his undeserved goodness.

CHAPTER XII.

Sells Out at Alexandria. Moves to Crittenden. Preaches there and at
Williamstown. Low State of these Churches. Plan of Work. Memorizing in
Sunday-school. Lack of Church Discipline. One-Man System. Moves to New
Liberty. Visits Mount Byrd.

In the spring of 1866, we sold out at Alexandria, and spent most of the
summer in Oldham county, among our friends, while I was recuperating my
health.

The meeting-house at La Grange had been blown down in a storm, and at
the solicitation of the church I visited a number of congregations and
obtained help to rebuild it. Midway was one of the places visited. Bro.
Franklin was there holding a meeting. This was my first acquaintance
with that grand hero of the Cross of Christ.

In September we moved to Crittenden, Ky. I preached for that church and
at Williamstown, each half the time, for the rest of that year, and for
1867. The churches were both at low ebb. They had had no regular
preaching for some time; had not met on Lord's day; had no discipline;
and everything was in decay and disorder.

I decided upon a plan of work for each church. The first point was to
get them to meet on the Lord's day and break the loaf, having social
worship, when I could not be with them. This done, we carefully revised
the church records, excluding whom we could not induce to attend the
house of the Lord and to try to discharge their Christian duties. This
was followed by protracted meetings at neighboring school-houses,
through which quite a number were added to both churches. Meetings were
then held in each church. By this time both churches were in a
prosperous condition. They both had good Sunday-schools, and a number
of members were taking an active part in the work of the church. We
disposed of the old house in Williamstown, and got the new house roofed
in 1867. We also repaired the house at Crittenden, getting it in nice
order, and putting in a baptistery.

For the year 1868, the church at Crittenden wanted all my time, and I
gave up the church at Williamstown, devoting all my energies to the one
church. We arranged a book in which each member promised to pay so much
a week. Envelopes were given them, through which they were to pay their
weekly installment on each Lord's day. The congregations were large and
regular, and double the amount of money was thus collected that had
ever been raised before.

That was before the days of Sunday-school