them, and put his feet into the wrong receptacles. This occasioned him
a considerable amount of inconvenience, which ultimately exhausted his
patience. He kicked the shoes aside, and said, "I have been trying all
th' mornin' to stand in another man's shoes, and I canna' manage it;
I'm in borrowed claathes, too, but, thank God, my sermon is my own."
This little diversion set him off in another direction, and he turned
the incident to such good and practical account, showing that Jesus
once stood in our place and bore our stripes, that many have long
remembered that service with very great pleasure.

TOILING ON.

On one occasion, when going to a distant appointment, his zeal was put
to the test in such a degree that surely he would have been excusable
if he had turned back and gone home again. Abe had a dread of
disappointing a congregation. He used to say, "If I slip them once,
two to one they'll pay me back; noa, I mun goa."

He had to set out one Sunday morning in a pelting rain for a walk of
about six miles. It had been raining more or less for several days;
the roads were in a sad condition for a "travelling praacher," as he
often styled himself. The streams by the roadside were swollen over,
and pouring their abundance out on the highroad, until it was very
little better than a bog. Under these circumstances the wet soon found
its way through Abe's boots and clothes. "Ne'er moind," he said to
himself, "I'll find some dry claathes when I get there." So on he went
over the rough bleak hill that wouldn't afford shelter for a rabbit,
much less for a man, down the steep slope, through the running gutters
of water. "Aye dear," said he, "I'm weshing my feet withaat taking my
booits off." At the bottom of the hill, known as Stone's Wood Bottom,
he was brought to a standstill. Along this bottom runs the river which
takes the course of the valley through Berry Brow, before named; it was
here spanned by a good strong bridge, having a wall on either side.
The water in the river had risen so high with the rainfall, that it ran
right over the bridge at both ends, and threatened to carry it away;
all the low ground about the bridge was under water to some depth, and
hereby Abe was brought to a halt. His only way was over that bridge,
and now that was not available. "Well," thought he, "I'm done this
time; haa can I get over?" Further up and down the river was swollen,
over its boundaries, and was out into the f