come with me ; this is no place 
 for us," and she led him from the room, 
 and Mr. Dolittle arose and followed. 
 
 The next Sunday Mrs. Dolittle and Tom 
 were at the Presbyterian church. Mrs. 
 Sharp declared that Mr. Dolittle was sent 
 back to the Baptist church to report the 
 effect of her departure. But as I have said 
 before, Mrs. Sharp was not always char- 
 itable in her judgments. This going to the 
 Presbyterian church continued about six 
 weeks, as I remember it, and then some- 
 thing happened which led Mrs. Dolittle to 
 have ever afterward a peculiar hostility to 
 that church. 
 
 Mr. Chase, the superintendent of that 
 school, told me that Tom Dolittle was placed 
 in a class of boys not far from Elder 
 Hardy's Bible class, and that the boy, seem- 
 ing to think he was a hero, with a bad 
 reputation to maintain, made a good deal 
 of disturbance, until at the close of school 
 50
 
 Cbieflv! Concerning fiilrs. Belittle 
 
 one day he overheard the elder say to Mrs. 
 Dolittle : " Madam, I have a profound con- 
 viction that your son is a foreordained rep- 
 robate ; and furthermore, I think that people 
 who cannot get along with their own church 
 ought not to run around and make trouble 
 for other churches." 
 
 " Well," she snapped, " I believe you are 
 a foreordained hypocrite, and we will 
 trouble neither you nor your church any 
 more." She came back to our school the 
 next Sunday and put Tom in another class. 
 
 Anna, her eldest daughter, was not par- 
 ticularly prepossessing, and like her father, 
 was somewhat subdued and retiring. At 
 one time the Misses LaFord gave a party 
 and did not invite Miss Dolittle. Her 
 mother's feelings were deeply hurt, and she 
 at once sent for the pastor and he told me 
 that she wept in his presence. " I shall never 
 feel like entering the church again," she 
 declared. " To think of all I have done for 
 the LaFords and then to be publicly in- 
 sulted by them, just because they have a 
 little more money than we have and can 
 give a little more to the church." She then 
 gave the pastor the family history of the 
 LaFords and of the Dolittles, greatly to the 
 advantage of the latter. 
 51
 
 Cburcb at 
 
 " Oh," said the pastor, " I am sure you 
 are mistaken, and that no slight was in- 
 tended. It was simply a neighborhood af- 
 fair. I know that Grace Smith and Maud 
 Perkins were not invited." But his attempt 
 at pacification did no good. " I see you are 
 like all the rest," she said, " you stand up 
 for the LaFords, no matter how mean they 
 have been to me. I cut no figure anyhow, 
 and might as well be out of the church." 
 
 I would like to say right here that my 
 experience and observation lead me to be- 
 lieve that many pastors, especially young 
 pastors, waste a great deal of time and en- 
 ergy and have a vast amount of unnecessary 
 anxiety and trouble trying to help these 
 over-sensitive people. I recall the case of 
 young Brother Goodman, over at Bragville. 
 He was actually driven out of the ministry 
 by two families of this character in his 
 church. He went to work to fix up all the 
 grievances of fifteen years. He simply en- 
 couraged them in their meanness, and mag- 
 nified and aggravated their troubles, till the 
 church was almost broken up and he came 
 to Libertyville and went into life insurance. 
 There are, in my humble judgment, a lot of 
 petty differences in a church that a pastor 
 should pay no attention to whatever. 
 52
 
 Cbicfls Concerning flits. 2>oltttle 
 
 But I must tell of Mrs. Dolittle's trouble 
 in the choir. She thought she could sing, 
 but her friends did not to any extent share, 
 this opinion. Rev. James Brown boasted 
 that he had no ear for " operatic music." 
 Miss Wagner, who had studied abroad, de- 
 clared : " I don't think he has an ear for 
 any kind of music." He further insisted 
 that he had no use for " quartet choirs." 
 So when he became our pastor he at once 
 proposed to re-organize the music and have 
 a chorus choir. It was not a wise move on 
 his part. He was entertained at the home 
 of Mrs. Dolittle while he was candidating. 
 This was due to the fact that if the com- 
 mittee did not send the visiting ministers 
 to her home she thought she was slighted, 
 especially if they were persons of any prom- 
 inence. While in her home Brother Brown 
 became greatly impressed with Mrs. Do- 
 little's musical ability and said to me: 
 " Deacon Bradley, I have discovered rare 
 and neglected musical gifts in Mrs. Do- 
 little. I shall give her a prominent place in 
 my new choir." 
 
 " The organizing of a choir," I replied, 
 
 " is a matter of great importance, and as it 
 
 is much easier to get people in than it is to 
 
 get them out, I counsel you to proceed with 
 
 53
 
 Cbe Cburcb at 
 
 moderation." I did not feel warranted in 
 speaking any more definitely, but I had 
 forebodings of evil. 
 
 The choir was speedily organized with 
 Mrs. Dolittle as one of the leading sopranos. 
 Had she been the leading soprano instead 
 of one of them, the singing might have 
 suffered, but I think the chances for trouble 
 would have been less. 
 
 The third Sunday Mrs. Dolittle was ab- 
 sent, and her husband, who seemed anxious 
 to talk, told the pastor and several others 
 that she was not ill, but that she had her 
 reasons for not coming. 
 
 Brother Brown hastened to . call in the 
 afternoon; she met him, with an injured 
 look, and explained : " It might as well be 
 understood from the start that I will never 
 play second fiddle to Maria Jenks. Her 
 voice isn't as musical as a cat's ; she doesn't 
 know a flat from a sharp, and last night at 
 the rehearsal they gave her the solo to sing. 
 I know enough to know when I am snubbed. 
 I was the main one in getting up this choir, 
 and I am going to be properly recognized 
 in it or I'll just quit." 
 
 " Of course, of course," said the pastor, 
 " everybody knows that Sister Jenks' voice 
 does not compare with yours. We cannot 
 54
 
 Concerning flits. Dolittle 
 
 get along without you, and I will see that 
 the matter is made right." 
 
 Mrs. Dolittle was soon mollified, but 
 within an hour after the pastor had gone 
 Miss Maria Jenks knew what the pastor had 
 said about her voice, and vowed she would 
 never darken the door of that church again 
 while he was pastor, which vow she sacredly 
 kept. But this was simply the beginning 
 of trouble, and the end was not reached 
 until the pastor had gone, the chorus choir 
 been broken up, and Mrs. Dolittle put into 
 such a state of mind that she would not 
 speak to more than half a dozen members 
 of the church. Charley Goodwill still refers 
 to that time as " The War of 1890." 
 
 Mrs. Dolittle had trouble in the woman's 
 society, and so she did her missionary work 
 in her own way and sent her contributions 
 direct to headquarters. She joined the so- 
 ciety when it was first organized, but was 
 never appreciated. She could not give as 
 much as some, and was sure that was the 
 reason she was never elected to any office, 
 or made chairman of any committee. Her 
 feelings were frequently hurt, until at 
 length the climax came in this way: Dur- 
 ing one of the regular meetings of the so- 
 ciety she arose and said : " I am greatly in- 
 55
 
 Gbe Cburcb at 
 
 terested in the neglected and abused Indians. 
 I have been reading much about them of 
 late, and I would be willing to prepare a 
 paper for our next meeting on the Kiowas." 
 
 It was learned afterward that her hus- 
 band's sister from out West somewhere was 
 expecting to be in Libertyville at the time 
 of the next meeting. 
 
 Mrs. Sweet, Elder Heartwell's daughter, 
 who was president of the society at that 
 time, fearful of hurting Mrs. Dolittle's feel- 
 ings, replied in her kindest manner : " The 
 programme for our next meeting is to be 
 on foreign missions, and we are to study 
 the work among the Karens. I fear a paper 
 on the Kiowa Indians would hardly be 
 suited to the occasion; but I am sure the 
 programme committee will be very happy 
 to have Sister Dolittle's paper at the 
 following meeting." 
 
 "Very well," replied Mrs. Dolittle, "if 
 this society is not ready to do missionary 
 work where it is most needed, and cares 
 nothing for the heathen at our own doors, 
 and does not want my paper, perhaps you 
 do not want me or my money, and I will 
 do now what I have often thought of do- 
 ing. I offer my resignation as a member 
 of this society, and desire to say in doing 
 56
 
 Gbieflg Concerning JTlrs. Belittle 
 
 so that I do not believe an angel from 
 heaven would be appreciated by you here." 
 
 " I don't see what our sister's reference 
 to an angel has to do with the case," 
 was Mrs. Sharp's prompt response, and 
 then said : " I move that Mrs. Dolittle's 
 resignation be accepted." 
 
 The motion was seconded and carried 
 without debate. Mrs. Bradley told me: 
 " The ladies had all become so tired of her, 
 and she had interfered so much with their 
 work, that they felt she and the society 
 would both be better off if she were not a 
 member." 
 
 None of Mrs. Dolittle's children were 
 members of the church. In fact, they 
 seemed to dislike the church, and to 
 have a decided preference for other 
 denominations. 
 
 " I don't understand why it is," she said 
 to Mrs. Paxton, " that a woman who has 
 been so faithful to the church as I have 
 been, and who has borne and forgiven so 
 much, should have children who care so 
 little for the church." 
 
 " It is indeed a mysterious dispensation 
 of Providence," responded Mrs. Paxton. 
 
 Mrs. Dolittle went on : "If the church 
 had treated me half-way decently, and had 
 57
 
 Cbe Cburcb at 
 
 shown some slight appreciation of all I 
 have done, things would have been very 
 different. I have frequently talked this all 
 over with my dear children." (She always 
 spoke of her children, seeming to lose sight 
 of Mr. Dolittle's position in the family.) 
 : ' They feel very keenly the way their 
 mother has been treated, and I honor them 
 "but " 
 
 " Certainly, certainly," Mrs. Paxton said, 
 "but " 
 
 " I have done my best, however," Mrs. 
 Dolittle interrupted, " and no one can say 
 that I have not been a faithful mother, but 
 some of the members of that church will 
 have a good deal to answer for in the day 
 of judgment for turning my loved ones 
 away from the church." 
 
 But I fear I have said too much about 
 Mrs. Dolittle. She was a woman of some 
 excellent qualities. She was always ready 
 to help care for the sick and was very 
 kind to the destitute. But she was so self- 
 conscious, so blind to her own faults, and 
 so jealous of her " rights " that she con- 
 stantly made herself and those about her 
 unhappy. If she could only have seen her- 
 self as others saw her and been as earnest in 
 self-correction as she was in denouncing 
 58
 
 3uDge Straight and Some Ctbers 
 
 others, she might have been as useful as 
 she thought she was. 
 
 VI 
 
 3uDge Stratflbt ano Some tbera 
 
 Some always speak with an even tone, 
 They have no ups and downs; 
 
 Their moderation is always known, 
 And few are their smiles or frowns. 
 
 HAVE been thinking to-day of 
 Judge Straight, and several inci- 
 dents in which he figured have 
 come to my mind. I recall the evening when 
 Mrs. Poor united with the church. She 
 must have been past fifty years of age, a 
 woman with a remarkably changeable face; 
 animation and depression, hope and fear 
 were constantly struggling with each other 
 for expression. 
 
 There had been some division of opin- 
 ion among the deacons as to whether or 
 not she should be recommended for mem- 
 bership. Deacon Stearns thought her views 
 on " falling from grace " were unsound and 
 was unwilling to have her come into the 
 church. But the others were all in favor 
 59
 
 Cburcb at 
 
 of recommending her, and so she came be- 
 fore the church on the evening of which 
 I am speaking. Her testimony was some- 
 what rambling and indefinite, and I must 
 confess, quite unsatisfactory. 
 
 I saw Judge Straight, while she was 
 speaking, deliberately take off his spectacles 
 and wipe them and carefully replace them, 
 and then closely study the shifting expres- 
 sion on Mrs. Poor's face, until she was 
 through speaking. 
 
 He then said : " Madam, how long do I 
 understand that you have been a Chris- 
 tian?" 
 
 " I have been a Christian, off and on, ever 
 since I was twenty years of age," was her 
 honest if not conventional reply. 
 
 " That is the trouble ! " exclaimed Deacon 
 Stearns, springing to his feet and interrupt- 
 ing Judge Straight, who was about to speak. 
 " She has been a Methodist and has fallen 
 from grace so often that she has no busi- 
 ness in a church where she cannot have 
 that privilege." 
 
 " Perhaps, deacon," said Judge Straight, 
 " she ought to have the privilege taken away 
 from her." Then turning to Mrs. Poor, he 
 added : " I have no doubt of your sincerity 
 and shall vote for your reception into the 
 60
 
 Straiflbt and Some tbers 
 
 church, but there ought to be no ' off and 
 on ' in the Christian life, and I urge you 
 to let your life hereafter be regulated by 
 duty rather than by emotion." 
 
 " I will do the best I can," was her reply, 
 and she did, though her Christian life was 
 always somewhat variable. 
 
 Judge Straight was a man of marked in- 
 tegrity and was highly respected by all. 
 He was dignified and formal and many 
 thought him cold and unsympathetic; and 
 yet scores of poor people could tell of his 
 acts of kindness and generosity. But he 
 himself never referred to these things. He 
 was not given to handshaking, and was far 
 from a success when he did undertake it. 
 
 I heard Charley Goodwill say to him one 
 Sunday : " Judge, you ought to go to the 
 Salvation Army for a while, and take a 
 course of instruction in handshaking." 
 
 The judge smiled and replied : " I wish 
 I could shake hands as you do, but I fear 
 I can never learn." 
 
 I remember that George Bane, a young 
 fellow who had joined the church, came to 
 me one day, saying : " I don't think I will 
 go to church any more. The members won't 
 speak to me on the street, and if I am not 
 61
 
 Cburcb at TLlbcrty>ville 
 
 good enough to be recognized outside of 
 the church building I'll stay away." 
 
 George was a good fellow, but came from 
 a poor family, and was very sensitive. 
 
 " Why, George," I said, shaking his hand 
 cordially, " What is the matter now ? Who 
 has been slighting you?" 
 
 " I've met Judge Straight three times this 
 week face to face on the street, and spoke 
 to him twice, and he has refused to speak 
 to me every time. If you call that religion 
 I don't want any of it. I don't have to go 
 where people won't speak to me." 
 
 It took me nearly an hour to convince 
 George that he was mistaken and that the 
 judge had not seen him at all, and I don't 
 know that I would have succeeded then 
 had not Charley Goodwill happened along 
 and helped me. 
 
 Chancing to meet the judge the next day 
 I said to him : " Judge, have you seen 
 George Bane this week ? " 
 
 " No," he replied, " I have not happened 
 to meet him anywhere. Why do you ask ? " 
 
 I then explained to him, and with a depth 
 of feeling which he rarely manifested he 
 said, " I am very sorry, Brother Bradley, 
 and I will try to be more careful. We must 
 be considerate for such young men." 
 62
 
 Judge Stcatflbt an& Some tbers 
 
 Not long after the judge had been elected 
 a member of the Board of Trustees he 
 greatly offended the treasurer, Mr. C. E. 
 Banks. It came about in this way: The 
 annual meeting was approaching and the 
 trustees were going through the routine 
 business in preparation for it. 
 
 Finally Judge Straight said : " Mr. 
 Chairman, I move that Mr. Allan and Mr. 
 Blake be appointed a committee to audit 
 the treasurer's accounts." 
 
 Scarcely able to restrain the intense ex- 
 citement into which this motion threw him, 
 Mr. Banks exclaimed: " I have been treas- 
 urer of this church for ten years, and this 
 is the first time my honesty has ever been 
 questioned. If the time has come when you 
 are unwilling any longer to trust me I will 
 resign, and you can find some one who you 
 think will not steal the church funds ! " 
 
 Mr. Banks was an excellent man and a 
 good church treasurer, but was very 
 excitable. 
 
 The judge replied very calmly : " It never 
 occurred to me that it was not the custom 
 of this church to have an auditing com- 
 mittee, nor have I ever for a moment en- 
 tertained any question whatever respecting 
 the entire honesty of our treasurer, but no 
 63
 
 vibe Cburcb at OLibcrtxnnllc 
 
 reputable business concern ever thinks of 
 dispensing with the careful auditing of its 
 accounts. It is a safeguard against mis- 
 takes which any man is liable to make, and 
 promotes business methods." 
 
 " There is a difference between a church 
 and a business concern," replied Mr. Banks, 
 " and if we cannot trust each other in the 
 church, we had better give up our religion." 
 
 " I for one," said Mr. Blake, " am in 
 favor of having a little more business in 
 our religion; not that we will have any 
 more confidence in each other, but the world 
 will have a little more confidence in us. I 
 am in favor of Judge Straight's mo- 
 tion." After some further discussion Mr. 
 Banks was pacified and the committee was 
 appointed. 
 
 It was about this time that Rev. David 
 Murray became our pastor. He was a man 
 of good ability and great spiritual earnest- 
 ness, but seemed to lack certain practical ele- 
 ments of character which seem to me to be 
 essential to the largest success in the min- 
 istry. He insisted that he should receive 
 no stated salary, but that he be given what 
 was left from the regular collections after 
 all expenses had been paid. This went on 
 64
 
 3uD0e Straight anD Some tbers 
 
 for some time until one day Mrs. Sharp 
 and Mrs. Bradley were calling on the 
 pastor's wife. 
 
 " How is it," inquired Mrs. Sharp, in 
 the course of the conversation, " that James 
 has quit school ? " 
 
 Tears came to Mrs. Murray's eyes as she 
 replied : " He has had to go to work to help 
 support the family." 
 
 " Has it come to this ? " exclaimed Mrs. 
 Sharp, " that the First Baptist Church of 
 Libertyville can't take care of its pastor and 
 family?" 
 
 Then Mrs. Murray said: "I just can't 
 keep still any longer. I want to be good 
 and trust God, and all that, but I am utterly 
 sick of David's no-salary idea. I have 
 saved and scrimped beyond all reason, and 
 almost beyond all endurance, and matters 
 are getting worse all the time, and I some- 
 times wonder if the church would care if 
 we all starved to death. I may be awful 
 wicked, but I don't believe it is God's plan 
 to cultivate the stinginess of his church, and 
 I have greatly troubled David by telling him 
 so. I know I ought not to talk in this way, 
 but I just can't help it." And then she 
 gave way to tears and sobs. 
 
 " Of course you can't, my dear, and you 
 E 65
 
 ttbe Cburcb at XibettBvtlle 
 
 ought not to ; you have kept still too long," 
 said Mrs. Sharp. " It is a downright shame 
 to think how thoughtless we have all been ; 
 I'll go to the trustees myself and I will tell 
 them a few things." 
 
 " Oh, no, no ! " cried Mrs. Murray, reach- 
 ing out her hands in pleading protest ; " you 
 must not do that; David would never for- 
 give me. You must not do a thing because 
 of what I have said. If the church will not 
 do anything without my stirring them up, 
 nothing must be done. Can't they see and 
 know without my telling them ? " 
 
 That week was the time for the meeting 
 of the advisory committee, which in our 
 church was made up of all the officers and 
 several others specially selected. 
 
 When the treasurer read his report it 
 was very brief, and as there was no deficit, 
 no one paid much attention to it. 
 
 The chairman was about to call for the 
 next item of business when Judge Straight 
 spoke : " It has been nearly a year now 
 since we discontinued a stated salary to our 
 pastor. I disapproved of that measure at 
 that time and have had no occasion to 
 change my mind since. I would like to 
 have the treasurer state again how much the 
 pastor received during the past month." 
 66
 
 3uDfle Straiflbt and Some Otbers 
 
 " Twenty dollars and forty-eight cents," 
 was the reply. 
 
 Before Judge Straight could continue, 
 Deacon Stearns spoke : " We have a pastor 
 after my own heart. He is not forever 
 harping about money. He is far removed 
 from the allurements of the flesh, and is a 
 stranger to the sordid business methods, 
 which are so attractive to some. His plan 
 has greatly lightened the burdens of the 
 church. I have never before enjoyed myself 
 so much. It is a pleasure now to listen to 
 the treasurer's reports, as there is never 
 any deficit, and there is no begging for 
 money. Why, it was only last week Brother 
 Delaney was telling me how much he en- 
 joyed coming to church now, since he did 
 not have to make any pledge to the pastor's 
 salary. I think it would be a great mis- 
 take to go back to the old method. And 
 then we must remember that this is the 
 pastor's own plan, and as long as he is sat- 
 isfied I don't see why we should do anything 
 about it. It might hurt his feelings." 
 
 When Deacon Stearns sat down the judge 
 resumed : " I was about to remark," he said, 
 " that our present way of doing is thor- 
 oughly unbusinesslike, and I think I may 
 add, unscriptural. The Master himself said, 
 67
 
 3be Cburcb at XibertfiviUe 
 
 when he sent out his disciples, ' The laborer 
 is worthy of his hire.' Now ' hire ' is some- 
 thing definite. Paul, you will remember, 
 wrote : ' They which wait at the altar, are 
 partakers of the altar, even so hath the 
 Lord ordained, that they which preach the 
 gospel should live of the gospel.' We all 
 know that in the olden times, those who 
 served at the altar received a generous and 
 definite portion for their support, and so I 
 believe those who preach the gospel should 
 know what they are to receive. This is to 
 my mind both scriptural and common sense, 
 and the two, in my judgment, never 
 conflict." 
 
 " I believe in business, all right," said 
 Charley Goodwill, who evidently was greatly 
 interested, " and it looks as though the 
 judge has got the Scripture with him too. 
 The judge just quoted : ' They that preach 
 the gospel shall live by the gospel.' Well, 
 I want to say, that I happen to know that 
 our pastor and his family are making a 
 mighty poor living of it. Dan Murray told 
 my Fred to-day that he had quit school and 
 gone to work at the cannery to get some- 
 thing to eat. Said he had got tired living 
 on oatmeal and beans, and that he hadn't 
 much of an opinion of a church that was 
 68
 
 Straight an& Some tbers 
 
 too stingy to pay its pastor enough to get 
 food, saying nothing about decent clothing. 
 And when I happened to see Mrs. Murray 
 at the market yesterday, and quietly noted 
 what she was buying, and saw how worn 
 and anxious she looked, I just made up my 
 mind that this no-salary foolery had got to 
 stop, if I had anything to say about it. 
 Think of a family of six living on a mis- 
 erable twenty dollars and forty-eight cents 
 a month. I don't wonder Dan is disgusted 
 with the church. I move you, sir, that we 
 recommend that the pastor's salary be fixed 
 as heretofore, at one thousand five hundred 
 dollars a year." 
 
