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Recollections of fifty years in the ministry
Recollections of fifty years in the ministry Author:John Scott Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. Father's Illness and Death—Going to School—Books—Teachers —James Carmichael—Visit to Pittsburg—Gift of a Dollar— Purchase of Grammar and Dictiona... more »ry—Improvement in School—Literary Society—Address on Solar System—Backsliding — Unhappy — Reclaimed—Family Prayer—Purchase of a Farm—Call to Preach—Embarrassment—Sale of Farm —Hand of Providence—Dr. Brown Pastor—Great Privilege —Elected Assistant Class-leader. My father's health had been poor for some time, and his illness increased, and on December 23, 18133, he passed away. He was a good man, a man of uncompromising integrity and honesty, and had been for many years a devoted Methodist. I believe he was, as was customary in those days, a licensed exhorter in the Church. Before his death he called me to his bedside, and gave me his dying counsel and blessing. Among other things, he told me not to forget to pray to God every day for his blessing to rest upon me; to be faithful in the observance of the means of grace, and not to neglect the prayer-meeting and the class-meeting. When he was through, he laid his hand upon my head, and asked God to bless me, and said, "John, remember." My father's death was a great loss to me; but I did not realize it then as I did afterwards. I commenced going to school when I was a small boy. The schools in our neighborhood at that time were of a very low grade. The teachers were incompetent, knew but little themselves, and, of course, could teach others but little. I had learned to read, write, and cipher. I had gone through the "United States Spelling-book." the "New Testament," and the "Introduction to the English Header," and thought I knew something about "figures."Indeed, I began to consider myself somewhat of a scholar. But this vain conceit was soon taken out of me. We got a ne...« less