Thirty Years in the Itinerancy

Fruit.--Portage Prairie.--Randolph.--Randolph Centre.--Rolling Prairie.--Cheney's Class.--Brandon.--Rosendale.--Reed's Corners.--Strong's Landing.--A Ni

bor onerous. Thirteen regular preaching places had been established, and invitations were being rece

s opened in the usual order, by passing to each a crumb of bread and a sip of water, in token of Christian regard. Christian testimonies followed each other in rapid succession, interspersed by singing spiritual songs, for a full hour. At times the tide of feeling rose, like swelling billows, to a great height, threatening to carry the meeting into disorder, but by giving it a happy change at the right moment, the Elder was able to maintain a complete mastery. There were two periods specially critical. One, when a young lady, one of the converts at Waupun, gave her testimony. Standing on a seat, as there was no other place to stand, she first related her own experience, and then, turning to the young people, she delivered an exhortation that thrilled the audience with overwhelming emotions. The other was when

rder, the numerous calls received from various localities required frequent changes. In most cases, however, the new appointments were crowded between the others. To meet

ven the subject special thought, but now it seemed to assume unusual importance. Not only did the teachings of

hed on Gospel purity, showing that experimental religion presents itself to the conception of the mind under three clearly defined ideas. These are Justification, Regeneration, and Sanctification. The drift of thought ran in this wise: By Justification we mean the pardon of sin. The man, who finds this grace through Christ, stands as fully accepted before the Law, as though he had never sinned. By Regeneration, we mean that radical change of man's moral and spiritual condition which subjects all the

all retain his justified state, it is necessary to seek advanced attainments. And if he shall be faithful in the use of grace already received, he will find the Spirit ever leading him to new fields of experience. As

ns will awaken a profound spiritual concern, and perhaps, become the subject of temptation. But there need be no alarm. It is but an evidence that the good work, began in Regeneration, has not been fully completed by entire Sanctification. The tree has been cut down, but the shoots around the old stump show that there is vitality still

gh my heart was this: "How can you preach to others what you do not know yourself?" At length I resolved; and scarcely stopping to measure the movement, or estimate the consequences, I was on my knees, engaged in prayer. My first conscious thought of my surroundings was awakened by the wrestling of my horse, as my right hand held him firmly by the lines. Then came the suggestion, "This is a very unpropitious time to settle a matter of this importance. With a fractious horse by the rein, a terrible storm sweeping over the prairie, and an already blind snow-path, you had better defer the matter for the present." My reply was, "It is time these questions were settled, and I propose to settle them now" "But th

his new home and again invited to make his house a chapel until better accommodations could be secured. I accepted the kind offer, and thus Cambria was made a regular appointment. I visited the few scattered families in the vicinity, and found sufficient material to

sidence of Father Griffin. At the present writing, the village h

e of Mr. Torbit, at Randolph Centre, which p

e north end of Rolling Prairie, with Bro

the neighborhood, my father, who was always on the alert to carry the Gospel Message to the destitute, established an appointment. On his invitation I held a meeting there, on the thir

, but, on its appearance, the honors and emolum

of Mr. Sanborn, after whom the prairie at that time was called, and at the latter, the mee

nvenient Church and Parsonage, and Reed's Corners is a prominen

ream for a mile, but failing to find any settlement I turned back. I now went up the stream for a considerable distance, and found a trail that seemed to lead down to the margin of the river. Following it to the water, I found a small canoe tied to a tree. The light now dawned upon my understanding. This was Strong's Landing. Not having prophetic vision, I was

iplied until they numbered twenty-four. The membership had gone up from a small figur

h failed, resulting doubtless rather from exposure than labor. I was now laid aside for several weeks, but through the blessing of God

ecial labors of the charge. He was not expected, at the outset, to give his whole time, but he soon became so fully identified with the work that he was almost constantly employed. In the severe labors of pro

mall, the financial receipts from the people were very limited. My own were o

st place, to give the reader an inside view of the relations of the Itinerancy to frontier life, and in the

to receive Elder's orders, we decided to make the journey in a buggy. The first day, passing through Beaver Dam, we r

Harvey, the Pastor of the charge. Madison at this time was a small village, but,

from the State line to Green Bay. On visiting Madison, he was entertained by the contractor, who was erecting the State House, and who also kept a hotel. On learning that Brother Stebbins was a minister, this gentleman invited the entire popul

congregations. But as Madison, now in the West Wisconsin Conference, has fallen more directly under the eye of R

g on the line of travel, some twenty miles beyond the Capital, by the name of Ski

shop Hamline. We went. The company was composed mostly of preachers, on their way to Conference. Among them were the Mitchells and Haneys. Of the first,

a more serious tone. Only once was there an exception. Referring to the labors of some distinguished man of his acquaintance, one of the leading brethren and prince of story tellers, whose name I need not mention, proceeded to relate an anecdote. Immediately the tides of feeling began to rise, and, as the story advanced to its climax, they broke over all restraint. An immoderate laughter followed, in which no one joined more heartily than the brother himself. The storm of merriment, however, had hardly passed, when the Bishop, in one of those indescribably solemn tones for which he was distinguished, said, "Brethren, I alwa

t appear before the Committee of Examination. The Commit