plain acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as the son of God. The old man sat like an old judge, listening thoughtfully, at the same time was almost unconsciously cutting tobacco, and filling his pipe; when this was completed, and a coal placed upon it, he went out, saying, go on and have it your own way. That was the last of any critical examination of baptismal candidates.

PROMINENCE OF NORVAL CHURCH.

In those beginning days this church was one of the most prosperous in all our Canadian brotherhood. I think it was here that the first June mass meeting was held, at least I know of none other that was earlier. They began about 1842. Brethren came from Erin, Eramosa, Toronto, Pickering, Coburg, and West Lake, and Dorchester and Lobo on the west, and with scattering members between. At our first June meeting we had at least four from Ohio. William and A. S. Hayden, Dr. Belding and Dr. Robinson, these were then all comparatively young men. A. S. Hayden led the singing, and I think did nothing else. Several of our new, now old, tunes were learned at the meeting. One young preacher from Ohio, who came I think in the winter time, I remember most distinctly. His name was Williams, of medium size, dark hair and eyes, but not a dark skin. He gave the first discourse that my boyish heart fully took in. It was the story of Jesus. I had read the gospels not once or twice, alone, and had committed portions to memory, but had no connected idea of the whole; this he gave me. Though then not nine years old, I did not seem to miss a sentence.

In those times father also made a notable journey to Ohio. He was absent for about a month, during which he attended a monster June meeting at Bedford, where they had a great tent, that was then used I think for the first time. It would seat two thousand people, and there were other means besides for accommodating the immense crowd. About ten years ago, Brother Charles Louis Loos gave a description of this meeting, which tallied well with father's. He never seemed to grow tired of telling of that most extraordinary assemblage.

This would be about 1842 or 1843. Those were immense evangelistic rather than business meetings. In fact evangelism was about the only business of the churches and active members of the time. Our publications and incipient colleges came in for some attention.

SPECIAL EVANGELISM

It was about this same year, that a letter, or some communication, came from some small weak churches in Prince Edward county, asking for evangelistic help for a month or more. This Norval, or more properly Esquesing church took the matter up as a business consideration at the conclusion of the morning meeting. On that day, as visitors, there were present, Alexander Anderson of Eramosa, a rising young forcible preacher and James Leslie of Toronto, the publisher of the Examiner. After some discussion and consideration the meeting decided to send Brother William Trout and A. Anderson to the help of the Prince Edward county churches. Thus far there had not been a word said about money. So much was done those days without cash, particularly in the way of preaching that no one seemed to have thought of it. But with the city brother-Leslie, it was different. So he rose up and said, "Brethren, you have not provided for the expenses of those brethren, nor for their time, this should be done at once, and I will give one dollar toward the fund," and accordingly stepped forward and laid a Spanish dollar on the end of the long table. A few others who had cash, also laid down their quota. Others promised till there was about sufficient for likely needs.

As soon as father and Brother Anderson could arrange matters, they started on their journey of about one hundred miles. It was stage and steamboat, till they were welcomed at their field of work. It was in the summer time, and in a beautiful part of Canada, well settled with an intelligent, fairminded people, more, or less ready for the reception of new teaching, such as our brethren were known to give. The message was strange to many, as were also the messengers. Manifestly they were not clergymen; they assumed no airs of

that sort. Their preaching was an example and a plea for the simplicity of apostolic times, as well as calling sinners to repentance. In fact, their greatest work was to clear away the rubbish of false ideas, piously entrenched, and plant the plain gospel in the heart. I cannot say now just how well they succeeded; but they had good meetings and a good many baptisms. Almost every evening there was preaching at some place, both were singers as well as preachers, so each had the alternate change of work. Many years after this, when father died, Brother Anderson wrote his obituary which will be added in its proper place. He referred to this journey and said that father was the most agreeable preaching companion he ever had. Brother Anderson always felt handicapped by his high pitched, monotonous voice, which came in great contrast to father's clear, easy, well-modulated style. This was a matter of remark by the people. Though Brother Anderson seemingly could not improve his voice, yet he became one of Canada's great preachers. When the time came for them to leave, Brother Anderson asked father how much money he had; the reply was three York shillings (thirty-seven and onehalf cents). Then father quizzed him in return and he replied one British shilling or twenty-five cents. This was the remains from the Norval collection. One brother arranged to take them next day to the port, where they would get the steamer, and a certain doctor gave them two dollars each, which brought them to Port Credit. There was still enough left to pay for their dinners, and then they could walk fifteen miles home. This was an easy job for Brother Anderson, but hard on father with his partially stiff knee. Brother Anderson came on ahead, possibly hoping to get some help for father. He told mother of father's coming, so she and Edward and I went to meet him, and found him on foot and though tired he arrived all right; and thought nothing of it, but told much of their good meetings. This latter part of it was told more fully by Brother Anderson after father's death.

