The farmer and mechanic., 1911-08-29


was laying down the lines ,.
zation for North Carolina Ram
preached in the humbling .ar.....
ness that where l stood Luth.~
William Brantley. Robt. T 49,.
Patrick Dowd and Noah R.ch.-...
used 10 preach. l am coir- t'
70 Atlanta to tel my chu~e- ,r
have seen the plant-aef ~
Georgia Baptists. for out OF the Ssr...
Creek Association went the r.~..
ganda that flung itself through S.1
Carolina into Georgia and made ...
beginnings Of Georgia Baptist n.--
tory. | will tell them also that
have stool nearby the old Rrs-..,-
hom eStead out Of which went H..
founders of the great Georgia tar-...
OF Brantlys, one of whom W.. +
Brantly, Jr, DID, the nephew a+ -...
grandfather, William White. was tr..-
honored pastor from 1860 To 1870. t..
dark war time of the Second F.r-
tist Church, when Atlanta was er.-
battled and destroyed by General
Sherman.
Then came I on my trail of the
years to the place
Where Everything Was Changed
in my life. l was converted ami uao-
tized at Holly Springs, Wake county.
in 1886. From this little interior
town l went away TO college III =
One-horSe wagon and a negro bov uy
my side to drive the wagon back.
Through Rev. H W. Norris and E,,
j. a. Campbell a great homecoming
had been arranged. The people came
from far and wide. Two great and
good days / spent with them ON
the morning CT the last day | Wei.
before the preaching hour to the now
tenantless house in which the prag-
Eant years Of youth were briefly
spent. went alone into the bare
room in which l stood and saw my
mother breathe her last amid the
group Of broken hearts about the
bed. | Stumb mbled upstairs again IS
lonely as | was that Very day and
found the room in which not Ion. at-
ter my mothers death [ fell across L
bed and gave up all hope Of ever be
ing a Christian. l knelt down on the
Neritable place where the bed had
stood on which l Wept despairingly
that night and from which | cam.
next morning with a relief and cam
which has been my heaVenlieSt Mem
ory-my golden JOY, my gran hour
OF peace, which was mainly tho Sen-r
that [ had struck bottom in ny S.an-
ing sorrow and hopelessness and found
that it was rock and l had disco} cred
my feet on it even when / th2ugpt
they We're slipping into the abyss Can
any one who breaches won lar that
when | went out Of this house t. he
church to preach | was in the SPIRIT
and that the gates of heaven was
OpeE to my vision.
From Holly Springs I visited my
father in Apex. He had been with
me in all the visits. I have no space
to tell the half Of it. When | was
al Apex there was
Sacred Ground Again
was licensed to preach by that
church. Under it's direction | was or
dained by DR.. Chas. f. Taylor Or.
VIM. B. Royal and DR.. Columbus Dur
ham. I have been in Raleigh also
with the old First Baptist Church
where I first went to Sunday school.
1t has been a round of spiritual eX-
hilaration.
I go back to the absorption Of n
large task in Atlanta, a grateful soul.
a man strengthened with inward truth
and, as | trust. a. Christian TO whom
the grace Of God meant more than
ever before No man may order his
way, no man marks out his orbit for
himself, but if there is one path ! nav
be permitted to hope for in the years
to come, it is the path that will lea
me back to North Carolina to work
While my day fingers and to make
ready for the nightfall and the rcs'
August II. 1911.