River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1875-10-22
AN INT ERESTING AUTOBIOGRAPHY
nADT LrlL ALn

OF REV. RoBT. C0LLYER.
/ LChioago Correspondence OF the Louisville
Courier-Jo Journal
"About my first recollection beyond
my father and mother was Of Willie Har.
die, from whom got all my schooling,
save one winter with Mr.. Milton. This,
and four winters with Willie before ! was
eight years old, was all | ever had Will
lie was crest chap, though. He was a
cripple, and about the worst.l ever saw.
But the upper part Of him was as sound
as sovereign. In those days, by favor,
all cripples we're fiddlers or teachers.
Willie was both. But wasn't he a marks
man, teo! You might think he had drawn
bead. on Jem or Jack, 20 feet away, whea,
bang came the ferule right at you.
There was no use lodging, either. If
you did, il would find you out and thump
you all the harder, We boys solemnly
swore to thrash him when we got big
enough. In II myself and friend went
| back TO Fewston to thrash him as agreed.
We crossed the worn, old threshold of
the schoolhouse, and there sat Willie
just as We left him. We very sternly
asked:
is this Willie llardie
"'And If it ISL he answered, eau.
tiously.
"'How are you getting along, sir I
"'Pse weel enough, but ! doan't know
ye.'
awe used to be your scholars; we've
come to give you back your threshings.'
"'Noa, guess not" said Willie, in.
stinctive,y grasping the ferule.
"Thcn, telling him who We were, we
made a rush at him, scnfiled him round
bit, and held him till he promised to play
us tune then and there, which he did,
and the old fiddle cold us about Sweet
Home in such a way that don't believe
there was dry eye in the old school
house. And so we forgaye him his
threshings; adding, after slight pause,
'but | don't believe Willie is as good
marksman as he was, and, to me, there
was more pathos in his feeble handling of
the bow, as crooked and worn as the arm
that guided it, than in the most mel9n-
choly strains of his fiddle"
SAT about twenty-one | fell in love, for
good and ALL | was married at twenty
three, and lost precious wife at twenty
five. Then a great darkness came-a
void and emptiness that was almost I'M
bearablc, and began cropping about for
something that could cling to eternally.
attended the Methodist chapel more
regularly, and one Sabbath heard a
sermon by local preacher named Bland,
who is now in charge Of a Methodist
church at Quebec. from the text,
Blessed and holy are they who
have part in the first resurrection 1t
struck home. There was no revival going
on, and but few signs of religious life in
the old chapel but | hardly ate or slept
for three weeks. prayed without ceas-
ing, and tried hard to find the way to the
new life. At last the light came. A
great and sudden revelation from God.
| am sure about this" said Mr.. Collyer,
decidedly. "There is no doubt about it.
| could go to the spot to-day. Well, |
went to the week might meeting and told
the Methodists all about it-all | could
tell and they took me on probation and
put me in old Jim Delve's class. The
text of my first sermon was, AS live,
saith the Lord, have no pleasure in the
death of sinner Oh, | thought had
a capital sermon, though - Here Mr..
Collyer's face was ablaze with merrlment.
sit was III three parts, each, of course,
| indispensable TO the other. They didn't
allow a man paper in those days, either.
Well, l preached, and their curious eyes
were all wide open. / thought | had
done splendidly; but when half way back
to Ilkley rccollected that / had left the
secondly out entirely. | was terribly
. p.,4 he ,al~ &c
was" said Mr.. Collycr, laughing heartily,
shat | had stolen my secondly from a
fine sermon preached by Presbyterian
clergyman named McChine. | felt the
weight Of that judgment upon me so
heavily that have never stolen sermon
since.
"Then they were bound to hear me at
llkley, and the next Sunday | preached
from the text, Some mems sins are open
beforehand, going before them &c judy
ment; and some mems sins follow after
them. All the boys were there and the
girls too, and thought | had made
great impression.
"The next morning, as was going to
the forge, and thinking what a grand
effect my poor little sermon had, the old
cobbler was hammering away in the
shade Of his porch, and he called out to
me:
al say, lad, come here; ha' suinmat
to say to ye.'
81 went up to the door with great
feeling of pride within me, expecting his
congratulations.
al heard thaa preach last night said
he, with broad grin on his face.
"'Did yef says |.
81 did; and think thou'll never make
a preacher as long as thaa lives, Bob
This was rather crushing, as the cob
bier was a sort Of village oracle. | think
he saw it my face, for he Immediately
added:
"'Now, doan't mistake me, Bob. Thou
wants to reason too much. They never
let thaa do it among the Methodists.
Thou may'st lecture, but THAI can never
be preacher"
lie landed in this country in 1850. lie
proceeded from New York to German.
town, Penn, and at once began working
at his old trade at the forge Of n hammer
factory. Here he worked and preached
and saved, and did great mental labor for