 Judge Straight promptly seconded the 
 motion, and all voted for it but Deacon 
 Stearns, and he did not vote at all. 
 
 It was never known just what Charley 
 Goodwill and Judge Straight said to the 
 pastor when they reported this action to 
 him, but he offered no opposition when the 
 matter was brought before the church ; and 
 even Deacon Stearns had to admit that his 
 sermons suffered nothing in spirituality, and 
 many thought they gained in cheerfulness, 
 breadth, and practical power. 
 
 Speaking of Judge Straight recalls to my 
 mind an interesting deacons' meeting we 
 
 69
 
 Gbe (Jburcb at libert^vtlle 
 
 had when the judge's son, Benjamin, ap- 
 plied for church-membership. He was six- 
 teen years of age and was very much like 
 his father. It was in midsummer, and there 
 had been no revival meetings since the 
 January before; in fact, church life was at 
 rather low ebb, when he surprised the dea- 
 cons by walking deliberately into their meet- 
 ing and announcing in a quiet way that he 
 would like to unite with the church. 
 
 After a few preliminary questions had 
 been asked him, Deacon Eager said : " Ben- 
 jamin, when did you pass from death into 
 life, from darkness into his marvelous light, 
 and have your soul flooded with an affluence 
 of the divine glory ? " 
 
 " I cannot name any definite time when 
 I became a Christian," was the reply. 
 
 " When I became a Christian," exclaimed 
 Deacon Eager, " I knew it. Everything was 
 changed; the sunshine was brighter, the 
 birds sang sweeter, and all nature was mel- 
 lifluous with beauty ; and the things I once 
 loved I now hated, and what I once hated 
 I now loved. I would like to know if our 
 young brother has ever passed through this 
 supernal change." 
 
 " No, I have had nothing like this. I 
 have always believed in the gospel and am 
 70
 
 Sttaigbt and Some Otbere 
 
 trying to follow Christ, and have some sat- 
 isfaction in doing so. I am trusting in him 
 for salvation, and expect to serve him as 
 long as I live." 
 
 Deacon Stearns now cleared his throat, 
 and peering over the tops of his spectacles 
 at the young man, spoke : " I think Brother 
 Eager's experience, as I have had occasion 
 to say before, was somewhat exceptional. 
 It is not vouchsafed to every one to pass 
 through transfiguration experiences ; but we 
 are all miserable sinners and should all pass 
 through the deep waters of overwhelming 
 conviction and repentance. 
 
 " I would like, therefore, to ask our 
 young friend if he has at any time had a 
 crushing sense of his awful sinfulness, and 
 a realization that he was deservedly exposed 
 to the divine wrath, and that his everlast- 
 ing condemnation would fittingly display 
 the infinite justice and holiness of God? 
 I well remember when all the mighty waters 
 passed over me and I could hear, as it were, 
 the flames of divine wrath roaring in my 
 ears. I trust our young friend will tell us 
 freely of his own experience in reference to 
 these great and fundamental matters." 
 
 " I have had no experience," he replied, 
 " such as Deacon Stearns has described. I 
 
 71
 
 Cbe Cburcb at 
 
 know I have done wrong many times and 
 have often thought that I ought to have a 
 deeper sense of my guilt. But I don't 
 know what more I can do. I am trying to 
 do what I believe is right. I have asked 
 God to forgive me and help me. I do not 
 know how to go to work to feel worse 
 about my sins, and so I am not worrying 
 about it." 
 
 " I am afraid," said Deacon Stearns, 
 " that our young friend has defective views 
 of sin." 
 
 " Yes," added Deacon Perkins, " I am 
 afraid that is the trouble with all of us. 
 My idea is that the conviction for sin, which 
 God wants, is not so much an awful ex- 
 perience at conversion, as an everyday ex- 
 perience, that will keep us from doing mean 
 things and help us to be true and honest. 
 That's my view of it. I didn't have any 
 great experience of sin at my conversion, 
 but I have had considerable since." 
 
 Charley Goodwill now got a chance to 
 speak : "I've known Ben a long time, ever 
 since he was a little chap, and he has been 
 in my Sunday-school class for over a year 
 now. He is all straight, and no play on 
 the word, either. He may not have had 
 any great experience. How could he? He 
 72
 
 of Doctrine 
 
 has always been a good boy. It strikes me 
 that past experiences ought not to count 
 for so much as present conditions. Ben 
 says he is trusting in Christ, and is deter- 
 mined to follow him. That is enough for 
 me. I move he be recommended to the 
 church." 
 
 The motion was carried unanimously. 
 Deacons Stearns and Eager were good men, 
 and after they had " borne their testimony " 
 by referring to their own experiences they 
 felt free to fall in with existing conditions 
 and do what was manifestly reasonable and 
 right. 
 
 VII 
 
 of Doctrine 
 
 The winds of doctrine 
 
 Diversely blow, 
 And some are tossed 
 
 Both to and fro. 
 
 jjAVING referred to Deacon Eager, 
 I must tell more about him and re- 
 late some interesting incidents 
 which come to my mind. 
 
 He was a small man, and on Sundays 
 
 73
 
 Cburcb at 3Libertvtlle 
 
 and other occasions, when he went out with 
 Mrs. Eager, he wore a high silk hat, in 
 order to make the difference between his 
 height and that of his wife, who was very 
 tall, less conspicuous. His early education 
 had been somewhat neglected, and he 
 sometimes became a little confused in the 
 use of words. 
 
 I remember one evening at prayer-meet- 
 ing we were having rather a dull time ; only 
 a few had taken part, notwithstanding the 
 urgent appeals of the pastor and a pointed 
 talk on duty by Deacon Stearns. The long 
 pause which followed Deacon Stearns' re- 
 marks was becoming painful, when Deacon 
 Eager led in prayer and in his earnest pe- 
 titions for the church, he exclaimed : " O 
 Lord, give thy servants the spirit of 
 testification ! " 
 
 One day I met Deacon Eager on the street 
 and he stopped me and said : " Brother 
 Bradley, I want you to be sure to be at the 
 deacons' meeting to-night, as I have a mat- 
 ter of great importance to propose." I as- 
 sured him that I would be there, and went 
 on, wondering what new " wind of doc- 
 trine " had struck him now. 
 
 The meeting convened at the usual time, 
 and as soon as there was opportunity, 
 74
 
 ot 2>octrine 
 
 Deacon Eager arose and said : " I have 
 something of virile importance which I wish 
 to lay before the deacons in order that they 
 may recommend it to the church. While 
 I was at the Association I was entertained 
 at the same place with Rev. John Briggs, of 
 Yorktown. He is a young man of most 
 extinctional gifts. He is going to have in- 
 corporated in his church a beautiful service 
 of infant dedication. He proposes to have 
 all the infants of two years old and under 
 brought to the church on Children's Day 
 and then hold a dedicationary service. I am 
 in favor of such a service everywhere. It 
 will put an end to infant baptism, Brother 
 Briggs thinks, and do lots of good in di- 
 verse ways. Hence I propound the fol- 
 lowing resolution : ' Resolved, that, we the 
 deacons of the First Baptist Church of 
 Libertyville, do hereby recommend that on 
 the coming Children's Day there be held a 
 formidable service of infant consecration ; 
 and that we do expect all parents of our 
 church and congregation to bring their in- 
 fant children to this service, and that we 
 do thereby confute all infant sprinkling 
 and give to young children their rightful 
 relationship to the church.' " 
 
 He was about to proceed in defense of 
 75
 
 ttbe Cburcb at Ztbertsvitle 
 
 his resolution when Deacon Stearns, who 
 had with difficulty restrained himself during 
 the reading of the resolution, exclaimed: 
 " I am decidedly opposed to this whole busi- 
 ness. What does that young heretical up- 
 start at Yorktown know about Baptist 
 usage? If he had a Baptist wife it would 
 be a good deal better for him and for the 
 church. It was Solomon's heathen wives 
 that got him into trouble. I have been a 
 Baptist for more than forty years, and have 
 sat under the ministry of some of the great- 
 est men of our denomination and never 
 heard anything of this before. It is a step 
 toward popery. It is an attempt to bring 
 the church into the gall of bitterness and 
 the bond of iniquity." 
 
 " I'd like to know," interrupted Deacon 
 Eager, " where the gall of iniquity is in 
 bringing an immaculate babe to the house 
 of God and praying that the parents may 
 bring it up in the culture and adoration of 
 the Lord." 
 
 " I have often felt," said Charley Good- 
 will, " that there ought to be a service held 
 like this, Brother Eager refers to. In Old 
 Testament times they brought their babes 
 to the temple, and we know Jesus took little 
 children in his arms and blessed them. It 
 76
 
 of Doctrine 
 
 is possible that in our opposition to infant 
 baptism we have gone to the other extreme." 
 
 " It would, in my judgment, be a very 
 dangerous experiment," interposed Doctor 
 Spear. " Very soon some one would want 
 godfathers and godmothers, and then the 
 name would be given at the time of con- 
 secration, and soon some one would want 
 a little water used, just to add dignity to 
 the occasion, and thus the church would go 
 clear over into the camp of the enemy. 
 These are evil days when Satan comes 
 clothed like an angel of light to deceive, if 
 possible, the very elect. This looks to me 
 like a covert attempt to put ' the mark of 
 the beast ' upon our beloved denomination." 
 
 Deacon Smith now spoke : "I do not 
 share the feeling of Doctor Spear in this 
 matter, nor am I prepared to favor Deacon 
 Eager's resolution. I do not see any great 
 good to come from a formal church service 
 for the dedication of infants. There is 
 always a danger of attaching undue im- 
 portance to such forms. There was very 
 little of the formal in Christ's blessing the 
 little children. I do feel, however, that a 
 simple service in the home where there is 
 a young babe might be made very helpful." 
 
 " What is the harm of having it in 
 77
 
 Cburcb at 
 
 the church ? " exclaimed Deacon Eager. 
 " What is the use of having a church ? 
 We have socials and lectures and weddings 
 and funerals in the church. Why not de- 
 vote our infants in the church? I would 
 like to know. There is such a thing as be- 
 ing too much afraid of forms. I notice that 
 the most of our people are so adverse to 
 forms that they will not bow their heads 
 during prayer. I think a few more forms 
 in the church would be a wholesome reno- 
 vation." I confess that I felt a good deal 
 of sympathy for Deacon Eager, but I said 
 nothing and he went on : " But I see you are 
 not ready to adopt my resolution, and I 
 hereby withdraw it." And so the matter 
 was dropped. 
 
 One summer a tent was pitched not far 
 from our church, and in large letters the 
 passers-by read : " Holiness Unto the Lord ! 
 The Real Thing Come and be Sanctified, 
 Body, Soul, and Spirit ! " 
 
 As I was going by the tent one evening 
 I saw Deacon Eager near the door, passing 
 out hand-bills. He saw me, and grasping 
 my hand with great fervor, exclaimed: 
 " O Brother Bradley, come in ! The Lord 
 has done wonderful things for me, whereof 
 78
 
 ot Doctrine 
 
 I am glad. I am entirely, wholly sanctified. 
 I never knew the gospel before. I have a 
 great pacification, which I can't describe." 
 
 But I had an important engagement 
 downtown, and left the deacon earnestly 
 exhorting the next passer-by to come in. 
 
 At the next prayer-meeting of the church 
 Deacon Eager was present on the front 
 seat, with a new limp-covered Bible under 
 his arm, and with a peculiar expression of 
 mingled serenity and conceit on his face. 
 He joined in the opening hymns with much 
 fervor, closing his eyes, and swaying his 
 body in a kind of rhythmic accompaniment 
 to the music. I noticed his wife nudge 
 him one or twice with her elbow, but this 
 caused only a slight interruption of his 
 on-coming ecstasy. 
 
 After a few prayers and the pastor's 
 remarks, the meeting was " thrown open." 
 
 Deacon Eager at once sprang to his feet, 
 stepped out in front, facing the audience, 
 and in a high-pitched voice, with violent 
 gesticulations and frequent tears, spoke for 
 nearly half an hour. No one knows how 
 much longer he would have spoken had not 
 the pastor stepped to his side and quietly 
 said something to him which led him to 
 take his seat. 
 
 79
 
 Gbe Cburcb at 
 
 I shall not attempt to reproduce that 
 speech. It was a most remarkable torrent 
 of platitudes, exhortations, and personal ex- 
 periences. He said that he was entirely 
 healed of " rheumatiz," that all love of sin 
 had been taken away, and that all his " ar- 
 ticulations to the world were fully extra- 
 dited " ; that churches were rilled with " the 
 confiscations of worldliness," and that the 
 ministers, full of the gall of bitterness and 
 the bonds of iniquity, were preaching " a 
 deflective gospel for filthy lucre and for 
 itching ears." He felt that he was " em- 
 balmed in an affluence of glory," and ex- 
 horted the church to come out from 
 under the yoke of bondage to man-made 
 creeds and ceremonies, into the " cerulean 
 fellowship of the wholly sanctified." 
 
 I never expect to hear such an address 
 again. The meeting would have been ut- 
 terly spoiled if Aunt Dorcas had not fol- 
 lowed in her gentle and winsome way and 
 told us of a poor, discouraged mother 
 whom she had met that day and helped to 
 find the blessings and comforts of a 
 Saviour's love. 
 
 Everybody felt that Aunt Dorcas had the 
 true kind of holiness, although she said 
 nothing about it. 
 
 80
 
 lUinoa of Doctrine 
 
 But we were not through with Deacon 
 Eager. At the next deacons' meeting he 
 said he would like to present a resolution 
 which he would lay before the church when 
 it had received the approval of the deacons. 
 He stated further that he and Mr. and Mrs. 
 Small and Miss Deborah Strong had been 
 attending the holiness church, but were un- 
 willing to leave the dear, old First Bap- 
 tist Church, and would not do so if his 
 resolutions were adopted. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Small had been members 
 of the church only about a year; they had 
 come to us from the Methodists, and for- 
 merly had belonged to the United Brethren. 
 They were good people, but were somewhat 
 changeable. 
 
 Miss Strong was a maiden lady who was 
 rather peculiar. It was said that she had 
 been disappointed in her early life and had 
 become soured. I do not know about the 
 disappointment, but the other was quite 
 manifest, both in her face and in her con- 
 duct. She thought she had a call to preach, 
 and because she was not encouraged in this 
 by our church, she had been working with 
 the Salvation Army for some time ; but the 
 captain had told me only a short time be- 
 fore that her preaching was so harsh and 
 F 81
 
 Ube Cburcb at XibertgvtUe 
 
 uncharitable that they had decided not to 
 let her preach any more for them. 
 
 Deacon Stearns had brought her case be- 
 fore the deacons several times, urging that 
 some action be taken to prevent her from 
 disgracing the church and bringing re- 
 proach upon the gospel. He admitted that 
 she was sound in the faith and presented 
 the old gospel of law and judgment with 
 great power, but his objection was based 
 upon the fact that she was a woman, and 
 women should keep silence in the churches. 
 
 " But," said Charley Goodwill, " that says 
 nothing about their keeping silence on the 
 streets." 
 
 " Charles Goodwill," replied the deacon, 
 " I am surprised that you should make light 
 of the Bible." 
 
 But I must come back to Deacon Eager's 
 resolution. He arose and with an air of 
 great self-satisfaction read the following : 
 
 Resolved, that we, the members of the First 
 Baptist Church of Libertyville, in meeting for- 
 merly assembled, do hereby declare that we are 
 full of pride and hypocriticalism and given over 
 to worldliness and sin; and that we believe that 
 by a single action of faith, we may be healed of 
 all diseases and be wholly sanctified, body, soul, 
 and spirit; and further, we hereby promise to put 
 
 82
 
 ot Doctrine 
 
 away from us, as far as the east is from the 
 west, as empty bubbles of sin, all ribbons, jewelry, 
 feathers, and all vainness of apparel, and that we 
 will earnestly contend with each other for the 
 real burning-bush holiness. 
 
 When he had taken his seat, Deacon 
 Smith said : " I have noticed there is plenty 
 of ' contending with each other,' wherever 
 this holiness idea goes. I understand there 
 are already about fourteen different kinds 
 of perfect holiness." 
 
 Then Charley Goodwill, with a significant 
 smile lighting up his face, said : " Deacon, 
 while you are speaking about jewelry, rib- 
 bons, and the like, how would it do to put 
 in silk hats and hair-oil ? " 
 
 The deacon looked at his hat, stroked 
 his thin, shiny hair, but made no reply. 
 Evidently he was taking the whole matter 
 very seriously. 
 
 Deacon Stearns moved uneasily in his 
 seat, and finally spoke : " I agree with what 
 the resolution states about hypocrisy and 
 worldliness in the churches, but I think it 
 would be unwise to pass such a resolution. 
 The better way will be for Brother Eager 
 to remain with us, and as opportunity may 
 offer, bear his testimony against the sins of 
 the people." 
 
 83
 
 Cbe Cburcb at Xtbettsville 
 
 " I am decidedly opposed to this whole 
 business," interposed Deacon Perkins. " The 
 members of the First Baptist Church are not 
 half so full of pride and hypocrisy as those 
 people are who make a disgusting parade of 
 their professed holiness and have to be 
 labeled ' sanctified ' or no one would ever 
 suspect that they had anything of the kind. 
 The facts are, this so-called holiness stirs 
 up strife, fills a person with conceit and self- 
 righteousness, splits churches, makes intol- 
 erable cranks and fanatics out of emotional 
 people, renders them disagreeable at home, 
 makes men censorious, uncharitable, and 
 unsympathetic, and is in every way utterly 
 foreign to the spirit of the gospel." 
 
 " Amen ! " said Deacon Smith, as Deacon 
 Perkins resumed his seat. 
 
 "Well! Well!" exclaimed Deacon 
 Eager. " If I am a conceited hypocrite, an 
 untolerable crank, a divisor of the church 
 and a hypothetical fanatic, it is certainly 
 time for me to get out and go where I am 
 wanted." 
 
 "No!" replied Deacon Perkins. "We 
 do not want you to leave the church. You 
 are too good a man to be led away by this 
 delusion. We want you to see the danger 
 and give up all this foolishness." 
 84
 
 Cbe finance Committee 
 
 But the outcome was that Deacon Eager, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Small, and Miss Deborah 
 Strong all went to the holiness church. 
 
 Within a year Mr. and Mrs. Small joined 
 the Seventh Day Adventists, Miss Deborah 
 Strong started a new kind of holiness, and 
 Brother Eager, in deep penitence and hu- 
 mility, was restored to the fellowship of the 
 old church. 
 
 But when I visited Libertyville last sum- 
 mer they told me that he was meeting with 
 the Christian Scientists, and had found a 
 new healing for his " rheumatiz " and 
 another blessed " pacification " for his soul. 
 
 VIII 
 3be finance Committee 
 
 Some are free, and delight to give, 
 While some are really too stingy to live ; 
 Some rejoice in the collection plate, 
 An object to others of perfect hate. 
 
 JOR some years I was church treas- 
 urer and member of the finance 
 committee. The other members of 
 the committee were Judge Straight, Charley 
 Goodwill, John Driver, and Jeremiah Payne. 
 85
 
 Cbe Cburcfo at Xtbertsville 
 
 It was a good committee, with differences 
 enough in the character of its members to 
 insure the consideration of all sides of the 
 questions coming before us. 
 
 Judge Straight stood for systematic busi- 
 ness methods. Charley Goodwill was gen- 
 erous, impulsive, and charitable in all his 
 work. John Driver was always in favor of 
 severe measures. He had no patience with 
 penuriousness or any disposition to shirk 
 responsibility. To use his frequently em- 
 ployed expression, he believed in " jerking 
 'em right up." 
 
 Poor Jeremiah Payne never saw anything 
 hopeful. To him the church was always 
 on the verge of bankruptcy and the mem- 
 bers hopelessly derelict in the matter of 
 giving. He was not a success either in 
 securing pledges or in collecting money. 
 
 There comes to my mind now a meeting 
 which we held to consider ways and means 
 for raising money to enlarge and refurnish 
 our church building. The time had come 
 when something must be done. The build- 
 ing had no suitable arrangements for Sun- 
 day-school or for social gatherings and was 
 much out of repair. 
 
 Mrs. Sharp declared : " Those old pews 
 could not have been more uncomfortable 
 86
 
 Gbe finance Committee 
 
 if they had been made as a contrivance to 
 help the ancient monks to do penance." 
 
 For four consecutive years the matter had 
 been up at the annual meeting and had been 
 freely discussed and finally postponed on 
 account of the prevailing hard times. Jere- 
 miah Payne had said at each meeting that 
 he saw no indications that times would ever 
 be any better; and Charley Goodwill, I re- 
 member, remarked at one meeting, " Times 
 seem a good deal harder in a church meeting 
 than they do in a meeting of the Com- 
 mercial Club." Well, the matter went on, 
 until Brother Murray resigned and went 
 away almost heartbroken. He was a good 
 man and a spiritual preacher, but he was 
 not aggressive enough in practical ways. I 
 think if he had led off in a decided and 
 clearly defined plan, the building would 
 have been repaired. But he was a good 
 man, and I must not criticize him, and I 
 must confess that the amount of discourag- 
 ing talk indulged in at our meetings was 
 enough to dishearten almost any one. 
 
 Well, after Brother Murray had gone and 
 we had heard a number of candidates, we 
 were greatly taken with Rev. John Paul 
 Smith. I recall some of the remarks made 
 about him in the meeting in which he was 
 87
 
 Gbc Cburcb at 
 
 called. Judge Straight said : " I am very 
 favorably disposed toward Mr. Smith. He 
 impresses me as a man well endowed with 
 a thorough business capacity." Deacon 
 Stearns spoke : "I do not care so much 
 about his business ability, but if he pos- 
 sesses the spiritual insight, doctrinal sound- 
 ness, and unselfishness of our beloved 
 Brother Murray, I shall be satisfied. I 
 fear, however, that he does not; in fact, 
 I doubt if we ever find another man pos- 
 sessing such rare gifts as our late pastor. 
 While I feel that Mr. Smith's sermons lack 
 a little in the real evangelical, doctrinal, and 
 spiritual ring, still I shall not oppose him." 
 When he sat down Charley Goodwill 
 said : " When a man marries a second wife, 
 it is not a good plan for him to be compar- 
 ing her with his first wife, especially if his 
 first wife was all right. I like Brother 
 Murray, but for one, I am not going to set 
 him up as a standard for Brother Smith. 
 The men are very different, and I think 
 that is a good thing. I believe Brother 
 Smith is just the man for us. He is strong 
 with the young folks. He is a good 
 preacher, and I suspect that he will give 
 us just the all-around stirring up that we 
 need." 
 
