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AUTO REPLACE AFTIR 
 FIRST CIRCUUTION 
 
 METHODISM 
 
 OF 
 
 THE PENINSULA; 
 
 OK, 
 
 SKETCHES OP NOTABLE CHAEACTEES AND EVENTS IN THE 
 
 HISTORY OF METHODISM IN THE MARYLAND 
 
 AND DELAWARE PENINSULA. 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. ROBERT W. TODD. 
 
 INTRODUCTION BY 
 
 REV. BISHOP JOHN F. HURST, D. D. 
 
 METHODIST EPISCOPAL BOOK ROOMS, 
 1018 Arch St., Philadelphia. 
 
 Copyright Secured, 1886. 
 
Oiil'J 
 
 ex 
 
 T43 
 
 PRESS OF THE 
 
 JAS. ts. UODGERS PRINTING COMPANY, 
 
 PlIILABELPHIA. 
 
^ ^attjei?, whose life waa the embodiment of industry, fru- 
 gality, temperance, honor, and devotion to truth and God; who 
 hated shams; who loved mercy, and whose highest wish for his 
 son was that he might be good and useful: — 
 
 ^ 5n.otf|CV, refined, modest, beautiful; whose life was a 
 benediction; who made home sweet and attractive; who walked 
 the shining way, and led thither the wayward feet of her child ; 
 whose memory still blooms fresh and fragrant, from a grave, 
 where almost two-score years ago, fell the tears of a bereaved boy 
 in his first great sorrow: — 
 
 Wo titc 
 5llcniortj of titis Batnteft Wmniiit 
 
 ENEOBED, CROWNED, AND WAITING AND WATCHING ON THE 
 
 FAKTHEE SHOEE, THIS VOLUME IS AEEECTIONATELY 
 
 INSCEIBED BY 
 
Table of Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER I.— TnE Place and the People. 
 
 Planting and Growth of Methodism in the Peninsula, 9. Lost Chapters, 10. 
 Our Methodist Fathers, 11. Personnel of Methodism, Past and Present, 
 12. Old-time Environments, Society and Customs, 14. Climate, Topo- 
 graphy and Products, 17. Author's Scope and Purpose, 19. 
 
 CHAPTER II. — Our Quaint Itinerant Fathers. 
 
 Thomas Ware, 21. Dr. Chandler, 25. Benj. Abbott, 2S. Henry Boehm, 29. 
 The First Camp-meetings, 35. George Wiltshire, 39. Bishop Asbary, 46. 
 
 CHAPTER III.— Heroes op Erin. 
 
 The Typical Irishman, 60. William Barnes, 51. John Henry, 63. Adam 
 Wallace, 69. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. — Patriarchs op the Chesapeake. 
 
 Joshua Thomas, 85. Haney Bradshaw, 102. Captain William Frazier, 110. 
 Garretson West, 113. 
 
 CHAPTER v.— Episodes and Collisions. 
 
 John Collins, 124. The politico-religious, 125. Solomon Sharp, 127. William 
 Bishop, 129. Untimely Fun, 131. Vanquished Heroes, 134. James 
 Brooks Ayres, 137. Jas. A. Massey and Geo. Cummins, 142. Thos. Childs, 
 150. Nathan Hunter, "Esquire," 162. Jonas Bissey, 153. "Daddy" 
 AppletoQ, 155. 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI.— Hymeneal akd Baptismal. 
 
 Wedding in a " Bugeye," 161. "Jeems" Henry Smith's Romantic Nuptials, 
 163, Wedding Fees, 166. Asbury's Namesakes, 167. "Governor" 
 Hiclis' Baptism, 167. Honoring two Preacliers in one Cognomen, 168. 
 Baby Cliristening at Camp-meeting, 169. 
 
 CHAPJER VII. — White Souls in Colored Envelopes. 
 
 Slavery and the Peninsula, 172. Tom and the Blaokeyed Peas, 173. Slave 
 Philosophy, 174. Uncle Zeke's Text, 177. The Old-time Negro at the 
 Primitive Camp-meeting, 178. Praying for the Preachers, 183. " Uncle 
 Jeems" King, 185. Frost Pollet, 187. Emancipation Scenes, 193. Negro 
 Education and Improvement, 199. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. — Uncle Stephen, the Slate Pebacheb. 
 
 Stephen's Genealogy, 202. Childhood and Youth, 205. Conversion, 210. 
 Marriage, 216. Longings for Freedom and Buying His Time, 217. A 
 Buried Master and Buried Hopes, 218. Buying His Time Again at the 
 Vendue, 220. Eescue of his Wife and Three Children, 221. Stephen 
 and Two Babies on the Auction Block, 226. Sad Parting, 230. Emanci- 
 pation, 232. Call to the Itinerancy, 236. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. — Old Time Schools and Schoolmasters. 
 
 starting to School, 238. The Old Log School-house, 239. "Master" Marshall 
 and His Methods, 243. Nathan Wilson, the Fighting Quaker, 249. Master 
 
 Elisha M , 253. "Chinquepin" School, 265. "Professor" Samuel 
 
 Wiseman, 266. Marion Dawson, and the Historian's Graduation, 267. 
 
 CHAPTER X.— Humors of a Modern Itinerant. 
 
 Address to Bishop Foster, 260. Our Senior Bishop's Cane, 263. The Old-time 
 Presiding Elder, 267. The Quart'ly Conf rence, 272. The Conservative 
 Mule, 278. Ode to ye Olde Meetin' 'Ouse, 231. Fun in the Parsonage, 
 286. "When I was Seventeen," 288. Wooden Wedding, 290. Tin 
 Wedding, 292. Professor Eobinson's Silver Wedding, 297. Wash-day, 
 300. Church Anniversary, 303. Episcopal Methodist Centenary, 309. 
 The Eldership and the Harmonious Quartet, 319. Eev. Lucius C. 
 Matlack, D. D. In Memoriam, 321. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 BY BISHOP JOHN F. HURST. 
 
 The author of the following volume asks me to write some intro- 
 ductory words. My mind goes rapidly back to the man, first of all, 
 before I can reach his book. We met many years ago, when students 
 at Dickinson College, and soon learned that we had come from the 
 same region, the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and were starting out on 
 the race of life together. Later along, we entered the ministry, and 
 nearly at the same time. But our field of labor has been diflTerent. 
 The author has always preached on the same beloved Peninsula, 
 while my field has been otherwhere. But he has kept his asthma, 
 and I have lost mine. Now and then we have met, saluted, passed 
 a few words of brotherly exchange, and then each has gone out 
 upon his own path. Now there comes a note from the friend 
 and brother of the old times, and witli it most of the sheets of his 
 " Methodism of the Peninsula." A mere glance at it brings up all 
 my earliest memories, and gives a touch of sadness to the picture. 
 
 The country which the author describes stands completely alone 
 in its territory and life. At an early period in its colonial history, it 
 was almost as individual and separate in usages and tastes as if it 
 had been a different continent. It took all its types from the James 
 River Colony of 1607, and not one from the Plymouth Colony of 1620. 
 The old Cavaliers of Jamestown had only to cross the mouth of the 
 Chesapeake, and treat with the Indians, and build log-cabins, and take 
 possession, and then trust the generous waters for food. Very early 
 the whole Peninsula became a safe retreat. The Indians were away — 
 carried off by the irresistible westward current. Life was easy, and so 
 secure that, before the Revolution, we find the whole Peninsula covered 
 with families from the more insecure territory on the western side of 
 
VUl INTEODUCTIOSr. 
 
 the Bay. These families seem to have enjoyed great favor with the 
 government. Even during the Revolution, and long before, we meet 
 with Eastern Shore names, such as the Tilghmans, Lloyds, Sullivans, 
 Goldsboroughs, Henrys, Decatiirs, and many others. Slavery planted 
 itself here with a strong hand. Fred. Douglass came from the Lloyd 
 farm, whose broad acres were ploughed by five hundred slaves. One 
 of my earliest recollections, when living in Cambridge, was the 
 Georgia-man, or slave trader, who sat in a split-bottomed chair in the 
 verandah of Bradshaw's Hotel, and sunned himself, and waited for 
 propositions from slave owners. We boys feared him as a hobgoblin. 
 I saw him every morning, on my way to school, in the opening of 
 the year, for it was at this time that he made his annual northward 
 journey for business purposes. But the war of 1861-65 put an end 
 to all that. The Eastern Shore furnished its full quota of brave 
 soldiers for the colored regiments. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Todd has not only been a careful observer of these 
 various phases of Eastern Shore life, but he has been industrious in 
 recording them. His profession having been that of the ministry, 
 clerical experiences naturally predominate in his book. The Methodist 
 Episcopal Church has nowhere had a more difiicult task to perform 
 than here, and nowhere has it won more signal triumphs. Bishop 
 Asbury was regarded a Tory during the Revolutionary War, and was 
 sheltered from danger by Judge White, of Delaware, who entertained 
 him in his own house until the danger was over. The Methodists 
 were considered a dangerous class of innovators, judged from any 
 point of view. The old bricks can still be seen in Cambridge, of which 
 had been constructed the jail in which Freeborn Garrettson was once 
 imprisoned for some irregular ministerial exercises. The trees of 
 some of the historical camp-grounds are still standing, while the 
 premises bear to-day the same names as in the olden times. In the 
 seasons of controversy the quiet villagers often lost their equilibrium. 
 The farmers would come to town, and spend the whole day in learning 
 the latest news of the outside world. The day when the " Maryland " 
 or the "Osiris" landed at the Cambridge wharf was sure to attract 
 many people down to the landing, while each stranger who stepped 
 ashore was certain to attract all eyes. 
 
 The ecclesiastical life was well defined. All denominations were 
 reflected here in miniature, save only the Congregationalists. I do 
 not remember to have seen any church representing this communion, 
 
INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 at any time during my youth, on tlie Eastern Sliore. I question, 
 however, very much whether an enterprise so fully reflecting the 
 spirit of New England would have been permitted by the people at 
 any time before the Revolutionary War, so completely was the territory 
 in the hauds of the Church of Englaud. The Baptists, too, had but 
 little favor. The Presbyterians gained no little strength, and it is a 
 fact that the first Presbyterian church ever built on this continent 
 was erected near Snow Hill, the present residence of the author of this 
 work. The Rev. Mr. Makemie was the pastor. He organized other 
 churches at Pocomoke, Wicomico, and in Joseph Venable's Land. 
 Spence wrote: "There is no body of land, of the same size, in the 
 State, the soil of which was, and is so poor." But there was freedom 
 of conscience, as well as security from the Indian depredations. The 
 charter to the Roman Catholic proprietor, granted by Charles I., 
 June 20th, 1632, contained a clause of perfect religious freedom to all 
 emigrants. A man "might live in peace, whether Jew, Moham- 
 medan, or Pagan; whether Atheist, Deist, or Polytheist; provided he 
 neither molested his neiglibor, nor endangered the public morals." * 
 
 But after the Independents passed out of power in England, and the 
 Revolution of 1688 had been effected, it was a good time to pay up old 
 debts. The Presbyterians, of even the Eastern shore of Maryland, 
 had to give account of themselves. The Established Church of Vir- 
 ginia took the lead in the persecution of all dissenters. Happily for 
 the Puritans of New England, they were too far off to suffer seriously. 
 They held the power in their own hands. 
 
 The Rev. Jlr. Todd has confined his attention to his own Church. 
 The peculiarities of the camp-meeting services, the idiosyncracies of 
 the negro race when at worship, and all the strong features of the 
 primitive and provincial life, are traced with a freshness and justice 
 which we have seen nowhere else. As a study in dialect, liis work 
 must take an influential place in our local American history. He has 
 caught up the fading colors of the old time, and given them a perma- 
 nence for which we have ample reasons to thank him. The Eastern 
 Shore has undergone a thorough transformation within the last three 
 decades. It was coming on before the war, because of the inflowing 
 population from the North, and especially because of the approach 
 of railroads. But the war was a revolution. The old \isa!ros are now 
 
 *= Foote, Sketches of Virginia, 1st series, p. 40. 
 
X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 rapidly disappearing, and the Eastern Shore is soon to be but little 
 different from the Western. 
 
 As a faithful panorama of the old times in the Delaware and 
 Maryland Peninsula, I take pleasure in commending this work. It 
 is evidently the product of careful observation and much labor. Is it 
 an exaggeration? No. Any man who has been "raised" on the 
 Eastern Shore will see the justice of the delineations. Do these 
 narratives reveal any general and exceptional popular ignorance ? . No. 
 I question whether in any part of New England, at the corresponding 
 time, the average intelligence was greater than throughout most of 
 the Peninsula. It was as much the custom, with all who could com- 
 mand the means, to give a good education to their children, as to 
 open the "road gate" for the entrance of guests, to any number and 
 for a stay of any length. The early Virginia colleges were largely 
 patronized by Eastern Shore young men, while Princeton and Dickin- 
 son, all the way along, have been educating them. Therefore, I 
 would place this work, not in the ranks of history, for such it does 
 not claim to be ; but in the domain of sketches of character and life, 
 pertaining to a region which has thus far almost entirely escaped the 
 pencil of the artist and the pen of the American historian. As such, 
 it must be regarded as of value to all students of the religious and 
 local history of our whole country, and more especially to the members 
 and friends of the Church in whose service the author has spent a suc- 
 cessful and honored ministerial life. 
 
 BcFFiio, N Y., June 2d, 1886. 
 
METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 fHE territory bounded by the waters of the Atlantic 
 Ocean, and those of the Delaware and Chesapeake 
 Bays, is classic ground in the history of American 
 Methodism. Although not planted here until 
 several years after the formation of the New York 
 and Western Maryland Societies, Methodism took root 
 promptly and grew rapidly ; so that, at the time of the 
 organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1784, 
 the Peninsula reported a much larger membership than 
 any other territory of similar extent in the United 
 States. This phenomenal growth cannot perhaps be 
 attributed to any exceptional congeniality of this section, 
 in the beginning, towards Methodism; for here the 
 pioneer fathers met their most stubborn and malicious 
 resistance, even to the extremity of stripes and imprison- 
 ment. Doubtless it is to be accounted for by that 
 strange philosophy, in accord with which, God is able 
 to subdue all things unto Himself and make the wrath 
 
10 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 of men to praise Him. Be that as it may, the Peninsular 
 battle field has been the scene of the most heroic valor 
 and of the noblest achievements; and from its old 
 grave yards and cemeteries, in the day of eternity, will 
 go up a vast army of approved candidates for special 
 crowns of glory. 
 
 The great story of Peninsular Methodism has been 
 told, its historic annals pictured by the able pen of the 
 renowned historian, by the rhythmical measures of the 
 poet, and by the facile pencil of the artist. But, much 
 as has been written and represented, the half has not 
 been told. Thousands of honorable names belonging 
 to this history are written only in God's book of 
 remembrance. Many noble and heroic deeds have 
 never found a human chronicler. There are here 
 enough "lost chapters," could they but be gathered, 
 to fill a great library. But where there were once 
 entire, large, living volumes, only torn leaves and 
 isolated paragraphs can now be found. 
 
 One department of Peninsular Methodist history — 
 the heroic and the pathetic; the quaint and the humor- 
 ous — has remained almost untouched. Its traditions 
 have receded and faded, until, in many cases, they have 
 almost lost their plausibility. Some of these traditions, 
 indeed, exist only in corrupted and distorted forms, 
 and detached from the names of the real actors. In 
 the course of a ministry of thirty-three years, within the 
 bounds of what is now the Wilmington Conference, the 
 author has gathered and treasured many well authenti- 
 
THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE. 11 
 
 cated incidents of the above described class, belonging 
 to local Methodist history. Furthermore, some of the 
 experiences of the writer, and many of his literary 
 eiforts have been tinged with a somewhat facetious 
 coloring; and they, of course, legitimately belong in 
 the same archives. 
 
 These historic treasuries are, however, so fragmentary 
 as to time, location and characters; that, in the best 
 arrangement it will be possible to give them, they must 
 necessarily appear as a medley, rather than a continuous 
 melody — as scattered chapters of gleanings, instead of 
 consecutive history. 
 
 Sin and its dire consequences excepted, God made 
 man as he is, and takes him as he finds him. It is no 
 part of the mission of the Christian religion to obliterate, 
 or blur and repress man's natural characteristics; but 
 to quicken, and by proper channels, conduct them to 
 their appropriate objects and terminations. To the most 
 saintly, there is as really a time to be merry and laugh 
 as, on suitable occasion, to be sober or weep. The 
 human creature who never, by sunny smiles or the sweet 
 ripple of innocent, joyous laughter, gives play and ex- 
 pression to this sportive attribute and capacity, bestowed 
 by his beneficent Creator, is an abnormal and wretched 
 misanthrope. 
 
 Our Methodistic fathers were normal specimens of a 
 God-made race. They could both weep with Jeremiah, 
 over the slain unfortunates of the daughter of God's 
 people; and rejoice and shout for joy with the inhabit- 
 
12 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 ants of Zion. They could thunder the dread maledic- 
 tions of Jehovah, in sorrowful threats of a lake of literal 
 fire and brimstone, as the portion of the reckless and 
 finally impenitent sinner. And, with equal facility 
 and holy earnestness, as to them it seemed proper ; they 
 could sometimes convulse an audience by their ludicrous 
 caricatures of the solemn visaged hypocrite, or by their 
 mimicry of the insane and grotesque antics of the silly 
 despisers of God. 
 
 Furthermore, the mission of Methodism and of our 
 itinerant fathers, was not specially to the great and 
 noble; for, usually, they do not condescend to, subjects 
 adapted to " babes and sucklings." It was not to the 
 cultured, the fashionable, the esthetic; for they were 
 already enfolded in other churches. But it was to 
 the masses, just as God made them; just as sin had 
 deformed and defiled them; just as the churches that 
 preceded us, had passed by on the other side and left 
 them, covered with wounds and blood — steeped in 
 ignorance and sin, that our Samaritan Church came on 
 her holy mission, with sometimes but a donkey for 
 a burden-bearer, and a wayside inn for a sanatarium. 
 As one result, almost anything — everything possible 
 happened that was uncouth, among the ignorant and 
 unkempt multitudes; from the vacant, open-mouthed, 
 stare and senseless whoop of the ignoramus, to the ludi- 
 crous antics of the outlandish clown, and the ribald 
 jeering of the vile blasphemer. Not infrequently, has 
 Methodism saved and enfolded, even such wretched 
 
THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE. 13 
 
 outlaws and enemies as these; and every phase of 
 society, human and inliuman, has been represented in 
 her fellowship. One result of this was, that in our 
 first century, and perhaps even beyond that point, our 
 Methodist gatherings oft times became the theatre for 
 comedies and farces, that no stretch of patience could 
 now endure or charity tolerate. 
 
 To be faithful, the historian must recite "the truth, 
 the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."- Upon the 
 stage he places before us, he must represent all phases 
 of his subject. Otherwise, his readers will have but 
 partial or distorted views of the society and the events 
 he professes to dramatize. The personnel of Methodism 
 to-day, upon the Peninsula, suffers nothing by com- 
 parison with that of any other denomination. As to 
 the masses of her members, it was not so in the begin- 
 ning: Perhaps some may question the propriety of 
 placing on record the few somewhat ridiculous incidents 
 found in this volume, belonging to the earlier and 
 humbler stages of our history, and to isolated localities. 
 The author thinks the reasons above given justify all 
 he has written. 
 
 Doings and incidents, which in the light of one age 
 or state of society, would be deemed proper, or at least 
 admissible ; at another time or amid other surroundings, 
 would be condemned as boorish and reprehensible, if not 
 positively wicked. In order, therefore, to take a fair 
 and philosophical view of the history of our fathers and 
 their times, it is indispensable that we duly consider 
 
14 METHODISM- OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 their environments, and the influences that gave direction 
 to their actions and sentiments. 
 
 For nearly two hundred years from the settlement of 
 the Peninsula, by reason of its isolation, very little of 
 foreign blood or new material had been incorporated 
 into the composition of its people. They grew, therefore, 
 by uninterrupted association and intermarriage, as well 
 as by similarity of pursuits and employments, to be a 
 homogeneous population. An inhabitant of the Penin- 
 sula has a longer list of relations — more cousins and 
 uncles and aunts — ^than a denizen of any other clime in 
 the world, except perchance it be some ocean islander. 
 At old time quiltings and corn-huskings, much of the 
 time was spent in recounting and retracing the genealog- 
 ical tables, until it often seemed as if each was kin to 
 every other person. And so habituated were these good 
 folk to claim relationship and call each other cousin, 
 even down to the fifth or sixth degree, that many from 
 mere force of habit, addressed all their acquaintances by 
 that endearing title. On this account also, they adopted 
 the same idioms and provincialisms. They followed the 
 same usages and customs. They enjoyed the same recre- 
 ations. They transacted business, or plowed, planted 
 and reaped by the same unvarying rules their fathers 
 had observed before them ; esteeming it little less than 
 sacrilege for one of their number to attempt anything in 
 a new way, or to advance any new theory. So com- 
 pletely isolated were they formerly, by reason of difficult 
 communication with the rest of their fellows, and the 
 
THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE. 15 
 
 scarcity of books and newspapers, that they scarcely felt 
 at all the throbbings of the great world outside ; and, in 
 course of time, they came to be like the Gentiles, "a 
 law unto themselves," and, like the Jews, "a peculiar 
 people." 
 
 Another thing that ministered to their exceptional 
 peculiarity, was the absence of general education. This 
 phase of the old-time Peninsula life is treated in another 
 chapter, and need be here but casually mentioned. Here 
 and there a family, having arisen to a position of opu- 
 lence, would break through the conventional crust that 
 had formerly hampered them, and seek outside the cult- 
 ure impossible to obtain at home. The schools of the 
 Peninsula were widely scattered ; for the most part their 
 curriculum did not extend beyond the merest rudiments, 
 and less than half the population could keep their own 
 accounts or write tlicir names. Ignorance is always 
 singular, and an ignorant people must needs be a pecu- 
 liar people. 
 
 Of course this condition of Peninsular society in the 
 olden times, was intensified by the introduction and 
 spread of the institution of slavery. The poor African 
 heathens brought with them their weird jungle super- 
 stitions ; which, in due time, were translated into plan- 
 tation jargon, and recited by the kitchen and cabin-fires 
 to the wondering children of the mansion, who never 
 wearied of listening; until, in their distorted imagina- 
 tions, ghosts stalked forth in the darkness, as the stars 
 for multitude ; and witches and wizards, thick as crickets 
 
16 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 on the hearth, or bats in the air of a summer evening, 
 played at hide-and-seek about every old building and 
 deserted tenement, and along every fence and thicket. 
 To this day, many ignorant whites, and perhaps one-half 
 the colored population of the Peninsula, have as much 
 faith in witches and ghosts as they have in the existence 
 of a Great First Cause; and, by charms and exorcisms, 
 take more pains to propitiate the goblins than they do to 
 secure the favor of their Redeemer. To correct these 
 superstitions is the work of the churches and the schools ; 
 but as men remember best and have most faith in what 
 they learn in infancy, their complete eradication will 
 require at least three generations of freedom. 
 
 Methodism has done more than all other influences to 
 purge out this leaven of superstition, and these pecu- 
 liarities of ignorance ; but very much yet remains to be 
 accomplished. She now, in her various branches in the 
 Peninsula, preaches the Gospel of light and truth to 
 more than forty thousand members, and to twice as 
 many adherents; teaches nearly fifty thousand children 
 and youth in her Sunday-schools; and, by her litera- 
 ture and her reflex influence, is largely directing the 
 general thought and moulding public sentiment. She 
 leads the vanguard of the temperance legion, and guards 
 the rear of the militant column that, having already half 
 triumphed, is surely pressing on to the complete prohi- 
 bition of the legalized liquor trafiic in all our beautiful 
 territory. 
 
 Another thing that distinguished the Peninsula in 
 
THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE. 17 
 
 olden times, and that is not yet quite obliterated, was 
 tlie far-famed liospitality of its people. Attentive kind- 
 ness to multitudes of uncles and aunts, and cousins, 
 induced a like kindness to other multitudes who were 
 liable at any moment to become such by marriage ; and, 
 by this time, the habit of hospitality had grown into 
 fixedness of character; and indeed, so marked was it, 
 that the stranger was made to forget he was away 
 from home and kindred; and was himself, forthwith 
 metamorphosed into a cousin to all the denizens of 
 the neighborhood where he chanced to be sojourning. 
 The difference, aforetime, between the great progressive 
 people to the north of us and ourselves, was that the 
 wide-awake, thrifty Pennsylvanian, used in the home, 
 what he could not sell to best advantage; whereas, the 
 Eastern Shore man, and his Delaware neighbor, sold 
 and put in his pocket, what he was unable to pack into 
 the stomachs of his household and their jolly visitors. 
 
 With great variety of climate for so small a territory, 
 and with almost every variety of soil, our Peninsula 
 will produce everything, from the hardiest vegetables 
 and the cereals, to the fascinating narcotic and the 
 snowy cotton; from the winter apples of Newfound- 
 land, to fruits and flowers well nigh tropical. Almost 
 all species of game are supplied by its rivers and forests, 
 and every aqueous luxury abounds in its diversified 
 waters. Said Bishop Janes to a company of ministers 
 and laymen, in Hon. Jacob Tome's parlor, during tlio 
 Port Deposit Conference : " Having seen about all our 
 
18 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 own country, and much of the world beyond, were I a 
 young man about to settle down to agricultural pur- 
 suits — if I wanted a home, and all that word implies, I 
 should pass by all the world and invest my money in 
 Peninsular land. And if I were a young Methodist 
 minister, about to enter upon my chosen life-work, I 
 would knock at the door of the Wilmington Conference." 
 
 What an outrage upon nature and the will of the 
 Creator, plainly indicated in the metes and bounds of 
 our territory, is that unaccountable blunder of the 
 powers managing political divisions, by which we are 
 partitioned off into three State governments ! This 
 great wrong ought somehow to be remedied ; but, per- 
 haps, cannot be until Peninsular Methodism shall have 
 so developed the Maryland section, that it shall more 
 highly esteem its grand future possibilities, than its past 
 proud history; shall have so modified the vanity of 
 Accomac and Northampton, that they shall cease to 
 glory in an ideal, but defunct chivalry ; and shall have 
 so taught little Delaware the alphabet of modern pro- 
 gress, that she shall break loose and drift away from 
 her precious old fossils of political bourbonism. Who 
 shall declare that a Peninsular State — Virmadel, or 
 Delmavir, or Mavirdel — is without the domain of 
 future possibility? 
 
 It is with matters pertaining to this peculiarly cir- 
 cumstanced territory, and these peculiar people, that one 
 of their own number, to the manor born, essays to deal. 
 The task is by so much the more difficult, because 
 
THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE. 19 
 
 it is hard to step outside ourselves, so to speak, and 
 see ourselves as others see us. As an acceptable and 
 wholesome meal cannot be constituted of mere spice and 
 flavoring, but requires some substantial ingredients; no 
 more will thoughtful, serious, hungry souls be content 
 with a literary production having only its humorous 
 flavor to recommend it. The author hopes to meet this 
 reasonable demand of the Christian reader's appetite, 
 and aid in the symmetrical development of his higher 
 and better nature. He hopes also, by this humble 
 effort, to stimulate others to undertake a similar task; 
 so that the remaining fragments of the rich and heroic 
 history of Peninsular Methodism may be gathered and 
 preserved, to be sometime remoulded by the pen of a 
 more accomplished historian, for the instruction and 
 entertainment of future generations. 
 
 From these sketches, many a tempting bit of spicy 
 and attractive history, must needs be omitted, because 
 the still living actors might fail to enjoy the diversion ; 
 or indeed, to see that there is anything entertaining in 
 the recital. Most living persons better enjoy a laugh 
 when it is not at their own expense. Besides, it is 
 much safer for the historian to employ the weapons of 
 his wit upon those only who will not be likely to cherish 
 resentment. Not being apprehensive of personal danger 
 from ghosts of any religious persuasion, the author 
 anticipates no risk or harm from the liberty he proposes 
 to take with the ante mortem idiosyncrasies of departed 
 worthies, lay and ministerial^ now among the proba- 
 
20 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 tionary graduates of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 He will not hesitate to take all legal advantages of 
 these crowned warriors. He will represent only chosen 
 fragments of their earthly doings. He will watch the 
 opportune moments in their life dramas ; pull aside the 
 curtains sometimes just at those critical junctures, when 
 he shall happen to surprise them in some strange freak 
 or adventure, or ludicrous episode; and will give his 
 readers a chance for a quiet little peep ' here and there, 
 and for an occasional smile ; meanwhile, presenting suf- 
 ficient of their life histories to make those glimpses 
 intelligible. The author is by no means certain that he 
 shall present these historic incidents in the order the 
 actors would prefer; for, not being a medium, he has 
 not had opportunity to consult them. If they have any 
 " complaints or appeals," they must wait for an adjust- 
 ment until the unintentional transgressors shall have 
 graduated to their " Quarterly Conference." 
 
METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 21 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 OUR QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS. 
 
 ^EV. THOS. WARE was born and grew up to 
 <tt manhood in the State of New Jersey. As a 
 
 ^ Revolutionary soldier, he aided in expelling the 
 Briton and in procuring American Independence. On 
 the expiration of his term of service, he returned to his 
 home. Here he heard that flaming herald, Caleb Peddi- 
 cord, preach ; and under his ministry was awakened and 
 converted. He had not been more valiant as a follower 
 of Washington than he now became as a soldier of Jesus 
 Christ. His burning zeal pushed him out preaching 
 without license or church authority. Mr. Asbury came 
 to Jersey where Mr. Ware resided ; heard of his remark- 
 able gifts; sent for him; and at the conclusion of an 
 interview, in which he made the impression on the young 
 man's mind that he was about to receive a severe repri- 
 mand for his presumption, Asbury tenderly embraced 
 him, and at once commissioned him for Dover circuit. 
 " Here," says W^are, " I was caught, and how could I 
 decline?" Accordingly, in 1783, the young soldier of 
 the cross came, with a timid and heavy heart, to the 
 capital of Delaware. 
 
 Mr. Ware was not the only young man who began 
 his itinerant life in Dover. Tradition tells of a junior 
 
22 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 preacher who once came thither, evidently without " a 
 timid and heavy heart," and thus introduced himself on 
 the occasion of his first appearance in the pulpit : " Some 
 p-preachers allers p-p-put their best foot fo'most only 
 on great occasions, or when they're a g-goin' to preach 
 in a place the first t-time. But I w-want you to under- 
 stand I allers p-put my best f-foot fo'most; and I don't 
 'spect to p-preach no better to-day nor I shall any other 
 t-time." He was soon given to understand that he could 
 employ both his best and his worst foot in some more 
 appropriate itinerant field. Memory still vividly and 
 painfully serves another of Mr. Ware's itinerant descend- 
 ants, of his introduction to a junior preacher's life, 
 thirty-three years ago; and of an embarassment so 
 overwhelming, as he stood before his Dover Congregation 
 for the first time, that, for some moments, he could not 
 tell the book, chapter and verse of his text. Not infre- 
 quently, during that year, did the poor fellow get his 
 theological skein into such a terrible tangle, as to extort 
 from- him the mental wail, " O, for a lodge in some vast 
 wilderness ! " 
 
 Like this latter young minister, Mr. Ware sometimes 
 lost his ware-abouts, and broke down. On such occa- 
 sions, he tells us, he would stand and sob, like a boy who 
 had stumped his great toe, until he became calm and 
 collected, when he would gather up the loose ends as best 
 he could, and proceed with his discourse. Sometimes 
 the tears of a sympathetic membership would mingle 
 with those of the discouraged and humiliated preacher; 
 
OUR QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS. 23 
 
 and he was always soothed and comforted by the fraternal 
 and loving manifestations of the eminent ladies and 
 gentlemen leading in the Dover Methodism of that day. 
 Their descendants inherit their kindly instincts. 
 
 During this year, Mr. AVare was invited to occupy 
 the pulpit of the Church of England chapel at Duck 
 Creek Cross Roads, aftei-wards called Smyrna. This 
 church was probably without a pastor at that time, its 
 rector having no doubt fled to the mother country. 
 There was then no Protestant Episcopal Church in 
 existence; and the communicants of this chapel had not 
 received the revelation that Methodist preachers are not 
 to be ecclesiastically recognized as Christian ministers. 
 The young itinerant accepted the invitation, and pro- 
 ceeded with the services. But before he had finished his 
 introduction, three desperate looking men came marching 
 up the aisle, one of whom announced himself a vestry- 
 man, seized Ware by the collar and proposed to expel 
 him headlong from the church. A Mr. Skillington, a 
 giant of a man, seized the irate vestryman in like man- 
 ner, and aimed a blow with his huge fist that must have 
 felled the ruffian to the floor but for the intervention of 
 Judge Raymond. This honorable conservator of the 
 peace, begged Mr. Skillington to withhold the merited 
 blow, and finally pacified him, when he expelled the 
 intruders by a threat of commitment. 
 
 While travelling Kent circuit in Maryland, the fol- 
 lowing year, Mr. Ware went on one occasion to hear 
 a yoimg English clergyman read his trial sermon. 
 
24 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 While he was vigorously pounding Mr. Wesley, and 
 the Methodists — many of whom were in the congrega- 
 tion — after the fashion of that day, and branding them 
 as enthusiasts, he took occasion to say : " The preaching 
 of the Methodists can only enkindle an enthusiastic 
 flame — a mere ignis-fatuus." At this point, an interest- 
 ing and pious Methodist lady, who enjoyed the con- 
 fidence and esteem of the entire community, rapturously 
 cried out : " Glory to God ! If what I now enjoy in my 
 soul be enthusiasm, let me always be an enthusiast ! " 
 It was quite manifestly evident, that the spontaneous 
 and pious rebuke was approved by the parson's con- 
 gregation ; and the young gentleman was thrown into 
 serious confusion. If he would have gracefully retreated 
 or apologized ; he labored under the difficulty, that, 
 nothing of this sort having been contemplated, the 
 apology wasn't written. After much hesitation and 
 embarrassment, he rushed on through his reading, but 
 stumbling and making matters worse all the way. In 
 the interview with the vestrymen that followed, he quar- 
 relled with them on the salary question ; told them they 
 might all perish before he would serve them for a less 
 sum than he had named; and finally wound up the 
 interview in a towering passion, with an avalanche of 
 abuse on the heads of the poor Methodists, very greatly 
 of course to their advantage. 
 
 In Wilmington, where, ninety-five years ago, there 
 was one Methodist congregation, with Thomas Ware as 
 its pastor, there are now twelve Methodist Episcopal 
 
OUE QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS. 25 
 
 Churches and chapels, besides several of other Metho- 
 dist denominations. Mr. Ware had been absent from 
 the Peninsula several years. Of his appointment to 
 Wilmington he says : " This was my first station ; but I 
 sighed for the back-woods, which were a Paradise to 
 me compared with this suffocating borough." Poor 
 Thomas Ware was not the only preacher well-nigh 
 stifled by a city appointment. 
 
 Wilmington seems also to have been affected with 
 a mystical miasm on the subject of religion. The 
 Methodists were unsparingly denounced by the Hick- 
 sites and their natural allies, the Deists, as "hirelings 
 and will-worshipers ;" and, worse still, the sons of 
 Belial were accustomed to surround the old Asbury 
 Church by hundreds, with ribald blasphemies and 
 wicked threats, while the long-suffering congregations 
 were composed of scarcely fifty persons. On account 
 of the outrageous conduct of these ruffians, women 
 dared not venture to the church after dark ; and, for 
 their accommodation, it became necessary to hold evening 
 services before sundown. 
 
 Mr. Ware afterwards travelled Cecil circuit. He 
 relates the following interesting incident concerning a 
 quarterly meeting occasion, where Dr. Chandler, Presi- 
 ding Elder, was in charge. The weather was heavy and 
 threatening, and the congregation gathered from many 
 miles around, and with little opportunity for adequate 
 shelter in the neighborhood, became anxious and restless. 
 On Saturday of the meeting, Dr. Chandler arose, and 
 2 
 
26 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 calling the attention of all, said : " Mark my words ; 
 there will be no rain in this vicinity until this quarterly 
 meeting is ended." He then exhorted the gathered 
 saints to banish all anxiety, and worship God as if the 
 sunlight were smiling upon them. "The morning of 
 the Sabbath," says Mr. Ware, "was the most dark and 
 threatening I ever saw. The clouds of heaven seemed 
 surcharged ; and there was a general expectation that the 
 Doctor would prove a false prophet. But the rain was 
 withheld until the services were all ended and the people 
 had reached their homes, when the very windows of the 
 skies seemed to be opened; and the rainfall exceeded 
 anything known in that region within the memory of 
 the oldest inhabitant." 
 
 A similar circumstance, but yet even more remarkable, 
 occurred at the first camp-meeting held on the Peninsula. 
 It was near Smyrna, Delaware, in the year 1805. Dr. 
 Chandler, apparently sub-bishop for the entire territory 
 of the Peninsula, presided. One day during the meet- 
 ing, a terrific thunder-storm arose, and the congregation 
 became excited and restless, but lingered on the persua- 
 sive words of the minister of God. Just at the juncture 
 when the preliminary gust burst upon the encampment, 
 and the alarmed audience began to scatter, Dr. Chandler 
 sprang to his feet, and interrupting the speaker and 
 calling the congregation to prayer, he pleaded mightily 
 that God would stay the rain, that the preacher's message 
 might be concluded. Instantly the dark rolling clovid 
 began to part; a little spot of blue ether opened above; 
 
OTJE QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS. 27 
 
 and, although it rained furiously on either side, and 
 indeed all around within a few rods, scarcely a drop fell 
 within the consecrated circle. 
 
 The above was not the only instance where the divine 
 protection was apparently vouchsafed to a camp-ground 
 in response to the pleadings of God's people. In the 
 year 1836, an army of locusts, probably the Caloptenus 
 Atlantis, attacked the forest where the historic and 
 renowned Spring Branch campmeeting was held. It 
 was located in the neighborhood Bishop Asbury called 
 " Perdens," near the site of the present town of Felton, 
 Delaware. These destructive insects encompassed the 
 forest, as the Assyrian army environed the Prophet. 
 Day after day the wave of destruction rolled in, con- 
 verging towards the apparently fated camp-ground. 
 Every evening, after the day's work was ended, devoted 
 souls visited the scene, and prayed the God of Elisha to 
 interpose his protecting power, drive back the ravening 
 Egyptian insect army, and save the foliage as a canopy 
 for his worshippers. The entire grove was denuded by 
 the tide of destruction, until it reached the outer margin 
 of the tenting-ground, where the desolating wave ceased ; 
 and, apparently, not a single leaf was touched within 
 the divinely enchanted spot. 
 
 Should one of our modern Peninsular camp-grounds 
 — "Wood-lawn" and, possibly, "Wye" excepted — be 
 thus threatened, could any really sincere, intelligent and 
 pious soul offer a petition for its protection? What 
 would the Head of the Church think of such a prayer? 
 
28 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Reader; forgive this profane step on your modern holy- 
 ground, and let us change the subject. 
 
 Another of the remarkable characters moulded by 
 the divine hand, through the influence of American 
 Methodism, was Rev. Benjamin Abbott. Like Ware, 
 he was a product of New Jersey; but did no little 
 itinerant and evangelistic work within the bounds of the 
 Peninsula. His early opportunities for education were 
 meager; and Christ found him and thrust him forth 
 into the Methodist field of evangelism, an illiterate 
 and poorly furnished young man. But while cultured 
 mockers at first felt inclined to ridicule the uncouth, 
 asinine jaw-bone, with which he was equipped for the 
 battle against indiiFerence and vice; they very soon 
 learned to stand in awe of the more than Samsonian 
 strength with which his rude armor was wielded. His 
 power over an audience was ofttimes simply wonderful. 
 One incident will illustrate scores of a similar character, 
 that might be produced. 
 
 Mr. Abbott was, on one occasion, delivering his 
 Master's message at a private residence, crowded with a 
 promiscuous company, gathered from all the surround- 
 ing regions. Though angular and verbally uncouth, 
 the sermon was so direct and earnest as to compel atten- 
 tion. But when he came to make the application, some- 
 what in the style of Nathan to King David — " Thou 
 art the man ! " — such was the fiery, magnetic influence 
 attending his utterances that the people fell, shrieking 
 for mercy, all about the house. The few saints present 
 
OUR QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS. 29 
 
 shouted for joy. The wicked, terribly affrighted, rushed 
 for the doors and windows ; and, in their mad haste, fell 
 out pell-mell in heaps, where they lay wailing in peni- 
 tential agony. So great became the outcry that Mr. 
 Abbott was forced to discontinue his appeal. With the 
 purpose of drowning the heartrending cries of distress, 
 he announced a hymn and requested that it be sung. A 
 brother attempting to raise the hymn was struck by the 
 overwhelming power and pitched under a table, where 
 he lay as a dead man. A second person made the effort, 
 and he instantly lay sprawling and bellowing upon the 
 floor. The preacher himself then tried it; but the 
 mysterious influence that disabled the two laymen, came 
 upon him in such measure, that he could do naught but 
 cry out in amazement at the wonderful manifestation of 
 supernatural presence and power. The meeting con- 
 tinued throughout the day and during all the following 
 night; attended by "signs and wonders" in the conver- 
 sion of many sinners, and in the entire sanctification of 
 most of the former believers present. Such things can 
 only be explained upon the hypothesis, "It is not by 
 (human) might or power, but by my Spirit, saith the 
 Lord." 
 
 A long, strong, beautiful life, that stretched all the 
 way through the first century of American Methodism, 
 was that of Rev. Henry Boehm. In his stalwart young 
 manhood, as travelling companion to the then enfeebled 
 Bishop Asbury, he traversed almost every part of the 
 Peninsula. Afterwards, as Presiding Elder and in the 
 
30 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 pastoral relation at various points, he became a promi- 
 nent factor among the agencies of God in building up 
 Peninsular Methodism. Indeed, some of the first years 
 of his ministerial life were spent within this territory. 
 Mrs. Ann He wit, of Elkton, died in 1883, ninety-three 
 years old. The writer heard this devoted saint tell of 
 her conversion at Purnell's Meeting House, near where 
 Felton afterwards sprang up, when she was a little girl 
 but about ten years old. But little attention was given 
 to children in those days, and the penitent child was 
 kneeling alone in a corner ; when, near the close of the 
 meeting, Mr. Boehm, the young preacher, approached 
 her, raised her head gently, and exclaimed, "Why, if 
 this isn't my little Annie ! " and then spoke so encoura- 
 gingly and lovingly to her, that in a little while she was 
 rejoicing in the salvation of Him who said, " Suifer the 
 little children, and forbid them not to come." It must 
 have been a most delightful episode, when seventy-five 
 years afterwards, the same devoted man of God met this 
 precious mother in Israel, and heard from the lips of her 
 he once called "my little Annie," but whom he had 
 supposed long since dead, the above story of her conver- 
 sion through his instrumentality. Since that day they 
 have met again. 
 
 Father Boehm's "Reminiscences" cover an ample 
 stretch of time and space, and are of a general interest 
 that will well repay perusal. His references to the 
 Peninsula are frequent, and are sometimes' tinged with a 
 vein of humor that shows he was by no means an ascetic. 
 
OUR QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS. 31 
 
 In this he was no doubt influenced by his associations, 
 which were with men of the most genial natures and 
 habits. No set of men who ever blessed the world with 
 their sunny presence, could better tell or more heartily 
 enjoy an innocent joke, than the old itinerants of early 
 Methodism. Of course they had due regard to King 
 Solomon's rule of " a time and a season to all things." 
 In fact, the more we study them in the mature light of 
 the century whose dawn ushered them upon the stage, 
 the more we are convinced that they were of just such 
 materials as Methodist preachers are made of to-day. 
 
 There are sour spirits in the Church here and there, 
 who comfort themselves annually with a summer spell 
 of hydrophobia, or horror of watering-places patronized 
 by ministers of the gospel in search of rest and relaxa- 
 tion. "Just think of such men as Asbury and Bcehm 
 and Chandler fooling away their Lord's time after that 
 fashion ! " say they. But they did ; and modern preachers 
 who visit the seashore, are but following the example of 
 the ancient Methodist worthies. Young Mr. Bcehm 
 visited at least two watering-places the same season, 
 while preaching on the Peninsula. He employed his 
 vacation in July, in a visit to his brother's farm in 
 Pennsylvania, whereon was a watering-place of refresh- 
 ing, flowing springs. One hot day, with the mercury at 
 90°, he amused himself mowing in his brother's meadow 
 until he was dripping with sweat and nearly sun-struck. 
 Then, on his way to the house, he waded neck deep 
 through a pond of the flowing spring water, to " cool 
 
32 METHODISM OP THK PENINSULA. 
 
 himself off." The experiment was successful. In fact, 
 he very nearly cooled himself off permanently. Dr. 
 Chandler, being a Medical Doctor as well as Presiding 
 Elder, took his case in hand ; bled him well ; adminis- 
 tered stimulating restoratives, and cared for him until 
 he became convalescent and able to travel a little ; when 
 he took him by easy stages to the seashore near Lewes, 
 Delaware, to recuperate his prostrate energies. So 
 depleted was he, that when bathing, he was frequently 
 knocked topsy-turvy by the breakers. On these occa- 
 sions, Dr. Chandler, he tells us, would indulge in a 
 hearty laugh and exclaim : " Ah, my boy ; that is the 
 medicine for you ! " 
 
 An incident related by Mr. Boehm, will serve to illus- 
 trate the depth of ignorance that once prevailed in certain 
 portions of the Peninsula. On one occasion. Rev. Free- 
 born Garrettson, travelling at 'night through the wilds of 
 lower Sussex, became hopelessly bewildered and lost 
 amid the labyrinths of the great Cypress Swamp. At 
 length, seeing a light and following its guidance, he was 
 led to a friendly cabin and received under its hospitable 
 shelter. After some Kttle conversation with his host, he 
 ventured upon the subject of religion, and wound up by 
 inquiring whether he were acquainted with the Lord 
 Jesus Christ; when he was astonished by the manifestly 
 innocent reply : " No, sir ; don't know 'im ; an' I've 
 never beam wher the gentleman lives at ! " 
 
 Mr. Boehm once heard the celebrated L6renzo Dow, 
 while on one of his hurried trips through the Peninsula, 
 
OUE QUAINT ITINERANT FATHEES. 33 
 
 preach at old Union Church, on Duck Creek circuit. 
 He had travelled all night and until 10 o'clock, A. M., 
 to be in time at his appointment. He preached to three 
 thousand people within and without the church. His 
 text was, "Watchman; what of the night ?; " and the 
 sermon was characteristic. When he concluded his dis- 
 course, he leaped out from the pulpit window ; remomited 
 his horse, and rode away to Duck Creek, where he 
 preached again to a great multitude. On that occasion, 
 this wonderful man rode eighty miles and preached iive 
 sermons without sleep. 
 
 The prophet Elisha was not the only instance of a 
 man of God providentially fed by a bird of heaven. A 
 widow Rouark, a Methodist lady of " ye olden times," 
 resided on Hooper's Island in the Chesapeake Bay. Rev. 
 Jos. Everett, one of the early itinerants, one day quite 
 unexpectedly, and just before the hour for dinner, sought 
 the hospitality of her home. Spring chickens had not 
 yet ripened, and the pious widow was greatly distressed 
 that she had nothing suitable to set before her disting- 
 uished visitor. Excusing herself, she left the house, and 
 started forth from the yard, in tearful agitation and dis- 
 tressing perplexity as to what expedient she could possibly 
 hit upon to relieve her mortifying embarrassment. But, 
 at that moment, the burden of her heart was strangely 
 lifted. A fish-hawk, sailing over her head, dropped at 
 her feet a fine large bass-fish, which she received with 
 joyful gratitude, and dressed and served to her reverend 
 
 visitor. 
 
 2-- 
 
34 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 The following interesting incident is related of Mr. 
 Harry Ennalls, one of the prominent early Methodists 
 of Dorchester county, Maryland. He was probably the 
 same man from whom the historic Ennalls' Spring camp- 
 ground derived its name. On one occasion, Mr. Boehm 
 and other ministers were at Mr. Ennalls' house, in com- 
 pany with Governor Bassett, of Dover, and the elder 
 James Asheton Bayard, United States Senator of Dela- 
 ware. For some unexplained reason, at evening family 
 worship, ignoring his ministerial guests, Mr. Ennalls 
 himself led in the devotions. He made the service the 
 occasion of a special and very fervent prayer in behalf 
 of his distinguished senatorial guest. At the conclu- 
 sion, Mr. Bayard, apparently much agitated, paced 
 back and forth across the parlor floor for a time ; and 
 then, turning to Mr. Ennalls, inquired with some severity : 
 "Harry, what did you mean by shaking your brim- 
 stone bag over me that way?" "To save you from 
 hell, sir," was the prompt response. The narrator 
 informs us that the Honorable Senator seemed visibly 
 impressed, and was silent and apparently thoughtful 
 throughout the evening. Was that honest, brave seed- 
 sowing of Harry Ennalls harvestless? The gathering 
 of the angel reapers in the day of eternity shall reveal 
 the answer. 
 
 Mr. Boehm was accustomed to act as amanuensis for 
 Bishop Asbury, when engaged, with his Presiding Elders, 
 in making the appointments. On such occasions, not 
 infrequently the anxious preachers were disposed to 
 
OUR QUAINT ITINERANT FATflERS. 35 
 
 importune liim to ascertain, if possible, what was likely 
 to be their fate. The humorous reply with which he was 
 accustomed to effect his escape when thus waylaid, was : 
 " Secret things belong unto the Bishop ; but those things 
 which are revealed, belong unto the preachers and to 
 their children." In those days the propriety of an 
 appointment was supposed to hinge largely upon the 
 condition that both preacher and people were kept in 
 profound ignorance of it until the awful hour of its ex 
 cathedra promulgation. Now, sometimes, both preachers 
 and people are wont to reveal some very curious and 
 interesting secrets, on the question of appointments, to 
 the Bishop ! 
 
 As already stated, camp-meetings were introduced 
 within the Peninsula in 1805. Two were held that year 
 on Dover circuit, which embraced at that time, fully one- 
 half of Kent county, Delaware. The first was held in 
 a grove about three miles south of Smyrna, on the Dover 
 road ; and the second at a place called Miller's Mill, a 
 few miles west of Dover, and not far from Union Church 
 on the present Wyoming circuit. 
 
 Modern Methodists are very orderly and quiet — per- 
 haps even cautiously undemonstrative in their camp- 
 meeting worship. In fact it is not impossible we have 
 cultivated the comely flowers of decency and order so 
 industriously as to materially shorten the crop of wheat. 
 But there was ofttimes a quaint fervor and heartiness — 
 a holy and boisterous enthusiasm, in the conduct of these 
 early camp worshippers, contrasting somewhat strangely 
 
36 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 with our present polished manners and good behavior. 
 We whisper our prayers, if not in the 
 
 " Holy awe, that dares not move ; 
 And all the silent heaven of love ; " 
 
 at any rate, in the exercise of our sesthetic good taste; 
 and the aecommodating leader of the camp prayer- 
 meeting thoughtfully sings the Doxology to announce 
 the occasional conversion at the serene altar of sacrifice. 
 But at the old time camp-meetings, the cries of the 
 stricken penitents, and the shouts of the Hberated pris- 
 oners were often jJistinctly heard at the distance of three 
 miles ! The powerful presentation, by our Methodist 
 fathers, of the "glorious Gospel" from the then novel 
 but truthful standpoint of Arminianism, was new, striking 
 and mightily effective in the production of overwhelming 
 awakening, and a corresponding anguish of repentance. 
 The glorious relief of conscious salvation was also 
 proportioned to the burden of terrible conviction. The 
 numbers involved in the sweep of these great spiritual 
 tornadoes would likewise naturally add to the excitement 
 of the individual participants ; and altogether it is not at 
 all wonderful that the noise of the primitive camp-meeting 
 was ofttimes like the "sound of many waters." This 
 will appear even the less remarkable when we read the 
 salvation statistics of these meetings. The young itine- 
 rant, Henry Bcehm, was the first secretary of the first 
 camp-meeting association; and was charged with the 
 spiritual book-keeping of the meetings, so far as tangible 
 
OUR QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS. 37 
 
 and visible results were concerned. The following is a 
 summary of his record for the first meeting near Smyrna : 
 
 On the first day, there were 47 persons converted and 
 9 wholly sanctified. The results of the second day were 
 100 converted and 75 wholly sanctified. The next 
 morning there were 62 converted and 53 wholly sancti- 
 fied. In the Pentecostal tornado of Sunday and Sunday 
 night, there were 420 converted and 190 wholly sancti- 
 fied. And during the entire meeting there were 1100 
 persons converted and 600 wholly sanctified. At the 
 second meeting, near Dover, " so mightily grew the word 
 of God, and prevailed," that there were 1320 professions 
 of conversion, and 916 of entire sanctification ! When 
 we consider the disparity between the population of these 
 rural districts and that of Jerusalem at the solemn festive 
 gathering of Pentecost; when we remember the super- 
 natural advantages attending the Apostolic ministry, and 
 their nearness to the startling events of the redemption 
 they proclaimed; we are constrained to the declaration 
 that the spiritual results above given, have never been 
 exceeded in the history of the Christian Church. 
 
 Neither the institutions, usages, nor methods of our 
 Church were ever invented or devised ; but were rather 
 expedients — ^the spontaneous outgro^vths of newly recog- 
 nized exigencies. For more than three decades from the 
 beginnings by Strawbridge and Embury, no special 
 arrangement was devised for the accommodation of peni- 
 tents seeking pardon. The custom seems to have been 
 for them to pray as best they could, wherever they might 
 
38 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 happen to be seated ; or, perchance to kneel in their 
 place ; or, if mightily convicted, to fall upon the floor, 
 writhing and wailing in the agony of their penitential 
 sorrow. Probably the first Methodist preacher who ever 
 invited awakened sinners to leave tlieir places in the 
 congregation, and to come forward and kneel at the 
 " altar " or communion rail, was Rev. Dr. Chandler. 
 The innovation was introduced in 1799, at Bethel, near 
 Chesapeake City, then called "Back Creek Church," on 
 Cecil circuit. About a score of persons accepted the 
 novel invitation ; among whom was the afterward re- 
 nowned Laurence Laurenson. " That," says Mr. Boehm, 
 " was the first time I ever saw or heard of mourners 
 being invited to the altar." The result of the experiment 
 proved its utility. The interest became concentrated; 
 penitents were much more conveniently counselled ; the 
 meetings became more orderly ; and thus the unpremedi- 
 tated expedient of this humble but mighty Methodist 
 revivalist, introduced in this little Peninsula chapel, has 
 gradually been adopted throughout Methodism ; and 
 indeed, substantially so, by all the evangelical Churches 
 of Christendom ; and the Methodist " mourner's bench," 
 once so mercilessly ridiculed by our sister Churches, has, 
 under some form and name, come to be universally 
 recognized as an important factor in the successful 
 conduct of revival meetings. 
 
 Some of the older Methodists, who will follow with 
 interest these fragmentary etchings, will perhaps remem- 
 ber a quaint itinerant, known extensively in his day. 
 
OUR QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS. 39 
 
 throughout the Peninsula, as "Father Wiltshire." If 
 the writer were asked to paint his ide-al of an " innocent 
 abroad," he would at once proceed to draw a sketch of 
 Rev. George Wiltshire. 
 
 He was a little, old, shrivelled-up Englishman, about 
 five feet in height, presenting somewhat the appearance 
 of a dilapidated and rusty pair of cast-oif scissors ; albeit, 
 in fact, he was but one side of a pair of scissors ; for he 
 was a stereotyped and helpless old bachelor. His little 
 head was as round as an orange, and as bald as a turnip ; 
 and had apparently met with some accident in his juve- 
 nile days that drove it down close between his projecting 
 shoulders. The front side of this quaint little protube- 
 rance, was wrought into a visage very much after the 
 pattern of the face of a screech owl, and would have 
 furnished a first-class study for the celebrated comic 
 artist, Thomas Nast. Nevertheless, it was a face that 
 would beget no painful or alarming misgivings; for it 
 was a truthful index to the solemn honesty of the good 
 man's matter-of-fact nature. 
 
 Father Wiltshire's ways, movements, conversation, 
 preaching — everything about him ; everything he did — 
 was stamped with his own original j)eculiarity. His 
 hands and feet were generally very much in his way ; he 
 was forever stumbling into something ridiculous ; and 
 whenever his ludicrous oddities of speech or manner 
 would " bring down the house " in a roar of laughter, as 
 was not infrequently the case, his astonished look would 
 betray his utter amazement at the conduct of his auditors 
 
40 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 — for he could never discover anything to provoke merri- 
 ment. Though by no means a censorious ascetic, he was 
 rarely, if ever, seen to smile. His profound honesty and 
 kindness of heart, however, always insured him a wel- 
 come at all the principal Methodist homes of the Penin- 
 sula ; and won to him the sincere esteem of many kindly 
 hearts. 
 
 Once on a time, it is said, at a camp-meeting, an 
 impulsive but indiscreet sister, whose hospitality he had 
 sometimes enjoyed, dared to give public expression to her 
 esteem and reverence, by imprinting a kiss on his fiir- 
 rowed cheek. Instantly putting himself into the attitude 
 of an insulted tom-cat, and drawing back with clenched 
 fist, he exclaimed : " Sister ! If it wasn't for the grace 
 of God, I'd knock you down — knock you down, sister!" 
 
 "Who, that Was present, can ever forget a scene in 
 which Father Wiltshire was the chief figure, at one of 
 the sessions of the old Philadelphia Conference in the 
 Union Church, Philadelphia? On some unsatisfactory 
 pretext, Rev. D. R. Thomas, M. D., had taken the 
 responsibility of leaving his appointment early in the 
 Conference year, and had settled in New York to the 
 practice of his profession. He now sent a request to be 
 granted a supernumerary relation. There was no little 
 discussion in the case, during which. Rev. A. Manship 
 ventured the opinion that, remaining a single man beyond 
 the time of life at which Methodist preachers ought to 
 be blessed with a good wife, had rendered Brother 
 Thomas peculiar, as was invariably the case under such 
 
OUR QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS. 41 
 
 circumstances; and that his old bachelor notions had 
 doubtless made him unacceptable, and led to his deserting 
 his work. 
 
 At this moment, Rev. W. L. Gray, in those days ever 
 on the alert to precipitate an episode in the Conference, 
 crept to the side of Father Wiltshire, as he crouched 
 upon the kneeling cushion, with his hand behind his ear, 
 listening intently at Mr. Manship's impulsive and char- 
 acteristic eloquence, and whisj)ered in his ear : 
 
 "Father Wiltshire; if I were you, I would resent 
 that insinuation. Manship is whipping you over Thomas' 
 shoulders." 
 
 "D'ye think so, brother — ^think so?" 
 " Yes ; I'm sure of it ; and I wouldn't stand it ! " 
 The intense, wild stare of the old veteran showed that 
 he had taken the bait, and was ready for the fray. He 
 poised himself for the onslaught; and the moment 
 the last word dropped from the lips of the unconscious 
 offender, Father Wiltshire sprang to a perpendicular 
 with the promptness and agility of a Jumping Jack; 
 and electrified the conference and the immense audience 
 with the following deliverance : 
 
 " Mr. Bishop ; I reckon the dear, good brother who's 
 just fired off, has been a slinging his insinuations at poor, 
 old George Wiltshire. And I rise, sir, to make my 
 defence. It's true, Bishop, I never got married ; I'm 
 mighty sorry I couldn't; but I hope that aint no 
 hanging matter. I've always thought, sir, I had good 
 reasons for remaining single. Bishop and brethren ; 
 
42 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 when I was a young man, I thought a good deal about 
 gittin' married, and I prayed over it; but I was poor, 
 Bishop — very poor ; and I was afraid I didn't have no 
 right to marry some poor girl or woman, and half starve 
 her to death. So I thought I'd better wait tUl I got 
 more money. But oh, brethren ; my appointments were 
 poor, and kept me poor; and I never felt able to git 
 married. After a while, I begun to grow old, with all 
 the trials and tribulations of a poor, lonely old bachelor; 
 with no particular home, and no wife to darn my 
 stockings, or smooth my pillow when I'm 'under the 
 weather.' And now, Mr. Bishop and friends" (at the 
 same moment casting an imploring look, with out- 
 stretched hands, towards the galleries crowded with 
 Philadelphia ladies), "Now I'm old and ugly; and 
 who'd have me now? — ^who'd have me now?" Amid 
 the roars and screams of laughter that ensued, the 
 Bishop's sobriety went by the board ; and Father Wilt- 
 shire sank down to his place, wondering what on earth 
 had happened in the conference. 
 
