I was now having appointments made for me--it was quite a number of weeks I think before I could venture to make one for myself, which I did only by invitation. I attended the London Tract Yearly Meeting, and the Salisbury Association, and visited the church at the delightful old Woolford home at Church Creek, Md., and found preaching a stern necessity by the direction of the old ministers, without reference to my feelings in the matter.

But it still seemed strange, wonderful, impossible that I could be a preacher of the gospel. I, who had settled down to what I had esteemed my life work; that I could be taken away from my business so well established, anti that had been so satisfying to me. I trim to know the will of the Lord concerning it, and to pray and beg that he would lead and guide me, and not let me run without being sent by him. And such wonder and such crying in my soul unto God concerning this important matter have continued at intervals to this day, nearly forty-four years, and made me to enter more fully into the blessed truth that salvation is of the Lord. I have learned that only through great tribulation can one enter into the kingdom of God. All spiritual knowledge is a revelation and never the result of study. We must be hungry for the word of the Lord before we find and eat it; we must feel our nakedness before we can know and value the garments of salvation; our weakness before the law makes us know Christ as our strength, and we must from day to day experience the dying of the Lord Jesus in our body in order that the life of Jesus may be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

The ministering and other brethren were very kind and tender toward me in those days and weeks, and indeed they have been kind and tender all the way through. Elder Samuel Trott was the oldest one among those I met at that time. I may say something more about Mm and some others before I close these pages.

My ordination was appointed for December 7th and 8th. As my father and mother were unable to take the journey to Middletown, N. Y., about 200 miles, the church arranged to come to our home and have the ordination services there. We occupied a neighborhood meeting house, owned by the Presbyterian Church, where I had preached November 27th. I think that was the first time that my parents had heard me. The congregation was large, on the Wednesday. and Thursday, December 7th and 8th. As I related my experience and my exercises about preaching, the questions of Elder Beebe, the moderator, led me Over the whole ground of my life with the Presbyterian Church, and my reasons for being dissatisfied with their doctrine and order, so that I was kept talking about two hours. The church at Vaughan Hill, seven miles from our home, and those who came from Middletown, with a number from other churches of the Chemung Association, formed the council; and the Presbytery was composed of Elders Gilbert Beebe, Hollister, Schoonover, St. John Cox, and Smith. On Thursday Eider Beebe preached and incorporated a most solemn and impressive charge in his sermon. Elder St. John spoke in prayer, Elder Cox delivered the charge, and Elder Smith gave the right hand of fellowship. There were present of my own family father and mother, four brothers, two sisters and two sisters-in-law.

I had finished and closed up my legal business during November, and was now fully engaged in the work of preaching. I stayed at home the rest of the month, preaching on Sunday at Vaughan Hill, and a few times in the neighborhood of home. On the 7th of January, I was at the church meeting at Waverly, N. Y., with Elder St. the pastor. I was expected to preach on Sunday the 8th. As we to the meeting house I felt cold and no scripture was on my mind, that did not disturb me, for I remembered a text which I had]~ from at Middletown not long before with liberty, and I knew I use that, and had no doubt of my ability to interest the people and do myself credit with that text. So I felt very confident and as we rode along, although I had no spiritual exercise of mind. the time came I took my text and began to speak, but I found to Jay, and in less than ten minutes I sat down confused and ashamed. It was a terrible blow to my pride and all my doubts and fears revived. So soon had I forgotten my experience with "saved-up" text at the time I was called upon to exercise before church four months before, and my solemn resolution and made to myself at that time never again to save a text, or arrange beforehand what I should say. But I have forgotten many a time since then, and indeed I never have been able to learn how to improve in preaching, nor to depend on my memory.

On Wednesday and Thursday, January 11th and l2th, I came with Elder Beebe, by invitation, to attend a council called by the church at Southampton. There had been some trouble which I did not fully