 88
 
 Cbc finance Committee 
 
 But I will not attempt to tell all that 
 was said. The outcome was that a unani- 
 mous call was given him, and the church 
 eagerly waited for his reply. It came, and 
 was characteristic of the man, brief and to 
 the point. It read: 
 
 DEAR BRETHREN: I greatly appreciate the 
 promptness and unanimity of your call. I trust 
 it is of the Lord. I see in Libertyville an ex- 
 cellent opportunity to do work for the Master. 
 I accept your call on condition that you agree to 
 raise at once $10,000 to enlarge and refurnish the 
 church building. Kindly let me hear as soon as 
 practicable what you decide. 
 
 Yours for service, 
 
 J. P. SMITH. 
 
 When the condition, ten thousand dollars, 
 was read, I heard a groan from Jeremiah 
 Payne, who sat near me, and Deacon 
 Stearns actually turned pale. But scarcely 
 had any one had time to realize what had 
 taken place when Judge Straight arose and 
 said : " I like the business tone of that let- 
 ter. I am heartily in favor of the accept- 
 ance of the condition, and will give one 
 thousand dollars if the entire amount is 
 raised." 
 
 " I can't give as much as the judge," 
 Charley Goodwill said, " but you can put 
 89
 
 Sbe Cbutcb at 
 
 me down for five hundred dollars," and 
 with a twinkle in his eye he added, " I think 
 times are improving." 
 
 Without any difficulty the sum of five 
 thousand two hundred dollars was pledged 
 right there, and the finance committee was 
 instructed to take immediate steps to secure, 
 the remainder. The meeting to which I 
 have alluded was the one called to take up 
 this matter. 
 
 We had no sooner proceeded to the busi- 
 ness of the evening than Jeremiah Payne 
 spoke : " Brethren," he said, " I don't want 
 to discourage you, but it never can be done ; 
 nearly everybody who can give anything 
 pledged yesterday, and there is nobody left 
 to get money from, and what is more, those 
 pledges yesterday were made under undue 
 excitement, and not half of them will ever 
 be paid. I have been a member of the 
 Libertyville church a good many years; I 
 know how poor the membership is, and I 
 know that it is simply ridiculous, in the 
 existing hard times, for us to attempt to 
 raise ten thousand dollars. Brother Smith 
 might just as well have said a million, and 
 what is more, in my judgment five hundred 
 dollars would be ample to put our building 
 in good shape. The old building has met 
 90
 
 cbc finance Committee 
 
 our needs for twenty years, and I guess 
 we can worry along awhile yet; at all 
 events, I am sure we shall have to. I never 
 want to discourage any one, but facts are 
 facts, and we may as well face them." 
 
 Brother Driver at once spoke up : " There 
 is plenty of money here if we can only get 
 it. We have a membership of over four' 
 hundred. Twenty-five dollars from each 
 one would settle it. Fifteen persons yester- 
 day pledged more than half of the entire 
 amount. It looks to me as though three 
 hundred and eighty-five ought to be able 
 to take care of the balance. I am in favor of 
 jerking 'em right up and making 'em do it. 
 We coax people altogether too much. In 
 the lodge, if they don't pay their dues, they 
 are thrown right out. I believe it would be 
 better if we did the same in the church." 
 
 After Brethren Payne and Driver had 
 relieved their minds we were ready for 
 business, and soon matured plans which 
 speedily resulted in securing the remainder 
 of the money and in beginning a period 
 of great prosperity in the church under the 
 leadership of Rev. John Paul Smith. 
 
 There were two classes of persons in the 
 Libertyville Church that caused the finance 
 91
 
 Cbc Cburcb at 
 
 committee much trouble. Neither class was 
 large, and yet the committee felt that they 
 ought not to exist at all. One was made 
 up of those who always pledged to every- 
 thing but rarely ever paid anything on their 
 pledges. The other was composed of those 
 who never pledged a cent to anything, not 
 even to current expenses. They claimed to 
 give what they could when the collection 
 plate was passed, but the amount of the 
 loose collection was evidence against them. 
 
 One evening we were discussing this lat- 
 ter class. As treasurer, I reported that there 
 were thirty people in the church who were 
 well able to give who had pledged nothing 
 to the expenses of the church, although they 
 had been repeatedly requested to do so. 
 All felt that something should be done. 
 Judge Straight said : " I am in favor of 
 looking carefully into the financial ability 
 of these parties and of assessing each one 
 a moderate but reasonable amount, and then 
 let us use suitable means to induce them 
 to agree to our assessment." 
 
 " You might just as well assess lamp- 
 posts," Jeremiah Payne replied. " You 
 can't get anything out of them. The reason 
 they don't pledge anything is because they 
 are too mean and stingy to do it. I have 
 92
 
 3be finance Committee 
 
 known them a long while. It is just a 
 waste of our time to try to do anything 
 with them, and the trouble is the number is 
 increasing. It didn't used to be so in the 
 church. Things are getting discouraging 
 enough. When a few of the older members 
 are gone I don't know what will become 
 of the church." 
 
 John Driver now spoke : " I am in favor 
 of jerking 'em right up. We are altogether 
 too lenient with them. We can palaver and 
 coax till doomsday and accomplish nothing. 
 Paul says, ' If a man will not work, neither 
 shall he eat,' and I say if a person will not 
 give to the support of the church, he ought 
 to be turned out. I have been thinking 
 about this, and have prepared a letter which 
 I would like to read, which I think ought to 
 be sent to every one of these thirty reported 
 by the treasurer. Here is the letter : 
 
 DEAR SIR:- You are a member of the First 
 Baptist Church, of Libertyville, but have pledged 
 nothing to its support. You must understand per- 
 fectly well that you are shirking your responsi- 
 bility. Please fill out and return at once the in- 
 closed pledge card. If you fail to do this your 
 name will be reported to the board of deacons as 
 one deserving the discipline of the church. 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 FINANCE COMMITTEE. 
 
 93
 
 Gbe Gbutcb at XtbettBville 
 
 " That is my idea of the way to bring 
 'em to time. I'd like to have this letter ap- 
 proved and sent out at once. I believe in 
 jerking 'em right up and I think this is the 
 way to do it." 
 
 " Charity suffereth long and is kind," 
 said Charley Goodwill. " It seems to me 
 the case is not so bad as Brother Driver 
 thinks, nor so hopeless as Brother Payne 
 regards it. As I have been glancing over 
 the treasurer's books I see a good many 
 names there which formerly belonged to this 
 non-pledging list. Patience, kindness, and 
 instruction have brought them over. Some- 
 times we may feel as James and John did, 
 and want to call down fire from heaven, 
 but that is not the gospel spirit. Jesus said 
 that he had not come to destroy men's lives, 
 but to save them. I am very thankful that 
 we have the number of those who have 
 not pledged reduced to thirty, and I am 
 confident that we can reach the most of 
 these. I am in favor of Judge Straight's 
 plan, with a slight modification. Let us 
 decide what we think each one can give and 
 then see them all personally. I am willing 
 to see half of them myself, and tell them not 
 that they are assessed, but that we need that 
 amount from them/' 
 
 94
 
 Gbc finance Committee 
 
 After some further discussion this plan 
 was adopted and proved very effective. But 
 perhaps I ought to add that I think the en- 
 couraging results were due, not so much 
 to the plan as to the tact and geniality of 
 Charley Goodwill. 
 
 At a subsequent meeting I reported upon 
 the other class, those who pledged on every 
 occasion but never paid, or at least paid 
 only in part, and that very slowly and 
 grudgingly. There were only about ten of 
 these, but their unpaid pledges to benefi- 
 cence and current expenses ran far up into 
 the hundreds of dollars and back over many 
 years. 
 
 Jeremiah Payne was the first to speak: 
 " This neglect to pay obligations is one of 
 the significant signs of the times." 
 
 Perhaps I ought to say that Brother 
 Payne was a great student of prophecy, 
 or at least he claimed to be, and he thought 
 from his studies that the world and the 
 church were both getting worse and worse, 
 and this is what he had in mind when he 
 spoke of " the signs of the times." Often 
 in prayer-meeting and elsewhere he referred 
 to " the signs," especially the bad signs. 
 Well, he went on to say, " The commercial 
 world is honeycombed with dishonesty. 
 
 95
 
 3be Cburcb at libertBvtlle 
 
 Men can't be trusted any more and now 
 the evil is getting into the church. This, 
 in my judgment, is simply the beginning of 
 the manifestation of the Man of Sin, of 
 which Paul speaks. I don't want to dis- 
 courage you, but this reveals a very dis- 
 heartening state of things in the church. 
 I don't see any hope, and I confess that I 
 see nothing that we can do." 
 
 "Nothing that we can do?" exclaimed 
 Brother Driver. "Why not? A pledge 
 of this kind is a legal obligation. I don't 
 care anything about your ' signs,' but I am 
 in favor of getting right after your ' Man 
 of Sin ' and of teaching him a thing or 
 two. Now there is old Jim Delaney, who 
 never paid a cent in his life for anything 
 when he could get out of it. He is back 
 on his pledge two hundred dollars, and it 
 would be two or three times as much if 
 all the old records had been preserved. He 
 ought to be jerked right up before the 
 courts and made to pay. There is no other 
 way to bring him and those like him to 
 time." 
 
 " The mystery of iniquity doth already 
 work, and you cannot stop it by any resort 
 to human tribunals," replied Brother Payne. 
 
 " Mystery of nonsense ! " said Brother 
 96
 
 Driver. " There is no mystery about it, and 
 they would soon see it if we went after them 
 as we ought. There wouldn't be any great 
 mystery about a judgment from the court. 
 The only mystery to me is that the church 
 will carry such a lot of dead-beats on its list 
 year after year." 
 
 " I think," began Judge Straight, in his 
 usual calm and dignified manner, " that Mr. 
 Driver's plan is hardly to be recommended, 
 since a judgment in the most of these cases, 
 even if it could be secured, would be of 
 little value; and then too, it occurs to me 
 that Jesus did not commend the course of 
 the man in the parable, who took his debtor 
 by the throat and said, ' Pay that thou 
 owest.' I do not think the Lord wants his 
 money collected in that way. We must find 
 some means of getting at their consciences 
 rather than their throats. I see but one 
 course that gives any promise, and that is to 
 ask Mr. Goodwill to see them personally, 
 giving him large discretionary powers as to 
 what reduction may be made in the pledges 
 if they are paid in the near future." 
 
 This plan was approved, and we were 
 
 delighted at the next meeting to find that 
 
 a settlement had been made with Mr. De- 
 
 laney for fifty cents on the dollar; and 
 
 G 97
 
 3be Cburcb at Xibcvtvvillc 
 
 others from whom we had expected nothing 
 had paid all the way from twenty-five to 
 seventy-five per cent, of their pledges. 
 
 Brother Driver, however, protested: 
 " They ought never to be let off in that 
 way. It is really encouraging them in their 
 meanness. If I had my way they would 
 be jerked right up and made to pay every 
 cent they owe." 
 
 But the rest of us passed a vote of thanks 
 to Charley Goodwill for his efficient and 
 satisfactory work. 
 
 IX 
 Serton anD tber troubles 
 
 Heat and ventilation, 
 
 Dust and drafts and light, 
 
 Call for much attention, 
 To keep things going right. 
 
 |TTO SCHMIDT was a good sex- 
 ton. He was conscientious, punc- 
 tual, trustworthy, and had almost 
 an abnormal dislike for dirt. Mrs. Dolittle, 
 who before sitting down always drew her 
 hand carefully across the back of her pew 
 to see how much dust was there, was heard 
 98
 
 Scrton anfc tber troubles 
 
 to remark : " Well, I am thankful the trus- 
 tees have at last found a janitor who knows 
 his business." But we did have a time of 
 it before we got Otto Schmidt; and as we 
 shall see, our troubles did not all end with 
 his coming. 
 
 For two or three years Samuel Noakes 
 had been our sexton. But poor Sam had 
 many faults, and I suspect had some trials 
 too. When Mr. Murray became our pas- 
 tor, Sam said to him so the pastor told me 
 some time afterward: " I'm sorry for you. 
 You've tackled a hard job. They're a lot 
 of faultfinders. You'll have your hands 
 full to get along with them." I fear Sam 
 had not seen the best side of the members 
 of the church. Perhaps janitors are 
 generally unfortunate in this respect. 
 
 We used soft coal in our church furnaces 
 at this time. One of our members was 
 interested in the coal business, and we 
 bought our coal of him at a reduced 
 figure. But some thought, considering the 
 grade of the coal, that we did not save 
 very much. There are those, however, who 
 are always ready to find fault. But I have 
 referred to the coal because there seemed 
 to be a particular affinity between coal-dust 
 and Sam's hands and face and clothing. 
 99
 
 Gbe Cburcb at 3Liberts\nUe 
 
 In one of the women's meetings Mrs. 
 Sowerby said : " If the trustees persist in 
 keeping Sam Noakes as janitor, I am in 
 favor of asking them to appoint a com- 
 mittee to see that he is washed at least once 
 a month. It is my humble opinion that a 
 lot of men are not fit to look after the 
 church building." 
 
 " Yes," added Mrs. Smith, " it might be 
 well to ask them at the same time to plan 
 to have the church dusted once or twice a 
 year. Everything is getting so dirty about 
 the building that we shall never be able 
 to get it clean again. I met Mrs. Richards 
 last week and asked her why they did not 
 come to church any more, and she replied, 
 ' We cannot afford it ; it spoils too many 
 good clothes.' " 
 
 " And it seems to me," suggested Mrs. 
 Payne, " that something ought to be done 
 about ventilation and heat once in a while. 
 Jeremiah is sick with a cold half the time, 
 just because of the drafts and the cold of 
 this old church. A ten-year-old boy would 
 have more sense than Sam Noakes has 
 about opening windows and regulating the 
 heat." 
 
 Mrs. Straight now spoke : " There is no 
 use finding fault with the trustees. They 
 100
 
 Gbe Sexton and Otbcr troubles 
 
 have no money to hire a first-class janitor, 
 and are compelled to do the best they can. 
 Mr. Straight said they would be glad to se- 
 cure a better one if they could afford it, but 
 that they find it difficult to get money 
 enough to pay Mr. Noakes." 
 
 " I should think they would," replied Mrs. 
 Sowerby. " It is worse than wasting money 
 to pay it for such a janitor. We would be 
 better off with none at all." 
 
 " That brings up an idea which has been 
 in my mind for some time," interposed 
 Mrs. Raymond. " Over at Plainview, where 
 my daughter Maria is a member, the women 
 are taking care of the church building and 
 the trustees pay them, and the money goes 
 into the treasury of the aid society. They 
 hire a man to look after the fires and they 
 do all the rest. They have divided up into 
 companies of ten each, with a captain for 
 every company, and then take turns doing 
 the work." 
 
 " That plan might do all right," said Mrs. 
 Jordon, " in a little country town, but I 
 am afraid it would not work here in 
 Libertyville." 
 
 But most of the ladies were heartily in 
 favor of trying it; and after a full dis- 
 cussion the plan was adopted, and later 
 101
 
 Cbe Cburcb at 
 
 was, with some hesitation, approved by the 
 trustees. 
 
 Although the ladies had unanimously 
 voted to go into the undertaking, some dif- 
 ficulty was experienced in securing volun- 
 teers for the different tens. There seemed 
 to be a marked willingness on the part of 
 many to let others do the work. Some 
 who heartily approved the plan said that 
 they would be very glad to help, but they 
 really had more on hand already than they 
 could do. The real trouble, however, came 
 in securing captains for the tens. But 
 finally, several women who always bore the 
 brunt where there were hard tasks to be 
 done consented to serve, and the new order 
 of things was duly inaugurated. 
 
 For a number of weeks everything seemed 
 to work all right, although I heard Mrs. 
 Bradley remark several times : " I am al- 
 most worn out helping to get that old 
 church cleaned up." And Mrs. Sharp de- 
 clared : " That man Noakes ought to be in 
 the penitentiary for getting money under 
 false pretenses while he was janitor of this 
 church." 
 
 At one of our deacons' meetings Charley 
 Goodwill laughingly remarked : " My wife 
 is at the church so much these days that 
 1 02
 
 Cbc Scrton and Otbct troubles 
 
 we are talking of breaking up housekeeping, 
 so that she can have more time for her 
 new duties." 
 
 " We are already broken up at our 
 house," replied Deacon Smith, " and I for 
 one will be glad when this foolishness is 
 over. I am willing to increase my subscrip- 
 tion to the church if Mrs. Smith can be 
 relieved. We shall have to pay more than 
 the salary of a good sexton in doctors' bills 
 if this thing goes on much longer." 
 
 But soon trouble began to develop among 
 the women. The working force in each 
 company grew less, until a few women were 
 doing all the work. Of course each one 
 thought that all the others would be on 
 hand, and she could drop out without be- 
 ing missed, and as other matters were press- 
 ing, the church work was neglected. At 
 the woman's meeting, where this matter was 
 the subject of endless discussion, Mrs. 
 Sharp, becoming somewhat irritated, said: 
 " I have as much respect for Sam Noakes 
 as I have for those women who voted so 
 promptly to go into this thing and are now 
 shirking their duties and allowing a few 
 to do all the work. I am in favor of throw- 
 ing it all up and of telling the trustees to 
 get Noakes again if they want to." 
 103
 
 Gbe Cburcb at Xibettgville 
 
 " Well," said Mrs. Jordan, " I don't scrub 
 my own house, and I am not going to be 
 scrubwoman for the church." 
 
 "What made you vote for it, then?" 
 replied Mrs. Sharp. 
 
 " I didn't vote to do it myself, but to 
 let those do it who wanted to," was Mrs. 
 Jordan's reply. 
 
 " It looks as though a good many did 
 the same kind of benevolent voting," added 
 Mrs. Sharp. 
 
 The result was that at the end of three 
 months this plan was abandoned, and the 
 trustees found no trouble to raise sufficient 
 money to secure a first-class sexton, and 
 Otto Schmidt, to whom reference has 
 already been made, was engaged. 
 
 He was proud-spirited, quick-tempered, 
 and resented anything that looked like or- 
 dering him around. His wife, who was a 
 member of the church, was exceedingly 
 sensitive, and was constantly looking for 
 slights because she was the janitor's wife. 
 And I must confess that I fear some of 
 the ladies were not so careful as they might 
 have been. His wife's feelings did not 
 contribute at all to Otto's peace of mind. 
 
 One evening after an all-day's meeting 
 of the women's society I dropped in at 
 104
 
 Serton anO tber troubles 
 
 the church and found him in a great state 
 of excitement. He began at once : " Mr. 
 Bradley, I vants to know who vas mine 
 boss. Dese vomens makes me crazy. Von 
 say do dis, anoder say do dat, und dey 
 sends me evryvares, and tells me I bin 
 hired to do everydings. Some say der 
 house bin too cold, some say it vas too varm. 
 Some say, ' Open die vindows ' ; oders say, 
 ' Vy you do dot ? ' I can no haf so many 
 tell me vot I do. Und dey tells mine vife 
 she bin janitors too. If dot bin recht, den 
 I goes vay." 
 
 I told him I would speak to Mr. Allan, 
 the chairman of the trustees, and I was 
 sure something would be done about it. 
 
 At the next meeting of the trustees Mr. 
 Allan said : " Our sexton is greatly dis- 
 turbed, and says he cannot continue to serve 
 us unless something is done to improve mat- 
 ters. He complains about the juniors on 
 Sunday afternoon. After the Sunday- 
 school he arranges the rooms for the even- 
 ing services, and then they come and romp 
 around and get everything into disorder 
 again. In fact, last Sunday matters were 
 so bad before the leader came that he caught 
 Tom Dolittle and gave him a good shaking, 
 and now Mrs. Dolittle proposes to leave 
 
 105
 
 Cburcb at 
 
 the church unless we discharge Mr. Schmidt 
 at once. Then too, he says the young people 
 hold their socials so late that he cannot get 
 home till after midnight, and that they 
 scatter paper and food all about the church 
 parlors. But his chief complaint is against 
 the women. They greatly worry him with 
 all sorts of demands upon him and upon 
 his wife; and some of them order him to 
 do things in a way that stirs his German 
 blood. He is a very capable sexton, and 
 we ought not to let him go if we can 
 help it." 
 
 Mr. Sowerby, whose home trials were 
 generally known, said : " The janitor has 
 my sympathy. I have enough to do to get 
 along with one woman. I am not surprised 
 that he has trouble trying to please so 
 many. I should think after the experience 
 the women have had taking care of the 
 church they would be glad to let the whole 
 business alone for a while." 
 
 The next to speak was Mr. Banks : " I 
 have been much disturbed at the way the 
 juniors have been carrying on. I took my 
 girl out of the society some weeks ago. 
 She was getting a good deal more harm 
 than good. Boys and girls do not seem to 
 have the respect for the house of God which 
 106
 
 Sbe Serton anD tber (Troubles 
 
 they had years ago. I am profoundly thank- 
 ful that the sexton gave Tom Dolittle what 
 he deserved, and wish he had shaken sev- 
 eral others. I am in favor of having him 
 appointed as a special policeman and in- 
 structed to keep order in and around that 
 building at any cost." 
 
 " It is possible," replied Mr. Allan, " that 
 the fault is as much our own as it is that of 
 the boys and girls, or of any one else. As 
 trustees I fear we have not looked carefully 
 enough after these things. The church 
 building is for use and the various societies 
 of the church should be encouraged to 
 use it." 
 
 " I am in favor of their using it," in- 
 terrupted Mr. Banks, " if they will use it 
 properly. But they must not worry the 
 life out of the janitor, and they must not 
 make it a place for romping and midnight 
 socials. I am in favor of not allowing any 
 society to hold any meeting or social in the 
 building without a written permit from the 
 trustees." 
 
 " What I was about to propose," went on 
 Mr. Allan, " was this : let us appoint Mr. 
 Church as custodian of the building, with 
 the understanding that the sexton is to 
 look to him and to no one else for orders, 
 107
 
 Cbc Cburcb at 
 
 and that he as custodian is to have an 
 oversight of all the gatherings held in the 
 building." 
 
 " Well," added Mr. Banks, " if Brother 
 Church wants a job of that kind, I am 
 willing. I am sure I don't want it." 
 