 In the spring of 1853, the conference was held at 
 Harrisburg, Pa. Father "Wiltshire had reached the seat 
 of the conference, coming across the country by stage. 
 When the session closed, he concluded to return by rail- 
 road, via Philadelphia. His car was crowded with his 
 brother ministers. He and his capacious old carpet 
 bag, always stuffed with all his most precious worldly 
 possessions, monopolized one of the rear seats. As the 
 train rolled along, the preachers were engaged in good- 
 
OUE QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS. 43 
 
 humored conversation; while Father Wiltshire was 
 engrossed manipulating the contents of his carpet bag, 
 apparently intent on making a complete inventory of all 
 its varied treasures. Suddenly the train darted into a 
 tunnel, whose midnight darkness was rendered the more 
 hideous by the fitful glare of the fugitive sparks from 
 the puffing locomotive. To one unused to such an 
 experience, it seemed as if they might suddenly have 
 come into the weird and doleful regions of Dante's 
 Inferno. 
 
 In the comparative silence ensuing, a rustling and 
 scrambling was heard, accompanied by suppressed groans 
 and exclamations of alarm ; and when at last the 
 train emerged into daylight, the brethren beheld Father 
 Wiltshire crouching in the middle of the car; while 
 books, papers, collars, handkerchiefs, shirts, etc., — the 
 contents of the carpet bag — were scattered through 
 the car in ludicrous confusion. Straightening himself 
 slowly, and scanning the situation in every direction, as 
 the look of terror on his countenance faded away into 
 an expression of satisfaction and relief, he convulsed his 
 brethren with the exclamation : " Thank God I'm not in 
 Hell ! " 
 
 Mr. Wiltshire's Idndness of heart disposed him to 
 give every one a fair show ; and his ignorance of human 
 nature sometimes exposed him to ridicule as the dupe of 
 the foolish. Near Snow Hill, Maryland, lived a young 
 man whose zeal had so far outrun his knowledge, that 
 he proclaimed himself "called to be an apostle," and 
 
44 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 repeatedly, but vainly, sought license to preach at the 
 hands of the pastors of the circuit. Soon after Father 
 Wiltshire's arrival at Snow Hill, as preacher in charge, 
 he was favored with a call by this consequential igno- 
 ramus, who thus accosted him : 
 
 "B-brother Willysliire; I think, s-sir, the L-lord's 
 called me t-to p-preach the G-gospel." 
 
 "Well, brother,"^ responded the preacher, "If you 
 think the Lord has called you to preach, you shall have 
 a chance — ^liave a chance, brother. I will announce, 
 Sunday morning, that you will preach in Snow Hill 
 Sunday night. Now go home and make your prepara- 
 tion." 
 
 Accordingly, a&ev preaching on Sunday morning, the 
 good man made the following announcement : " I want 
 you all to come out to-night — all to come out. A 
 brother's going to preach you never heard before, and 
 may never hear any more — never hear any more." 
 
 When the hour arrived, the church was crowded; the 
 people expecting that some distinguished stranger was to 
 address them. At length, to their amazement, the self- 
 constituted herald elbowed his way through the crowd to 
 the pulpit; and the officials who knew him hung their 
 heads in mortification, but still hoped they might be 
 mistaken as to his identity. After blundering through 
 the preliminary exercises, the poor crank announced, 
 with drawling stammer, the words of his text: "Ye 
 shall grow up as calves of the stall," repeating them 
 three or four times. Then he said: " B-breethering ; 
 
OUR QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS. 45 
 
 I'm not afeered o' the face o' clay," and again rejieated 
 his text. He now cleared his throat, scratched his head, 
 and again declared: "I tell you, breethering; I'm not 
 afeered o' the face o' clay!" And finally, after again 
 repeating his text, he concluded his sermon with the 
 announcement : " The subject matter in hand is calves ! " 
 As the poor fellow, at this point, discovered his inability 
 to do anything with his "calves," he sat down over- 
 come with confusion. Almost equally embarrassed, 
 Father Wiltshire had gathered up the cape of his great 
 coat about his head, and sought to hide himself behind 
 the pulpit. At this point a leading official approached, 
 while the congregation was vainly endeavoring to man- 
 tain its decorum ; and shaking the pastor, said : 
 
 "Come, Brother Wiltshire; this brother's broken 
 down, and here's a large congregation expecting preach- 
 ing. Get up, and preach or exhort, or say something ! " 
 
 "Wh— why, brother, what can I say?" 
 
 " Oh, I don't know, brother Wiltshire ; say what you 
 please." 
 
 Instantly the old man bleated out — " Ba-ah ! " 
 
 Amid the uproarious laughter that ensued, the official 
 expostulated with : 
 
 " Oh, Brother Wiltshire ! what made you say that ? " 
 
 "Wh-why, brother; what else could I say? The 
 brother's made us out all calves ! " 
 
 So completely demoralized were both pastor and 
 people, that the laughing multitude scattered, like frolic- 
 some calves, without even the formality of the benedic- 
 
46 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 tion. To this day, the older Methodists of Snow Hill, 
 who were witnesses of this disorderly scene, are wont 
 to laugh over the calf sermon, and Father Wiltshire's 
 strikingly appropriate application of its main proposition. 
 The sequel proved the old gentleman's announcement 
 prophetic. The people had never heard the preacher 
 before; and they never did hear him any more! He 
 was effectually cured of his hallucination. 
 
 This chapter may appropriately conclude with some 
 humorous glimpses from the Peninsular drama in which 
 the great Asbury acted a part. Francis Asbury was 
 bom in England in 1745, and died in Virginia in 1816. 
 He was licensed to preach at sixteen years of age, and 
 received by John Wesley into the travelling ministry 
 six years later. At twenty-six years of age, he landed 
 in America as a missionary. At the organization of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church in 1784, he was elected 
 and ordained Bishop. In labors he was as abundant as 
 Paul the Apostle, and like him, for his work's sake, 
 he remained unmarried. "He was always poor and 
 always generous." It is estimated that during his 
 ministry in America, he "travelled more than 270,000 
 miles, visiting every part of the country ; preached more 
 than 16,000 sermons, ordained over 4,000 ministers, 
 and presided at 224 conferences. It is to the labors 
 of this indefatigable apostle, more than to any other 
 human agency, that Methodism in America owes its 
 excellent organization and wonder&l growth." 
 
 In his "Reminiscences," Father Bcehm says of 
 
OUR QUAINT ITINERANT FATHERS. 47 
 
 Bishop Asbury: "He was five feet and nine inches 
 high, very erect, and weighed one hundred and fifty 
 pounds. In dress he was a pattern of neatness. He 
 wore a lowH3rowned, broad-rimmed hat. His clothes 
 were always black. He wore a frock coat, with 
 straight collar, and buttoned up to the neck." Instead 
 of pantaloons, he rejoiced in short clothes, or breeches 
 with leggings, and sometimes the ornamental shoe- 
 buckle. His preachers, originally, dressed in the same 
 manner; but, in 1810, some of the more independent 
 and progressive among the ministers began to substitute 
 pantaloons for short clothes and leggings, to the great 
 anxiety of the good Bishop, who imagined he discovered, 
 in these innovations, the sure indication of the prema- 
 ture decay and dissolution of his beloved Methodism. 
 The Church, he feared, was all going to wreck and ruin, 
 because the preachers would wear pantaloons ! What 
 would the old hero do — ^what would he say, should he 
 come back to-day and find the preachers clad in the 
 height of the fashion, and their wives wearing hats, 
 coats and vests ; and, with bangs and bustles, becoming 
 more and more the very antipodes of their godly grand- 
 mothers of his day, with every returning season ! 
 
 Bishop Asbury was a genial spirit, full of good 
 humor and pleasantry in his social intercourse; but 
 very rarely betrayed anything but the most serious spirit 
 in his writings. The nearest approach to a joke the 
 writer remembers to have discovered in his journal, was 
 his remark concerning the marriage of Rev. Joseph 
 
48 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Hartley, soon after his release froia imprisonment in the 
 Easton, Maryland, jail. On sixty dollars a year — ^the 
 allowance of a Methodist preacher in those days — ^it 
 was, of course, impossible to afford the luxury of a wife. 
 Mr. Hartley "married a wife;" and, therefore, like the 
 man in the Gospel, he could no longer "come" or go 
 as an itinerant ; and hence, he settled down on a Talbot 
 County farm, and served the Church thenceforth as a 
 local preacher. 
 
 Mr. Hartley had, it seems, a very exalted notion of 
 his own ability aud importance; and needed something 
 to bring him to a becoming estimate of his mundane 
 relations. Writing concerning his marriage and loca- 
 tion. Bishop Asbury remarks: "I find the care of a 
 wife begins to humble my young friend, and make him 
 very teachable. I have always thought he carried great 
 sail ; but he will have ballast now ! " Poor Joseph 
 Hartley was not the only man who has been thus 
 sobered ! 
 
 Some very pious friends of the Church are no little 
 distressed, oftentimes, at the fact that some of her min- 
 isters occasionally switch off from the main track of 
 ministerial work, to deliver lectures in the interest of 
 various causes; and, sometimes, to help replenish an 
 empty pocket-book. If such will read Father Boehm's 
 book, they will discover that these brethren, they esteem 
 so erratic, are right in the line of the apostolical succes- 
 sion. He says : " Mr. Asbury lectured at Perden's, and 
 engaged the friends to subscribe 700 lbs. of pork towards 
 
OXTE QUAINT ITINERANT FATHEES. 49 
 
 the erection of the meeting-house at Barratt's." It by 
 no means follows from this statement that the "friends" 
 at Perden's were a hoggish set of people ! 
 
 April would now be considered early for camp- 
 meeting; but our good old fathers did not stand for 
 the season or weather. On Thursday, April 18th, 1810, 
 the Philadelphia Conference was held in connection with 
 a camp-meeting in a beautiful grove, on the western 
 suburbs of the town of Easton, Maryland. It was a 
 season of great interest, well remembered by some of the 
 old Methodists of that region, who stiil lingered on the 
 shores of time in the year 1876. As connected with 
 that conference, the following story was told the writer 
 concerning Bishop Asbury and Billy Hibbard : At the 
 conference roll-call, the secretary called, in its order, 
 the name William Hibbard. There was no response, 
 although Brother Hibbard sat prominently upon one of 
 the front seats. Again the secretary called the name, 
 and still there was no response. Said the Bishop, 
 somewhat sternly: "Brother Hibbard; why don't you 
 answer to your name?" "I will," said he, "Bishop, 
 when the secretary calls it." " Isn't your name William 
 Hibbard, sir?" inquired the Bishop. "No, sir; my 
 name's Billy Hibbard." "Billy! Billy!" said the 
 Bishop— "Why that is a little boy's name." "Well, 
 sir," replied Billy, " I was quite a little boy when my 
 father named me ! " In the roar of laughter that fol- 
 lowed, the vanquished Bishop was constrained to join. 
 3 
 
50 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HEROES or ERIN. 
 
 TRISHMEN have borne no insignificant part in the 
 history of Methodism. Both across the sea and 
 in this country, their enthusiasm and eloquence 
 have left their lasting impress. The seed sown in New 
 York and Maryland, by Embury and Strawbridge, was 
 afterwards cultivated in part by faithful laborers born 
 in the same green island. Like the Jew, the Irishman 
 is cosmopolitan ; and, like the Jew, his tribal traits are 
 so distinct and prominent, that he is instantly recog- 
 nized to the ends of the earth. The instincts of the 
 typical Irishman are aggressive. No army has marched, 
 in modern warfare, in which his sturdy tramp has not 
 mingled. No assembly of statesmen has discussed politi- 
 cal problems, but in which his brogue has been heard. 
 No mission beacon lights the mountain tops of heathen- 
 dom, to which his hand has not contributed its fagot. 
 Erom the stormy days of 1780-83, when the brave 
 and eloquent William Wright traversed our Peninsular 
 fields and forests, proclaiming the Gospel of the King- 
 dom, till he fell amid the wilds of Annamessex, — 
 through all our heroic century, down to the days of 
 O'Niell, Carroll, Connor, McSorley, MacNichol and 
 
HEROES OP ERIN. 51 
 
 Watt, of our present Wilmington Conference, the loqua- 
 cious and pugnacious Irishman has mingled efficiently 
 in the itinerant roll, and borne his part bravely in the 
 Methodist division of the great battle against sin and 
 the Devil. 
 
 To do justice to all the noble Irishmen who, through 
 the century, have toiled to build up and strengthen 
 Peninsular Methodism, would require at least a large 
 volume. By the plan of the present work, tliis phase 
 of our history must be compressed into the limits of a 
 single chapter ; and out of the many striking characters, 
 standing out in bold rehef amid the stirring scenes that 
 loom up before us, a very few must needs be selected as 
 representatives of their class. 
 
 No Irishman perhaps, ever so strikingly impressed 
 himself upon the Methodism of the Peninsula as William 
 Barnes. He was generally known, and generally pre- 
 ferred to speak of himself as " Billy " Barnes. He died 
 a few years ago in a good old age, and his memoir can 
 be seen in the archives of the Philadelphia Conference. 
 Many of his earher years in the ministry, were spent 
 riding the large circuits of Delaware and Maryland; 
 and even after he had reached the zenith of his fame, 
 he received an occasional appointment within the Penin- 
 sula; the last being to Union Church in Wilmington, 
 Del., but a few years before the last division of the 
 Philadelphia Conference. While many familiar faces 
 were missed, on the first assembling of the Wilmington 
 Conference, the absence of none was more generally 
 
52 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA, 
 
 regretted than that of Billy Barnes. His presence 
 would have saved any assembly of men from being 
 considered common-place. No debate or routine of 
 business, in which he took a conspicuous part, could 
 possibly become dull. He was the comical point in the 
 conference picture ; and largely the inspiration and the 
 spice of most of the conference episodes. 
 
 Billy Barnes was such an Irishman — so unique in 
 his facial angles; so comical in his natural expression; 
 so carelessly pitched together and tumbled into his 
 ill-fitting clothes; so heavily bewigged; so almost hid 
 behind the screen of an immense shirt collar, and so 
 fidgety mthal — ^that the very sight of him, even in 
 repose, would have provoked a smile from the most 
 discouraged dyspeptic in the land. His voice and 
 brogue were as remarkable as his face, and his speech 
 was the fitting exclamation point that intensified his 
 grotesque expression. Nevertheless, as a thinker and 
 orator, Barnes was both strong and brilliant — some- 
 times an electric light that dazzled and astonished his 
 audience; and, in his eloquent pulpit addresses, the 
 fantastic and ludicrous were often, for the time, obscured 
 by the vivid flashes of his genius. When fully aroused 
 and overflowing with his subject, his conceptions and 
 sentences rushed along like the rapids of Niagara. 
 Sometimes, under the excitement of some inspiring and 
 favorite theme, such as, " The Lord is a great God ; and 
 a great King above all gods;" he heaped up words 
 so rapidly that his ponderous thoughts and glowing 
 
HEROES OF ERIN. 53 
 
 sentences came down, pell-mell, on his auditors like an 
 irresistible avalanche. 
 
 The following incident was related to me by my 
 father, who was present at a camp-meeting prayer 
 service where Mr. Barnes presided. From some unex- 
 plained cause the meeting was dull and uninteresting. 
 Barnes became visibly nervous. Finally, seeming to 
 grow desperate, he suddenly sprang to his feet and 
 thus delivered himself, in rapid and excited utter- 
 ance : " Braithren ; y'er not prayin'. Down with ye 
 on yer knees ; an' pray for life, ivery one of ye." And, 
 turning towards his wife, who was seated in the audi- 
 ence, he called out, " Mrs. Barnes ; lade us, an' pray 
 mightily. Good Lord ; strike a spark from atarnal 
 steel ; set afire the magazane of sin, an' blow up the 
 works of the Daivil ! " The " Daivil," being unpre- 
 pared for so furious an onslaught, and that, too, with 
 his own fiery weapons, was vanquished ; and the battle 
 ground was held by the rejoicing victors. 
 
 As another specimen of this sulphurous phase of 
 the fiery Irishman's eloquence, I give the concluding 
 sentence of his terrific and scathing appeal on repentance, 
 delivered on a Delaware camp-ground many years ago. 
 It is said he once startled the sinners of the city 
 of Columbia, Pa., with substantially the same fearful 
 utterances. The sermon was on the text: "The times 
 of this ignorance God winked at ; but now commandeth 
 all men, everywhere, to repent." The discourse through- 
 out was a Vesuvius on fire ; whose red-hot streams of 
 
54 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 molten and seething truth swept away every "refuge 
 of lies," and left the impenitent without even the 
 semblance of excuse. Reaching the application, he 
 delivered his grand climax in the following fiery 
 tornado : " Now, ye ungrateful, wicked rebels ; it's yer 
 douty to repant. If ye don't repant ye'U be damned. 
 If ye won't repant, ye ought to be damned. And if I 
 were in God Almighty's place, a ridin' on the Gospel 
 locomotive on the salvation railroad ; an' ye were on the 
 track an' wouldn't repant, I'd run over ye an' niver 
 blow anaither whistle!" 
 
 On account of Mr. Barnes' dress — especially his 
 flowing wig and immense collar, — he was unfavorably 
 criticised by the uncharitably disposed; who charged 
 him with undue pride, and with being largely deficient 
 in spirituality. Having been informed of this murmur 
 of discontent and criticism, among the people at one of 
 his Sussex County, Del., appointmentSj he improved the 
 occasion of his next visit to preface his sermon with this 
 utterance : " Braithren ; I understand some of ye are 
 disposed to judge Billy Barnes' tree by its laves anstid 
 of its fruits — by what I've got on me anstid of what 
 I've got in me; an' ye think I'm proud an' got no 
 relagion. Now I want to say before ye all, I think so 
 highly of my blessed Master, that if I was a goin' to 
 atarnity to-day, I'd dress up in the very best clothes 
 I could find in all Philadelphy, in which to make my 
 bow on the occasion of my introduction to the great, 
 atarnal King of Glory!" 
 
HEROES OF ERIN. 65 
 
 An aged Methodist of Sussex, Del., once heard Mr. 
 Barnes preach at a camp-meeting in that county, where 
 it was his misfortune to be seated by the side of an ill- 
 natured brother ; who, during the earlier part of the 
 discourse, annoyed those seated near him by growling 
 cut his discontent at the height and general dimensions 
 of the preacher's collar. The speaker's nervous habit 
 of pulling up his linen, whenever he began to grow 
 excited in discourse, only intensified this listener's dis- 
 satisfaction, who continued his snarling, saying : " Yes ; 
 you've got more sail than you kin well carry — entirely 
 too much canvass for a heavy blow — ^you'll capsize 
 sartin — ought to take two or three reefs in it — can't 
 preach fit for nothin' with no sich collar as that!" 
 After a time, however, he became silent and attentive ; 
 and finally, at the conclusion of one of Barnes' grand 
 climaxes, surprised everybody and convulsed those who 
 were in a position to take in the full situation, by crying 
 out lustily: "Halleluyer! God bless the preacher! I 
 don't care now if his shirt's all collar!" 
 
 A ludicrous scene occurred, once on a time, on a very 
 sandy road called "Featherbed Lane," near Concord, 
 Delaware. While on his way from the above place, 
 where he had preached in the morning, to his afternoon 
 appointment, Mr. Barnes' horse, seized with a sudden 
 impulse to do what he could in the way of spreading 
 the Gospel, ran away. After breaking the reins in his 
 frantic efforts to stop the excited beast, and exhausting 
 his Irish vocabulary of soothing and coaxing terms in 
 
56 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 vain ; he hit upon the happy expedient of the influence 
 of sacred song, and lustily poured forth the melody of 
 Balerma to the words : 
 
 " Must I be carried to the skies 
 On flowery beds of ease?" 
 
 and, by the time he had finished the stanza, the melo- 
 dious charm, expressed in the brogue of Erin, together 
 with the depth of the sand, had soothed the erratic 
 animal down to a dignified and becoming ministerial 
 equine gait ; and, save for a good dusting and a terrific 
 scare, Billy Barnes was in statu quo ante terrorem. 
 
 A more critical adventure, in which Mr. Barnes was 
 the central figure, occurred in the old Zion Ciiurcli, near 
 Milton, Delaware. I give it substantially as related by 
 an eye witness. Brother Atkins, of Georgetown, Dela- 
 ware, father of Rev. E. C. Atkins of the Wilmington 
 Conference. It was on a pleasant Sunday aft;ernoon in 
 autumn ; and the heat from the first fire of tlie season 
 brought out a myriad of wasps from the crevices where 
 they had taken up winter quarters, who sallied forth 
 in quest of spring-time game. It was Billy Barnes' 
 appointment to preach. The hymn had been finished, 
 and his reverence devoutly said " let us pray," and pro- 
 ceeded with a few high sounding opening sentences; 
 when one of these belligerent insects accepted the invi- 
 tation to prey, by unceremoniously alighting between 
 Mr. Barnes' huge collar and the back of his neck. 
 
 The half expressed petition, upon the poor man's 
 
HEROES OF ERIN. 57 
 
 lips, terminated suddenly in a somewhat suppressed 
 Irish grunt ; attracting the attention of the congrega- 
 tion, and fixing upon him the gaze of that part of 
 the audience within range to see behind the pulpit 
 breastworks. With a look of expectant terror upon 
 his countenance; but with a coolness and steadiness of 
 nerve that would have done credit to AVilliam Tell ; he 
 proceeded quietly to divest himself, first of his coat, 
 then of his vest. Next, the extensive necktie was 
 unreefed, and the projecting collar removed. Mean- 
 while his waspship had descended below the neck-band 
 of his shirt, and was exploring the dimensions of the 
 preacher's back. It was a critical moment. In the 
 desperate extremity, but one thing could be done ; and 
 while great beads of perspiration gathered on his livid 
 face, the preacher carefully took off the garment next in 
 order. To this, fortunately, the persistent insect was 
 clinging ; and, with a grunt and a " now, then ! " that 
 fairly hissed from between his teeth, the outraged Irish- 
 man planted his foot upon his enemy, and he was hors du 
 combat. Mr. Barnes then proceeded, with the utmost 
 nonchalance, to resume his apparel ; and, beginning 
 where he had been interrupted, he finished his prayer, 
 in which he thanked God that he had been "delavered 
 from that nasty wasp — ^the ammissary of the Daivil." 
 He then proceeded with the sermon. 
 
 During this perilous adventure, the congregation, of 
 course, while somewhat alarmed, was inexpressibly 
 tickled ; and, as one after another was enabled to take 
 
 3* 
 
58 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA . 
 
 in the situation, attack after attack of hysterical convul- 
 sions set in, until the church was filled with the hissing 
 of illy suppressed laughter ; and throughout the service, 
 the sailing of a wasp near the preacher's dodging head, 
 was the signal for renewed merriment. At his next 
 appointment, foui- weeks later, poor Barnes picked up 
 the hymn-book with a nervous jerk; tugged uneasily 
 at the corners of his collar ; gave a timorous look around 
 and upward toward the ceiling; and again upset the 
 gravity and decorum of his audience by the anxious 
 inquiry: "Braithren; has the abominable old Daivil 
 sent any of his nasty wasps here to-day?" 
 
 William Barnes was a great bundle of nerves. His 
 nature was intense to the last degree. As a result, when 
 mightily impressed with a sense of the honor and 
 blessedness of his mission, he was a torrent of enthu- 
 siasm that must have vent or disaster was likely to 
 be the result. At a Maryland camp-meeting, being 
 appointed to preach, Mr. Barnes retired to the solitudes 
 of the grove to pray and meditate upon the subject of 
 his message. While here, he became mightily moved 
 with the Divine afflatus ; and came into the preacher's 
 tent, scarcely able to restrain his glowing exclamations 
 from the notice of the swarming multitudes without. 
 On inquiring the time, he was informed it was halfpast 
 9 o'clock. He paced the floor, back and forth, like 
 a caged lion, for a few minutes, and again restlessly 
 inquired : "Braithren ; aint it time to blow the hairn?" 
 Being answered in the negative, his nervousness in- 
 
HEROES OF EEIN. 59 
 
 creased, until finally he astonished his brethren by 
 the peremptory command to the preacher in charge : 
 " Braither ; go blow the hairn : I shall bust ! " It is 
 needless to add that the trumpet was, at once sounded 
 for preaching ; the safety valve of the intense nature 
 was thus opened, and the threatened calamity averted. 
 
 But while thus high-strung, and sometimes appar- 
 ently the victim of enthusiasm run wild, Mr. Barnes 
 was not oblivious to the proprieties arising out of pecu- 
 liar and exciting circumstances. He never forgot to 
 exalt Christ; or that the chief end of the Gospel 
 minister's massage is to save souls, as the following inci- 
 dent will illustrate. At a great camp-meeting held near 
 Principio, in Cecil County, Md., Mr. Barnes was given 
 the Sunday morning appointment, an opportunity in 
 which his very soul delighted. He was never in better 
 trim or more completely filled with his message. As 
 was his wont, after a brilliant introduction, in which he 
 laid a broad and deep foundation; he announced three 
 great propositions which he promised to discuss ; and ' 
 told the people that, by God's help, he would " blow the 
 very heavens away from over the lying infidal's head, 
 and by the airthquake of God Almighty's everlasting 
 proclamations, tear away the yawning ground from 
 beneath his iniquitous feet, and show him to himself 
 and the whole univarse, hair-hung and braze-shaken 
 over the stormy lake of endless hell !" 
 
 During the discussion of the first proposition, he 
 gained the attention of all the thousands in the audi- 
 
60 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 ence; and by the time he had finished the second, the 
 assembly was moved as if by a mighty tempest. Tears 
 flowed in wonderful profusion; and beneath the tri- 
 umphant halleluia-chorus that thrilled the encampment, 
 was heard an undertone of penitential agony from all 
 parts of the vast concourse, that finally reached the ears 
 of the exultant preacher. Though riding gloriously on 
 the crest of so great a wave of triumph ; and although 
 his final proposition was climactic, and urgently invited 
 him on to the grand conclusion ; Mr. Barnes saw that 
 now was the opportunity of this great occasion to har- 
 vest souls ; and leaving thirdly to take care of itself, 
 stepping to the good local preacher who was to fol- 
 low him, he tapped him on the shoulder and said : 
 " Braither ; give ye'r invitation, an' let the poor, lost 
 wretches come at once an' seek salvation ! " The brother 
 addressed, slowly arose; and, restating Barnes' third 
 proposition, began deliberately to discuss it ; when the 
 indignant herald sprang to his side and arrested him 
 with : " Braither ; that won't do. I want ye to under- 
 stand that Billy Barnes is fully competent to discuss the 
 third proposition, and would do so if the Lord God 
 Almighty wanted it discussed. But He don't: He 
 wants to save souls. Give the invitation quick, braither ; 
 or I'll do it meself ! " But no further invitation was 
 necessary. The first intimation of a chance was accepted 
 by multitudes ; and scores were that day converted. 
 
 Billy Barnes was as generous and liberal as he was 
 witty and impulsive — always ready to respond to every 
 
HEROES OF ERIN. 61 
 
 appeal of philanthropy or Church progress, according 
 to his ability. At a session of the Philadelphia Con- 
 ference, where a subscription was taken in aid of 
 Dickinson College, he arose in his usual nervous man- 
 ner; tugging at his ever offending collar; and, in his 
 irresistible brogue, thus addressed Bishop Waugh: 
 "Mr. Prasident; you may put Billy Barnes down for 
 fafty dollars anyhow ; and. Bishop, if you give him an 
 appintment where the ecclasiastical nubbins grow long 
 enough, he'll give fafty dollars more at the end of the 
 year." 
 
 When stationed at Snow Hill, Md., Mr. Barnes suf- 
 fered an attack of malarial illness, so very severe that 
 his physician, Dr. Pitts, despairing of his recovery, 
 deemed it his duty to inform him of his critical con- 
 dition. At the conclusion of his tender and solemn 
 announcement, the doctor said : " Brother Barnes, should 
 you be taken from us, what word have you for our 
 encouragement?" His reply upset the gravity of those 
 in attendance, and convinced the good doctor that his 
 patient was not yet quite ready to take the angelic 
 degree. "Well, doctor;" said the irrepressible Irish- 
 man, "I once sarved the Daivil ; an', these many years, 
 I've been sarving the Lord Jasus Christ ; an' now, sir, 
 whichever has the best right to me can take me!" But, 
 evidently, at no time after his conversion, was Billy 
 Barnes on friendly terms with his Satanic majesty. He 
 seldom preached a sermon or made a prayer, that he did 
 not take occasion to pay his respects both to Beelzebub, 
 
62 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 and the Roman Pontiff whom he considered Satan's great 
 lieutenant on earth. A young minister related to the 
 writer, that, while Mr. Barnes was pastor of Union 
 Church, Wilmington, he, being present one day, was 
 invited into the pulpit to make the closing prayer. As 
 he was about ending his brief petition, Billy tugged at 
 his sleeve and whispered : " Braither ; don't forget the 
 Pope and the Daivil !" 
 
 It was during the same pastorate, that, having heard 
 of some ill-natured criticism on account of his curly 
 and flowing wig ; he prefaced his sermon, one Sunday 
 morning, with the following dramatic and irresistible 
 performance : " Braithren ; I understand ther's some of 
 ye that don't like it because I wear a wag. Now, Pve 
 made up my mind to wear it or not, jist as the congre- 
 gation says. Here I am : look at me. This is Billy 
 Barnes with the wag. And this " — at the same moment 
 snatching the offending wig from the top of his bald 
 pate — "this is Billy Barnes without the wag! Which 
 way will ye have him?" In the roars of laughter and 
 vociferous responses — "Brother Barnes with the wig! " — 
 that ensued, the wig critics of old Union were utterly 
 discomfited. 
 
 Perhaps but one such man as William Barnes has 
 ever lived. God had a purpose and a work for him in 
 his day, and nobly did he fulfill his Master's designs. 
 The stamp of his fervent soul, his brilliant intellect, 
 his fiery zeal, his apostolic heroism made its enduring 
 impress on the Peninsular Methodism he helped to 
 
HEEOES OF EEIN. 63 
 
 build. He rests from his labors ; but his works follow 
 him ; and, like faithful Abel, " being dead he yet 
 speaketh." If some abler historian, to whom the annals 
 of his singularly interesting and useful life are accessi- 
 ble, should be moved to weave them into a biogra- 
 phy becoming the worthy subject, he would render 
 the church a valuable service. May this little sketch 
 inspire the preparation of a " Life of Billy Barnes." 
 
 Another Irishman, who figured largely in the history 
 of Peninsular Methodism, was Rev. John Henry. Mr. 
 Henry was reputed to be a thorough theologian, and a 
 very able preacher. His mightiest appeals were to the 
 reason. He lacked the intensity of William Barnes ; 
 and, while his ministry was a steady glow and a fair, 
 strong breeze, it never, like that of Barnes, exhibited 
 thunderbolts on the rampage or the tornado in a frenzy. 
 Neither was his person so imposing, nor his appearance 
 and manner so striking, as those of Billy Barnes. He 
 was low of stature ; stoop-shouldered ; unsophisticated 
 — almost verdant — in appearance ; and rushed through 
 the world and his work at a pace that insured him the 
 distinction of being the constant butt of amusement to 
 his brethren, without the least suspicion thereof on his 
 part. His speech was ofttimes as awkward as his gait; 
 constraining the conviction that he must have been ne^r 
 akin to his fellow-countryman, who said of himself: 
 " An' shure, I hardly iver open my mouth, but I ' put 
 my foot into it.'" 
 
 Having grown up in the blessed Isle of Saint Patrick, 
 
64 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Mr. Henry came to America with little conception, but 
 with holy and intense horror, of " sarpents, lazards and 
 all aither varmints." By reason of his servile fear of 
 these things, he was for the remainder of his natural 
 "life-time subject to bondage." His terror-stricken 
 • description of a creature that crossed his path and very 
 greatly alarmed him one day, soon after his arrival 
 in this country, was unique. Calling excitedly to the 
 friend at whose home he was sojourning, he cried out 
 in bewildered alarm : " O, braither, come here ! Run 
 quick : I'm much scair't ! I've seen a great, ugly baste, 
 that's hid himself in the grass that he may crape on 
 me unawares ! He's about as lang as my finger, an' as 
 broad as he's lang ; he's as ugly as Beelzebub ; an' he's 
 all swell't up with his wrath at me ; and braither, when- 
 iver he walks he goes steady by jerks!" A photo- 
 grapher could hardly have taken a better likeness of a 
 toad. 
 
 In every Peninsular field where Mr. Henry labored, 
 his singularly faithful pastoral work ; his clear, strong 
 pulpit ministrations; and his ludicrous blunders and 
 innocent Irish bulls, left an impress that lingers pleas- 
 antly to this day in the memories of the old time saints. 
 In 1826, with the renowned elder Cookman as preacher 
 in charge, John Henry travelled Easton circuit, in 
 Talbot County, Maryland, remaining the following year 
 as chief pastor. Wonderful success attended the work 
 of those years. Hundreds were converted — among them 
 many prominent members of the Protestant Episcopal 
 
HEROES OF ERIN. 65 
 
 Church, the leaven of whose influence still lingers in 
 that communion. As already indicated, Mr. Henry was 
 remarkable for the industry and effectiveness of his 
 pastoral work, which seems to have embraced all classes 
 and colors, and all Churches. It was no unusual thing 
 for him to be out making pastoral calls before break- 
 fast. On one occasion, he routed a family out of bed, 
 breaking up their morning nap, that he might, in 
 passing, have prayers with them. He would rush into 
 a lawyer's office, while he was busy with his clients; 
 and, after a few words of kind and faithful warning, 
 call attorney and visitors to their knees on the office 
 floor, while he offered his plea in their behalf before the 
 Court of Heaven. And such was his innocent, matter- 
 of-fact honesty of manner, that it was impossible to 
 become offended with the liberty he took. Many a 
 time has the writer heard the celebrated criminal lawyer, 
 Hon. James Lloyd Martin, of Easton, entertain his 
 friends with most humorous but respectful representa- 
 tions of the pointed, personal pastoral work in his 
 behalf, of one whom he affectionately called " Brother 
 Henry." 
 
 Hon. John Leeds Carr was also a prominent lawyer 
 of Easton, and a good friend of Mr. Henry. Once, 
 however, their amicable relations were seriously threat- 
 ened. Mr. Carr was the fortunate proprietor of a small 
 but beautiful clover lot, in which he took no little pride. 
 Mr. Henry owned a pet horse. Bob, whom he some- 
 times turned on the "commons" at night; both as a 
 
66 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 means of supplementing the stores of his hay-loft, and 
 of furnishing the animal with a little of the needed spice 
 of variety. On a certain June night, the tempting per- 
 fume of Mr. Carr's sweetly blooming clover proved too 
 much for Bob's moral character, and his equine sense of 
 ministerial propriety; and, hunting a low place in the 
 fence, he entered into temptation and found himself 
 "in clover." The grass was tender and sweet; and, ere 
 morning, Bob became too full for comfort, or to jump 
 out again. In his anxiety, he tramped, and pawed, and 
 rolled to such an extent, as to spoil utterly the appear- 
 ance of the clover. On beholding this condition of 
 affairs the following morning, Mr. Carr lost control of 
 his temper, and determined to have redress or cut Mr. 
 Henry's acquaintance. Rushing to the parsonage, he 
 angrily saluted the parson with : " Brother Henry, 
 your confounded old horse has been in my clover lot all 
 night ! " The anxious response : " An' shure, braither ; 
 an' do ye think it will hurt him?" so completely 
 upset Mr. Carr's anger, that he instantly forgave Bob 
 for the sake of his kindly and innocent master; and, to 
 his life's end, used often to amuse his friends by the 
 recital of the clover-lot story. 
 
 When stationed in Dorchester County, poor Bob 
 having meantime left his master in bereavement, Mr. 
 Henry borrowed a horse from a Brother Dixon, near 
 Church Creek; who, being aware of his peculiarities, 
 made it a condition of the accommodation, that the 
 preacher engage to take very special care of the animal ; 
 
HEROES OF ERIN. 67 
 
 as, being young, he would be likely to be injured should 
 he become heated overmuch. "What was Mr. Dixon's 
 surprise, a day or two after, when the thermometer was 
 at 90°, to meet the reverend Irishman with his horse in 
 a solid run, and all foaming with sweat and panting for 
 breath ! His excited expostulation was met by the cool 
 and self-satisfied assurance of the philosophic divine, that 
 he was " ridin' fast jist a purpose to git up a good braze 
 for the poor baste ! " 
 
 Outside the line of his theological studies and pulpit 
 and pastoral duties, John Henry seems to have been as 
 unsophisticated as a child. In fact, in the common affairs 
 of every-day life, he was manifestly deficient in what 
 men call "common sense." He never mastered the 
 simplest problems in domestic economy ; and provision 
 for the household, and even the care of the pigs and the 
 horse, devolved largely on his very capable companion. 
 While residing at Camden, Delaware, his good wife one 
 day requested him to go to the garden and get some 
 potatoes for dinner. He soon returned with the report 
 that he had examined all the vines and could find none. 
 Bidding him to follow, Mrs. Henry took a hoe and 
 showed him how to find the tempting tubers growing 
 upon the roots. Some days after, she requested that he 
 would gather a few squashes. As in the former case, he 
 failed to bring any ; and, when questioned about it, in 
 expostulatory style, as good wives are sometimes wont 
 to do, he replied : "An' shure, Mrs. Henry, you can go 
 see for yourself. I can find ne'er a single squash in the 
 
68 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 gearden, although I've dug up ivery vine ! " With fine 
 squashes lying all around, so intently was he occupied 
 with the lesson his wife had given him in gathering 
 potatoes, that he failed to see them, and insisted on 
 ' finding them upon the roots, to the utter destruction of 
 the squash harvest for that season. 
 
 The following winter he was, as usual, busy in his 
 study one day, while Mrs. Henry was engaged in the back 
 yard superintending the butchering of the pigs. His 
 attention was attracted by the conversation concerning the 
 pork, when a brand new and brilliant idea in domestic 
 economy suddenly dawned upon him ; and rushing out 
 bareheaded, in gown and slippers, into the presence of 
 his spouse, he thus advised her : " Mrs. Henry ; an' 
 shure if I were in your place, I'd have the pags all cut 
 up into homs ! " 
 
 Like Billy Barnes, John Henry also once had an. 
 adventure with wasps. Unfortunately for him, however, 
 it did not terminate so favorably. Stopping once over 
 night with a Bro. Palmer, in Sussex, Delaware, soon after 
 retiring, his lusty cries for help alarmed the household. 
 " Sister Palmer ! sister Palmer ! " cried he, in evident pain 
 and terror, " what is this ? Is the Daivil broke loose ? 
 There's a fiend here a piercin' me with his arrows ! O 
 come quick ! It will kill me ! " Mrs. Palmer and her 
 husband rushed up stairs to find the terrified Irishman 
 writhing in agony; and, on investigation, discovered 
 that he was floundering amid a nest of enraged wasps, 
 that by some means had become detached from a collar 
 
HEROES OF ERIN. 69 
 
 beam and covered up in his bed. The scene, suddenly 
 illumined by the entrance of a tallow candle, can be 
 better imagined than described; so at this point we 
 will let the curtain drop and take our leave of this 
 notable Irishman. He was a simple minded, single 
 eyed, devoted and successful harvester of souls; and 
 left his impress for good upon the Peninsula fields he 
 helped to cultivate. 
 
 Not so marked in the grotesque characteristics peculiar 
 to the typical Irishman as were Barnes and Henry, yet 
 no less distinguished for devotion, eloquence and bravery 
 have been some of the noble sons of Erin, who, as their 
 successors, have contended for God and right on the 
 battle field of the Peninsula. Among these mediaeval 
 Irishmen, some of whom still live to bless the Church in 
 other and distant localities, the most conspicuous, because 
 of his long and very effective service in this territory, 
 is Rev. Adam Wallace, D.D. His autobiography, which, 
 by all means the Church should be permitted to place 
 in her historical archives, would add much to the rich 
 treasury of knowledge concerning this classic ground; 
 and general Methodism can little afford to lose it. His 
 series of letters in the Peninsula Methodist, under the 
 caption of "Here and There on Snow Hill District," 
 are doubtless but the outcropping veins and nuggets 
 indicative of the rich bonanza lying beneath, and which 
 his Irish pick and shovel and mint might soon turn 
 into the literary marts and coffers of Methodism. The 
 author of this sketch will attempt no analysis of the 
 
70 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 characteristics and accomplishments of this widely 
 known divine. This belongs to his memoir. May 
 it be many years before this shall be written. Neither 
 will the writer attempt an extended review of Dr. 
 Wallace's Peninsula labors and experiences, although 
 the field and the memorial inscriptions are tempting, 
 for reasons already intimated. It is properly the work 
 of his own facile pen. 
 
 The Peninsula preacher whose ministerial life And 
 labors stretch back over the last thirty-five years, has 
 passed through many phases of experience, and wit- 
 nessed astonishing changes. He entered upon his junior 
 work, when the jagged edges of a rising cloud had just 
 become visible above the far away horizon, and the 
 reverberations of the distant thunders had just begun 
 to make their ominous tremors felt along our peaceful 
 shores. With anxious heart and bated breath, and 
 clinging to his Master's cross ; now swaying before the 
 furious gusts of the tempests; sometimes starting in 
 almost terror amid the terrific thunderbolts of the storm 
 of civil convulsion and popular malice, that spent its 
 fury upon him — through all, true as steel, he stood at 
 his post. And now, still surviving and unscathed, 
 with the cloud drifting out of sight, this faithful herald 
 stands beneath Messiah's ensign ; and, peacefully smil- 
 ing, surveys the scene, with a clear bright heavens 
 above him, and all around him our fields of Peninsula 
 Methodism, ripening to the glorious harvest of his 
 patient endurance and toil. 
 
HEROES OF ERIN. 71 
 
 The Peninsula itinerants of a quarter of a century 
 ago were compelled, by force of circumstances, to stand 
 midway between the political cannonading of the two 
 extremes, without the least possibility of making peace 
 with the excited and unreasoning gunners of either 
 battery. The abolition crusader of the north proclaimed 
 his wild theory that, under all circumstances, slave- 
 holding was, per se, a sin. His hot shot and exploding 
 shells made no discrimination between the anti-slavery 
 Methodist preacher, who held that, while "a great evil" 
 that " ought to be extirpated," slavery and slaveholding 
 Methodists were to be dealt with by Christian, peaceable 
 and legal measures, and according to circumstances; and 
 the rabid pro-slaveryist, who regarded the chattel fea- 
 ture of the institution, with all its harrowing enormities, 
 as God ordained. In like manner, blinded by their 
 frenzy, the Southern fire-eaters thought they did their 
 God as great a service by striking down the anti- 
 slaveryist as the abolitionist; and as he was much 
 nearer — in fact within hailing distance of the vengeful 
 batteries — he was, by so much, the greater sufferer. 
 Another peculiarity of the anti-slaveryist's position was 
 the Christly delicacy of his relations. He naturally 
 sympathized with everything and everybody that prom- 
 ised to aid in the extirpation of the great evil; and 
 could not well " fire back " in return for the abolition- 
 ist's volleys, without seeming to be on the wrong side. 
 He had a commission to preach the Gospel to congre- 
 gations that were largely slaveholders of the extreme 
 
72 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 view ; and if he offended them at a point where they 
 were so sensitive, his mission with them and their sym- 
 pathizers was ended; nor could he any longer have 
 access to their poor slaves, perishing for the Gospel 
 of spiritual freedom. No set of men were ever more 
 heartily despised, or more violently abused, than the 
 Methodist preachers of the Peninsula, during all this 
 fearful crisis ; and perhaps no set of men ever more 
 nearly did what their Divine Master would himself 
 have done, had that crisis been the time of his advent, 
 and our Peninsula the theatre of his work. As a class, 
 they rendered " to Csesar the things which were Caesar's, 
 and to God the things which were God's." They were 
 branded as cowards, however, from both extremes. Men 
 sometimes forget that it often requires less bravery to 
 fight Egyptians than it does to " stand still and see the 
 salvation of God." If there are crowns waiting in 
 heaven for men who have been distinguished, as Christ 
 and his angels see it, for moral heroism ; some of the 
 brightest will be worn by Peninsula Methodist Epis- 
 copal ministers, who, through the wild, terrific storm 
 now overpast, stood for God, and country and human 
 liberty. The incidents briefly sketched in the following 
 paragraphs, were substantially duplicated in hundreds of 
 instances, and in the experiences of almost every faith- 
 ful Methodist Episcopal preacher, who, during those 
 perilous times, occupied Peninsular appointments. Nor 
 was it alone in Virginia that they had such battles to 
 fight. The feeling was scarcely less hostile in Delaware 
 
HEROES OF ERIN. 73 
 
 and Maryland. The writer remembers the stampeding 
 of a portion of a Delaware congregation at the reading 
 from the pulpit of: 
 
 "Ye slaves of sin and hell 
 Your liberty receive ;'' 
 
 and will never forget the storm he raised in a Maryland 
 congregation by the announcement, one Sunday, that on 
 a certain night he would preach in the colored people's 
 church. In another place, the ministers present were 
 made to feel the weight of the public indignation, when 
 they invited a colored Bishop to preach at a camp- 
 meeting, from the rear of the stand, to the colored con- 
 gregation encamped with us. The young bloods of the 
 polished society of Kent, Del., gathered a great com- 
 pany, many of them " lewd fellows of the baser sort ;" 
 and waited on us, with the demand for a recall of the 
 appointment, and the alternative threat of riot, blood 
 and destruction, should we persist in the outrage against 
 public sentiment. But Bishop Wayman preached; and 
 C. I. Thompson, James Flannery and the writer, sat 
 there by him, while his eloquent words were sometimes 
 well-nigh drowned by the great murmur of discontent 
 and yells of threatened revenge that alarmed the denizens 
 of the camp. But to our story. 
 
 In 1854, Rev. Adam Wallace, a newly married young 
 itinerant, was appointed to Northampton circuit, the 
 "Dixie" of the then Philadelphia Conference. While 
 the prominent members professedly accepted the teach- 
 
74 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 ings of the Discipline on slavery as right ; they were 
 so seriously intimidated by popular prejudice, that they 
 admonished the young pastor to delay reading the 
 General Rules; and not on any account invite the 
 colored members to come down from the galleries to 
 commune around the altar. To neither suggestion did 
 the quiet Irishman yield. He both read publicly 
 the Rules — ^that on slavery included — and invited the 
 poor negroes to the same sacramental table where their 
 masters had just communed. As they approached the 
 altar, about half the congregation rudely stampeded 
 from the house. An indignation meeting was then 
 extemporized outside; and a committee appointed to 
 notify the preacher to desist from the " incendiary " 
 practice, or leave the state in so many hours. At the 
 afternoon appointment, fearing an outbreak of resent- 
 ment, the negroes declined the pastor's invitation to the 
 altar. In the Southern Methodist Churches, the old 
 custom met with no opposition from the rabble, because 
 it was known they had no sympathy with anti-slavery 
 ideas. There was much loud talk and great excite- 
 ment; but the intrepid Irishman urged that even the 
 Devil would respect them the more for doing right ; and 
 insisted on adhering to the principle of one table for all 
 the Lord's disciples. Making a tour of the Peninsula, 
 Bishop Scott opportunely visited the circuit at that time. 
 The leading members of the charge gathered at the 
 parsonage to greet him. In their presence, the pastor 
 raised the question of yielding to this unreasonable pre- 
 
HEEOES OF ERIN. 75 
 
 judice by sending the sacramental elements to the galle- 
 ries. The good Bishop's quiet and deliberate, " I would 
 not do it," settled the question. 
 
 Not long afterwards, while driving with his young 
 wife, Mr. Wallace reined up at a place where two white 
 men, amid much excitement, were engaged in tieing, 
 hand and foot, a venerable colored man, for the purpose 
 of taking him off to a " trader," to be sold South from 
 his home and family. In the struggle, the poor old 
 man had fallen in the public road ; and the pretended 
 owners, one of whom had married the widow and the 
 other the daughter of the old negro's former master, 
 were needlessly bruising him, with knees planted on his 
 breast, to tighten the cords about his suffering wrists. 
 Leaping from his carriage, the preacher, with an expres- 
 sion of becoming contempt, pushed away the principal 
 offender. Bristling up, and sulphurous with the pro- 
 fanity of the popular "chivalry" of the times, the other 
 told him to mind his own business. The Rev. and 
 really chivalrous Irishman, coolly informed the two 
 vandals that it was his business to fight the Devil 
 wherever he found him ; that this aged man was not 
 resisting ; that if they had the right to sell him, which 
 he much doubted, the man would accompany them 
 unbound ; but that he, the preacher, intended to follow 
 them and contest their right to Iddnap and sell the poor 
 old man. He then spoke words of kindly sympathy to 
 the maltreated negro, and brushed the gravel and dust 
 from his grey-hair, as he slowly arose ; when, climbing 
 
76 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 into a horse-cart, the "owners" and slave drove off to 
 the market. 
 
 The occurrence was in front of a country store, and 
 in the presence of several neighbors; and, during the 
 melee, Mrs. Wallace sat in the carriage, pale and tremb- 
 ling with apprehension. Mr. Mears, the proprietor of 
 the store, invited the preacher and his wife to stay for 
 dinner, where they learned the name of the old man ; 
 that he was a member of Garrison's chapel, which he 
 had helped to build ; and that his old master had given 
 him his liberty ten years before. The preacher learned 
 further that these men were considered little better than 
 outlaws and desperate fellows, who would not scruple to 
 " knife " the man who should further attempt to defeat 
 them in their purpose. No one, who had witnessed the 
 transaction, would consent to aid him ; a good Local 
 Preacher implored him to leave the circuit on a visit, 
 until the storm he had in all probability raised should 
 blow over ; but the preacher's Irish blood was up ; and, 
 "taking his life in his hand," he drove after the ruffians, 
 leaving his wife at the parsonage ; and soon ascertained 
 that Sam had been sold for $300, and taken to the 
 coimty jail, where a "gang" was being made up to start 
 in a few days for Richmond. 
 
 His appeal to attorneys, in poor Sam's behalf, was 
 met with the admonition that -perhaps he had better go 
 home, and say nothing further about the matter, lest 
 he should be the means of stirring up an insurrection. 
 Fifially, a retired lawyer residing on a farm not far 
 
HEROES OF ERIN. 77 
 
 from the parsonage, agreed to sue out a writ enjoining 
 Sam's removal, until the Magistrate's Court should look 
 into the matter. The intervening days were anxious and 
 painful. Many of the official brethren called at the par- 
 sonage, to express their dread of anticipated troubles. 
 The next Sabbath sermons of the aroused Irishman were 
 tinged with brimstone ; and his public prayers reminded 
 the Almighty of the sighing of the prisoner, and invoked 
 his right arm for his protection. 
 
 A prominent Methodist, Mr. Garrison, called on 
 Monday moi'ning, to attend the preacher to court, and 
 act as his friend and protector. The Chief Justice on 
 the bench of six, was a man who had begun life as an 
 ostler ; but, being an expert gambler, had won so largely 
 of spendthrift sons of the F. F. Vs, that he had become 
 the owner of many of their paternal plantations ; and 
 now, although despised for his origin and flagrant im- 
 moralities, on account of his wealth, he stood among the 
 foremost in good society. Of this man's influence Mr. 
 Wallace was greatly afraid ; but when the case of " the 
 negro, Sam " came up and was explained, he was over- 
 joyed to hear the old reprobate give vent to his indigna- 
 nation in the following phillipic : " Gentlemen ; this 
 negro's master gave him his liberty for long and faithful 
 service. You and I have the same right and privilege. 
 Suppose after we have chosen to do so, and are in our 
 graves, some irresponsible vagabonds should assume to 
 trample on our wishes in this manner ; should there not 
 be, in law and public opinion, some stern rebuke for such 
 
78 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 vandalism? My opinion, gentlemen, is, that warrants 
 should be issued for the arrest of — and— forthwith, for 
 doing an act which no honorable Virginian can look 
 upon with anything but disapprobation." 
 
 Before the warrants could be issued, the kidnappers 
 had hastily decamped for parts unknown ; and the over- 
 joyed and grateful Sam was discharged from unlawful 
 custody, to return to his little home and his distracted wife 
 and children. As, on the following Sabbath morning, the 
 pastor arose in the pulpit of Garrison's chapel to an- 
 nounce the opening hymn, glancing toward the gallery, 
 he discovered in his accustomed place and most con- 
 spicuous among his fellows, "Uncle" Sam with his 
 glowing face all wet with rolling tears of gratitude. 
 The sight awakened the crowding memories of the 
 exciting contest, the rescue, the return of light and joy 
 to the little cabin ; and, overcome by his emotions, the 
 preacher responded to Sam's salutation with copious tears 
 of sympathetic joy. 
 
 The slaves of the South seemed to have become, in- 
 stinctively or supernaturally, possessed of the conviction 
 that somehow the Lord would interfere in their behalf; 
 but were in doubt as to whether they ought to make a 
 dash for freedom, or stand still and see God's salvation. 
 The Northampton slaves often secretly consulted Mr. 
 Wallace as to their proper course; and were always 
 encouraged to expect deliverance from the God of Moses 
 and Israel ; but were advised to patiently pray and wait 
 his time; which, the signs indicated, could not be very 
 
HEROES OF ERIN. 79 
 
 long delayed. Such was his advice, one dark night in a 
 thicket, to forty or fifty slaves of one mistress, who were 
 meditating flight to escape if possible from the heart- 
 breaking exigencies of the dubious and cruel auction 
 block, which appeared to threaten them. 
 
 Ten years aft«r that weird and memorable night, this 
 Irish prophet of deUverance from God was again in 
 Virginia — this time as Presiding Elder. For two years 
 we had been shut out by the war. But when Chaplain 
 Vaugh Smith, at the head of a detachment of Federal 
 soldiers, crossed the Une and swept the shore of organ- 
 ized resistance, Mr. Wallace followed the standard of the 
 union, and reopened our Virginia Churches. Most 
 of the people sympathized with the rebellion, and 
 were bitter in their hostility to the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church ; but a few remained loyal to Church and coun- 
 try. Mr. Lincoln's emancipation proclamation had just 
 taken effect, and the old slave owners were very sore, 
 while the unmanacled slaves were correspondingly elated. 
 
 Our Irish Elder was holding quarterly meeting at 
 Onancock. It was a beautiful Sabbath morning ; and, 
 from an early hour, numerous squads of colored people 
 wended their way towards the beloved old Church. 
 Many whites also came, but they were generally either 
 crest-fallen or angry. The Lovefeast was opened ; but 
 enthusiasm was at so low an ebb, among the ex-masters 
 and mistresses, that the Elder soon invited the denizens 
 of the galleries to "let their joys be known." A grand 
 voice, remembered as having been heard at Garrison's 
 
80 METHODISM OP THE PENINSTJLA. 
 
 ten years before, led the singing in the stirring words, 
 "Am I a soldier of the cross?" and then the speaking 
 began. Soon one of the leading spirits of the midnight 
 conference in the thicket of ten years ago, and which the 
 preacher had almost forgotten, arose and said : 
 
 "Christian Fren's; I's happy soul an' body dis 
 mornin'. It's de brightest day I's eber seen. I hearn 
 tell dat our good preacher Wallace, dat used to 'spense 
 de Gospel to us years ago, had got to be a 'Sidin' Elder, 
 and was a gwine to be heah ; an' I started befo' sun up 
 to come heah an' see his face onct mo' (sensation and 
 "Yes, praise de Lord!") A comin' along dis mornin', 
 I felt like de lame dat kin leap as de hart in a wilder- 
 ness ; an' my tongue was unloosened to sing hallelujah ! 
 ("Amen!") Dis 'sidin' Elder dat sets dere in de pul-. 
 pit, told us, long time ago, dat salvation would come. 
 (" Glory ! ") He told us one night, in de thicket, when 
 our troubles was as deep as de ragin' waters ob de sea, 
 dat de mornin' would break some time. When some ob 
 us was about to run away to try to 'tain our freedom, 
 he says to us, — ' Hold on ; hold fast to yer anchor in de 
 mighty God ; you folks dat runs away is afeared. Stan' 
 still, tm Moses smite de waters, an' ole Pharaoh is broked 
 wid a rod ob iron ! ' Some of our people couldn't see de 
 light; but dey sees it now, glory to de blessid Lamb! 
 (Mighty shoutings of " Yes ; yes," and " Praise de 
 Lord!") 
 
 "De preacher settin dere says to me, says he ; 'Jesse, 
 mind you don't act de fool. Don't let de colored people 
 
HEEOES OF EEIN. 81 
 
 disbehave. Your time will come, shore as you live.'" 
 And then he continued, reaching out his hand toward 
 the occupant of the pulpit, "Preacher; bless de Lord! 
 De time you told us 'bout is heah shore 'nuff, dis free, 
 blessed Sunday ; an', thank de Lord ! we is free in body, 
 free in soul, an' on our gladsome march to Heaven!" 
 Thus did the happy Irishman, after many days, find 
 and gather the bread he had cast on the troubled waters 
 of this modern Egypt. 
 
 At Garrison's chapel, in the olden times, great crowds 
 of slaves were wont to assemble ; and, while the white 
 members, on protracted meeting occasions, rallied around 
 the altar within, the sable soldiers of the cross would 
 repair to the open air, build a camp-fire ; and, under the 
 starry canopy of the heavens, form a circle for a holy 
 shout. Going out one night while their meeting was in 
 progress, Mr. Wallace found some wicked young men 
 enjoying the sport of throwing blazing pine-knots within 
 this circle and among the weeping penitents. His 
 warning to desist being disregarded, he unceremoniously 
 knocked down two of the ringleaders, who were so com- 
 pletely demoralized at the preacher's temerity, that they 
 forgot to hit him back. His rencontre in the case of 
 Sam had gained him a reputation for courage. Even 
 a Virginia rabble could admire such a display of physi- 
 cal Christianity; and when these disconcerted young 
 fellows, so far recovered as to begin to swear they were 
 going to thrash the Irishman, they were hooted down 
 by their companions, who frankly admitted the preacher 
 had served them right. 
 
82 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Not only did Adam Wallace display physical courage 
 in dealing with the "chivalrous" roughs of that day 
 and section; but, amid all the exciting questions, in 
 Church and State, growing out of the popular frenzy on 
 the questions of slavery and secession, his moral spinal 
 column was a tower of strength to the cause of truth 
 and patriotism. The Methodist preacher who was brave 
 enough to vote an honest "no," on the Philadelphia 
 Conference "Union" resolutions of 1861, has never 
 ceased to enjoy the respect and fraternal regard of his 
 brethren, who voted an honest and enthusiastic "aye" on 
 the same memorable paper ; but there remains only con- 
 tempt for the few cowardly time servers, whose careful 
 sentiments, through all those perilous times, were adroitly 
 fitted so as to appear responsive to any and every opinion 
 that might be uttered in their presence. The unmanly, 
 pusillanimous poltroon of a preacher, who, for a slice 
 of popular bread and butter, became literally, "all 
 things to all men," was only a curse to the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church of the Peninsula, during her fiery 
 ordeal ; and was very largely responsible for the seces- 
 sions by which, at various points, she _was finally con- 
 vulsed and dismembered. But the dough men are all 
 dead or left behind. In her new and aggressive career, 
 ■.the Church had no work for sneaking imbeciles ; nor 
 had men outside, of either party, any respect for them ; 
 and they have become silent partners of Othello. Like 
 Mr. Wallace, most of the Methodist preachers who 
 stood at Peninsular posts of responsibility during these 
 
HEKOES or EEIN. 83 
 
 memorable years, were living men, of sturdy arms, 
 perpendicular backbones, intelligent brains and loving 
 hearts; and through their manly labors, by God's 
 blessing, the Methodist Episcopal Church emerges from 
 the smoke of her greatest battle-field, bearing proudly 
 before her leader, Christ, the trophies of her greatest 
 victories. 
 
 While by no means so quaint and peculiar as Barnes 
 and Henry, the present generation of Irish preachers in 
 the Wilmington Conference, are not without the striking 
 characteristics of the typical Irishman. It is yet too 
 soon to write memorial sketches of them ; but the author 
 may be pardoned for suggesting that, unless your rapier 
 is sharp and your coat of mail of the best construction, 
 you had better not invite a rencontre with one of them 
 on the arena of repartee. One of our Irish coterie, 
 whose name begins with the significant "O," on a 
 certain quarterly conference Saturday, was seated in 
 a Caroline County layman's parlor, with Rev. John 
 Hough, Mr. A. P. Sorden, Rev. Dr. T. J. Quigley, 
 Presiding Elder, and the writer. Said the Irishman : 
 " I've got a tooth — " leaving the sentence unfinished, to 
 dig at the oifending member with his tooth-pick. " So 
 have I," said the writer; and so said all, ending with 
 the staid and sober Doctor of Divinity. Again the. 
 Irishman spoke, saying : " I've got a tooth with a hole 
 in it ;" which was followed with the same response, by 
 the quartet in order. He then returned to the charge 
 with: "An' shure; I've got a tooth that's not got any 
 
84 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 hole in it." And again, for the third time we gave 
 forth the responsive chorus: "And so have I." But 
 his final charge disarmed his competitors, and "brought 
 down the house." With the provoking air of triumph 
 of a consciously victorious gladiator, he quietly but con- 
 fidently announced: "Well, braithren; I've got an 
 Irishman's tooth!" 
 