understand then, and never have fully understood since. By the advice of the council, Elder Harding resigned his pastoral care of the church, and took a letter. The church numbered, I think, about ninety at that ~ time, and seemed a very desirable place for a preacher to live. There was quite a strong feeling between the two parties. During the year I visited the church several times, and felt at liberty with the brethren, I was told by several of the leading members of both parties that they would agree on me if I could serve them. And the clerk, Brother Isaac Hellings, once wrote me that they desired me "to come, and go in and out before them." I considered the matter carefully, and I could not feel any leading of mind to do so. Father thought that I feared it would be only a natural desire that would influence me to come to a church so well fixed in a temporal point of view; and he said to me that he thought it right for a preacher to look out for a home. I said I knew it, but I had no mind to come, or to settle down at present. I did not feel that the Lord had directed me to serve the Southampton Church except as a supply while they needed supplies. I could not see the reason of this then, but did afterward. Twenty years passed by; I had taken charge of my father's family, had served ten churches, six of them at one time, and then I was again called to the care of the .Southampton Church, which was now less in numbers and in financial ability, and I felt that the Lord directed me here, where I have been serving the church twenty-four years. I was also called to be pastor of the church in Canada, but felt that my place was at Southampton.

I have written for the "Signs of the Times" since early in 1864, and some for several other periodicals which have been started since that time, and have told of my experiences and exercises of mind and of my work from time to time, but these things can never be fully told. It is my wish to recall and write down here a few of the many things of interest that I have met with and experienced during these forty-four busy years.

As I have intimated, when I closed my legal business I went to my father's home, which I had never ceased to call home, and took charge of the family which consisted of my brothers James and Warren, both invalids, with the wife and two children of the latter, three sisters, one of whom had been an invalid and hopelessly deranged mentally for many years, a sister of my mother near 90 years old, with my father and mother. Two older brothers, John and William, lived near, each having a wife and several children. I had never seen a death up to December, 1865. Within eleven years from that time twelve of those I have named died, eight of them in our house. In connection with the sicknesses and deaths of these there are some most wonderful things which were referred to in their obituary notices. The most wonderful experience and last hour of my brother James, with the five beautiful poems he wrote the last year of his life, I intend to present to the friends in some way hereafter.

From this home I traveled far and wide, going only where invited. For several years I traveled sixteen thousand miles a year, and attended to our farm. The first call I accepted was to the Salisbury Church, Maryland to come there as often, and stay as long, as I felt able to. That was given me October 27, 1867, and the relation has continued to the present time. The next call I accepted was to the care of our home church at Vaughan Hill, June 11, 1871. The next to Otego, N. Y., July 15, 1871. This church was then few in number, but was a spiritual church, and their meetings were regular, and Balas Bundy was regarded by the members as called to the work of the ministry. He had resisted his impressions for nine years. I served that church about two years and three months, baptizing thirty-five, including Brother Bundy, who felt that his former baptism had been irregular. After his ordination I resigned the care. During the same time I had baptized the same number in all the other churches I was serving.

February 17, 1872, I accepted a call from the church at Grover, which was organized within eight months after my first sermon preached there, which I understood was the first Old Baptist sermon ever preached in that neighborhood. About August 24, 1872, I accepted a call from the church in Waverly, N. Y.; October 80, 1875, a call from the church at Burdett, N. Y.; January 5, 1878, a call from the church in Utica, to visit them once in two months, while Elder Balas Bundy visited them also once in two months. August 3, 1879, I accepted a call from the Ebenezer Church, New York City, to serve there monthly, and as much oftener as I could. Marvin Vall was baptized November, 187~. Very soon it was evident to the church that his mind was exercised about preaching, but it was three or four years before he consented to say anything about it to the church. He was ordained in October, 1878, I believe. He was immediately fully engaged in the work. I resigned the care of that church in April, 1881, and of the church in New York City in March, 1888. I accepted a call to the Southampton Church, where I now live, April 12, 1884. I resigned the care at Burdett April 28, 1883, and at Grover August 17, 1884. For some time I visited the church at Vaughan Hill once in two months, and Elder Charles Bogardus once in two months. Afterward he took the entire care. I visit the place once a year. Only three members are left. I have for about fifteen years visited a small church at South River, N. J., as frequently as possible, going often from Southampton after service, for a distance of about seventy miles to speak there at night. The Southampton Church has meetings every Sunday, and I am present most of the time. Also every alternate Saturday before the second Sunday, and every first Thursday. Every fifth Sunday and Saturday before, I am at Salisbury, Md. Have missed but seldom in twenty-four years.

Besides this I visit Other churches in our vicinity occasionally and the associations we correspond with. I make at least one visit of nearly two weeks to the covenanted church in Canada, one or two visits a year · of nearly two weeks to the churches of the Licking Association in Kentucky. I also still make some pleasant visits to churches in Georgia, in Florida, in North Carolina and Virginia. That is my work now at 75 years of age.