dding countenance. Nor was much reflection needed to show him
that though the ships might take him away from the place of duty,
they could not take him away from duty itself; that it were better to
bear poverty and privation than to bear a guilty conscience.

It is always darkest before day. In a few weeks an ordaining council
has assembled, his old pastor and theological teacher being among the
number. The harvest was ripe, waiting for the reapers to put in the
sickle, and what began as ecclesiastical council ended in a gracious
revival. The Arkansas lad was now a minister; the dream of his boyhood
was rapidly fulfilling.

Three years and a half passed. The field which at first seemed so
barren of promises had proved to be rich in opportunities. The
Louisiana Congregational Association holds its annual meeting with
him. His old pastor sends three other teachers. One of them, the wife
of "the Boss," returns with the other members of the ordaining council
to see what progress has been made.

Yes, this must be the place; for the railroad stops here, and yonder
is Vermillion Bay, and the anchored ships. This, too, must be the
young pastor; his limp betrays his identity, but the face, whose pure
native hue three years ago was darkened by the cloud of doubt is now
wreathed in smiles. Here, too, is the church, the same, yet not the
same; its former disfigured and unwashed face now shines in a new coat
of paint; the unfinished and leaky bell-tower has been repaired and
beautified; and those old benches, apparently designed for those
condemned to do penance, have been replaced by comfortable modern
seats, so that the worshipper's attention is no longer diverted from
the sermon by the painful consciousness of his physical sufferings.

But these changes, excellent in themselves, are by no means the
highest test of these years of faithful and consecrated service. The
twelve members with whom the new pastor began, have been nearly
sextupled; the Sunday-school has been organized, enlarged and
developed; a flourishing Christian Endeavor Society started; and right
conceptions of practical righteousness enforced. The pastor's
conception of his ministry includes a practical interest in education,
and since his advent an increasing stream of young people has been
flowing to Straight University. Thrifty himself, his contagious
enthusiasm has not only affected his own flock, but the community
generally, filling them with ambition to sa