 While some portions of our country are so marred by 
 the ignorance, vice and lawlessness of the lower order of 
 immigrant Irish ; it is a cause for hearty congratulation 
 that our beautiful Peninsula has attracted few, except of 
 the better class of these swarming multitudes. In our 
 fields and orchards ; in our work-shops ; in society ; in 
 our churches and in our conference, the sons of Erin 
 have wrought with honest hands and earnest hearts. 
 The impress of their personality remains on our terri- 
 tory and upon our church ; and their well and deeply 
 graven record is in heaven. 
 
METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 85 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PATRIARCHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 
 
 THE isles of the beautiful Chesapeake are already 
 renowned in story if not in song. The weird and 
 fascinating annals of "The Parson of The Islands," 
 written by Rev. Dr. Wallace, have both amused and 
 astonished the church ; and perhaps many who have 
 read that book, have arisen from its perusal with the 
 skeptical conviction that the reverend author was 
 gifted with a glowing imagination, on which he drew 
 very freely for his facts. From personal contact with 
 many of the scenes and persons therein mentioned, the 
 author of these sketches is fully prepared to vindicate 
 the faithfulness of the historian. For some of the 
 incidents herein detailed, the writer acknowledges his 
 indebtedness to the above mentioned book. If this 
 chapter shall induce many to buy and read " The Parson 
 of The Islands," it will have demonstrated its right to 
 existence. 
 
 The ranks of the Methodist local ministry have never 
 produced a more pious, laborious and successful man 
 than Rev. Joshua Thomas. He was born in Somerset 
 County, Maryland, amid the stirring and heroic events 
 of the American Revolution, soon after the Declaration 
 
86 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 of Independence; and lived to see three-score-and-ten 
 of its returning anniversaries. 
 
 It will, of course, be impossible, within the prescribed 
 limits, to give any sketch of Mr. Thomas' remarkable 
 and valuable career that will do justice to the subject. 
 The author can only give a little glimpse, here and there, 
 of some of those incidents in his life, where the quaint 
 and facetious side of the good man's nature so pleasantly 
 protrudes. 
 
 Joshua Thomas, lived to be more than thirty years of 
 age, with a growing family about him, before he had 
 any experimental knowledge of the truth and power of 
 the Christian religion ; nevertheless he had been, from 
 childhood, a believer in the truths of Revelation. On 
 liis way to the camp-meeting where he was converted, 
 he stopped at the house of his uncle, Levi Thomas — a 
 solid churchman — who, learning his intention, tried to 
 dissuade him from going. Among other things, his uncle 
 said : " Joshua if you do go there, they will have you 
 down to worship them. . They are nothin' but a lot of 
 villainous Irishmen, who have run away from their own 
 country to keep from being hanged. They have a great 
 deal of larnin', but know no honest way of gettin' a 
 livin' ; so they go around the country a raisin' the Devil 
 by their preachin' and carryin' on ; and then they make 
 people worship them and give them money to support 
 them in their deviltry." 
 
 "No, uncle;" responded Joshua, "they will not get me 
 down to worship them," and proceeded to the meeting. 
 
PATRIARCHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 87 
 
 While they did not ask or receive his homage, they did 
 lead him to His shrine whom the wise men of the East 
 worshipped in Bethlehem. 
 
 AVhile Mr. Thomas' early opportunities for learning 
 much of God and religion were very small ; yet, long 
 before he knew anything of practical godliness, he was 
 in the habit of praying God to direct his fishing excur- 
 sions to those locations where the Rock, the Tailor or 
 the Sheepshead most plentifully abounded, in order that 
 he might be successful in his business of catching them. 
 Like the apostolic fishermen, he was destined to become 
 a great fisher of men. 
 
 His early ignorance of God and religion is strikingly 
 illustrated by an incident he relates of himself, con- 
 nected with the ministry of Lorenzo Dow. "When I 
 was about thirty years old " says he, " I attended a 
 meetin' in Virginia ; L. Dow was preachin' very power- 
 ful. A woman in the audience begun to shout. Dow 
 stopped and cried out : ' The Lord is here ! The 
 Lord is here ! ' Immediately I jumped to my feet, 
 and stretched my neck every way to try to see the 
 Lord, but I coild not see him;" whereupon the simple- 
 minded child of thirty years tells us he reached the con- 
 elusion that the preacher was a base deceiver and fraud. 
 
 When Joshua was a young gent twenty-three years 
 old, he says he " began to think he had rather have a 
 good wife than anything in the world." There really 
 does not seem to be anything very wonderful in Mr, 
 Thomas' fancied precocity. The author thinks he has 
 
88 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 known some instances where young gentlemen have 
 graduated to Ihe same conclusion at sixteen or seventeen 
 years of age. It isn't, however, every youth who acts 
 in that emergency as did Mr. Thomas. Says he : "I 
 immediately begun prayin' to the Lord that I might 
 obtain a wife and the means to support her ; promisin', 
 in that case to do a good deal better than I ever had 
 done." It was not long till he heard of a certain nice 
 girl, who had given a mutual friend to understand that 
 she "liked Joshua real well." At this good news he 
 says his "very soul was transported;" he "never was 
 so glad to hear anything " in his life ; in a word, it 
 made him "feel just like a man." On second sober 
 thought, however, his poverty greatly perplexed him : 
 how in the world could he provide for a wife ? But, 
 although not an experimental Christian, he took the 
 matter to the Lord in prayer; and finally reached the 
 conclusion to make sure of the nice, good girl who 
 "liked" him, at a venture; and leave to the future the 
 solution of the problem of support. Would that all 
 young men were equally wise. Joshua's determination 
 was evidently in the line of God's usual order, and the 
 pretty little romance was appropriately finished up, of 
 course. Nothing in the world was more natural. A 
 neat little cabin on the Tangier Island; a straw bed; a 
 broken table; a few wooden stools; a barrel of meal, 
 and two little pigs ; with a fisherman and his bride in 
 the midst of their honeymoon, and you have a picture 
 of complete earthly happiness ! 
 
PATEIARCHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 89 
 
 But years passed away, and then came a sad, dark 
 day that bereft Joshua of this loving girl, leaving him 
 and several little children to mourn their loss. The 
 widowed father had learned, meantime, the sweet lesson 
 of holy trust at the camp-meeting heretofore alluded to ; 
 and he was therefore the better prepared to "commit 
 his ways unto the Lord." In the exercise of a spirit- 
 ually illumined faith he began, very soon, to pray the 
 Lord to supply the vacant place in the cabin. As he 
 kneeled in a thicket and made known to his Divine 
 Friend his desires, and asked for his direction, a certain 
 Miss Lottie Bradshaw's image was presented to his 
 mental vision. Instantly he expostulated : " Lord ; she 
 is too young!" Retiring to another place, he again 
 bowed before the Lord, and presented his request. In- 
 stantly, and for the second time, the image of Miss 
 Bradshaw flitted before him. "Oh, Lord! She is too 
 ugly!" exclaimed the unfortunate petitioner; at the 
 same time arising to seek another part of the thicket, 
 that might prove a more lucky and propitious Bethel. 
 Long and earnest was this third prayer. Like Jacob, 
 he wrestled with the angel for .the answer of full 
 assurance; and finally the answer came, but it was the 
 old answer repeated — Miss Lottie Bradshaw's homely, 
 but kindly smiling face again beamed upon the lonely 
 widower. He calmly arose from his knees, submis- 
 sively saying : " Well, Lord, I reckon you know better'n 
 I do ;" and the matter was finally settled to his un- 
 questioning faith. Untieing his canoe, he pushed out, 
 
90 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 hoisted sail and steered for the Bradshaw homestead on 
 Holland's Island. On arrival the following dialogue 
 ensued : 
 
 " Good morning, Brother Bradshaw." 
 
 "How d'ye do Brother Thomas?" 
 
 "Brother Bradshaw, I think it is the will of the 
 Lord that you should let me have Lottie to be my wife." 
 
 " Well, Brother Thomas ; Lottie is rather young ; but 
 we will leave the matter to her. You can go see what 
 she says about it : you'll find her out at the cow-pen, 
 milking." 
 
 Mr. Thomas started and soon encountered the rosy 
 maiden in the back yard, straining the milk. After the 
 usual friendly salutation had passed, said Joshua : 
 
 "Sister Lottie; I've come on special business this 
 mornin'. I've been prayin' over the matter; and I 
 think, Lottie, understand, that it's the will of the Lord 
 that you and I should git married ! " 
 
 "The will of the Lord be done, Brother Thomas!" 
 responded Lottie, in the spirit of humble submission to 
 her divinely ordered fate ; andL in a few days after this 
 matter-of-fact popping, there was an equally matter-of- 
 fact wedding ; and what seemed to be God's order was 
 cheerfully consummated. 
 
 Many years afterwards, at a camp-meeting on Deal's 
 Island, the dear old saint said to a company of preachers, 
 after relating to them the above story : " Brothers ; when 
 I married her, understand, I thought she was one of 
 the ugliest women in the world ; but now, I tell you, I 
 
PATRIARCHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 91 
 
 think she is the purtiest. She has made me a lovin' 
 wife, and a good, faithful mother to my orphaned chil- 
 dren ; and I laiow, brothers, understand, that the good 
 Lord picked her out for me." 
 
 Mr. Thomas was in the habit of giving the Scriptures 
 a literal interpretation; and accepted the directions he 
 found therein, apparently applicable to his circumstances 
 at the time, as the sole rule of his action. At one time 
 he was the subject of a protracted and painful illness. 
 Various remedies had been tried without material relief. 
 Reading his NeW Testament, as he lay helpless on his 
 bed one day, he came to the passage in James, where the 
 Apostle says : " Is any sick among you ? Let him call 
 the Elders of the Church ; and let them pray over him, 
 anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord ; and 
 the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord 
 shall raise him up." 
 
 The suffering saint fixed his mind on two elderly 
 and leading members of the church — Messrs. John and 
 Zachariah Crocket — as likely to meet the divine pre- 
 scription as to "Elders," and he sent post-haste for 
 John, who forthwith appeared at •'his bedside. After 
 citing to Mr. Crocket the passage above quoted, Mr. 
 Thomas said : " Now, Brother John ; you must do ex- 
 actly as the good Book directs. I have no Scriptural 
 oil ; but yander, on the shelf, understand, is a plenty of 
 excellent goose-grease, that I suppose, understand, will 
 do just as well. Use some of that to anoint me. Brother 
 John ; and then pray in faith." 
 
92 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 "Brother John" was no little startled by this novel 
 proposal, and confessed his want of confidence in the 
 arrangement. However, to gratify his respected neigh- 
 bor and Christian friend, he proceeded with the grotesque 
 formalities of the sacred goose-grease anointing, and 
 offered prayer for the patient's recovery. But there was 
 no apparent relief or improvement, and Mr. Thomas 
 said the fault was in the weakness of their faith. " Go, 
 John ;" said he, " and tell Brother Zachariah to come 
 and try it." On " Zach's " arrival, learning all the 
 particulars, he clapped his hands in joyous enthusiasm 
 and exclaimed : " Why, Brother Thomas ; that is the 
 very thing ! I believe it will do you good ! " 
 
 "Go on, then!" shouted Joshua, "and let us believe!" 
 
 Brother Zach then went at his work with good- 
 Samaritan zest and interest ; and after a repetition 
 of the unctuous application, he kneeled down at the 
 parent's bedside and prayed vociferously till he got 
 shouting-happy. Strange to tell, at this point, Joshua 
 Thomas leaped from the bed — whole in body and in 
 soul, and joined his friend in "walking and leaping, and 
 praising the Lord." 
 
 An esteemed local preacher. Dr. R. W. Williams, late 
 of Dorchester County, Md., and well known to many 
 ministers of the Wilmington Conference, related to the 
 writer the two following incidents, which have never 
 before appeared in print. While Dr. Williams resided 
 at Onancock, Va., Mr. Thomas sailed across from 
 Tangier in his canoe, the "Methodist," to make him 
 
PATRIAECHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 93 
 
 a visit. Upon his arrival, he learned of the dangerous 
 illness of one of his lady friends, a Mi's. Mister, residing 
 near the town ; and at once remarked to Dr. Williams : 
 " It comes to me, understand. Doctor, that we ought to 
 go over and pray for Sister Mister." Although at first 
 hesitating, on account of the apparent professional dis- 
 courtesy, Dr. Williams finally yielded to Mr. Thomas' 
 earnest importunity and accompanied liim. The lady's 
 physician was in attendance, and her friends were gath- 
 ered about what, to all seeming, was her dying bed. 
 Mr. Thomas inquired of her physician as to her condi- 
 tion, and received this reply : " Mr. Thomas, Mrs. Mister 
 is in extremis." "What's that? — got the tremors?" 
 inquired the simple-minded man. The doctor then ex- 
 plained that he had exhausted the last remedy without 
 avail, and that the lady was at that moment actually 
 dying. At his suggestion, Dr. Williams examined the 
 sinking patient, and coincided with his brother physi- 
 cian's opinion. 
 
 "Have you any objection to my prayin' for her?" 
 inquired Mr. Thomas. 
 
 "Pray if you feel like it;" responded the doctor. 
 " Nothing can now do her either good or harm." 
 
 " Let us pray, then," said Mr. Thomas, at the same- 
 time dropping upon his knees; while her physician, a 
 high Churchman, sat upon the side of the bed looking 
 his utter astonishment, if not his contempt, for the strange 
 proceeding. The prayer was as follows : 
 
 " Lord ; this here doctor, understand, has given this 
 
94 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 dear Christian woman up, and says he can't do nothin' 
 more to help her. ' You must take her case in hand, if 
 you please. Lord, or else she must die. When you was 
 here on the earth, Lord, you gave blind people new 
 eyes; you made lame people run and jump; you healed 
 the sick, and put life into the cold, stiif bodies of the 
 dead. It comes to me, understand, that this good 
 woman oughtn't to die yet ; and, O Lord, I want you 
 to make her well again, if you please, for Jesus Christ's 
 sake. Amen." 
 
 Having made this matter-of-fact, business-like pre- 
 sentation of her case and of his own desire unto the 
 Lord, he and Dr. Williams left her bedside and started 
 for Onancock, with every indication pointing to the con- 
 clusion that a few minutes, or an hour or two at most, 
 would terminate Mrs. Mister's earthly history. Reaching 
 a woods that lay in their pathway to the village, Mr. 
 Thomas suddenly stopped, and quietly remarked : " It 
 comes to me, understand, Doctor, we ought to pray 
 again for Sister Mister ; " and down he went on his 
 knees, calling on Dr. Williams to lead in the petition. 
 
 The doctor obeyed the request, but confessedly with 
 " little faith ; " and then Mr. Thomas followed, winding 
 up with a shout of victory. The same thing was 
 repeated at family prayers ; and the good old man 
 literally shouted himself off to bed, and shouted out 
 again next morning. His explanation of this extraor- 
 dinary expenditure of wind and muscle, was that the 
 Lord had told him the sick woman was getting well. 
 
PATEIAECHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 95 
 
 After breakfast, Mr. Thomas said, " Come, Doctor, 
 let's go over and see Sister Mister." As they neared 
 the house, they espied the bed and bed clothing spread 
 out doors for airing. The appearances were very sus- 
 picious, and Dr. Williams remarked, " Bro. Thomas ; 
 Sister Mister is dead." " No she's not," said the man of 
 mighty faith ; " the Lord never tells me a not so." At 
 that moment the husband came out to meet them ; and, 
 in reply to Mr. Thomas' confident inquiry, "informed 
 them that his wife was able to leave her bed and to be 
 about superintending her household affairs. It was a 
 transition from death to life and health, in a few hours, 
 in harmony with, if not in answer to, the simple unques- 
 tioning faith of an illiterate oysterman. 
 
 On another occasion, Mr. Thomas came in the 
 "Methodist" to convey Rev. Jas. A. Massey, the pastor 
 at the time, to Tangier to fill his appointment. It 
 being inconvenient for Mr. Massey to leave home. Dr. 
 Williams consented to take his place ; and the two local 
 preachers were soon gliding over the waters of the 
 beautiful Pocomoke Sound. But while on their way, a 
 dark cloud arose, and a furious storm swept down the 
 Chesapeake upon them, driving them before it into a 
 little inlet haven on the Accomac shore. It looked as 
 if the appointment was doomed to prove a disappoint- 
 ment; but, in the emergency and amid the howling 
 storm, Mr. Thomas said, " Let us pray ;" and, kneeling 
 in the tossing canoe, said : 
 
 "Lord; I'm on my way to the Island with a preacher 
 
96 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 to fill an appointment. I can't go, understand, in this 
 here storm ; and if it lasts any longer, we shall be too 
 late; and thy poor children there will have to go 
 hungry for the bread of life for two weeks more. Lord ; 
 you once rode on a storm across the sea of Galilee; and 
 you know all about 'em and can manage this one better 
 'n I can, though I'm a good sailor ; and I want you to 
 speak to these winds right away, if you please, and tell 
 them to be quiet, so I can go on and get Bro. Williams 
 to the Island in time to preach, for thy own sake and 
 for the sake of thy cause. Amen." 
 
 Arising from his knees, and without waiting a moment 
 to ascertain the result of his petition, he began at once 
 to hoist sail. And, strange to tell, by the time his can- 
 vass was spread, the furious tempest had moderated to a 
 propitious breeze, and the voyagers reached their desti- 
 nation in ample time. Numerous similar incidents may 
 be found in the memoirs of his wonderful life. These 
 stories there is no room to doubt. They are quaint and 
 strange, but it may be they are so, only because the 
 Christian Church is so profoundly unconscious of her 
 privileges. 
 
 Mr. Thomas was an intimate friend and a great 
 admirer of Rev. Laurence Laurenson. His admiration 
 of this flaming herald's preaching led him to attempt 
 once to imitate him. It being another case of David in 
 Saul's armor, without the timely wisdom of the shepherd 
 boy to discover its unfitness ; poor Joshua, with his lofty 
 soaring, his unsteady flopping, and his toploftical tumb- 
 
PATEIAECHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 97 
 
 ling, cut a most painfully ludicrous figure, and was 
 deeply but healthfully humiliated. He never tried to 
 be anj-thing but fisherman Joshua Thomas afterwards. 
 It was some relief to his wounded feelings, when Lauren- 
 son made him a present of two of his elegant shirts. 
 While Mr. Thomas never again attempted the folly 
 above described ; it is said that whenever he had an 
 appointment to preach on any special occasion, in after 
 years, he always put on one of the Laurenson shirts, 
 imagining this arrangement to be the nearest possible 
 approach to Elijah's mantle ! 
 
 At a certain quarterly meeting in Somerset, a number 
 of ministers — Laurenson and Thomas included — ^were 
 guests at the same farm-house. After retiring for the 
 night, the brethren engaged in the discussion of various 
 Scripture passages ; Mr. Thomas expressing his convic- 
 tion that a particular passage he had mentioned would 
 " make a first-rate tex' for a sermont." Laurenson, who, 
 in his periods of cheerfulness, was keenly alive to the 
 ludicrous, proposed that Thomas should preach them a 
 sermon from the text, right then and there as they lay 
 in bed. The "Parson" accepted the challenge, and 
 began at once to work out a sermon. By the time he 
 got through the introduction he was sitting upright on 
 his bed. On firstly, he warmed up until he slid out and 
 stood upon the floor. On secondly, he got excited and 
 walked the room back and forth, with most earnest voice 
 and gesticulation. But when he reached thirdly, he 
 became so jubilant that he could stand it no longer; 
 5 
 
98 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 but "went off" into a regular "spell" of boisterous 
 rejoicing. John Parks, one of the company, equally 
 inflammable, caught the electric current ; and, leaping 
 from his bed, joined in the shout with Mr. Thomas; 
 while Laurenson and the other preachers sat up in 
 bed, responding "Amen" to their resounding "Glory!" 
 Meantime, the family and friends, sleeping in the lower 
 rooms, were awakened by the " big meetin' " going on 
 above; and arose, dressed hastily, and came up to par- 
 ticipate; when, alas! some one struck a light! The 
 ludicrous spectacle upset all gravity; and the descent 
 from the sublime to the ridiculous was immediate, 
 precipitous, astonishing, overwhelming; and threw the 
 whole company into hysterical convulsions ! Laurenson, 
 it is said, could never think of this scene, when the 
 light was thrown upon it, without the most immoderate 
 laughter. 
 
 Mr. Thomas' remarks in public as often provoked 
 mirth as seriousness and tears. Spealdng at an experi- 
 ence meeting at Ross' woods camp-meeting in Sus- 
 sex, Del., on one occasion, the quaint old man said: 
 "Brothers; the Devil sometimes bothers God's people 
 right smart by suggestin' that things is not a goin' on 
 right at home. This very mornin', understand, he's 
 been a tellin' me that the hogs are in my pertater patch, 
 down on the Island. But I told him, understand, if 
 they were, and ate up all the pertaters, I'd eat up the 
 hogs next winter, understand, and. that'll make accounts 
 all square." 
 
PATEIAECHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 99 
 
 It was Mr. Thomas' custom, wherever he took a meal 
 in his journeyings, at the close to call the family to 
 prayer. On such occasions it was his habit to remem- 
 ber and mention each person of the company by name, 
 and adapt his prayers to the peculiarities of their re- 
 spective conditions. Having learned on one occasion of 
 dining out, that three of the ladies constituting the 
 company were widows, he prayed most devoutly for 
 them, telling the Lord all about their bereft and lonely 
 condition ; and asking that they might all in due time 
 be made happy in the possession of loving husbands 
 and pleasant homes. Coming finally in his petition to 
 the young gentleman visitor present, whose intentions 
 he had divined, he prayed : " Lord, bless this nice young 
 man ; give him favor in the eyes of this lovely lady he's 
 so much interested in ; and so dispose her heart' that his 
 suit may be successful." However much this petition 
 may have embarrassed the parties, it surely afforded the 
 young gentleman an excellent opportunity to " pop the 
 question." 
 
 Mr. Thomas was an earnest advocate for "decency 
 and order" in worship, and could illy brook any inters 
 ruption calculated to interfere with a devotional frame 
 of mind. His special antipathy was to the annoyance 
 of crying children in meeting. It was no unusual 
 thing for him to interrupt the speaker, to volunteer 
 needed suggestions to thoughtless mothers. One day at 
 a camp-meeting, the parson stopped a minister in the 
 midst of a fine oratorical flight, to appeal to a mother in 
 
100 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 the congregation, whose baby, for fifteen minutes, had 
 kept up an annoying squall. "Sister," said he, in 
 tones tender and pleading, "Sister, do please give that 
 'ere child a tater ! " 
 
 With regrets we must now take our leave of the good 
 veteran, and pass to other scenes and characters. Peace 
 to the ashes of Joshua Thomas. 
 
 Not far away from the Tangier and Deal's Islands, in 
 the same queenly waters, is Smith's Island, or more 
 properly islands ; for the low, marshy emerald that 
 barely rises above the storm-tides, is divided by various 
 little straits serving as highways, into a multitude of 
 islands, thickly dotted over by cabins and cottages, 
 where dwell the thrifty oystermen who inhabit those 
 regions, and gather their sure and remunerative harvests 
 from the bottom of the deep. 
 
 Until the era of emancipation in Maryland, with 
 its natural accompaniment of free schools for all sec- 
 tions, these primitive folk were generally innocent of 
 the offence of reading pernicious literature, — or any 
 other literature, for that matter, — for the schoolmaster, 
 although abroad, had never wandered that far from 
 home. 
 
 Some years ago it was the writer's good fortune to 
 enjoy a trip to Smith's Islands, partly in quest of 
 healthful relaxation, but also to aid the pastor. Rev. 
 John Shilling, in what the islanders called a camp- 
 meeting, which, however, was held in the spacious 
 chapel. These chapel camp-meetings are held usually 
 
PATEIARCHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 101 
 
 about the last of August or first of September, that 
 being a season of leisure ; and all the inhabitants — men, 
 women and children — seem to esteem it almost a dis- 
 grace not to be in attendance. The men come in their 
 shirt-sleeves and the matrons in their slat, or sun bonnets ; 
 only the bronzed youths and rosy maidens apparently 
 making any eifort at "dressing up" or adornment. More 
 than half the families bring to this great gathering from 
 one to three or four live babies, varying in dimensions 
 from the month old " squaller "to the rollicking youngster 
 of three or four summers. A juvenile at home, during 
 these meetings, is a rare exception. Peter's declaration; 
 " The promise is unto you and to your children," is 
 literally accepted on these islands, as it ought to be 
 everywhere. 
 
 To stand near the chapel on a bright morning, when 
 the assembly is gathering, and scan the horizon around, 
 presents a spectacle never to be forgotten. The mingled 
 picture of little green isles ; the glistening and rippled 
 streets of water ; the scores of sno^ny sails, like angel 
 wings, dotting the horizon in every direction for miles, 
 and converging towards the humble sanctuary ; the 
 mingled snatches of cheerful, sacred melodies from 
 many of the approaching crews, floating over the waters 
 from every direction in sweet and witching confusion, 
 stamp an impression on the sensitive canvass of the soul, 
 so weird and picturesque as to remain forever indelible. 
 
 It was night when the " Bugeye " that bore us across 
 from Crisfield arrived ; and, in a little while, the tired 
 
102 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA.. 
 
 voyager was snugly tucked away in the preacher's room 
 at "Uncle" Haney Bradshaw's. The little one-story 
 cottage having proven too strait, the proprietor had 
 sawn it asunder, moved one-half twenty feet away ; and, 
 between the two parts, had erected a two-story addition 
 for the special purpose of having a suitable and com- 
 fortable chamber for his ministerial visitors. 
 
 Haney Bradshaw was, at that time, the patriarch of 
 the Islands ; everybody's uncle ; and, by common con- 
 sent, proprietor of the Sotd d' Itinerante. Uncle 
 Haney was sui generis, and perhaps even a little more 
 so. Among his many striking peculiarities, was his 
 propensity to coin words and phrases for his own con- 
 venience in utterance or expression. He neither knew 
 nor cared anything for dictionaries or usage, and set all 
 the laws of lexicographers and grammarians at defiance. 
 The phrase, " In that form," or sometimes, " In that 
 manner and form, sir," was interjected into almost all 
 his utterances. Taking down his old, blackened clay pipe 
 from the mantel, for the indispensable smoke after the 
 meal, said he: "Formality times, in that form, sir, 
 I allersused to stick my pipe in my waistcoat pocket, 
 when I warn't smokin' ; but Polly she kept up a reg'lar 
 blundeguster about it. In that manner and form, sir, she 
 allowanced it perfumegated my clothin' with a solid con- 
 function of a dark smell, and to pleasify Polly, in that 
 way and manner, brother, I quit the practize." This 
 would constitute a sufficient reason for every one to 
 cease carrying the pipe in either the pocket or the mouth. 
 
PATRIAECHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 103 
 
 Uncle Haney greatly enjoyed the preaching of the 
 Gospel, and was not slow to express his high apprecia- 
 tion of our efforts. After our return from church one 
 night, he took it into his head to compliment the writer 
 in the following style : " I tell you, brother, you had 
 a mighty bunctious tex' to-night. In that way and 
 form, sir, you got things into a solid smother. Why, 
 sir, if you'd 'a combusticated at that dyin' rate a little 
 longer, I'd 'a splodified right out in the consanctum ! In 
 that form, sir, why haint they made you a Bishop long 
 ago ? " Uncle Haney was equally complimentary to a 
 
 sermon preached on the Island, by Rev. Bro. H. , 
 
 of the Wilmington Conference ; when, in giving an 
 account of it to one of that gentleman's parishioners at 
 Crisfield, he said : " I tell you, Bro. Hance Lawson, 
 in that manner and form, your preacher's a regular 
 Bonytholimar. He norated powerful well in the 
 mornin', and then went home with me to dinner and 
 tuck in a cooner load of pervisions ; and I tell you, sir, 
 I didn't think he could preach much of a sermont in the 
 arternoon, and I jest rared my head back agin the wall 
 for a good nap ; but I tell you, sir, in that way and 
 manner, when he let on the steam and got under full 
 headway, he jest funked out the preachin' to excess!" 
 
 Brother H 's description of the introductory to 
 
 the above-mentioned sermon is unique. While he was 
 looking up his hymns and Scripture lessons, a tall, lank 
 brother, in his shirt-sleeves, and somewhat resembling 
 a pair of oyster tongs, arose in the amen corner ; and. 
 
104 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 with a very emphatic and significant gesture with his 
 index-finger, drawled out : " Mister Preacher ; it's time 
 for to begin!" The preacher was about to arise in 
 obedience to the admonition, when Uncle Haney came 
 crawling into the pulpit, and said to the preacher, in 
 what was meant to be a whisper, but in a growl loud 
 
 enough to be heard all over the house : " Brother H , 
 
 Aunt Levina Bradshaw, an old 'oman ninety and odd 
 year old, in that form, and weighin' two hundred and 
 odd pound, fell overboard, in that way and manner, in 
 ten foot of water, and lost everything she had in the 
 world, even to her shoes. And I tell you, sir, it's a 
 mighty feelin' sense-thing, in that manner and form, and 
 I feel for the circumstances, and I want to take a col- 
 lection." He then straightened up, told the same story 
 of misfortune to the congregation; and was about to 
 proceed to make his levy on them ; when the tall oyster- 
 tongs in the amen corner again arose, entered his protest, 
 "Agin Uncle Haney a 'sturbin' the meetin' in that 
 way ;" and then repeated, with additional emphasis : 
 "Mr. Preacher, I say it's time for to begin." Uncle 
 Haney, however, went right on with his appeal, and 
 after "'sturbin' the meetin'" for about fifteen minutes, 
 secured for Aunt Levina a " right bunctious " collection, 
 "in that form;" and then gave his permission for the 
 preacher to "drive ahead." The patient dominie then 
 arose to begin the service; when another pair of human 
 oyster-tongs came running to the door; and, beckoning 
 to the minister, with panting breath, implored : " Mister 
 
PATRIARCHS OP THE CHESAPEAKE. 105 
 
 preacher ! Hol-hold-on a while ! Don't — don't say- 
 say yer tex' now. Ther's some a comin' — comin' to 
 meetin' what's not got yer yit!" A precisely similar 
 circumstance occurred, on the Sunday morning of the 
 writer's visit; and while the "congregation, a comin' 
 from Holland's Island, what's got becalmed and not got 
 yer yit," were laboriously "toiling in rowing" for a full 
 half-hour to reach the point, Uncle Haney growled out : 
 "I don't see the use 'n people's bein' so disconstitu- 
 tional lazy. Why don't they git up Sunday mornin's 
 same es they was gwine a oysterin' ; and then they could 
 git to meetin', in that form, with some kind o' tem- 
 poraneous decency ! " Brother Shilling improved the 
 opportunity by extemporising a baptismal service; and, 
 although it was "not a good day for a christenin'" 
 Uncle Haney said, the names of twenty-nine boys and 
 girls were taken by the pastor for entry on his record of 
 baptisms ! 
 
 Uncle Haney Bradshaw's appearance was as uncouth 
 as his mode of expression ; but, beneath all this rough 
 exterior, there was the most child-like simplicity and 
 earnest sincerity. One summer it was very dry and hot, 
 and the little corn-field, a short time before so luxuriant 
 and promising, wilted and faded, until it made the old 
 man heart-sick to look at it. Finally, at morning devo- 
 tions, Uncle Haney prayed most earnestly that the Lord 
 would send a refreshing rain, and save his little crop 
 from destruction. That very same afternoon, a storm- 
 cloud swept down the Chesapeake ; the lightnings sent 
 
 5* 
 
106 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 their bolts crashing along the galleries of the heavens ; 
 and the winds shrieked their weird and awful accom- 
 paniments. But all this was music in Uncle Haney's 
 ears, who thought only of the copious and refreshing 
 rain, that, in answer to his prayer, was blessing his 
 thirsty corn-field. At last it was over and the sun 
 shone out, transforming every rain-drop on the corn- 
 blades into a glistening diamond; and, contentedly 
 humming " Praise God from whom all blessings flow," 
 Uncle Ilaney started out barefoot to walk around his 
 little field and mingle his rejoicings with the gladnass 
 of the corn. But, alas ! what havoc met his vision ! 
 Tangled in utter confusion ; with torn roots exposed to 
 view; with many noble stalks broken and ruined; the 
 luxuriant corn of which he had been so proud as the 
 biggest on the Island, seemed damaged by the storm 
 beyond recovery. Coming back with fallen countenance 
 and doleful groans, he entered the door and saluted his 
 wife in the following discouraged language: "Well, 
 Polly, in that way and manner, I've about come to the 
 conclusion that the Lord sometimes answers prayer a 
 little too much, and does about as much damage as 
 he does good ! I don't see, in that form, but what he 
 mought jest as well burn up the corn with heat as tear 
 it all to flinderations with a thunderguster ! " To those 
 who knew Haney Bradshaw well, this will not seem 
 to be the utterance of angry complaint or irreverence. 
 He simply gave honest expression, to about what many 
 of us feel under parallel circumstances, and without a 
 single thought of rebellion. 
 
PATEIAECHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 107 
 
 In Uncle Haney Bradshaw's apparently rugged 
 bosom, there beat an honest heart, full of generous 
 impulses; and, at times, glowing with a fervor of 
 feeling and a vividness of imagination that was simply 
 astonishing. Never will the writer forget the effect of 
 the old veteran's thrilling experience of his awakening 
 and conversion, related on Sunday afternoon, as we sat 
 under the pleasant shade of the great pear-tree that 
 grew in his yard. No pen-portraiture can do the scene 
 justice. It was largely the heaven-lighted face of the 
 simple-minded old saint, that made the vivid impres- 
 sion. He began the story while sitting smoking his 
 pipe; but, ere long, the fascinating narcotic was for- 
 gotten, and Uncle Haney was on his feet ; his unstudied 
 action most strikingly and gracefully ilramatic; his 
 lion-like voice softened and attuned to sympathetic 
 tenderness; and tears of grateful remembrance of God's 
 goodness stealing down his furrowed cheeks. His story, 
 as nearly as I can remember, was as follows : 
 
 "I tell you, brothers, in that form, when the Lord 
 got arter me, I was a permegatin' my own devices like 
 a young devil; and I didn't want nothin' to do with 
 the glimmerations of the Sperit, 'cause it took all the 
 flavorin' out'n my confectionary, like. So I run this 
 place, that place and the totlier ; and dove into all sorts 
 o' mud-puddles, a tryin' to disgustify the Lord, so's he'd 
 lemme be. Well, sir; in that way and manner, I was 
 jest like one o' these ornery, cunnin' old crabs; that, 
 soon's you git arter 'em, '11 cut stick for the place where 
 
108 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 your paddle's stirred up the mud, so's to scapen away 
 and hide. Well, 'bout that time, ther was a camp- 
 meetin' over on the Somerset Main ; so, in that manner 
 and form, sii", I 'eluded to 'tend it, and performerate all 
 the jimmycracks I could think of, so's to bust the Lord's 
 holts loose, and do 's I pleased a spell ; and then arter a 
 while I thought, when I was fulfilled with my own cir- 
 cumlutions, I'd turn to the Lord. Well, sir, in that 
 form, when I got over there and liearn the singing, and 
 begun to think what I was a tryin' to do, it seemed like 
 to me every wind that whistled through the pine-tree 
 tops, was like the growl of a chained devil that could 
 almost reach me with his red-hot pitchfork ; and I tell 
 you, sir, I begun to feel powerful ramshacked-like, and 
 wished myself back on the Island. Then I hearn a 
 voice that seemed to say : ' Haney ; now's the day of 
 salvation — turn to-day.' "Bout then my knees come 
 right weak and trimblin' f and my heart jumped out 
 and in — up and down, like it was a cork on a fishin' 
 line, and all the eels and catfish in pandehonium a nib- 
 blin' at the bait. Well, sir, in that way and manner, 
 about that time the preacher said : ' Young man ; turn 
 now, or you're lost;' and the singers struck up 'Turn 
 to the Lord and seek salvation ! ' and, sir, 'bout then the 
 earth cracked open; and the flames shot up from the 
 stiflin' furnace; and I felt myself a sinkin' down, down, 
 down, in that form, sir, where God Almighty's arm 
 couldn't reach me, and the angels, they'd all forgit me. 
 And then, thinks I — 'yes; you've broke God's holts on 
 
PATEIAECHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 109 
 
 you, sure enough; and you're lost forever!' and that's 
 the last I remember, till three hours after — they said it 
 was — I found myself about a mile down, a lookin' out 
 at the top of Hell — as I was afeerd ; and it was so near 
 closed I could only see, away off, one little star, like 
 the eye of Jesus, a lookin' down kind o' pitysome-like 
 on me. And then, brothers, in that form, that star 
 begun to dimensionize bigger and bigger, and come 
 nearer and nearer; and I looked and looked, till the eyes 
 of my 'mortal soul blazed like the top peaks of the 
 waves in the first kisses of the mornin' sunshine; and 
 jest then I begun to rise out'n that drearysome hole. 
 They say the lumigatin' moon, drawin' the water, raises 
 the high-tides from the see, and makes the rivers run 
 up stream. And jest so, that mornin' star drawed my 
 perishin' soul out'n damnation; and flung its arms of 
 light, in that form, about me ; and lifted me up higher 
 and higher, and come nearer and nearer, until Heaven 
 busted open ; and then I saw that the star was nothin' 
 but the face of Jasus, shinin' down from the mercy-seat ; 
 and, when I fully come to myself, I was in the snow- 
 white 'cooner' of salvation, a skimmin' over silver 
 waves of peace, tipped with pearls and gold of joysome 
 love ; and a fair breeze, in that way and manner, for 
 the uncrumpled cove of glory, where no flurry of sin can 
 ever blow!" 
 
 A few years after the date of the above glowing 
 recital. Uncle Haney's "cooner," dropped anchor in 
 the peaceful, "uncrumpled" haven, for which he was 
 
110 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 SO long a hopeful voyager. Aunt Polly — dear old 
 soul — who stood on the little wharf in front of the 
 door, wiping her eyes with the corner of her checked 
 apron, as the "bugeye" bore the historian away, still 
 lingers on the shore, looking out over the waters for 
 the approach of the kindly ferryman to bear her over. 
 
 Equally remarkable in characteristic personal traits, 
 but with large advantage as to general knowledge and 
 culture, is Captain William Frazier, familiarly known 
 as " Capt. Billy," a product of the " Neck," stretching 
 below Cambridge, between the little and the great 
 Choptank, and projecting into the Chesapeake. Captain 
 Frazier was somewhat of a politician, and very influen- 
 tial in Dorchester as a leading Whig, and afterwards as 
 a Eepublican ; several times, and with much credit, 
 representing his county in the halls of legislation. For 
 many years, until recently, he occupied an important 
 position in the Baltimore Custom House; but has lately 
 been invited to retire ; and now again takes up his resi- 
 dence at the old homestead on the beautiful Choptank 
 waters. 
 
 Says Rev. Adam Wallace, D.D., in his interesting 
 sketches in the Peninsula Methodist : " The Captain's 
 stories of sea and land ; his practical sense in business 
 and church aifairs, and his unquestioned influence as the 
 adviser of his neighbors, made him an entertaining 
 host." Of his introduction to Capt. Billy, he speaks 
 on this wise: " It was a chilly afternoon, when my first 
 appointment down the 'Neck' led me to Spedden's 
 
PATEIAECHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. Ill 
 
 meeting-house. They had hastily made a fire in the 
 one large ten-plate stove, standing in the centre of the 
 plain old church. The stove-pipe was shaky, as it had 
 a long reach up to the flue. The house became filled 
 with smoke. Preaclier and people felt a smarting about 
 the eyes; and we could not commence the exercises until 
 all the windows had been opened and the house cleared of 
 smoke. Before preaching, I suggested that the interrup- 
 tion would not occur again if the trustees, or some 
 thoughtful friend, would see to tlie proper fixing of the 
 pipe ; and that it ought to be attended to the first thing 
 on Monday morning. 
 
 " ' Here, young man," said a plain, sturdy and very 
 outspoken brother in the congregation, 'you just mind 
 your own business, and we will attend to ours : go on 
 with your preaching.' 
 
 " I had never met Capt. Frazier, but from what I liad 
 heard of him I suspected this must be the man, and I 
 was not mistaken. The way lie knocked the wind out 
 of my sails — to use one of his own sailor phrases — was 
 a caution; and, with fear and trembling, I proceeded 
 with the service. I had my turn, however, four weeks 
 from that day. It was a backward spring, and they 
 made a fire in the old stove ; but early enough to have 
 the house cleared of smoke before I ascended the pulpit. 
 As I arose to give out the opening hymn, — always the 
 signal for out-door loiterers to enter the church in a 
 l)ody, — the vibration of so many feet upon the floor 
 disturbed the equilibrium of the stove-pipe ; and I saw 
 
112 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 it topple. We had just raised the tune; but down came 
 that forty-foot cylinder, parting into three sections, and 
 every joint nearly full of the accumulated smut of time 
 immemorial. Part fell over on the women's side, part 
 towards the ' amen corner,' and the remainder came 
 down with a crash among the sinners in the rear. The 
 first man to leap to the rescue was 'Captain Billy;" 
 and, seizing the falling pipe, he let it go again suddenly 
 and began to blow on his hands. The pipe was very 
 hot! 
 
 " Our singing was suspended until the dense cloud of 
 soot settled down on the people's Sunday clothes, and 
 the roaring fire had been put out. I kept my eye on 
 the Captain, and, catching his, inquired : ' Well, whose 
 business is it now to repair damages?' He possessed a 
 streak of the ludicrous, and, moreover, had a very big, 
 generous heart ; so he made an apology that set every 
 body in a good humor ; and from that day he and I 
 became the best of friends. We had some trouble, 
 however, in resuming our hymn, and still more in 
 composing our minds and faces into the proper frame 
 for prayer. He insisted that I should go home with 
 him ; and a pleasanter home picture does not hang in 
 all the gallery of my recollections, than I found at the 
 old family dwelling of Capt. William Frazier." 
 
 Rev. Thos. L. Poulson, D. D., was Capt. Billy's pastor 
 in 1860. While engaged in an extra meeting that fall, 
 the preacher was one night detained by a pastoral duty, 
 so that he failed to be on time for the beginning of the 
 
PATBIAECHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 113 
 
 service. Becoming impatient, Captain Billy had sung a 
 hymn ; and, at the time of Bro. Poulson's arrival, was 
 vociferously leading the congregation in prayer. Stealing 
 in softly, the pastor took his position a little in the rear 
 of the unsuspecting leader, who, in the course of his 
 petition, took occasion to notify the Head of the Church 
 as follows ; " O Lord, we are here like sheep without a 
 shepherd ; we've got a preacher who ought to be with 
 us, but he's out somewhere, a galivantin' around, and 
 we don't know what he's about. O Lord, we pray thee 
 to look after our preacher, and have mercy upon him 
 and bless him ! " "Amen ! " responded the parson ; when 
 Capt. Billy, looking round at liim in surprise, growled 
 out : " Humph ! you got here at last ! " after which he 
 speedily reached the " amen." 
 
 With all the old sailor's blunt ways and pugnacious 
 antics, none of the many victims of his keen but hu- 
 morous sarcasm, have ever questioned his profound 
 honesty and Christian generosity. The writer most 
 heartily joins in the prayer of Dr. Wallace, that " his 
 sunset of life may be serene and cloudless ; and that the 
 Saviour he has loved so long and ardently, may be the 
 support and joy of his failing heart, and his portion 
 forever." 
 
 Another remarkable character, belonging in this cate- 
 gory, was Garretson West, who lived and died at St. 
 Michaels, Maryland. He was born in the early part of 
 the present centurj^, and died on the 23d of February, 
 ] 853. Mr. West was poor in this world's goods, but 
 
114 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 rich in faith and good works. His sphere was circum- 
 scribed by his lowly condition ; but most admirably did 
 he fill its measure and meet all its requirements. Owing 
 to his environments in childhood, he was debarred from 
 all privileges and blessings of literary culture, not re- 
 ceiving even the most primary elements of education. 
 Indeed he was such' a simple-minded child of nature, 
 that the merely casual acquaintance might perhaps have 
 adjudged him mentally weak, if not indeed bordering 
 closely on imbecility. Such a conclusion, however, 
 would never have been reached by any but a superficial 
 observer ; and, in such case, largely owing to his singular 
 deadness to the things that ordinarily engage human 
 attention, and his absorbing devotion to religious enjoy- 
 ment and conversation. It might appropriately be said of 
 him, his "conversation was in heaven." One of the most 
 devoted and discriminating laymen of Easton, Maryland, 
 Mr. Leonidas Dodson, Sr., says of him : " It must not 
 be supposed that he was, in any sense, weak-minded or 
 deficient in natural intelligence. If he appeared to be 
 indifferent to business pursuits, and literally without care 
 for the morrow, it was for the reason that the religious 
 element of his nature had absorbed the man." 
 
 Garretson West was converted to God in early man- 
 hood ; and, to the end, retained such a vivid recollection 
 of that blessed hour and event, that he seemed ever to be 
 rejoicing in the exhilarating ecstacies of his new, first 
 love. Religious life with him was a great protracted 
 meeting and a revival without intermissions, ending only 
 
PATRIAECHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 115 
 
 with the victorious shout of the dying warrior. Imme- 
 diately upon his conversion, he came to the front in the 
 spiritual activities of the Church ; and such was the 
 touching simplicity and effectiveness of his humble 
 efforts in that line, that, despite his apparent disquali- 
 fication, he was instantly recognized as "called of God 
 to be an apostle," and commissioned by the Church to be 
 a sort of independent ranger, or evangelist without limi- 
 tations or restrictions in St. Michaels and surrounding 
 regions. Says Mr. Dodson : " Methodism in St. Michaels, 
 Md., and its vicinity, owes more to the heroic services of 
 Garretson West than to any other single individual, 
 living or dead." 
 
 Early in his Christian career, recognizing his pre- 
 eminent spiritual qualifications to feed Christ's lambs, 
 Mr. West's pastor appointed him leader of a class ; and 
 so wise were his counsels, so attractive his sweet spirit, 
 and so inspiring his fervor and enthusiasm, .that even 
 the refined and cultured esteemed it a privilege to be 
 enrolled as members of his little flock. For like reasons, 
 he was soon licensed to exhort; and many a time his 
 rude and simple but really eloquent and stirring appeals, 
 and his glowing utterances of Christian sentiment and 
 experience, saved a dull meeting from failure, and turned 
 apparent defeat into victory. "He was always in the 
 lead at extra meetings and at camp-meetings. His 
 exhortations were pungent and awakening, vehement 
 in the denunciation of sin, and true to Methodistic 
 orthodoxy. They were ofttimes truly eloquent, and 
 
116 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 always the outcome of a heart deeply imbued with a 
 simple, unquestioning faith in the great verities of the 
 Christian religion." 
 
 Early in life Mr. West followed the occupation of an 
 oysterman. While thus engaged, it was no unusual thing 
 for him to lay down his tongs to engage in a prayer 
 meeting, all by himself, to which his busy brother 
 oystermen's attention would finally be called by his 
 lusty singing and triumphant shouting. Sometimes 
 whenever the rakes were lifted on board with their 
 load of bivalves, his hearty ejaculations of "hallelujah !" 
 or " glory to God ! " would mingle with the sound of the 
 oysters as they rattled down upon the pile or on the 
 bottom of his canoe. Aft«r laboring and rejoicing thus 
 all day, he would spend half the night in leading the 
 singing at some protracted meeting that happened to 
 be going on within reach of his humble home. He 
 afterwards secured a team, and became a carter. In this 
 business much of his time was employed in conveying 
 goods and freight for the merchants of St. Michaels, 
 between their places of business and the packet wharf 
 and steamboat landing. But if, while thus engaged, 
 he chanced to meet any one who was willing to tarry 
 for extended religious conversation, no matter what the 
 exigencies of trade, he would forget his errand, and 
 allow the needed goods to remain on the wharf for 
 hours after he was expected to deliver them to the 
 anxiously waiting merchants. Sometimes Mr. West 
 became the innocent victim of little conspiracies on 
 
PATKIARCHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 117 
 
 this line — ^the young men arranging to meet and stop 
 him, at intervals, for conversation upon his favorite 
 theme; until the merchants, weary with waiting and 
 sometimes quite out of patience with the carter's zealous 
 negligence, would go or send a clerk to hunt him and 
 "jog his memory," or even gently reprimand him, and 
 thus recall him to the duty' of the hour. Says Mr. 
 Dodson again : " Religion beamed from his countenance, 
 and the bright smile that played upon his features was 
 the index of the sweet power filling the soul." He 
 was a shouting Christian, but however demonstrative — 
 whether jumping, clapping his hands, or voicing his 
 hallelujahs and amens in the public services or the class- 
 room, he was privileged, for all knew he had something 
 over which to shout." 
 
 At length, in middle-life, Mr. West was stricken 
 with an illness — ^the result of overwork and exposiu-e in 
 a protracted meeting — that proved fatal. When the 
 serious nature of his malady became known in the com- 
 munity, an interest little less than a panic took posses- 
 sion of the public mind. Persons who kept a record 
 of passing events of importance, entered upon their 
 journals the fact of his illness and the progress of the 
 disease, with their hopes and fears of the result, from 
 day to day. In all public religious services, the Church 
 put on sackcloth and ashes ; and tearful and importunate 
 prayers were offered that his valuable life might be 
 spared. The following transcript from Mr. Dodson's 
 journal, written at the time, will reveal better than any- 
 
118 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 thing I can write, the estimate in which Mr. West waS 
 held, and the deep sense of bereavement under which a 
 whole community bowed : 
 
 "February list, 1853. — Brother West still lives in 
 a precarious situation, barely allowing hopes of his 
 recovery. A great deal of sympathy is felt for him. 
 He is truly a man of God, and in his death the church 
 would experience a heavy loss. 
 
 " 22d. — It seems to be the will of the Almighty to 
 remove Brother West from the militant to the tri- 
 umphant Church. No hopes are entertained of his 
 recovery. He lives, but evidently in a sinking con- 
 dition. As might well be expected of one who has 
 labored so long and faithfully in the service of God, his 
 humble home and lowly couch are the scenes of the 
 highest triumph of which the mind has conception — 
 the triumph over death. I visited him late yesterday 
 afternoon, and experienced that, ' the chamber where the 
 good man meets his fate, is privileged beyond the com- 
 mon walks of virtuous life — quite on the verge of 
 heaven.' His chief desire was to depart and be with 
 Christ ; and frequently clapping his hands and crying 
 'Victory! Victory!' he gave to the numerous friends, 
 who wept and rejoiced around his bed, the best assurance 
 that he was standing upon the everlasting Rock, and 
 contemplating, unmoved the waves of death that rolled 
 beneath his feet. I shall not soon forget this most 
 interesting visit to Brother West nor his dying prayer, 
 as he grasped my hand and said; 'Brother Dodson, may 
 the Lord bless vou.' 
 
PATRIARCHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 119 
 
 " 23d. — Yesterday evening, a little after suridown, the 
 mortal sun of brother West set to rise no more. Thus 
 has closed the life of this deeply pious, useful and 
 beloved man. He leaves a monument in the heart of 
 every man in the community. The whole church mem- 
 bership are mourners. As a mark of the public esteem 
 for the memory of this dear brother, a notice has been 
 posted requesting that all business shall cease, on the 
 morrow, during the funeral solemnities. 
 
 " 25th. — Brother West was interred yesterday by the 
 Sons of Temperance, of which order he was a member. 
 The funeral was preached by Rev. James A. Massey 
 from a text he selected before his death — ' I have fought 
 a good fight.' The church, notwithstanding it was one 
 of the coldest days of this winter, was crowded to over- 
 flowing ; and stifled sobs and weeping eyes attested the 
 high esteem in which the deceased was held. Never 
 have I witnessed such miiversal and unfeigned sorrow. 
 In the afternoon a meeting was called to consider the 
 propriety of placing at his grave a monument to his 
 memory, and the initiatory steps were taken to have a 
 suitable one erected." 
 
 In a recent letter, speaking of the closing scenes of 
 Mr. West's life, the same writer says : " And so living, 
 the end came ; and such an end ! His physician — ^the 
 late Dr. James Dawson — ^finding it out of the question 
 to stop him from rejoicing aloud in the prospect of vic- 
 tory over death, or to prevent the constant stream of 
 visitors who were eager to see and hear the dying hero, 
 
120 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 gave in; and the last days of his life were given to 
 a glad and triumphant testimony to the power of that 
 grace he had recommended to all in his life." 
 
 From a most interesting letter, received since writing 
 the above account of this remarkable saint of God, 
 written by Mr. James Valliant of Talbot County, Md., 
 I glean the following : 
 
 "Garretson West was to St. Michael's and vicinity, 
 what Joshua Thomas was to Deal's Island. Except 
 that the latter was possessed of some property, and could 
 read and write, they were counterparts of each other. 
 * * * * Money was never of any value to him 
 save as the means of support to the church, and of 
 a bare subsistence for himself and his little family. 
 Religion was his constant theme through the whole of 
 every day of his life, and was closely intermixed with 
 his every dream at night. That he was an enthusiast 
 is undeniably true ; but his enthusiasm was never of a 
 nature to be repulsive to any one. He commanded not 
 only the confidence, respect and esteem, but also the 
 heartfelt affection of all who knew him, whether within 
 or outside the pale of the church, and of whatever 
 sect or creed. His mind and heart — ^his whole life, 
 character, conduct and intent, were as pure as it is 
 possible to conceive mortal man can attain. His whole 
 life was a most beautiful commentary on the Christian 
 religion. * * * * 
 
 "His success as a peacemaker and arbiter of differences, 
 among his neighbors was unparalleled. As soon as it 
 
PATEIAECHS OF THE CHESAPEAKE. 121 
 
 became known to him that misunderstanding or ill-will 
 existed between any two of our people, of whatever sex 
 or condition, he would avail himself of the first oppor- 
 tunity to visit them ; and rarely indeed did he fail in 
 effecting a happy reconciliation. The poor and illiterate 
 looked to him for advice and comfort in all their diffi- 
 culties. To these he was another Moses ; and, at all 
 times, to them his word was law. He visited and 
 prayed with all the sick and dying ; and his coming was 
 always welcomed with gladness. His tact in imparting 
 comfort, consolation and good cheer to the afflicted was 
 such as few men have possessed. He could not go too 
 often, and never failed to inspire the patient with con- 
 fidence and hope. 
 
 " Though he never learned even so much as the alpha- 
 bet, he was as familiar with Bible history and all the 
 cardinal doctrines of his church as any clergyman I ever 
 knew. Few ministers were as familiar with Scriptural 
 texts as he. For every occasion he had ready at hand 
 a quotation from the sayings of Christ, his Apostles or 
 some of the prophets. He never ceased or tired of his 
 Master^s work. On the oyster rocks, with some forty 
 or fifty others engaged in tonging oysters, his conversa- 
 tion was an all-day sermon. If the subject of converse 
 should drift into the secular, his part therein soon ceased 
 to be prominent. In our village stores on rainy days, 
 on the street, around the domestic hearth-stone, and 
 when visiting his neighbors, his theme was the same ; 
 or, at least, had for its main object the cultivation of a 
 6 
 
122 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 religious sentiment in the minds of his auditors; and, 
 strange as it may appear, his converse never became 
 irksome. Never in the town of St. Michael's, and 
 within a radius of ten or twelve miles around, was the 
 loss of a citizen so deeply and universally mourned." 
 By reason of his liberal contributions for charity and to 
 the support of the Church, "he was almost without a 
 dollar at the time of his death. But he was decently 
 buried by the affectionate contributions of his numerous 
 friends, by whom a very substantial, though plain, 
 monument was erected over his grave, in the old 
 Methodist burying-ground." 
 
 A few years ago, when the Methodists of St. Michael's 
 purchased and laid out a beautiful, new cemetery near 
 the town, the dust of Garretson West was removed, and 
 deposited in the central and most conspicuous location ; 
 and his tomb is the Mecca to which all the winding 
 walks of that silent city of the dead lead the willing feet 
 of visiting pilgrims. On the west face of his monu- 
 ment is the inscription : 
 
 "BOEN in TALBOT COUNTY IN 1800; 
 
 BOEN AGAIN IN 1818; 
 
 DIED IN 1853." 
 
 On the east face is chiseled : 
 
 "though POOR AND UNLEARNED, 
 
 HE WAS A BURNING AND A SHINING LIGHT; 
 
 'always ABOUNDING IN THE WORK OP THE LORD.' 
 
 'I HAVE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT.'" 
 
PATRIARCHS OP THE CHESAPEAKE. 123 
 
 Such a life-history as that of Garretson West is ines- 
 timably valuable to the Church; and deserves to be 
 commemorated, on account of the encouragement to 
 devotion and zeal it affords to those of humble sur- 
 roundings and small ability. The Lord's parable of 
 the talents exhibits the success of those of respectable 
 and large abilities, and shows the terrible failure of him 
 whose endowments were more humble. The life and 
 labors of this lowly saint shows what may be expe- 
 rienced and accomplished by the servant of but one 
 talent; who, instead of digging and hiding his Lord's 
 investment, lays it out in the stock of entire consecra- 
 tion to God's service and full salvation from sin. Like 
 the loaves and fishes, blessed by the handling, the 
 breaking and the words of Jesus, the devoted life and 
 efforts of Garretson West were divinely distributed to 
 the satisfaction and enjoyment of a great multitude of 
 many thousands. 
 
124 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 EPISODES AND COLLISIONS. 
 
 W MONG the eccentric and noted characters of Penin- 
 M sular Methodism of olden times, was Rev. John 
 
 I Collins. He was naturally angular and irascible; 
 and seems never to have had his nature so sweetened 
 by grace as to cease entirely the production of porcupine 
 quills, which it was his wont to project among his auditors 
 upon every provocaiJion. He was particularly distin- 
 guished for the severity of his rebukes to those guilty 
 of any breach of order or decorum in church. 
 
 Once on a time, when Mr. Collins was preaching 
 at Concord, Delaware, a stalwart young man named 
 
 C y, dressed in a fine new suit, with his pants 
 
 tucked in the tops of his No. 12 cow-hide boots, arose 
 in the midst of the sermon and stamped his way down 
 the aisle and out at the door. The preacher paused 
 and shot a fiery glance after him, but said nothing. 
 
 In a few moments afterwards, John S ^t arose and 
 
 started for the door ; when the indignant parson saluted 
 him with : " Young man, you had better stop and sit 
 down. Your new clothes are not near so good a fit as 
 that other young man's." 
 
 On another occasion, however, the scolding preacher 
 
EPISODES AND COLLISIONS. 125 
 
 met his match in the person of an unfortunate slave of 
 the bottle, who had tarried outside to take an extra sip 
 from his flask, after the congregation had gone into the 
 house and the services had begun. On coming in, he 
 found but one vacant seat, and that was uncomfortably 
 near a red-hot stove. He accepted the situation, however ; 
 seated himself, and began attentively to listen to the 
 sermon. It was not long until the heat of the fire and 
 the poison of the bad whiskey produced their natural 
 effect; and the poor fellow was made deathly sick. 
 Noticing his distress, Mr. Collins vociferously ordered: 
 " Take that drunken hog out of the church ! " Turning 
 upon him a reproachful look of injured innocence, the 
 suffering toper retorted : " I'm not — hie — not drunk — 
 hie — at all. It's the — hie — -'s the nasty preachin's made 
 me sick ! " 
 
 Two incidents will serve to illustrate a phase of 
 Methodist history within the Peninsula, that may be 
 styled the politico-religious. The first happened during 
 what Mr. Nasby calls "the late onpleasantness." The 
 scene was a camp-meeting, at that time in progress in Kent 
 County, Delaware. A lively meeting was going on at 
 the front of the preaching stand. A young man, whom 
 my Democratic readers will agree was not very well 
 furnished in the upper story, had just " got through" — 
 to use the expressive language of such characters — for 
 about the sixth time within a few years ; and, in the 
 exuberance of his excitement, mounted a bench and 
 began to exhort his companions and tell his experience. 
 
126 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Among other things, he alluded to his recent godless 
 course, and said: "O friends! what a poor mis'able 
 sinner I has ben! I've don a'most everything that's 
 mean. I've broke Sunday ! I've lied ! I've cussed ! I've 
 cheated in measurin' osters ! I've sold ' ale wives ' for 
 herrin's ! And Q ! my dear friends, last fall I — boo-hoo ! 
 last fall, I voted the Dimmycrat ticket ! " Poor, unfaith- 
 ful Al! when last heard from, he was in the insane 
 department of an alms house; but whether it was remorse 
 for his ecclesiastical defections or for his political sinning 
 was not known. 
 