 Mr. Church was a firm, wide-awake, 
 quiet, tactful man, whom everybody re- 
 spected, and who was greatly interested in 
 the welfare of the church. 
 
 He was duly appointed, and the follow- 
 ing is an extract from his first report : " I 
 have found my work as custodian of the 
 church building, not so difficult as some 
 of my friends or as I myself feared it 
 might be. The ladies have expressed to 
 me their satisfaction that one person has 
 been placed in charge of the building, and 
 with one or two unimportant exceptions, 
 have promptly referred all matters to me. 
 They have been specially gratified to find 
 that the sexton does cheerfully, under my 
 instructions, many things which he was un- 
 willing to do before. He seems much hap- 
 pier in his work, and of his own accord 
 apologized to Mr. Dolittle for his treatment 
 of Tom. 
 
 " The juniors are coming on all right. 
 A conference with the leader enabled us to 
 108
 
 Contrary 
 
 adopt measures by which practically all 
 disorder has been overcome. And so I think 
 that, with patience and constant watchful- 
 ness all these matters are going to work out 
 satisfactorily." 
 
 " That is encouraging," said Mr. Banks, 
 " and I am in favor of giving Brother 
 Church a vote of thanks." 
 
 " I deserve no vote of thanks," replied 
 Mr. Church. " My duties are very simple 
 and easy. If any vote of thanks is called 
 for, let it be given to Mr. Allan for sug- 
 gesting a practical plan for looking after 
 our church building." 
 
 Contrary mtn00 
 
 There are good folks who ne'er fail, 
 When there's a question to decide, 
 
 To wait and see what others do, 
 Then take the other side. 
 
 RECALL an old pastor in the 
 place where I first joined the 
 
 ran MUMJ piace wnere i nrsi jomeu me 
 [raPM] church, who had a somewhat sig- 
 nificant way of putting a motion in the busi- 
 ness meetings. After stating the question 
 109
 
 Gbe Cburcb at Xibertsvtlle 
 
 with great deliberation he would say: 
 " All who are in favor of this motion will 
 raise the right hand." Then he would 
 add, " Now all those who have contrary 
 minds will give the same sign." 
 
 Deacon Jacob Black was a man with a 
 contrary mind. Personally, I was not in 
 favor of electing him to succeed Deacon 
 Eager. But it was at a time when it was 
 difficult to get persons to serve in the vari- 
 ous offices of the church, and I learned 
 that the nominating committee, after try- 
 ing in vain every available man in the 
 church, selected him as a last resort; and 
 Brother Jones, who served on the com- 
 mittee, told me that he thought he would 
 not have accepted the nomination if his wife 
 had not told him that he was not fit to be 
 a deacon, and that she was sure few in the 
 church wanted him, and that the committee 
 would not have come to him if they could 
 have found any one else who would have 
 taken it. " That settled it at once," Brother 
 Jones declared, " and he promptly accepted 
 the nomination." 
 
 Perhaps I ought not to say anything 
 
 about his wife, but speaking of her reminds 
 
 me that it was currently reported that she 
 
 was so homely and ill-natured, as a girl, 
 
 no
 
 Contrary 
 
 that nobody else seemed to want anything 
 to do with her, and he married her just to 
 be contrary. He seemed to be reasonably 
 happy with her, as she furnished him abun- 
 dant opportunities for the exercise of his 
 contrariness. He was entirely independent 
 in politics, and was always training with 
 some insignificant party, which was opposed 
 to pretty much everything and never elected 
 anybody. He was bald, and his head thus 
 exposed, was seen to slope up to a central 
 ridge which was more or less undulating. 
 His chin was protruding, and at the point 
 was covered with a thin tuft of grizzly 
 whiskers. He was not contrary from mean- 
 ness, but from a natural constitutional 
 bent. He never got angry, and often, I 
 think, would have been disappointed if his 
 opposition had defeated a measure. 
 
 Shortly after he became deacon the ques- 
 tion of collection plates came up. We for- 
 merly used a collection box with a short 
 handle, but people complained that the boxes 
 were noisy and the handles too short. Then 
 we got collection bags attached to long 
 handles, resembling appliances for catching 
 butterflies and grasshoppers. Deacon Per- 
 kins had been in Chicago on a visit, and 
 had been noting how collections were taken 
 in
 
 Gbe Cburcb at libertgville 
 
 there. He said, " At the church which I 
 attended while in Chicago they used plates 
 for their collections. These were passed 
 from one to another the entire length of 
 each pew, and I was greatly delighted with 
 the order and the importance attaching to 
 this part of the service. Somehow the tak- 
 ing hold of the plate seemed to make the 
 people feel more their individual responsi- 
 bility. I learned from the treasurer that 
 the use of plates added materially to the 
 amount of the collections. I make a motion 
 that we recommend to the church the pro- 
 curing of collection plates to be used 
 hereafter." 
 
 Charley Goodwill immediately seconded 
 the motion, when Deacon Black spoke up: 
 " I do not want to oppose any measure that 
 may seem to be for the best interests of the 
 church, but I shall be compelled to vote 
 against this motion. It is, in my judgment, 
 a movement to cultivate vanity and display 
 in giving. It is a cunningly devised scheme 
 to enable those who give to be seen of 
 men." 
 
 Deacon Stearns added : " There is a great 
 deal of force in what Brother Black says. 
 Our Lord said, ' Let not your right hand 
 know what your left hand doeth.' I think 
 
 112
 
 Contrary fllin&s 
 
 the old collection bag is admirably suited to 
 the carrying out of that command." 
 
 " Yes," said Deacon Smith, " I am re- 
 minded of what Mrs. Smith saw a Sunday 
 or two ago. She said she did not intend 
 to watch what other people were doing, but 
 her attention was arrested by the conduct 
 of a person just in front of her, and with- 
 out thinking she watched him. He looked 
 in his pocketbook for a coin small enough 
 for the collection, but failing to find it, put 
 his pocketbook back. He then closed his 
 hand, as if he had something in it, and 
 when the collection-bag came along he went 
 through the motion of giving. Of course 
 I know such cases are few, but any kind 
 of a public collection is subject to abuse." 
 
 " Right there is the trouble," said Deacon 
 Black. " I am opposed to all public collec- 
 tions. I am in favor of having a box in 
 the vestibule, as they had in the old temple." 
 
 " I have always been in favor of that 
 myself," responded Deacon Stearns. 
 
 " But you remember," added Deacon Per- 
 kins, " that when Jesus sat over against the 
 treasury, or the old collection box, he saw 
 how much each one gave, even to the 
 widow's two mites. That arrangement 
 would not help matters." 
 H 113
 
 ttbe Cburcb at 
 
 "Well," Deacon Black said, "we make 
 altogether too much of this matter of giv- 
 ing; I am in favor of greatly simplifying 
 the whole business and of putting it more in 
 the background." 
 
 " I have often felt the same way myself," 
 was Deacon Stearns' response. 
 
 This constant agreement with him by 
 Deacon Stearns seemed to disconcert Dea- 
 con Black, and he had nothing more to say, 
 and when the vote was taken refused to 
 vote, evidently fearing Deacon Stearns 
 would vote as he did. 
 
 But we did have a time of it when the 
 question of individual communion cups 
 came up. 
 
 Mrs. Richards, a wealthy widow from 
 the East, had come to make her home 
 among us, and had entered actively (some 
 thought a little officiously) into the work 
 of the church. She often spoke of the fact 
 that in the church in Boston from which 
 she came individual communion cups were 
 used, and she had a good deal to say about 
 the uncleanliness of all drinking from the 
 same cup, and also of the danger from 
 microbes. 
 
 At one of the meetings of the women's 
 114
 
 Contrary flltnfca 
 
 society she proposed that the women raise 
 money and donate an individual communion 
 set to the church. 
 
 Mrs. Blunt, who took pride in " talking 
 right out," replied: "This society is not 
 organized to promote Boston fads, nor as 
 an anti-microbe institution, but to help on 
 the missionary work of the kingdom." 
 
 Others vigorously opposed the measure, 
 and it was dropped. Then Mrs. Richards 
 sent a letter to the deacons, stating that she 
 would be glad to donate an individual com- 
 munion set to the church, and hoped that 
 the deacons would approve, and report the 
 matter favorably to the church. As secre- 
 tary of the board, I read the letter. It came 
 as a great surprise to all. Few had given 
 the matter any thought, and I could see that 
 the propositon was not favorably received. 
 
 Charley Goodwill was the first to speak: 
 " I am not satisfied in my own mind that 
 such a move is desirable. It may be all 
 right, but I want to think over it awhile." 
 
 Deacon Perkins added : " I suppose Mrs. 
 Richards is a good woman, but I don't quite 
 relish her attempt to foist Eastern notions 
 upon us. We are not wholly benighted 
 out here in the uncultured West. I guess 
 we can defy the microbes a little longer."
 
 Cbe Cbutcb at ILtbertxjvillc 
 
 By this time Deacon Black saw which 
 way the current was going, and he spoke: 
 " Well, brethren, I don't want to oppose 
 you, but I am in favor of accepting this 
 generous offer. Before I was made deacon 
 I sat in the pew just behind old Gorman, 
 the worst tobacco chewer I ever saw, and 
 Mrs. Thornton, who is slowly dying of 
 consumption, and I confess that I never 
 enjoyed taking the cup after it had been 
 passed to them." 
 
 " It is not a question of tobacco or con- 
 sumption," said Doctor Spear, " but of the 
 teaching of the Bible, and I for one don't 
 believe the Lord used thimbles when he 
 inaugurated the Holy Supper." 
 
 " We use four cups in our service," re- 
 plied Deacon Black. " If it is not unscrip- 
 tural to use four, why may we not use 
 twenty-four or four hundred ? " 
 
 It must be admitted that Deacon Black 
 was a remarkably well-informed man. His 
 very contrariness had stirred him up to 
 investigate all kinds of subjects. 
 
 Deacon Stearns now spoke : " I wonder 
 what will come next? These are certainly 
 days of fads and heresies. I wonder some 
 one does not propose that we have indi- 
 vidual straws through which to drink the 
 116
 
 Contrary 
 
 communion wine. They would cost less 
 than these little, trifling cups and could be 
 thrown away after being used. Then why 
 does not some one suggest that the bread 
 be put up in medicated capsules ? This would 
 certainly be more hygienic; and, of course, 
 pretty soon some one will demand that we 
 have sterilized rose-water for baptism. 
 There is absolutely no limit to this kind of 
 foolishness, and for one, it seems to me, 
 that it is entirely out of place for new mem- 
 bers and new deacons to undertake to dis- 
 turb the peace of the church with such 
 unscriptural and unreasonable propositions." 
 
 The situation was now becoming interest- 
 ing to Brother Black, who replied : " If 
 some churches never had any suggestions 
 from new members and from new deacons, 
 they could take for their motto, ' As it was 
 in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, 
 world without end. Amen ! ' I for one am 
 in favor of progress. The church must 
 keep abreast of the times. Modern medical 
 science declares that for a congregation all 
 to drink out of the same cup is unsanitary 
 and dangerous. The Bible is not against 
 good health and common sense, and so I am 
 in favor of adopting this new departure." 
 
 " I would not like to take a stand against 
 117
 
 Cburcb at 
 
 this measure," said Charley Goodwill. " In 
 fact, I am quite impressed with Deacon 
 Black's arguments, but we must think about 
 it awhile, and I move you that we thank 
 Mrs. Richards for her generous offer, but 
 defer action for the present." 
 
 This motion carried, and the matter was 
 not brought up again while I was there ; but 
 when I was back last summer, and present 
 at the communion, I was surprised to find 
 they were using individual communion cups 
 and Deacon Stearns was assisting in the 
 service. 
 
 When Rev. James Brown resigned the 
 question of suitable resolutions to be read 
 at his farewell reception came up at our 
 deacons' meeting. 
 
 I have already alluded to him and the 
 trouble he got into with the choir. This 
 was not the only trouble he had. There 
 had been a division over him and he had 
 been practically forced to resign. But now 
 that he had done so and was soon to close 
 his pastorate, it seemed wise to many, es- 
 pecially in view of the fact that he had some 
 influential friends, and as custom seemed to 
 demand such action, that resolutions of 
 appreciation be adopted. 
 118
 
 Contrary 
 
 So at this meeting Doctor Spear, who 
 had been a firm supporter of the pastor, 
 said : " It was suggested to me yesterday 
 that I come to this meeting prepared to pre- 
 sent for your consideration resolutions 
 which should express our high appreciation 
 of the work of our beloved pastor, who feels 
 called upon to close his efficient labors 
 among us. This I have cheerfully done, and 
 shall be glad to present for your approval 
 the following: 
 
 He then produced and read what he had 
 prepared : 
 
 WHEREAS, Rev. James Brown has been, during 
 the past eighteen months, the able, efficient, fear- 
 less, and uncompromising pastor of the First 
 Baptist Church at Libertyville, and 
 
 WHEREAS, he has stood unflinchingly for the 
 faith once delivered to the saints, whether men 
 would hear or whether they would forbear, and 
 has faithfully sought to purify the church of all 
 formalism and worldliness, and 
 
 WHEREAS, after greatly endearing himself to the 
 devout people of Libertyville, by his " holy walk 
 and conversation," he sees the hand of Providence 
 leading him to close his work amongst us, 
 
 Be it resolved, that his resignation has been ac- 
 cepted with sincere regret, that we shall greatly 
 miss his faithful ministry among us, but will be 
 comforted by the fact that our great loss will be 
 the gain of some other church, and we shall expect 
 119
 
 vibe Cburcb at ILtbctt^villc 
 
 that great success will attend his labors wherever 
 he may go. 
 
 After reading his resolutions, Doctor 
 Spear moved their adoption and some one 
 seconded the motion. The vote was about 
 to be taken, the most of the deacons regard- 
 ing it as a mere form and an easy way out 
 of a matter that had caused so much trouble, 
 but which seemed to be rapidly approaching 
 an amicable settlement. 
 
 Charley Goodwill, who sat next to me, 
 said in an undertone : " Those resolutions 
 are a little strong, and yet Brother Brown 
 has some good points, and after all, resolu- 
 tions don't amount to anything anyhow, 
 and I guess this is the best thing to do 
 under the circumstances." 
 
 At this juncture Deacon Black arose and 
 said: 
 
 " Brethren, I always dislike to oppose 
 any measure which seems to meet your ap- 
 proval, but I am not satisfied with these 
 resolutions. Of course they will be pub- 
 lished in the local papers and also in the 
 denominational papers. Almost every week 
 I read similar resolutions and wonder, if 
 the dear brethren were having such re- 
 markable pastorates, why they should quit. 
 As every one of us knows, these resolutions 
 
 120
 
 Contrary (Hinds 
 
 do not well, to say the least, do not tell 
 the whole truth. I have prepared some 
 myself, which I would like to read: 
 
 WHEREAS, Rev. James Brown has had a short, 
 turbulent pastorate of a year and a half in the 
 First Baptist Church, of Libertyville, resulting 
 in serious division, marked loss of membership, 
 and reproach in the community, and 
 
 WHEREAS, after repeated urging to resign, by 
 many of the leading members of the church, and 
 a feeling on the part of all that it would be best 
 for him to do so, he has finally decided to close 
 his labor and strife among us, 
 
 Be it resolved, first, that we are glad he is 
 going away, and, second, that we hope his experi- 
 ence here has taught him wisdom and that if he 
 should secure another pastorate, he will do better 
 than he has in Libertyville. 
 
 He added : " I move the adoption of these 
 resolutions instead of those presented by 
 Doctor Spear," and greatly to my surprise, 
 Deacon Stearns seconded the motion. I 
 shall not attempt to reproduce the discussion 
 which followed. It was very spirited and, 
 I think, beneficial. The outcome was that 
 Deacon Smith proposed the following form, 
 which was adopted: 
 
 WHEREAS, Rev. James Brown, after being pas- 
 tor for one year and a half of the First Baptist 
 121
 
 Gbe Cburcb at OlfbertsvtHe 
 
 Church, of Libertyville, has decided to close his 
 labors among us, 
 
 Resolved, that we hereby express our confidence 
 in his sincerity and honesty of purpose, and, sec- 
 ond, that we wish for him a large measure of 
 blessing in his future labors. 
 
 Brother Brown was not satisfied with 
 these resolutions, and they were not 
 published in the papers. 
 
 XI 
 ContcnOtns for tbe ffattb 
 
 They think that religion is mainly a creed, 
 Perfect, unchanging, which they must defend; 
 
 Their mission in life is plainly decreed, 
 
 For the faith of the church they must always 
 contend. 
 
 BROTHER ELIHU YOUNG had 
 been called from the theological 
 seminary to the pastorate of the 
 church at Millersburg, a little town a 
 few miles up the river from Libertyville. 
 Shortly after his coming to the field we re- 
 ceived a letter requesting us to send our 
 pastor and two other delegates to an ordi- 
 nation council to meet at Millersburg. We 
 122
 
 Contending for tbe ffaitb 
 
 always had more or less difficulty in find- 
 ing persons who would serve as delegates 
 on councils, and at Associations and con- 
 ventions. The representative men of the 
 church were unwilling to take the time from 
 their business ; hence, it usually came about, 
 after several had been nominated and had 
 positively declined, that Deacon Stearns and 
 Doctor Spear were appointed. This was 
 done in the present instance. 
 
 It so happened that I had a little business 
 in Millersburg on the day of the ordination, 
 and upon the urgent solicitation of Pastor 
 Smith, I decided to drop into the meeting 
 of the council. I concluded as I looked over 
 the brethren present, that the other churches 
 must have had trouble in securing delegates 
 similar to that of the Libertyville church. 
 
 The council was called to order and a 
 temporary chairman appointed, after which 
 followed a futile effort to find the clerk of 
 the Millersburg church, in order that he 
 might produce and read the minutes of the 
 meeting of the church at which the call of 
 the council was issued. But as he could not 
 be found it was finally decided after an ex- 
 tended discussion to accept the statement of 
 one of the deacons as to the fact and the 
 essential features of the call. 
 123
 
 Cburcb at iibertgvillc 
 
 Deacon Stickler, however, of Plainview, 
 declared : " I am sure this is irregular and 
 contrary to usage and I fear it will in- 
 validate our Brother Young's ordination." 
 
 But the council proceeded to permanent 
 organization, wasting, it seemed to .me, a 
 good deal of time over unimportant matters. 
 
 In one instance the pastor had been au- 
 thorized by his church to appoint the other 
 two delegates. This he had done, but Elder 
 Spike, of Bragville, declared : " No church 
 can delegate such authority. The appoint- 
 ing of messengers is a prerogative vested in 
 the church itself, and can no more be dele- 
 gated than can the finding of a verdict be 
 delegated by a jury to some individual," and 
 so he went on for half an hour. But when 
 he was through the council voted to recog- 
 nize the two delegates. I noticed, however, 
 that Deacons Stearns and Stickler voted 
 with Elder Spike. 
 
 It took some time too, to decide whether 
 Brother Young should go right through his 
 statement and have questions at the close 
 or whether he should be questioned as he 
 proceeded. The latter course was finally 
 adopted. With all of these preliminary ques- 
 tions settled, the council was at last ready 
 to proceed with the examination. 
 124
 
 Contending for tbe ffattb 
 
 Brother Young was formally introduced 
 to the council by Hon. Joshua Grafton, of 
 Millersburg, in a somewhat pompous and 
 effusive address, after which he proceeded 
 to give his Christian experience. 
 
 He said : " I cannot recall a time when 
 I was not trying to lead a Christian life. 
 My parents were devout Christians, and the 
 first thing my mother taught me was to 
 pray and to endeavor to do what Jesus 
 wanted me to do. At eleven years of age 
 I made a public profession of my faith 
 and united with the church." Here he 
 paused, and the moderator said : " Does any 
 member of the council desire to ask the can- 
 didate any questions in reference to his 
 Christian experience?" 
 
 Elder Dryden, from Plainview, a retired 
 minister, slowly arose, smoothed down the 
 long wisp of hair which was carefully 
 trained from one side to cover his bald 
 head, cleared his throat, looked around over 
 the council, as though burdened with a great 
 sense of responsibility, and then said : " Mr. 
 Moderator, I do not desire to seem to ques- 
 tion the young brother's Christian experi- 
 ence, but I look back a good many years to 
 my own conversion and to the mighty mov- 
 ings of the Spirit which I have seen in 
 125
 
 Cburcb at 
 
 my ministry." (It was a well-known fact 
 that his ministry had been a conspicuous 
 failure, but he had forgotten it.) " I say, 
 when I remember these things, I am not 
 entirely satisfied with the brother's experi- 
 ence, and would like to ask him if there 
 was never a time when he was profoundly 
 convicted and saw himself a lost sinner and 
 when he turned to God with groanings that 
 could not be uttered? " 
 
 Here Deacon Stearns interrupted : " That 
 is just the question I wanted to ask. What 
 we need to-day is some old-time conversions. 
 I shall never forget how the Lord laid 
 hold of me with a mighty hand and an 
 outstretched arm." 
 
 " But," interposed Rev. Dr. Wayte, pas- 
 tor from Morning Side, " the brethren must 
 remember that there is a great variety of 
 experiences. I never passed through any 
 of these mighty upheavals and over- 
 turnings, and yet I am sure I am a Chris- 
 tian. David seems to sum up his experience 
 in a very few words when he says, ' I 
 thought on my ways, I turned my feet unto 
 thy testimonies, I made haste and delayed 
 not to keep thy commandments.' I move 
 you that the brother proceed with his call 
 to the ministry." 
 
 126
 
 Contending for tbe ffaitb 
 
 " If there is no objection," said the mod- 
 erator, '' Brother Young will proceed. 
 
 I expected there would be objection, but 
 it seemed that Elder Dryden did not care 
 to oppose so important a person as Doctor 
 Wayte, and so Mr. Young went on. 
 
 Mr. Young told how, during his college 
 course, while he was trying to decide what 
 his life-work should be, he had had a deep- 
 ening conviction that he ought to enter the 
 ministry. At the same time several of his 
 friends had suggested the same thing to 
 him, and finally, after earnest prayer and a 
 careful consideration of the work and his 
 adaptability to it, he had concluded that the 
 Lord wanted him to preach. He had often 
 felt unworthy for such a service, and yet 
 he was very desirous of going ahead. 
 
