The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1880-11-20
A METHODIST CIRCUIT RIDER.

Georgia there lives good man who Tor
fifty years has borne the hardships and
known the fatigues of an itinerant preach
err. and is still at work for his Master,
though he seems like Il relic of long
past day. A tall, thin. brown-skinned
blue, deep-sunken eyes and white hair
and beard. lie is careless in dress. and
his coat and trousers are both decidedly
too short, and from his vest some of the
buttons are missing. He is deaf. and
when answering question does it slowly
and hesitatingly as if he were still listen
ing to catch the words which have been
addressed to him. But when he begins
to narrate an experience his speech is
ready and full of queer, dry wit. 1t be-
ing said recently that his parsonage this
year was poorly provided with many nee
csSaries especially bed and table linen.
some of the "sisters" in the church
graciously sent him some of their own.
choosing the old and the worn. One
table-cloth was spread out before the
venerable man; it was full of holes. He
looked at it without a trace of anger in
his trembling eye. We'll, now, they
came pretty near being too late about
sending that table-cloth, didn't they?"
he said. musingly.
The parsonage furnished by his circuit
of four churches to their preacher. who
wooden structure. one story high at one
end and two stories high at the other.
the roof inclining upward, and the lower
room of the two-story being two or three
steps lower than the other When he
came to it from his last years station, a
week or two in advance of his wife. for
whom the good man wished to prepare
what comfort he could. there were neith-
er shutters, shades nor curtains to the
small, many-paned windows; not carpet
on the floors: no crockery but broken
fragments of two or three much abused
sets of stoneware; great lack of house
hold linen, and only the wreck Of poor
furniture throughout the house. This
seems incredible shabbiness in compar-
atively wealthy country neighhorhood
which pays several hundred dollars sala-
~: but most of the people live in the
plainest style themselves, even though
they may be rich. The people mean well
enough 1t being declared by some ladies
of the Methodist Church in town, who
had a preacher and a parsonage of their
own, that some of Mr.. RS people ought
at least to see to it that there was enough
china to set table before his wife should
come. Zone dollar for crockery was
promptly sent in. The ladies who were
bestirring themselves for the neglected
brother took this magnificent sum and
went forth to purchase. When they saw
Brother r. again the old man was look
ing at the dishes with curious express
sion. There were six china plates and
some vegetable dishes.
IF you can buy as much china as that
for one dollar he said. with a twinkle
in his eye. "rll get you to go shopping
for me again. Much obliged to You for
making that dollar 90 so far" And they
knew that their small contributions were
appreciated.
They went to work and swept and dust
ed his house. made up the beds as far As
the sheets would go, made and tackled up
some curtains fashioned of sheets. parts
of which were past service. and assisted
in getting up some shades of green cam
brio, running a lath through the lower
end. and lacking up with them piece
of green tape which tied them in place
when they were rolled up. The windows
being decently screened. they washed all
the pieces Of glass and china which could
be used, and when the wife came had
hot supper ready for her.
There were two tumhled-down out
buildings in the parsonage yard, with
weather. boarding torn away in places.
and utterly dilapidated. The preacher
simply asked permission to take these
two houses down, one of them being in
tended for a servant $ room and one for
a kitchen. so that he might himself fash
ion one waterproof building of the two.
Permission for this was refused. The
good man showed no wrath but observed
with dry little smile.
"Well, now, when my wife comes sic
isn't going to stand this sort of thing.
They'd better let me get ready for her,
because she is going to have things right
when she comes
Whether this was powerful intimida
ton or no, the permission was finally ac-
corded.
Fifty years ago, when Mr.. r. entered
the ministry, South and North Carolina
were in one conference, and Georgia and
Alabama had Just been separated into a
conference of their own. His first APP
pointment was as junior preacher on a
circuit in the shape of a figure 8, the par
sonage being at the centre of the figure
where the lines cross. The circuit was
about three hundred miles round. The
parsonage was one-roomed house, -
bv 16. with loft in which he slept when
not away on his work; the loft was reach
ed by a ladder. They cut their own wood
and did their own work, for in these days
nobody thought of waiting OH ministers.
1t was fashionable then for IA man to have
gathers in his coat-SleeveS. Now, in the
upper part of the circuit they liked the
minister to dress, and he had suit made
especially to wear there. But in the
lower part they would by no means
tolerate such vanities in the minister
however much they might like it in them
selves: so when he went down there he
always stopped at the parsonage, and put
on a cast-oif suit of homeSpun that some
body had given him, and the people were
greatly edited.
There is no reckoning the hardships
this man has undergone. In travelling
about he would stop at the houses of the
different members to eat and sleep. Di-
rectly after supper he always had prayers
and went to his room and studied until
10 o'clock Then he went to bed and
got up again at 4 clock in the morning
Summer and Winter. and studied till G,
at about which time they usually had