 Let not the other side of the political house serenely 
 chuckle over what they may be disposed to consider a 
 well-deserved thrust from this poor, conscience-stricken 
 crank ; for the glass compartment of the body politic in 
 which they reside bears marks, here and there, of equally 
 effective religious stone-throwing. In a Delaware village 
 but a few miles distant from the scene of the above epi- 
 sode, and a few years later, the Democratic part of the 
 Methodist congregation had so grown in grace, that they 
 could no longer consent to remain in church-fellowship 
 with their Ephraimitish neighbors ; and calling to their 
 aid a minister of a sister denomination having professedly 
 "nothing whatever to do with politics," they drew with 
 them to his ministry most of the denizens of the village ; 
 and finally built and occupied a fine new church. At 
 the dedication the tide of enthusiasm ran high. Relig- 
 iously and politically it was a family gathering of kin- 
 dred spirits. Finally, a zealous and doubtless sincere 
 
EPISODES AND COLLISIONS. 127 
 
 and honest sister, unable longer to restrain her pent-up 
 joy, broke forth into jubilant exclamations in the follow- 
 ing incisive language: "O, glory! Glory, hallelujah! 
 We've got a new church, with forty good members; and, 
 bless the Lord ! there's not one ugly, dirty Black Repub- 
 lican among 'em ! " 
 
 Rev. Solomon Sharp was one of the mighty heralds, 
 whose clarion notes of war against the King's enemies 
 were heard echoing through all the forests and valleys of 
 the Peninsula. There seems to be but little left on 
 record as to his life and labors ; but from the most 
 authentic traditions remaining, it is apparent, that 
 although comparatively uncultured and given to an 
 enthusiastic quaintness bordering on superstition, he 
 was, nevertheless, a man of mighty faith and valiant in 
 the wielding of his simple, spiritual armor. 
 
 There is said to have been great musical power, and 
 singular magnetic effectiveness in his utterances. In 
 1856, the writer made the acquaintance of an aged gen- 
 tleman whose name was Weeden, living on Kent Island. 
 When a boy, Mr. Weeden heard Solomon Sharp preach 
 his first sermon on the Island, under the spreading 
 branches of a monster apple tree. A great crowd was 
 gathered; and, the better to see and listen, the boy 
 climbed into the tree above the speaker. He described 
 Mr. Sharp's voice as "clear and full of music as a silver 
 cornet." His ajjpeal was indescribably terrible to the 
 consciously wicked ; and many fell under his words, like 
 soldiers slain in the thick of the battle. Two gay young 
 
128 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 men who came up to the outer margin of the throng, 
 and, with an air of laughing indifference, began to listen, 
 soon changed their aspect to one of seriousness; and, 
 finally, seized with the horrors of sudden conviction, 
 turned and started to flee from the alarming scene. 
 Pausing in his impassioned verbal torrent, Mr. Sharp's 
 powerful voice rang out the admonition : " Young men ; 
 if you run away, I warn you it is at your eternal peril !" 
 And then, lifting his eyes to Heaven, and raising his 
 clarion voice still higher, he uttered the short, sharp 
 petition: "O, Lord; harpoon them !" The well-aimed 
 volley took instant efifect. One partly fell under the 
 incisive dart, but recovered himself and ran out of sight. 
 The other wheeled as if lassoed by an angel horseman ; 
 and running straight back to the presence of the preacher, 
 fell crying for mercy on the ground, and there struggled 
 until the chains of Satan's bondage were broken. 
 
 At another place on the Island, pointed out to the 
 writer, Mr. Sharp was once preaching to a gathered com- 
 pany in a private house. During the discourse, a 
 respectable and usually respectful lady — a Mrs. Carter — 
 began to rave and froth at the mouth in a most unac- 
 countable manner, presenting the horrifying symptoms 
 of an evil influence, similar to the demoniacal possessions 
 of olden times. Although, when in her normal condi- 
 tion, she was given only to the use of mild and modest 
 language, she wildly and profanely raved against the 
 preacher and his message. She charged him with blas- 
 phemous hypocrisy ; and averred that, although Christ- 
 
EPISODES AND COLLISIONS. 129 
 
 ianity was divine, he and his co-workers present were 
 the friends of the Devil ; and finally dared the astonished 
 soldier of the cross to a contest for the spiritual mastery. 
 Taking advantage of a pause in her tirade of accusation, 
 occasioned by a convulsion that brought her down pros- 
 trate, and rendered her speechless, Mr. Sharp stretched 
 forth his hands towards her ; and with an emphatic stamp 
 of his foot, and kingly tone of utterance, he said to the 
 influence that inspired her: "I command thee, in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to come out of the 
 woman !" Instantly the writhing lady became calm and 
 apparently unconscious. The sermon was concluded; 
 and, in the solemn prayer-meeting that followed, this 
 "accuser of the brethren" revived, and the announce- 
 ment was made, "Behold, she prayeth!" In a little 
 while, she was clothed and in her right mind, and sitting 
 with joy at the feet of Jesus. Her descendants to this 
 day are among the most reputable citizens of Kent 
 Island. It is said that Mr. Sharp always insisted that 
 he was divinely inspired to his authoritative, apostolic 
 words and work on the above occasion; and that he 
 plainly saw the Devil, somewhat in the form of a crest- 
 fallen and mean-looking dog, sneaking out at the door, 
 with his caudal apjjcndage drawn close down into a 
 discouraged curl between his legs. 
 
 Rev. William Bishop was one of the men whose 
 stirring biography the Methodist Churches should not 
 have been permitted to lose. We sometimes feel almost 
 indignant at the last preceding generation of Methodist 
 
 6* 
 
130 METHODISM OF THE PENrNSULA. 
 
 itinerants, who might have gathered the materials, acces- 
 sible until within the last quarter of a century, out of 
 which the most thrilling histories might have been con- 
 structed. As it is, alas ! the lives and doings of these 
 heroes of Peninsular Methodism are now so dim and 
 distant as to present only their shadowy outlines. ■ 
 
 "Billy" Bishop, as he was familiarly called, was 
 somewhat celebrated for his expertness in "cracking a 
 joke." The author is indebted to the venerable John 
 Tucker, of Dover, Delaware, for the following incidents, 
 which he heard from the lips of the veritable Billy 
 himself: 
 
 On a certain quarterly meeting occasion, Mr. Bishop, 
 with other ministers and a number of the laity, enjoyed 
 the hospitality of a Mrs. Coombe, in Camden, Delaware. 
 This lady also had a reputation for genial humor and 
 pleasant repartee. Mr. Bishop, being a stranger and 
 not suspecting an ambuscade, on passing his cup, asked 
 Mrs. Coombe for "half ^a cup of coffee." "Excuse me, 
 Bro. Bishop," replied the lady, "but this is my best 
 china, and I prefer not to break my cups in half." The 
 twinkle of the preacher's eye acknowledged the bon-mot, 
 while an audible smile rippled all around the table. At 
 the next meal, the gentle hostess said : " Bro. Bishop, take 
 another cup of coffee." "Thank you, sister," replied 
 he, " but you needn't trouble about getting another cup : 
 the same cup will do — filled up again ! " 
 
 At one time, after he became widowed, Mr. Bishop 
 was in attendance at a General Conference in the city of 
 
EPISODES AST) COLLISIONS. 131 
 
 Baltimore. He was understood to be the fortunate 
 possessor of about $8,000 — a neat little competency for 
 a minister at that day ; and there was some little interest 
 among his bretliren — and it was thought, indeed, among 
 some of the sisters also — as to the matrimonial possi- 
 bilities in Billy's case. He had, been several times 
 recommended to make the acquaintance of a certain 
 "good looking" and well-to-do widow, residing in the 
 city; and she had been bantered about Mr. Bishop. 
 Finally, an interview was arranged. In company with 
 several delegates, he was escorted by her guests to the 
 widow's house and duly introduced. In the course of 
 the evening, after a, little promiscuous bantering on the 
 part of the company in the way of pleasantry, the 
 comely widow found occasion to speak of her business 
 cares and responsibilities, in her relation as guardian to 
 her children ; remarking that the farm in Harford County 
 was the property of her son Thomas; that another, in 
 Baltimore County, belonged to John; and that the city 
 property was the heritage of her daughter Lida. Billy 
 Bishop's exclamation, in response, was decidedly more 
 expressive than elegant or gallant: — "Umph! Take an 
 old goose, and she picked !" It wasn't a match ! 
 
 Many amusing scenes have transpired in the midst of 
 circumstances of solemn import ; and usually the ludi- 
 crousness of an event is intensified by its untimeliness. 
 When people most feel they oughtn't laugh, it is often 
 most difficult to refrain. Two or three incidents from 
 the unwritten history of Peninsula Methodism will 
 
132 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 illustrate the above philosophy. In a revival meeting 
 at a country church on Princess Aiine Circuit, Rev. 
 William J. O'Niell called on a sincere, quiet brother to 
 lead in prayer. At the end ot a very brief petition, 
 he added: "Lord, with these few remarks we close, 
 and remain yours truly. Amen." The result can be 
 imagined. 
 
 Rev. J D , a sedate member of the Phila- 
 delphia Conference, was once stationed at Cambridge, 
 Maryland. "When the winter season came on, and the 
 people could take time to let the Lord revive his work, 
 an extra meeting was duly announced ; and the reverend 
 pastor took no little pains to prepare an initial sermon 
 to inaugurate the campaign, that would tend to stir the 
 Church into new life, and arouse the drowsy worldlings 
 to a proper realization of their unhappy condition. 
 
 The auspicious Sunday night arrived. An immense 
 congregation greeted the preacher, crowding the church 
 to its utmost capacity. The sermon on "Awake thou 
 that sleepest" was a decided success, and held the aud- 
 ience enchained, except a little negro boy who had 
 accompanied his mistress ; and who, notwithstanding the 
 stirring message of the preacher, had tucked himself 
 into a corner of the gallery and gone fast asleep. 
 
 At the conclusion, the earnest minister poised himself 
 for a rousing appeal to the spiritual sleepers of the 
 assembly. With a voice clear and shrill as a blast from 
 a silver trumpet, he called out the initial word of his 
 text — "Awake!" The little "darkey" aforesaid, mis- 
 
EPISODES AND COLLISIONS. 133 
 
 taking the sharp call for the voice of his mistress, 
 rubbing his eyes, lazily responded — "Ma'am." The 
 unexpected shock brought on a general attack of merri- 
 ment. Excited "risibles" refused utterly to yield to the 
 philosophy of the "fitness of things." The discomfited 
 preacher heroically struggled for a few moments with 
 his facial contortions; and finally so far managed his 
 curled-up and refractory mouth, as to be able to say, 
 between spasms of snickering amusement: "We'll 
 close — ^the serv — close the services — of the — the evening 
 by singing the Benediction ! " 
 
 The scene of the following protracted meeting incident 
 was St. John's Church, on Annamessex circuit. Rev. 
 Adam Wallace was presiding Elder, and was conducting 
 the service for that evening, it being the occasion of his 
 quarterly visitation. The church was minus an altar- 
 rail, a movable bench being used instead for the accom- 
 modation of penitents. On this occasion the said bench 
 was near the stove, and was occupied by a notorious 
 rowdy of the neighborhood, who was lounging thereon, 
 apparently asleep ; while near by, in the amen-corner, sat 
 a good old sister absorbed in her pious meditations. 
 
 "Come!" said the eloquent Elder, as he pleaded with 
 the unconverted, "Come any way, just as you are. Fall 
 down before the Lord and seek salvation!" At this 
 juncture, while two brethren were quietly removing the 
 "mourner's bench" to its appropriate place before the 
 pulpit, without disturbing the youth thereon lying, he 
 lost his balance and rolled oif sprawling on the floor. 
 
134 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 The noise and confusion of the fall arrested the attention 
 of the meditative old sister before mentioned ; who, sup- 
 posing a stricken penitent had come and fallen at the 
 altar, lustily cried out: "Thank the Lord! There's one 
 sinner on his back, anyhow ! " Rising slowly and 
 sullenly, with an expression of outraged indignation 
 scowling from his features, he scornfully replied : " I 
 ain't no sinner on his back !" As Uncle Haney Bradshaw 
 was wont to say : " It was a feelin' sense time, in that 
 manner and form ; " and the solemnity of the service for 
 that evening was effectually destroyed. 
 
 At a Quarterly Meeting once held at Bolingbroke, on 
 Easton Circuit, Rev. John T. Hazzard, the Presiding 
 Elder, was greatly annoyed on Sunday morning by late 
 arrivals, squalling children and other interruptions, and 
 consequently was quite dissatified with his effort. He 
 consented, however, to preach again that night, and open 
 the extra meeting Rev. Charles I. Thompson, the junior 
 pastor, was appointed to conduct. 
 
 At night again, many of the people were late ; and the 
 church, being small and crowded, no little confusion was 
 the result. The last person coming in was a young 
 colored man, who had great difficulty in working his 
 way through the crowd standing in the rear aisle, leading 
 to the gallery stairway. Mr. Hazzard paused with a 
 discouraged air, while the boy clambered noisily to the 
 head of the stairs ; where, on account of the crowded 
 condition of the gallery, he took his seat. Resuming 
 his discourse, the preacher strove hard to turn the tide 
 
EPISODES AND COLLISIONS. 135 
 
 of battle — ^and with a fair prospect of success — ^when, 
 alas ! the aforesaid negro, who meantime had gone fast to 
 sleep, lost his balance and came tumbling down the steps, 
 crying, "O Lord ! O my Lord !" with every thump; 
 and finally, bursting open the stair door in his disorderly 
 descent, and screeching with fright, he rolled out among 
 the demoralized crowd of whites below. 
 
 The now utterly vanquished Presiding Elder closed 
 the Bible with an impatient " slam," saying : " It's been 
 nothing but a constant scene of interruption all day, and 
 I'll not try to preach another word !" Springing into 
 the breach with the agility of a young lion, the valiant 
 junior preacher delivered a stirring exhortation, begin- 
 ning with the bold declaration : " We are not going to 
 let the Devil whip us ofi" in this fashion !" and finally 
 ended with a mighty appeal to the King's enemies to 
 surrender to Emmanuel. 
 
 With startling promptness and precipitation, the 
 hardest case in all that region — a stalwart six-foot 
 sailor, weighing nearly two hundred and fifi;y pounds — 
 sprang to his feet, threw off his coat and vest, and 
 rushed for the altar; where he fell, yelling, kicking, 
 striking out right and left, and writhing under the ter- 
 rible contortions of a mixture of wild fire and bad 
 whiskey; until screaming women and astonished men 
 scattered hither and thither; and the "tall son of 
 Anak," having seriously hurt a number of the men 
 vainly trying to hold him, was master of the situation. 
 Notwithstanding Brother Charlie's confident y/ords and 
 
136 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 brave onslaught, the powers of darkness had prevailed, 
 and the meeting broke up for that night without the 
 formality of even " singing the Benediction !" 
 
 Sometimes incidents transpire "in meetin'" that are 
 so childlike, so sincerely devotional, but at the same 
 time so amusing, that the only appropriate and religious 
 thing to do is to laugh at them. Occasionally, incidents 
 of this character reveal a beautiful blending of tears and 
 smiles upon the same Christian face. Of such an inci- 
 dent Dr. Wallace spealts in one of his letters in the 
 Peninsula Methodist. 
 
 While he was holding a woods meeting at Cokesbury, 
 on Georgetown circuit in 1856, a man of the world, well 
 advanced in life and influential in that region, was glori- 
 ously converted ; and, although wholly unlettered, at 
 once came to the front as an effective worker. Being 
 very anxious for the conversion of his wife, he took 
 Brother Wallace home with him to talk with her on the 
 subject of her soul's salvation. At length she yielded to 
 her convictions, and presented herself at the "mourner's 
 bench." Her rejoicing husband, for a time, was well- 
 nigh wild with excitement over her surrender to Christ ; 
 but finally became sufficiently composed to offer audibly 
 the following petition : " O, Lord ! I have got all I kin 
 hold. It's a runnin' over ! Do please give some of this 
 sweet religion to Nancy. Poor sould ! she wants it so 
 bad ! O, my God ! If I could, I'd give her all the 
 religion I've got; for I know jest where to git a plenty 
 more!" The kind Lord heard his and Nancy's prayer, 
 
EPISODES AND COLLISIONS. 137 
 
 gave her a full supply of the "sweet religion;" and that, 
 too, without lessening the fullness of her rejoicing hus- 
 band's cup. 
 
 Rev. James Brooks Ayres is well remembered by 
 many of the senior Methodists of the Peninsula. In 
 the division of the Philadelphia Conference, he, with 
 most of the " Fathers," gravitated to the northern side 
 of the line; and, on the first assembling of the Wil- 
 mington Conference, the absence of his striking and 
 well-remembered form and features was quite notice- 
 able. He was of medium height, compact build, ruddy 
 face; and his well-marked features revealed no little of 
 nervous and intellectual force, and a striking individ- 
 uality. He seemed hung on wires, and went bouncing 
 around like a ball of India rubber. One could no more 
 calculate what Mr. Ayres would do next than he could 
 prognosticate the gyrations of a whirlwind. His mind 
 was logical but uncertain in its course, and liable at 
 any moment to switch off into the most absurd vagaries. 
 First and last, he traversed the Peninsula well-nigh all 
 over, and everywhere left the impress of his angular 
 personality. 
 
 The preaching of James B. Ayres was a strange mix- 
 ture of strong, logical, manly reasoning, that grappled 
 fearlessly the mysteries of the Divine administration in 
 nature and redemption, and the most grotesque and 
 ridiculous anecdote. Not infrequently, after preaching 
 a sermon that would capture the minds and hearts of 
 the thoughtful and reverent of his audience, he would 
 
138 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 suddenly shock their sensibilities and convulse the more 
 frivolous by the most absurd and ludicrous recitals. 
 Such was the case when the writer heard him preach a 
 masterly sermon on a camp-ground near Sudlersville, 
 Maryland, in the summer of 1853. Had he stopped 
 when he was done, the effect of the discourse would 
 have been most salutary. But reverting to some point 
 in the sermon, he introduced a far-fetched story as an 
 illustration, and went into a twenty-minute recital of 
 how "John," the son of a wealthy and worldly family, 
 somewhere on the Peninsula, had gotten under convic- 
 tion for sin. His parents had tried in vain, by a series 
 of gay pleasures, to divert his mind from the subject. A 
 camp-meeting was to be held a few miles away. John 
 wanted permission to attend it, but was denied. As the 
 Sunday of the meeting approached, his wretchedness so 
 increased, that his parents finally consented to go and 
 spend the day, with the entire household, on the camp- 
 ground. But it was on conditions indicated in the fol- 
 lowing colloquy : 
 
 "John," said his father, "if we take you to the camp- 
 meeting, we don't want you to turn fool and jump up 
 and down, like some of the Methodists do." 
 
 "All right, father; I won't jump." 
 
 "And we shall all be ashamed of you, John, if you 
 yell amen, or glory, or hallelujah, like the Methodists 
 do. If you must pray and be religious, do so ; but 
 you'll mortify your mother and sisters to death, if you 
 get to imitating these outlandish Methodists." 
 
EPISODES AND COLLISIONS. 139 
 
 "Well, father, I'll not say amen, or glory, or halle- 
 lujah." 
 
 "You won't do anything like the Methodists do?" 
 "All right, father; I promise you I won't." 
 To make Ayres' long story short, as soon as the family 
 arrived on the ground, and were comfortably seated be- 
 neath the shade of a spreading oak at the far end of the 
 block of seats from the preacher's stand, John excused 
 himself; and going straight to the altar, where the eight 
 o'clock prayer-meeting was in progress, he kneeled at 
 the "mourners' bench," wrestling, like Jacob of old, 
 with the Angel of the Covenant. Just as the trumpet 
 sounded for preaching, John, like Jacob, prevailed, and 
 was gloriously saved. Although all the language of 
 Canaan bubbled up from his glad heart to his lips, John 
 remembered and faithfully kept his promise. Rushing 
 from the altar place, he started to make the circuit of 
 the encampment, exclaiming at the top of his voice, 
 "Out of the dark; into the light! Out of the dark; 
 into the light !" At this point of his story, Ayres, in 
 imitation of the youth, and stepping as high as a bUnd 
 horse, tramped around on the floor of the stand, throwing 
 his arms in wild gesticulation, and yelling in imitation 
 of the young man's exclamation. Said he : 
 
 "As John came round by where the family were 
 seated, the old man suggested — 'Say glory, John.' But 
 he tramped on, still crying, 'Out of the dark ; into the 
 light!' On his next circuit, both father and mother 
 nervously called out: 'John, don't say that; say halle- 
 
140 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 lujah!' But on he tramped, with 'Out of the dark; 
 into the light !'" 
 
 "By the time John came around on his third circum- 
 ambulation, most of the Christians on the camp-ground 
 were shouting, and many of the unconverted were 
 weeping. As he approached, the humiliated family 
 arose and started off the ground. As father and son met, 
 the old gentleman, with menacing fist almost in John's 
 faxje, growled out in the fury of his vexation: 'Why 
 don't you jump, and holler amen, you confounded idiot !' 
 As the family coach rolled away down the road, above 
 its rattle and the great volume of song from the 
 assembled multitude, the disgusted parents and sisters 
 heard John's jubilant 'Out of the dark ; into the light !'" 
 It was not so much the grim humor of the incident, as 
 the dramatic exaggerations of Mr. Ayres in its recital, 
 that so completely upset the gravity and decorum of his 
 audience, and obliterated the good effects of his excellent 
 sermon. As in the case of the kicking cow and her pail 
 of milk, this harum-scarum old preacher had ruth- 
 lessly destroyed his own good. Fortunately, it was not 
 always thus ; and sometimes Mr. Ayres' preaching was 
 in the demonstration of the Spirit and with power. 
 
 Mr. Ayres was a mighty hater of all iniquities; but 
 the iniquity on which his powers of hatred were most 
 intensely concentrated, was the moustache. In his 
 opinion, if a man was otherwise without blemish or 
 spot, a moustache would surely close against him the 
 gate of heaven's Idngdom. At the same camp-meeting 
 
EPISODES AND COLLISIONS. 141 
 
 where he preached the above-mentioned sermon, coming 
 to a young man at the penitential altar, whose upper lip 
 thus aroused his special antipathy, he roughly said to 
 him : "Young man, you may as well get up and leave. 
 God Almighty is not going to have mercy and save you 
 with a thing like that upon your upper lip. Get up, 
 and go shave it oif, and come to God with a clean face." 
 The poor fellow dejectedly arose and slunk away into 
 the darkness of the woods, beyond the circle of tents, 
 and I saw him' no more. 
 
 To Mr. Ayres no meal was complete without his 
 cup of coffee. At the Pratt's Branch Camp one sum- 
 mer, he had been unfortunate in the invitations he 
 had accepted to dinner, and failed for two days to 
 receive the refreshing beverage. On the morning of 
 the third day he was put up to exhort after the sermon 
 by the preacher for the occasion. He began by telling 
 about a great camp-meeting he had just attended over 
 in Maryland, and what a good time they had both 
 socially and religiously ; and wound up his description 
 by saying : " Yes, my friends ; and the sisters over there 
 gave us a cup of good, strong coffee with white sugar in 
 it, every day for dinner." Of course this clever device 
 brought the answer, and thereafter brother Ayres always 
 secured his cup of coffee. 
 
 In the same exhortation he soundly berated his frail 
 brethren, among whom was the writer, for having bron- 
 chitis and other throat ailments. He insisted it was 
 because they were too lazy, or too nice and fastidious to 
 
143 METHODISM OF THE PENrNSULA. 
 
 holler; and wound up his tirade with the most emphatic 
 expression of his conviction that, preaching his way with 
 full swing and a plenty of healthy noise, the bronchitis 
 could not get hold of him, if it should make the effort, 
 in forty years. A few months afterwards, the author 
 called at the Greensborough parsonage to express his 
 sympathy with poor brother Ayres, who, at the time 
 and for many weeks, was bound hand and foot upon his 
 bed of suffering by Inflammatory Rheumatism. It is 
 due to bun, however, to say that his vocal powers were 
 still unimpaired; but then about the only thing in the 
 world the poor old man could now do was to holler; 
 and, with every new twist and twitch of the tormentor, 
 he did so manfully. Years ago, the old hero passed 
 through his last pang; and, out of great tribulation, 
 went up among the blood-washed throng, where, no 
 doubt, he has been induced to revise and modify some 
 of the theories he so pertinaciously held to on earth. 
 
 The very antipodes of James B. Ayres was his contem- 
 porary, James A. Massey. Tall, angular and somewhat 
 ungainly, with sometimes a strangely vacant look, and 
 with facial contortions suggestive of a grotesque phase 
 of idiocy, his presence would at once arrest the stranger's 
 attention and start the inquiry: "What manner of man 
 is this?" When, at last, his curiosity was gratified, he 
 settled down to the conviction that the man before him 
 was no ordinary personage. He was a solid. Gospel 
 preacher, dealing in no theories, and rarely ever illustra- 
 ting by incident. He was, perhaps, abnormally serious. 
 
EPISODES AND COLLISIONS. 143 
 
 never provoking by his thought or imagery even a mental 
 smile. But one of his most distinguishing personal 
 traits was his abstraction and absent-mindedness. Many 
 are the stories, floating around in the various Peninsular 
 fields he traversed, illustrative of this peculiarity. As 
 an example, one will be sufficient. Walking, one day, in 
 company with his boy. Will, a street of Princess Anne, 
 as they passed a cow quietly grazing by the side of the 
 pavement, Mr. Massey politely lifted his hat, saying, 
 "Good afternoon. Madam." Will roared out, "Ha, ha, 
 ha !" in boisterous laughter; and said, between his con- 
 vulsions, " Why, fa — father, that — ha, ha, ha ! — that was 
 a cow ! " " Was it ?" said he ; and instantly turning 
 toward her ladyship, and again politely lifting his hat, 
 he humbly importuned : " I beg your pardon. Ma'am ! " 
 
 In 1860, Mr. Massey, with Rev. Geo. Cummins as his 
 colleague, was assigned to Onancock Circuit, on the 
 Eastern Shore of Virginia. The excitement on the 
 slavery agitation was at high tide ; and in the early 
 summer, a mass meeting was held at Pungoteague, at 
 which it was resolved to appoint a committee of nineteen, 
 who were charged with the duty of driving the Metho- 
 dist preachers from Virginia " by any means they might 
 find necessary." 
 
 During preaching at Garrison's Chapel the following 
 Sunday morning, this great committee appeared on the 
 scene and entered the church ; but so manifest was the 
 Divine presence in the service, that they could not muster 
 courage to interrupt it. They notified the people, how- 
 
144 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 ever, that there should be no preaching allowed at Trinity 
 in the afternoon; and that, if the minister attempted it, 
 he would be mobbed. Mr. Cummins was strongly 
 urged not to risk holding service. A good local 
 preacher — Mr. Humphrey — earnestly importuned him 
 to desist. The young hero assured him, however, that 
 he should pay no attention to threats, and should meet 
 his engagement ; whereupon, Mr. Humphrey kindly 
 volunteered to go, and support him by his presence. 
 Dining at father Richardson's, Mr. Cummins met a 
 young Doctor and an Editor, who also admonished him 
 not to go to Trinity. Firm in his purpose, the young 
 man assured them that he should certainly go, esteeming 
 it his duty to God to meet all engagements in the line of 
 his calling, regardless of consequences. The two yoting 
 gentlemen then replied: "Well, if you are determined 
 to go, we'll go too, and see you through." They meant 
 the preacher should understand this as an assurance of 
 sympathy and protection ; but, judging by their demeanor, 
 he rightfully interpreted their words as a menace. Nev- 
 ertheless he expressed his gratification at their assurance, 
 and added: "I shall be very happy to see you there, 
 gentlemen." 
 
 On arriving at the church, he found the committee 
 present in full force, and amply supported by an excited 
 and noisy mob. Scarcely waiting for him to dismount 
 from his horse, they surrounded him, pressing upon him 
 so closely that he could scarcely hitch the animal. In 
 most emphatic and sulphurous language they warned 
 
EPISODES AND COLLISIONS. 145 
 
 him at his peril not to attempt to enter the church. Mr. 
 Cmnmins quietly assured them that where duty led it 
 was his purpose, by God's help, to follow ; adding : 
 "Gentlemen ; I see it is time to begin the service, and 
 I shall have to ask you to excuse me from further 
 parleying;" at the same time starting toward the door 
 of the little sanctuary. Strangely enough, the mob 
 parted as he proceeded, and allowed him to pass; and 
 he entered the church and ascended the pulpit, followed 
 by the hooting crowd. True to his promise, the good 
 local preacher was in his accustomed place in the " amen 
 corner" — the only friend the preacher had, all others 
 having been effectually intimidated and kept at home. 
 
 The crowd pressed close up to the pulpit, with hats 
 on and with segars in their mouths. The breath they 
 expended in curses was redolent with the odorous admix- 
 ture of tobacco and whiskey. Loudly and peremptorily 
 they demanded that the preacher instantly vacate the 
 pulpit and leave the church. In addition, they insisted 
 that he should notify his colleague not to attempt to 
 hold service at Garrison's Chapel tlic next Sabbath ; and, 
 furthermore, that he — Cummins — should agree to leave 
 Virginia, "on pain of a coat of tar and feathers, and 
 even worse." 
 
 Said Mr. Cummins, coolly: "Gentlemen; I shall 
 decline to do any part of your dirty work for you. As 
 to leaving the church and departing from the state, it is 
 not my habit to allow anything to. interfere with the 
 attempt to perform my duty; nor do I usually dismiss 
 7 
 
146 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 a service, under any circumstances, without at least 
 offering prayer." A somewhat waggish fellow by the 
 name of Barnum, replied: "Mr. Cummins, I'm afraid 
 we are not exactly in a spirit to profit by your prayers ; " 
 at which there was such boisterous hilarity that Mr. 
 Cummins felt that any service he inight attempt would 
 be in violation of his Master's admonition not to cast 
 pearls before swine, and wisely desisted. 
 
 Again did the mob announce, as their ultimatum, 
 that he must instantly leave the church and promise 
 not to preach again in Virginia, unless he agreed to 
 take authority to do so from the Southern Methodist 
 Church, or he would at once be summarily dealt with. 
 Straightening himself, with defiant look and attitude, 
 he informed them that he would make no such conces- 
 sion or promise ; and that he would leave the pulpit and 
 church voluntarily, only when it suited him to do so. 
 Thereupon, a voice from the crowd exclaimed : "Phew ! 
 I do believe that Methodist preacher would fight ! " By 
 this time the brave and chivalrous knights of Dixie be- 
 trayed their want of pluck; their countenances fell; their 
 bravado was exhausted, and the heroic and triumphant 
 Cummins, having, like the intrepid Irishman, "sur- 
 rounded forty men," including the Doctor and Editor 
 before mentioned, leisurely walked through the midst of 
 the mob, assuring them that when they desired again to 
 see him, he would be in his accustomed place; and, 
 mounting his horse, departed to his stopping place at 
 Mr. Richardson's. 
 
EPISODES AND COLLISIONS. 147 
 
 Soon after his arrival the Doctor and Editor made 
 their appearance, and began lugubriously to condole with 
 him. They grew eloquent in their expressions of indig- 
 nation that the old commonwealth of Virginia should be 
 so disgraced, and a minister of the Gospel so wantonly 
 insulted. At the close of their five minutes' harangue 
 the young preacher, looking them squarely in the face, 
 said: "Gentlemen, it is all true. It is a burning dis- 
 grace. But I don't blame the poor, ignorant and 
 drunken fellows, who formed the bulk of the mob, half 
 so much as I do those who ought to know better, and 
 who sat quietly by giving the mob their sympathy and 
 support." At this remark, they silently exchanged sig- 
 nificant glances for a moment ; then picked up their hats 
 and slunk away from the house. 
 
 On the following Sunday morning, Mr. Massey, de- 
 spite the threats of the committee of nineteen, drove to 
 Garrison's chapel and met his congregation. Soon after 
 he began the service, the mob appeared upon the scene, 
 headed by the famous committee. Dick Ayres, the 
 leader, a stalwart man weighing two hundred and fifty 
 pounds, ascended the pulpit to the side of the preacher, 
 and began haranguing the crowd. At this juncture, an 
 old sister of seventy years climbed over the altar-rail ; 
 ascended the steps ; and, collaring the rowdy, by a dex- 
 terous jerk snatched him off his feet and upon his back 
 on the floor. Then, grabbing him by his flowing hair, 
 she pounded his head upon the floor until he begged for 
 mercy. While the men of the congregation sat still in 
 
148 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 amazement, the ladies of the church put themselves in 
 attitude to defend their pastor ; and it was the impression 
 of the spectators that, had not Mr. Massey counseled 
 non-resistance and suspended the service, they would 
 have soon cleared the church of the cowardly rabble. 
 
 The last contact of these ministers with the redoubt- 
 able committee of nineteen occurred, some two weeks 
 after, at Drummondtown, where they stopped on their 
 return from a funeral. The county Court was in session, 
 and an exciting murder trial had drawn together a great 
 concourse of the denizens of every part of the county. 
 While Mr. Massey was hitching his horse, Mr. Cum- 
 mins, taking his stand on the steps of a store-house, 
 was scanning the concourse in search of friends he de- 
 sired to see. At this moment the mob, headed by the 
 committee, pressed around Mr. Massey in threatening 
 manner. The old gentleman, in evident alarm, appealed 
 to their manhood and sympathy, on the ground of his 
 age, his calling, his southern birth and his interest, in 
 common with them and all Virginians, in the well-being 
 and good name of their native state. In reply, they 
 disclaimed any purpose of physical violence ; and, at the 
 command of the leader, the crowd fell back, allowing 
 Mr. Massey to go in peace. They then gathered about 
 Mr. Cu mm ins, saying: "We are authorized, Mr. Cum- 
 mins, to say to you what we have just said to Mr. Mas- 
 sey, — that you must not again attempt to hold service at 
 Garrison's chapel." 
 
 Said the young minister: "What will be the penalty, 
 gentlemen, if I do?" 
 
EPISODES AND COLLISIONS. 149 
 
 The significant reply was, "You'll find out what the 
 penalty is I" 
 
 Assuming an attitude as if their master, and as if 
 making sport of them, the hero responded : " Anything 
 more, gentlemen?" 
 
 As if dazed and cowed by the preacher's coolness, 
 they responded, "No;" when, master of the situation, 
 Mr. Cummins quietly went about his business. 
 
 Both preachers continued to fill their appointments; 
 but at the end of a few weeks, Mr. Cummins was trans- 
 ferred by the Presiding Elder to fill a vacancy at Salis- 
 bury, Maryland. 
 
 James A. Massey finished his conference year in 
 peace; when, the war breaking out, a military despot- 
 ism in the interest of the Southern Confederacy, took 
 possession of all that part of Virginia ; and the ministers 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church were, for some three 
 years, forcibly excluded. 
 
 Mr. Massey was as honest a soul as ever trod the soil 
 of the Peninsula. Despite his frailty, heretofore men- 
 tioned, he was a man of sound, discriminating judgment, 
 good executive ability, and faithful in all things. He 
 was more than once called to fill the important office of 
 Presiding Elder; and, in all the sacred trusts to him 
 committed, he purchased for himself a good degree. 
 The intellectual cloud that shadowed the last few years 
 of his life, gave way amid the glory of his setting sun ; 
 and, in the blessed regions whither he has gone, there is 
 no night, and the endless day is without cloud or 
 
150 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 shadow. His colleague and partner in Virginia tribu- 
 lation is now an influential and manly member of the 
 Philadelphia Conference. 
 
 "Soldiers of Christ, well donel" 
 One of the author's conference class-mates of the 
 spring of 1853 was an unsophisticated Englishman, 
 Rev. Thomas Childs, of precious memory. He was a 
 young man of frail physique, and a great sufferer from 
 that terrible scourge, asthma ; which oftentimes seriously 
 interfered with both his comfort and his eiRcieney, and, 
 at length, brought his career to an untimely termination. 
 Although of such haughty blood, he was of gentle spirit 
 and quiet demeanor, — possibly owing to the chastening 
 influence of sanctified affliction. His natural abilities 
 were above mediocrity; and his preaching was often 
 both attractive and in the demonstration of spiritual 
 power. Brother Childs had little of the spirit of self- 
 assertion and egotism characteristic of the typical Eng- 
 lishman; but was possessed of an unobtrusive and 
 pleasant humor, that now and then rippled over the 
 surface, as if set in motion by some passing, playful 
 zephyr. In our first examination on the course of con- 
 ference study. Dr. George R. Crooks, chairman of the 
 committee, was questioning the class on some abstruse 
 point in speculative divinity. At an early period of the 
 examination, it became apparent that, for some reason, 
 Brother Childs was embarrassed with difficulty ; and he 
 hesitated and stumbled so much as to excite the sympa- 
 thy of his class-mates. At length, on the proposal of 
 
EPISODES AND COLLISIOHTS. 151 
 
 one of the Doctor's knotty questions, he greatly amused 
 his brother neophytes, and no doubt propitiated the 
 favor of the examining committee, by concluding his 
 discouraging attempt at an answer with the following 
 triumphant apology : " Excuse me. Brother Crooks ; you 
 know I'm but a Child, and I cannot speak!" 
 
 At a great camp-meeting held by Dr. Adam Wallace, 
 in Morris' woods near Georgetown, Delaware, in the 
 summer of 1856, Mr. Childs was present and aided 
 efficiently in the services. It became his turn to preach 
 his second sermon at the camp on Monday afternoon. 
 On coming into the stand, however. Dr. Wallace dis- 
 covered that he was very hoarse and breathing hard 
 from Asthma, besides suffering some inconvenience from 
 errors of diet. Explaining where he would find a bottle 
 of Jamaica Ginger in the preachers' marque, the kind 
 Doctor sent him thither to take a dose, while the 
 remainder of the straggling members of the congrega- 
 tion were gathering. Delaying his return until the 
 patience of the preacher in charge was exhausted, 
 brother Wallace went to hunt him in the tent, where 
 he found him doubled up and writhing in the most 
 fearful agony. Poor Childs, supposing the vial, which 
 was nearly full, to contain about a fair dose for an 
 adult Englishman, had swallowed its entire contents of 
 the fiery liquid. The effect was "as if a whole torch- 
 light procession had gone down his throat!" He was 
 wheezing, coughing, suffocating, and gasping pitifully 
 for water,; and the sympathizing Irishman ran to his 
 
152 METHODISM OF THE PENINSUXA. 
 
 relief as soon as possible with the grateful draught. 
 Surprising to relate, he soon cooled off, and recovered his 
 normal condition in time to preach ; and being, for the 
 time, relieved of his severe asthmatic paroxysm, both 
 his voice and his intellect were untrammeled, and he 
 acquitted himself grandly. Not being assured, however, 
 by this precedent, that swallowing two ounces of Jamaica 
 Ginger before preaching would produce a similar result, 
 the author, although an asthmatic, does not feel inclined 
 to risk the experiment. 
 
 "Nathan Hunter, Esquire," as he was wont to call 
 himself, was neither minister nor layman of Peninsula 
 Methodism, but evidently a well-meaning friend. AVhen 
 the poor toper, who had staggered up against the 
 " meetin' house," was questioned as to his relations with 
 that Church, he said he leaned that way. Nathan 
 Hunter, Esquire, may have sometimes had occasion for 
 a similar leaning, for he dearly loved a brandy toddy ; 
 but, for other and better reasons, he claimed to be a friend 
 and adherent of early Methodism. He resided in 
 Caroline county, Md., not far from Greensborough. 
 Occasionally, on Sundays, Mr. Hunter would dress up in 
 his best linsey-woolsey, saddle old "Bill" — a white 
 mule — and attend service at the Greensborough Meth- 
 odist Church. 
 
 It so happened, on one of those Sundays, that the 
 brother who led the singing was absent. ^Alien the 
 good pastor announced the opening hymn, beginning : 
 
 "Lord, in the morning thou shalt hear 
 My voice ascending high.'' 
 
EPISODES AND COLLISIONS. 153 
 
 Mr. A. nodded to B., and B. to C. ; but no one dared to 
 start a tune. There was an awkward pause, and it 
 seemed as if that important part of the service must 
 needs be omitted ; when Mr. Hunter spolie out : " Mr. 
 Preacher ; s'pose you give them words out agin. If you 
 will, I think I kin strike a tune." Again the minister 
 repeated the first two lines ; when, to the amazement of 
 everybody, the self-constituted chorister fitted the first 
 line to the then popular song — " Pretty Betty Martin, 
 Tiptoe Fine," after the following style : 
 
 "Lord, in the mornin', thou shalt — thou shalt 
 Lord, in the mornin' thou shalt hear ;" — 
 
 Then, discovering the impossibility of making the words 
 further fit the jolly hoe-down, he wound up his perform- 
 ance by reciting, in a discouraged nasal squeak, 
 
 "My voice ascending high I" 
 
 The greatly mortified pastor said, "Let us pray;" but 
 between the humiliation of the saints and the merriment 
 of the sinners, begotten by the eifort of the rustic soloist, 
 the praying was nearly as sad a failure as the singing. 
 
 Rev. Jonas Bissey was a Methodist itinerant, some- 
 what noted in his day for both his excellencies and his 
 peculiarities. Not, however, until near the close of his 
 life was his ministry attended with any marked success. 
 An experience of official criticism and complaint at con- 
 ference one spring, seemed to have spurred him on to 
 a fuller consecration and a more devoted eifort; and, 
 thenceforth, his labors were prolific of great good, and 
 
154 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 his life was a benediction to the churches where he 
 ministered. One of the peculiarities of his earlier 
 preaching was that he sometimes became absurdly 
 theatrical in manner, indulging in the wildest ravings 
 and the most grotesque antics. 
 
 While travelling Snow Hill circuit in 1843, he 
 preached at all the appointments a favorite discourse, 
 called by the older people to this day, " Bissey's Hell- 
 fire sermon." The text was, " These shall go away 
 into everlasting punishment." On reaching his perora- 
 tion, it was his custom to work himself up into a kind 
 of frenzy, in which he seemed to imagine himself a lost 
 soul, tortured in the flames of perdition. At a bush- 
 meeting, held at Spring Hill, where he preached this 
 sulphurous sermon, leaping from the stand, he flung 
 himself upon the ground, rolling and writhing amid the 
 straw, shrieking " Fire ! fire ! fire ! " and plaintively 
 pleading with an imaginary father Abraham to send 
 some Lazarus of pity to the relief of his agony. Such 
 was his apparent distress, and so vivid the woeful 
 tragedy to susceptible natures, that more than one of his 
 female hearers fainted away from sheer terror. 
 
 Sometime afterwards, Mr. Bissey preached the same ser- 
 mon at Newark appointment. Most of the discourse was 
 heavy and uninteresting — especially as many in the audi- 
 ence had already heard it once or more ; and old brother 
 
 M had yielded to the influence of "tired nature's 
 
 sweet restorer," and gone fast to sleep. Struggling hard 
 but vainly to awaken an interest, the preacher came at 
 
EPISODES AND COLLISIONS. 155 
 
 last to the climax, where success or failure depended 
 upon the effectiveness of his final impassioned effort. 
 After picturing a lost soul amid the flames of the awful 
 pit, throwing himself into the tragic attitude of dis- 
 tracted suffering, Mr. Bissey began, at the top of his 
 voice, to scream, "Fire! fire!! fire!!!" when the old 
 brother aforesaid, awaking suddenly and supposing the 
 church had caught fire from the stove-pipe, began to tear 
 around among the brethren like a demoniac, drowning 
 the preacher's impassioned utterances with his lusty yells 
 for " Water ! water ! ! water ! ! ! " 
 
 Completely taken by surprise, Mr. Bissey ceased his 
 tragic performance; looked a few moments in utter 
 astonishment at the old farmer's unaccountable antics; 
 and thoroughly discomfited, with his favorite sermon in 
 ruins, he dejectedly resumed his seat. Upon explanation 
 all around, it was hard to tell whether Mr. Bissey or old 
 brother M was the more discouraged and humiliated. 
 
 In 1851, while preaching in New London Church, in 
 Pennsylvania, in the midst of a thunder-storm, Mr. 
 Bissey was killed by lightning in the presence of his 
 terrified audience. His labors had been greatly blessed 
 in all that region ; and now that they were ended, his 
 Master called him suddenly home. 
 
 This chapter may appropriately conclude by intro- 
 ducing to the reader a pious and simple-minded but very 
 quaint and peculiar local preacher, known extensively in 
 his day throughout central Delaware as " Daddy Apple- 
 ton." Mr. Appleton was very zealous, but from all 
 
166 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 that appears, his zeal was not always "according to 
 knowledge." It is altogether probable that when his 
 brethren of Duck Creek Quarterly Conference voted 
 him a local preacher's license, they spoiled a fairly 
 good exhorter. Only a few scraps of his history have 
 floated down to us of this day ; and these were preserved 
 and narrated by the late Hon. Charles Marim, whose 
 fondness for a good story may have sometimes betrayed 
 him into a shade of exaggeration. However, Daddy 
 Appleton's oddity must have been extreme, and ofttimes 
 most ludicrous. 
 
 His boy, " Giddie," as his name might import, was by 
 no means a saint. Giddie would have fun even at 
 family prayers; and, to make it a little more attractive 
 to the other children, he would sometimes indulge quietly 
 in such responsive exclamations as "halleluia!" and 
 "amen!" On one occasion, having become a little too 
 hilarious, he was overheard, and was duly admonished 
 by his father that, should there be any repetition of this 
 unseemly conduct, he would be sure to receive a good 
 "trouncing." It wasn't many days until he was caught. 
 One morning, in the midst of the old gentleman's prayer, 
 Giddie's "amen!" was ejaculated just a hair's breadth 
 too late to be entirely smothered by his father's louder 
 tones. Leaving the petition unfinished, Mr. Appleton 
 deliberately arose from his knees, took down the waiting 
 rod, divested Giddie of his jacket, applied the remedy 
 imtil he was giddy no longer ; and then, as deliberately, 
 returned to his knees and began where he left off; and 
 
EPISODES AND COLLISIONS. 157 
 
 when he reached the "amen," Giddie's discouraged sniffle 
 was the only response ! 
 
 Mr. Marim used to relate what he declared was a fair 
 representation of a sermon he once heard Daddy Apple- 
 ton deliver at a country chapel. During the interval of 
 twenty-five years since he heard it, much of this unique 
 discourse has faded from the historian's memory. A 
 part only of the "points" made by the preacher can be 
 recalled. Exaggeration is impossible. The text was : 
 "And he receiv-ed him joyfully." Said the preacher: 
 
 " My dyin', mortal friends ; I don't feel very well 
 to-day. I tuck some doctor's stuff last night. Feel 
 powerful weak-like this mornin'. When I waked up 
 and riz this mornin', the Devil said to me, sez he : ' How 
 are you a goin' to your appintment to-day ? Your old 
 hoss is lame ; you're poorly yourself; and it's no use, — 
 you can't go.' Sez I to Satin, sez I, — You're a liar. 
 Guess I 've got legs and kin walk ; and so I will, sez I. 
 'And he receiv-ed him joyfully!' 
 
 "My dear sinner friends; I've got a powerful bad 
 taste in my mouth to-day. It's from that nasty medi- 
 cine, I 'm shore. Sometimes I 've a great mind to never 
 take no more doctor's truck while I'm above ground. 
 I don't see what use doctors are no how : kill about as 
 many as they cure, I reckon, on an average. I never 
 can preach fit for nothin' when I've got a bad taste in 
 my mouth. But, breetherin' and sisterin', you pray for 
 me; and may be I'll git along right well after all. 
 'And he receiv-ed him joyfully !' 
 
158 METHODISM OP THE PEJSTINSULA. 
 
 "Now, none o' you sinners needn't think I've come 
 here to preach this mornin' without knowin' what I'm 
 about. There's some wonderful smart critics now-a-days, 
 Zaccheus-like, a climbin' up sycamore trees to git above 
 common people ; and they think they kin see a mighty 
 sight further nor other folks ; and then go off a chucklin' 
 and a makin' remarks about the sermont. Fact is, some 
 of these folks know no more about preachin' nor a hog 
 knows about makin' mince pies. And some folks that 
 '11 set and nod all the time o' meetin', will go home and 
 find fault with the preachin'. Now, how kin such sleepy- 
 heads tell what the preacher's been a sayin'? 'And he 
 receiv-ed him joyfully.' 
 
 "For my part, I don't see how anybody can expect 
 me to preach much of a 'scoiu-se, when ther's sich car- 
 ryin's on a goin' on in the house. Some o' you young 
 folks hev been a whisperin' an' snickerin' jest as ef you 
 was at a show ; and back yander on the gallery steps is 
 that big, strappin' darkey with three or four combs stuck 
 in his wool ; and he's a grinnin' and a grinnin' like a 
 baboon monkey, same 's he was at a hoe-down. People 
 as don't know how to behave are a plaguey sight wuss 
 'n Zaccheus ; for he went to meetin' outen curiosity ; but 
 some good come outen it to him ; for he come down 
 when Jesus called him. ' And he receiv-ed him joyfully.' 
 
 " My dear breetherin' ; Sinners is often as mischiev- 
 e-ous as a lot of bothersome goats ; but true Christians 
 is jest like a flock of sheep — the worser the weather the 
 closer they'll huddle together. I've watched 'em many 
 
EPISODES AND COLLISIONS. 159 
 
 a time on a rainy day. After a good mess of grass, 
 they'll come together and lay down under the shelter of 
 a tree or somethin'. And ef ther's one's happened to 
 git out'n the parsture, the rest '11 all bleat for him ; and, 
 bime by, he'll hear 'em; and he'll run up and down the 
 road a cryin' ba-a-a, ba-a-a, ontil at last he'll jump 
 back agin ; and then the whole flock '11 git up and run 
 to meet him. ' And he receiv-ed him joyfully." 
 
 " O, my dear Sisterin' ; there was my poor, dear wife 
 Chloe : she's gone to Heaven and left me. She could 
 beat any woman in Duck Creek Cross Roads a makin' 
 short cake and coifee. Whenever I used to git sick 
 while she was a livin', her good tendin' and cookin' 
 would soon bring me around agin all right. Ah, 
 friends, ef I'd only a had a little of Chloe's short cake 
 and coffee this mornin', I'd a preached as good agin a 
 sermont. I hope I shall git to Heaven, bye-and-bye, 
 and be with her agin ; and, ef the Lord will let her, I 
 want her to make me one more mess of her good short 
 cake and coffee. 'And he receiv-ed him joyfully !'" 
 
 It is altogether probable, that when Daddy Appleton 
 hadn't a bad taste in his mouth, he could preach a much 
 better " sermont " than the above specimen. Long years 
 ago he went to join his beloved Chloe in the better land. 
 
 It may seem strange to us who enjoy the light and the 
 opportunities of this age, that a man so ludicrously odd, 
 and of so little culture, could ever have been authorized 
 as a teacher of religion; but we are to remember that 
 God can thresh the mountain with the frailest worm ; 
 
160 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 and that multitudes of the denizens of the forests of 
 Kent, seventy-five years ago, were much more ignorant 
 and unlcempt than this simple-minded but sincere and 
 pious child of nature. The harvest was great and the 
 laborers were few ; and though, measured by the standards 
 of our times, Daddy Appleton would have been very far 
 below the mark of acceptability, he may have been pecu- 
 liarly fitted for some phases of a Local Preacher's work 
 in the region and generation in which he lived. 
 
METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 161 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 HYMENEAL AND BAPTISMAL. 
 
 WHEN catering for guests, so many of whom are 
 candidates for matrimony, it would, by no means, 
 answer to omit some crumbs from the banqueting 
 hall of Cupid. This masculine fairy is a quaint little 
 scamp, and is given to the mischievous pastime of getting 
 people into all sorts of odd " scrapes," from which, with 
 all his fair promises, he sometimes utterly neglects to 
 relieve them. If the youthful reader does not wish 
 sometime to be caught in a ridiculous attitude, the pru- 
 dent course is to keep out of the way of Cupid's pretty 
 little arrows. 
 
 Some three decades ago. Rev. A. M. Wiggins, of the 
 Philadelphia Conference, a newly fledged Deacon never 
 having tied the silken knot, was sent to Annaniessex 
 circuit, at that time including the Tangier Island. 
 AYhile on his first visit to that point, he was approached 
 one night by a young oysterman, who thus accosted him : 
 " Mr. Preacher, me and my gal wants to git fixed up : 
 kin you do anything for us?" 
 
 "I'm the very man that can help you," replied the 
 parson, as the image of a five dollar note flitted athwart 
 his eager vision ; at the same time extending his hand to 
 
162 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 receive the license the youth handed him. Upon scanning 
 the document, however, he found it was issued in Mary- 
 land, and said to the young man : 
 
 " My dear sir, I can do nothing for you on this license. 
 It is issued from Princess Aime ; and we are in Virginia. 
 You'll have to try again." 
 
 " Well, now, Mr. Preacher," rejoined the eager candi- 
 date, " I guess that don't make no difference. You jest 
 jump into my bugeye, with me an' my gal ; and I'll 
 have you in Maryland waters in less'n no time." 
 
 Accordingly, the parson, and a friend as witness, got 
 into the boat with the intended bride and groom ; and, 
 in a short time, the happy candidate announced that 
 they were within the bounds of "My Maryland," and 
 said : " Guess you kin crack yer whip and drive ahead 
 now, Mr. Preacher!" 
 
 The blushing maiden was in the little cabin, whither 
 all the party repaired, leaving the graceful craft mean- 
 time to drift with the current. The cabin was about 
 4x6 feet, and 5 feet high in the clear, necessitating one, 
 in the attempt to stand up straight, to stand dovm 
 crooked somewhat in the shape of the crescent. The ex- 
 pectant couple sat upon the "locker," while the parson, 
 thinking it more decorous, and more becoming to the 
 important occasion, attempted to stand; and, book in 
 hand, proceeded to read the marriage ritual, by the light 
 of a tallow candle held by the friend at his side. He 
 had read but the words : " Dearly beloved ; we are 
 gathered here in the presence of God," when the little 
 
HYMENEAL AND BAPTISMAL. 163 
 
 vessel gave an unfortunate lurch, causing the parson, in 
 the effort to maintain his equilibrium, to knock the 
 candle to the floor and extinguish it, — the next lurch 
 pitching him headlong into the bride's lap. He gath- 
 ered himself up as best he could in the darkness. There 
 was not a match to be found in the ship; and yet a 
 match must needs be made. The preacher knew not a 
 word of the marriage ceremony ; and was necessitated to 
 extemporize one for the emergency. It was like nothing, 
 he said, in Earth or Heaven — like nothing from the cata- 
 combs of the early saints, or the mythological fables of 
 the pagan annals ; and the confused divine finally wound 
 up his nondescript performance by pronouncing the 
 bewildered couple "man and woman together;" and, 
 landing again finally on Tangiers, launched them forth 
 on a voyage of discovery to ascertain, as best they 
 could, their mutual relations. 
 
 In 1863, while residing temporarily on a farm in 
 Caroline county, Maryland, the writer was permitted to 
 look, with pleasurable anticipations, upon some fine 
 broods of spring chickens he had nurtured to that inter- 
 esting point in their development when they were about 
 ready for broiling. One night in June, some godless 
 scamp, "against the peace and dignity of the Common- 
 wealth," and the rights of a "supernumerary," borrowed 
 about a dozen of these attractive birds ; thus violating 
 the " General Rules " by " taking up goods without any 
 probability of paying for them." The next night the 
 parson either heard, or dreamed he heard, a commotion 
 
164 METHODISM OF THE PENIIirSULA. 
 
 in the poultry yard. Suspecting more fowl play, he 
 leaped from his bed ; and, without delaying to make his 
 toilet, sallied forth on a skirmish of investigation. 
 
 "All was quiet along the lines" of chicken coops; 
 and the preacher had about reached the conclusion that 
 the alarm was but "the ugly phantom of a tragic 
 dream;" but he proceeded in his stealthy and ghostly 
 wanderings, until he reached the lawn gate ; when, what 
 was his surprise and indignation, at three o'clock A. M., 
 to discover a horse and carriage standing before his cot- 
 tage door. 
 
 " A pretty state of affairs, indeed ! " said he to himself. 
 "You are not content with what chickens you can carry 
 off in a bag ; but propose to take them away by the 
 carriage-load ! Well, we'll see about this business ! " 
 And, forgetful of the figure he cut, he strode boldly up 
 to the side of the vehicle, and excitedly called out : 
 "Hallo, here!" 
 
 "Hal-lo !" was the sleepy response. 
 
 "Who's here?" he angrily inquired. 
 
 "Smith." 
 
 "What Smith?" 
 
 " Jeems Henry Smith." 
 
 "Well; where does Mr. Jeems Henry Smith belong?" 
 
 "InMashy-Hope." 
 
 "What does Jeems Henry Smith, of Marshy-Hope, 
 want here at this time of the night ? " 
 
 "Want to git married !" 
 
 " Get married, indeed ! Whom do you want to get 
 
HYMENEAL AND BAPTISMAL. 165 
 
 married to ! " for the parson saw but the one person in 
 the darkness. 
 
 " Oh, I've got her here in my lap ! She's asleep !" 
 
 "O, ah ! yes, sir !" said the parson changing his tone 
 and manner. " How long have you been waiting here, 
 Mr. Smith?" 
 
 " Got yer about ten or eleven o'clock last night, sir." 
 
 "Why didn't you wake me up, Mr. Smith?" 
 
 " Peered of the dogs, sir." 
 
 "Well, Mr. Smith, you wake up your intended, and 
 I will get ready as soon as possible and see what I can 
 do for the relief of your case." 
 
 Accordingly the supernumerary returned to the house, 
 in pleasant humor on account of the financial expectations 
 incident to such a romantic occasion ; awoke his dreaming 
 spouse; dressed hastily; admitted the eager but patient 
 couple; and soon pronounced them — not "man and 
 woman," like parson Wiggins, but husband and wife; 
 tendered congratulations, and invited Mr. and Mrs. 
 Jeems Henry Smith to be seated. 
 
 In a few moments, said Mr. Smith : 
 
 "I suppose you don't mind givin' a fellow a cer- 
 tifick-it?" 
 
 "Certainly not, sir," responded the parson; and pro- 
 ceeded to fill out the coveted " certifick-it," at a cost of 
 twenty-five cents for the neat blank. 
 
 "What's yer charge?" inquired Mr. Smith some- 
 what sheepishly; meanwhile fumbling his clothing and 
 ramming his huge fists down into his trousers' pockets. 
 
166 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 "O, Mr. Smith," replied the parson, "I never make 
 any formal charge. I always suppose a gentleman 
 will pay the preacher according to his ability, and in 
 proportion to his estimate of his bride ; " fully expecting 
 that this adroit little speech would be rewarded with a 
 liberal fee. The thermometer of expectation, however, 
 fell rapidly to away down below zero as Mr. Smith 
 drawled out: "Well, I haint 'zacly got the change to- 
 night; but I'll see you in Denton next Chuseday." 
 The author has never seen Mr. Jeems Henry Smith 
 of " Mashey-Hope," since that memorable and romantic 
 night ; and the bridegroom's promise to pay is one of 
 the parson's many investments and stocks still remaining 
 on interest. 
 
 "Writing of this long-overdue obligation recalls, among 
 others, a somewhat similar incident dating back to 1860. 
 When stationed at Cambridge, Md., the author was 
 summoned, one blustery, bitter-cold night, to ride six 
 miles to the Blackwater Swamp, to unite a young couple 
 in wedlock. His young friend, " Tom" Rea, agreed to 
 take the parson " for the fun of the thing ;" but the lat- 
 ter volunteered to divide with him the wedding fee. 
 This proved to be the promise of a pig, on the part of the 
 very promising young husband. The parson has not 
 yet made the acquaintance of his pigship ; but if he had, 
 at that date, arrived on his mundane " rootin' ground," 
 he must, by this time, have reached Jumbonio propor- 
 tions, and be a very valuable swine. Nevertheless, 
 should Mr. Barnum desire this colossal animal to fill 
 
HYMENEAL AND BAPTISMAL. 167 
 
 the vacancy occasioned by the "tragic taking oif" of 
 his pet elephant, he can purchase the ministerial interest 
 therein on accommodating terms. 
 
 The "fire" probably enldndled by the matrimonial 
 alliances involved in the above incidents will, no doubt, 
 be ample for any ordinary "dish of hash." It now 
 remains to provide the "water." This duty may be ap- 
 propriately performed by supplying a few sketches of 
 Peninsular baptisms. 
 