 When he had finished, Dr. Jabez Spear 
 arose. " Mr. Moderator," he said, " I 
 greatly hesitate to speak, and yet I have 
 a profound conviction that there is danger 
 to-day that men shall choose the ministry 
 instead of having God choose them. I 
 would like to know if our young brother 
 has a great burden on his heart for lost 
 souls, and if he can join with Paul in say- 
 ing, ' Woe is me if I preach not the gospel.' 
 I believe that when a man is called of God 
 127
 
 3be Cburcb at Utbertyvillc 
 
 he does not take counsel of his friends, nor 
 study his adaptability. He knows he is 
 called. I shall never forget how like a 
 voice from heaven I heard the call of God 
 taking me from the vanity of the world into 
 the high office of the gospel ministry." 
 
 " I would like to ask Brother Spear I 
 mean Doctor Spear," said Deacon Barker, 
 from Plainview, " why he did not stay in 
 the ministry if he had such a call.'" 
 
 " Sometimes the Lord calls a man out 
 of the ministry as well as into it," replied 
 the doctor. 
 
 " That's so," replied Deacon Barker, " and 
 I wish some others would hear the call out." 
 All knew that he was trying to get rid of 
 his pastor. 
 
 " If there are no further remarks," re- 
 plied the moderator, " the candidate will 
 now proceed to state his views of Christian 
 doctrine." 
 
 This he did in what seemed to be a clear 
 and common-sense way. I, of course, can- 
 not remember all the discussion that fol- 
 lowed. It was all new to me, as I had never 
 before been at such a gathering, and being 
 a humble layman in the church, do not 
 feel myself competent to criticize the pro- 
 ceedings of such experienced and learned 
 128
 
 Contending for tbe Jfattb 
 
 brethren as constituted this council. It did 
 appear to me, however, that much time was 
 wasted upon unimportant questions and 
 upon questions which no one can answer. 
 It also occurred to me that some of the 
 brethren were more anxious to express their 
 own views than they were to find out what 
 Brother Young believed. In fact, in the 
 discussion which arose among the members 
 of the council he was sometimes entirely 
 forgotten. 
 
 I recall distinctly some of the questions 
 that were asked. Mr. Calvin Pierce, a 
 small, sharp-faced, bristle-haired storekeeper 
 from Marshall, who had the reputation of 
 being a champion checker player and a 
 great arguer upon politics and religion, 
 said : " Mr. Moderator, I would like to ask 
 the young brother a question." 
 
 He had a high-pitched, irritating voice, 
 that invited opposition. He went on : "I 
 am not entirely satisfied with the candidate's 
 statement of the important relation existing 
 between faith and regeneration. I wish he 
 would be so kind as to tell us which, in 
 his opinion, comes first, the regenerating 
 work of the Spirit or the faith of the in- 
 dividual. I regard this as a matter so 
 fundamental and far-reaching that no man 
 i 129
 
 <Tbe Cbutcb at Xibert^vtlle 
 
 is prepared to preach the gospel who does 
 not have full assurance at this point. We 
 must be careful not to detract from the 
 glory of God in his sovereign electing grace 
 by putting faith, the work of man, before 
 the beginning of the new life in the soul. 
 Faith is a work acceptable to God, and how 
 can such a work come out of the natural 
 and sinful heart? I trust our brother has 
 clear ideas upon this vital subject and will 
 state them to the council." 
 
 " But, Brother Pierce," said Elder Free, 
 a retired minister from Yorktown, " the 
 Bible says, ' Believe on the Lord Jesus 
 Christ and thou shalt be saved,' but if a 
 man is elected and saved before he believes, 
 I don't see the need of believing at all. 
 I have always held and preached that 
 believing comes first." 
 
 Doctor Wayte now spoke : " The difficulty 
 arises, brethren, from the fact that things 
 may be logically successive, which are con- 
 temporaneous as to time. Is not that your 
 idea, Brother Young ? " 
 
 " My idea is," he replied, " that I am 
 to urge men everywhere to believe in Christ, 
 and leave the work of regeneration to 
 God." 
 
 "I still insist," said Mr. Pierce, "that 
 130
 
 Contending for tbc jfattb 
 
 confusion of mind upon this point or an in- 
 version of the divine order is a matter of 
 grave importance, and I shall hope that 
 when our young brother has given more 
 thought and study to these things that he 
 will come forth into the clear light of 
 unmistakable truth." 
 
 Now Deacon Stearns spoke : " Did I un- 
 derstand the brother to state that some por- 
 tions of the Bible are more important than 
 others? I was afraid, from what I under- 
 stood him to say, that he does not believe 
 that the Bible is wholly inspired, and that 
 every word is the veritable and exact word 
 of God. My belief is that some of our 
 seminaries at the present time are destroy- 
 ing faith in the old book and sending young 
 men to preach who have no message. As 
 for me, I accept every word of the Bible 
 from Genesis to Revelation, as dictated to 
 holy men of old, who wrote down every 
 word as it was given to them. I regard 
 higher criticism as a device of Satan to 
 undermine the faith once delivered to the 
 saints. I sincerely trust our young brother 
 is not tinctured with this root of all evil." 
 
 Rev. John Briggs, a young man who had 
 recently taken charge of the church at 
 Yorktown, now arose. His bearing was
 
 Cbe Cbutcb at 
 
 that of a person peculiarly satisfied with 
 himself. He gently stroked his beautiful 
 mustache, turned a pitying look upon Dea- 
 con Stearns, and said : " I am surprised that 
 in this day of progressive thought any one 
 should advocate the long discarded and 
 preposterous theory of verbal inspiration. 
 No theologian of any standing in this coun- 
 try, or in Germany, now holds it. In the 
 light of the new thought, and by the em- 
 ployment of scientific methods in biblical 
 study, we have learned that the Old Testa- 
 ment is almost entirely tradition, legend, 
 and myth, and that not a little of the New 
 Testament is untrue as history and unre- 
 liable as doctrine. The great work of mod- 
 ern critical scholarship is to separate the 
 chaff from the wheat. I object to having 
 our time consumed upon this occasion by 
 discussions on the part of brethren who 
 mean well but who are entirely out of 
 touch with advanced thought." 
 
 Doctor Spear, trembling with excitement, 
 was about to speak, when Brother Young 
 said : " I regard this question as one of great 
 importance, and beg leave to restate my 
 views. I believe that the Bible is a revela- 
 tion from God, but it seems to me that from 
 the very nature of the case such a revelation 
 132
 
 Contending tor tbe ffattb 
 
 must be progressive. God is limited in 
 making a revelation by man's capacity to re- 
 ceive it. So that the Old Testament is 
 necessarily a partial, and to a certain extent 
 an imperfect revelation, and hence of much 
 less value to us than the larger revelation 
 found in Christ and in the New Testament. 
 As I trace the unfoldings of the great 
 truths of the Bible, I find but little trouble 
 with minor details, and the Bible becomes 
 filled with beauty and power for me." 
 
 Much more discussion followed, until at 
 length this matter was dropped, Doctor 
 Spear saying, " I am not entirely satisfied 
 with the position of our young brother, but 
 am thankful that he does not indorse the in- 
 fidel and atheistic views of some who claim 
 to be preachers of the gospel." And as he 
 said this he looked at Rev. John Briggs, 
 who quietly stroked his mustache, while on 
 his face there was a mingled expression 
 of conceit, pity, and contempt. 
 
 Brother Calvin Pierce again spoke: 
 " There is one more question which I would 
 like to ask the candidate if I am not con- 
 suming too much time. The question which 
 I have in my mind, and which I would like 
 to propound, is this : Who were the spirits in 
 prison to whom Christ is said to have 
 133
 
 Gbe Cburcb at Xlbertgvllle 
 
 preached? I regard this question as one 
 of very great importance, as opening up 
 the whole subject of purgatory, future pun- 
 ishment, and after-death repentance. It 
 seems to me that the most subtle, dangerous, 
 and terrible heresy of modern times is that 
 some may have a chance to be saved after 
 death, and I am greatly pained to note that 
 this simple and lucid statement of Peter 
 has been warped by some to sustain their 
 own pernicious imaginings. Will our 
 brother kindly tell us who these spirits in 
 prison were, and when this preaching to 
 them was done ? " 
 
 Brother Young hesitated a moment and 
 then frankly said : " I do not know what 
 that passage of Scripture teaches; I have 
 not yet been able to satisfy my own mind." 
 
 Brother Pierce was so surprised at this 
 confession of ignorance that before he could 
 recover himself Doctor Brown, a physician 
 of Millersburg, said : " Mr. Moderator, one 
 thing which I am particularly pleased with 
 in my pastor is that he does not know 
 everything, and when he does not know he 
 knows it and is frank enough to say so. It 
 makes a lot of us common folks feel that 
 he knows how to sympathize with us, and 
 as we know he is a student, we are confident 
 134
 
 Contending for tbc ffattb 
 
 that he will grow. Sometimes I fear min- 
 isters, like doctors, claim to know things, 
 where it would be a great deal more to their 
 credit if they would confess ignorance." 
 
 If I had been a member of the council 
 I should have publicly indorsed Doctor 
 Brown's remarks, but as I was not, I kept 
 still ; but Deacon Stearns said : " Ignorance 
 on some things is all right, but there are 
 certain simple scriptural matters which 
 every preacher, especially a graduate of the 
 seminary, ought to understand." 
 
 But I cannot attempt to recount all the 
 doings of that council. The discussion was 
 protracted upon many questions, but I no- 
 ticed that frequently when the brethren had 
 succeeded in expressing their own views 
 before the council, they were satisfied, seem- 
 ing to think that the candidate for ordina- 
 tion indorsed their statements. I would not 
 like to leave a wrong impression of this 
 council. I presume, as this was my first 
 experience, that the eccentricities and pe- 
 culiarities of some brethren particularly im- 
 pressed me. Not a little of the discussion 
 was dignified and helpful. At length, when 
 no one desired to ask any further questions, 
 Brother Young was asked to retire while 
 the council passed upon his case. 
 135
 
 Gbe Cburcb at XibertgviUe 
 
 Elder Free arose and said : " Mr. Mod- 
 erator, I desire to express myself as highly 
 pleased with our Brother Young's exam- 
 ination, and I move you that we declare 
 ourselves as fully satisfied with his Christian 
 experience, call to the ministry, and views 
 of Christian doctrine, and that we proceed 
 with his formal setting apart to the gospel 
 ministry. 
 
 Deacon Barber seconded the motion. 
 
 Rev. John Briggs was the first to get the 
 floor, although several others made the at- 
 tempt. He said : " I cannot say that I am 
 fully satisfied with Mr. Young's statements. 
 He seems to be somewhat in bondage to 
 the letter that killeth, although he is in a 
 measure open-minded, and I hope is faced 
 in the right direction. I am, however, un- 
 prepared to vote for the motion in its 
 present form." 
 
 Brother Calvin Pierce was the next to 
 speak. " I am far from being satisfied with 
 our brother. He seems to have had no ex- 
 perience; his call to the ministry does not 
 appear to have been any call at all, and he 
 is thoroughly unorthodox in doctrine. The 
 church is loaded down with this kind of 
 preachers already. I don't know what we 
 are coming to. I think we must be in the 
 136
 
 Contenoing foe tbe ffaitb 
 
 last days, which Paul tells about, when 
 people shall have itching ears. In my judg- 
 ment about all our seminaries are doing in 
 these days is to prepare young fellows to 
 scratch these itching ears. I am entirely 
 opposed to the motion." And Deacon 
 Stearns, with a peculiarly determined 
 expression upon his face, said : " Amen ! " 
 Doctor Wayte now spoke : " Brethren, we 
 need to proceed with great wisdom. It 
 would be a serious matter to ordain an unfit 
 man to the gospel ministry. It would also 
 be very serious indeed to shut the door in 
 the face of a worthy man who has spent 
 years in preparation for the high calling. 
 Personally, I believe that Brother Young 
 is worthy of ordination. I have been 
 very favorably impressed with his evi- 
 dent candor and honesty. He shows the 
 Christlike spirit. He is a clear thinker, 
 and undoubtedly holds firmly to the great 
 fundamental doctrines of our faith. It 
 would be impossible for him to agree with 
 all of us. We see things differently and are 
 in great danger of setting up our own 
 fallible ideas as standards by which to 
 measure others. Perhaps a slight modi- 
 fication of the motion would render it sat- 
 isfactory to all, and so I move to amend 
 137
 
 Cbutcb at 
 
 it so that it will say, instead of ' we are 
 entirely satisfied/ ' we are sufficiently well 
 satisfied to proceed with the ordination.' " 
 
 The motion as thus amended was finally 
 unanimously carried. 
 
 I could not remain to the formal ordina- 
 tion services in the evening. The papers 
 reported an able sermon by Doctor Wayte, 
 and impressive exercises throughout. 
 
 XII 
 a pastor 
 
 Many men of many minds, 
 Many women of many kinds, 
 'Tis a task by no means small, 
 To find a man to suit them all. 
 
 Rev. James Brown had 
 closed his pastorate, steps were im- 
 mediately taken to secure another 
 pastor. A pulpit committee was appointed, 
 composed of the following brethren : James 
 Bright, George Graham, John Blackwell, 
 Peter Burden, and myself. 
 
 In selecting this committee, great care 
 was exercised not to appoint any persons 
 who had taken an active part either for or 
 138
 
 tf inDimi a paatoc 
 
 against the retiring pastor. The result was 
 that with one or two exceptions those on 
 the committee were not very active in the 
 church work. Then too, an effort was made 
 to have the different classes in the church 
 represented on the committee. James 
 Bright was in the life insurance business 
 and a man in middle life. George Graham 
 was a young man and a clerk in a clothing 
 house. John Blackwell was a lawyer; he 
 had been a police magistrate at one time, 
 and was known as Squire Blackwell. Peter 
 Burden was a mechanic in one of the mills, 
 and I was a dry-goods merchant. Squire 
 Blackwell was chosen chairman of the 
 committee and James Bright secretary. 
 
 At the first meeting of the committee we 
 decided, in view of the divided condition 
 of the church and the prevailing hard times, 
 that we could not offer a salary to exceed 
 twelve hundred dollars. This was a reduc- 
 tion of three hundred dollars. 
 
 It was further decided that we must get 
 a young man with a small family, some one 
 who could get hold of the young people, 
 and who could get along on the reduced 
 salary. We also determined to send a state- 
 ment of our desire to secure a pastor to 
 our leading denominational papers and 
 139
 
 Cbe Cburcb at 
 
 invite correspondence. We then adjourned 
 our first meeting, feeling that we had made 
 decided progress, and though no one of 
 us had ever served on a committee of this 
 nature before, we were confident that we 
 were proceeding with wisdom and care. 
 However, as I look at the matter now, I can 
 see that we did little else than make grievous 
 mistakes. 
 
 Letters came in great abundance, and at 
 our second meeting Brother Bright pro- 
 duced a package of something over one hun- 
 dred. Some men wrote for themselves 
 and others got their friends to write for 
 them. Some sent their pictures, newspaper 
 clippings, and samples of their sermons. 
 
 " Well ! " exclaimed Brother Graham, " it 
 is evident that our church is widely known 
 and is a very desirable field. We can simply 
 take our pick of men." 
 
 " That is so," replied Peter Burden ; " I 
 always told my wife that Libertyville is 
 the center of things. Our mills are known 
 all over the country and ought to pay bet- 
 ter wages than they do. We'll have no 
 trouble in getting a first-class man for 
 twelve hundred dollars." 
 
 " But we must exercise great care," added 
 James Bright. " We want to be sure to 
 140
 
 f inOing a pastor 
 
 get the right man. It is something like life 
 insurance you want to be sure your man 
 is all right. Some companies are careless 
 and take poor risks, but our company finds 
 out all about a man before writing him up. 
 When these letters began to come in as 
 they have, I made up my mind that we must 
 sift them by a rigid examination, so I have 
 prepared a list of questions which, I believe, 
 we ought to send to some friend of each 
 applicant, or with slight change they might 
 be sent direct to the applicant himself. Let 
 me read what I have prepared : 
 
 1 (i) How old is he? (2) Is he married? (3) 
 How large a family has he? (4) Is his wife a 
 good helpmeet for him in his work? (5) Has 
 he good health? (6) Has his wife good health? 
 (7) How tall is he and about how much does 
 he weigh? (8) Does he have a commanding 
 appearance in the pulpit? (9) Does he use notes? 
 (10) Is he a fluent speaker? (n) How long have 
 you known him? (12) Is there anything in his 
 character that you know of that would hinder 
 him in his work as a minister of the gospel? 
 (13) What do you consider his strongest points 
 as a minister of the gospel? (14) What do you 
 consider his weak points as a minister of the 
 gospel? (15) Has he a college education? (16) 
 From what college or seminaries did he graduate ? 
 
 1 A verbatim copy of a list of questions sent out 
 recently by a pulpit committee. 
 
 141
 
 Cburcb at 
 
 (17) How high did he stand in his class? 
 
 (18) Do you consider him a deep thinker? (19) 
 Do you consider him a deep spiritual man? (20) 
 Is he evangelistic in his thought? (21) Has he 
 any personal magnetism? (22) Is he well liked 
 in the church where he now is? (23) Is he well 
 thought of in the community at large? (24) 
 Is he having success in his work as pastor where 
 he now is? (25) How many years' experience 
 has he had as a pastor of a church? (26) What 
 church did he come from before he took his pres- 
 ent place? (28) Is he a hard worker? (29) 
 Is he progressive? (30) Has he had many 
 additions to the churches he has been pastor of? 
 
 Having concluded the reading of his list 
 of questions, he added : " Perhaps I ought 
 to explain my reason for asking some of 
 these questions. Of course, we must know 
 his age. Libertyville can't get along with 
 any man who has crossed the ' dead line.' 
 In fact, we have got to have a young man 
 full of life and hustle. Then I have asked 
 about his health and that of his wife. We 
 don't want any invalids around here, nor do 
 we want a great gang of children to take all 
 the time and energy of the pastor and 
 his wife. You may wonder why I said any- 
 thing about his height and weight. My wife 
 said : ' Whatever you do, don't get a little 
 fellow ; I can't bear a runt in the pulpit,' and 
 142
 
 a pastor 
 
 Mrs. Blackwell, who was present, replied: 
 ' I'd just as soon see a runt as a bean-pole.' 
 So you see we've got to take these things 
 into account. Then we've got to have a col- 
 lege man, and deep thinker, and one who is 
 full of personal magnetism, and who is pro- 
 gressive and up-to-date. In fact, there is 
 not an unnecessary question here." 
 
 " Right there is the trouble, to my mind," 
 said Squire Blackwell. " You haven't asked 
 questions enough. I would inquire, is he 
 orthodox? Can he sing? How long does 
 he preach and pray? Has he good eye- 
 sight? Does he remember names well? 
 Does he make lots of calls ? " 
 
 " Yes," interrupted Brother Burden ; " I 
 would like to know if he calls on the poor 
 folks or is he stuck up ? And does he shake 
 hands with everybody ? " 
 
 " And I was about to say," added the 
 squire, " does he pay his debts ? And has he 
 the fool notion of parting his hair in the 
 middle ? Does he meddle in politics ? Where 
 was he born? And has he got good blood 
 in his veins? " 
 
 How many more questions the squire 
 would have proposed I do not know, but I 
 interrupted him, saying : " It is impossible 
 to ask all the questions we would like to. 
 
 143
 
 Cbc Cburcb at Xibettgvillc 
 
 Many of the things the squire refers to are 
 important, but it seems to me Brother 
 Bright's questions are sufficient to begin 
 with. When we get answers to all of these 
 we will have a basis upon which to decide 
 whether or not we want a man to come 
 as a candidate, and when he comes we can 
 ask him all the questions we think best." 
 
 The result of the discussion was that 
 Brother Bright's plan was adopted, and we 
 adjourned to await replies. 
 
 At our next meeting we were greatly 
 surprised at the report which our secretary 
 brought of the result of the sending out of 
 the list of questions. From a good many 
 no reply whatever had come. 
 
 " I am not surprised at that," said Brother 
 Graham, " for, of course, a good many saw 
 at once that they could not measure up to 
 our requirements." 
 
 But some seemed to misunderstand our 
 motives entirely. I distinctly remember 
 some of the replies which Brother Bright 
 read. One brother wrote : 
 
 " If the Angel Gabriel should answer the 
 questions you ask he would not stand the 
 ghost of a chance of being called to your 
 pulpit." 
 
 Another said: 
 
 144
 
 finding a pastor 
 
 " When you answer the enclosed ques- 
 tions I will fill out the blank which you 
 sent me." The enclosed list was one hun- 
 dred questions about our church. I recall 
 among them the following: 
 
 Are your business affairs run by a clique? Do 
 you pay your bills promptly? Are the members 
 troubled much with Sunday sickness ? How many 
 cranks are there in the church? Are you willing 
 to allow the pastor to run his own domestic af- 
 fairs? How many of the leading members have 
 the outs? Do you expect the pastor's wife to 
 attend all the services, accompany the pastor in 
 all his calls, be president of the woman's society, 
 leader of the juniors, and superintendent of the 
 primary department in the Sunday-school? What 
 is the average age, height, and weight of your 
 church? Does the male or female element pre- 
 dominate? What proportion of the members are 
 sufficiently robust in health to attend two services 
 on Sunday? How many members have you, and 
 how many are good for nothing? What is the 
 business reputation of your deacons? What is 
 the average attendance at your prayer-meetings? 
 What do you regard as the weak points in your 
 church? Are you an eminently spiritual people? 
 How many college graduates have you, and how 
 did they rank in their respective classes? How 
 did you get rid of your last pastor? 
 
 But I will not give any more of these 
 questions. When Brother Bright finished 
 K 145
 
 Gbe Cbutcb at 
 
 the reading, Squire Blackwell was excited, 
 and exclaimed: 
 
 " Well, that beats anything I ever heard. 
 It is an insult to this church. I wonder 
 if he thinks we will humiliate ourselves by 
 answering such a list of impertinent 
 questions ? " 
 
 " I suppose," interposed Brother Burden, 
 " that he thinks he has just as much right 
 to ask questions as we have." 
 
 " Well, one thing is certain," replied the 
 squire, " those questions will never be 
 answered with my consent." 
 
 It was voted that these questions be re- 
 turned to the writer unanswered. The next 
 reply was of an entirely different character. 
 The questions were all answered, but in a 
 most unexpected manner. 
 
