The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-12-10
THE ITINERANTS.
BY D. w.. McIvER..

will give the piece of velvet to tife preach CTS. and have, it made up for them be- sides "Ah, James, believe you have me now" and passed on to the parlor. That afternoon he gave the artist a sitting. The same account of the Bishops life tells of the growth and progress of Methodism in g most elo- uuent way thus: We have been tracing the early history of Methodism in this country while we have been following in the steps of this good and great man. We have seen its grand characteristic an element of divine life in the bosom or society-we have noticed its leading agen- cyan itinerant ministry. aggressive, en- terprising, self-sacrificing. We have oo- served the epoch of it's development into full organic form-a church. with a reg ularly constituted ministry and church ordinances. We have seen its subsequent growth: how 1t formed societies ana reared churches throughout the Atlantic slope; how it kept up with the march Of frontier settlements, crossed the Ale ghanies, touched the Mississippi follow ed Indian trails, and at length filled the mighty valley with the sound of its battle shout. In all this movement there may be traced, in connection with the direct influence of religion. the steady growth of all kinds of refinement, com prehensive views of usefulness. home ln- fuence exalted and purified, and agencies set on foot which aim at the diffusion of knowledge, sound morals, and the re- straints of virtuous principle through out all classes of society,".
 They Know the People.
 The Methodist preachers of today know | the people and know the way to their confidence and as it is said of one of the great Bishops of the church, William McKendree, they are not of the | kind of men who do not care what oth- | CTS think of them'' He understood per | fectly the pecularities of the different | classes and conditions of human society | from Presidents and Senators down to the | humblest shoeblack-and is never out oi | place no matter where you find him. lr | the crowded hotels. stages and steam
 boats. the elegant parlors of the rich | or the humble cottage of the backwoods- | man, or even the sinks of poverty anc
 wretchedness he always knew how tc behave himself and did not think il either weak or wicked to Cs so. The re- | suit was. all classes united in pronouncing l him a perfect Christian gentleman; yet all | the while very mooest and unassuming | making no great pretensions in any way | So perfectly natural was his politeness that no one ever thought for moment | that there was anything like affectatior about him. He did not regard roughness i coarseness and bluntness as the insIgnls | of eternal piety. but allowed no one tc
 behave more handsomely than himself
 and If he considered that a compliment
 was deserved 1t was not beneath his dig
 nity to bestow 1t. One- travelling in Mis-. | sissippi, several persons came together | in the evening, expecting that he would | preach to them, but he was too fee | ble to undertake it.. Among tho l member was a lady, an old Virginia ac- | quaitance of his, of fine mind and man. | ners, who seemed to be affefected by the | disappointment. She at length told the | Bishop that her husband was hauling his
 cotton to market. and all the horses were
 in the wagons, so that there was nothing
 on the place for her to ride, and that l she had come some three miles on foot
 which she did not think she would have
 done but for hope of hearing him preach
 The Bishop turning toward her. his coun- | tenance lit up with a smile, answered by
 saying, Sister, if you only knew the | pleasure 1t gives me to see you. l do not
 think you would reproach yourself foI
 having taken so long walk. The lady | afterwards was heard to say that she
 never felt herself so much complmented
 in her life before. Yet he never wen | anywhere mat he did not carry the meek and lowly Savior of the world with him
 neither would he long continue where | Christ was not welcome. And 1t was
 next to impossible to keep his society
 without being deeply impressed with the l loveliness and purity of the religion h6 | profeSsed," ard SO it is with the Methodist | preacher of today.
 There is another incident in the life of Bishop McKendree which goes to show the implicit trust of the travelling preac ch-
 CT in Providence and how well they
 usually come out. He had a very large | capacity to manage many matters. and | while his income was only one hundred
 dollars per year, besides his travelling
 expenses. he so managed his affairs as tr | keep out of debt. to aid in the support oi his father and sister. and contributed | something to other relations. He also
 gave to the public charities of the church
 and was ever mindful of the poor an( needy, and yet at his death had sevsra | thousand dollars to divide between hi;
 relatives and the institutions of tn,
 church. He hut seld1m talked of hi:
 temporsllties. though he once said tha
 he was never out of money after he haC