 Bishop Asbury left a provision in his will, requiring 
 his Executor to furnish a Bible to every boy, at the time of 
 the testator's death bearing the name of Francis Asbury. 
 Mr. Boehm informs us that, under this provision of the 
 good man's last will and testament, he was under the 
 necessity of supplying between five and six hundred 
 Bibles ; and he supposes there were at least as many 
 more boys bearing the honored name, who, failing to 
 learn in time of their good fortune, never claimed the 
 legacy. 
 
 The late Governor, Thomas Holliday Hicks, of 
 Maryland, was very popular with the masses, especially 
 in Dorchester, his native county. Not a few boys were 
 adorned by their parents with his honored name. Rev. 
 Thos. L. Poulson, D. D., now of the New York East 
 Conference, was called to officiate at the baptism of one 
 of these fortunate Dorchester youngsters. 
 
 "Name this child," said the preacher. 
 
 "Governor Hicks," was the father's response. 
 
 "Well," said the minister, "but the Governor's name 
 
168 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 is Thomas HoUiday. You mean, I suppose, to call 
 him Thomas Hicks, or HoUiday Hicks, or Thomas 
 HollidayHiclcs?" 
 
 "No, sir-ee!" said the patriotic parent. "You 
 christen him jest like I tell you ; his name is Governor 
 Hicks!" and so he was baptized. 
 
 The same minister was once the junior colleague of 
 Rev. Abraham Freed, on Annamessex circuit, and was 
 immensely popular with the colored population. During 
 the year a day was appointed, at a central point, as a 
 general baptizing occasion. Scores of both white and 
 colored were present, to dedicate their little ones to God 
 and the church, in the holy ordinance, Mr. Freed offici- 
 ating. One of the colored matrons, desiring to honor 
 her junior preacher in the name of her promising pic- 
 aninny; and being apprehensive of the appearance of 
 an invidious indifference towards the preacher in charge, 
 deemed it best, in order to avoid such a construction, to 
 add also her senior pastor's name. To the preacher's 
 interrogatory therefore she gave response: "Yes, Sah; 
 dis chile's name's Abraham Freed Thomas L. Poulsing 
 Johnsing, Sah." " O, tut, tut ! " said the modest parson, 
 " Sam, I baptize thee," etc. After dismissal of the ser- 
 vice, the poor, injured woman sought her junior preacher, 
 and thus comforted him: "Neber you mind, Massa 
 Poulsing ! Dis chile's a gwine ter have your name, sar- 
 tin ! An' now Massa Freed's done gone christened him 
 'Sam,' he sha'n't have no part in de oner at all — so he 
 sha'n't!" 
 
HYMENEAL AND BAPTISMAL. 169 
 
 At a camp-meeting once held at Lloyd's Spring, for 
 Easton Circuit, the pastor. Rev. Dr. T. J. Quigley, 
 appointed the hour of one P. M., of Tuesday, for a 
 great baptismal service. A promiscuous and motley 
 crowd, gathered mostly from the out-of-the-way swamps 
 and thickets, was in attendance. It was a baby-show 
 that would have deprived the great American showman 
 Mr. Bamum, of his prestige. There were 
 
 Babies great and babies small ; 
 Babies short and babies tall ; 
 Babies fat and babies lean ; 
 Babies soiled and babies clean ; 
 Babies romping, tumbling, falling; 
 Babies crowing — babies squalling : 
 Candidates few Church probation 
 Pull enough to stock a nation. 
 
 Two young ministers, Revs. C. I. Thompson and J. 
 Frank Chaplain, were in attendance on the dignified 
 Doctor of Divinity ; the one to bear the baptismal water, 
 and the other to preserve a list for the Church Registry. 
 The service proceeded, with becoming decorum, to a point 
 where the officiating minister said to the little, comical- 
 looking grand-dame who presented her screaming young 
 hopeful : " Sister, name this child." 
 
 Her reply — "Mary 'Lizabeth, after its mammy" — 
 upset the gravity of the young ministerial attendants ; 
 but they still stood their ground, and the good old 
 Doctor applied the water, solemnly saying, " Mary 
 Elizabeth, I baptize thee." » 
 
170 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 The next case, however, was a stunner. Taking the 
 young rooster in his arms, Dr. Quigley, for the fortieth 
 time, said, " Sister, name this child." 
 
 "Peter Tomato Pickler," was the reply. 
 
 •"What !" propounded the astonished parson. 
 
 " Peter Tomato Pickler," reiterated the mother. 
 
 "What did you say?" 
 
 Again the matron, indignant at the preacher's apparent 
 dullness of comprehension, deliberately and emphatically 
 answered : " Peter — To-ma-to — Pick-hr ! " 
 
 "Peter; I baptize thee," said the protesting dignitary, 
 and reached for the water ; when he discovered the bowl 
 upside-down in the straw, and his convulsed attendants 
 making their hasty exit over the altar fence. 
 
 On a certain occasion. Rev. John Henry, the cele- 
 brated Irishman, whose unique peculiarities are else- 
 where delineated in these sketches, was engaged to 
 baptize the child of a lady of some prominence on the 
 Maryland side of the Peninsula. The service was in a 
 church, at the close of the Sunday morning preaching. 
 The old colored nurse — the indispensable appurtenance 
 of a baby moving in good society, in "ye goode, olde 
 times" of slavery — was on hand in the gallery, of 
 course, to grace the occasion with her presence and to 
 see the work well done. The lady-like mother had an 
 unfortunate lisp ; and when she presented little Lucy at 
 the baptismal font, and Mr. Henry propounded the 
 question as to name in the usual form, the response was : 
 
 "Luthyj,thir." 
 
HYMENEAL AND BAPTISMAL. 171 
 
 "What did you say, sister?" exclaimed the aston- 
 ished Irishman. 
 
 "Luthy, thir," reiterated the innocent, but confused 
 lady. 
 
 "Why, sister," said Mr. Henry, "Lucifer is the name 
 of the Daivel! You must not so disgrace the boy." 
 And, hastily selecting a name himself, he proceeded 
 with: "John Wesley, I baptize thee;" and was about 
 to apply the water, when the old nurse aforesaid con- 
 vulsed the already amused audience by screeching out 
 from the gallery : " O, Mistah Preachah ! Stop — don't ! 
 He's a gal!" 
 
 The necessary explanations were then made by the 
 lady's husband, and little Lucy was appropriately 
 " christened." 
 
172 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 CHAPTEE YII. 
 
 WHITE SOULS IN COLORED ENVELOPES. 
 
 ;N many places, in the Peninsula, in the ante bellum 
 days, the soil had become greatly impoverished by 
 the system of farming begotten of the "peculiar 
 institution." Sometimes large slaveholders were 
 profligate, or fond of gaiety and sporting, giving no 
 personal attention whatever to their plantations, but 
 leaving everything to overseers, or to a "foreman" 
 selected from the "gang" of field hands. 
 
 If a few hundred dollars were needed to meet some 
 exigency, at no very distant point could be found some 
 Jim Vaughn, Marcy Fountain or Patty Cannon, ever 
 ready to supply the coveted money in exchange for 
 "likely" negroes. Thus the improvement of the soil, 
 so constantly depleted, was neglected ; the crop of slaves 
 became the matter of prime importance ; and, if the 
 exhausted fields produced suf&cient to keep this human 
 harvest in luxuriant condition, it mattered little to the 
 gay lords of the soil whether there was aught else for 
 the market. 
 
 This condition of afiairs was quaintly, but aptly 
 described by Col. A. J. Willis, himself a Caroline 
 County slaveholder, in a speech delivered in the Mary- 
 
WHITE SOULS IN COLORED ENVELOPES. 173 
 
 land Senate a year or two before emancipation was 
 effected. Advocating some measure proposed by what 
 afterwards became the emancipation party, he said: 
 "Gentlemen on the other side of the Senate seem dis- 
 posed to test every measure introduced by its probable 
 effect upon slavery. If they can have their way, they 
 will soon damn their pet institution. What is slavery 
 worth to us now, Mr. President? Fields; corn; hogs; 
 ' niggers.' It takes a big field to raise a little corn ; the 
 hogs eat up all the corn; the 'niggers' eat up all the 
 hogs; -and what have you got on hand at the end of the 
 year? Just what you had to begin with — fields and 
 'niggers.' Mr. President and gentlemen of the Senate: 
 I'd rather have a string of a dozen herrings than a 
 dozen negroes!" 
 
 When the persecuted fields became so impoverished 
 that they would no longer produce "nubbins," they 
 were planted in black-eyed peas ; and when the soil was 
 "so poor it wouldn't sprout peas," it was "turned out" 
 to grow up in scrub pines. It not infrequently happened 
 that peas were more plentiful than corn ; in which case, 
 as pigs could not be persuaded to eat the former, it fell 
 to the lot of the slaves to consume vast quantities of 
 
 them. Poor Tom, one of Gen. P 's field hands, 
 
 having dined on black-eyed peas daily for four months, 
 at last reached the point of indignant protest. Coming 
 into the "Quarters" one day, he was confronted, for the 
 one hundred and twentieth time, with the inevitable 
 bowl of smoking peas seasoned with rusty bacon ; and 
 
174 METHODISM OF THE PENINSUIA. 
 
 being ignorant of the fact that his master was just at 
 that moment passing by, he broke forth in the following 
 emphatic strain : 
 
 " Now, Mary Liz, mind what I tells ye. De Oberseer's 
 done gone got to change de livin'. We's eat peas till 
 we's as po' as the ole field whar dey growed — ^we's jest 
 turned to pea mush ! Dis nigger's a gwine ter try to 
 'vour dis one mo' stinkin' mess ; an' den Is'e a gwine ter 
 quit, ef I dies. Mars Gen'l may save a few doUahs on 
 co'n ; but I specs he's a gwine ter lose a thousan' dollah 
 niggah some o' dese days ! Fo' I tells ye, I aint a eatin' 
 no mo' peas, ef I has to" 
 
 " Who's that, aint a goin' to eat peas ? " stormed the 
 General, at the same moment confronting Tom with the 
 glare of a tiger. 
 
 " Not dis nigger. Mars ! " answered Tom, as^he scooped 
 in a small ladlefuU between sentences. "Dis nigger 
 'vours de peas to all tarnations !" 
 
 Despite his condition of physical and mental bondage, 
 the negro was not incapable of moral distinctions and 
 logical conclusions, albeit he sometimes followed the 
 latter until he lost sight of the former. Jerry and 
 Hercules, who belonged to Mr. C, a leading farmer of 
 Caroline county, Md., will serve as an example. Said 
 Jerry to his fellow-servant : 
 
 "Here; you know de Book it say ye mustn't steal. 
 Now, you an' me 'longs to meetin' ; an' so we mustn't 
 steal. What am stealin'. Here? Gim' me your 'pinion 
 as a resorter in de Church." 
 
WHITE SOULS IN COLORED ENVELOPES. 175 
 
 "Well, sail ;" replied the sage Hercules, "it am takin' 
 on de sly, fo' you own use, what am anodder man's 
 goods." 
 
 " Now, Here ; fo' de 'lustration, s'pose dis case : Dere 
 am Mars Jimmy's turkeys up de ole apple tree. You 
 an' me is Mars Jimmy's niggers. Dat is, turkeys an' 
 niggers bofe 'long to Mars, don't dey?" 
 
 " Dat am sho'ly so," responded Hercules. 
 
 "Well, now den," resumed Jerry, "s'pose Mars 
 Jimmy's niggers. Here and Jerry, eat one o' Mars Jim- 
 my's turkeys to-night, what harm dat be to Mars 
 Jimmy ? What he lose from de apple tree, he gains in 
 de health an' strength ob de boys, don't he? Turkey 
 still his'n, ainthe?" 
 
 "Dat's so, Jerry," was the reply; "it am all in de 
 family." 
 
 But next morning when the old turkeys counted their 
 children, they were not "all in de family." One had 
 fallen a victim to Jerry's moral philosophy ; and the 
 consciences of the logical twain were about as comfort- 
 able as their capacious and well-stuifed stomachs. Even 
 to this day, despite the better teachings of the public 
 school and the Christian pulpit, it is to be feared there 
 are some among our colored population, who reason 
 themselves into the belief, that because, in the days of 
 slavery, they or their fathers wrought in uncompensated 
 toil, for the benefit of others, and for the general pros- 
 perity; therefore the families thus benefited, or the 
 community in general, have no moral or equitable right 
 
176 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 to complain if they "collect de wages owin' on de ole 
 score." With some, the law of limitations is ineffective 
 to bar this twenty-two-year-old debt ; unless the limita- 
 tions be prison walls. Such cases, however, are growing 
 more and more rare, as the years of our higher civiliza- 
 tion roll on; and, in the Maryland counties of the 
 Peninsula, it is no unusual thing for the jails to be 
 without a tenant charged with theft for many months 
 together. For some reason — perhaps because the gov- 
 erning power in Delaware denies education to the negro 
 unless he pays for it out of his own hard earnings ; and 
 denies to him the right of suffrage, even when he and 
 his party are willing to pay for it — we cannot say so 
 much for the Delaware counties. There accusations are 
 numerous ; convictions follow almost as a matter of 
 coiu-se ; and the whipping-post has many victims. Juries 
 are composed almost wholly of the governing class ; and 
 it would not be wonderful if they should have the acute- 
 ness to see that every colored man convicted of crime is 
 an opposition voter permanently disfranchised. 
 
 In the days of slavery but few of the colored preachers 
 and religious teachers were able to read. By the laws of 
 most of the slave-holding states, teaching negroes was 
 constituted a penal offence. To them learning was 
 contraband, and to be obtained only as some of them 
 were wont to obtain their Thanksgiving and Christmas 
 turkeys — by stealth. The old time local preachers and ex- 
 horters among the colored people had, therefore, to depend 
 largely upon their powers of memory to recall appro- 
 
WHITE SOULS IN COLORED ENVELOPES. 177 
 
 priate texts of Scripture, as bases for their discourses, 
 or as illustrations of religious doctrine and experience. 
 
 One of these ebony-skinned sons of nature in the 
 lower part of the Peninsula, renowned in his day for a 
 punctilious observance of dignified ministerial forms, 
 always used the Hymn-book and Bible in his announce- 
 ment of hymns and texts; as he explained to his white 
 pastor, "fo' de 'pearance ob de thing to de 'sembly;" 
 carefully turning the pages, and scrutinizing the books, 
 with an immense pair of brass-bowed spectacles astride 
 his nose. It was his custom, before going into the con- 
 gregation, to avail himself "ob de larnin' ob brudder 
 Aaron," a fellow-servant and member of the same con- 
 gregation, in order to insure accuracy. One day, after 
 considerable manipulation of the pulpit Bible, he settled 
 down somewhere about the middle of the volume; and 
 with a great show of confident ceremony, thus announced 
 his text : " Preach de Gospel. Bees instantly work in de 
 season, an' outen de season ; — dat is, ef dey kin — 'prove, 
 'buke, 'zort; all along a sufferin'. Dese words, bree- 
 thering you'll 'scover in de second varse ob de fourth 
 chapiter ob de second 'pistle of Saul o' Tarshis to Clover." 
 This was more than "Brudder Aaron" could stand; who 
 at once interposed with : " Uncle Zeke, dat are a mistake. 
 Dere am no such a 'pistle in de Book. It am Paul de 
 'Postle's 'pistle to Timothy." Instantly Uncle Zeke, 
 nothing daunted, responded : " Dat's a fac', Uncle Aaron ; 
 it's kinder dark in heah. I seed it war some sorter grass : 
 I 'scovers now, it am Timoty an' not de Clover." 
 
 8* 
 
178 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Another old colored brother, residing in the neigh- 
 borhood of Chestertown, Maryland, and who was en- 
 vironed by similar disadvantages, one day announced 
 for "de tex fo' de 'scourse ob de casion," the follow- 
 ing unique scripture: "Whar ders two or three gits 
 togedder in my name, an' I'm dar too, ders six or seven 
 ob us." 
 
 In those days of yore, the simple faith of the unlets 
 tered African oftentimes attached to the Deity a very 
 decided, and really a kind of corporeal personality. 
 What, with others of better culture, would have been 
 irreverent or bordering on the idolatrous, was, with 
 him, but the legitimate outcome of a most reverent and 
 anxious feeling after God. He accepted the terms and 
 words in which, in accommodation to human concep- 
 tions and consciousness of need, God has been pleased to 
 speak of himself and of Tiis relations to his children, as 
 being strictly literal in their import; and, not unfre- 
 quently, in his innocent ignorance, did he exaggerate 
 and distort them. At a camp-meeting held on Kent 
 Island in 1856, the writer one day heard a manifestly 
 sincere and earnest colored man, in his address at the 
 throne of grace, make the following petition : " O, Lord ! 
 O, Lord ! We is mighty po' an' helpless critters ! O, 
 Lord ! we needs ye pow'ful bad ! O, Lord ! Don't 
 take no time to git ready ; but come 'long anyhow, jest 
 as ye is, in de ole workin', ebery-day close — we's in 
 sich a bad way an' big hurry! O, Lord! O, Lord! 
 Harness a pow'ful strong an' mighty white hoss to de 
 
WHITE SOULS IN COLOEED ENVELOPES. 179 
 
 ark; an' git out yer sharp, flashin' sword j an' ride an' 
 cut an slash all ober de camp-groun' !" 
 
 In the old-time Peninsula camp-meetings, the colored 
 people were always provided for ; a portion of the circle 
 to the rear of the preacher's stand being invariably set 
 apart for their occupancy and use. Here they drew up 
 their oovered carts, and erected their nondescript tents. 
 The latter often consisted of poles stuck into the earth, 
 and bent and tied together ; over which they spread such 
 articles of bed-clothing as they might happen to possess, 
 to afford the needed shelter. Not infrequently their 
 tents were of patchwork, after the pattern of Joseph's 
 coat, or a modern crazy-quilt; and added a ludicrous 
 feature to the weird scenery of the primitive encamp- 
 ment. 
 
 In front of their tents, and generally, in the most open 
 and sunny spot obtainable, was their shouting-ground, 
 or meeting-place ; where, after the sermon, they were 
 wont to gather for the great revival effort. This service 
 was usually opened by the formal announcement of some 
 solemn hymn, such as, " And am I born to die ? " or, 
 "Hark, from the tomb the doleful sound;" which was 
 sung to a melancholy minor, in the slowest time possible, 
 and slurred and tremoloed into all sorts of fantastic 
 shapes, until the author of old "Mear" or "China," had 
 he listened from the other world, would surely have been 
 unable to recognize his own production. When this 
 opening piece had at last dragged to its conclusion, 
 "Brudder Jacob Isr'el Potter," or "Isaier Ishm'el 
 
180 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Carter," or some other recognized dignitary, was called 
 on to "lead in de revotions at de throne ob grace." 
 
 Beginning in slow and measured sentences, in indis- 
 tinct monotone, the petitioner was wont to rise by degrees 
 from apparent formalism to warmth; from warmth to 
 earnestness ; from earnestness to intense enthusiasm and 
 excitement ; when the prayer and the responses struggled 
 with each other for the mastery in the midst of a con- 
 fused babel of glowing metaphor and red-hot exclama- 
 mation ; and the conflict was finally terminated by the 
 surrender of the tired lungs and wrecked voice of the 
 leader, to the overpowering noise of sujDcrior numbers. 
 The "amen" said, one of the younger and more active 
 " brethering " would spring to the lead in the song-ser- 
 vice ; and the transition from E flat to C marked the 
 beginning of the jubilant era of "de meetin'." As the 
 leader struck the first notes of the song, peculiar motions, 
 confined to no particular portion or member of the body, 
 indicated the time in which the piece was to be rendered; 
 and significant glances in the direction of the chief "men- 
 singers and women-singers" brought them, one by one, 
 into position for efiective action, in hollow circle facing 
 inward. The space thus inclosed was devoted to peni- 
 tents; and there, kneeling on the bare ground — ofttimes 
 prostrate in the dust — many a wounded spirit, from the 
 double bondage, human and satanic, found the liberty of 
 Christ and the "balm in Gilead." Many of the most 
 jubilant songs of the negroes pointed with glowing met- 
 aphor to this blessed, spiritual freedom, and to the coming 
 
WHITE SOULS IN COLORED ENVELOPES. 181 
 
 good time M^hen the Immortal Liberator should break 
 their last fetter. The following stanza and chorus, heard 
 a thousand times in my boyhood, will serve as an 
 illustration : 
 
 "0! sinner; run to Jesus; 
 Wid a mighty hand he frees us; 
 An' ole Satin neber tease us, 
 Ef de Lord do appear. 
 
 Chorus: Den you will git free 
 In de year ob jubilee; 
 Yes, childring, we'll be free 
 
 When de Lord do appear 1'' 
 
 Under the inspiration of sentiments like these, what 
 wonder if ebony faces shone with somewhat of the super- 
 natural fire that illumined Moses' countenance! What 
 wonder if the suddenly unfettered spirit signalled the 
 glad occasion by "walking, and leaping, and praising 
 the Lord!" 
 
 Usually the tide of enthusiasm, on the colored side of 
 the encampment, arose and intensified as the days and 
 nights rolled by ; and reached the climactic point on the 
 last night of the meeting. By general consent, it was 
 understood that, as to the colored people, the rules 
 requiring quiet after a certain hour, were, on this last 
 night, to be suspended; and great billows of sound 
 from the tornado of praise and singing rolled over the 
 encampment, and was echoed back from hill and wood 
 for miles away, until the morrow's dawning. To those 
 in the tents, this hour was usually signalled by the sound 
 
182 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 of hammer and axe, knocking down the plank partition 
 walls separating the white and colored precincts ; and, in 
 a few moments, the grand "march 'round de' campment" 
 was inaugurated, accompanied with leaping, shuffling, 
 and dancing, after the order of David before the ark 
 when his wife thought he was crazy; accompanied by a 
 song appropriate to the exciting occasion. Some of my 
 readers will recognize the following couplets : 
 
 " We's a marchin' away to Cana-ann's land ; 
 I hears de music ob de angel band. 
 
 Chorus — " come an' jine de army ; 
 
 An' we'll keep de ark a movin'; 
 As we goes shoutin' home 1 
 
 " Come, childering, storm ole Jericho's walls ; 
 Yes, blow an' shout, an' down dey falls 1 
 Chorus — " come, etc. 
 
 " We's all united heart an' hand ; 
 An' fully able to 'sess de land. 
 Chorus — come, etc. 
 
 " When we gits dere we'll all be free ; 
 An' oh, how joysome we shall be 1 
 Chorus — " come," etc. 
 
 The sound of the hammer aforesaid became the signal 
 for a general arising all around the camp ; and, in a few 
 moments, curtains were parted ; tents thrown open ; and 
 multitudes of faces peered out into the early dawning 
 to witness the weird spectacle. Sometimes tlie voices of 
 the masters and veterans among the white people would 
 
WHITE SOULS IN COLORED ENVELOPES. 183 
 
 echo back, in happy response, the jubilant shout of the 
 rejoicing slaves. 
 
 At the old time catup-meetings, seats were provided 
 for the colored people in the rear of the preachers' stand ; 
 and no part of the congregation was more reverent in 
 demeanor or more attentive to the preaching of the 
 Word. However it might be in front of him, the 
 preacher was always sure of a sympathetic and apprecia- 
 tive audience in the rear. Many a timid, trembling 
 messenger was inspirited and saved from disastrous 
 fadure by the demonstrative prayers and sympathies of 
 the colored part of the congregation. Whatever might 
 be the feelings of the speaker with respect to the assem- 
 bly, at least the colored portion thereof were sure to be 
 en rapport with the speaker. 
 
 Exclamations such as, " Help, Lord ! " " Lor* bress 
 de preachah ! " " Send de powah, Lord ! " with signifi- 
 cant nods and motions, and guttural grunts peculiar to 
 the race and impossible to represent phonographically, 
 were sure to greet the preacher from the rear of the 
 stand. And if the preacher " got on de rousements," as 
 the colored patriarchs expressed it, " Amen ! " and " Hal- 
 leluyer ! " would come rolling in from the African rear- 
 guard, and quite frequently would be echoed back again 
 from the more impressible and enthusiastic in front, un- 
 til a general shout of victory crowned the hour, and scores 
 of awakened souls were weeping and pleading for mercy. 
 Many a discourse, really but a moderately good exhorta- 
 tion, was metamorphosed into a great sermon ; and many 
 
184 METHODISM OF THE PBNINSTJLA. 
 
 a commonplace speaker into a mighty Boanerges, by a 
 volley of well-timed negro shouts, poured in at a critical 
 juncture. 
 
 But sometimes the " amen " and the shout came inop- 
 portunely, as the following incident will illustrate. Rev. 
 Henry White, an old-time Presiding Elder, was once 
 preaching on a quarterly-meeting occasion. The gallery 
 was crowded with colored people. His theme was the 
 judgment of the great day, and the discourse almost over- 
 whelmingly solemn. Becoming mightily stirred, some 
 of the old negroes began to indulge in their favorite ex- 
 clamations while the preacher was picturing the " great 
 white throne," the " awful Judge," and the banishment 
 of the finally disobedient. So utterly inappropriate were 
 "amen!" and "hallelujah!" amid such solemn associa- 
 tions, that the effect of the sermon was thereby put in 
 jeopardy. Mr. White paused, and explained the mean- 
 ing of these exclamations to the colored people; and 
 cautioned them against saying amen or hallelujah in the 
 wrong place. All was quiet along the lines in the 
 gallery, until the Elder neared the culminating climax, 
 in which he pictured the redeemed, having passed the 
 judgment ordeal, filing through the heavenly gates and 
 up the gold-paved aisles of glory ; when old uncle Mal- 
 achi, who was ready to burst with the effort to conceal 
 his enthusiasm, could stand it no longer. Fearfiil of 
 " 'sturbin' de meetin'," he sought a hurried exit by way 
 of the steps leading down outside; but, impeded by the 
 crowd, and the strain intensifying beyond endurance, he 
 
WHITE SOULS IN COLOEED ENVELOPES. 185 
 
 yelled out, as his old, grey head disappeared adown 
 the winding retreat, "Amen, at a venter!" But the 
 sermon was already a great success; and, besides, had 
 reached the point where the shout appropriately came in ; 
 and old Malaclii's " amen" fired the train for a general 
 explosion and a great spiritual triumph. 
 
 Sometimes the old colored patriarchs were wont to 
 manifest their interest in the sermon by interjecting 
 remarks commendatory or suggestive between the 
 preacher's sentences. Generally this habit was no annoy- 
 ance, but rather helpful, to the minister who was accus- 
 tomed to African peculiarities. In one well attested 
 incident, however, it proved far otherwise. 
 
 At a camp-meeting once held at McNeal's "Woods, 
 near Easton, Md., a somewhat timid young minister of 
 moderate ability was struggling hard to work out a 
 sermon on the cure of ISTaaman the leper. " Uncle 
 Jeems" King, an old, lame negro, whose piety and zeal 
 were proverbial throughout Talbot County, had taken 
 his position next the stand, where he could eye the 
 preacher and give him the benefit of his accustomed 
 exclamations and interjections. When the young man 
 announced his text. Uncle Jeems spoke out: "Lor", 
 bress de preachah ! " As the brother groped and stum- 
 bled along his introduction, the okl negro uttered a sig- 
 nificant groan and said : " O, Lord ! we's all pow'ful 
 weak po' critters : help de preachah ! " Getting under 
 way finally, the young minister reached the point where 
 Naaman, seated in his royal chariot at the Prophet's 
 
186 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA.. 
 
 gate, awaited his response to his servant's call. " See 
 how proud and lazy this miserable leper was!" said the 
 preacher. " He was so dignified and conceited that he 
 could by no means get down from his luxuriant cush- 
 ions, and go in to see the man of God ; but, while 
 coming to beg a favor of a man whose lineage and whose 
 God he despised, he must needs put the Prophet to the 
 inconvenience of coming out to him. His vanity and 
 impudence outraged all proprieties, and merited only 
 defeat." A moment's pause, just at this point, enabled 
 Uncle Jeems to put in a word of extenuation for poor 
 Naaman's conduct; when he grunted out, so as to be 
 heard by most of the congregation: "Umph, Lord! 
 He was po'ly!" 
 
 This*unexpected apology for the Leper was so just, 
 and at the same time in its circumstances so ludicrous, 
 that it upset the gravity of ministers and people all 
 around, and effectually vanquished the unfortunate 
 speaker, who was thrown into an embarrassment most 
 painful to endure or even to behold. Uncle Jeems, 
 seeing that something was wrong, without the least 
 suspicion of his own responsibility, capped the climax 
 by the ejaculation: "De good Lor' help de brudder! 
 He am po'ly, too, I 'spec's ! " An able exhorter came 
 to the rescue; but his unfortunate attempt to tack on 
 his address to the broken off sermon and the name of 
 the "po'ly" man in the chariot, provoked a feeling of 
 amusement that was fatal to his success. In the 
 prayer meeting which followed among the colored 
 
WHITE SOULS IN COLORED ENVELOPES. 187 
 
 people, very appropriately indeed, and quite as inno- 
 cently as in the apology for Naaman, Uncle Jeems struck 
 up the doleful chorus: "What's de matter in Zion?" 
 
 Among the most notable of the colored Methodist 
 Episcopal ministers of the Peninsula, was E,ev. Frost 
 PoUet. He was one of the original members of the 
 Delaware Conference, and served a term therein as Pre- 
 siding Elder. Frost was nearly six feet in height, of 
 bony and angular build; more erect than Bishop 
 Simpson ; but, except in color, not unlike him in 
 general form and appearance. There was an admix- 
 ture of about one-eighth of white blood in his veins. 
 This seems to have given form and expression to 
 his features which were more Anglican than African. 
 In him, however, the negro voice and dialect were per- 
 fectly developed. His manner was marked by great 
 simplicity, and humility was the distinguishing feature 
 of his Christian character. He was intensely earnest 
 and enthusiastic in his religious experience and efforts. 
 Whenever it was known among the white residents of 
 Princess Anne, and other Peninsular towns where he 
 labored, that Frost Pollet was to preach, the best and 
 most cultured of all religious persuasions flocked to hear 
 him; and his congregations at bush meetings were oft- 
 times real ovations. No pen and inlv portraiture can do 
 justice to either the man or his preaching. 
 
 It was the good fortune of Rev. T. E. Martindale to 
 hear Frost preach, on a certain occasion, in Pocomoke 
 City, Maryland. To him I am indebted for the data 
 
188 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA 
 
 out of which, in a measure, to reconstruct that discourse, 
 and thus preserve to the world a unique specimen of 
 African eloquence. 
 
 The text was, "Go and shew John agin de things 
 which ye do heah and see. De blind receive der sight, 
 an' de lame walk; de lipers are cleansed, an' de deaf 
 heah, de dead is raised up, an' de poor has de Gospel 
 preached to them." 
 
 On top of Frost's bald head was a large wen, which it 
 was his wont frequently to rub during the delivery of 
 his sermons — especially in the passages where he was 
 most interested or embarrassed. On this occasion, run- 
 ning his hand over his head as if in thoughtful mood, he 
 said, " Frens ; what you'll heah to-night, I didn't git out'n 
 no books ; but I got it right out'n my own head." He then, 
 by way of introduction, proceeded to give a most accur- 
 ate, particular and remarkably vivid description of the 
 circumstances, preceding and attending the utterance of 
 these words by the Master. When this was ended, he 
 entesred upon the discussion of the old question — whether 
 man would have reached a greater development and 
 blessedness, had he not fallen, than that to which he 
 might aspire under the remedial scheme of Christ's 
 atonement and mediation. Scarcely had he propounded 
 the problem, however, until he stopped short and called 
 sharply to himself: "Ole Frost, you'd better come back 
 from dar. Dem's deep waters. Don't look out. Frost, 
 you'll git drownded!" And that was the last of that 
 streak of speculative divinity. 
 
WHITE SOULS IN COLORED ENVELOPIS. 189 
 
 Frost then took up, in order, the various characters 
 mentioned in the text — the blind, the lame, etc. ; and 
 proceeded to discuss these physical conditions, and by 
 them to illustrate the unhappy state and fearful exposure 
 of " de po' sinnah." When Frost came to the discus- 
 sion of the case of " de lipers," he cited the case of Naa- 
 man the Syrian. He gave the history in accurate detail, 
 and with a strange, nervous force — a magnetism of voice 
 and manner — indescribably beautiful. Among other 
 things, he said : " Naaman was taken po'ly ; he got 
 wus and wus, an' nothin' done him no good. An' one 
 day his wife couldn't help cryin' 'bout it. An' dar was 
 a little slave gal 'bout de house. I specs dey stole her 
 away an' tuck her down dar wrougishly. She seed her 
 missus a cryin' an' downhearted like ; an' sez she : 
 Missus, dere's a prophet down yander in Isr'el, wher I 
 comed from, dat can pray for Mars Naaman, an' 'buke 
 de 'sease an' kore him. An' so his wife told Naaman, 
 an' Naaman told de king ; an' de king sent Naaman 
 right off in a char'ot, wid a troop of hoss soldiers to 
 'scort him down to S'maria or sommers to find de Pro- 
 phet. But he made de 'stake of goin' to de king ob 
 Isr'el. Jest like po' sinners now-a-days. Dey goes 
 eberywhere but to de right place fo' salvation. But as 
 luck — ^by dat I means Providence — would have it, po' 
 Naaman got to de right place at last. Sinners allers can 
 find Jesus somehow, if dey're in right, down yearnest." 
 
 Frost then described the interview with the Prophet, 
 told about the prescription; and finally got Naaman 
 
190 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 down to the banks of Jordan, drawing on his vivid 
 imagination for most of the interesting colloquy repre- 
 sented as having taken place between " Gineral Naaman 
 and his sarvant." After getting Naaman into the water 
 for his first bath, he represented him as saying : " I don't 
 b'lieve in dis heah nonsense, an' I'se a gwine ter come 
 out'n dis ole ditch." He then represented Naaman's 
 slave standing on the shore and saying : " Master, you 
 knows what de Prophet said. Better stay in dar an' 
 gib de Lord a fair chance at you." As Frost repre- 
 sented, in most dramatic language and manner, Naa- 
 man's successive baths, the spiritual temperature in his 
 congregation grew more and more torrid, and there were 
 unmistakable indications of phenomenal disturbances 
 and convulsions in that part of the religious Jcosmos. 
 Then, changing his whole demeanor, and emphasizing 
 his words with a measured and most impressive delibe- 
 ration, he said : ' And — he — went — down — the — seventh 
 — time!" At this juncture, clasping his hands over his 
 head, and squatting low, as if about to spring well-nigh 
 to the ceiling, he exclaimed : " Mighty Lord ! Help ole 
 Frost to preach de Gospel dis one time mo' !" After 
 this invocation, he added, with effect that was irresistible : 
 " An' he come up out'n de water, an' his flesh was jest 
 like a sweet, little baby's ! " This climax took the 
 audience by storm ; and such was the excitement, that it 
 became necessary for the eloquent preacher to pause, 
 while the more excitable elements cooled off sufficiently 
 to allow him to proceed. 
 
WHITE SOULS IN COLORED ENVELOPES. 191 
 
 Under the head of raising the dead, the speaker cited 
 the cases of Lazarus and the nobleman's daughter. The 
 picture he drew of the sweet, Christian home at Bethany 
 and its loving and lovely occupants, and how that home 
 was shadowed and made desolate by the death of the 
 beloved brother, brought tears to many eyes. At the 
 conclusion of this description, he remarked incidentally : 
 "Now, when de blessed Jesus was a travellin' his cir- 
 cuit, he used to have his puttin' up places, jest like we 
 preachers does. An' he was allers glad to put up wid 
 Mr. Lazarus an' Miss Mary an' Martha, 'cause dey was 
 sieh nice housekeepers, an' speshly 'cause dey all loved 
 each other so deahly." Having completed a most 
 graphic description of the resurrection of Lazarus, after 
 a slight pause, in the most natural manner possible, 
 looking over his shoulder as if to summon some person 
 at a distance, but within hearing, he issued the impera- 
 tive command : " Miss Tabitha : You come in heah, 
 now, an' gib your testimony. We wants to know 
 what's your 'spe'rence 'bout de resarection." And by 
 the time he had finished his colloquy with this young 
 lady, he again had his audience stirred by a mighty 
 whirlwind of power. 
 
 The following specimen of his eloquence is in a dif- 
 ferent vein — not so dramatic, but perhaps even more 
 impressive. Having selected as his text, "And, without 
 controversy, great is the mystery of godliness," he 
 remarked: "Bretherin' an' sisterin', dis am a great 
 'casion, an' I am got a great tex'. If a po' preachah 
 
192 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 take a little tex' on a big 'casion, an' den done gone 
 preach a po' sermont, de sembly don't git nothin'; but 
 dis arternoon, yer shore o' de tex' anyway. 
 
 "De Possel say 'widout contivarsy great am de 
 myst'ry of godliness;' an' if 'ligion — fo' dat's what 
 he means — am a great myst'ry widout contivarsy, what 
 a mighty big myst'ry it must be wid contivarsy. When 
 ole Nick Demus went to de Mars to ax him 'bout de 
 kingdom, he told him, 'Nick, you can't squeeze in no 
 how widout you come like a po' little baby — got to be 
 born agin, Nick.' Den Demus he say, 'Mars, how kin 
 dat ar be? Dat's a great myst'ry.' Den Jesus he say, 
 'Nick, don't you heah dat wind? Don't you know it's 
 a blowin'? Kin you 'splain it?' Den Nick Demus he 
 see de pint; an' he an' de Mars war 'widout contivarsy,' 
 and godliness war a great myst'ry. 
 
 " Fren's : I've hearn of some cuUud pussuns round dese 
 parts that go to meetin' an' shout all ober de house ; an' 
 den a goin' home dat night, dey takes a hen off 'n some- 
 body's apple-tree. Dat am a great myst'ry. But s'pose 
 dat cuUud man gits 'ligion right eend fo'most ; den he 
 leaves all de hens, — an' de Debil too — behind him. Dat 
 am de great myst'ry ob godliness. 
 
 " Den dar am de myst'ry ob de Lord's keer fo' us. De 
 Book say he count de hairs an' watch de sparrers, an' 
 'tend to de little baby ravens. It say also two sparrers 
 oney fetch a fardin in de market. (I reckon a fardin 
 am 'bout a cent.) If dat's so, one sparrer's oney wo'th 
 a half a cent. Now den ; ef de good Lord take keer oU 
 
WHITE SOULS IN COLORED ENVELOPES. 193 
 
 de little sparrer what's oney wo'th one half a cent ; does 
 you think he won't take keer o' you fifteen hundred dol- 
 lah niggers ? No wondah de Possel say ' great am de 
 myst'ry ob godliness.' " 
 
 The Slave code did not allow free negroes of one state 
 to go into another. About the year 1856, Frost Pollet 
 was so indiscreet as to cross the line and preach a ser- 
 mon to the colored saints and sinners in Accomac. He 
 was promptly arrested and thrown into prison. When 
 the day for a hearing of the case arrived, the Court, 
 rightly adjudging that there was no sinister purpose in 
 his visit, released him, allowing him so many hours to 
 leave the state of Virginia. Taking off his hat and 
 making a polite bow, he said : 
 
 " Thank you, gentlemens ; you may see frost down 
 heah agin some time dis winter ; but, shore es you're 
 born, you's neber gwine to see Pollet in dese diggin's 
 no mo'." 
 
 But "the former things have passed away." During 
 the dark days of the war, in 1864, a State Constitutional 
 Convention assembled in the State Capitol at Annapolis, 
 where the subject of slavery, the question of states 
 rights, and other great living issues of those stormy 
 times were elaborately discussed. In that honorable body 
 the writer, with other Unionists, pleaded the cause of the 
 slave and of the union, on a motion that finally pre- 
 vailed, to adopt into the " Bill of Eights" the following 
 item: 
 
 "Article 23. Hereafter, in this State, there shall be 
 9 
 
194 METHODISM OF THE PEIflNSULA. 
 
 neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except in 
 punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been 
 duly convicted ; and all persons held to service or labor, 
 as slaves, are hereby declared free." 
 
 In that discussion, the writer took the ground that, 
 in its aggregated existence and influence, slavery was 
 a great moral, social and political evil, and ought 
 to be extirpated for the following reasons: Because, 
 it was an invasion of natural rights; could only 
 exist in violation of the dearest and most sacred social 
 and domestic ties; and because it ministered to the 
 demoralization of all classes within the sphere of its 
 influence. He held further, that slavery undermined 
 and enervated the principles of general and individual 
 enterprise and self-reliance forming the basis of an 
 honorable manhood, and of all true political and ma- 
 terial prosperity; that the legislation demanded for 
 the protection of slavery and slaveholders, was arbitrary, 
 unjust and oppressive to the people; and, finally, that 
 for the above and for other reasons, the system and the 
 code of slavery were in contravention of the principles 
 and teachings of the Christian religion — the purest law 
 of right and morality that had ever blessed the world ; 
 and that therefore, slavery had no right to existence and 
 protection under the government of a professedly Chris- 
 tian people. 
 
 Having completed its work, that Convention adjourned 
 in September. On the 12th and 13th days of October, 
 1864, an election was held for the acceptance or rejection 
 
WHITE SOULS IN COLORED EMTELOPES. 195 
 
 of the Constitution framed by the Convention, and it was 
 adopted by a majority of 375 votes. After an exciting 
 legal contest in the State Courts, on technical points 
 involving the validity of the vote, on the 29th day of 
 the same month. Governor Bradford issued his procla- 
 mation declaring the new Constitution ratified by the 
 people, to take effect on the first day of November fol- 
 lomng ; and, with the midnight advent of that beautiful, 
 frosty November morning, the shackles fell from the hands 
 of all Maryland's bondsmen ; and one hundred thousand 
 new-made freemen walked forth into the blessings and 
 responsibilities of personal and civil liberty. 
 
 As a rule, these bondmen came forth from their dark, 
 sad Egypt as did Israel, recognizing the Divine Goodness 
 that opened up a way through the bloody, red sea of war, 
 and the madness of their unreasoning and rebellious 
 masters. Few, indeed, were the thoughtless revelries in 
 which even the more trifling and vicious among these 
 unchained souls indulged. On the contrary, everywhere 
 throughout the State on the night of the 31st of October, 
 the freedmen assembled in their humble places of wor- 
 ship, or in their " quarters" and cabins; and signalled the 
 coming of their glorious year of jubilee ■with appropriate, 
 grateftil, glowing watch-night services. Sermons and 
 addresses were delivered, prayers offered, and holy songs 
 were wafted forth on the still midnight air, until the 
 incense of glad thanksgiving filled Heaven, and a tem- 
 pest of praise swept the new, free State of Maryland. 
 One picture will serve as an illustration ; but the reader 
 
196 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 must remember it was duplicated in a thousand places 
 that joyous night. 
 
 The scene was a newly dedicated chapel on the East- 
 ern Shore. About 9 o'clock, on the night above indi- 
 cated, the last slave having finished his last task, the 
 colored people of the neighborhood began to assemble 
 at the place of worship ; and by 10 o'clock, almost the 
 entire negro population of all that region was crowded 
 into the chapel, and gathered at the door and windows 
 in eager, expectant squads. " Uncle Jack," a patriarchal 
 local preacher, of snowy head and most reverend mien, 
 arose and announced from memory the hymn, beginning : 
 
 " Blow ye the trumpet, blow 
 
 The gladly, solemn sound,'' etc. 
 
 which was sung as only three hundred pairs of African 
 lungs could sing it under the inspiration of " de year 
 ob Jubilee " so soon to dawn. Then Uncle Jack prayed 
 and praised and shouted by turns, until his voice was 
 lost amid the hurricane of responsive exclamations that 
 shook the temple. At the conclusion of his glowing 
 invocation, the old preacher said : " Now den, chil'n, 
 let's all dat loves de Lord, an' thanks him fo' de comin' 
 freedom, 'main on der knees, an' be still ; an' let de 
 heart say its thanksgivin', jest in a little whisper, so 
 nobody but de blessed Jesus kin hear." 
 
 For a little while the dropping of a pin might have 
 been heard ; then there followed a faint whisper, grad- 
 ually increasing, and, at length, broken by sobs and 
 
WHITE SOULS IN COLORED ENVELOPES. 197 
 
 smothered exclamations ; until, finally, a " great and ex- 
 ceeding weight of glory" settled down like Pentecost 
 upon the assembly. Being present with a few sympa- 
 thizing white spectators, the writer was invited to ad- 
 dress the audience. He congratulated the freedmen 
 upon the prospect before them ; and reminded them that 
 liberty, to them, did not represent immunity from care and 
 toil, or imply the right to live by the labor and thrift of 
 their neighbors; but that, to be of any value, it meant 
 liberty to work and enjoy the fruits thereof; liberty to 
 learn to read the Bible and to have their children taught ; 
 liberty to purchase land and build houses, gathering the 
 scattered family about the home altar; liberty to have 
 wives and daughters defended against the bestial lust of 
 libertines, and the unity of the family preserved against 
 the caprice of profligate masters and the dubious exigen- 
 cies of the auction block. He advised sobriety, indus- 
 try, honesty and respect for manhood, whether covered 
 by white or black skins. He told them, in a word, that 
 the colored man who most hated the bondage of sin and 
 the Devil, was best fitted for the new freedom now 
 vouchsafed him by his country and his God. 
 
 Uncle Jack then added a few words of hearty appro- 
 val of the above sentiments, concluding as follows : " I 
 tells ye folkses, dis am a great day. I neber 'spected to 
 know how a free nigger felt till I got de kingdom an' 
 de crown up yander. But, gullory, halleluyer! In a 
 few mo' minits, dis ole slave'll be a free man. I feels it 
 in my bones, an' chil'n, I's a gwine ter shout!" Saying 
 
198 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 which, he suited the action to the word, and leaped for 
 very gladness. Then, as the watch indicated the hour of 
 midnight, all heads were bowed in the solemn consecra- 
 tion of their new life of freedom to the service of Him 
 who had so strangely broken their fetters. 
 
 "Now, chil'n, you kin sing ef ye wants to," said 
 Uncle Jack. " You 'longs to nobody but de Lord now. 
 Sing ! " And sing they did ! It was like the voice of 
 the winds through field and forest, mingling with the 
 chime of falling waters. Soothing cadences, swelling 
 harmonies, gusts of praise and cyclones of " Hosanna in 
 the highest " went rolling out from the little chapel, and 
 floated off to hill and dale on the still, sweet breath of 
 that November morning. It was, indeed, a jubilee 
 anthem, — a medley of all their most joyful melodies, 
 interluded with the voices of fervent ejaculation, and 
 shouts of victorious praise ! 
 
 Some there were who failed to live up to the glowing 
 promises and prophecies of that thrilling hour ; but, as 
 a class, the freedmen of Maryland have made steady 
 and rapid progress. It is absurd to judge the negro by 
 the highest standard of Caucasian civilization, attained 
 through centuries of development and culture. It took 
 Jehovah forty years to educate and develop the liberated 
 Israelites to a point where they could be trusted with 
 the responsibilities of citizenship and self-government. 
 In half that period, despite the disabilities arising from 
 old prejudices and unfair proscriptions, the late slave 
 population of Maryland are rapidly advancing to that 
 
WHITE SOULS IN COLORED ENVELOPES. 199 
 
 point of civilization, where their liberation will he uni- 
 versally recognized as a blessing both to themselves and 
 to the State. 
 
 The same Constitution that freed the slaves of Mary- 
 land, provided for a uniform system of public education ; 
 for a state school-tax to support the system ; and required 
 that the proceeds of said tax should be distributed pro 
 rata, according to population of all races. It was the 
 purpose of the party then in power, that, in the division 
 of this fund, there should be no discrimination against 
 the colored population. But, three years afterward, the 
 opposite party came into power ; and, by unfair legisla- 
 tion, that kindly purpose has been modified to the" 
 negro's injury. Nevertheless, some advance has been 
 made in the direction of fair and honorable concession ; 
 and now there are indications of a growing sense of jus- 
 tice, that we may hope, in the near future, will insure 
 the impartial treatment a Christian state owes to all its 
 citizens. It ill befits a Democracy, claiming the princi- 
 ples symbolized in its name, to heap contempt on a class 
 of its wards because of an assumed intellectual and moral 
 inferiority ; and yet, at the same time, deny that class 
 an equal chance in the race of life. Surely if the proud 
 Caucasian's claims to superiority be well founded, he has 
 nought to fear from a removal of the legal obstructions 
 from the path of his dark-skinned competitor and brother. 
 The chivalry of the dominant knights of our grand old 
 Maryland will be recognized and applauded in Heaven 
 and on Earth, when they shall have obliterated the last 
 
200 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 legal vestige of the former civiHzation. That glorious 
 4th of July cannot be far distant, when Marylanders, in 
 their jubilant celebrations, shall read the Declaration of 
 Independence without a single mental reservation. 
 
 Poor, hide-bound little Delaware does not adequately 
 provide for the education of even her white children. 
 Some advance has been constrained and some concessions 
 extorted, by the righteous clamors of the Pulpit and the 
 Press ; but, manifestly, the governing politicians of that 
 State are more afraid of education for the masses than 
 they are of the direful ravages of a wide-spread intem- 
 perance and the onerous burdens of an alarming pau- 
 perism. The Legislature has, at last, conceded to the 
 proscribed, disfranchised and politically helpless negro 
 race, a pittance for education proportioned to the rela- 
 tive amount of their taxes for general public purposes. 
 This small amount would be considerably increased if 
 the "cunningly devised" "Act for the Collection of 
 Revenue," so called, were not purposely designed to 
 obstruct and prevent the collection of the poll tax 
 from negroes ; the payment of which is a prerequisite 
 to the exercise of the rights of the elective franchise. 
 But, although "The mills of the gods grind slowly," 
 they do keep on grinding, and they "grind exceeding 
 fine;" and, little by little, Christianity and education 
 wiU so accomplish their work, even in Delaware, as to 
 constrain fairness and justice at the hands of an honest. 
 Democratic manhood; and will make such disgraceful 
 and humiliating statutes thenceforth an impossibility. 
 
WHITE SOULS IN COLORED ENVELOPES. 201 
 
 In the light of the future, the children of Delaware politi- 
 cians of to-day will stand and look back at the legis- 
 lation of their fathers, as we now look at the revolting 
 wrongs of the old slave-code ; and wonder how such legal 
 abominations and monstrosities could ever exist in free 
 America and in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. 
 
 9* 
 
202 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA.. 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 AWAY down in Somerset County, Maryland, not 
 far from where the waters of the Great Anna- 
 messex mingle with those of the Tangier Sound, 
 
 dwelt Mrs. Priscilla W , an aristocratic widow of 
 
 olden times, with her sons and daughters, together with 
 their numerous slaves. The widow and her children 
 lived in elegant ease and luxury ; while the negroes tilled 
 the generous soil, and gathered the abundant harvests. 
 In addition to these resources, there was a shipyard on 
 the plantation, where workmen were continually busy 
 building or repairing bay and river craft for purposes of 
 travel and traffic, between that part of the Eastern Shore 
 and the great city of Baltimore. Such of the slaves as 
 were not needed on the plantation, were either hired out 
 to other farmers in the surrounding regions, or, if they 
 gave evidence of any mechanical turn, were put to the 
 trade of ship-building. 
 
 "Uncle" Stephen, the subject of this sketch, first 
 opened his infantile eyes to the light on this plantation, 
 on the 2d day of March, 1814. He was born in a little 
 cabin on the banks of the river, the murmur of whose 
 rippling waves upon the pebbly strand oft served as his 
 
TJNCLE STEPHEN, THE SLAVE PREACHER. 203 
 
 lullaby, when his mother was too busy cooking for the 
 shipbuilders to sing him to sleep. Here, amid the 
 caroling of birds and the dancing of the sunlight on 
 grassy sward and rolling wave, little " Steve," with all 
 the swarming nest-full of brother and sister picaninnies, 
 romped, yelled and gamboled. 
 
 It is customary in biography to consult the tables of 
 genealogy, in order to account for the career of the hero 
 by the extraction or achievements of his ancestry. Ste- 
 phen, his father, was an American Indian, descended, 
 for many generations, of wild but noble freemen ; whose 
 great boast was their tall, straight, graceful stature, 
 and their agility, endurance and bravery. His mother's 
 name was Sarah. Her father was a native African war- 
 rior, who suffered the misfortune to become a prisoner 
 of war, and finally a Maryland slave. He had been 
 torn from a young bride in his native jungles, whose 
 loss he had mourned with aching and sometimes almost 
 breaking heart. 
 
 Every new invoice of slaves, arriving in that part of 
 the colony for many years, was eagerly searched by 
 "Wycongo," with the vague hope that his beloved 
 "Manona" might be among the exiles, but in vain. At 
 length he committed the last hope to the grave, and 
 resigned himself to his cruel fate. About this time his 
 master brought from Baltimore, in one of his schooners, 
 several female slaves purchased in that city, one of whom 
 was a comely Asiatic. In figure and feature she strongly 
 resembled Manona, the bride of his youth, though of 
 
204 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 lighter hue ; and Wycongo very soon laid his heart at 
 her feet — the hand was not his to oifer — ^and sued earn- 
 estly and eloquently for her love, at least in action ; for 
 their speech was so dissimilar as to make any verbal 
 communication exceedingly difficult. After repeated 
 efforts, by the employment of sig^S and a few English 
 words she had been able to pick up, Altona, the Asiatic 
 maiden, succeeded in making Wycongo understand that 
 she also had been torn away from a lover she could not 
 forget. Thenceforth Wycongo's love was deepened and 
 intensified by the sympathy of a fellow feeling, which 
 for some time he vainly tried to make her understand. 
 In order to succeed in telling Altona his story, Wycongo 
 devoted all his spare hours and Sundays to giving her 
 verbal lessons in his English ; and having finally made 
 her acquainted with his sorrowful history, he was 
 rewarded by the assurance of both her sympathy and 
 her affection. At Wycongo's request, and with her and 
 her master's consent, Altona's name was thenceforth 
 changed to Manona. " It is so purty, an' soun's so 
 nat'ral like," explained her husband. 
 
 "Congo" and "Nona," as they were thenceforth 
 called upon the plantation, were at once settled by the 
 master in the aforementioned little cabin, down by the 
 shipyard on the shore of the Annamessex. Congo became 
 so expert as a mechanic, that he soon reached the honor- 
 able distinction of being appointed one of the foremen 
 among the slave laborers; and Nona was constituted 
 cook for such of the negro workmen as were unmarried. 
 
UNCLE STEPHEN, THE SLAVE PREACHER. 205 
 
 Here, in due course of tinie, Sarah, our hero's mother, 
 was born and raised. Here, as the wife of Stephen the 
 Aborigine, she succeeded her mother in the simple arts 
 of slave housekeeping; and here her son, whom she 
 called by his father's name, grew up and learned his 
 trade, becoming like Wycongo, his grandfather, an exper- 
 ienced hand and foremjjn. 
 
 In Stephen's veins flowed the red current formed by 
 a confluence of blood from three continents ; and, as the 
 reader would naturally suppose, he was somewhat sui 
 generis. While he was growing up, his mother treated 
 his antics and idiosyncracies from the Asiatic stand- 
 point. His father applied the Indian code. And his 
 master meted out to him the kind and measure of disci- 
 pline usually considered, by the statesmen of that day, 
 most effectual in keeping the noble red man of the forest 
 in his appropriate place. Thus the Asiatic rod; the 
 American policy, and the Indian tactics for the preserva- 
 tion of the domestic peace were applied by turns, or all 
 at once, in poor Steve's case; and, very naturally, the 
 graduate from such a juvenile university was an excep- 
 tionally unique character. Equatorial restfulness and 
 oriental imagination and dreaming, ofttimes made Steve 
 seem, like the cat in the chimney corner, fast asleep ; but 
 only let some mouse of possible mischief or daring 
 deviltry attempt to steal abroad, and he was instantly 
 wide awake and off for the "scrimmage." None of his 
 exploits however were malicious ; they were rather the 
 outcroppings of irrepressible mischief Hilarity and 
 
206 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 inquisitiveness were his besetting sins, leading him into 
 heedlessness, and once nearly costing him his life. Hav- 
 ing received a commission one day from "young Mars," 
 but little older than himself, his jolly mood led him to 
 such antics in the performance of the duty, as to occa- 
 sion his tumbling over a steep bank into the river; 
 whence he was finally rescued, more dead than alive, by 
 some of the men at the shipyard, attracted to the spot by 
 the vigorous yelling and tearful lamentations of his 
 playmate master. When he sufficiently recovered to 
 appreciate the lesson, his mother laid him across her lap ; 
 said to him : " De Lord must a sporn yer hfe fo' some 
 good eend;" and then emphasized and impressed the 
 oracular declaration by about twenty well aimed blows 
 with the sole of one of her old shoes. The expression 
 on poor little Steve's countenance, when he at last 
 resumed an upright position, gave ample evidence that 
 the impressive lesson had taken due effect. 
 
 The following incident will illustrate Steve's peculiar 
 propensity for juvenile investigation. His young Mars 
 " Jeems" having grown old enough to feel an interest in 
 his mother's welfare — his father having meantime died 
 — was entrusted with the duty of the general supervision 
 of the shipyard, and took possession of the office his 
 father had previously occupied. He carefully imitated 
 his father's movements and habits, even to the retention 
 of the little brown whiskey-jug, which was replenished 
 weelily, and statedly tested three times a day ; and was 
 then put back into the corner of the desk as he had seen 
 his father do before him. 
 
THE SLAVE PREACHER. 207 
 
 "Mars Jeems, what's dat ye got in dat jug?" inquired 
 Steve one day, strolling in at the office door just in time 
 to see the vessel removed from his master's lips to its 
 accustomed corner. 
 
 " G'long, you fool," replied the young master. " Yer 
 always pokin' yer nose into other people's business. It's 
 only a little medicine." 
 
 "Is ye sick, Mars Jeems? What ye take 'em for?" 
 
 "Its none o' yer bis'ness, nigger," replied Mars 
 Jeems. "But sometimes I don't feel right, and then I 
 take a little medicine." 
 
 "Make ye feel good. Mars?" 
 
 "Yes, all over in spots, as big as a blanket. Now, 
 you Injin nigger, if you don't git out, I'll kick you out." 
 
 Steve vanished ; but he didn't feel well. The more he 
 thought about his condition the worse he imagined he 
 felt, until he concluded he must die if he couldn't find 
 opportunity to test Mars Jeems' medicine. The young 
 master's departure to dinner finally afforded Steve the 
 coveted chance ; and when his master returned he found 
 him indulging in all possible antics, the office in utter 
 confusion and the jug nearly emptied of its precious con- 
 tents. Steve thus explained : " Golly, M-Mars ; wuz zo 
 — zo bad wid a pain, tried yer me'cine. 'Spec' I took 
 spoo— oonfull mor'n 'nuff. Mars; feels spo's-spots 's 
 big 's two 'r tree bla-blank's. Whoop !" Saying which 
 he gave a kick which overturned his master's desk, 
 spilled the ink on his books and papers and broke the 
 precious jug; and seemed bent on a general wreck of the 
 
208 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 office, meanwhile laughing and yelling and tearing 
 around like one possessed. As in Steve's blood three 
 continents were represented, so the most reckless and 
 grotesque features of the African, the Asiatic and the 
 Indian "drunk"- seem to have been combined in this 
 exhibition; and it took all the forces of the shipyard to 
 bring him into subjection. Fortunately for Steve, when 
 the hilarious effects of the"me'cine" began to subside, 
 the "Spoo-oonfuU more'n 'nuff" of the poison he had 
 taken produced a reaction that made him deathly sick, 
 and left him prostrate. He did not need the flogging he 
 received next morning to strengthen his determination 
 never to take any more of that kind of medicine. Pity 
 it was "Mars Jeems" did not join in the promise he 
 exacted from Steve, and take it no longer. But then 
 Steve was only a " nigger " slave ; the master was a free 
 American gentleman, and an Eastern Shore aristocrat! 
 And in that day and country, the wealthy young planter 
 who failed to drink whisky, gamble, "go a fox huntin'," 
 
 and 
 
 " Dance all night till broad day light, 
 An' go home with the gals in the mornin', " 
 
 was hardly considered eligible for admission into first- 
 class society. This phase of southern opinion has, how- 
 ever, been materially changed, or greatly modified by 
 the mutations of the last quarter of a century — especially 
 the transition from slavery to freedom. Gambling, 
 rum-selling and drunkenness are now generally consid- 
 ered disreputable; and labor is beginning to grow 
 
UNCLE STEPHEN, THE SLAVE PREACHER. 209 
 
 respectable. In fact, much of what was once the upper 
 stratum of Eastern Shore society has settled to the bot- 
 tom ; while the industrious, non-slaveholding whites, 
 taldng advantage of their opportunity, have arisen to 
 the vacant place. Not infrequently the son of the plan- 
 tation overseer of a few years ago, now gives employment 
 to the son of the former aristocratic planter and slave- 
 owner. It is supposed to have been an Eastern Shore 
 aristocrat of broken fortunes, who, just after the war, for 
 a whole year, kept the following advertisement in a New 
 York newspaper : " Wanted — A situation for a gentle- 
 man's son." At the end of this time, the family being 
 about to starve, the genteel father and his darling boy 
 pulled off their old kid gloves, rolled up their sleeves 
 and went to work. The healthful exercise has improved 
 their brain power and manly independence as much as it 
 has their muscle. 
 