 Here are a few of the replies : 
 
 "How old is he?" He is old enough to know 
 something and to know he does not know every- 
 thing, and not too old to learn. " How large a 
 family has he ? " Large enough to worry all the 
 old maids of both sexes in the church, and to 
 call for the prompt payment of his salary. " How 
 tall is he and how much does he weigh?" He 
 is tall enough to look down on any committee 
 that would ask such a question, and in character 
 is heavy enough for any pastorate in the land. 
 " Does he use notes ? " Not so many as some 
 146
 
 Jf inOina a pastor 
 
 of his church-members do, especially if his salary 
 is kept paid up. "Has his wife good health?" 
 She would have if they could afford to keep help, 
 and if the churches could learn that they have no 
 special claims on a pastor's wife. " How high 
 did he stand in his class ? " He stood high enough 
 to get on the rostrum on commencement day. 
 " Has he any personal magnetism ? " When in 
 an ice-box, not very much. " Is there anything in 
 his character that you know of that would hinder 
 him in his work as a minister of the gospel?" 
 That depends upon what the church wants. " Is 
 he progressive ? " He still believes the Bible, 
 and continues to hold a few Baptist doctrines, 
 but, on the whole, his case is hopeful. 
 
 But I have given enough of these re- 
 markable replies. The other members of 
 the committee were greatly stirred up over 
 them and regarded them as a direct and seri- 
 ous insult to the committee, but I must 
 confess that I began to feel that our list of 
 questions contained several which ought not 
 to have been asked, and that the whole 
 scheme lacked dignity and seemed to put 
 the ministry on the basis of persons seeking 
 a job, or of an applicant for life insurance, 
 but I said nothing. 
 
 We now examined those replies in which 
 
 the questions had been answered in full or 
 
 in part, and finally decided to invite one 
 
 young brother, whose record seemed to be 
 
 147
 
 Cbc Cburcb at Xtbcrtsvtlle 
 
 all that could be desired, to visit us as a 
 candidate. In his case the entire thirty 
 questions were all fully answered and that 
 too, in a most gratifying manner. We were 
 confident that he was just the man for us. 
 
 We sent for him at once and he came 
 the following Sunday, but we were greatly 
 disappointed in him. He looked much older 
 than was reported, was hard of hearing, 
 very bald-headed, painfully bow-legged, 
 squint-eyed, and preached a sermon an hour 
 and ten minutes long. 
 
 At the next meeting of the committee 
 Squire Blackwell said : " It is just as I told 
 you; we did not ask questions enough. I 
 am in favor of enlarging the list. We must 
 cover the whole ground if we expect to 
 accomplish anything." 
 
 Brother Bright replied : " I have another 
 plan to propose. I still think, however, 
 that this idea of sending out questions is 
 all right, and there is undoubtedly much 
 in what the squire says, but I have another 
 plan which I want to propose. It is evi- 
 dent that we have got to see the men for 
 ourselves. A good many will not answer 
 these questions, and when they are an- 
 swered, I fear we cannot always rely on 
 the replies. Now, my idea is this: we will 
 148
 
 finding a pastor 
 
 not have any more candidates, but simply 
 have supplies. We will write to a lot of 
 good men and invite them to come and 
 spend each a Sunday as a supply. When 
 they come, if we do not like them, we will 
 be under no obligations to them; but when 
 we strike a man who pleases us, we will 
 question him and talk business to him." 
 
 This seemed to us all a capital plan, and 
 soon the procession of supplies began. 
 Among those invited were a good many 
 friends of members of the church. Since 
 they were coming simply as supplies, we 
 felt free to invite many who otherwise 
 would not have been invited. 
 
 Doctor Brainard, who came the fourth 
 Sunday, captivated everybody, and at the 
 close of the evening service he was asked 
 to meet with the committee. After express- 
 ing our gratification at having him with us, 
 Brother Bright, who had been appointed as 
 spokesman, began asking the doctor ques- 
 tions. He asked him about his family, num- 
 ber of children and wife's health, what col- 
 lege and seminary he attended, and had just 
 inquired as to his pastorates, their length 
 and success, when the doctor said : " May 
 T know why these questions are being asked 
 of me?" 
 
 149
 
 " Certainly," said Brother Bright. " We 
 are looking for a pastor, and being favor- 
 ably impressed with you to-day, it has oc- 
 curred to us that possibly you may be 
 adapted to our field." 
 
 A peculiar smile came over his face as 
 he replied : " So you regarded me as a can- 
 didate for your vacant pulpit. Let me hasten 
 to assure you that I supposed when you in- 
 vited me to supply for you, it was simply 
 as a supply. I wanted to visit a friend 
 near here, and so I came. I have no thought 
 of leaving my present pastorate, and would 
 hardly think of coming to Libertyville if I 
 had. I regret that you have misled me in 
 this matter, and, of course, you will not care 
 to ask me any more questions." 
 
 Squire Blackwell tried to apologize, but 
 accomplished little in relieving an embar- 
 rassing situation. 
 
 Some of the committee, after the doctor 
 had gone out, were in favor of giving up 
 the plan of hearing supplies, but we did 
 not see how it could be done; as the men 
 were already invited, we could not very well 
 tell them not to come, nor could we tell 
 them that we wanted them as candidates, 
 for we were not sure, until we heard them, 
 how we wanted to regard them, and so we
 
 finding a pastor 
 
 concluded that we must go on through the 
 list of eight more, but we decided not to 
 arrange for any more supplies until we 
 were through with these. 
 
 The next man who came was a special 
 friend of Colonel Gorham; in fact, the col- 
 onel had somewhere attended the church 
 of which he was pastor. The colonel was 
 wealthy and gave quite liberally to the pas- 
 tor's salary, when he liked the pastor. He 
 was not a member of the church. His wife 
 and daughter, however, were members, but 
 their worldliness was a source of much 
 trouble to some, especially to Deacon 
 Stearns, who often said in deacons' meet- 
 ings that they would be disciplined if it 
 were not for the old colonel's money. The 
 colonel had said so much about his friend, 
 Doctor Connell, that we expected great 
 things from him. 
 
 But we were doomed to disappointment. 
 Doctor Connell was past fifty years of age, 
 had never been married, was a regular book- 
 worm, a tiresome preacher, and said he 
 must have eighteen hundred dollars salary. 
 
 The colonel insisted on meeting with 
 the committee, and said : " Now, gentlemen, 
 there is the man for you, a gentleman of 
 the old school, a great reader, a deep
 
 Gbe Cburcb at Xtbcrtsvillc 
 
 thinker, a strong preacher. He will build 
 things up here and draw a class of hearers 
 that amount to something." 
 
 " But, colonel," interrupted the squire, 
 " we can pay but twelve hundred dollars, 
 and he wants eighteen hundred dollars, we 
 are told." 
 
 " What if he does ? " urged the colonel ; 
 " we have been paying fifteen hundred dol- 
 lars for a third-rate man. I'll pay the extra 
 three hundred dollars myself the first year 
 if you will call Doctor Connell." 
 
 Brother Bright now spoke : " Colonel, the 
 trouble with Doctor Connell is he is too old 
 and has no wife, and seems to lack in 
 personal magnetism." 
 
 " Very well," replied the colonel, " go 
 ahead and call some young popinjay who 
 hasn't any experience or sense, and who has 
 a wife that does not know as much as he 
 does, but I give you warning now that if 
 you do not call Doctor Connell you need 
 not come around begging any more money 
 from me." And the colonel withdrew, 
 leaving the committee greatly disturbed. 
 
 George Graham was the first to speak. 
 " This is serious. I do not see how we 
 can get along without Colonel Gorham, and 
 I am in favor of calling Doctor Connell." 
 152
 
 a pastor 
 
 " We might just as well close the house 
 at once," said Mr. Burden, " as to call such 
 a man as that; and what is more, I don't 
 believe in bowing down to any man because 
 he happens to have money. Colonel Gor- 
 ham is an old skinflint, who grinds his 
 men down to the lowest notch. We're bet- 
 ter off without his money, and then to think 
 of paying that old bachelor of his eighteen 
 hundred dollars ! No, sir ; I'll never agree 
 to anything of the kind." 
 
 The squire replied : " It will be hard to 
 get along without the colonel's contribution, 
 but I fear if we called Doctor Connell we 
 would have to get along without anything 
 from a good many others. The colonel will 
 come around all right, I guess. 
 
 But I cannot attempt to tell all the trouble 
 we had before we got through with our 
 supplies, but I must say a few words about 
 Rev. W. Pierpont Smythe. He was a 
 young man who had been out of school 
 but a few years, was a fluent speaker, 
 made frequent references to himself and to 
 his remarkable work at Bloomfield, where 
 he was pastor. Many of the young people 
 and some of the older ones were greatly 
 pleased with him. So the committee decided 
 to have a conference with him. 
 153
 
 Gbe Cburcb at 
 
 Brother Bright, who was learning wis- 
 dom from experience, began cautiously 
 to ask him questions. But he had not made 
 much progress when Rev. W. Pierpont 
 Smythe said : " I see, brethren, that you are 
 thinking of me in connection with your 
 vacant pulpit. I am not in the least sur- 
 prised at this; on the contrary, I should 
 have been much surprised had it been other- 
 wise. My work at Bloomfield is so widely 
 known that I am constantly receiving flat- 
 tering calls from all parts of the country. 
 I am now considering three very important 
 churches, and it is doubtful if I can en- 
 tertain your call at all. I shall be very 
 sorry to disappoint you, but I have got 
 to disappoint a good many, and of course, 
 I must take into account the future. I 
 must have a field where my gifts will not 
 be hampered. That is the trouble with 
 Bloomfield; I have done practically all that 
 can be done there. I fear Libertyville is too 
 narrow a field for me, still it might do for 
 a few years. Should I decide to come here 
 the work would need to be thoroughly re- 
 organized. Your methods, as I understand 
 them, are entirely behind the times. Your 
 building would have to be redecorated, and 
 I never would think of tolerating such 
 154
 
 finding a pastor 
 
 music as you had to-day, and my salary 
 would have to be eighteen hundred dol- 
 lars to begin with, and an assurance 
 of an increase at the end of the first year; 
 but with the large congregations which I 
 would draw, this would be a very simple 
 matter. I will say this, that while I can- 
 not now tell what I will do, you can go 
 right ahead and extend the call and I will 
 give you my answer in a few weeks." 
 
 George Graham and Mr. Bright were in 
 favor of calling him at once, but I sug- 
 gested that we take time to look up his 
 work at Bloomfield. We did this and found 
 that the work, at the beginning of his pas- 
 torate, had had a veritable boom, but that 
 reaction and division had set in, congrega- 
 tions had run down, finances were in bad 
 shape, and Mr. Smythe had been asked to 
 resign. 
 
 We heard all of our supplies without be- 
 ing able to agree upon any one of them. 
 Four months had now passed, and we 
 seemed to have made no progress in secur- 
 ing a pastor. Brother Bright was some- 
 what discouraged, but was in favor of 
 revising the list of questions and trying that 
 plan again. 
 
 But Squire Blackwell said : " I have been 
 
 155
 
 Cbe Cburcb at XtbertBville 
 
 thinking this whole matter over very care- 
 fully, and I have a plan which I believe 
 will work. Let us go over all our cor- 
 respondence and select four good men, the 
 best in the lot, and invite them to come as 
 candidates. Then, after we have heard 
 them all, we will call a meeting of the 
 church and by ballot select the best man of 
 the four." 
 
 This plan received the hearty indorse- 
 ment of the committee, and the names were 
 at once selected and the invitations sent to 
 them. It did not occur to us to tell these 
 men our plan. I now suspect that they 
 would not have come had they known of 
 our competitive scheme, but as it was, they 
 all came, and with one exception made very 
 favorable impressions. 
 
 A meeting of the church was at once 
 called. The attendance was large, and 
 Squire Blackwell, with great hopefulness, 
 explained his plan to the people, and the 
 balloting began. Ballot after ballot was 
 taken and no decision was reached. Then 
 time was taken to set forth the merits and 
 demerits of the different candidates, and the 
 discussions became somewhat heated, as 
 Deacon Stearns charged one candidate with 
 being unorthodox, and another candidate 
 156
 
 finding a pastor 
 
 happened to be a personal friend of our 
 late pastor. After the discussion the bal- 
 loting was resumed, and continued until 
 eleven o'clock, with no prospect whatever 
 of reaching a decision. Then several cen- 
 sured the pulpit committee for wasting 
 six months, and charged it with being 
 responsible for the existing trouble. 
 
 Squire Blackwell replied: "Brethren, I 
 for one have had enough of pulpit com- 
 mittee work to last me the remainder of 
 my life. I want to see some one else try 
 it a while. I hereby resign from the 
 committee." 
 
 All the other members of the committee 
 at once followed his example. I must say 
 that the unanimity and promptness with 
 which our resignations were accepted 
 showed scant appreciation of the hard work 
 we had done. A new committee, composed 
 of Judge Straight, Elder Heartwell, and 
 Brethren Goodwill, Smith, and Slocum was 
 at once appointed. 
 
 At the first meeting of the new com- 
 mittee, Charley Goodwill told me, Elder 
 Heartwell led in prayer and prayed so 
 earnestly and touchingly that the committee 
 might have divine guidance that all felt 
 that this was of supreme importance. It 
 157
 
 Gbe Cburcb at Xibem:vlUc 
 
 was decided that it was unnecessary to 
 reduce the salary. They further determined 
 that they would consider but one man at a 
 time, and that they would not invite any 
 man to visit the church as a candidate until 
 they had satisfied themselves as a com- 
 mittee that he could be recommended to the 
 church as pastor. 
 
 The result was that within a few weeks 
 Rev. Gideon M. Mitchell, a man somewhat 
 past middle life, was called and entered 
 upon a pastorate which extended over 
 ten years, in which the church made 
 substantial and encouraging growth. 
 
 XIII 
 Bunt Dorcas 
 
 Now abideth these three gifts 
 Gifts bestowed from heaven above; 
 
 The last, the greatest of the three, 
 Faith, and hope, and love. 
 
 1ESTERDAY I received a letter 
 from Libertyville, and I am not 
 ashamed to confess that it was 
 wet with my tears when I was through 
 reading it. 
 
 158
 
 Bunt Boreas 
 
 The following extract from it will ex- 
 plain the reason: 
 
 Dear Aunt Dorcas is dead. She had been fail- 
 ing for some months. There appeared to be no 
 disease, just a wearing out of the dear old body. 
 I wish you could have met her during these last 
 weeks. Perfect love had cast out all fear, and 
 she was supremely happy. Her face was simply 
 radiant with hope, and heaven seemed all about 
 her. She sent many messages of love and encour- 
 agement to the homes of poverty and suffering, 
 where she had so often been a very messenger 
 of heaven. Her room was constantly filled with 
 the fragrance of beautiful flowers, tributes of the 
 sincere sympathy of loving hearts. 
 
 Her last words were : " I have tried to be faith- 
 ful. I am going home now, to be with Him and 
 my loved ones." 
 
 Her funeral was held yesterday at the church. 
 The gathering was a most remarkable one. The 
 rich and poor met and wept together, and all felt 
 that they had lost a personal friend, and when the 
 choir sang softly the hymn she loved so well and 
 sang so often 
 
 Some day the silver cord will break 
 And I no more, as now, shall sing; 
 
 But, oh! the joy, when I awake, 
 Within the palace of the King, 
 
 a strange hush came over all, and it seemed as 
 though we were at the very doorway of the pal- 
 ace of the King and could almost hear her voice 
 of praise within. 
 
 159
 
 Gbe Cburcb at XlbertEvtllc 
 
 The pastor spoke very beautifully and tenderly 
 from the words, " She hath done what she could," 
 and all thanked God for such a noble life, and 
 wondered what the church and what Libertyville 
 would be without Aunt Dorcas. 
 
 Many a poor mother pressed her babe closer 
 to her breast, and sobbed aloud, when she real- 
 ized that Aunt Dorcas would never come to her 
 home again, bringing good cheer, comfort, and 
 courage. Many lingered at the casket, as they 
 took a last look at that dear, sweet face, that 
 even in death was wreathed with a beautiful 
 smile. What will our prayer-meetings, our so- 
 cials, our missionary meetings be, what will 
 anything be, without Aunt Dorcas? 
 
 But I will not copy any more of this 
 letter. I have read and reread it many 
 times to-day, and have been living over 
 again many scenes of the dear old Liberty- 
 ville days. 
 
 I wish I could tell you about Aunt Dor- 
 cas, so that you would really know her. 
 But with my poor way of telling things I 
 cannot hope to do this ; still I must write 
 down some of the many recollections which 
 crowd upon me. 
 
 She rarely referred to her earlier life, 
 but one evening in our home our conversa- 
 tion took us back over the past, and Aunt 
 Dorcas told wife and me the story of her 
 life. I cannot here attempt to repeat what 
 160
 
 Bunt Boreas 
 
 she related to us. But I know our hearts 
 were greatly touched as she told us of her 
 happy youth, her school experiences, her 
 devoted parents, her marriage to a noble 
 man, her charming home, and her two dear 
 little ones, and then of the dark days of 
 protracted sickness, reverses, hard strug- 
 gles, death of loved ones, till all the waves 
 and billows passed over her and she was 
 left crushed and alone in the world. For a 
 time she prayed that she too might die. 
 Then there came into her life a wonderful 
 experience of the Saviour's presence and 
 love, and out of her unspeakable bereave- 
 ment and sorrow she came forth to dedicate 
 her life to helping others. I shall never 
 forget that life-story, as she told it that 
 night. The memory of it has helped me all 
 these years to lead a better life. 
 
 But I must tell some of the incidents that 
 come to my mind as I think of Aunt 
 Dorcas. 
 
 You will remember that in one of the 
 earlier chapters of these reminiscences I 
 spoke of Harry Weeks. He was the poor 
 fellow who had been a drunkard before he 
 was converted and who fell once after he 
 joined the church. You will also recall that 
 Doctor Spear and Deacon Stearns wanted 
 L 161
 
 ttbe Cburcb at XtbertBvtUe 
 
 to have him excluded from the church, and 
 Deacon Perkins and Charley Goodwill 
 pleaded for him and prevented such action. 
 But there was a very interesting incident 
 connected with this case of Harry Weeks, 
 which has vividly come to my mind as I 
 have been thinking of Aunt Dorcas. 
 
 It occurred at the prayer-meeting the 
 week after the deacons had been consid- 
 ering the report made by Deacon Stearns 
 and Doctor Spear. Just before the close of 
 the meeting Harry arose with some hesita- 
 tion and said : " If you are willing to hear 
 me I would like to say a few words." 
 
 " We shall be very glad to hear from you, 
 Brother Weeks," replied the pastor. 
 
 Then he went on : "I am ashamed to 
 stand here before you. I know I am a 
 miserable sinner and that I have disgraced 
 myself and the church, but I believe the 
 Lord has forgiven me and I have vowed 
 to him that I will never touch liquor again. 
 I know I deserved to be turned out of the 
 church, and I am very grateful to the dea- 
 cons for deciding to give me another 
 chance, but I want to tell you that I owe 
 everything to Aunt Dorcas. I started down 
 the street from the place where I room 
 last Monday night, and had gone but a 
 162
 
 Dorcas 
 
 block or two when I met Deacon Stearns 
 going to the deacons' meeting. I knew he 
 was on the committee, as he had been to 
 see me. I asked him what the deacons were 
 going to do, and he said there was only 
 one thing that could be done. That my 
 sin was so disgraceful that the honor of 
 the church and the good of the cause de- 
 manded my exclusion from the church. I 
 knew I deserved it. I could not say a word. 
 I wished I was dead. I started on down- 
 town. I was completely discouraged. It 
 seemed to me that there was no use in try- 
 ing any more. I thought of the boys down 
 at Murphy's saloon, and the welcome I 
 could have there, and I said, ' I'll go back 
 to my old life and I won't try to be decent 
 any longer.' Just then some one spoke, 
 ' Good evening, Harry.' I looked up and 
 there at her gate stood Aunt Dorcas. I 
 guess she saw I was in trouble, for she 
 reached out her hand and took mine and 
 said: ' Are you in a hurry? If not, I wish 
 you would come in a few minutes, I want 
 to have a little talk with you.' Murphy's 
 place began to lose its attraction at once. 
 I went in and sat down and she looked at 
 me just as my mother used to look, and with 
 tears in her eyes she said : ' Harry, you are 
 163
 
 Gbe Cbutcb at 
 
 not going to give up, are you ? ' I said, 
 ' Aunt Dorcas, there's no use. I've disgraced 
 everybody. Deacon Stearns says they are 
 going to turn me out of the church ; every- 
 body will look down on me, and I've about 
 made up my mind that there is no place 
 for me except the old life.' ' O Harry,' 
 she replied, ' you must not talk that way. 
 I'll do everything I can to help you, and you 
 have lots of friends who will stand by you. 
 You will lose everything if you turn back. 
 You have had too much of that old life. 
 The Master loves you just as well as ever, 
 and he will help you,' and then she said: 
 ' Harry, let's kneel and tell him all about 
 it.' We knelt and such a prayer I never 
 heard before. As she went on praying my 
 heart began to melt. I first decided that I 
 would not go to Murphy's; then I said in 
 my heart that I would try again. Then I 
 thought of the church, and as she went on 
 pleading I said that no matter what hap- 
 pened even though I should be turned out 
 of the church I would never give up. 
 And then when she stopped she said: 
 ' Harry, won't you try to pray too? ' Well, 
 I prayed as best I could, and the Lord has 
 had mercy on me. And here I am. I 
 can't tell you how thankful I am that I am 
 164
 
 Bunt 2>orca6 
 
 still a member of the church, and that I met 
 Aunt Dorcas last Monday night." 
 
 Harry Weeks is a prosperous business 
 man now and for a number of years has 
 given very large sums to Aunt Dorcas to 
 help her in her work for the needy. 
 
 Aunt Dorcas was a great favorite among 
 the young people, and knew how to help 
 and encourage them in their work. When 
 they asked the privilege of organizing a 
 young people's society, Deacon Stearns was 
 much opposed to it. He said in the busi- 
 ness meeting when the matter was being dis- 
 cussed : " I've been a member of a regular 
 Baptist church for forty years and a deacon 
 for twenty-five years, and the church has 
 always been good enough for me. It looks 
 to me as though the young people think 
 they can improve upon the New Testament 
 plan, and that they know more than the 
 older members of the church. With the 
 women organized, and the children organ- 
 ized, and the young people organized, I 
 would like to know where the church is 
 coming in. What is the use of having a 
 church?" 
 
