He  was  depending  upon  me,  he  went  on.  He  re
membered  with  more  and  more  admiration  the  way  I
had  helped  and  sustained  his  father.  We  would
start  again  in  the  itinerancy  together,  at  the  bot
tom,  on  a  circuit,  probably  the  usual  hardships  for  a


MY    SON  29

time,  but  he  believed  he  would  be  able  to  command
good  appointments  in  a  very  few  years,  probably
the  best  in  the  conference.  He  thought  he  knew
what  the  people  needed  now,  a  gospel  that  fitted
their  needs  under  modern  conditions.  The  church
could  not  afford  to  lag  behind  the  progress  civiliza
tion  was  making.  That  changed  men's  minds.  The
successful  preacher  had  to  keep  up  with  them,  and
go  them  one  better;  and  so  on  and  so  forth.
He  had  some  money  left,  enough  for  his  purpose.
He  would  come  home  for  a  few  days  after  his  grad
uation  to  see  me  and  receive  my  blessing.  Then  he
would  go  to  New  York  for  a  course  of  lectures  in

He  mentioned  the  place.  It  is  one  of  those

wide-open  theological  seminaries.  This  would  be
his  last  chance  to  do  some  studying  along  a  special
line  which  he  needed,  for  he  expected  to  join  the
Conference  and  take  work  in  the  autumn.