 Just after the incident above narrated occurred, Steve's 
 old mistress died ; and by her will he, the human tri- 
 partite of Africa, Asia and America, became the property 
 of her son James. A human being property ! A mind, 
 the vehicle of independent thought and determination — 
 "a living soul," with the stamp of creative Infinity upon 
 it — property! A son of God — crowned by his Maker 
 to reign in the realm of never-ceasing being — transmuted 
 into a machine, to be circumscribed, owned, domineered, 
 manipulated, valued and sold for rags and dust, as the 
 property of his brother man ! " The days of this igno- 
 rance" and wrong " God winked at." The world was a 
 
210 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 great infant, and the Father of Lights drew the curtains 
 and let in his sunshine only as its unaccustomed eyes 
 could bear it. The removal of the last vestige of those 
 curtains by his red, right hand of bloody war caused 
 much weeping to mercenary eyes ; but joy came with 
 the further opening of the new, bright morning of free- 
 dom ; and now, while there may be a few who would, 
 the vast majority of Maryland's former slaveholders 
 would not if they could, resume the rights of ownership 
 over their former bondmen. Verily the intelligent man 
 whose life spans the stirring events of the last half century, 
 has lived longer than Methuselah. 
 
 About this time an event occurred that formed an 
 important epoch in Steve's life. In fact it completely 
 revolutionized his nature, and gave new impulse and 
 direction to those invisible forces of his being that were 
 least fettered by the chains of his bondage. We will 
 relate the story as nearly as possible in Stephen's own 
 quaint dialect. Said he : 
 
 "When I was 'bout twenty years old — dat wus a 
 gwine on well nigh to fifty years ago— dere was a camp- 
 meetin' in one o' Mars Jeemses woodses, 'bout two miles 
 from the shipyard. An' dem times de cullud folkses 
 dey camped wid de white folkses, an' had dere part o' 
 de 'campment to de rare ob de preachin' stan', wid a 
 fence atween dem an' de white people. Dat was all 
 right I reckons; but I used to set dare on a plank to 
 hear de preachin', an' fogit what de preachah was a 
 Bayin', a thinldn' an' a wonderin' whedder in de place 
 
UNCLE STEPHEN, THE SLAVE PREACHER. 211 
 
 de Master was a preparin' up yander, dere was any 
 'tition fence to keep de niggers in dere own part of de 
 great camp-meetin' ; an' wedder de great Mars an' de 
 mighty angels, when dey gits up to preach a great 
 'scourse to de 'desmed 'sembly, turns der backs all de 
 time to de po' darkeys ; but dat was when I wus young 
 an' thoughtless. 
 
 " Well, as I was a goin' to say, says I to Mars Jeems 
 one day — dat was afo' I'd eber seed a camp-meetin' — 
 says I: 'Mars Jeems, please sah, kin I go to de camp- 
 meetin' to-night, arter I git done dis task o' hewin' you 
 done gone gib me dis mornin'?' Sez he to me, sez he: 
 'Wot you want to go dar fur, nigger?' Sez I to him, 
 sez I : ' Jes fo' a little fun, Mars ; I's comin' back afo 
 day, in time to feed de bosses an' git ready for de day's 
 work.' An' den Mars Jeems he say : ' Yes, you rascal, 
 an' den be too sleepy to work termorry? Well, go dis 
 time, but you need'nt ax no mo' afore Sat'day night.' 
 
 " Well, sir, ef eber you seed a darkey make chips fly, 
 dis chile did from dat time till sundown, when I finished 
 up de last stick. Den Mammy she had my pone an' 
 herrin' all ready, an' when I slid inter a clean shirt, 
 wid a herrin' in one hand an' a hunk o' corn pone in 
 de udder, dis chile cut stick down de road fo' de 'camp- 
 ment. When I got dar, de pine knots was a blazin' on 
 de fire stan's; an' two pow'ful big men was a blowin' 
 de trumpets ; an' somehow it kind o' made me feel like 
 de judgment day was a comin'. Howsomever de great 
 'Sidin' Elder he got up in de stan', an' call all de people 
 
212 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 out to preachin' ; an' aldo I didn't see no cullud folkses 
 about where I was, an' was kind o' skeered an' trim- 
 blin', I 'eluded I'd better go up to de stan' wid de rest. 
 An' bless yo' sould, honeys, when I got dar, I was de 
 only nigger in de 'sembly. Dreckly a gemman he come 
 an' say : ' You black rascal, what you a doin' on dis side 
 de fence?" An' I say: ' I didn't know as dey was any 
 udder side de fence.' An' den he say : ' I'll show you 
 der is;' an' wid' dat, he grab me by de arm, an' led me 
 through de crowd to a high plank fence, an' say : ' Now, 
 nigger, git out'n dis.' I 'cepted de invitation in sich a 
 hurry dat I fell'd ober, 'ka.se I was afeered he wus a 
 gwine ter kick me. Some o' de folkses, white an' cul- 
 lud, was considerable tickled at de way I tumbled ; but 
 I got up, an' went' an' sot down 'mongst de cullud 
 'sembly. Dreckly de preachah denounce de hime an' 
 de meetin' begun. 
 
 "When de preachah tuck his tex' 'bout de sheep an' 
 de goats, some on one side an' some on de udder, thinks 
 I to myself dat mus' be me he's talkin' 'bout : 'spec I's 
 one ob de goats. Anyhow, I's 'vided off on dis side de 
 fence. An' den when he tell 'bout de great judgment, 
 day, an' 'bout de King 'vidin' de good from de bad, an' 
 drivin' de wicked down to 'dition, I begun to feel pow'- 
 ful bad ; so I tried to think 'bout suffin' else, an' put 
 my head down, an' stuck my fingers inter my years. 
 But jes' den de preachah he call out mighty loud : 
 ' Him dat has years to heah, let 'im heah ;' an' all to 
 onct it seem to me de Debil war about to put de han'- 
 
UNCLE STEPHEN, THE SLAVE PREACHER. 213 
 
 cuffs onter me, an' I hearn de chains jingle, an' I begun 
 to go down ; an' den I look up an' seed Heaben a flyin' 
 away like a clowd, all full ob de saints wid snow-white 
 wings an' golden harps. An' den I hearn der singing, 
 away furder an' furder off, like a echo dies away 'mong 
 de woodses 'long de riber shore ; an' de same time I 
 hearn a mighty rumlin' 'way down, dat comed nearer 
 an' nearer, till de groun' begin to shake under whar I 
 sot ; an' dat's de las' I knowed till I comed to an' found 
 myself a hoUerin' for mercy, a roUin' on de groun', an' 
 de cuUud folkses a singin' an' a shoutin' all roun' me. 
 
 ^Bout dat time I look up, an' seed de same clowd dat 
 went away comin' down agin from Heaben ; but it was 
 a pow'ful distance off. An' I seed de great Marster, in 
 de form ob a lamb, a standin' on de edge ob de clowd an' 
 a lookin' right down to whar I was. An' 'bout dat time 
 de people seemed to see him too, for dey struck up de 
 
 hime: 
 
 " Oh, de bleedin' Lamb I He was found worthy ; " 
 
 an' den, chil'n, I cried, 'O! dow blessed Lamb, do 
 please ride down on di clowdy chariot to dis awful pit 
 "an' help dis po' sinkin' sinner ! ' An' den I seed dat de 
 Lamb was all bloody, an' I 'membered de ole song : 
 
 ' Oh, he died fo' you an' he died fo' me ; ' 
 
 an' de nex' thing I knowed he knocked off my han'cuffs, 
 an' pulled me outen de mire, an' washed me clean, an' 
 put a white robe outer me, an' tuck me up on de cloud 
 on a 'scursion through all de Paradises ob de hallcluyer 
 
214 METHODISM OF THE PENrNSUI,A. 
 
 regions. I tells ye, chil'n, I neber 'membered to tell 
 Jesus 'bout promisin' Mars Jeems to be home afo' day to 
 feed de bosses ; an' when he landed me agin on de yearth 
 at de blessed ole camp-groun', de mornin' sun was up 
 an' a-shinin' ! 'Dere now!' sez I to myself, ' I done 
 gone forgot all 'bout Mars Jeems an' de bosses; but 
 neber mind, I'll go tell him 'bout de 'scursion, an' as how 
 I couldn't git back no sooner, an' what a good nigger I's 
 agoin to be, an' may be he'll let me off. So off I goes, 
 runnin' an' jumpin' an' a hoUerin' glory down de road, 
 tiU I meets Mars Jeems a comin' out de gate on his boss, 
 a gwine to look for me. Sez he : 
 
 " ' You crazy fool ! whar you bin ? ' 
 
 " ' O, glory ! Mars Jeems,' sez I, ' I's bin on a 
 heb'nly 'scursion, an' I wants you to go dar too.' 
 
 " ' Yes, you black rascal !' sez he, ' I'll take you on a 
 yarthly 'scursion. Take that !' 
 
 " Jes' den he brought me a wipe ober de shoulder wid 
 his cowhide, dat a'most lifted me off'n my feet; but I hol- 
 lered 'Glory, halleluyer!' an' started a runnin' for de 
 house, an' he a runnin' his boss alongside o' me, an' a 
 puttin' de cowskin outer me wid all his might, an' I a 
 bollerin' glory ebery time till I made harbor in de 
 stables. By dat time he got tired o' fightin' an' I'd got 
 sobered down so I could 'splain matters. So I told him 
 all 'bout bein 'saved by de bleedin' Lamb, an^ how much 
 I love him, an' how happy I was, an' how good an' 
 faithful I was a goin' to be ef he'd let me jine de meetin'; 
 an' den he say: 'You black rascal, you oughter come 
 
UNCI.E STEPHEN, THE SLAVE PEEACHEK. 215 
 
 home when you promise to. I'll teach you to mind 
 what's said to you;' an' den he turned and walked 
 away to de office, an' I seed de tears a runnin' down his 
 face as he turned to go in at de door. Bime by, when 
 I was a hewin' off by myself. Mars Jeems he come out 
 to me, an' sez he: 'Steve, how does ye feel?' Sez I: 
 'Bress de Lord, Mars Jeems, I feels mighty sore on de 
 back, but pow'ful gladsome in de heart.' Den Mars 
 Jeems go to de office agin, an' dreckly he comed out 
 wid some wheel-grease on a oster shell, an' say: 'Steve, 
 I speck I struck you harder nor I 'tended dis mornin'. 
 Lem'me 'noint yer back wid some o' dis.' So I strip 
 down my shirt, an' Mars Jeems greased my back whar it 
 was cut an' welted ; an', sez he : ' Steve, I hope I shall 
 never have to whip you agin ; ' an' dem was de las' licks 
 he eber struck me. Chil'n, dat blessed day was, as I 
 said, long time ago; but I's neber forgot it. I's still on 
 de 'scursion to de New Jeruserlam ; but sometimes de 
 passage am bery stormy, an' de waves roll high an' de 
 heabens git dark; but de ole ship o' Zion mighty safe 
 boat ; de Cap'n he know de sea an' he bridle de storm ; 
 an', bime by, I specs to heave de anker overboard in de 
 harbor ob de kingdom ! " 
 
 I have thus given Uncle Stephen's experiences as 
 nearly as possible, as detailed by himself, in an exhorta- 
 tion delivered at a camp-meeting many years ago. The 
 effect was most thrilling. Smiles and tears came and 
 went like April sunshine and showers ; and, at the close, 
 a tempest of divine power burst upon the assembly ; and 
 
216 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 many, like the boy of fifty years before to whose experi- 
 ence they had listened, were crying for mercy. 
 
 To a philosophic observer Steve's sudden conversion 
 — unexpected to himself, and unheralded by a single 
 sober thought or serious reflection — might have given 
 little promise of permanency. But " God's ways are not 
 as our ways." He who formed the mind and fashioned 
 the heart, knows more than one door of possible ingress ; 
 and, in this instance, as in that of the Philippian Jailer, 
 he seems to have loosened the bars and bolts with the 
 wrench of an earthquake and a hammer of thunder. So 
 real was the moral revolution, in this case, and so com- 
 pletely was the prisoner of Satan set free, that the vicis- 
 situdes and exposures, of fifty years, varying all the way 
 from the humiliation of slavery to the honor and respon- 
 sibility of the Christian pastorate, have never moved 
 him from his steadfastness. " Uncle Stephen," the patri- 
 arch of seventy years, and an honored superannuate of 
 the Delaware Conference, still lives to take his occasional 
 turn as lookout on board "de ole ship," but says he is 
 "roundin' de cape an' nearin' de port." 
 
 Very soon after his conversion, Steve graduated to his 
 position as one of the foremen in the shipyard and upon 
 the plantation. When he was twenty-five years old, his 
 mother died ; and soon after, Rachel, a dusky maid of 
 the plantation, by consent of the master and the kindly 
 office of the senior preacher of Annamessex circuit, was 
 taken to the cabin by the riverside to be the partner of 
 his joys and sorrows. Here, in the course of a few 
 
THE SLAVE PREACHER. 217 
 
 years, three little slaves, they called their children, were 
 added to "Mars Jeems'" estate. 
 
 At length an irrepressible longing for freedom moved 
 Steve to make a proposition to his master to purchase 
 his liberty. Could he but get free, he thought he could, 
 in course of time, also "buy the time" of his wife and 
 children, and thus leave to his descendants a heritage of 
 manhood. His master would not consent to an absolute 
 sale, but said: "Steve, I shall not probably Uve very 
 long : pay me eighty dollars a year while I live ; and at 
 my death my will will make you free." He accepted 
 the offer, and immediately hired himself to another 
 party, who, at this time, was managing the ship-yard ; 
 and, besides meeting his obligations to his master, laid 
 by a considerable sum every year as the nucleus of his 
 fiiture fortune. With these accumulations, he finally 
 purchased a lot of his master, and built himself a com- 
 fortable cabin. Under the slave code, no title to prop- 
 erty could be given to a bondman ; but the instrument 
 that was to make him a freeman was also to secure to 
 him his little home. 
 
 Said Stephen to his master one Christmas day : " Mars 
 Jeems, has ye eber fixed dat bisness of our'n?" 
 
 "No, Steve," said his master, "but I'm going to do it 
 on New Year's day. Come, take a little Christmas 
 apple toddy with me." 
 
 "No, thankee. Mars Jeems," said he; "ye knows I 
 got 'nuff dat stuff dat day in yer office, when I was a 
 boy. I promist you, a;n' I protniet de Lord, I'd neber 
 10 
 
218 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 do SO no more. Au' furdermore, ye knows I's a 'zorter 
 in de church now, an hovi^'d dat look — de brown jug in 
 de pulpit! Hyah, hyah, hyah! No, Mars; ye must 
 'scuse me." 
 
 "Mars Jeems" — rarely sober of late years at any 
 time — entered, that Christmas day, upon a prolonged 
 debauch from which he never recovered. Delirium- 
 tremens ensued; but, at length, after "Tveeks of anxiety 
 on the part of his family, he seemed about to regain his 
 health. Finally, one March night, he retired, apparently 
 in full possession of his normal faculties, to awake next 
 morning a raving maniac, in which hopeless condition, 
 after a few weeks, he left this world. 
 
 Stephen was a sincere mourner at his master's grave. 
 They had been playmates in childhood, and companions 
 in youth. With the exception of a few instances of 
 cruelty, for which no doubt the jmaster was afterwards 
 sorry, his bearing and conduct had been considerate and 
 kindly. But, alas ! that master was himself a slave to 
 evil habits and died a prisoner in hopeless chains. To 
 Stephen, however, there was one consolation. He was 
 now a freeman and a freeholder! His master had 
 secured the presence of an attorney at his home, on New 
 Year's day; and, it was generally supposed, had made 
 suitable disposition of his business affairs. At length, 
 however, one of the heirs assured Stephen that his master 
 had left no will and no papers or memoranda whatever 
 touching his case; that the attorney who was present on 
 New Year's day found him mentally disqualified for 
 
UNCLE STEPHEN, THE SLAVE PREACHER. 219 
 
 business; and that it would be the sworn duty of the 
 Administrator to return him in the schedule of appraise- 
 ment as a part of the personal estate. 
 
 Poor Stephen's heart sank within him. From the 
 summit of manhood's royalty, in which for a brief day 
 he had rejoiced ; from the heights of a glowing expec- 
 tancy irradiating all his future, he went down, down to 
 the uttermost depths of a helpless and hopeless bondage ! 
 In the sixteen years his master had lived after selling 
 him his time, he had paid him thirteen hundred dollars 
 for his promised freedom; and had invested besides 
 about four hundred dollars in the lot he had purchased 
 and its improvements. By the absence of a will with 
 the promised title, all this too reverted to the estate. A 
 correct estimate of justice would have induced Christian 
 heirs to have carried out the contract ; to have said to 
 the disappointed and sorrowful man : " Go in peace ;" 
 
 but the descendants of the honorable house of "W 
 
 gauged their notions of equity and justice by what the 
 frigid technicahties of the law permitted. In this 
 decision they were greatly strengthened, the following 
 Sunday, by a sermon from the Rector of the parish 
 church on the text : " All things whatsoever ye would 
 that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them." 
 The learned divine was himself a slave-owner. In his 
 exegesis, he applied the rule to all the relations of life 
 on this wise : " Whatsoever ye, being in the lawful con- 
 dition of slaves, would that men should do unto you, as 
 subjects of a lawful servitude, so do ye, as slaves, to those 
 
220 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 younger or less influential servants over whom, for the 
 time, ye are appointed by your masters as overseers ! 
 And so do ye, as masters, to your slaves ! " Of course, 
 this was simply saying, The law of might, that makes 
 some men slaves and some others masters, is right ; the 
 entire slave code is right because it is law. If a man is 
 under that law he ought to be satisfied with his condi- 
 tion. He ought to want to be dealt with according to 
 the laws and usages of slavery. His interpretation 
 meant that because a human being had been wrongfully 
 deprived of his kingdom of manhood, he ought to 
 smother his instincts, trample on his crown of royalty, 
 and obliterate God's image from his soul ! As well 
 might one say that the flame shall cease to ascend or 
 gravitation lay aside its forces ! The reputation of the 
 Rector, however, was thenceforth assured ; and these 
 lawful heirs of poor Stephen's life and labors, " in love 
 and charity with their neighbors, and following God's 
 commandments," could, with one hand, take the holy 
 communion, and with the other appropriate the property 
 and the soul and body of a defenceless brother, redeemed 
 by the same Sacrifice whose shed blood tliey were 
 celebrating. 
 
 The heirs to the estate explained both the Law and 
 the Gospel, bearing on the case, to Stephen, in justifica- 
 tion of their course ; and the poor negro was utterly 
 bewildered. He, however, as he said, "left it all wid 
 de Lord," and resolved if possible to retrieve his broken 
 fortunes. Being put up for sale, at the vendue of the 
 
UNCLE STEPHEN, THE SLAVE PREACHER. 221 
 
 personal estate, for the term of one year, with the privi- 
 lege to extend the term ; by permission of the Adminis- 
 trator, he bid himself off at one hundred and twenty 
 dollars a year for life. He then rented of the heirs his 
 own house and lot, and was permitted to take his wife and 
 children with him, on condition that he would support 
 them ; and thus, while rearing a family of slaves for the 
 market, relieve the owners of the expense of their main- 
 tenance. It took very hard work, almost night and 
 day, on the part of both Stephen and Rachel, to pay 
 the price of their precarious liberty and support the 
 family ; but the obligations were all faithfully met, and 
 something accumulated towards another effort for real 
 freedom. 
 
 This condition of affairs lasted for three years. Mean- 
 time, while two other souls were bom into slavery in 
 the little cabin, the three elder children had grown to be 
 
 valuable. Very strangely the W estate had so 
 
 dwindled in the interim, and the farming had been so 
 unremunerative, that in order to keep up their accus- 
 tomed style, the family found it necessary to dispose of 
 some property in exchange for ready cash. Stephen's 
 wife and three elder children were singled out as the 
 victims. While eating their frugal meal, one day, two 
 men came to the cabin and notified Rachel that she 
 could have a half hour to bundle up such clothing as 
 she thought necessary for her and the three children ; 
 and that then, in obedience to orders received from the 
 family, they must separate her and the older children 
 
222 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. ' 
 
 from her husband and the two little ones, and take them 
 to the slave pen at Princess Anne, to be inspected by 
 the traders preparatory to the day of sale". From the 
 scene that ensued, angels must have turned away their 
 sympathetic eyes. The prayers and wailings of the 
 stricken parents and children were heart-rending. For 
 a few moments wife and children, clinging to husband 
 and father, begged the protection the law of nature 
 and of God would seem to have placed in his keep- 
 ing. And then, when rudely thrust away by the 
 interposing "officers," the poor mother, with stream- 
 ing eyes, fell on her knees; and, wringing her hands 
 in the anguish of despair, cried out: "Oh, Jesus! pity 
 an' help dis po' slave wife an' mudder, an' her lone 
 'panion an' 'stressed chil'n. Oh, Lord ! how kin I 
 go 'way from my po' little babies ! " Heaven and 
 earth seemed to be deaf to her wail. In a little 
 while, she and the three older children, tied together and 
 hurried on before the men, who were on horseback, 
 passed out of sight of the desolate cabin and the heart- 
 broken man at the door. Gathering the two little ones 
 in his arms, Stephen fell on his knees by the rough 
 stand, whereon lay his old Bible, and cried out : " O, 
 dou God ob dis Book — dou whom I trust an' love, — 
 why has dou fo'saken me ! " And then, obeying a sud- 
 den impulse, and taking the little motherless waifs with 
 him, he sped to the plantation mansion to intercede for 
 his wife and children. His entreaties, however, were in 
 vain. In fact, the family, incensed at what they called 
 
UNCLE STEPHEN, THE SLAVE PREACHER. 223 
 
 his "impudence," threatened that they would "turn him 
 into money too," if he didn't behave more respectfully. 
 Having obtained permission to leave the two little 
 ones in the care of old Aunt Dinah at the " Quarters," 
 Stephen returned to liis cheerless home ; secured his 
 few possessions as best he could ; took the one hundred 
 and fifty dollars he had saved in three years from its 
 hiding-place, and went forth praying God to help him 
 in the rescue of his wife and children. Before the night 
 of the day following, he found three kind-hearted men, 
 who agreed to purchase the children, so as to keep them 
 in the neighborhood ; and a fourth, who promised to 
 lend him a sum sufficient to enable him to become the 
 redeemer of his wife from bondage. The sale was to 
 take place in Princess Anne the following Tuesday. 
 Stej)hen was there at an early hour, vainly seeking an 
 interview with his distressed wife. He was rejoiced, 
 however, in due time, to meet all the gentlemen who had 
 promised to aid him. At length the ringing of the auc- 
 tion-bell announced the hour of sale ; and, in a little 
 while Stephen's wife and children, with some other 
 slaves, emerged from the prison and were led to the 
 auction-block. Poor Rachel scarcely lifted her dejected 
 eyes, from which the tears of an unutterable agony were 
 silently falling ; and the distressed children sent forth 
 their plaintive wailings. The scene was so pathetic that 
 some of the spectators were constrained to retire from 
 the locality, and the eyes of some who remained were 
 moistened with sympathetic tears. 
 
224 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Stephen stood a little in the rear of the group, and 
 was unobserved by his heart-broken family. He shall 
 tell the story in his own way : 
 
 "While I was a standin' dar a prayin' fo' de good 
 Lord to stan' by me in dis hour ob need ; an' while de 
 auctioneer was a tellin' 'bout de age ob my wife, an' a 
 braggin' on her counastution an' fine qualitycations ; one 
 o' dem 'bruited, red-nosed nigger-buyers as was dar, he 
 come up to my wife an' takes her by de chin an' nose to 
 open her mouth so he could 'zamine her teeth, like she 
 was an ole boss or mule, de same time sayin' ' Well, ole 
 mare, le's look at yer teeth ;' an' I tells ye, folkes, it was 
 more'n dis chile could stan'. I got mad; I felt de bery 
 Debil all through my blood an' bones ; an' I took one 
 step to hit him wid de heavy club I had; when the 
 Marster he speak to de ragin' storm in my sould an' it 
 come calm in a minit. An' right den an' dar de Lord 
 saved me more'n I'd eber bin saved before, an' I foun' 
 myself a whisper in' to myself, 'Dou shill keep dem in 
 perfeck peace, whose heart am stayed on dee.' 
 
 " Well ; den dey went to biddin' — the Georgia men an' 
 my friend ; an' dey run'd her up from two hundred dol- 
 lars to five hundred — dat was Mars Neddy Payne's bid 
 fo' me — an' den de trader he come up an' slap my po' wife 
 on de shoulder, an' poke her in de sides an' breast, an' 
 feel her mussel ; an den he put on another twenty-five 
 doUah bid, an' Mars Neddy he made it thirty. Den de 
 trader wait some time ; but bime bye he say five hun- 
 dred an' thirty-three dollalis, an' Mars Neddy say 'five 
 
UNCLE STEPHEN, THE SLAVE PEEACHEE. 225 
 
 thirty-five.' Den de trader he say suffin' 'bout fools an' 
 went off; an' a little while arter, de auctioneer he say, 
 
 ' goin'-goin'-goin', three times; and gone!' an' de 
 
 nex' moment, honeys, I had Rachel in my arms, an' we 
 bofe forgot we wasn't in de meetin'-house, an' begun to 
 shout an praise de Lord. But de crier ob de sale fetch 
 me a whack wid his stick, an' say, ' Hold on ole man ; 
 dis my meetin'.' Den de chil'n was sold. De boy fotch 
 four hundred ; de oldest girl three fifty, an' de little one 
 three hundred dollahs ; an' de gemmens was all true to 
 dere words an' bought 'em; an' dey lem'me take 'em 
 home wid me, same as afore. 
 
 " Mars Neddy he paid de four hundred an' I paid de 
 hundred an' thirty-five dollahs, an' den I gibs him my 
 wife till I could pay 'im de four hundred. Rachel went 
 out washin' ; I worked in de shipyard all day, an' cotch 
 oysters or made an' 'paired shoes half de night; an' in 
 four years time I had Mars Neddy nearly paid off. 
 'Bout den de family needed some mo' funs', an' dey 
 makes up der minds to sell me. When I hearn about 
 it I wus in a mighty trouble; but de Lord he'd allers 
 helped me, an' so Sat'day night I went out inter de pine 
 thicket, 'way off, an' prayed an' wrasseled all night dat 
 de Lord would lielp me dis one time mo'. 'Bout de 
 break ob day, jes as I seed a little streak o' light 'way 
 off in de east, it seem to me mighty strong arms got 
 under me, an' a voice whisper 'Cast di burden on de 
 Lord an' he will 'stain dee;' an' chil'n, when I waked 
 up de sun was 'way up an' a shinin' right down in my 
 
 10* 
 
226 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 face ! Den I went to de cabin kind o' peaceful like, an' 
 Rachel she say, 'Steve, where's ye bin?' *Ise bin 
 a prayin,' to git the vict'ry,' sez I; for I didn't 
 want Rachel to know de trouble afo' de time. 'Well,' 
 sez she, 'I thinks ye'd better git de victory in de day 
 time heresomeafter J ' but she didn't know how dark dat 
 night was, and how much I needed de victr'y right den. 
 
 "Well, dat mornin' me an' Rachel went to meetin' at 
 de ole Saint Peter's Church down by Mr. Coulburn's 
 creek. De preachah's tex war, 'Light am sowed fo' de 
 righteous, an' joy fo' de upright in heart;' an' it seem 
 to me de clouds got thinner, but I couln't see yit which 
 way de sun was a goin' to come through at ; but I was 
 a watchin an' a prayin'. After meetin' a gem'man by 
 
 de name of William R , — a nigger trader's agent — 
 
 he call me one side an' say, ' Steve, do you know you've 
 got to be sold?' Sez I, 'Yes, sir, I've hearn so.' 
 'Well," sez he, 'what ye doin' fo' yourself?' An' sez 
 I, 'I don' know what to do.' An' den sez he, 'You 
 come over an' see me to-night.' So dat night I goes 
 
 over, an' Mr. R gib me a 'greement in writin' fo' 
 
 me to git gem'men to sign, bindin' 'em to help me buy 
 myself; 'an' now,' sez he, 'you go an' see how many 
 you kin git to sign it.' 
 
 "So den I started. I had two weeks afo' de sale. I 
 went as fur as I could o' nights, an' got a few to sign it. 
 When Sunday come, it was a dark rainy day, an' I 
 walked all day from one to anudder till I was bout gib 
 out ; but I got sev'el mo' signers ; an' dey all promist to 
 
UNCLE STEPHEN, THE SLAVE PREACHER. 227 
 
 keep it secret; for de family wanted to git me out'n de 
 way ; 'cause while I was dar, dey was all de time 'minded 
 'bout der treatment o' me; an' 'sides when de neighbors 
 seed me, dey gen'ly had somethin' to say 'bout de treat- 
 ment. Ef de fam'ly 'd a knowed what I was a doin', 
 dey'd a sold me right off, or a put me in de pen. 
 
 " Fine'ly I got all de names but one. Dar was a near 
 neighbor ob de family dat was one o' der 'tickler frien's. 
 His son was a grown up young man an' had money, an' 
 wanted to help me, but his father wouldn't agree to it. 
 But de young man he say to me one night, ' Stephen ; ef 
 ye do all ye kin, an' jest lack one man to 'scribe twenty- 
 five or fifty doUalis, you come to me, an' I'll stan' by 
 you ; but I don' want de ole gemman to know it. ' 
 
 " Well, it turn out I couldn't git along widout his 
 name. It was de las' night I had to work afo' de sale. 
 Dere was three great ferocial dogs, dat was mighty dan- 
 gersome, an' it war a'most wo'th a man's life to go dar 
 in de night. But I went a prayin' de Lord to 'tect me. 
 Dere was anudder difficulty : I didn't know what room 
 de young gem'man slep' in, an' it wouldn't do to wake 
 de ole man. So I prayed, ' O, Lord, take charge o' de 
 dogs' mouths, an' 'rect my steps, an' keep ole Mars 
 Ward fast asleep.' Den I went to de eend ob de house, 
 under a upper winder, an' give three thumps on de wea- 
 therboardin' ; an' de nex' minit here come one o' de dogs 
 a trottin' roun' de corner ! I was terrible skeered ; but 
 I chirup'd to him, an' he come a waggin' his tail an' 
 begun to lick my hand. Jes' den de winder raised, an' 
 
228 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 young Mars Tommy Ward put his head out an' kind 
 o' whispered, 'Dat you, Uncle Stephen? All right; I'll 
 be dar in a minit.' So he come out, wid a pencil, an' 
 put de paper up agin de house an' writ his name ; an' 
 den I jes' cotch de boy in my arms an' cried fo' joy, an' 
 said, ' Lord, bress an' 'ward dis deali boy fo' his kindness 
 to a po' slave.' Afo' I left, I had it all 'ranged wid him 
 dat he was to 'tend de sale an' bid me off, an' also coUee' 
 de 'scribed money an' fix all de business, de which he 
 done so. 
 
 " Well, when de day 'rived, de officer come 'bout light, 
 when I was a eatin' my pone an lasses ; an', sez he, ' Ole 
 man, I'se got orders to take you an' de two little niggers 
 to Princess Anne.' 
 
 "'What fo', mars?' sez I. 'You've got to be sold,' 
 sez he. 'Oh !' sez I, 'not the po' babies, I hope ! Dey 
 won't fetch any money hardly.' ' Can't help it,' sez he. 
 ' I've got de orders from de family.' 
 
 "An' den Rachel, she begun to take on fo' sartin, an' 
 pray an' beg ; but it warn't no use. She had to go to 
 de little trunnel bed, an' pull de po' babies out an' put 
 on der close, afo' dey got wide awake ; an' wid her tears 
 a rainin' down on der po' little, 'stonished faces, Rachel 
 gived 'em a mudder's last kiss ob 'fection an' a hunk o' 
 co'n pone ; an' den we was tore away from her 'stracted 
 clingin', an' hurried off down de path to de road. 
 
 " Ef it hadn't a bin fo' de po' little chil'n, I should a 
 told Rachel I 'spected to git back to. her ; but I was so 
 'stracted 'bout dem, — 'cause not knowin' de 'tentions o' 
 
UNCLE STEPHEN, THE SLAVE PREACHER. 229 
 
 de family, I'd made no 'vision to save 'em, — dat I neber 
 thought 'bout myself. Fact is, ef I'd a bin sure we'd 
 all a gone to de same neighborhood in Georgy or Caro- 
 liner, I'd a give up buyin' myself, an' gone wid 'em, 
 to take keer o' de po' little things ; but dere was no 
 chance fo' dat ; an', 'sides, de good Lord had helped me 
 in de plan to buy myself, an' I reckoned it was best to 
 carry it out, an' trust him to take keer ob de dear little 
 babies in de strange land. 
 
 " Well ; when de boy was sold a gemman from de 
 Souf bought him ; an' den I begun to pray de Lord dat 
 he might 'duce him to buy de little sister; fo' he was a 
 nice lookin' man. So I cotch his eye an' beckon to him, 
 an' he come to me ; an' I told him to please to buy de 
 little girl an' keep 'em togedder an' teach em to be good, 
 an' dat I would pray fo' him an' dem as long as I lived. 
 Den he promist me, an' told me he was tryin' to sarve 
 de same Marster, an' dat he would try to bring 'em up 
 right; an' aldo de tears run'd down my face, I felt a 
 mighty comfort. I knowed po' Rachel would feel 
 better too on dat resurance. Shore 'nuff de gemman 
 bought de sister; an' den de auctioneer call me to de 
 
 block. Mr. R had 'vised me not to shave, so dat 
 
 de white in my beard would make me look old an' I 
 wouldn't sell so high ; de which I done so. 'Cept fo' 
 dis, I 'spec' I'd a fotch a thousan' dollahs. But young 
 Mars Tommy Ward was dar as he promist, an' he bid 
 
 me off fo' six hundred an' eighty dollahs. Mr. E, 
 
 told me after de sale dat he 'swaded de traders dat 
 
230 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 was a biddin', not to go bery high fo' a old nigger 
 like me. 
 
 " When I got de matters all fixed up by de help o' 
 Mars Tommy, it war about night. I wanted to see de 
 little chil'n afo' I left; so I went to de hotel, an' de 
 gemman dat bought dem gim'me a note to de keeper, an' 
 when I went in de po' little things was a playin' wid 
 some ole blocks on de floor. Little Neddy he say, 
 ' Pappy; is ye gwine ter take us home to mammy now?' 
 An' dem words a most broke my heart. I'd a give up 
 my life dat moment to a sent de dear babies back to der 
 mudder's arms ! But it warn't no use ; so I knelt down 
 an' took 'em to my 'stressed heart fo' de las' time. Den 
 I prayed fo' strength; an' 'mitted de po' little slave 
 orphans to de Lord ; an' said, ' Be good Neddy ; be good 
 Rachie, an' de blessed Jesus, he'll be yer friend; an' 
 bime bye yo'U git free an' come home to pappy an' 
 mammy in Heaven. When ye git tired a playin', lay 
 down togedder dere in de corner on dat ole bed kiver, 
 an' go to sleep ; an' ter-morry a nice gemman will come 
 an' take you to live wid him in a purty house all full 
 of nice things. Den dey axed: 'Is you an' mammy 
 comin' too ? ' I kissed dem fo' de answer, an' tore myself 
 away. It was de last kiss — de last sight ob der little 
 wonderin' faces. I have neber laid my eyes on 'em 
 since dat night; an' never got any tidins'. When de wah 
 was ober, I went down to de Caroliners an' Georgy, an' 
 'quired an' wrote eberywhere, but I had to come home 
 widout any tidins'. Der mudder was den gone to de 
 
UNCLE STEPHEN, THE SLAVS PEEACHEE. 231 
 
 better Ian', an' maybe dey an' she'd got togedder agin, 
 where der's 'no mo' tears, neider sorry nor cryin', kase 
 de former things is passed away. ' " 
 
 "Well, den I started to walk home, some twelve or 
 fifteen miles. I'd had no dinner nor supper 'cepttwo 
 ginger-cakes. Fact is, my grief fo' de po' chil'n made 
 me almost forgit de wants ob natur; an' now, as I 
 trudged along through de mud and de dark, I felt 
 pow'ful weak like, and begun to think I should give 
 out; but I kep' a prayin' an' a trudgin' until at last, 
 'bout midnight, I got home. All was dark in de cabin, 
 an' it never looked so awful gloomy afore since de day 
 dey took Rachel an' de udder chil'n away. I stojjped 
 and lisened. All was still at fust; den I beared a 
 groan, an' dreckly anudder. It seem like de dyin' groan 
 ob despair; an' I knowed jest what it meant. It was 
 my po' heart-broken Rachel's all-night wrastle wid de 
 angel, in de dreary land ob de inemy. So I steps up 
 softly to de door an' tapped on it. Den all was still, 
 an' I tapped agin. 'Who's dar?' sez a faint voice. 
 ' It's me, Rachel,' sez I ; an' de nex' minit de door was 
 opened an' Rachel swooned away on de floor. When, 
 at last, I got her fetched to, she 'turned her thanks to 
 de Lord fo' bringin' me back to her, an' den axed about 
 de babies. So I had to tell her all about de whole 
 transaction, an' 'bout de partin' an' all; an' den we 
 talked, an' prayed, an' cried, an' tried to say somethin' 
 to comfort each udder all night long; an' in de mornin' 
 — thank God fo' de mornin', it always comes sometime. 
 
232 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 somehow — in de mornin' we started on one mo' struggle 
 fo' freedom an' de kingdom. Seven years from dat time 
 I paid back de las' dollah fo' myself, an' it all 'mounted, 
 wid de interest counted in, to 'bout twelve hundred 
 dollahs." 
 
 Just after Stephen had paid the last dollar of the 
 above obligation, the War of the Rebellion broke out ; 
 and in 1884, by the voluntary action of her loyal citi- 
 zens, the chains of slavery were all broken, and Mary- 
 land became a free state. This event gave Stephen his 
 three children, who had served in the neighborhood, all 
 of whom were now about grown up ; and, in the general 
 rejoicing that ensued among the colored people, this 
 Christian family, come up out of great tribulation, took 
 a prominent part. Stephen had meantime graduated 
 into the local ministry ; and, by reason of acciunulated 
 years that rendered him venerable, he now began to 
 receive the designation by which the colored people at 
 that time were wont universally to express their rever- 
 ential appreciation : he received the honorary degree of 
 " Uncle." On the great watch-night occasion of Mary- 
 land emancipation, more fully described in another 
 chapter. Uncle Stephen, it is said, selected the Jewish 
 year of Jubilee as the foundation of his address, and 
 ' 'livered a pow'ful 'scourse,' concluding after the follow- 
 ing manner : 
 
 " Now, chil'n ; some o' ye was born free ; some o' ye 
 was sot free ; some o' ye God an' de 'Publicans has jest 
 'mancipated free; but, like de ole gineral said to de 
 
UNCLE STEPHEN, THE SLAVE PREACHER. 233 
 
 'Postle, ' wid a great sum 'tained I dis freedom.' But, 
 brass de Lord ! anyhow, we's now all ob us got free. 
 P'raps some feller say, ' Now I'm gwine ter do es I please.' 
 But ye haint got no right to do es you please, onless ye 
 please to do right. 'Mancipation don't turn you loose 
 an' shet udder peoples up ; nor put you bosses an' de ole 
 owners slaves. Ef we all do de right way, de time will 
 come bime-bye, when de chil'n an' gran'chil'n ob de ole 
 marsters '11 jine our chil'n an' gran'chil'n in celeberatin' 
 dis day same as de 4th o' July. Fo' dey'U find out arter 
 awhile dis day 'mancipates dem same de which it do us. 
 
 " But, chil'n, I wants ter tell ye : — Der's a wosser 
 bondage nor slavery ob de body. Dere am de bondage 
 ob de sould to sin an' de Debil ; an' some ob ye's a 
 sarvin' old Satin, a doin' de dirtiest work in his kitchen 
 an' hog-pen, an' not a gittin' nothin' but lyin' promises 
 an' promisin' lies. De blessed Jesus, he 'mended de ole 
 constitution an' sine an' seal it wid his blood ; an' he open 
 de do' an' say come forth to de juberlee ; an' he bring 
 along de Gospel train to take yer all to de heabenly 
 land, wher we'll all be free an' happy, an' sing an' shout 
 de juberlee forever ; bress de Lord ! " 
 
 Then, being himself a fine singer, Uncle Stephen led 
 the assembly in the following song : 
 
 " De Gospel train am a comin' ; 
 I hears her jest at hand ; 
 I hears de car wheels a movin' on ; 
 Dey're a rumblin' through de land. 
 Chorus. — Git on board, childring; 
 
 Dere's room fo' many mo'. 
 
234 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 " I thinks she'll halt a minit ; 
 She'll wood up on dis line ; 
 She'll give ye time to step on board; 
 An' yit she'll make her time. 
 Chorus. — Git on board, etc. 
 
 "I sees de injine banner, 
 A flutt'rin' in de breeze ; 
 It's a drippin' wid de Saviour's blood, 
 And yit it floats wid ease. 
 
 Chorus. — Git on board, etc. 
 
 "De 'spences am not heavy; 
 De rich an' po' are dare : 
 No second class on board dis train ; 
 No diff'rence in de fare. 
 
 Chorus. — Git on board, etc. 
 
 "Dere's Abraham an' Noah, 
 An' all de prophets too ; 
 An' all de saints from ebery land ; — 
 An' oh, what a heav'nly crew I 
 
 Chorus. — Git on board, etc. 
 
 "Bime-bye she'll climb de mountain, 
 An' roun' de curve she'll fly ; 
 An' blow de final toot, an' halt 
 At de mansions in de sky. 
 
 Chorus. — Git on board, etc." 
 
 And during the remainder of that memorable night. 
 Uncle Stephen and his fellow-servants in Christ cele- 
 brated their emancipation, as a race, from human bond- 
 
UNCLE STEPHEN, THE SLAVE PREACHER. 235 
 
 age ; while some there were of the bondmen of sin, who 
 accepted the invitation of his exhortation and song ; paid 
 the fare in the surrender of self to Christ ; were by him 
 made "free indeed," and took passage for the heavenly 
 city. 
 
 Not long after this event, a circus exhibited in Princess 
 Anne. So universally did the laboring class patronize 
 shows, that it was deemed impossible to do anything in 
 the ship-yard ; and a holiday was declared in order that 
 all might feel free to avail themselves of the opportunity 
 to see the circus. Uncle Stephen, believing that such 
 exhibitions were injurious to his race, called together the 
 ship-yard hands and others within reach ; and proposed 
 that, instead of visiting the circus, they hold an all-day 
 meeting at the little chapel near Coulbourne's Creek. 
 The invitation was accepted by a few, who, like those of 
 old in the upper room, "continued with one accord in 
 prayer and supplication," and with a similar result. A 
 revival of remarkable power followed, in which a moral 
 revolution was wrought among the colored people of that 
 region, the good effects of which are still visible. 
 
 When toiling to pay for his own body, Stephen cove- 
 nanted with the Lord that, if he would bless him with 
 prosperity and help him finish the unnatural and weari- 
 some task, he would then give himself wholly to the work 
 of the Lord for the religious instruction and elevation of 
 his race. But his success in business, for the accomplish- 
 ment of the above purpose, caused him to lose sight of 
 his promise. Money began to be attractive ; and he set 
 
236 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 his heart on its accumulation. His faithful Rachel had 
 meantime gone up to her reward, and a young wife had 
 come to supply the vacant place. " Why," thought he, 
 "can't I remain here, and lay up something for a rainy 
 day, and do what I can for the salvation and elevation 
 of my people in this neighborhood?" 
 
 The General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, held in 1864, took the preliminary steps for the 
 organization of the Delaware Conference; and when the 
 plans were finally matured, and the list of local preach- 
 ers, who were to form the nucleus, was published, the 
 name of Uncle Stephen was among the number. Notice 
 of this fact and of the place of meeting for organization 
 was duly communicated to him, causing him great 
 uneasiness. Everything was in the way: his business 
 engagements and attractions ; his young wife and child, 
 — how could he take them out into a work so unpro- 
 mising? And, besides, he was growing old — couldn't 
 work long; and who was going to feed him and his 
 family when he was worn out ? Finally one Sunday, 
 as the time neared for the conference meeting, Stephen 
 stole forth from the cabin to a solitary walk, in which 
 he hoped so to adjust the matter with his conscience, 
 that he could remain where he was ; Avhen, suddenly, 
 the hand of his young wife, who had softly stolen up 
 behind him, was laid upon his shoulder. Addressing 
 him, she said : " Stephen, when I 'cepted your 'posal 
 an' married you, suffin' seem to whisper to me dat you'd 
 become a trav'ler fo' de Lord; an', mind wot I tells 
 
UNCLE STEPHEN, THE SLAVE PHEACHER. 237 
 
 you, man, cf de Lord calls you, you'd better pull up 
 stakes an' go. Wherever he takes you to, I'm willin' 
 to go wid you." 
 
 This message and assurance from his wife broke the 
 chains of the world's influence; took the burden of 
 anxiety off his heart, and started him out with joy upon 
 his career as a Methodist itinerant. Though beginning 
 late in life, and without even the rudiments of literary 
 culture, Stephen made good use of his opportunities ; and, 
 in his present conversation httle of the Negro dialect of 
 his former bondage can now be detected. Full of interest 
 indeed has that career been ; and great is the temptation 
 to still further pursue the interesting annals of this 
 humble life ; but having started with the simple design 
 to chronicle the struggles of an enslaved unfortunate for 
 freedom, and the reward that finally, after great dis- 
 couragements, crowned his efforts, I must go to glean in 
 other inviting fields of Peninsular history. 
 
 As the old soldier oft gathers his grandchildren about 
 him, and tells the thrilling story of his exploits in the 
 Indian or Mexican battles of long ago ; so Uncle Ste- 
 phen, leaning on his well-worn staff, and looking back 
 over the eventful field in which he has demonstrated his 
 heroic manhood, loves to recall and relate in detail the 
 incidents of his humble but victorious life. But his 
 toilsome journey is nearly ended, and the wayworn 
 traveller expects, ere long, to lay him down to peaceful 
 rest. May his eventide be as serene and blessed as his 
 morning and midday were stormy and sorrowful. 
 
238 METHODISM OF THE PENrfrSUIiA. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 OLD TIME SCHOOLS AKD SCHOOLMASTEES. 
 
 HOW time flies ! A single flash of memory illumines 
 all the intervening chasm. One single step of 
 thought, and I stand again on the strand of child- 
 hood's orient, looking forward with inquiring vision into 
 the gorgeously tinted and promising, yet mysterious and 
 wonderful future. Forty-eight years ago, leaving my 
 little four-year-old, playmate sister, Sadie, in the old 
 farm homestead with mother, I, the only brother, trudged 
 bravely by the side of my two older sisters, to the newly 
 opened country school, in the new neighborhood, in 
 Caroline County, Maryland, where my honored father 
 had recently settled. How big I felt ! I was no longer 
 a baby; I was a boy — a big boy! Long time ago — a 
 whole year before — I had graduated from frocks to panta- 
 loons ! I wore a brand new pair of red-topped, long 
 boots, wittf my pantaloons legs tucked into them, so that 
 the fancy tops would be visible, and impart to the 
 wearer an aristocratic air. And now I was big enough 
 to start to school ! " Bully for me !" thought I. 
 
 The school was but a quarter of a mile distant from 
 home; but to our childish fancies it was so far, that 
 mother — dear, sweet mother — gratified us by putting up 
 
OLD TIME SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTERS. 239 
 
 our dinners in a little basket. There was some nicely 
 fried chicken on a little plate ; then eight or ten large 
 Maryland biscuit ; then, nestling at one side carefully, a 
 cup of nice, clear, strained honey, with paper tied over 
 it to prevent spilling in case of accident; and a knife 
 and spoon, topped off with three large gingercakes ; and 
 over all was tucked a snowy napkin. Only big sister 
 Retta could be entrusted with that precious basket; and 
 Emma and I cast many interested glances towards it, as, 
 hand in hand, and bearing the books, slates and inkstand, 
 with goose quiUs to make pens, we proudly marched 
 along the winding highway, under the leafless branches 
 of the great white oaks which bordered the farther side. 
 At last, with a gathering group of expectant children 
 and youth of from five to twenty-one years of age, we 
 stood before the open door of the new school-house. 
 Not that the word new describes the house: very far 
 from it ; but the school was new ; the school-master was 
 a new arrival in the neighborhood; and the house was 
 newly and for the first time used for so noble a purpose. 
 Will the reader believe it? The house was really a 
 deserted negro cabin, that stood by the highway-side 
 near Townsend's Cross Roads, three miles from Denton, 
 the county town. For an area of twenty-five square 
 miles between that town and the Delaware line, this was 
 the only school; and this was started by a private sub- 
 scription managed by my father. The Maryland law, 
 at that time, liberally provided that if the people of a 
 neighborhood would subscribe for the tuition of twelve 
 
240 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA, 
 
 scholars at five dollars each, then the State would fur- 
 nish a like amount for the education of the same number 
 of "charity scholars." There were no public provisions 
 for school houses; and whether there was house or school, 
 depended altogether upon the character of the population 
 that, amid rural mutations, might happen to gather in 
 any given neighborhood. 
 
 This new school and every school in that region for 
 several years, was in a rented house. This particular 
 house was built of logs, the interstices being filled with 
 clay to keep out wind and rain. It was eighteen or 
 twenty feet square, and about eight feet to the eaves; 
 with a door front and back, each opening outwards. 
 Midway between the doors and the north end where 
 stood the chimney, at a convenient height, part of a log 
 was sawed out, the aperture being filled with a three-light 
 hanging window, which, as occasion required, could be 
 propped up for ventilation. 
 
 Where the chimney stood, was an aperture six feet 
 wide and four feet high, into which the stone and mud 
 walls of the fire-place were built, to a height above 
 where the blaze of the great log fire would usually 
 reach ; and, above that point, the flue was made of logs 
 and sticks, liberally daubed within of clay. Though 
 not one of the wonders of the world like the " Tower 
 of Pisa," this chimney had yielded to northerly attrac- 
 tions, until its centre of gravity had become endan- 
 gered; and its former sable proprietor had prudently 
 interposed the safeguard of a stout prop, thus holding 
 
OLD TIME SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTERS. 241 
 
 the discouraged chimney to the performance of its 
 duty. At the south end of the house, in order to 
 adapt it to its use as a literary institution, almost 
 an entire log had been removed. This aperture was 
 covered by a wide board, fastened by hinges to the 
 log above, and secured to that below by staple and hook. 
 Like the sash before mentioned, this board was propped 
 up to admit needed light and fresh air. Just below this 
 aperture was the writing desk, extending across the 
 room against the wall. Here, alternately, the girls and 
 boys made "pot-hooks and hangers" with their goose- 
 quill pens, after the pattern set by the teacher; and 
 finally graduated to the distinguished accomplishment 
 of being able to draw a note of hand or receipt for "ten 
 dollars, good and lawful money of the United States of 
 America," and to affix thereto their own, real, written 
 signatures. The teacher "set the copies" during the 
 noon hour ; but made and mended pens at all hours, 
 when they happened to be presented for that purpose. 
 Hence the name still so commonly applied to the pocket 
 knife. It was not unusual to see the teacher dividing 
 his time and attention between a page of Comly's Spell- 
 ing-book, where some sweating pupil was painfully 
 struggling with the problems of orthography, and the 
 quill he was slitting and whittling ; meanwhile, stealing 
 an occasional moment for a furtive glance about the 
 school-room, to see that there was no pinching, or pin- 
 sticking, or snickering behind boolis or slates, going on 
 among the unruly urchins. 
 11 
 
242 METHODISM OF THK PENINSULA. 
 
 In addition to the so-called writing-desk, the furniture 
 of this school-room consisted of a desk and chair for the 
 teacher, and three or four slab benches across the end of 
 the room, next the writing-desk. In cold v/eather, a 
 bench was set near the great fireplace, and was occupied 
 by alternate platoons of the shivering scholars to thaw 
 themselves out. Three formidable hickory rods, of 
 varying size and length, adapted to the sex and size of 
 the culprits ; and a pretty, little, red maple switch, suited 
 to the aesthetic tastes and tender sensibilities of the 
 smaller urchins, completed the outfit. In addition to 
 this, however, in this particular school, were the few 
 personal effects of the teacher and family — a table, a few 
 broken chairs ; a pot, kettle, oven and frying-pan ; and 
 last of all, but first in importance, his worthy but grunt- 
 ing spouse and equally grunting pig. The good dame 
 tried hard, but in vain, to impress upon the mind of his 
 swineship, that his proper sphere, during school hours, 
 was outside, making nasal investigations in the swamp 
 near by the back door. But, contrary to the usual pro- 
 clivities of his species, his preferences were decidedly for 
 association with the literati; and, when excluded, his 
 persistent song of reproachful complaint, rendered feel- 
 ingly in O sharp and Y minor, quite often necessitated 
 his readmission ; when he would stretch himself before 
 the fire and grunt his satisfied assent to all his master's 
 edicts. Tom, the teacher's son, was enrolled among the 
 advanced pupils. He could spell most of Comley's hard 
 words " by heart," and was equally well versed in the 
 
OLD TIME SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLJLA.STERS. 243 
 
 classic vocabulary of the denizens of the thickets and 
 swamps, who gathered at John Jones' at the Cross Roads 
 every Saturday afternoon, to hold shooting-matches and 
 drink hard cider. He could work problems in com- 
 pound multiplication, either in the Arithmetic, or in 
 trouble and embarrassment in his mother's domestic 
 arrangements. In a word, Tom played the leading part 
 in the school exercises and recreations, and played — ^the 
 mischief generally. 
 
 Well; in this one-roomed kingdom, our enthroned 
 master Kved and wielded the rod ; gave his orders ; 
 heard the reading and spelling lessons, and looked over 
 the examples worked or attempted by the advanced 
 scholars ; and, at the same time, his good wife baked 
 the "johnnie-cake" and fried the bacon for dinner, or 
 washed up the dishes and did her darning and patching. 
 She was an antiquated and demure matron, who wore a 
 white cap and spectacles, gliding almost noiselessly about 
 the school-room kitchen, except when, occasionally, she 
 came into collision with the pig, or with Tom, when 
 detailed by her for some temporary domestic service; 
 such as fetching wood or water, or, perchance, paring 
 potatoes and turnips. 
 
 Mr. Marshall, the schoolmaster, was the fitting coun- 
 terpart of such a spouse. He bore his distinguished 
 honors meekly, yet with becoming dignity. He was 
 evidently impressed with the importance of his office to 
 the neighborhood and to himself; and to see him, as, at 
 9 A. M., he assumed the throne and issued his peremp- 
 
244 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 tory command to cease the games and resume studies in 
 the emphatic pronunciamento — "Books!" and then 
 supplemented it with an explosive " Silence ! " that 
 fairly made the cabin tremble, would have impressed 
 the beholder that our teacher was consciously one of the 
 main pillars of the American Republic. And so he 
 was — in that corner. 
 
 Mr. Marshall's clean shaven face — for only rowdies 
 wore beards in those good old times — was furrowed over 
 with many wrinkles of benevolence and care; and the 
 friction of many anxious years had polished his bald 
 head until it had become a favorite skating rink for the 
 festive house fly. One little patch of iron grey hair 
 remained in front above his pug nose, which was combed 
 up and carefully trained into a sort of drake-tail orna- 
 ment; and the little remaining on either side- above, 
 his ears, was twisted into little tufts, sticking out at 
 right angles, and giving him somewhat of the appear- 
 ance of a nondescript animal of the baboon persuasion 
 with three horns. The grotesque effect was heightened 
 by the presence of an immense pair of brass-bowed 
 spectacles which alternately bestrid his nose, and adorned 
 his bald and glistening pate — all fit index to the vast 
 library of knowledge entombed within that venerable 
 skull. 
 
 The entire curriculum of our school was covered by 
 the three cabalistic letters, R. R. R., understood to repre- 
 sent the tliree great sciences, "Readin', Ritin' and 
 Rithmetic." The three G's — Grammar, G'ography and 
 
OLD TIME SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTEBS. 245 
 
 G'ometiy, had then scarcely been dreamed of as ever 
 possible to be taught in a country school. It was not 
 until several years after — not indeed until the renowned 
 " Chinquepin " school-house had been built, over a mile 
 away on the road to " Punch Hall" — that we ever heard 
 of such a study as English Grammar, or Geography. 
 
 The Primer or rather a primer — for it mattered 
 not what it was, so there were A, B, Cs in it — was the 
 text book most in demand in Mr. Marshall's log-cabin 
 school. Mine had a red cover, and grotesque wood cuts, 
 that, in my juvenile eyes were wonderful. As there 
 were no two primers alike, the large class in first 
 principles was heard one at a time, occupying nearly 
 one-half of the master's time. His method of teaching 
 . A, B, Cs, was to point, with a little stick he kept for 
 the purpose, to each letter in regular order, call its 
 name, and require us to pronounce the name after him. 
 As his time was divided between pointing to the letters 
 and watching Billy Wadman, Dick Sorden, Bill Dan'l 
 Roe, Sally Price, et al., it not infrequently happened 
 that the urchin reciting was looking anywhere else than 
 at the alphabetical forms pointed out, and called in 
 turn, by the master himself. It required most of the 
 winter for many of us to learn to distinguish these dif- 
 ferent signs of sound. My great trouble was with the 
 first letter; but I soon became such a scholar, that when 
 Mr. Marshall, out of all patience with the ever-recurring 
 hitch at the beginning of my recitation, would stamp 
 his foot and yell "A!", I would repeat the provoking 
 
246 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 name, and then go right on, with the precision of clock- 
 work, to the close at Z. 
 
 Finally, at the end of three weeks, he concluded I 
 was sufficiently well drilled in first principles to proceed 
 to " my a, b — abs." But, lo ! when he pointed to A, 
 on the new page, there was the same old hitch. Again 
 he yelled "A!" Again I repeated A, and followed it 
 with B, from force of habit; when my patient teacher 
 arrested me with the inquiry: "What's AB spell?" 
 " C," answered I, supposing the next letter in the old 
 routine was the proper thing in the new regime. Then, 
 to my disgust, Mr. Marshall turned me back to the old 
 page, and began pointing at the letters promiscuously; 
 when he at last discovered his promising pupil had 
 wasted his time learning the names of the letters in 
 rotation, whose forms he was utterly unable to distin- 
 guish. Having thus at last discovered his own faulty 
 method, my teacher continued the promiscuous exercise, 
 until, in a few days thereafter, he had the satisfaction of 
 graduating his pupil to the next page ; he having mas- 
 tered all the alphabetical forms and names, even to that 
 of letter A. 
 
 The following dialogue, literally correct to the best of 
 my memory, will illustrate our schoolmaster's method of 
 teaching spelling : 
 
 "Come here, John Linsey Breeding. Where's your 
 lesson, sir?" 
 
 "Them's 'em." 
 
 "Well, go on, sir." 
 
OLD TIME SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTEES. 247 
 
 "A, B." 
 
 "That's not B, you numskull— D!" 
 
 "A, D, Izzard." 
 
 "Izzard, the — dog's foot! Where were you born? 
 Some fool must have been your teacher — who was it?" 
 
 " Daddy teached me my A, B, C's ; and Mammy " 
 
 "Yes — ah — well, that's not Izzard. Call that letter 
 Zedd or Zee. Now, go on, sir." 
 
 "A, D, Zedd or Zee—" 
 
 "Haint you got no sense, John Linsey? I didn't tell 
 you to call that letter two names ; but one or the other — 
 Zedd or Zee. Call it Zee, dunce ; and hurry up' with it." 
 
 "A, D, Zee, dunce." 
 
 " "Well— well ! Don't you beat the— the Injins ? " 
 
 "Don' no — spect so." 
 
 "Call that letter Zee! Now, go on." 
 
 "A, D, Z, E— A, D, Z, E— " 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "A, D, Z, E, well." 
 
 " It isn't weR at all, you goose ! I meant to ask you 
 what A, D, Z, E, spells." 
 
 "I don' know; d'you?" 
 
 " What does your daddy dig out his pig trough with ? 
 Now spell it." 
 
 "A, D, Z, E, grubbin-hoe !" 
 
 In the roar of laughter that ensued, kind-hearted 
 Master Marshall was compelled to join. 
 