 When he had taken his seat, there was a 
 hesitancy on the part of others to speak. 
 Charley Goodwill started to get up and 
 165
 
 Cburcb at 
 
 then stopped. It was evident that the lead- 
 ers among the young people were greatly 
 disturbed, but did not dare to trust them- 
 selves to speak. Then Aunt Dorcas, who 
 rarely ever spoke on business matters, arose, 
 and with a smile on her face and winsome- 
 ness in her voice said : " I love the young 
 people, and believe in them with all my 
 heart, and I am so glad they want to 
 do more work for the Master. And with 
 dear Deacon Stearns I love the church too, 
 more than I can tell, but I have not thought 
 of a young people's society as any more 
 separate from the church than the Sunday- 
 school or my pastor's helpers. I think the 
 young people want to band themselves to- 
 gether simply to help the church, and that 
 by doing this they will love the church all 
 the more and get closer to it. I too have 
 been in the church a good many years, and 
 have often felt that something needed to 
 be done to call out our young people and 
 make them a greater power in the kingdom, 
 and I believe that this movement among 
 the young people is of the Lord, and is full 
 of promise for the church, and that we 
 ought to keep very close to our young 
 people and encourage them in every way 
 possible." 
 
 166
 
 Bunt Dorcas 
 
 The vote was then taken, and not even 
 Deacon Stearns opposed it, although I 
 think he did not vote for it. 
 
 Dear Aunt Dorcas, everybody loved her 
 and the boys and girls and young people 
 used to go to her with all their troubles, and 
 she comforted and counseled them and 
 saved them from many mistakes. I recall 
 one evening when she was at our house, she 
 told us of a very interesting experience. 
 She used to talk freely in our home. She 
 would say : " Now, Brother and Sister 
 Bradley, you know I must tell somebody. 
 I must talk, and I know you never tell my 
 secrets to anybody." We were glad to have 
 her feel such confidence in us and to be 
 able to be of some help to her. 
 
 I will tell the story as nearly as I can 
 as she told it to us. I am sure she would 
 not object to my telling it now : 
 
 "Well," began Aunt Dorcas, "I must 
 tell you what a time I have had saving Anna 
 Ward, dear girl, from serious trouble. She 
 came running into my room about a week 
 ago and I saw at a glance that something 
 was wrong. ' O Aunt Dorcas ! ' she said, 
 ' what shall I do? I don't dare to tell papa 
 or mamma, or anybody. I know I am 
 awfully wicked, but I just can't help it. 
 167
 
 Cbe Cbutcb at 
 
 You don't think we can help falling in love, 
 do you, Aunt Dorcas? I know you don't. 
 Well, I'm in love madly, desperately in 
 love with Dan Woodward, and I am go- 
 ing to marry him. Fin going to run away 
 with him next Wednesday night.' And 
 then she threw her arms about my neck and 
 burst into tears. I felt terribly, because you 
 know Dan Woodward has only been here 
 about six months, and I have heard very 
 unsatisfactory rumors about him. But 
 then, he is a fine-looking, dashing young 
 fellow, just the kind to attract such an im- 
 pulsive, sentimental girl as Anna. But I 
 knew if I said anything against him she 
 would resent it and cling to him all the 
 closer, so I kissed her and said : 
 
 " ' Yes, dear ; it is natural that you should 
 fall in love, and Dan is certainly a fine-look- 
 ing young man; but I don't quite like the 
 idea of your running away, as though you 
 were doing something to be ashamed of.' 
 
 " ' I'm not ashamed of it, Aunt Dorcas, 
 but I know papa and mamma would never 
 consent, and so there is no other way, and 
 then Dan says they will soon forgive us, and 
 we can come back here and live and every- 
 thing will be all lovely. Don't you think 
 that will be the way of it, Aunt Dorcas ? ' 
 168
 
 Bunt Dorcae 
 
 " I shook my head and said : ' I don't 
 know, dearest; it is serious business. But 
 let me tell you something which happened 
 when I was a girl.' 
 
 1 ' Did you run away with some one, 
 Aunt Dorcas?' 
 
 " ' No, dear, but I had a friend who did. 
 Jennie Bright was my very dearest girl 
 friend. You often remind me of her. A 
 handsome young fellow by the name of 
 Donald DeLong came to our place and at- 
 tended our church, and in less than six 
 months Jennie was greatly in love with him, 
 and had promised to be his wife. She told 
 me everything, but somehow I was anxious 
 and was afraid she did not know him well 
 enough.' 
 
 " 'Are you afraid, Aunt Dorcas, that I 
 don't know Dan well enough ? Any one can 
 see that Dan is all right.' 
 
 " ' That is just what Jennie said about 
 Donald. When he spoke to Mr. Bright, 
 Jennie's father, about it, he told him that he 
 would let him have his answer in a few 
 weeks.' 
 
 '"Oh, I have told Dan that I wished 
 he would talk with papa about it, but he 
 says it is lots better to do the talking after 
 we are married.' 
 
 169
 
 ttbe Cburcb at 
 
 " ' The next week Jennie and Donald ran 
 away and were married. She did not tell 
 me a thing about it beforehand. She wrote 
 me afterward that Donald did not want her 
 to. Mrs. Bright sent for me as soon as Jen- 
 nie had gone. Anna, I never saw such grief 
 before. Mr. and Mrs. Bright were both 
 heartbroken. " Oh," cried Mrs. Bright, be- 
 tween her sobs, " Jennie was always such a 
 good, sweet girl, and all we wanted was 
 time to look up Donald's record to be sure 
 that everything was all right. We tried to 
 explain all this to her. How could she do 
 this? How could she break our hearts? 
 Poor, dear girl ; she could not have realized 
 what she was doing." Mr. Bright did not 
 say much, but he put his arm around me 
 and kissed me and said : " Dorcas, death 
 would have been easier than this." ' 
 
 " ' O Aunt Dorcas ; do you suppose my 
 papa and mamma would feel like that ? Oh, 
 dear, what shall I do ? ' 
 
 " ' Wait, Anna ; let me tell you the rest 
 of the story. I got a letter in a few days 
 from the South, where they had gone, tell- 
 ing me how happy she was and how good 
 Donald was, and urging me to make matters 
 all right with her folks.' 
 
 " ' So everything came out all right. I am 
 170
 
 Bunt Dorcas 
 
 so glad. That is the way it will be with 
 Dan and me, and, Aunt Dorcas, you will 
 make it all right with mamma and papa, 
 won't you ? ' and she hugged and kissed me 
 before I could go on. 
 
 ' Wait, Anna ; you must hear the 
 rest of it before you ask me to make any 
 promises. It was six weeks before I got 
 another letter. It was the saddest, most 
 distressing letter I ever received. It be- 
 gan : " O Dorcas, what can I do ? How 
 can I tell you? I am completely crushed. 
 How I wish I could die. Donald is a 
 gambler." And then the letter told the 
 whole wretched story.' ' You don't think 
 Dan is a gambler, do you, Aunt Dorcas ? ' 
 exclaimed Anna with a scared look on her 
 face. But I went on about Jennie. ' Her 
 folks wrote for her to come home, but she 
 was too proud to do that, and she clung 
 to her husband for more than a year, and 
 then he deserted her, and poor, heartbroken 
 Jennie, with a little baby girl, came back 
 to her old home, but oh, so changed ! Her 
 life was blighted, the sunshine was all gone, 
 and she lived but a few years.' 
 
 " When I finished, Anna sat still for a 
 little while, looking me in the face. Her 
 large, black eyes were pathetic with tears, 
 171
 
 Cbc Cburcb at OLibcrtmnllc 
 
 but the lines about her mouth showed a 
 forming decision. Then she spoke : ' Aunt 
 Dorcas, I'm not going to run away with 
 Dan. I love him, and if he really loves me, 
 he will tell papa and mamma all about it.' " 
 
 I learned from Aunt Dorcas, later, that 
 Dan positively refused to speak to Anna's 
 parents about it. A few weeks afterwards 
 he left town, taking over one thousand 
 dollars of his employer's money with him. 
 
 Aunt Dorcas' life abounded in helpful- 
 ness everywhere. My memory is full of in- 
 cidents of the beautiful, tactful, loving 
 things which she did. 
 
 XIV 
 "Rules anD IRcaulationa 
 
 Wheels without and wheels within, 
 Wheels of good and wheels of sin; 
 Wheels that help the world along, 
 And wheels that keep things going wrong. 
 
 |EV. EZRA ADAMS was a great 
 organizer. When he became our 
 pastor he insisted that the most 
 urgent need of the church was a thorough 
 reorganization. His first move was to have 
 172
 
 and 
 
 us adopt an entirely new set of rules. He 
 said, " The way to avoid church troubles 
 is to have rules that meet all cases which 
 may come up." And so we attempted to 
 make and adopt rules to cover every 
 conceivable phase of church life. 
 
 Judge Straight, who was in favor of the 
 move, said half -jestingly before we got 
 through : " I fear we shall need a special 
 body of scribes and lawyers to study and 
 interpret these rules." And Deacon Stearns 
 thought we were departing from the sim- 
 plicity of the gospel. But I noticed that 
 after a few months had elapsed, we fell back 
 into the old ways of doing business which 
 had prevailed before we adopted the new 
 rules. 
 
 Having got the rules fixed up, Pastor 
 Adams proceeded to the work of organiza- 
 tion. He organized the boys, and the girls, 
 and the young people, and the juniors, and 
 the young women, and the young men, and 
 the men, and the women, and had fifteen 
 standing committees, besides captains of 
 tens and colonels of fifties. The plan of 
 organization with the names of all the com- 
 mittees and officers was published in a 
 monthly church paper. This paper was paid 
 for by advertisements. 
 173
 
 Gburcb at Xibettgvtlle 
 
 There were some objections to this way 
 of meeting the expenses of the publication. 
 Deacon Perkins said at one of our business 
 meetings : " I have reason to know that the 
 business men do not regard our church 
 paper, as a good advertising medium, and I 
 fear we are not helping our church any by 
 urging them to advertise in it." 
 
 "Yes," added Deacon Smith, "Mr. 
 Cook, of Cook & Hastings, said to me a 
 day or two ago that he regarded the se- 
 curing of that kind of advertising as a 
 straight ' hold-up scheme.' And he said 
 that since our church had begun it all the 
 other churches were going into it, and many 
 of the business men were becoming dis- 
 gusted and saying some uncomplimentary 
 things about the churches." 
 
 " It is not the business side of it that 
 disturbs me," said Doctor Spear. " They 
 do not have to take advertisements unless 
 they want to, but I object to having an ad- 
 vertising sheet distributed in the church on 
 Sunday morning, to be read during the time 
 of public worship." 
 
 But I did not intend to speak of this 
 church paper. It did not, however, con- 
 tinue very long. Perhaps I ought not to 
 say it, but some of us felt that Brother 
 174
 
 TRules and "Regulations 
 
 Adams was much more gifted in starting 
 things than he was in keeping them going. 
 He thought the trouble was with the church, 
 but I think some of the trouble was in the 
 fact that there seemed to be no demand 
 for a good many of his committees and 
 organizations. 
 
 It was during his pastorate that trouble 
 began with this matter of organizations, 
 which extended over a period of several 
 years. The Sunday-school and nearly all 
 the societies and clubs were organized en- 
 tirely independently of the church, and fre- 
 quently there was a conflict of dates and 
 plans. The most trouble, however, arose 
 between the three women's societies. The 
 foreign mission circle was first organized. 
 Mrs. Paulson was at the head of this, and 
 was an intelligent and excellent woman, but 
 she talked foreign missions so much that 
 some grew tired of the whole subject. 
 
 One evening in the prayer-meeting after 
 enlarging upon the needs of Africa, and 
 the unresponsiveness of the church at home, 
 she said what she had often said before: 
 " The regret of my life is that my health 
 failed when I was a young woman and I 
 was unable to go to the foreign field." 
 Mrs. Sharp, who sat next to Mrs. Bradley, 
 175
 
 Gbe Cburcb at Htbertgville 
 
 remarked so that several heard her : "It is 
 a regret in which many of us share." But 
 I must say that Mrs. Sharp was lacking 
 in interest in foreign missions. When 
 asked to join the foreign mission circle she 
 replied : " When we get Squatters' Ranch 
 converted I'll come in." Mrs. Paulson said 
 to her : " Squatters' Ranch is not a drop 
 in the bucket compared to China's millions. 
 And what is more, we can never evangelize 
 the home field until we have a consuming 
 desire to save those who are far away in 
 heathen darkness. The church at home 
 is becoming powerless because of its 
 narrowness." 
 
 "That is not the trouble," said Mrs. 
 Church, who was present and always ready 
 to oppose foreign missions ; " we are dis- 
 sipating our energies when we ought to be 
 concentrating them upon the heathen at 
 home." 
 
 Shortly after this talk, at a meeting of 
 the society, Mrs. Peters, the daughter of a 
 pioneer preacher, said : " I have been think- 
 ing over this matter for some time and have 
 been talking with some of the ladies and 
 find that they feel just as I do. I believe 
 that the time has come when we as women 
 ought to do some home mission work. I 
 176
 
 TRules an& TRcgulations 
 
 have just been reading about Miss Moore's 
 work among the Negroes, and also the 
 condition among the Indians and among 
 the foreigners and in the neglected portions 
 of our own land. I propose hereafter to 
 do what I can for the heathen in our own 
 country. I invite all the ladies who want 
 to help organize a home mission circle to 
 meet at my home to-morrow at three 
 o'clock. I have talked with the pastor about 
 this, and he is in favor of it." 
 
 Mrs. Paulson at once replied : " I regret 
 exceedingly to hear Mrs. Peters speak as 
 she does. This is no time to divide our 
 forces. The calls from India have never 
 before been so urgent. The Lord is won- 
 derfully opening the doors. I believe in 
 home missions, but just think of the op- 
 portunities which everybody here has to 
 hear the gospel, and then think of the 
 millions in heathen darkness pleading for 
 missionaries. I am sure this is a very great 
 mistake, and I hope none of the sisters will 
 help to organize another society and so 
 divide our forces and do harm." 
 
 Mrs. Peters was about to speak when 
 
 Mrs. Church arose. " I think now is a good 
 
 time for me to say a word. There is 
 
 a whole lot of things needed around this 
 
 M 177
 
 fcbe Cburcb at Xtbertsville 
 
 church to make it decent, and there is no 
 money to get them. Then there is the day 
 nursery and the mission Sunday-school, and 
 half a dozen other things right here needing 
 help. I suppose this other mission work is 
 good enough for those who can afford it, 
 but for one I think charity ought to begin at 
 home, and I am in favor of having a 
 woman's aid society. I know a neighbor 
 of mine who spends her whole time run- 
 ning around looking after other folks' af- 
 fairs and letting her own home go, and I 
 think that is about the way we women are 
 doing in our church work. I want all those 
 who would like to help form an aid society 
 to meet at my home at two o'clock Friday." 
 The discussion which followed was more 
 spirited and personal than helpful, and when 
 the meeting adjourned Mrs. Paulson and 
 Mrs. Peters did not speak to each other. 
 Both of the other societies were duly 
 started, and shortly afterward a woman, 
 whom I think they called an associational 
 director, came and organized a young 
 woman's foreign mission society and a chil- 
 dren's band. Later another came and or- 
 ganized a young woman's home mission 
 society and also a baby band. At first the 
 women attempted to collect only two cents 
 178
 
 IRules and IRegulations 
 
 a week from each one for missions; but 
 soon all sorts of special appeals began com- 
 ing in, until more money went through the 
 treasuries of the women's circles for mis- 
 sions than was given direct by the church. 
 In fact, the women and young people al- 
 most entirely stopped giving through the 
 church treasury. In the meantime, Mrs. 
 Church had inaugurated a series of enter- 
 tainments and suppers to raise money for 
 the aid society. 
 
 Deacon Perkins said to me : " I don't be- 
 lieve in turning the church into a show- 
 house and a restaurant," and I heard a 
 good many complaining about being urged 
 to buy tickets at all the services of the 
 church. 
 
 At one of our advisory board meetings 
 about this time, Judge Straight said : " I 
 am not entirely satisfied with the way our 
 church work is carried on. Our different 
 societies are too independent of the church 
 and of each other, and I fear they are tend- 
 ing to division. But I confess that I do 
 not know what should be done." 
 
 " It is plain enough to me," Deacon 
 
 Stearns answered, " I am opposed to all 
 
 these societies. The church is good enough 
 
 for me. The women are making a regular 
 
 179
 
 be Cburcb at 
 
 mess of it. We've got to get back to Paul's 
 method of regulating them, or there will 
 never be any peace." 
 
 Charley Goodwill now spoke : " Well, if 
 we suppress the young people and the 
 women we will not have much left. Of 
 course I recognize that there is something 
 in what Judge Straight says, and I am in 
 favor of having the societies work more 
 under the direction of the church and more 
 in harmony with each other. I think when 
 the speakers who come here to the State 
 Convention have been heard we will have 
 no trouble in fixing matters up." 
 
 The State Convention to which Charley 
 Goodwill referred was to meet in Liberty- 
 ville in October. It came and was a great 
 meeting. I was chairman of the entertain- 
 ment committee, and had some very inter- 
 esting experiences. There were lots of nice 
 people who came, for whom it was a pleas- 
 ure to provide entertainment. There were 
 some, however, who had to be changed and 
 assigned four times before they would stay 
 where they were sent, and then they com- 
 plained a good deal. Mrs. Sharp said: 
 " Deacon Bradley, if I were on that com- 
 mittee I would send them back home and 
 see if they would have sense enough to 
 180
 
 "Rules and "Regulations 
 
 stay there, for that is evidently where they 
 belong." 
 
 I confess that it did me good to hear 
 her talk that way. Then I heard of some 
 who had accepted entertainment who did 
 not attend any of the meetings, but spent 
 their time trading and sightseeing. They 
 told the folks where they were stopping, 
 " We don't care much for the Convention, 
 and as we cannot get to Libertyville very 
 often, we want to improve our time." But 
 I did not refer to the Convention in order 
 to tell these things, but to speak of the 
 missionary addresses and their effect upon 
 our church. 
 
 Doctor Hoag, a fine-looking, venerable- 
 appearing man, delivered the first of these 
 addresses. He was home mission secretary, 
 and his theme was " The Fundamental Re- 
 quirement in Missions." He made an ex- 
 ceedingly strong appeal for work in Amer- 
 ica. Mrs. Peters said to me, " That was 
 the best speech I ever heard. I wonder 
 how it made Mrs. Paulson feel?" Doctor 
 Hoag said, among many other things : " I 
 believe in foreign missions, but America is 
 God's chosen land. Out from this country 
 must go the influences to save the world. 
 We must save America or all is lost. For- 
 181
 
 Cburcb at 
 
 eigners by the hundreds of thousands are 
 coming to our shores. If we can save them, 
 then we can hope to reach those in distant 
 lands. Our supreme, our fundamental work 
 is to take America for Christ." It was 
 a most convincing effort, and I felt a good 
 deal of satisfaction in knowing that Mrs. 
 Bradley had encouraged Mrs. Peters in her 
 work. 
 
 At the very next session Doctor Taxman 
 spoke for foreign missions. He was a man 
 of beautiful spirit and great earnestness, 
 and spoke with much feeling. His topic 
 was, " The First Duty of the Church." As 
 he portrayed the awful and pathetic con- 
 dition of the heathen, many in the audi- 
 ence were moved to tears. He said : " I be- 
 lieve in home missions, and will take a sec- 
 ond place to none in love for my native 
 land, but we can never save this land unless 
 we have a deep love for all lands. If we 
 are unfaithful to the heathen, God will pass 
 us by. The first duty of the church is to 
 carry out the Great Commission and go 
 into all the world and preach the gospel to 
 every creature. The church in many places 
 is dying because of the narrowness of its 
 vision." It was another strong address, 
 and as I listened to it I made up my mind 
 182
 
 Rules anD "Regulations 
 
 to encourage Mrs. Bradley to join Mrs. 
 Paulson's society too. I heard Mrs. Paul- 
 son remark to Charley Goodwill, " I hope 
 that after listening to that address Mrs. 
 Peters will see things in their true light." 
 
 That evening the principal speech was by 
 our State missionary, Doctor Grim. He 
 was an impetuous, enthusiastic speaker, and 
 carried everything by storm. His subject 
 was, " The Unit in Our Work." Accepting 
 and emphasizing everything that Doctor 
 Hoag had urged about America, he said: 
 " I believe in home and foreign missions, 
 but the State is the unit of American life. 
 We are responsible for this State as for 
 no other portion of the globe. Nobody else 
 is coming in here to save this State. We 
 must evangelize it or it will not be evangel- 
 ized. If we would have churches to sup- 
 port home and foreign missions we must 
 plant and nurture them right here in our 
 State. The women are organized for for- 
 eign and home and church work; why do 
 they not organize for State work? " " That 
 is a new idea," I heard Mrs. Smith say. 
 " I will look into that as soon as the Con- 
 vention is over." It was a rousing effort, 
 and when Doctor Grim appealed for money 
 to make up the deficit on the year's work 
 183
 
 Cbe Cburcb at 
 
 the delegates pledged their churches liber- 
 ally. But I learned afterward that many 
 of the churches refused to approve the ac- 
 tion and there was a large shrinkage in the 
 pledges. 
 
 The next day Doctor Mann spoke on city 
 missions. His topic was, " Beginning at 
 Jerusalem." He was a man noted for his 
 self-sacrificing work, and his character gave 
 great weight to his words. He began: 
 " I believe in all the missionary causes which 
 have been so ably presented, and find great 
 
 joy in contributing to them, but ." I 
 
 wondered that each of these brethren 
 thought it necessary to declare his belief 
 in the other causes. It seemed to me that it 
 would have been better if he had let that 
 be taken for granted. " But," he went on 
 to say, " the American city is the storm- 
 center of modern life. The cities are grow- 
 ing with unparalleled rapidity. The forces 
 of evil are congregating here. The church 
 of God is losing ground in these centers. 
 We must strengthen our city churches and 
 redouble our efforts. The destiny of our 
 beloved republic, the destiny of the world 
 depends upon these cities, and now is the 
 time to save them." It was a most re- 
 markable address. I heard Mrs. Church 
 184
 
 Rules anD 'Reflulatfong 
 
 remark to Mrs. Sharp : " I guess that settles 
 it. I don't believe we'll hear much more 
 from Mrs. Paulson and Mrs. Peters with 
 their absurd notions about missions." 
 