This four weeks' preaching tour was the only one of the kind father engaged in during his active life, Nearly thirty years after this, when about seventy years old, and he had

given up active labor and business, the brethren in Prince Edward county, many of them remembering his former visit, wrote him to come and spend a winter with them. This he did, not a full winter, but several months of easy preaching, in which he was cared for as a father, which in a sense he was to some of them. They then had learned that preachers had needs. He came home from his journey, improved in preaching, and in health, and in appearance, proving what I have settled, that well graduated mental activity and health go together.

BUSINESS CONTINUED

Father's working and business career has been carried along to the completion of the distillery. After that he did various contracts. One was building a fine two-story house for William Clay, the leading Norval merchant. Father rented an unused small store, and turned it into a work shop, and when not otherwise busy between contracts, he made horse sleighs, and cutters of different styles, in this way keeping his few men employed. When Clay's house was about one-third done, this shop by a little thoughtlessness of one of the men, took fire and burned completely with the loss of tools, and considerable lumber, the frames, sash and doors of Clay's house, and other stock, putting father back to the poverty stage once more. He was so crippled financially that I think he had to give up the Clay contract, as I have no recollection of his finishing the house.

That fire was a second bankruptcy, while in the course of a good effort to recover from the first. The calls for payment of immediate debts could not be met by the remaining slender

assets.

As old Jim Chambers used to say, "there was no nothing, to do nothing wee (with)." There were no tools, no lumber, no immediate prospects of work, no credit, except such as might depend on father's skill and pluck, and the latter then was at a low ebb. Friends connected with the church saw his plight, and raised a purse of fifty dollars to buy the most needful tools. So with a borrowed horse and cutter he went

In those days, while
The fifty dollars did

to Toronto and laid out the money. general prices were low, tools were high. not go very far. Among the tools was a short, thin, wellmade cross-cut saw for use in framing. Our friends that winter made a great wood bee, and supplied us with several years' wood, but it was all in large logs, which had to be cut up and split, and with father's and mother's direction we boys used the saw to cut the logs in stove lengths; then at noon or night father would split them for us; or mother would have to get someone to do it. At first it was play to use the new saw, but it soon became real work. We could play out in the stormy days, but we could not work in them. We kept that saw for twenty-five years.

It was on this Toronto trip, that the acquaintance of Mr. Connell was made, and the prospect of employment on the Georgian bay loomed up. The dark cloud then began to show a silver lining, and the arrangement with Connell that nearly two years afterwards brought us all to the north was good, so the loss of the shop was a great gain, at least to the family, which was father's and mother's great concern. Father's first northern journey has already been referred to. About sixty miles of nearly unbroken forest lay between the frontier settlements more or less connected with Lake Ontario and the Georgian bay. There were little settlements at a few points with long stretches of woods between. Through these a road would be blazed out by some good leading bushman, who would know enough of the country to keep as clear as possible of swamps and big hills, and have favorable places for fording the creeks and streams. Fortunately on that route there were but few large streams. To undertake a journey like that with no kind of certain route, and end up where there was no settlement would have appalled a great many, but not father. It was simply a matter of course to him.

So I reckon it was in the winter of 1843 and 1844 that this journey was made. A report of the conditions regarding the mill site at Hurontario was no doubt forwarded to Connell at Toronto, and work commenced in the spring, father going up in the early summer as already noted. During this sum