 As a general rule, scholars were not permitted to 
 attempt reading until they had mastered the spelling- 
 
248 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 book, even to the long words, like " concatenation, hiero- 
 glyphically," etc. ; and our next teacher invented a test 
 word, it was necessary for the pupil to master, before he 
 could take up the initial reading lessons about the Wren, 
 the Robin Redbreast and the Lion. This test word was 
 — Honorifticabilitudeandltatibusque ! When the pupil 
 could repeat and spell this huge medley of nonsense, 
 going back, at each syllable, and pronouncing up to and 
 including the last syllable spelled in regular order, 
 without a hitch or blunder until he reached the tower- 
 ing conclusion, he was graduated to reading. 
 
 After mastering the few reading lessons in the Speller, 
 the next book in order was the " Introduction to the 
 English Reader," and after that the " English Reader," 
 provided the pupil could conveniently secure them. In 
 Mr. Marshall's school, however, and for years after- 
 wards in that neighborhood, the pupil brought what>- 
 ever book he could secure from the meagre library of his 
 humble home — not infrequently the New Testament. It 
 was absolutely impossible for the teacher to arrange his 
 pupils in classes ; and consequently each one must 
 needs be heard separately. The time being limited and 
 the books generally of a grade too difficult for beginners, 
 to facilitate matters Master Marshall usually read along 
 ahead of the scholar, sentence by sentence, or a few 
 words at a time ; the pupil repeating aft«r him, in draw- 
 ling style, as correctly as a parrot. Of course, learning 
 to read, or learning anything else, under circumstances 
 like these, was incidental, if not accidental. In like 
 
OLD TIME SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTEES. 249 
 
 manner, the beginner in mathematics was plunged head- 
 long into the profundities of Pike's Arithmetic ; two- 
 thirds of whose examples, involving money values, were 
 stated in pounds, shillings and pence. I have never 
 ceased to have a most painful recollection of how, after I 
 had mastered a few examples in the four cardinal rules 
 in simple numbers, I was left to struggle bewildered 
 amid the mazes of compound problems in English 
 money, until I utterly lost faith in the utility of the 
 science. Mr. INIarshall, it was said, could "do all the 
 sums in the 'Rithmetic." He was reputed to be a verit- 
 able Pythagoras at " figgerin'." He was, withal, very 
 obliging to show his scholars how by " doing the sum," 
 but he never explained it. It is doubtful indeed whether 
 he could, having learned arithmetic as he taught it — 
 simply by rote. 
 
 When Master Marshall's time expired he moved 
 away ; and, alas ! I never saw him more. A colored 
 woman moved into the classic hall; and father hired 
 another deserted hut, a few hundred yards farther from 
 our home, which was a little more sightly and comfort- 
 able than that above described. As to capacity, our new 
 teacher, Mr. Nathan Wilson, was likewise a link in the 
 ascending series. He was a Quaker, a quiet bachelor of 
 about fifty years of age. Consequently he was peculiar 
 — very peculiar, so people said. I only remember that 
 he stipulated for but two meals a day at Samuel Dun- 
 ning's where he boarded, to save a discount of one-fourth 
 on the cost; and also that he did his own washing, 
 
 11* 
 
250 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 ironing, patching and darning on Saturdays, and at 
 other odd hours, from the same economical motives. He 
 had had but one suit of clothes within the memory of 
 his acquaintances. This suit was of grey Cassinette. 
 When any portion of a garment belonging to this suit 
 became threadbare, forthwith Master Wilson purchased 
 a new piece of goods as nearly as possible of the same 
 quality and shade ; and removing the underneath side of 
 the sleeve, the fronts of the pants, or the — any other 
 part, he neatly inserted the new material. I remember 
 well that the collar and lapels of his coat were thus 
 renewed; and that when a rent,, from a tussel hereafter 
 described, occurred in one side of the skirt of his swal- 
 low-tailed coat, it was taken off and a piece much darker 
 in shade substituted ; and, as some part was continually 
 giving way and being replaced, there came to be finally 
 every imaginable shade of grey and every possible texture 
 of Cassinette in that unique suit. 
 
 While Master Marshall's hickory rods were generally 
 innocent ornaments, except as to poor mischievous Tom, 
 and a few kindred spirits; Mr. Wilson's furniture, in 
 that interesting line, was brought into constant requisi- 
 tion, and needed to be almost daily replenished. Neither 
 nationality, age, sex or "previous condition of servitude" 
 exempted any scholar, who was thought to have forgotten 
 or disobeyed some rule; but I really believe his liberal 
 use of the rod was inspired by conscientious couvictions 
 of duty. When the old Dutchman flogged his boy, 
 Hans, he said, "Now, vot you dinks?" Hans replied, 
 
OLD TIME SCHOOLS AST) SOHOOLMASTEES. 251 
 
 "I don't gone dinks notin', sir." "Yaw, you do — 
 you dinks cuss words, and I whips you agin." Per- 
 haps, like Hans' devoted parent, our new teacher set 
 himself to discover the ratiocinations of the average 
 young American, in certain apparent states of abstrac- 
 tion or provocation ; and thrashed him for the naughty 
 thoughts he imagined would naturally come into his 
 mind in any such given condition. Be that as it 
 may, I solemnly aver, that for many of the floggings 
 I received from this devoted friend and teacher — aver- 
 aging nearly one per diem for a year — I found it impos- 
 sible to discover any cause ; and he was too quiet and 
 dignified to explain. Again and again, as I sat 
 unconscious of violating any of Master Wilson's rules; 
 the hickory, pitched with the unerring aim of an abori- 
 gine, would roll from my person rattling down upon 
 the floor. That performance meant a notification that 
 it was now my interesting duty to talce that switch back 
 to the teacher's desk, and stand to receive the chastise- 
 ment supposed to be needed for my intellectual develop- 
 ment. Sometimes my next neighbor on the slab, being 
 involved in the misdemeanor, real or imaginary; we 
 were both required for the service of returning the 
 projectile to the battery — one at each end; but, on 
 arrival, the handle end was relinquished to Master 
 Wilson, and we twain became active partners at the 
 other end. Many solemn vows were made to have a 
 settlement with Mr. Nathan Wilson, should we live to 
 manhood's estate ; but when that time arrived, we unani- 
 
252 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 mously reconsidered and rescinded the resolution, esteem- 
 ing it dishonorable to thrash a "non-combatant!" 
 
 Our teacher generally had it all his own way, and 
 quietly enjoyed his favorite pastime; but I remember 
 one exception, in which a regular set-to was the result of 
 his attempt to inflict the penalty for breaking one of his 
 rules upon the seventeen year old son of the old Quaker 
 who boarded him; and who, so far forgot his pacific 
 training as to resist the teacher's onslaught. The battle 
 lasted fully five minutes. 
 
 All the slab benches, with the master's desk and 
 chair, were overturned. Books, slates, ink-stands, hats 
 and dinner-baskets were promiscuously scattered in 
 beautiful confusion. The screaming girls and small 
 boys mounted the writing desks for safety. When, 
 finally, hostilities ceased, the rod had drawn blood from 
 the Quaker boy's face and hands; and his teeth had 
 drawn blood from the calf of our Quaker teacher's leg. 
 The final scene in the tragedy exhibited George Fox 
 Dunning lying discouraged under a bench; Nathan 
 Wilson sunk down exhausted and panting into his 
 chair, with trowsers nearly torn from his person, and 
 minus one swallow-tail ; and, alas ! both teacher and 
 pupil utterly back-slidden from the "testimony" of the 
 Hicksite fathers. This battle took place in the morn- 
 ing, and so demoralized both belligerents and spectators, 
 that during the entire day the school failed to recover 
 its normal "status quo ante beUum." 
 
 Master Wilson's curriculum was the same as that of 
 
OLD TIME SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTEES. 253 
 
 my first teacher; but his methods were better, and there 
 could be no skulking. The pupil must know his 
 lesson or take the consequences ; and as, of the two 
 evils, lessons gotten were preferable to consequences 
 taken, we all learned "right smart" during the year we 
 were subjected to his regimen. But, being deemed a 
 little too warlike in his methods of preserving the peace 
 in his domain, the trustees, at the end of one year, 
 excused him from further service, and employed in his 
 
 stead Mr. Elisha M . This gentleman was not a 
 
 Quaker. In fact he was, ecclesiastically, not anything 
 in particular. But he was very kindly disposed towards 
 his scholars. In avoiding the mistake of his predeces- 
 sor, he swung to the other extreme, and thus saved 
 himself, as well as his pupils, a world of M'orriment. 
 Many a good, jolly time did he have, joking with the 
 larger pupils and romping with the small boy, in the 
 little log hut a mile from my father's house, on the 
 road to " Punch Hall." 
 
 Master Elisha was not a man of one work. He was 
 " handy with tools." He was a famous huntsman, cap- 
 turing many a raccoon and opossmh ; and was equally 
 renowned among the herring and shad fisheries of the 
 Choptank, in whose activities he generally bore an 
 important part. Furthermore, he was a professional 
 politician ; a loyal worker in his party ; an excellent 
 judge of brandy and rum, having tested about all the 
 samples falling under his observation for the past twenty 
 years; and now, for his distinguished services to his 
 
254 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 party, cooping and inspiring voters the night before the 
 election, he had been recently appointed an honorable 
 Justice of the Peace. His literary qualifications, how- 
 ever, were below even those of Master Marshall ; and, 
 worse than all, his intellectual perceptions were often 
 befuddled by imbibing too freely of the contents of a 
 mysterious bottle of "medicine" always gracing his 
 lunch-basket, and used, he said, "to keep off the Ager." 
 He used the rod occasionally, but in a benevolent and 
 good-natured sort of way. 
 
 Although not more than eight or nine years old at the 
 time of Master Elisha's reign, as to correct spelling 
 and rapid reading, I was the most advanced scholar in 
 the school, and could "do" most of the "sums" up to 
 the Rule of Three ; so that when, on Tuesdays, he went 
 to hold Justice's Court in Denton, he left me in charge 
 of the department of instruction, with one of the big 
 boys, as secretary of war, to aid me in preserving the 
 peace. Strange to say, the exercises usually proceeded 
 in regular order, and the stammering recitations of boys 
 and girls of all ages were faithfully heard and corrected 
 by the juvenile and conscientious teacher ; who was too 
 profoundly impressed by a sense of the honor and respon- 
 sibility, thus conferred, to betray his trust. 
 
 On such occasions, the behavior of the school was sur- 
 prisingly good. Occasionally, however, the secretary of 
 war for the time being, would enter into a conspiracy 
 with some of his companions to get up a row, "just for 
 fun, you know ; " and a lively time was the result. It 
 
OLD TIME SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTERS. 255 
 
 usually ended with a verdict from the extemporized jury- 
 in the case, that Bill Cahall, or Ned Sweedling, or "Wes. 
 Stafford was to blame for the deviltry, and must be 
 flogged by the little teacher. Forthwith the secretary of 
 war handed me the rod, hauled the offender before me, 
 and I gave him tlie " ten lashes well laid on," according 
 to the sentence of the regent. It was difficult to deter- 
 mine which was most amused — the school, the teacher, 
 or the suffering convict. 
 
 A little after this time the school house at Chinquepin 
 was completed. We thought it very fine in appearance 
 and comfortable in its appointments. It was furnished 
 with a writing desk on either side, instead of but one as 
 heretofore; so that both boys and girls could write at 
 the same time. There were six nice slab benches, three 
 each for boys and girls; but all so high from the iloor 
 that the smaller children literally went to roost on a 
 perch, whenever they sat down. Many a time when 
 thus perched, trying in vain to shoot an ideal arrow 
 athwart some mathematical chasm, my helplessly dang- 
 ling feet, by reason of obstructed circulation, would feel 
 as if pricked by a thousand needles; and the constant 
 effort, by twisting and squirming, to relieve my discom- 
 fort, made my dear, patient mother an expert at patch- 
 work. This new school house was furnished with a large 
 ten-plate stove in the centre of the room. Altogether it 
 was so very fine that there was much competititin among 
 country professors, as to who should have the distin- 
 guished honor of presiding at Chinquepin. The Trustees 
 
256 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 were really embarrassed with applications ; and hit upon 
 the happy expedient of settling the question of a teacher 
 for the new school, by appointing Messrs. R., G., and S. 
 a committee to examine the several candidates as to 
 their fitness and qualifications. After several candidates 
 had been disposed of by these erudite gentlemen, Mr. 
 Samuel Wiseman, of Queen Anne County, whose name 
 and appearance did well befit each other, presented him- 
 self, and profoundly impressed them. He introduced 
 himself in a wonderful flow of high-sounding words; 
 complimented the Trustees for "the profundity of their 
 prudential philosophy, in requu'ing teachers to submit 
 to a submission of their professional qualifications to the 
 intellectual scrutinizations of gentlemen of your (their) 
 distinguished cultivation and urbanity." He said he 
 was glad " a new and ponderous epoch had dawned ; and 
 was rolling its triumphal car of Juggernaut along the 
 ages." He believed they would "project a discrimina- 
 tion into their ofiicial prerogatives, that would lead to 
 the broadest altitude of the mundane prosperity of their 
 sectional advancement." He concluded with: "Here, 
 gentlemen, is my certifickit, from the Trustees where I 
 teached last year, of my literal capacity." 
 
 At this point Mr. G., with a dazed sort of demeanor, 
 ventured the inquiry : 
 
 "Mr. Wiseman, what sort o' books kin you teach?" 
 His reply satisfied the entire Board. Said he : 
 "Gentlemen: I don't profess to be compos omnium 
 vincibus — that is, like a quack doctor, to do everything 
 
OLD TIME SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTERS. 257 
 
 better than everybody else ; but wliat I do I do. I teach 
 all the common branches, commonly teached in common 
 schools ; and, in addition, gentlemen, I teach G'ography, 
 English Grammar, Orthography, Etymology, Syntax 
 and Prosody!" 
 
 The Boai'd was profoundly satisfied, and Mr. Wiseman 
 was at once engaged. Notwithstanding his attainments 
 and capacity, equalled only by his towering egotism, I 
 do not remember that any of his fortunate pupils have 
 ever reached any great distinction. Great privileges and 
 opportunities do not usually long continue. It was so 
 in this case. Mr. Wiseman's departure from Queen 
 Anne County had so seriously aifected some of her citi- 
 zens, that a constable came one day and persuaded him 
 to return; and, when last heard from, an appreciative 
 public had provided him with entertainment and em- 
 ployment, better suited to his versatile talents, in a 
 celebrated institution in Baltimore. 
 
 Our next teacher at Chinquepin was Mr. Marion 
 Dawson — a really accomplished teacher for his day. In 
 addition to the usual primary branches, he taught His- 
 tory, Geography, Grammar, and higher Arithmetic with 
 Bookkeeping ; and by the time his principalship was 
 ended I was ready for graduation. Being now large 
 enough to be very useful on the farm, I attended school 
 only during the winter months ; following the plow, and 
 wielding the hoe and axe, or driving a team, during the 
 remainder of the year. But when I was fifteen or six- 
 teen years old, my father sent me to the Academy in 
 
258 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Denton, at such times as I could be spared, where I 
 learned something further of the mysteries of literature ; 
 and completed my preparation for introduction to Col- 
 lege life. 
 
 Let me assure the incredulous reader, these pictures 
 of my school-boy environments and experiences are not 
 overdrawn. Thousands now on life's western slope, 
 who fifty years ago were Eastern-Shore-Maryland 
 boys, can bear witness to the substantial correctness 
 of this sketch. But the times have wonderfully 
 changed; and similar facts and experiences are now 
 impossible. 
 
 The boy who, from 1837 to 1844, struggled amid such 
 difficulties, to open the windows of his being to God's 
 and nature's light; twenty years thereafter, with like- 
 minded compeers and compatriots, in State Constitutional 
 Convention assembled at Annapolis, pleaded and voted 
 successfully for a requirement in Maryland organic law, 
 providing the means of liberal common-school education 
 for all the State's children. Our constituents sent us 
 there to make freemen of a hundred thousand slaves. 
 We counted nearly three times that number of our 
 fellow-citizens enchained by the bondage of ignorance ; 
 and among the proudest achievements of any representa- 
 tive body, was that bold stroke by which the Maryland 
 Convention of 1864 opened the prison doors to the 
 wronged bondmen ; and, at the same time, opened the 
 temple of knowledge to the admission of rich and poor 
 at the expense of the commonwealth. No man or party 
 
OLD TIME SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTEES. 259 
 
 has dared, or will ever dare that door to close. Through 
 the valiant Union-men of that convention, God said, 
 " Let there be light;" and, amid the brightening hours of 
 our waning century, that light " shineth more and more 
 unto the perfect day." 
 
260 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 HUMOHS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 
 ADDRESS TO BISHOP FOSTER. 
 
 t|||jrT is held by some that the pun is the lowest grade 
 of wit; and, by dignified worthies, the punster is 
 regarded as an intolerable nuisance, to be carefully 
 avoided and scathingly denounced. Let the reader 
 holding to this view skip the next few pages. 
 
 In 1878, the Wilmington Conference was held at 
 Chestertown, Md., Bishop Foster presiding. The busi- 
 ness of the session had closed ; and the Bishop was 
 about to address the Conference, preparatory to announ- 
 cing the appointments, when one of the preachers arose ; 
 and, with an air of ominous soleninity, began an address. 
 Under the impression that some unheralded storm was 
 brewing. Bishop Foster knitted his brows, suspiciously 
 watched the speaker, and prepared himself for a prompt 
 and vigorous use of the gavel, should the rising storm 
 threaten the peace and harmony of the conference. The 
 transition in the Bishop's features, from sternness to a 
 smile, and thence on to hilarity, was like the gradual 
 blossoming of the distant dawning into the full-orbed 
 day. The speaker's rebuke to the Conference for its 
 unseemly merriment and his appeal to the President for 
 
HUMOES OF A MODERN ITINEBANT. 261 
 
 the preservation of order, in conjunction with the spicy 
 and humorous character of the address, were a little too 
 much for the self-possession of the dignified Episcopos; 
 and, freely unbending, he heartily echoed back from the 
 platform the mirth of the ecclesiastical body before him. 
 Meeting the author the following morning, he warmly 
 thanked him for the address ; said it had relieved him 
 of a great burden, and requested its publication. It 
 afterwards appeared in the Christian Advocate. The 
 address was as follows : 
 
 "Mr. President: While doubtless you have received 
 much light from your cabinet reflectors, I deem it 
 proper at this deeply interesting point in our conference 
 proceedings, to say some things to you that I think you 
 ought to know, concerning our Peninsula, and the 
 laborious and self-sacrificing ministers who occupy its 
 territory. I trust I shall wound no brother's feelings; 
 and if, in anything I may say, I shall seem to you to 
 transgress the rules of propriety, you have only to call 
 me to order, and I promise to be an obedient son in 
 the Gospel. 
 
 " Our conference territory, Bishop, from the northern 
 McFar-lane to the extreme southern Towns-end, is the 
 garden spot of America. Except where our fields are 
 already White unto the harvest, our pastures are Green 
 and flowery, and our Sheppard is tender and kindly. 
 The opportunities for ministerial usefulness are most 
 inviting to our chief Gardner and our Foreman ; while 
 the Lay -field iS also unsurpassed. There is no stagnant 
 
262 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA.. 
 
 Pooh in all our bounds. Our healthful streams and 
 broad, Bryan-j bays invite our Fisher-vnaji ; while our 
 noble old camp forests afford ample scope for the dexter- 
 ous cunning of our stalwart Hunter. 
 
 " The Southern portion of our territory is mostly a 
 beautiful and fruitful plain. The upper half is varied 
 by the Ridge-way, while still beyond rise *the towering 
 Hills, that ofttimes 'Skip like lambs,' and 'rejoice 
 together.' Nestled between these, and smiling in its 
 summer sweetness, is the Martin-dale where our confer- 
 ence warblers Carroll, and our C sharp Bell peals forth 
 its joyous melody. 
 
 " We have a good Mil-by the Delaware Railroad, at 
 Harrington, and our enterprising Millers grind and bolt 
 the finest flour. Our Smiths are experts, and always 
 ' strike while the iron is hot ; " not infrequently causing 
 the Sparks to fly around, especially on Missionary 
 Anniversary occasions. 
 
 " We repudiate the insinuation that we are an un-^emp-t 
 assembly. No conference craft is more gracefully Rigg-eA, 
 or more ably Mann-eA. Besides, we are celebrated for 
 Prettymen ; and I assure you it is no paste Jewell that 
 sparkles on our bosom. Our greatest Bain is a heavenly 
 blessing ; and he who most puts on Ayres is A-very 
 modest man. Our milkman is a Creamer; and the 
 supplies furnished by the Chandler of our conference 
 yacht, are always done up Browne. 
 
 " We seldom get into a Hough about either our ap- 
 pointments or disappointments ; but ' Dare to do right,' 
 and Al-dred to do wrong in every emergency. We 
 
HUMOES OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 263 
 
 transact our ecclesiastical business on the one Price prin- 
 ciple, and have Syphred up our profits to the full amount 
 of one English Shilling. Although lately we somewhat 
 lost Hart, and are sometimes unable to see clearly our 
 Way, at critical junctures ; we have thus far managed to 
 ' hoe our own Roe,' cheered by the assurance that both 
 England and France will remain our unflinching allies. 
 Whenever we see dangers threatening the Church, we 
 always Warner to stick down her Pegg and Barrett 
 bravely, until our noble Redman of the forest, toma- 
 hawk in hand, shall come to her rescue. 
 
 " The casks of our skillful Cooper are never used for 
 beer at Brewington ; but although we are a distinctly 
 pronounced temperance organization, we always keep on 
 hand for legitimate use a little Todd-j, which — should 
 your arduous labors in the council require — shall be 
 cheerfully placed at your disposal. 
 
 " I looked over our Conference roll, Andrew from the 
 names therein these reflections; but regret my inability 
 to weave the name of my friend Hutch-in, as well as those 
 of many others, on account of their not being Called-well. 
 I sincerely hope, that in consideration of our Gray heads, 
 this little ebullition of impertinence shall be allowed to 
 go *Sco^-free. In conclusion. Bishop, we hope ever to 
 Merritt and enjoy your Foster-mg care." 
 
 OUR SENIOR BISHOP'S CANE. 
 At the session of the Wilmington Conference, held at 
 Middletown, Delaware, under the presidency of Bishop 
 Hurst, a committee, of which the writer was a member, 
 
264 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 was appointed to convey to Bishop Scott, then confined 
 to his home a few miles distant by age and feebleness, the 
 fraternal greetings of the Conference. During that visit 
 I presented to our venerable Father in Israel, a cane I 
 had made of wood taken from old Barratt's Chapel. It 
 was inscribed, " To the Senior Bishop ;" and it was the 
 donor's intention that it should pass, as an heir-loom, 
 down the venerable and apostolic line, until the last 
 Methodist Episcopal Bishop shall be called home and 
 crowned in the heavenly kingdom. The cane is now 
 in the possession of our honored Bishop Bowman. May 
 he retain it for many years, and, like Moses, never need 
 its support, even in going up the heights of Pisgah to 
 his ascension. 
 
 Accompanying the presentation of the cane to the 
 veteran Bishop was the following address : 
 
 "Bishop Scott: It may be considered a very indecorous 
 thing to assault a Bishop, — dastardly, indeed, when that 
 Bishop, by reason of infirmity, is unable to defend him- 
 self. But, sir, I have come to-day to give you a good 
 caning; and for this I claim ample justification. 
 
 "You well know, sir, that, many times, you have 
 'laid hands' on inoffensive brethren. You once laid 
 hands on me ; and why should I not, now that I have 
 a good opportunity, retaliate? Let me assure you, you 
 richly deserve what you are about to suffer at my hands, 
 and the verdict of this committee and these visitors will 
 sustain my conduct. As you are no ordinary offender, 
 it is no ordinary caning I propose to give you. 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 265 
 
 "This cane, like the Wilmington Conference, is mostly 
 a Peninsular production ; but, like the said conference, 
 it has enough imported material in its composition to 
 symbolize the cosmopolitan character of Methodism. 
 
 " It is a plain, unpainted cane. In this it harmonizes 
 with certain old-fashioned notions of our fathers against 
 moral or social shams and veneers ; the conviction that 
 character is essentially real, unpaiiited — 'most adorned 
 when unadorned the most.' It is not, in itself, a very 
 nice or valuable cane ; but to me it is nice, and pretty, 
 and of great worth. It is partly because God made us, 
 I think, that he finds so much in us to interest him. 
 So I like this cane, for one reason, because my own 
 hands shaped and polished it. 
 
 "This cane is taken from a Methodist Episcopal 
 Church building that has stood one hundred and two 
 years, and that probably will continue to stand until the 
 ' Gospel of this kingdom shall be preached in all the 
 world as a witness unto all nations ; ' and therefore it 
 may be interpreted to point to the conclusion that Meth- 
 odism has come into the world to stay throughout all the 
 centuries. 
 
 " From its position in that old Church, this cane helped 
 echo the voice of the first Methodist Bishop who ever 
 proclaimed salvation in America. It is intended that 
 the last one in that line of honorable succession shall 
 lean upon it, as, bending with age, he looks up from the 
 last hour of the last day of the last century to behold 
 Messiah's glorious coming. 
 12 
 
266 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 " In our version of the Scriptures, we read that Jacob, 
 the aged Patriarch, ' worshipped, leaning on the top of 
 his staif.' Our Roman CathoUc friends translated it : 
 ' Jacob worshipped the top of his staff.' If a Methodist 
 Patriarch should reverently uncover his head and cross 
 himself before this relic, more holy than any in the 
 Vatican, who shall find fault of his Methodist high- 
 churchism, when it i's explained that this staff is made of 
 timber from old Barratt's Chapel f 
 
 "There is an inscription on this silver band. By a 
 singular coincidence, that inscription was engraved by a 
 Presbyterian brother, who, more than fifty years ago, 
 was wont, sometimes, to run a^'^'uy from his own church 
 home to seek a little genial warming at the good Meth- 
 odist fire you were, at that time, accustomed to enkindle 
 in the pulpit of old Ebenezer Church in Philadelphia. 
 
 " The inscription hereon is, ' To the Senior Bishop ; ' 
 and when you shall at last go i^p to possess the land 
 where patriarchs get young again and where pilgrims 
 have wings, you will leave it as a legacy to the next 
 Senior in office ; and thus it is to support, in turn, the 
 grandest line of ' apostolic succession ' the world has 
 ever known. Honored and beloved Bishop and Father 
 in Israel, accept this tribute and consider yourself duly 
 caned ! " 
 
 At the closing session of the same Conference, a similar 
 cane was presented, on behalf of the body, to the junior 
 Bishop, in fee simple. So that should he live to be the 
 senior in office, and his body grow old and feeble, he 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 267 
 
 may be enabled to bear himself gently adown the sunset 
 slope to his resting • place, grasping in either hand a 
 material staff descended from the days and hallowed by 
 the touch of Coke and Asbury. A striking coincidence 
 of this pleasant episode was that both the Senior and 
 Junior Bishops — Levi Scott and John F. Hurst — were 
 products of Peninsular Methodism. When our haughty 
 neighbors ask doubtingly, whether any good can come 
 out of this " Nazareth," we point proudly to these noble 
 Sons of the Peninsula, whose names and fame have 
 reached the outer boundaries of the Methodistic world, 
 and will be honored through all time. 
 
 THE OLD TIME PRESIDING ELDER. 
 
 When the Peninsula constituted a single District, as 
 in the days of Chandler and Boehm, the Presiding Elder 
 was " a man in authority," and regarded as almost the 
 equal of the Bishop in official dignity and responsibility. 
 As in those days, frequent change in spiritual grazing 
 was considered necessary to the symmetrical development 
 of both pastor and people, it was deemed advisable to 
 change the preachers every four or six months. In the 
 absence of the Bishop, this work devolved on the Elder. 
 Furthermore, the circuits being ofttimes larger than a 
 county, the official gatherings at Quarterly Conference 
 were often almost equal in numbers to an Annual Con- 
 ference ; and the Sunday congregations of such occasions 
 were immense. All this tended to clothe the office of 
 Presiding Elder with great dignity, and importance. It 
 
268 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 was doubtless an exaggerated ideal of the Elder of the 
 Peninsular District, in the days of the Fathers, that 
 "Paul Picturemaker" painted, in his poem published 
 years ago in the Conference Worker. His description 
 was as follows : 
 
 CUE, 'SIDIN' ELDER. 
 
 'Twas in the days of yore — ^the good old times 
 When men were simple-minded, and the lines 
 'Twixt worldly vanities and Christian livin' 
 Were closely drawn ; each state its bound'ries givin' 
 With mathematical precision, so that 
 By cut of coat or trowsers, you could know that 
 A man had "got religion" — had the leaven 
 To " rise" his nature to the state of Heaven. 
 
 As Uncle Samuel's fightin' men all dress 
 In fightin' clothin' ; so, a man might guess 
 With certainty, before these days of evil, 
 Whether a man was 'listed 'gainst the Devil. 
 But modern style, with its enormities 
 Hath blasted Christian uniformities ; 
 And, these days, should you go to shoot Philistines, 
 You'd, like as not, destroy a lot of Christians. 
 
 But, had you known our 'sidin' Elder, you would 
 Have thought him for this mundane station too good. 
 His frame was tall and stalwart — awe-impressing ; 
 And, by his uniform-ity of dressing. 
 He was a live epistle, read of all men ; 
 His old clothes even e'er did loudly call men 
 To quick repentance. 'Twas an inspiration — 
 
HUMORS OF A MODEEK ITINERANT. 269 
 
 So many thought — that gave the information 
 To Elder Jones, and taught him to prepare them 
 And wear his clothes as holy angels wear them. 
 And some there were who held, when he ascended 
 To Zion's heights, by angel guides attended, 
 The clothes he had on earth and wore to meetin' 
 Were just the thing to walk the golden street in. 
 
 In those good days, before we'd heard of " Station " 
 A circuit would have made a "right smart" nation; 
 And Quart'ly Conf'rence was its parliament, 
 And Elder Jones its august president. 
 The preachers and officials gathered round him. 
 And, with their solemn homage, meekly crowned him ; 
 For he portentous questions thus propounded — 
 "Any complaints? Appeals? Reports?" — then bounded 
 OfiF to the finances — 'twas kind o' funny : 
 His questionin' was sure to end on money ! 
 And, when his twenty dollars down they paid him, 
 A peaceful smile his face was e'er arrayed in. 
 True, some there were who'd sometimes make sug- 
 gestions, — 
 "Why can't our preacher ask these quart'ly questions. 
 And preach the quart'ly sermons? Oui bonof" 
 But our wise Elder always answered, " no, no ! " 
 
 Jones preached, on Saturdays, an exhortation 
 Proportioned to his little congregation. 
 He thought it vain to aim his longest arrows. 
 Or fire a cannon, at a few cock sparrows. 
 But people thronged from iiear and far for Sunday, 
 
270 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 And sang and shouted, oftentimes, till Monday. 
 On these occasions, Elder Jones would load up 
 His preachin' gun until it nearly blowed up 
 In firin' oif ; and when he got good aim 
 Upon the crowd, he always brought down game. 
 He measured six feet high and weighed two hundred ; 
 And, with the "rousements" up, he fairly thundered, 
 And thundered on, till multitudes, by littles, 
 Convicted were of their great need for — victuals ; 
 Nor did he cease till many hundred sinners 
 Were penitently prayin' for their — dinners ! 
 
 And when at last the "Amen" came, the meetin' 
 Doxologied, and made tracks for the eatin'. 
 The Elder led the way to Brother Pickens', 
 Where he was sure to find the best fat chickens, 
 And other things to suit — all to his notion ; 
 And here, for full an hour, he paid devotion 
 At Epicurus' shrine, till nature, too full 
 For comfort was ; and then, with visage rueful. 
 He left the scene, a sad and vanquished hero, — 
 Enthusiasm and zeal all gone to Zero, — 
 And smoked his pipe, and dozed the time away 
 Before the big, log fire the live-long day. 
 Sometimes between his naps, if it were handy. 
 For stomach's sake, he'd take a little brandy. 
 
 Our Elder was a gentleman polite ; 
 And, oftentimes, it was a jolly sight 
 At Conference, to see him shakin' hands ; — 
 Gath'rin' the preachers into little bands, 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN mNERANT. 271 
 
 To while away a leisure hour in smoldn', 
 Meanwhile amusin' them with drollest jokin', 
 Until they all a noble fellow thought him, 
 And generous obeisance gladly brought him ; 
 They said "Amen" to all his views and notions, 
 And voted "aye" on all his Conf rence motions. 
 The Gen'ral Conf'rence year was the occasion 
 Of our good Elder's highest animation 
 And most polite attentions. Bowin', smiKn', 
 He captured all, with winsome ways beguilin' 
 But on the Conf'rence floor, our Elder rose 
 Resplendent, in the sight of friends and foes ; 
 And represented all his territory. 
 And told the tale of his own fame and glory 
 With glowing tongue. And when the Bishop called 
 The names upon his District list enrolled; 
 He answer made in eulogy most glowin'. 
 Until, if heroes might be made by blowin', 
 Not Paul or Peter e'er were half the wonder 
 As Elder Jones' modern sons of thunder : — 
 Not one but ought the Church to represent, 
 And to the Gen'ral Conference be sent. 
 But, gen'rous souls ! while conscious of their merit, 
 Each hoped he would the Eldership inherit; 
 And waited patiently to pick these bones 
 When he should wear the crown of Brother Jones. 
 Thus, our good Eldei-'s sugar-coated talldn' 
 Sent him the streets of New York town to walkin', 
 While all his glorious preachers took their stations, 
 And starved along on deferred expectations. 
 
272 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 "THE QUART'LY CONF'RENCE," 
 
 Paul Picturemaker described in one of his character- 
 istic productions, was probably held by Elder Jones, or 
 by one of his cotemporaries. The reader will possibly 
 recognize, in the description, some delineations near akin 
 to scenes he may have witnessed in Quarterly Conferences 
 of much more recent date. It is not impossible some 
 modern official, by looking closely, may discover some 
 faint traces of personal resemblance. If so, it is hoped 
 he will not fail to recognize the likeness ; or, like a cer- 
 tain New Testament character, " go his way and forthwith 
 forget what manner of man he is." The description 
 appeared some years since, in the Christian Advocate, 
 and may bear repetition here. It is as follows : 
 
 " Please come to order," our good Elder said ; 
 Then called to prayer, and reverently led 
 In our devotions. Loudly did he call 
 On Heaven to bless the Church, the Pastor — ^all; 
 And to his invocations, twelve chief laymen 
 Gave fit response in one united 'Amen!' 
 
 " The Pastor listened gladly. Recently 
 He'd come to Frogtown ; fixed up decently ; 
 Gone round the circuit preaching to the people — 
 In Frogtown Church 'twas said he shook the steeple — 
 Bartholomew could not have louder thundered ; 
 And saint and sinner oped their eyes and wondered 
 
 How W Conf'rence could retain such men. 
 
 When Bishop timber was so scarce, and when 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 273 
 
 Great men were needed for the high positions 
 Of Editors, and other such fruitions. 
 
 " But here he was, with wife, and children nine, 
 To tug and toil, and spend his precious time 
 In striving for the good of saint and sinner; 
 To do God's work and trust God for his dinner. 
 As when Elijah by the brook was fed; — 
 The raven bringing daily meat and bread — 
 Though he were neither epicure nor glutton, 
 INIust oft have wondered Avhether beef or mutton 
 AV^ould be the next invoice the good bird brought him ; 
 So, this itinerant sat there and thought him 
 Of hungry mouths — of breakfast, dinner, supper, 
 And cyphered mentally of bread and butter. 
 
 "'Any complaints? — Appeals?' the Elder said — 
 ' Reports ?' Then the good pastor raised his head ; 
 And, drawing forth his foolscap, written o'er 
 With kind and hopeful utt' ranee, took the floor, 
 And read his first report ; while wink and nod, 
 'Twixt high officials, told the man of God, 
 More plain than words could tell the cheerina; story. 
 That Frogtown Circuit was next door to glory ! 
 With saints so gen'rous — so appreciative ; 
 In whom all noble impulses were native. 
 He'd feast on chicken broiled, and lamb and peas. 
 And dream of Heav'n ' on flowery beds of ease !' 
 
 "Scarce was he seated, when old Brother Jones 
 Rose to his feet, and said in nasal tones : 
 ' I, Mister Presidept, do make the motion 
 
 12* 
 
274 METHODISM Or THE PENINSULA. 
 
 That that 'ere paper's 'zactly to our notion. 
 Frogtown's ne'er had so good and great a teacher ; 
 And, for my part, I say, God bless our preacher ! ' 
 'Amen! Amen !' resounded from all quarters. 
 ' God bless him, and his wife, and sons and daughters !' 
 Again the pastor thought, ' Such hearty praying 
 Can only be the twin to gen'rous paying.' 
 
 "The rev'rend Elder, glancing toward the gallery, 
 Said : ' Now we'll hear report on Pastor's salary. 
 Be lib'ral, brethren ; let your preacher see 
 That you appreciate his ministry.' 
 
 "With long-drawn sigh — with sanctimonious mien, 
 Well suited to a solemn funeral scene. 
 The Chairman of the Stewards, Brother Leecher, 
 Made their report on how they'd feed the preacher. 
 ' The times is hard,' he said, ' and gittin' tougher ; 
 But Frogtown ne'er will let her preacher suifer. 
 We've calkerlated things down to a fraction. 
 And vote four hundred by unan'mous action. 
 Our figgers was three hundred sev'nty-seven ; 
 But we've resolved to make the hundreds even. 
 The twenty-three that's over, Brother Sower 
 Can use to aid our school and help the poor. 
 We've counted up, and made the sal'ry ample 
 So Brother Sower might set a lib'ral 'zample. ' 
 ' Amen ! Amen ! ' arose from sev'ral voices ; 
 'In generosity Frogtown rejoices!' 
 
 " The pastor stared around with startled seeming, 
 Like one too soon awaked from reckless dreaming;; 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 275 
 
 And, at the Elder's question : " Has the pastor 
 A word or two to say?" — he popped up faster 
 Than hare from .humble, homestead brush-heap kicked 
 
 out, 
 And said: " Dear Brethren ; I'm completely whipped out! 
 Do you suppose three hundred sev'nty-seven 
 Is going to feed, and clothe and school eleven? 
 And keep a horse and buggy, and pay car fare 
 While I am striking for you in this warfare ? 
 Let's see; — thirty to each — a fraction over, 
 Counting the old mare one. The sacred clover 
 Grows very short, my brethren : we can't live on't, 
 Much less adopt your plans and give on't. 
 It ill consists with good propriety 
 To tease your preacher with anxiety ; 
 And keep him all the season wond'ring whether 
 He'll able be to bring both ends together. 
 To what extent your narrow paying pinches 
 Your pastor, sirs ; be sure so many inches. 
 Mentally, will drop off from your teaching : 
 Starvation paying makes starvation preaching! 
 This verbum sapienti my speech closes ; 
 And, if you're wise, you'll look beyond your noses.' 
 
 " 'I call the man to order !' quoth a brother. 
 ' Our preacher, Mister Elder, nor no other, 
 Hain't got no right to git up and abuse us 
 For what the facts, in these hard times, excuse us. 
 We're ' verdant sapheads,' are we ? Guess we'll show him 
 We see beyant our noses where we go in ! 
 
276 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 I tell you, sir, we've done the best we can 
 
 In our report ; and now let every man 
 
 Make ealkerlation of his own expenses, 
 
 And see if 'tis not time to put up fences, 
 
 To keep his charity on proper grounds, sir. 
 
 As well as keep its object in good bounds, sir. 
 
 To keep our preachers poor will keep 'em humble. 
 
 And save 'em, sir, from many a dangerous tumble.' 
 
 " ' I think so, too,' said worthy brother Farmer, 
 And ' said his piece,' each moment growing warmer. 
 His dozen farms, he said, were so expensive. 
 His charity henceforth must be defensive. 
 His store-bill, yearly, was not quite three hundred ; 
 And at the preacher's wastefulness he wondered. 
 With salary, and presents oft received, 
 He said, with him it couldn't be believed 
 But that the preacher fared as well as any. 
 And he would vote him Tiot another penny ! 
 
 " Then brother Bondholder arose, and said : 
 ' To vote big salaries I'm sore afraid. 
 My state and county taxes are so heavy. 
 That, when you add the Church and preacher levy, 
 I've little money left to lay away. 
 In surplus bonds, to cheer the 'rainy day.' 
 Besides all this, the working men all live. 
 And get along, and have a bit to give. 
 Receiving by the day one dollar fifty; 
 And, if the preacher and his wife are shifty, 
 And pinch along, I think they'll come out even 
 
HUMORS OF A MODEEN ITINERANT. 277 
 
 Quite easy on three hundred seventy-seven. 
 
 Men who dependent are on Christian charity, 
 
 Should eat roast turkey only for a rarity : 
 
 To often fast, or eat not to satiety, 
 
 Is good for health, and ministers to piety. 
 
 In olden times, when preachers were not greedy, 
 
 But shared the hardships of the poor and needy. 
 
 They preached for souk, and therein was their pay 
 
 That sent them oft rejoicing on their way. 
 
 If Brother Sower would be good and wise, sir. 
 
 Let him win souls, and he will win the prize, sir.' 
 
 "Again the pastor rose. His weary heart 
 Was wounded deeply by the cruel dart 
 Thrust at him ; and again he warmly spoke : 
 The great Apostle to the Gentiles wrote, — 
 ' The laborer is worthy of his wages ; ' 
 But, by the verdict of our modern sages. 
 He should have said unworthy. Now I ask, 
 How can a preacher execute his task, 
 And keep up with the age, in all its capers. 
 Unless he read the latest books and pajjers ? 
 Why, on four hundred, it is plain to see 
 The brains or stomach must fare scantily; 
 But as the stomach makes the louder claims. 
 It gobbles all, and leaves nought for the brains. 
 The miracle of making bread of stones. 
 Or savory soup of old, dry, barren bones. 
 Is forced upon your preacher; so, no wonder 
 The people leave, as well as come in hunger. 
 
278 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 These extra needs, sirs — how am I to meet them ? 
 I ' preach for souls ; ' but, bless you, I can't eat them. 
 But could I thus my table spread with dinners, 
 I'd much prefer a fatter class of sinners ! ' 
 
 " ' Order ! ' the Elder cried ; ' I put the motion : 
 All who're in favor of the Steward's motion, 
 Say ayei' And forthwith, without hesitation 
 They voted 'aye' for mutual starvation! 
 
 Truth often stranger is than any fiction : — 
 
 The Conf'rence closed with Sower's benediction I" 
 
 THE CONSERVATIVE MULE. 
 
 Among the animals honored by notice in Scripture 
 history, is the mule. Plis value to the human race, as a 
 puller, before the invention of steam engines, it is now 
 difficult to estimate. He works with equal facility with 
 his machinery reversed, and either end foremost; pulling 
 backward nearly as well as forward. Accidentally and 
 occasionally, he has proven useful as an obstructionist; 
 but, sometimes, at critical junctures, he is liable to 
 become a little too' conservative. He is the most 
 magnificent backer in the world; but, his eyes not 
 being completely reversible, his locomotion in that direc- 
 tion has often precipitated catastrophe, resulting in 
 mutual disaster to animal and driver. This useful but 
 dangerous animal is a striking type of some specimens of 
 the genus homo, occasionally encountered among Church 
 officials. 
 
HUMOES OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 279 
 
 "Paul Pictnremaker," like most Methodist ministers, 
 has had some experience in church building. Some 
 of his experiences along this line have been a little 
 grotesque notwithstanding their annoying features. It 
 is not generally a popular thing, per se, in the Wilming- 
 ton Conference, to oppose building a new church, where 
 it is generally conceded one is needed. All the members 
 usually — Bros. Skinflint and Clinchemtight included — 
 loudly favor the proposal. But when the time comes 
 for definite action, these two dear brethren, and others 
 whom they have influenced, manage, by some well 
 planned diversion, to precipitate a new issue that creates 
 factions and necessitates a postponement. At the same 
 time, their loud protestations of what they will do and 
 how much they will contribute, in certain contingencies 
 that are always well nigh impossible in a progressive 
 community, helps them to a reputation of exceptional 
 liberality and devotion. If the new church can be 
 located on the old cemetery on a back street; if it can 
 be of a certain style that outrages architectural decency ; 
 or if it shall be stipulated in the deed that no organ, or 
 other musical instrument, shall ever be used therein; 
 or if it can be located on the suburbs, where brother 
 Clinchemtight has twenty town lots for sale, he will give 
 five hundred or a thousand dollars — otherwise not one 
 red cent! Having thus issued his manifesto, and laid 
 down his ultimatum, he significantly and complaisantly 
 pats his wallet pocket, and says, " Now take your own 
 course, and build your church — if you can I" If by a 
 
280 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 nearly unanimous vote it has been decided to build a 
 church and chapel on the least objectionable location 
 named by him, his mind suddenly undergoes a radical 
 revolution as to the style of the building all had agreed 
 upon ; and he declares in favor of a church fifty feet 
 square, with galleries on three sides, or he cannot 
 conscientiously contribute. About this time, the pastor 
 and those really desiring a new church discover 
 that the question with Brother Clinchemtight is "how 
 not to do it ; " and they go ahead in the fear of 
 God, and "build a house unto the Lord" without his 
 assistance. 
 
 It was during Paul Picturemaker's successful struggle 
 to build, amid such untoward circumstances, that the 
 poem found below was suggested and produced. Being 
 read in manuscript before the Church Lyceum, although 
 the statement was honestly made that the character 
 therein delineated was purely imaginary, certain parties 
 who heard of it took offense, and claimed that the design 
 of the author was to hold them up to ridicule. Calling 
 attention to it the following Sunday morning, Mr. 
 Picturemaker gave utterance to a sincere and kindly 
 disclaimer; told the congregation he would have the 
 production published the following week, so that all 
 could inspect it ; and promised to make a present of ten 
 dollars to any man who, after reading it, would aver his 
 belief that any part he might select was intended to 
 represent his case. The poem was accordingly printed, 
 but no one claimed the proffered ten dollars; and 
 
HUMOES OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 281 
 
 thenceforth all was quiet on the Broadkiln. The pro- 
 duction was the following : 
 
 ODE TO YE OLDE MEETIN' 'OUSE. 
 
 A relic of the past — ^the good old days 
 Our fathers knew, before the evil ways 
 Of these last times had lured so many feet — 
 The old house stands, in solemn silence meet. 
 
 'Tis hoary now with near a century's storms . 
 The lights and shades alternate nights and morns 
 Have heralded, have plowed its wooden brow 
 With honorable wrinkles ; and the boards 
 That close it in, hke once well brightened swords 
 Ornate with rust, are painted sombre hues 
 By oft-returning storms and gathering dews; — 
 Perchance in mourning for the Saints' economy. 
 That finds whitewash forbid in Deuteronomy. 
 
 'Tis on a quiet street — near out of town. 
 Walled in with stone, — with willows waving down 
 Their graceful branches. Our good fathers thought 
 It was not meet their worship should be brought 
 To profane notice; and, to "gather in 
 The wand' rings of their minds" from earth and sin, 
 They built their churches on some lane or alley 
 Where Satan might not his chief forces rally. 
 
 The village graveyard, where the silent dead 
 Sleep side by side — each in his lowly bed, — 
 Lies spread around. Our sires, so good and brave, 
 Were wont to pray and worship near the grave. 
 
282 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 " Hark ! From the tombs, the doleful sound," they said, 
 Was more impressive, sung amid the dead. 
 
 As John the New Jerusalem describes. 
 Must I this house of prayer. Its equal sides 
 Lie four-square. Breadth and depth and length and height 
 Show forth its praise in geometric light. 
 Three sides are galleried — the wise design 
 Of some famed architect of olden time — 
 A man of Pythagorean ways, and skill 
 To utilize his travels, and fulfill 
 His mission. Journeying o'er Peninsular sands. 
 Alert t' appreciate the time's demands. 
 He spied, hard by some thrifty farmer's barn, 
 A house well-ordered for its num'rous swarm. 
 On three sides ranged, were rows and rows of sticks, 
 And on these nodded twenty dozen chicles. 
 So, this itinerant, without chick-en-ery, 
 His church erected like an old-time hennery. 
 
 The end, ungalleried, was set apart 
 To holy use. It was the precious mart 
 To which was brought the Methodistic wares 
 That current were in olden-time church fairs. 
 The towering " preach-pen," with its winding stair. 
 Lifts high the preacher into middle air. 
 'Twixt heav'n and earth suspended, it was thought 
 His meditations for his flock were brought 
 In hearing distance towards the open door. 
 Where white-winged mercy-angels hover o'er 
 The portal. But the poor man ne'er received 
 
HUMOES OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 283 
 
 The Lord's attention to his plea aggrieved, 
 Until, with toilsome journey down that steep. 
 He bended low, with Mary, at the feet 
 That nails were driven through, and lisped the name 
 That lustered Bethl'hem's manger with its fame. 
 
 In preaching, too, the fathers gravely thought, 
 If lifled high, the parson would be brought 
 So very near the Lord, he'd catch the Spirit, 
 And so his preaching have the greater merit. 
 But ofttimes it hath happened, from this height 
 While shouting down to men in earth's dark night. 
 The facts have shown, alas ! too near Heav'n's portals 
 The preacher was to waken drowsy mortals. 
 
 The ventilation question, was a theme 
 Deemed idle nonsense, modern fogies green 
 Had thrust upon the Church. What need was there 
 For any more of breath, in praise and prayer 
 Than a big meetin' house would hold ? And, then. 
 Long prayers and sermons would be uttered; when 
 A moderate supply, to him who spoke, ah ! 
 Would haste the Amen, or the scamp would choke, ah ! 
 Besides, 'twould many cords of wood require, 
 Beyond the needed pile, to raise a fire 
 To warm "all out o'doors," if holes were made 
 To let in outside air, — the old folks said. 
 And so, they built this church around a hole, 
 And closed it in, and warmed it up with coal. 
 And kept it there all seasons, 'round above 'm — 
 Themselves for God's use meet — roast in an oven ! 
 
284 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 The congregation all — from parson down, 
 
 Were cooked and smoked and dried, and done up brown ! 
 
 An aged pilgrim, late I've heard complain; 
 Soliloquizing in the folFwing strain : — 
 "Ah! Times has sadly changed: high-fangled notions 
 Has crept into the church ; and our devotions. 
 That onc't was hot and steamin' in all weather, 
 Has 'vaporated out and altogether. 
 Schools, colleges and cultur' kills us dead, ah ! 
 We've died of rush of brains onto the head, ah ! 
 The Conference has made the wretched blunder, — 
 Thinks brains is requisite to pulpit thunder ; 
 And sends her fledgelin's off to Drew and Boston; 
 And this is one thing puts such extra cost on. 
 The time was onc't, when sermonts was so cheap, 
 A 'quarter' paid up for a three months' heap, 
 But now envelops — fifty-two a year — 
 Annoys and keeps our souls in mortal fear ! 
 Pshaw ! There was brother Burley, our good preacher. 
 Was worth a dozen moderns as a teacher. 
 He wasn't school larn't, but could stamp and holler. 
 And preach two hours, and then the sermont foUer 
 With song, and invitation to the sinner ; 
 And things would git so high we'd git no dinner ! 
 Why, haint I seen him give one mighty jump, 
 And spring down to the altar place, kerthump? 
 And couldn't he bang the Book, and hold it high. 
 And shake it at 'em till they'd almost die? 
 That's how I come to seek religion early — 
 Was skeerd into't, and saved by brother Burley. 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 285 
 
 "But now, alas! these venerated walls 
 Are soon to ring no more with holy calls. 
 A preacher come, who said to our young people, 
 Let's build a church and put on it a steeple ; 
 And make one room above and three below, 
 And have an organ and a bell, you know ; 
 And stained glass, gothic windows, and a cross. 
 In token that we've ' counted all but loss.' 
 
 " And now the new church lifts before our eyes 
 Its 'bomiuable steeple tow'rd the skies. 
 Ere many Sundays, they'll be movin' in ; 
 Raisin' the mischief with that music thing. 
 And grindin' out their worship to their notion — 
 Pleasin' the Devil with their sham devotion : — 
 It's awful, shameful, mean, irrev'rent, wicked ! 
 The self-willed rascals ought to be well kick-ed. 
 
 "And then agin, behold what money needless 
 Is spent upon this house by persons heedless. 
 'Tis true, it's not my money — 'tain't my way 
 To waste my substance for ' a rainy day ' 
 On worldly vanities, when Christian charity 
 Begins at home, and goes out for a rarity. 
 
 " Why all this waste ? I ask. Was not our sires, 
 Who built this old house — watched its altar fires — 
 As good as us their chUdring, and our brats 
 That swing long coats and wear two-story hats ? 
 'Tis wicked pride this precious ile to waste 
 To feed weak vanity and sinful taste — 
 To build, on false pretence of motive holy, 
 A costly temple to the ' Meek and Lowly.' 
 
286 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 "Ah, me ! Our Methodism has so come down, 
 I think I'll jine another church, up town : 
 It's fine and costly — can't see what 'twas made for ; 
 But, never mind ; there's one good thought — 'tis paid for. 
 The preacher there prates not of givin' money 
 To Heaven's cause, but feeds on milk and honey. 
 I'm tired of hearin' here, to all tarnation. 
 This everlastin' cry of consecration ! " 
 Thus spake he ; and, with one spasmodic lurch. 
 He landed, boots and breeches, out the church. 
 
 Farewell, old man! Farewell, old church, together! 
 You're both exposed to drear and stormy weather; 
 But, dear old fold ; 'twas not thy fault or fraud, 
 That led poor Dives to forsake his God. 
 Thy lessons had he heeded 'gainst vile pelf. 
 He'd not, like Judas, gone and hanged himself. 
 Farewell, old centenarian, tried and true! 
 Ring, ring the bells ! Ring out the old ! Ring in the new ! 
 
 FUN IN THE PARSONAGE. 
 
 "What? Fun in a minister's house?" exclaims dear, 
 pious, old brother Drearygroans. " What is the church 
 coming to ? No wonder there's no revival ? Ah,, me ! 
 It wasn't so in the good old times ! " 
 
 "Now, Brother Drearygroans, didn't you and all 
 your family laugh most heartily the other day, when 
 the dog, trying to steal the soap-grease, got his head in 
 the keg, and cut such comical antics vainly trying to 
 extricate himself? — When, to release him, you had to 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 287 
 
 knock the top hoops off? Why were you guilty of 
 conduct so unbecoming an exhorter ? " 
 
 " Well, it was so funny, I couldn't help laughing." 
 "Just so, brother; and why shouldn't you have 
 laughed? And was a good, hearty laugh any more 
 innocent in your back yard than it would have been in 
 my house? For what purpose did our kind Creator 
 put the laugh power in us? Now, Brother Dreary- 
 groans : if you always bend a tree in one direction, it 
 will grow crooked. But if you bend it equally in all 
 directions, it will strike an average and grow about 
 right. So with human moods. They should change 
 with circumstances. The Book says there is ' a time to 
 laugh ; ' and, if a good laugh don't happen to meet us 
 accidentally, as that met you the other day, we should 
 put on our spectacles and go out to hunt one. Now, 
 there wasn't any laugh in the parsonage study that day ; 
 nor at the ironing table ; nor in the cook-stove ; nor in 
 the sewing machine ; nor in the children's hard lessons ; 
 so we just made up our minds to open the parsonage 
 parlor that evening, invite a few good-natured friends, 
 and send Fun word to come along with his metaphorical 
 monltey, and help us have a jolly good time." 
 
 It was our big boy's seventeenth birth-day anniver- 
 sary. So at half-past seven o'clock that evening, when 
 the children had finished their lessons and the friends 
 had gathered, Rob and his brothers and sister were 
 callod to the parlor. Evergreen letters on the walls 
 revealed the significance of the occasion. And then fol- 
 
288 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 lowed sparkling conversation, wit and humor, jokes, 
 games and " lots of fun," during which " that boy " was 
 made to feel he was a personage of some importance in 
 that parsonage. Finally, the parson and pater familias 
 produced and read the following appropriate personal 
 reminiscence : 
 
 WHEN I "WAS SEVENTEEN. 
 
 Though many years have come and gone 
 
 Since youth's fair bloom was on my cheek. 
 Though minstrels sing no more the song 
 
 They used to sing, young hope to greet; 
 Yet well do I remember now 
 
 The mystic, silvery sheen 
 That shone about my boyish brow 
 
 When I was seventeen. 
 
 There were no shadows o'er the morn ; 
 
 No spots upon my rising sun ; 
 No cloud foretold the distant storm — 
 
 Sad prelude of the days to come. 
 All things were bright as bright could be, 
 
 And verdant things were green ; 
 And verdant glory mantled me 
 
 When I was seventeen. 
 
 The downy morn grew into day, 
 And downy beard grew on my face. 
 
 The Grecian Cupid was my lay 
 
 And goose-grease did my caput grace. 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 289 
 
 Sweet peppermint its perfume gave 
 
 To aid the witching scene ; 
 And love's weird wand did o'er me wave 
 
 When I was seventeen. 
 
 High were the hopes that swelled my breast, 
 
 And high the collar which I bore; 
 A golden glory graced my crest, 
 
 And golden nankin tights I wore. 
 And then, where gathered maidens fair, 
 
 Might I be often seen. 
 What wondrous visions filled the air 
 
 When I was seventeen ! 
 
 I live again in days of yore; 
 
 And now I think me of the night 
 When, trembling at the old Church door, 
 
 I bowed, and stammered in my fright: — 
 " Shall I — the — pleasure have, — Miss Stout, 
 
 To see?" — Alas! How mean! 
 A bigger gallant " cut me out " 
 
 When I was seventeen ! 
 
 I loved, of course — ^yes loved and dreamed. 
 That she whose smile my being thrilled ; 
 
 Whose face in queenly beauty gleamed ; 
 Whose light my world with glory filled. 
 
 Would, one day, be my wife; but, Sir, 
 A slip came in between : — 
 
 A naughty preacher married her 
 
 When I was seventeen ! 
 13 
 
290 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 ANNIVERSARIES. 
 
 Many anniversaries have been recognized in that 
 parson's home. Two specimens will serve as samples. 
 The first is of 
 
 A WOODEN WEDDING EXTRAORDINAEY. 
 
 The husband himself read the ritual, which was 
 brand new, and made to order for the occasion. Of 
 course he pocketed the fee. At the appropriate place in 
 the ceremony, the parson joined himself and his bride 
 together with a pair of wooden handcuffs ; put a wooden 
 ring upon her finger, and crowned her with a decidedly 
 unique and showy head-dress, made of pine shavings. 
 This was followed by a graceful passage over the 
 hymeneal broom-stick; and the kiss to the bride was 
 responded to by a switch on the parson's back at the 
 hands of an outraged spectator. The following was the 
 ritual used : 
 
 Five cycles fulfilled now — 
 
 Their tournaments tilted ; — 
 Since the parson said, " Wilt thou ?" 
 
 And both of us — wilted ! 
 And now, ere we start on. 
 
 Let's understand whether 
 There's a plan we can part on. 
 
 Or still hold together. 
 Shall we take a license stronger, 
 A.nd wear the handcuffs five years longer ? 
 
HUMOES OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 291 
 
 These years have been sunny, 
 
 With clouds intermingled. 
 Sometimes little money 
 
 In our pockets has jingled. 
 But despite all the snatching 
 
 Our love-cords to sever, 
 Our biting and scratching 
 
 Ties us closer together. 
 Shall we pass another ring 
 And lengthen out your apron-string ? 
 
 We're, both of us, older. 
 
 And much better looking ; 
 And you're a brave soldier ; — 
 
 I, a good judge of cooldng. 
 Your exploits in warfare 
 
 Are all written down, ma'am, 
 In the sad, lonely, short hair 
 
 On the top of my crown, ma'am. 
 Should we 'list as new recruits. 
 Will you spare the stumps and roots ? 
 
 Once there were two of us. 
 
 While we were free of us ; 
 Then there was one of us : — 
 
 Now there are three of us ! 
 Baby arms round us twining. 
 
 Binding either to other ; 
 
292 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Angel sweetness enshrining : — 
 
 She takes after her — f — ^mother ! 
 Shall we jump the broomstick o'er, 
 And trudge along for five years more ? 
 
 I've " popped ; " — wilt thou keep me 
 
 " For worse or for better ? " 
 Come now, I entreat thee, 
 
 Accept of this fetter. 
 Is silence consenting ? 
 
 Then put on this ring, ma'am ; 
 And, never repenting. 
 
 We'll e'er gaily sing, ma'am ; 
 Come on, my partner in distress. 
 And don this wooden-wedding tress. 
 
 Now, friends ; we're before you 
 
 In our blushes and beauty ; 
 Make haste, we implore you, 
 
 To render your duty. 
 Once more we're to "go it" 
 
 Adown life's swift tide : 
 A switch for the poet — 
 
 A kiss for his bride ! 
 