 I shall not attempt to tell about other 
 addresses that were made, but it turned 
 out that the State Convention only made 
 matters worse in our church. There were 
 one or two more societies organized, and 
 each one seemed more zealous than ever in 
 its particular work. This went on until 
 Rev. James Brown became our pastor. 
 He not only reorganized the choir, as I have 
 already related, but also the church. He 
 had not been with us long before he called 
 the official board together and said : " I am 
 not satisfied with the way in which this 
 church is organized. We have too many 
 societies and committees. It takes all our 
 energy to keep the machinery going. My 
 idea is that there ought to be no societies 
 in the church. The different kinds of work 
 should be looked after by departmental com- 
 mittees." In the discussion which followed 
 Judge Straight said : " I have been disturbed 
 by the confusion and lack of business har- 
 mony in our church and am disposed to 
 favor the pastor's plan." 
 
 Mr. Banks, the treasurer, added: "If 
 185
 
 Cbe Cbutcb at Ztbertsvtlte 
 
 this plan means that all moneys collected 
 by the young people and by the women and 
 by all other societies are to pass through 
 the church treasury, I am heartily in favor 
 of it. We now have seven different treas- 
 urers handling money in this church." 
 
 " Well," answered Charley Goodwill, " I 
 have an idea they are handling a good deal 
 more than would be handled if we had but 
 one treasurer. I am not worried so much 
 about these different societies as some are. 
 I think they are doing good. We can never 
 all see things alike. I believe in division of 
 labor and in letting people work where 
 they are interested. Still, I shall not oppose 
 the pastor's plan." 
 
 " I am sure," exclaimed Deacon Stearns, 
 " that we have greatly departed from the 
 simplicity of the gospel. Our young people 
 ought to be in subjection to their elders, 
 and the women ought to learn in silence at 
 home of their husbands, instead of chasing 
 after clubs and circles and the like." " Yes," 
 added Bro. Jeremiah Payne, " I think 
 these are some of the signs of the times 
 and evidences of the manifestation of the 
 Man of Sin." 
 
 The result of it all was that we finally 
 by a small majority vote adopted a new set 
 186
 
 a ffaitblul Steward 
 
 of rules and did away with all societies in 
 the church. We had great trouble in find- 
 ing persons to serve on the different com- 
 mittees. When it came to that on woman's 
 work, Mrs. Sharp suggested that Deacon 
 Stearns be made chairman. The deacon re- 
 plied, " It would be a good thing if some 
 one were appointed who has some proper 
 ideas of what is becoming to the sex." That 
 year was so full of confusion and trouble 
 that Charley Goodwill called it " The 
 Reconstruction Period." But it was a 
 reconstruction which did not reconstruct. 
 
 XV 
 B faithful StewarO 
 
 Patience, with tact and good sense combined, 
 Is a union of gifts not easy to find; 
 When found in a preacher, and also his wife, 
 The church that he serves will be kept free from 
 strife. 
 
 HAVE already told of the coming 
 to Libertyville of Rev. Gideon M. 
 Mitchell. His call by the church 
 was not enthusiastic. It was, however, 
 unanimous. I mean by that, no one voted 
 187
 
 Cbe Cbutcb at Xibettgville 
 
 against him. I noticed, however, that sev- 
 eral did not vote at all. In fact, the church 
 had become tired, and many felt as Mrs. 
 Perkins expressed it, " We are ready to call 
 anybody who is respectable." 
 
 The new pastor was not a brilliant 
 preacher, and his personal appearance was 
 a little against him. He was somewhat 
 stooped, and lacked ease and grace in the 
 pulpit. His voice too had a quality which 
 was rather unpleasant until one became ac- 
 customed to it. But there was in all his 
 work a sincerity, an intelligence, a direct- 
 ness, a frankness, a sympathy, and a manli- 
 ness that secured for him the respect, the 
 confidence, and the love of the people. 
 Then, if possible, we thought more of Mrs. 
 Mitchell than we did of him. Aunt Dorcas 
 said of her : " She is one of the dearest 
 women I ever knew. She always knows the 
 right word to say and the best thing to 
 do." Hearts were opened to her, knowing 
 that secrets revealed would be secrets still. 
 She was a great favorite among the young 
 people, and Charley Goodwill was heard to 
 say: "I would be jealous of Mrs. Mitchell 
 if I did not think so much of her myself; 
 and then too, the young people seem to 
 think more than ever of me since she came." 
 188
 
 H f attbful Steward 
 
 Shortly after Mr. Mitchell became our 
 pastor there was called by some one, with- 
 out consulting him, a meeting of the women 
 of the church. It had been thoroughly, 
 though quietly, worked up, and the women 
 were there in full force. After the meeting 
 was called to order, Mrs. Peters was the 
 first to speak: " I have just been in attend- 
 ance at our Association at Millersburg," she 
 said, " and have come home determined 
 that something must be done. The reports 
 there given of the women's work in this 
 church were simply ridiculous. Why, the 
 women in the little church at Boggville 
 raised more money for home missions than 
 we did. I was so ashamed that I did not 
 know what to do." 
 
 " I thoroughly agree with Sister Peters 
 that something must be done," added Mrs. 
 Paulson. " Our offerings to foreign mis- 
 sions were even less than to home missions. 
 Our young women are doing nothing, and 
 the children are being taught nothing about 
 missions. Our church will die if this awful 
 neglect goes on. I believe, now that we 
 have got a new pastor, we ought to go 
 right ahead and organize for work. This 
 committee plan is an utter failure." 
 
 "I suspect," replied Mrs. Sharp, "that 
 189
 
 Gbe Cburcb at Xtbert^viUe 
 
 the reason it is a failure is that nobody has 
 tried to work it. All the women who knew 
 about missions refused to serve on the 
 committees. Think of my being chair- 
 man of such a committee! I took the po- 
 sition because nobody else would, and be- 
 cause Deacon Stearns did not want me to." 
 
 Mrs. Sowerby now spoke : " I too was 
 at the Association, and was so humiliated 
 that I came home before the meetings were 
 over. Mrs. Potter, of Plainview, wanted 
 to know what ailed our church, and I told 
 her the plain truth, that we were trying to 
 work a fool plan that the men had adopted. 
 I for one think we have let the men run 
 things around here about long enough." 
 
 It was generally known that male au- 
 thority in the Sowerby home was an entirely 
 negligible quantity. 
 
 She went on : " What do men know about 
 these things? They thought they were in- 
 stituting a great reform when they adopted 
 a lot of rules and regulations to keep the 
 women from running off with the church. 
 I am in favor of just telling them to mind 
 their own business, and then go ahead and 
 organize for our work. That is the way I 
 have to do at home, and that is the way I 
 believe in doing in the church." 
 190
 
 a f aitbful StewarO 
 
 " I am not in favor of declaring war upon 
 the men," said Mrs. Church. " We couldn't 
 very well get along without them. And 
 yet something ought to be done. The build- 
 ing is getting out of repair and we are 
 doing nothing for the nursery or for any- 
 thing else in the city. I think the best thing 
 is to go right ahead, and I move that we 
 proceed at once to reorganize our old 
 societies." 
 
 Thus far Mrs. Mitchell had taken no 
 part, but Mrs. Perkins now said : " I wish 
 we might know what our pastor's wife 
 thinks about this." Mrs. Mitchell replied, 
 " Since coming to Libertyville, Mr. Mitchell 
 and I have frequently discussed the situa- 
 tion. I need not say that we are not satis- 
 fied with things as they are. I fear, how- 
 ever, that any final or decisive action to-day 
 would be a little premature. It is a matter 
 of such importance that it calls for time 
 fully to consider it. Then too, whatever is 
 done ought to have the approval of the en- 
 tire church. I am sure that the men of 
 this church are earnestly desirous of secur- 
 ing the same ends that we are seeking, 
 and that we must have their hearty co- 
 operation if we succeed. I visited a church 
 recently where they have a plan of work 
 191
 
 Cbutcb at 
 
 with which I was greatly pleased. They 
 had but one woman's society, and then had 
 committees to look after the different parts 
 of the work. They told me that it worked 
 admirably and that they would not for 
 anything go back to the old method. It 
 helps all to have a comprehensive view and 
 promotes harmony and good-will. Now if 
 I may suggest what seems wisest to me, it 
 is that all we do to-day be to appoint a 
 committee to confer with the officers of 
 the church expressing our dissatisfaction 
 with existing conditions and our readiness 
 to co-operate in adopting measures for im- 
 provement. I am sure that Mr. Mitchell 
 will be very glad to have the matter opened 
 in this way." 
 
 This suggestion was acted upon and the 
 meeting adjourned with general good feel- 
 ing, and few, if any, seemed to realize that 
 a tactful woman had averted serious trouble. 
 
 I will not attempt to tell of the discussions 
 which followed in the official Board and in 
 the church. When the question of the mul- 
 tiplicity of missionary societies in the church 
 was being considered, Mr. Mitchell im- 
 pressed all with his deep interest in every 
 department of the work. I remember he 
 said, " Brethren, we hear a great deal about 
 192
 
 B ffaitbful Steward 
 
 fundamentals in missions; there is but one 
 fundamental, and that is loyalty to Jesus 
 Christ. He died for all. The cause is one. 
 The field is the world and we are to work 
 and pray for the salvation of the lost every- 
 where." He insisted that a society properly 
 constituted under the authority of the 
 church is just as scriptural as a committee, 
 and often far more effective. 
 
 The result of it all was that a resolution 
 was adopted, that plans for the organization 
 of societies, receiving the approval of the 
 church, might be put into effect. 
 
 Following this we had fewer, but more 
 efficient, societies than we had had before, 
 and even Deacon Stearns said : " I am glad 
 we have a pastor who can make folks " 
 and he looked at the women " see what the 
 Bible teaches." And Mrs. Sowerby said 
 to some one near her : " It does not seem 
 ; to occur to the deacon that there has a new 
 idea or two got into his fossilized brain." 
 
 Doctor Spear had made trouble for sev- 
 eral of our pastors. He thought he knew 
 exactly how the work of the church ought to 
 be carried on. He was free in the expres- 
 sion of his opinions, and also in his criti- 
 cisms of the pastor. Mr. Green always felt 
 N 193
 
 Gbe Cburcb at iibertgville 
 
 that he was driven away by Doctor Spear. I 
 would like to say right here, as a layman, 
 that it seems to me that retired ministers 
 ought to be careful not to take a prominent 
 part in the business affairs of the church, 
 and they ought to be especially careful in 
 no way to hinder the work of the pastor 
 or weaken his influence. Elder Heartwell, 
 of whom I have already spoken, was a < 
 model of what a retired minister should be. 
 Everybody loved him and he was a true 
 helper of the pastor. Doctor Spear, how- 
 ever, was a very different man. I heard 
 Mrs. Sharp say one day to Mrs. Bradley: 
 " I wish that old backbiter, Doctor Spear, 
 knew enough to mind his own business. It 
 would be a blessing to the church if his , 
 voice would fail him again." 
 
 Before Mr. Mitchell had been with us a 
 year it began to be known that he was not 
 satisfactory to Doctor Spear. I think the 
 real trouble was that the pastor did not 
 put him forward and fuss over him enough 
 to suit him. In fact, in sending delegates ; 
 to a council somewhere, Doctor Spear was ' 
 left off. I do not know that the pastor was 
 responsible for this, but I heard Doctor 
 Spear say to Deacon Stearns : " It seems 
 that our services are not wanted any more. 
 194
 
 a tfattbful Stewart 
 
 I presume the pastor thinks it is better 
 policy to put forward men whose pocket- 
 books are more promising than ours." Dea- 
 con Stearns replied, " Maybe our theology 
 is not sufficiently up-to-date to suit him." 
 
 Shortly after this, in a case of discipline 
 which was before the pastor and deacons, 
 Doctor Spear was not appointed on the 
 committee of investigation and Charley 
 Goodwill was put on. Doctor Spear, who 
 sat next to me, said : " The pastor is utterly 
 lacking in judgment. Charley Goodwill 
 is no more fit than a ten-year-old boy for 
 that position." I was afraid there was 
 trouble ahead. 
 
 Not long after this Doctor Spear called 
 on me at the store and wanted a private 
 interview. He began : " Deacon Bradley, I 
 come to you in my perplexity and distress 
 for two reasons : first, I know you have the 
 interests of our church deeply at heart ; and 
 secondly, I regard you as a man of discre- 
 tion and sound judgment." He paused a 
 moment to allow this bit of preliminary flat- 
 tery to take effect and then proceeded : " I 
 feel that you have not failed to observe 
 what has, as I have reason to know, pain- 
 fully impressed many; our pastor is not 
 suited to this field. His pulpit ministrations
 
 Cbe Cburcb at 
 
 might do for some little country place, but 
 are utterly inadequate for a pulpit like ours. 
 There are strong men, doctors of divinity, 
 in the other pulpits of Libertyville, and we 
 are suffering by comparison. I am told 
 on good authority that Brother Mitchell 
 never completed his theological course. 
 His sermons show this. They lack co- 
 herence, logic, and cumulative effect. I 
 have been looking up his record, and I find 
 that he has never been regarded as a strong 
 preacher. When Charley Goodwill and 
 Elder Heartwell were put on that pulpit 
 committee I knew a great mistake was being 
 made. Neither one of them has the re- 
 motest idea of the first principles of 
 homiletics." 
 
 " But," I interrupted, " Mr. Mitchell has 
 not been here a year yet." 
 
 " That is just the point," added Doctor 
 Spear ; " his year is almost up and now is 
 the time to act." 
 
 " His work seems to be prospering," I 
 replied, " and I see no reason for a change." 
 
 " It may appear prosperous now," he 
 said, " but I know that such preaching must 
 result in failure, and we must act before the 
 failure comes. I assure you there is noth- 
 ing personal in this, and it gives me great 
 196
 
 H f attbtul StewatD 
 
 pain to move in this matter." But he got 
 no encouragement from me and soon left. 
 
 The next week there was a special meet- 
 ing of the deacons. When we came to- 
 gether I observed that Doctor Spear and 
 Deacon Stearns were not there. The pas- 
 tor called the meeting to order and said: 
 " I do not know the object of this meeting ; 
 will Deacon Perkins, who called us, kindly 
 state the business to come before us?" 
 
 Deacon Perkins replied : " I have asked 
 you to come together for a conference upon 
 a matter of great importance. I have 
 learned that Doctor Spear is at his old tricks 
 again, trying to unsettle the pastor, and I 
 for one think it is about time to unsettle 
 him. We have had enough of this kind of 
 business. He came to me, one day last 
 week, and with flattery and argument tried 
 to persuade me to become a party to an 
 effort to have our pastor close his work at 
 the end of the year. And I find he has ap- 
 proached every other deacon except Charley 
 Goodwill in the same way." 
 
 Before the pastor had an opportunity to 
 speak Deacon Smith said : " I move that a 
 committee of three be appointed to proceed 
 with disciplinary measures against Doctor 
 Spear." I immediately seconded the mo- 
 197
 
 Cbe Cburcb at 
 
 tion. The pastor then spoke : " I am taken 
 entirely by surprise by what has been stated. 
 This is certainly a matter of gravity, and 
 must not be dealt with hastily." 
 
 " If this were his first offense, pastor," 
 added Deacon Smith, " this action might 
 seem hasty, but Doctor Spear is an old 
 offender along this line, and we are utterly 
 tired of it." 
 
 " There is a scriptural injunction," re- 
 plied the pastor, " about going first of all 
 to thy brother alone to adjust difficulties. 
 Before such action as you now propose is 
 taken I would like to call on Doctor Spear. 
 I think possibly we may be able to fix 
 matters up." 
 
 After further discussion the motion was 
 withdrawn to await the result of the pas- 
 tor's interview with Doctor Spear. The 
 interview was never made public. But this 
 I know, we heard no more complaints from 
 Doctor Spear, and he gradually became an 
 earnest supporter of the pastor. Mrs. Spear 
 told Mrs. Bradley : " The doctor says our 
 pastor is a man of great plainness and kind- 
 ness of speech, and that he had not fully 
 understood him at first." And she added: 
 " I do not know what has changed the doc- 
 tor so, but he is becoming quite fond of 
 108
 
 H raitbfut Steward 
 
 the pastor and thinks he is improving 
 greatly in his preaching." I could not help 
 saying to my wife : " The preaching has 
 been all right all the time; I think the 
 improvement is in the doctor himself." 
 
 A year or two after this the church just 
 across the street from us had a popular 
 preacher. He had crowded houses and 
 the newspaper^ were constantly writing him 
 up, and all Libertyville seemed carried away 
 with Doctor Showman. Our congrega- 
 tions, especially in the evening, were seri- 
 ously affected. Not a few of the members 
 of our church were frequently seen at the 
 church across the way. Matters went on 
 in this way until some of us decided that 
 something must be done. We determined 
 to call together a few of the representative 
 men of the church for a conference. 
 
 Let me say right here that my experi- 
 ence leads me to think that secret confer- 
 ences of this nature are not to be encour- 
 aged. It is reasonably certain that they 
 cannot be kept secret, and some who think 
 they are representative men but who were 
 not invited will make trouble, and some will 
 imagine that the church is being run by a 
 clique. But we thought we were doing all 
 right and a conference was held at my 
 199
 
 Cbe Cburcb at 
 
 home. There were ten present. After a 
 discussion of several hours we reached the 
 following conclusions: First, we must take 
 steps to secure better music. There were 
 two or three in the choir who would have 
 to go out. In fact, several thought an en- 
 tire reorganization was necessary. Sec- 
 ondly, disciplinary measures ought to be 
 begun against those members who are leav- 
 ing their own services to attend those of 
 another church. We all regarded this as a 
 grave offense. Thirdly, we were in favor 
 of taking steps to get our pastor and our 
 work into the newspapers more. We felt 
 that the discriminations being made by the 
 papers were unfair. Fourthly and finally, 
 we decided that it should be kindly sug- 
 gested to our pastor that he put more work 
 on his sermons and give more careful at- 
 tention to those things which would tend 
 to make his pulpit ministrations attractive 
 and popular. It was thought by one or 
 two that possibly the time had come for a 
 change in pastors, but all were agreed that 
 such a step should not be considered until 
 we had made a fair trial of the measures 
 suggested. We adjourned to meet in one 
 week, when we would have the pastor with 
 us to lay before him our plans. 
 200
 
 a ffaitbful Stewart 
 
 Before the time of the next meeting I 
 met Doctor Spear on the street. Of course 
 he had not been at the conference. He 
 stopped me and said : " Deacon Bradley, I 
 understand you and a few others are hold- 
 ing secret meetings to try to get rid of our 
 pastor because he cannot draw crowds like 
 that inflated dealer in bombast across the 
 street. It seems to me, sir, that your little 
 coterie is assuming altogether too much, 
 and that you had better consult with some of 
 the rest, and remember that the church is 
 likely to have something to say about this." 
 I saw he was very much excited and as- 
 sured him that he was entirely mistaken, 
 that no one was trying to get rid of the 
 pastor. But I confess that what he said 
 made me feel very uncomfortable. 
 
 The next meeting was held and the pas- 
 tor was present. He listened intently to 
 the suggestions we had to make, and I saw 
 on his face an expression of pain that made 
 me heartily wish that I had had nothing 
 to do with this business. He then, with 
 manifest effort to control his emotions and 
 with an earnestness that touched every 
 heart, said : " Brethren, I have not been 
 blind to the situation which causes you so 
 much anxiety and which has led to this 
 20 T
 
 Sbe Gbuccb at Xtbertsville 
 
 conference, and I have been trying to do 
 my work with greater faithfulness and de- 
 votion. I have listened with profound in- 
 terest to your suggestions, but I fear the 
 thought which underlies them is not the 
 right one to control in this matter. Your 
 plan is for us to enter into direct compe- 
 tition with our neighboring church. To do 
 this is to fail. I cannot lead you in a 
 movement of this kind, and if I thought 
 these suggestions were the result of your 
 mature and final judgment I should feel 
 that my work as your pastor would have to 
 terminate. Sensationalism in religion is 
 short-lived and harmful. Our duty is not 
 to try to outdo some one else, but to give 
 ourselves fully to the Master's service for 
 his glory. If we will do this we need have 
 no concern about the outcome of the work." 
 He paused a moment and then added : " I 
 have no question whatever of the sincerity 
 of the brethren before me, but the fact of 
 your conference last week is known 
 throughout the church and its purpose is 
 misunderstood. I fear that serious trouble 
 is likely to result unless great care is exer- 
 cised. I think, however, that I can make 
 a statement next Sunday morning which 
 will set everything right if you wish it." 
 202
 
 B ffaitbful Stewatfc 
 
 Charley Goodwill was the first to speak: 
 " This is not the first time I have made a 
 fool of myself. I see it all now and am 
 ashamed of myself, and ask the pastor to 
 forgive me. I am in favor of dropping 
 this whole matter right here and now, and 
 of asking the pastor to fix it up for us the 
 best he can ; and then let us all enter upon 
 the work of the church with renewed zeal 
 and hold no more secret conferences." 
 
 All agreed with him. In his statement 
 the pastor dwelt upon his desire and the 
 earnest desire of some of the brethren and 
 the wish of all for better things in the 
 church. He made no allusion whatever to 
 the other church, but so opened his heart 
 and so magnified our real needs that from 
 that day the tide turned, and the blessings 
 began to come. I have often thought how 
 easily he might have made everything dif- 
 ferent. I am satisfied that there would be 
 very little trouble in our churches if all the 
 pastors had the spirit and tact which char- 
 acterized Brother Mitchell. I do not mean 
 to say that the pastors are usually the cause 
 of church troubles, but I do believe that 
 they have it within their power to prevent 
 the most of them. 
 
 I might go on indefinitely with these 
 203
 
 Cbc Gbuccb at 
 
 Libertyville reminiscences, but I fear I have 
 already become tiresome, and will stop here. 
 I am grateful to any who have been suffi- 
 ciently interested to read what I have writ- 
 ten. It has been a great pleasure to me 
 to live over again in memory so many of 
 the dear old Libertyville days, and it is 
 with a feeling of regret that I lay down 
 my pen. 
 
 In reviewing what I have written I won- 
 der if I have dwelt so much upon the pe- 
 culiarities of some of the good folks, and 
 upon the troubles which arose from time to 
 time, as to leave a wrong impression in the 
 minds of any. The church of God is very 
 dear to me. It is the grandest institution 
 on earth, and I am sure that the noblest, 
 most self-sacrificing, most Christlike men 
 and women in this world are found among 
 those who are bearing the burdens and 
 directing the activities of the churches. 
 
 I love thy kingdom, Lord! 
 
 The house of thine abode, 
 The church our blest Redeemer saved 
 
 With his own precious blood. 
 
 For her my tears shall fall, 
 
 For her my prayers ascend; 
 To her my cares and toils be given, 
 
 Till toils and cares shall end. 
 204
 
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