 TIN WEDDING. 
 
 On the 5th of February, 1884, the Methodist Par- 
 sonage at North East, Md., was crowded with about one 
 hundred guests, to celebrate the tinth anniversary of the 
 marriage of the pastor and his wife. While the festivities, 
 
HUMOES OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 293 
 
 usual to such an occasion in a Christian home, were at 
 their height, a unique and unexpected ceremony was 
 performed by Rev. C. F. Slieppard, who read to the 
 bride and groom tlie following ritual in verse, composed 
 by Hon. L. A. C. Gerry of Port Deposit; on behalf of 
 many friends of that town : 
 
 ■'1874. EEV. AND MRS. ROBT. W. TODD. 1884. 
 
 The 'bell, book and candle' ye need not be dreading, 
 
 Nor black-pig-tailed music drummed out of tin pans; 
 We wish you great joy at your shining, tin wedding : 
 
 Be soldered the tongues which oppose the blest bans. 
 Your home may be neither a mansion nor palace. 
 
 It may be a cottage both lowly and plain ; 
 But blest 'neath the sway of the true-hearted Alice, 
 
 'Tis richer than many a more lordly domain. 
 Nor can the dark shadows of old melancholy 
 
 E'er wither the leaves of the family tree. 
 Where the ' Quaint and the Humorous,' pleasant and jolly, 
 
 Diffuses his ecclesiastical glee. 
 Besides, for your joy this decade hath modelings 
 
 Of miniature 'Robbies' and 'Allies,' I ween . 
 This day is the brighter because of the Todd-lings — 
 
 The tiptopest Todd-lings that ever were seen. 
 May the cup of your blessing be large as a basin ; 
 
 And grater your bliss than to all would be safe : 
 Your sorrows so little that never a trace in 
 
 Your faces could show that the tin-iest waif 
 Of the wickedest fairy had caused you a sorrow. 
 
294 METHODISM OF THE PENINSITLA. 
 
 May spoons-ful, aye, ladles-iul, pails-fal of bliss 
 Now flood you with gladness, so great you must borrow 
 
 The cans of your neighbors, lest oceans you miss. 
 May griefs pass away just like water in eolanders — 
 
 Vanish like whiskey down true Irish throats ; 
 Or krout before famishing, big-bellied Hollanders ; 
 
 Or pence in the pockets of Johnnie O'Groats. 
 We cannot be with you at this festive meeting. 
 
 Which grieveth our hearts, and our stomachs far more ; 
 We long for the hand-shakes, good words and good eating ; 
 
 But doubt not our absence will add to your store. 
 This night, while friends gather, and joys round you 
 thicken, 
 
 Oh, think of the absent and drop us a tear ; 
 Then solace your souls with the leg of a chicken — 
 
 (You'd be minus that solace could we but be there) 
 Yet we'll not be envious, though not at the party ; 
 
 Fate grant you a banquet would flatter the gods ! 
 We wish you all joy with the wish true and hearty : 
 
 Long live th' i-<m-erating <iji-wedded Todds ! " 
 
 This " ceremony " was greatly enjoyed and " brought 
 down the house." The presents con-iin-gent oji this 
 celebration numbered nearly two hundred, and came 
 from all points of the compass, in addition to the North 
 East point. While all were useful or ornamental, many 
 were elegant and some were unique. Among the latter 
 was a special package from three good matrons of Dover, 
 Delaware, containing a half-pint of beans, a slice of 
 
HUMOES OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 295 
 
 evaporated apple, a diminutive smoked herring, and two 
 tin-j tin plates, on which to serve these dainties. lAke 
 the Snow Hill poem mentioned hereafter, this kind 
 remembrance was doubtless " owed." 
 
 The musical propensities of the household were not 
 forgotten. A distinguished divine, whose name perhaps 
 it were as well should not be Cald, in this connection, 
 on account of his modesty, sent a fine-looking cornet. 
 The tone of the instrument was a striking mixture 
 between the reedy and the wheezy. It was not quite 
 apparent whether the kind donor had tested its tone 
 qualities by the explosive passages in his own impas- 
 sioned utterances, or had considerately sought to adjust 
 it to the wheezings of the asthmatic recipient. Had the 
 gentle brother who selected the second instrument been 
 accustomed to the eloquent and melodious utterances of 
 the reiiowned Burke of the old English ParKament, he 
 could scarcely have selected a cornet of more splendid 
 tone qualities. Another instrument came from the lEU 
 of Snow. Its tone was heraldic and prophetic ; a trans- 
 fusion of the jubilant spirit of the brave, bachelor knight 
 who sent it. It was interpreted to herald his early 
 departure from the dreary, 8now-j hill of celibacy to 
 the sunny and blossoming verdure of the tropics of love 
 and wedlock. It was accompanied by the following 
 lines from his graceful muse : 
 
296 METHODISM OP THE PENESrStTLA, 
 
 "OWED 
 TO THE EEV. E. W. TODD, 
 
 ON HIS TINTS WEDDING DAY. 
 
 The matrimonial sea — and the thought oft appalls — 
 Like the Cape of Good Hope, is notorious for squalls, 
 At least, so 'tis said ; and be sure 'tis a sin 
 Not to blow the fog-horn — so I send it within. 
 But if 'tis all false, none the less do I say, 
 You should blow all the fog from this subject away. 
 Then blow, trumpet, blow; and please, Gabriel, be still 
 Till the actor arouse an old Bach at Snow HiU. 
 
 ENVOY. 
 
 If ten years of Toddy has started no spree^ 
 Then women are angels — may there be one for me; 
 But if sweet figs don't grow on th' hymeneal thistle. 
 Surely ten years for a horn is paying dear for your whistle." 
 
 On this production the recipient ventured the following 
 critique in the Peninsula Methodist: 
 
 " Some, allowance must be made on the ground of 
 'jjoetic license;' but it is a brand new idea to notify 
 the mariner of squalls by sounding a fog-horn, or to 
 disperse a fog by the blast of a trumpet. For the 
 former the sailor must 'look out;' and squalls are the 
 best possible agencies for dispersing the latter. It must 
 be candidly confessed, however, that usually the matri- 
 monial sea is rippled by squalls, and beset with rocks; 
 and the cradle of this deep' quite often disturbs, 
 rather than promotes 'peaceful sleep.' However, let 
 the timid Snow Hill bachelor be encouraged by the 
 
HUMOES OP A MODERN ITINERANT. 297 
 
 remembrance that, in our case, the fogs of doubt have 
 given way before our little breezes of experience; and 
 that, after a tSn years' voyage, amid squalls and rocks, 
 the craft starts out again for another cruise, as good as 
 new, and with three romping little sailors on board, who 
 were not present at the original launch." 
 
 The wedding cake for the above interesim' anniver- 
 sary was supplied from Green Hill, the residence of 
 Eev. T. S. Thomas. Certain innocent-looking young 
 maidens from that region confmuously and perfmaciously 
 demanded that the bridegroom cut them a few slices 
 therefrom ; but as they had forgotten to ftirnish him 
 with a pair of tinners' shears, he imperimently declined. 
 The cake contained an entire service of tin dishes ! 
 
 Professor John G. Robinson, now of Baltimore, is an 
 
 old Eastern-Shoreman; and, by reason of his business 
 
 relations with that part of the State, and his frequent 
 
 presence at our Conferences and other gatherings, he 
 
 seems still to belong to the Peninsula. A notification 
 
 to the writer, an old pastor, of the approach of the 
 
 twenty-fifth anniversary of the marriage of INIr. aud 
 
 Mrs. Robinson, occurring November 14th, 1879, called 
 
 forth a congratulatory poem ; which, at the appropriate 
 
 point in the festivities, was most effectively read by 
 
 E,ev. Dr. Poulson, calling forth the enthusiastic applause 
 
 of the two hundred guests crowding the spacious parlors. 
 
 The Professor had the poem printed in silver letters; 
 
 and, mounted in a silver frame, it hangs in his best 
 
 parlor. It is as follows : 
 
 13* 
 
298 METHODISM OP THE PENINSTILA. 
 
 TO PEOFESSOR AND MES. JOHN G. ROBINSON, ON THE 
 OCCASION OF THEIR SILVER WEDDING. 
 
 O, ring the bells ! yes, ring the silver bells ! 
 
 A joyous eve their melody foretells. 
 
 Turn on the lights ; stir up the grate right cheerily ; 
 
 All voices — -joining in the chorus merrily — 
 
 Send the glad music forth in happy greeting, 
 
 And shout the welcome to our festal meeting ! 
 
 O, say; do you remember 
 
 The fourteenth of November, 
 
 Eighteen hundred fifty-four. 
 
 When, before the bridal door. 
 
 Stood a youthful couple, knocking, 
 
 Wliile the very earth seemed rocking 
 
 'Neath their heart-throbs? Then the portals 
 
 Opened to these longing mortals : 
 
 John and 'Liza then went through, sir ; — 
 
 Thenceforth one — no longer two, sir. 
 
 Plodding, along 
 Amid the throng ; 
 'Twixt smiles and tears. 
 Through rolling years. 
 
 The happy pair have reached the silvery line, — 
 November fourteenth, Eighteen-seventy-nine. 
 Queriest thou, "Doth John regret his venture — eh?" 
 The answer's in this quarter of a century. 
 
HUMOES OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 299 
 
 Once there were two — ^then only one of them ; 
 
 But no%o, great guns ! you see there are some of them ! 
 Ida, Helen, Eva, Charlie, 
 Inglis, Howard, May and John G., 
 Jennie, Jessie, Clyde and Grace, 
 And Willie — goodness ! "What a race 
 Of Robin's daughters, Robin's sons ! 
 How the human torrent runs ! — 
 Enough to form a congregation. 
 Run a school, or stock a nation : 
 " Quiver full of arrows " chosen ; 
 "Olive plants" — a baker's dozen! 
 
 Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers, 
 Friends, acquaintances and others 
 Gathered in this festive meeting. 
 Take again our kindly greeting ! 
 
 Slowly, rapidly, the years 
 
 Passing by, 'twixt smiles and tears. 
 
 Have their episodes been making — 
 
 New experiences creating — 
 
 Until five and twenty winters. 
 
 With their usual season inters, 
 
 Have their silvery threads been knitting — 
 
 Bride and bridegroom well befitting — 
 
 Through their locks the white frost spreading : 
 
 Graceful flowers to deck this wedding. 
 
300 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Let every guest 
 
 Now do his best. 
 
 While bells are ringing, 
 
 Let joyous singing — 
 
 Your salutations — 
 
 Congratulations — 
 
 Best kind wishes, 
 
 And silver dishes — 
 A gala wedding avalanche 
 Overwhelm this jolly ranche ! 
 
 And now, adieu. May bride and bridegroom live on 
 With bread to eat and something left, to give on, 
 
 'Mid kind caressing 
 
 And Heaven's blessing, 
 Until another wedding glee is holden, 
 Whose sunshine, love and presents shall be golden. 
 
 WASH-DAY. 
 
 Moving day and the season of house cleaning, have 
 been immortalized by painters and poets as periods of 
 special interest in the domestic world. But for relaxa- 
 tions and recreations of this sort, homes would stagnate 
 and humanity become torpid. Instinct teaches the eagle 
 to "stir up her nest" for the benefit of her household, 
 who, without it, would settle into inert and finally help- 
 less imbecility. So moving day and house cleaning do 
 their part towards making heroes and martyrs. But 
 justice has never been done to the humble wash-day. 
 
HUMOES OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 301 
 
 which is as prolific of clean, healthful saintliness, as 
 house cleaning is of noble heroism. The following 
 humble effort to rescue this most interesting day from 
 its obscurity and neglect, is given for what it is worth ; 
 and, it is hoped, it will be appreciated by the lovers of 
 fair play and justice : 
 
 "WASH-DAY"— A POME. 
 
 Ho ! all ye parsons, young and old, 
 List, as the story I unfold ; 
 Though half the glory can't be told 
 Of wash-day. 
 
 The Sunday sti'ain has laid you low : 
 Blue Monday shadows cloud yoiu" brow ; 
 And clouds oft robe your saintly /row 
 On wash-day. 
 
 A pain, perchance, is in your head ; 
 And you would longer keep your bed ; 
 But — ^hustle out ! For, hark, she said : 
 "'Tis wash-day!" 
 
 You're washed and dressed, and down the stair; 
 You've read the lesson — said the prayer; 
 And now you try the bill of fare 
 For wash-day. 
 
 The scraps from Sunday meals — the trash — 
 Is stewed and stirred and turned to hash. 
 " Eefuse to eat it ? " 'Twould be rash, 
 On wash-day. 
 
302 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Yes ; gulp it down, and ask no questions ; 
 Don't criticise — make no suggestions ; 
 Some /rows do splode, — yes, e'en the best ones, — 
 On wash-day. 
 
 The garments soiled are strewn around ; 
 Tubs, pots and wash-boards take the ground, 
 And things go splashing, slopping round 
 Through wash-day. 
 
 The baby, in his meditations, 
 Scolds the perverse concatenations. 
 That leave him to the sad mutations 
 Of wash-day. 
 
 The older urchins join, and do 
 Their " level best" to "put you through:" — 
 " Blue Monday," thus, is doubly blue 
 On wash-day. 
 
 If, from this steam and suds and bustle, 
 Out from the parsonage you hustle. 
 To exercise your mind and muscle 
 On wash-day; 
 
 You dare not, howsoever brave you 
 Are, make a call. A fool or knave you 
 Will be esteemed. " Soft soap " won't save you 
 On wash-day. 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 303 
 
 If to your study you would hie, 
 And sermons make, 'tis vain to try; 
 They're blued, wrung, starched, and stiff and dry 
 On wash-day. 
 
 " Pray for relief ? " — A vain petition ; 
 Your pouting vain — your fretting, wishing ; 
 You'd best, Kke Peter, " go a fishing," 
 On wash-day. 
 
 To prove my wisdom in this matter, — 
 This pome was writ amid the clatter. 
 And steam, and suds, and dash and spatter 
 Of wash-day. 
 
 CHURCH ANNIVERSARY. 
 
 The first Sunday in June of the Centenary year of 
 organized Methodism in America — 1884 — was the 89th 
 anniversary of the dedication of the first Methodist 
 Episcopal Church at North East, Maryland. The day 
 was appropriately celebrated with memorial services 
 befitting the occasion ; and with a thanksgiving offering 
 that cleared the new and beautiful church of debt. The 
 following commemorative poem was read by the pastor, 
 the author of this volume : 
 
 SABBATH, JUNE 6th, 1795. 
 
 As dawned this hallowed morn in sweet repose. 
 Opening its gentle eyes to drink the light 
 
 Of day's bright orb, as o'er yon hill he rose ; 
 So waked that Sabbath, from the tomb of night, 
 
304 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 We come to celebrate. In joyous strain 
 
 The birds poured forth their carols, and the flowers 
 Exhaled their sweet perfumes; while hill and plain, 
 
 Enrobed in Summer verdure, filled the hours 
 With holy thoughts, and reverent emotions, 
 Fit prelude to the holy day's devotions. 
 On yonder hill, where sleeps the sacred dust 
 
 Of your forefathers ; stood, in meek array, 
 Their humble temple — symbol of their trust 
 
 And unpretending piety. That day, — 
 Floorless, unplastered still — its naked walls 
 
 Were, the first time, to echo back the song 
 Of joyous worshipers ; the trumpet calls 
 
 Of Heaven's heraldry. As those who long 
 For home and rest, these Methodistic sires 
 Had longed to light their sacred altar fires. 
 
 Now the glad day had come. At yester-noon 
 
 On sober steed, along the highway came 
 A manly form, with classic face, abloom 
 
 With healthful glow, and radiant with the flame 
 That love enkindles ; while his mild, meek eyes 
 
 Shed benedictions on the school-house swarm, 
 Who looked up from their play in blank surprise 
 
 At the strange spectacle. His noble form 
 Was clad in reverend black, close buttoned; while 
 
 A low-crowned, broad-rimmed hat shaded his face, 
 Holding the grey-streaked hair, that, in the style 
 
 Of olden times, flowed down, in wavy grace^ 
 
HUMOES OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 305 
 
 Upon his shoulders. Breeches, fitting close, 
 
 Reached to his knees, while leggings buttoned down 
 Hls limbs, for most part hid his faultless hose. 
 
 Buckles of silver graced his shoes. From crown 
 To foot, quaint neatness reigned in grace supreme. 
 As Asbury on North East road was seen. 
 A second steed brought up the rear, to carry- 
 Needed supphes, and his good man, black Harry. 
 
 The news soon spread around; and, pell-mell, came 
 From farmhouse, cottage, mansion, shop and lane 
 Their denizens, with welcome words of greeting. 
 Who forthwith voted for an extra meeting. 
 The pastors, Benny Abbot, Frederick Carp, 
 With Elder Richard Whatcoat, made the start; 
 And numerous laymen, with the Trustee board : 
 Hart, Jones, George, Sweasey, Howell, Aldridge, Ford, 
 With the good Bishop, holding consultation. 
 At once extemporized a dedication. 
 Couriers went forth, to bear the news abroad 
 Through all the region — "Come, and worship God !" 
 
 So, on this 6th of June in '95, 
 
 As hour of eight draws near, an eager throng 
 Swarms up the Back Street road, unto the hive 
 
 For Love Feast. Tho' no clam'rous bell's ding-dong 
 To worship calls, the spirit's quickened ear 
 Obeys love's heart-beats with a glad good cheer. 
 Each comer bears a ticket to the feast. 
 
306 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 And sentries at the door admit the guest, 
 
 If plainly clad ; for neither flower nor feather ; 
 
 No ruffled skirts ; no jewelled form whatever 
 
 Can enter there. To-day, in looking o'er 
 
 A village congregation, rich or poor. 
 
 Imperfect vision might mistake it for 
 
 A garden, full of fruits and flowers ; or 
 
 A museum of birds and feathers rare ; 
 
 But, in " ye olden times," the places where 
 
 Our sires and matrons gathered, much resembled 
 
 The growing wheat ; while, here and there, dissembled 
 
 In beauteous green, deceitful tares were growing, 
 
 Despite the Master's careful toil and sowing. 
 
 Well, that fair morn, all seated on the sleepers, 
 
 On sills and boards, the sowers and the reapers 
 
 Of '95, in reverent devotion. 
 
 Mused, sang and prayed, while flowed the glad emotion 
 
 Of holy joy. The pilgrim, toiling up 
 
 The rugged mountain steeps, refilled his cup 
 
 From Calvary's spring. The weeping penitent 
 
 From miry slough below, in joyous bound, 
 Leaped to the Rock. The traveler, who went 
 
 That morn by dry and thorny road, now found 
 The land of Beulah, rich with Eden's bloom; 
 
 While he who, from the lofl;y mountain top. 
 Surveyed the scene, amid the light of noon. 
 
 Shouted to all below, " Come up ! come up !" 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 307 
 
 The hour of ten arrived. The Bishop rose 
 And read, " O, for a thousand tongues !" As flows 
 Niagara adown its rapids, so 
 The sweep of holy song — now high, now low, 
 To tune of "Northfield" flowed. Like ocean's roar, 
 As joyous billows break along the shore ; 
 So, in deep cadences, up to yon height, 
 And out, o'er all the vale, in glad delight 
 Rolled the refrain : " Your loosened tongues employ ; 
 Ye blind, behold, and leap ye lame for joy !" 
 
 And then black Harry prayed. In homely phrase, 
 In figure rude, but redolent with praise ; 
 His simple thoughts took 'wings ; and up the steep, 
 To where the cherubim their vigil keep. 
 In Christ's own holy place, they entrance found, 
 Till saint and sinner felt " 'tis holy ground 
 Whereon we kneel." And when " Amen " was said. 
 In stillness tremulous, on every head 
 Rested a "cloven tongue, like as of fire !" 
 And then, once more, the joyous vocal lyre 
 Gave forth its melody of song. And now 
 Again arose the Bishop. On his brow 
 Great thoughts had traced their lines : his beaming eye 
 Gave forth the light, that once on Sinai, 
 Illumined Moses' face; and as he read 
 The sacred Book, where the Great Teacher said, 
 " Upon this rock I build my Church, and hell 
 Shall not 'gainst it prevail ;" a holy spell 
 
308 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Of reverent silence seized the list'ning throng, 
 As for two hours, — nor did the time seem long, — 
 The apostolic herald preached salvation, — 
 The heritage of every tribe and nation : 
 Extolled the mighty strength of Judah's lion ; 
 And pledged that strength for the defence of Zion. 
 
 The Gospel bread that day was good — not better 
 Than men are wont to eat in ages later ; 
 But in these busy times, men live so fast; 
 So push and crowd and cram at life's repast, 
 Tliat they have little time or inclination 
 To linger at the feast of free salvation. 
 If, to hear Twain or Perkins, they a shilling 
 Pay ; then, for ninety minutes, they are willing 
 To swelter through the ordeal, and esteem it 
 Too short. But the same audience will deem it 
 A heartless outrage, if the Heav'n-sent legate 
 Intent on saving them, should, by this, belate 
 Their dinners fifteen minutes. Thus, we see 
 That what men please to call the great disparity 
 'Tween preaching old and modern, is the rarity 
 Of old-time appetites, and old-time charity. 
 
 Well, on that Summer day, as climbed the sun 
 To zenith height, and poured in flood of noon 
 His fiery torrent down ; love's holy flame, 
 From yonder pristine temple's sacred fane, 
 "Went up to Heaven, till glory crowned the hour, — 
 Till saint and sinner felt the wondrous power 
 
HUMOES OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 309 
 
 Of Pentecost ; and, in North East, that day 
 
 Our Church " moved in " her home, and came to stay. 
 
 Let us, her sons and daughters, gather round 
 
 Her altar fires to-day. 'Tis holy ground 
 
 Whereon we tread. With rev'rent mien 
 
 We own our fathers' God ; and, 'mid the scene 
 
 Where dead and living mingle, seal our vows 
 
 To join their anthem in the upper house. 
 
 A CENTENNIAL SERVICE, 
 
 Commemorative of the one hundredth anniversary of 
 the organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 was held in August, 1884, at the Woodlawn camp-meet- 
 ing, in Cecil county, Maryland. On the invitation of 
 Rev. Jos. France, the minister in charge of the meeting, 
 the writer composed, on the camp-ground, and read as a 
 part of the programme the following commemorative 
 poem: 
 
 1784. EPISCOPAL METHODIST CENTENABY. 1884. 
 
 In Southern Wales, in Sev'nteen forty-seven. 
 An infant voice floats on the breath of even, 
 Which Destiny Divine ordains shall tell the story. 
 Of free Salvation and Messiah's glory 
 To eager multitudes in many lands ; 
 Till ocean, breaking on her nether strands, 
 Shall sound the requiem 'long time's vast billow, 
 Of him who sleeps upon her coral pillow. 
 
 I sing of Thomas Coke, the noble son — 
 Wealthy and cultured — who the prize had won 
 
310 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Of worldly ease and fame; but who, like Moses, 
 
 Forsook the sweetness of Egyptian roses 
 
 For Sinai's thorns : — ^who like his loving Lord, 
 
 Obedient to his holy will and word, 
 
 Gave labor, wealth, and life itself, to win 
 
 To Heaven trophies from the field of sin. 
 
 Ordained in his young manhood, faithfully and well 
 
 He offered Heaven and forwarned of Hell : 
 
 Proclaimed a Saviour whom he had not known; 
 
 Till, as he one day preached him, Heav'n's light shone 
 
 In his dark heart; and then exultant faith. 
 
 Leaving the tedious, torturous mountain path, 
 
 Soared up to heights where manuscript was lost. 
 
 And words leaped from his heart; and Heaven's host 
 
 Was present, witnessing the truth, till men 
 
 Grew penitent and turned from sin ; and then. 
 
 For Christly faithfulness his Bishop hurled 
 
 Him forth to the cathedral of the world. 
 
 His tongue of fire, unquenched by tyrant flood. 
 
 Flamed on in burning words. The cleansing blood 
 
 He still proclaimed, till popular demand 
 
 Reversed the edict ; and the sexton's hand 
 
 That rang the bells of Petherton, to tell 
 
 Of Coke's disgrace, once more rang loud and well 
 
 And joyously, to call him home again 
 
 To preach salvation in the Saviour's name. 
 
 But Coke had tasted liberty. The stale. 
 Dry bread of formalism, did thenceforth fail 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 311 
 
 To feed his noble soul. The narrow bounds 
 Of legal parish ; and the stated rounds 
 Of parish work, reined in his panting heart; 
 Till, breaking churchly bit, he made the start 
 For diocesan empire, wide as earth ; 
 And, in his apostolic life, gave birth 
 To our Episcopacy, universal. 
 Honored, victorious and without reversal. 
 
 Four years, o'er England's darkened fields, he flew — 
 A fiery herald. Then he plumed anew 
 His Gospel pinions for our waiting wild ; 
 And, at his coming, freedom's empire smiled 
 Him welcome. Like the trained ambassador, 
 Charged with a mission fraught with vast import ; or 
 A shepherd with good news to sheep, untended 
 In the wilderness ; with haste Coke wended 
 His way from great New York, over the hills 
 And valleys ; through the towns and villages ; by mills. 
 And through the cities full ; — resting alone 
 The Holy Day, — ^till gladly he should come 
 To that dear spot of which his ears had heard 
 As Israel heard of Horeb, and the Word 
 Who said to Moses : — " Be thy shoes unbound ; 
 The place whereon thou stand'st is holy ground !" 
 
 Favored Peninsula ! When He who made 
 The earth and sea, finished his work, and said 
 " 'Tis very good ; " turning away, liis last. 
 
312 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Best smile upon thy sleeping face was cast, 
 
 And there has ever lingered. And so, when, 
 
 In later years, our Saviour smiled again 
 
 On our sad world, it brought forth Methodism — 
 
 The rainbow glory of the Gospel prism ! 
 
 And thou, sweet spot ! of all the world most favored, 
 
 Hast most of Methodism ; nor hast thou wavered 
 
 In thy allegiance. A hundred years 
 
 Of toil and struggle — heroism and tears 
 
 But makes thy glory brighter ; and thy fame. 
 
 Like that of Eden, 'lumines with its flame 
 
 The wide, wide world of Methodistic name. 
 
 Hither the Heav'n-appointed Bishop sped ; 
 And, by this rising morning star, is led 
 Unto the holy place where Barratt's altar 
 Glows with the sacred fire. No legal halter 
 Hampers the great commission of his Lord : — 
 " Go ye in all the world, and preach the Word" — 
 But free as mountain stream, the message flows 
 From tongues set free by sturdy freemen's blows 
 In revolutionary strife. And here, 
 That day, the multitudes from far and near 
 Were gathered. 'Twas a holy Sabbath morn 
 In Indian summer. Fields of ripened corn 
 Waited the reapers — symbol of the day 
 Of God's great harvest, where extended lay 
 The whitened fields, awaiting Heaven's reaj^ei^ : — 
 Where scattered flocks were bleating for their keepers. 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 313 
 
 Now the glad day had come. The shepherd chief 
 Entered the waiting fold. Turning a leaf 
 In the great Book, he read the blessed Psalm — 
 " The Lord my shepherd is ; " and holy calm, 
 Still as the breath of eve, came o'er the place : 
 And throbbing hearts grew still ; and peace, and grace 
 And holy joy came on the gathered saints 
 Who graced the Love-feast. As the artist paints 
 Alternate lights and shades, in beauty blending ; 
 So in this scene, the Holy Ghost descending. 
 Inspired and led the service, blending song 
 And prayer and utterance; until along 
 Each heart's warm current flowed the glad emotion 
 Of Love Divine in saintly, warm devotion. 
 
 And then the unbarred doors were opened wide. 
 And the great throng poured in, a surging tide 
 That overflowed the house, and gathered near 
 Each open door and window, glad to hear. 
 E'en from the outer courts, the joyful news 
 That came that day, alike to Greeks and Jews, 
 And unnamed wanderers of every nation — 
 The joyful news of full and free salvation! 
 
 Oldening again the Book, the preacher read 
 "VAIiere his great prototype, St. Paul, had said : — 
 "Christ Jesus; who, to us, is made of God 
 Our wisdom and redemption, cleansing blood 
 And righteousness." With logic like the granite, 
 14 
 
314 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 He broad foundation laid, deep in the planet 
 
 Of conscious verities. Then, on this base 
 
 He placed a sculptured stone, on every face 
 
 Of which stood out, in startling, bold relief 
 
 Some chiseled form of human woe or grief: 
 
 A captive bound — a wand'rer lost — a soul 
 
 Exposed to Sinai's bolt — a leper foul 
 
 Wailing "Unclean! unclean!" — true symbols all 
 
 Of human helplessness — that threw the pall 
 
 Of hopeless night o'er many a waking heart : 
 
 That, as at Philippi, caused men to start 
 
 From quaking hell beneath ; and, anxious, cry 
 
 "What must I do?" The preacher's eagle eye 
 
 The scene surveyed. He saw the time had come 
 
 To ope the darkened skies, and let the Sun 
 
 Of Hope shine down. And, as the welcome light 
 
 Came in, there stood, revealed to human sight — 
 
 Crowning the monument the preacher builded — 
 
 A form Divine, with God's own glory gilded. 
 
 " See ! see ! " he cried ; " Behold the man who frees us ! "- 
 
 They oped Aeir tearful eyes, and looked on Jesus. 
 
 The preacher paused, but lingered, looking o'er 
 The weeping multitude; when, through the door. 
 Pushed in a manly form, whose saintly face 
 Was calm and thoughtful — radiant with the grace 
 That came of deep communion with his God. 
 It was Coke's Aaron — bearer of the rod 
 Of Israel's guidance through the wilderness 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERK ITINERANT. 315 
 
 Of early struggle, tow'rd the hoped-for place 
 
 Of Churchly empire Prophecy foretold ; 
 
 Where deserts smile — where Heaven's flowers unfold 
 
 Their beauty, and exhale their sweetness o'er 
 
 The goodly land. Till that hour, ne'er before 
 
 Had these men met, save as they met in spirit, 
 
 Around the common altar, where the merit 
 
 Of Jesus' blood unites in one all stations, 
 
 And makes one family of all earth's nations. 
 
 Thus Francis Asbury first looked on Coke. 
 
 For thirteen years, while revolution's smoke 
 
 Obscured the sun of peace, this son of peace 
 
 Had published the good news, that Righteousness 
 
 And Peace had met, embraced and kissed each other : — 
 
 Each looked in other's face, and each said, "Brother ! " 
 
 As these two stranger brethren met, the flow 
 Of love fraternal came. The tender glow 
 Of mutual sacrifice for human weal, 
 As if by holy instinct, fixed the seal 
 Of spirit brotherhood ; and, in that place, 
 With loving kiss — with brotherhood's embrace — 
 Two Christly hearts were joined in wedlock holy, 
 To nobly dare and perish for the lowly. 
 
 Three other manly forms the tableau grace : 
 One born near Havre, Maryland ; — the place 
 Of Christian Freedom's birth — and "born again" 
 On horseback, while a boy, amid the flame 
 
316 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Of sev'nteen sev'nty-five, making the wildwood 
 
 Ring back the echoes of his joyous childhood, 
 
 Made free and innocent : — who, when he came 
 
 To manhood's heritage, bearing the name 
 
 Of slaveholder — he who had been redeemed — 
 
 Heard, whispering in his soul a voice that seemed 
 
 To say: "My son; let the oppressed go free!" 
 
 And, pausing in the fe,m'ly prayer, lie said : 
 
 " Lord ; the oppressed shall go ! " Then, while he prayed, 
 
 A world of slaves to sin before him stood; 
 
 And o'er him bended low the Son of God, 
 
 And said : " Whom shall I send, and who will go 
 
 To bear my message 'mid this scene of woe?" 
 
 Then Freeborn Garrettson — God's son, born free — 
 
 Joined Heav'n's own unrestricted embassy; 
 
 And, ere he gave to Methodism his hand. 
 
 Had gathered thirty converts to her band. 
 
 With humble, rev'rent mien, there stood near by 
 A man untutored, but with rich supply 
 Of inborn Eloquence : — a white-souled man, 
 Done up in colored envelope, — who ran 
 On Asbury's errands; listened to his teaching; 
 Polished his boots ; and, sometimes, beat liim preaching ! 
 
 Whatcoat was there; and, seven other preachers 
 Of name unknown, — but whose fair fame as teachers 
 Is writ in Heaven, — were gathered there that day 
 To lift the cross, and swell the joyful lay. 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 317 
 
 The tableau, thus complete, let us still carry — 
 Coke, Garrettson, Whatcoat, Asbury, Harry — 
 To widow Barratt's home, where willing hands 
 And loving hearts attended the demands 
 Of tired and hungry nature. There, that day, 
 The Bishop's council met. Before it lay 
 The whole, broad land. King George's Bishops, moved 
 By hate of liberty, and lucre — loved 
 Better than they loved souls — forsook their sheep, 
 And left to Methodism the watch to keep, 
 While battle-storms, in fury, rent the fold ; 
 And Judases their God and country sold ! 
 
 No Church Episcopal then set up claim 
 To being or authority. The name — 
 " Episcopal" — was captured by our sires, 
 And held as contraband, till altar fires 
 Should be enkindled, that would burn on fanes 
 Of Christian liberty. And then, the names 
 Of Asbury and Coke, on the first page 
 Of the great history, of the great age 
 Of our great Church, Episcopal, were writ 
 Ere other name. Episcopal, the lip 
 Of priest had passed, in all our new domain 
 Conquered for freedom. Thus, in freedom's name 
 Our Mother Church, first coming to baptism, 
 "Episcopal" affixed to Methodism. 
 
 Well, that day Coke his council called at Barratt ; 
 And, after prayer, it was determined thereat, 
 
318 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 To call, at Baltimore, a conference 
 Of ministers, on Christmas Eve. And thence 
 They sent forth Grarrettson, like the swift arrow. 
 The glad, good news from north to south to carry; 
 And call the heralds forth, from vale and mountain, 
 To Lovely Lane, to ope the churchly fountain 
 Of governmental rule, and power and rod ; 
 To vanquish Hell, and take the world for God ! 
 
 Then joyous Christmas came, and brought three-score 
 Itinerants. Weary, unkempt and sore 
 With the campaign, and long and wintry tramp. 
 They file down Light Street, to the place of camp. 
 Each soldier counts his trophies — tells his story ; 
 And each to Jesus gives the praise and glory. 
 The vet' ran with white locks, the stripling youth. 
 The middle-aged — all champions for the Truth — 
 Gathered about their leaders ; heard and spoke, 
 Debated, counselled, pending the great vote 
 That stamped with favor Bishop Wesley's plans : — 
 That unchained Methodism — that broke her bands. 
 And turned her legions loose upon the field 
 Of the wide world, the sword of God to wield ; 
 Till watchman on to watchman shouts the song 
 The earth around — her hills and vales along : — 
 "One Methodism o'erspreads the world's vast plains; 
 All hallelujah! Christ Messiah reigns!" 
 
 The century now rolls away. The story 
 Of Methodism's exploits, misfortunes, glory 
 
HUMOES OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 319 
 
 Is writtea in earth's archives — in the Heaven — 
 
 In angel memories — in all the leaven 
 
 Of modern progress — ^through all her sister churches — 
 
 Through all the fields where science makes researches; 
 
 And, hand in hand, with God and all good men, 
 
 She marches tow'rd the blessed era, when ; 
 
 "With all her saintly sisters, of all names 
 
 And cHmes — ^with angel band that flames 
 
 About the Throne; — she and they all shall come 
 
 Around the grave where death shall find his doom, 
 
 And bury all contentions with their foe. 
 
 Then, from the ransomed host, shall ever flow 
 
 The glad, sweet song : — " To Him who us hath loved ; 
 
 And, in his precious blood, all stains removed, 
 
 And made us Kings and Priests unto our God ; 
 
 To Him be wisdom, power, dominion's rod 
 
 And glory, through the happy, endless day, when 
 
 All tribes and worlds shall shout eternal 'Amen!' " 
 
 THE ELDERSHIP, AND THE HARMONIOUS QUARTET. 
 
 In 1876, while stationed at Easton, Maryland, the 
 WTiter drew up a memorial to the Wilmington Confer- 
 ence, on the subject of the Presiding Eldership ; which 
 was signed by the entire male membership of the charge, 
 and, at the proper time, presented to the conference. 
 The memorial asked that the Wilmington Conference 
 petition the General Conference, to so modify the Pre- 
 siding Eldership, as that, while retaining its most valuable 
 features, the office would be divested of its expensiveness. 
 
320 METHODISM OP THE PENINSITLA. 
 
 This, it was held, could be effected by reducing the Dis- 
 tricts to ten or a less number of charges ; at the same time 
 relieving the Elder of holding the Quarterly Conferences, 
 and appointing him to the pastorate of one of the charges 
 in his District. About one-fourth of the conferences voted 
 in favor of the resolution to so petition the General Con- 
 ference. Whether this minority embodied the wisdom 
 of the Conference on that question, it is not the purpose 
 of the author to discuss. Minorities are sometimes right. 
 
 A day or two after presenting the memorial and 
 advocating the resolution, the writer was appointed by 
 a meeting of the Easton District preachers to present 
 the name of Rev. C. Hill to the Bishop as their choice 
 for Presiding Elder. After representing to the Council 
 the wishes of the meeting, the genial President, Bishop 
 Scott, jocosely remarked that he felt somewhat disposed to 
 ignore the request, and appoint the bearer of the message 
 himself to that position; as, by serving a term in the 
 Presiding Eldership, he would be likely to be cured of 
 his unfortunate heresy on that great question of church 
 polity. His good-natured threat, however, was not exe- 
 cuted, and the wishes of the brethren were duly respected. 
 
 Three years afterward, on the death of Rev. John 
 Hough, of precious memory, for some reason unknown 
 to the writer. Bishop Simpson sent him a commission to 
 assume, forthwith, the duties and responsibilities of the 
 vacant Dover District. 
 
 As to his experience in the sub-episcopal office, 
 he may say, that if he ever entertained a query as 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 321 
 
 to whether a Bishop's Council, like the average corpora- 
 tion, is a body without a heart and soul, that questioning 
 was thus speedily settled by a most emphatic negative. 
 
 The first Council was composed of Lucius C. Matlack,' 
 Charles Hill, Thomas S. Williams, and Robt. W. Todd. 
 Afterwards Thos. E. Martindale filled the place vacated 
 by Chas. Hill. The presiding Bishops were, in order, 
 Edward G. Andrews, Thomas Bowman, John F. Hurst, 
 and Matthew Simpson. 
 
 In these council sessions such was the harmony ; the 
 brotherly courtesy; the entire willingness to consult 
 the general good of work and workers; and the mu- 
 tual voluntary concessions and helpful suggestions and 
 adjustments; that two of the Bishops were prompted to 
 remark that the exhibition, in its degree, Tias both 
 anomalous and most grateful. To the existence of this 
 pleasant state of affairs, none contributed more, if indeed 
 so much, as Lucius C. Matlack. 
 
 The following tribute of love to the memory of this 
 great and good soldier of Jesus Christ was delivered 
 by the author of this volume, on the occasion of the 
 memorial services held by his bereaved flock, in the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, at Cambridge, Maryland, 
 July 3d, 1883 : 
 
 REV. LUCIUS COLUMBUS MATLACK, D. D. 
 
 Sixty-seven years ago, the infant cry of a child they 
 called Lucius, was borne to the world on the silent 
 breath of the morning. In the early moments of 
 
 14* 
 
322 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 Sabbath morning, June 24t]i, 1883, the same voice was 
 heard, for the last time on earth, saying: "God's holy 
 will be done : I am not surprised ; " and then the tired 
 'breast of Lucius C. Matlack rested from its laborious 
 struggle; and his manly form laid down to rest, and 
 listen for the trump and the voice that shall herald the 
 eternal morning. 
 
 On the following day, the precious dust, which had 
 been hallowed by his blood-washed spirit, attended by 
 his bereaved and stricken companion and orphaned boy, 
 and by a deputation of the sorrowing Church bereft of his 
 holy ministry, was conveyed to Port Deposit, and to the 
 house that had been the former home of Mrs. Matlack. 
 A little over ten years before, our brother and sister, a 
 happily wedded twain, had gone out from this little 
 home to the blessed experiences of a most fitting and 
 congenial matrimonial union; and to the equally con- 
 genial life-work of winning jewels for their Master's 
 crown. 
 
 On this sad return to the bridal scene, it was fittingf 
 the casket containing his manly frame, should be depos- 
 ited on the precise spot, where he and his bridal partner 
 had stood and taken the mutual vows that made them 
 one till death. Thence we bore his body to the village 
 Church, whose walls had so frequently echoed with his 
 eloquent words, and placed it in the chancel so often 
 graced by his manly presence ; where glowing tribute 
 was paid to his worth, and fitting expression given to 
 our sense of loss and bereavement. Then, amid the 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 323 
 
 * 
 
 peltings of a furious rain-storm, the sad funeral cortege 
 wended its way to the beautiful hills of Hopewell, the 
 place of interment. On leaving the church, the lips of 
 her who sorrowed most whispered her heart's desire that 
 the falling floods might be stayed while we laid our pre- 
 cious burden in its last resting place ; and Heaven heard 
 her prayer. While all around, in sight, copious showers 
 were deluging the valleys, not a drop disturbed the fai'c- 
 well service at the grave, or hastened the departure of 
 sadly-lingering footsteps. 
 
 Plopewell never received a treasure of more precious 
 dust than the sleeping form of Lucius C. Matlack. 
 And no more fitting location and name could be found 
 as his place of sepulture. Topographically about the 
 highest point of land in our conference territory, it is 
 appropriate that he, who, in his physical stature, form 
 and feature, was most noble and courtly amongst us, 
 should there lie down to his rest. It is fitting that his 
 consecrated body should sleep at our nearest point to the 
 heavens. And if, from Christ's Paradise, a white-robed 
 and white-winged soul is ever permitted to visit the spot 
 where his dust ref)0ses ; from the heights of Hope^vell, 
 to the vision of our departed brother, God may some- 
 times reveal the old Peninsular battle-field, over which, 
 as a Christian soldier, he fought, gladdening his redeemed 
 spirit with the assurance of the cumulative and culmi- 
 nating victories of the cross. 
 
 "Hopewell." How suggestive the name ! A well- 
 grounded, well-assured hope of resurrection and immor- 
 
324 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 tality cheered him through life and as he entered the 
 valley ; and cheered us for him, as we turned sorrowfully 
 away from the holy spot where we laid him down to his 
 peaceful slumber. Sleep on, Lucius, among the beautiful, 
 green hills of Cecil ! Shout on, Lucius, from the 
 mountain peaks of glory ! We are hearkening ; and, by 
 God's help, will try to follow the shining pathway that 
 leads up to where thou art standing ! 
 
 Where shall I begin in the task these loving brethren 
 have invited me to undertake? And how shall I fitly 
 perform this work of love? The greatest obstacle I 
 encounter is the greatness of my affection for the — to 
 me — more than friend and brother whose life and virtues 
 we here and now commemorate. The poverty of my 
 words, as compared with my impulses of- love and sor- 
 row, is an embarrassment I may not hope to surmount. 
 
 To Lucius C. Matlack, nature was generous — even 
 lavish of her gifts. To a physique noble, kingly, beau- 
 tiful ; and a face and feature in striking harmony 
 therewith ; with every curve, lineament and expression 
 instinct with the health and force of the most robust and 
 manly vigor ; she added the splendid endowments of a 
 strong, careful, discriminating intellect, furnishing all 
 the attributes of a possible commanding greatness, in 
 any field of attainment or achievement he might have 
 chosen for the exercise of his powers. 
 
 Mingled with these great elements of natural strength, 
 however, was a native modesty that held him in check 
 from self-assertion, and led him to esteem others as 
 
IIUMOES OP A MODERN ITINERANT. 325 
 
 better and more capable than himself. Such were his 
 natural endowments of humility and modesty, that he 
 scarcely had need of the Apostolic admonition, not to 
 "think of himself more highly than he ought to think.'' 
 Indeed there were times in his life when this inherent 
 tunidityand self-abnegation became so nearly excessive, as 
 to prevent his doing full justice to his manhood and his 
 mission. Although one of the leading spirits in the 
 great anti-slavery agitation, and the author of an ably 
 written history of the events leading to emancipation, 
 his part in the stirring drama is modestly kept in the 
 back-gronnd. But, on the whole, these were doubtless to 
 be numbered among the endowments that gave strength 
 to his character, and attractecl the profoundest respect of 
 those who best knew him. It was his native modesty, 
 together with the embarrassment incident to a defective 
 vision, that occasioned the apparent reserve sometimes 
 calling forth unfavorable criticism, and led some to sup- 
 pose him cold and indiifercnt, or even haughty. Those, 
 however, so fortunate as to come near enough to Dr. 
 Matlack to understand him, and feel the pulsations of 
 his great, manly, but loving, gentle heart, found a cheer- 
 ful, genial friend, whose aifectionate attentions attracted 
 the most unreserved and respectful confidence. His 
 was a nature to lean on and tie to, and never find our 
 reasonable exjDectations disappointed. 
 
 These adornments of nature were carefully polished 
 by a culture none the less genuine that it was obtained, 
 for the most part, outside the schools. Laying the foun- 
 
326 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 dation in the common schools, and in the literary and 
 theological course prescribed by the Church for young 
 ministers ; he succeeded, by his native power and industry, 
 in reaching a scholarly eminence that merited and won 
 for him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity; 
 and that commanded the respect of the most cultured of 
 his fellows. To these natural endowments and adorn- 
 ments polished by industrious study, grace added her 
 charms, until it was no exaggeration to apply to him 
 the glowing words in which the Apostle expressed his 
 wish for the attainment of Timothy, and call him "a 
 man of God * * * perfect; thoroughly furnished 
 unto all good works." 
 
 As to religious attainment, experience and profession, 
 Dr. Matlack was exceedingly cautious in his steps and 
 careful in his utterances. At every stage of the journey 
 from the City of Destruction to Beulah Land, the 
 ground was critically examined ; and no steps were 
 counted or relied upon that were not consciously felt to 
 rest upon the solid granite of God's Revelation, as inter- 
 preted by the dual and harmonizing utterances of reason 
 and experience. But all these conscious steps were taken ; 
 and, as a general, strong in his victories and resources, 
 he held and occupied every advanced position taken; 
 until the foe, pressed to the very verge of manhood's 
 empire, was hurled over the battlements ; and Lucius C. 
 Matlack was anointed a king and constituted a priest 
 unto God, to rule over and minister in the realm of his 
 own redeemed nature. With him, God's will was not 
 
HUMOES OP A MODERN ITINEUANT. 327 
 
 only supreme, as authority to be respected ; but as a bless- 
 ing to be enjoyed — a delight and a luxury to be eagerly 
 coveted. It was no new thing, superinduced by the 
 exhaustion of the last struggle, for him to say, "God's 
 holy will be done." It was the established habit of his 
 daily being. It was the language and poesy of his holy 
 psalm of life; and, in these words, he was but epito- 
 mizing hurriedly, with breath too precious for extended 
 speech, the last paragraph and experience of that psalm. 
 Amid the last conflict, so unexpectedly precipitated, and 
 the gathering darkness of the night of death, the dying 
 victor was enabled to gasp, "I am not surprised !" The 
 last foe found him armed and ready. 
 
 After eleven years of intimate association and fellow- 
 ship, in all the varied relations in which it was my great 
 honor and privilege to come into contact with Dr. 
 Matlack, I am proud, without qualification or reservation, 
 to declare it as my profound conviction that the will of 
 God was the rule of all his actions, M'ords and thoughts. 
 
 Dr. Matlack more perfectly obeyed the Golden Rule — 
 "AYhatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do 
 ye even so to them," — than any person I have ever 
 known. I have known him grievously misrepresented 
 and injured, not only without being excited to retaliate, 
 but without even a word of complaint. In all the years 
 of our intimate and confidential association, there never 
 fell from his lips a word of bitterness, or an insinuation 
 that reflected unkindly upon any of his fellows. His 
 pure nature was transparent ; he had no covert, selfish 
 
328 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 purposes to subserve ; and I would as soon suspect tlie 
 highest Archangel of being the head of a proposed sin- 
 ister combination in Heaven, as to have thought Lucius 
 C. Matlack capable of being complicated with any 
 similar ring or clique on earth. But he not only 
 possessed the negative but also the positive form of 
 Christian charity. He would not only do no harm to 
 any ; but, to the utmost of his ability, he would do good 
 to all — to foe as well as friend. 
 
 In the council sessions, in which it was my lot to 
 serve with him, his consideration and love for his 
 brethren, shone with a steady and undimmed beauty. 
 When, — as must always and necessarily be the case, — 
 some one was about to be pressed into an undesirable _ 
 place, our dear brother's kind heart always prompted 
 him to co-operate in any measures that might promise 
 relief When any member of the Council was distressed 
 by untoward complications, in his relations to the appoint- 
 ments and preachers, this unselfish man of God was 
 always ready to adjust himself and his work to the 
 exigency, and aid in the happy solution of the problem. 
 At the last conference, during the fourth session of the 
 Council, when most of the preachers except the outgoing 
 Presiding Elders had been stationed, Bishop Simpson 
 inquired of Dr. Matlack as to his wishes for himself. 
 The answer was characteristic. It was, in substance : 
 "You know, Bishop, what I told you thirteen years 
 ago. It is not for me to choose. I have one thing 
 to say, however : I want no appointment for myself, 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 329 
 
 until we provide suitably for all the brethren on my 
 District." 
 
 As a counsellor and administrator, our departed 
 brother was eminently wise and prudent. I doubt 
 whether any person or interest was ever harmed by his 
 counsels. These valuable qualities were recognized by 
 the chiefest powers in our Church, in his appointment to 
 superintend our work in Louisiana; and also in the 
 very complimentary vote he received, in the General 
 Conference of 1872, for the Episcopacy. For similar 
 reasons he was selected to represent the Louisiana Con- 
 ference in the General Conference of the same year, and 
 the Wilmington Conference in the years 1876 and 1880. 
 
 Dr. Matlack was an able preacher of the Gospel. He 
 attempted no lofty flights. He made no pedantic dis- 
 plays. He never amused and entertained his hearers 
 with any scientific, metaphysical or theological specula- 
 tions. He proclaimed no new and liberal theories 
 (so called) of the Gospel. But he honored the Law. 
 He gloried in the Cross. He exalted Christ as a Prince 
 and Saviour. He proclaimed salvation — full, complete, 
 present, for all who would receive it. He was a meek 
 but confident professor and possessor of the "like pre- 
 cious faith;" and, with becoming modesty, he did not 
 shun to declare publicly and often, in his sermons, what 
 his Saviour had done for him. As the result, his preaching 
 was plain and simple. A child could understand it. It 
 was profitable. It was not confections and flowers, but 
 bread. It always fed the hungry; and, not infrequently, 
 
330 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 created a hunger that it also satisfied. In the pulpit he 
 was not always equal to himself and his highest efforts 
 and attainments. Sometimes the current reached a valley, 
 where it was almost provokingly quiet ; but it was nev^er 
 muddy or stagnant. At other times it flowed gently, with 
 slight ripple and scarcely audible murmur. Its general 
 flow, however, was strong, steady and musical. But there 
 were times, when, breaking away from all restraints of 
 timidity, and overflowing all the barriers and boundaries 
 of logical and rhetorical caution, amid dashing spray 
 and tempestuous roar, it rushed with impetuous impulse 
 adown the rocky rapids of impassioned feeling ; bearing 
 irresistibly on its loving torrent, whither it would, the 
 thoughts and hearts of his captive auditors. 
 
 Such a ministry is not yet ended. In its blessed 
 results it will never end. His voice, even now, is 
 floating down to us on the evening zephyrs. I seem to 
 hear its utterances : — " The salutation of me, Lucius, with 
 mine own voice. Be perfect; "be of good comfort; be 
 of one mind; live in peace, and the God of love, and 
 peace shall be with you. All that are with me salute 
 you. Greet them that love us in the faith. The grace 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." 
 
 Lucius C Matlack was a patriot. !Not such a patriot 
 as mistakes love of party for love of country. Not 
 such a patriot as follows the leadership of politicians or 
 statesmen for the loaves and fishes they throw to the 
 hungry, scrambling crowd. But such a patriot — such a 
 lover of his country and of humanity as was willing to 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 331 
 
 have no leader but Christ, and to lead no one but him- 
 self — ^to stand alone, if need be, so he maintained his 
 honest, conscientious convictions. 
 
 As a young minister he stood knocking for admis- 
 sion at the door of the chosen conference of his chosen 
 church. The alternative was presented : " Refrain from 
 the public expression of your sentiments as to slavery, 
 or step down." He stepped — up ! Soon thereafter, he 
 was stripped of ministerial authority, and remanded to 
 the ranks of private church membership. He sought 
 and found a sphere of unfettered utterance in the ministry 
 of a sister Church. But there came a day when the 
 Philadelphia Conference discovered its mistake, and 
 made the amende honorable by adopting a resolution, 
 reversing its former action; and, throwing wide its 
 doors, it welcomed to membership the nationally recog- 
 nized philanthropist, patriot, hero and Christian apostle. 
 
 Nor was Dr. Matlack such a patriot as contented him- 
 self with paying his stipend to support the government. 
 But when the existence of that government and his 
 country was threatened, he rushed to the front, and put 
 his prayers and his manly, loving heart between it and 
 the bullets of the foe. And, when the struggle was 
 over, and safety and peace assured, his brotherly hand 
 was ready to extend help to our imj)Overished and suf- 
 fering brothers and their loved ones in the South; and 
 he would as readily have fought for them, had they 
 been unrighteously oppressed, as he had entered the lists 
 against them when he esteemed them in the wrong. 
 
332 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 The struggle over and the question of our civil conflict 
 settled, Dr. Matlack resumed his place in the work of 
 the Church; and no one would have ever known, from 
 his voluntary showing, that he had filled any such 
 prominent place in that great and portentous drama. 
 
 In presenting, at his funeral obsequies, the resolu- 
 tions passed by the Delaware Conference, then in 
 session, in reference to his decease; Rev. Wesley J. 
 Parker, looking down from the platform, upon the 
 casket containing his form, modestly and beautifully 
 said: "Farewell, my friend! Farewell, friend of my 
 race ! Farewell, friend of the oppressed of all races ! I 
 will meet you in the resurrection morning ! " 
 
 For reasons that may be gathered from what I have 
 said, I nominated Dr. Matlack as a suitable appointee 
 for the important Church at Cambridge, at the last 
 conference. For similar reasons, Bishop Simpson con- 
 firmed that nomination. Whatever doubts any, at that 
 time, may have entertained as to the wisdom of the 
 appointment, were speedily dissipated as he became 
 known to these dear brethren; and, to-day, I speak to 
 a Church in which all are bereft — all are mourners. 
 With tearful eyes, bowed heads and throbbing, aching 
 hearts, you are all sighing, in one tremulous whisper, 
 "The Lord gave" us this holy man of God. And 
 doubtless, my brethren, despite the darkness of his 
 mysterious dealings, you will be enabled to add — "And 
 the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the 
 Lord!" 
 
HUMORS OF A MODERN ITINERANT. 333 
 
 But why should God have taken away the precious 
 gift so soon? In answer, I can only bid you hearken 
 to His voice, who speaks to us from the night of his 
 own sorrow : " What thou knowest not now, thou shalt 
 know hereafter." 
 
 But Lucius Matlack is not dead. Only his body 
 died. It sleepeth. "He yet speaketh." The sound- 
 waves set in motion by his faithful words are still 
 quivering along through the corridors of your being. 
 They are echoed from these temple walls. They are 
 murmuring in your dwellings. They mingle with the 
 tramp of the multitudes along your streets. They are 
 heard, soft as falling snow-flakes, in the chambers where 
 the sick are pining and the watchers wait. They still 
 seek to soothe the remorse and agony that wails in 
 yonder felon's dungeon.* They are heard and appreci- 
 ated in our sister churches. And when and where shall 
 be the limit of their Christly utterance? The worker 
 has finished his task, and laid him down to rest, but his 
 work goes on. As in the case of Samson, Heaven grant 
 that the slain of Israel's enemies by his death may be 
 more than by his life. 
 
 Allow me to refer to a few sentences in a letter written 
 me by Dr. Matlack, about one month after our parting 
 at conference. "We have been so busy in house-fixing, 
 
 *Dr. Matlack was on his return from a visit to a convict, under 
 sentence of death, when he was stricken with the apoplectic stroke, 
 that, a few hours thereafter, terminated his life and his Christly work. 
 
334 METHODISM OP THE PENINSULA. 
 
 garden-making, tree-planting, and getting acquainted in 
 the homes of more than seventy families, that friendly 
 letters have been postponed." Then, after speaking most 
 tenderly of my recent bereavement in the death of a 
 dear boy, he says : " I shall be glad to have an occa- 
 sional letter, and to send one, which shall be a brotherly 
 expression of our old time formula respecting the duty 
 of preachers to God, to themselves and one another. A 
 few more years, and our work is ended. I would live 
 with the end distinctly in view. That is to live in the 
 present tense, rather than in the future tense; walking 
 closely with God, and having the work greatly at heart." 
 Then follows an account of his prayer-meeting talks and 
 services since conference, concluding as follows : " I enjoy 
 my work. The people are kind and appreciative. To 
 you I owe thanks for your commendations of me to 
 these brethren." 
 
 To this, in due season, I replied, enclosing an invita- 
 tion to the Woodlawn Camp-meeting. In response I 
 received a postal card, written three days before he 
 ascended, on which was traced : "Your letter received 
 and welcomed ; to be answered hereafter." The answer 
 never came ; but, oh ! were there postal communications 
 betwixt this and the country where he is gone, what a 
 glowing letter I should some day receive, descriptive of 
 his new appointment ; of his mansion ; of the trees and 
 flowers planted by the Forerunner, growing luxuriantly 
 and bending under their burden of blossom and fruit; 
 of the new acquaintances made and the great meetingf 
 
HUMORS or A MODERN ITINERANT. 335 
 
 and conferences attended ! Well ; bye-and-bye we will 
 sit down under the trees by the river side, and he will 
 give me verbally the promised answer. 
 
 He continues: "Invitation to Woodlawn accepted. 
 Expect to be there at the begimiing, and to stay through 
 to the end with my crowd!" The last two words 
 emphasized and with the exclamation mark. Woodlawn 
 is within sight of where his dust reposes. May not his 
 expectation be realized ? May not his glorified spirit be 
 among the ministering hosts, assured by God's promise, 
 to the heirs of salvation? " Expect to be there * * 
 with my crowd!" To our dear brother the precious 
 wife and darling boy constituted a crowd. They were 
 enough to satisfy his home and his heart. The light of 
 their smiles filled his horizon, and made all the earth-side 
 of his life luminous with holy joy. Wait, Lucius; the 
 little crowd is coming to you ! 
 
 Well ; we shall not see his manly form, or hear his 
 well-remembered voice at Woodlawn. He is camped — 
 
 "On the other side of Jordan, 
 In the sweet fields of Eden, 
 Where the tree of life is blooming.'' 
 
 He is "there to stay through to the end!" He is 
 there with his crowd! See! The fields of glory are 
 covered with them! "They have white robes, and 
 palms in their hands." They are "ten thousand times 
 ten thousand, and thousands of thousands!" Hear 
 their victorious shout! Listen to their glad song, as 
 the very foundations of glory tremble with the melodious 
 
336 METHODISM OF THE PENINSULA. 
 
 anthem — "Unto him who hath loved us, and washed us 
 from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings 
 and priests unto God and his Father, unto him be glory 
 forever and ever." Amen ! 
 
 Warrior, farewell ! Thy earthly strife is ended ; 
 
 With thee, we say "God's holy will be done:" 
 From earth released, by angel hosts attended, 
 
 Thy triumph and thy glory is begun. 
 
 Though fierce the charge the stealthy foe thrust on thee ; 
 
 And dark the night, and wild the howling storm ; 
 Thou wert " not surprised ;" Christ's armor was upon thee, 
 
 And thou a victor, crowned on Sabbath morn. 
 
 On Sabbath morn, thy week of life and labor 
 Dawned to its endless Sabbath in the skies ; 
 
 The battle fought, sheathed is thy shining sabre, 
 And glory-visions meet thy wand'ring eyes. 
 
 Lovely on earth : — though great yet meek and lowly — 
 Thou'rt nobler, lovelier still where thou art gone; 
 
 Unstained in life, thy home is with the holy. 
 Where sin nor sorrow's bhght shall ever come. 
 
 Sleep, sweetly sleep ! On Hopewell's couch reclining, 
 Thy precious dust is guarded from on high : 
 
 Shout, victor, shout ! Thy armor all resigning. 
 And wait our welcome coming bye and bye. 
 
 THE END. 
 
AUTO REPLACE AFTER 
 FIRST CIRCUUTIOM 
 
 CONSERVATIOH t9l«