Mrs.
Harcourt's, educating himself for a teacher. He had spent several years
in the acquisition of knowledge and was proving himself an acceptable
and conscientious teacher, when the change came which deprived him of
his school, by blending his pupils in the different ward schools of the
city. Public opinion which moves slowly, had advanced far enough to
admit the colored children into the different schools, irrespective of
color, but it was not prepared, except in a few places to admit the
colored teachers as instructors in the schools. "What are you going to
do next?" inquired Mrs. Lasette of Mr. Thomas as he seated himself
somewhat wearily by the fire. "I hardly know, I am all at sea, but I am
going to be like the runaway slave who, when asked, 'Where is your
pass?' raised his fist and said 'Dem is my passes,' and if 'I don't see
an opening I will make one.'"

"Why don't you go into the ministry? When Mr. Pugh failed in his
examination he turned his attention to the ministry, and it is said that
he is succeeding admirably."

"Mrs. Lasette, I was brought up to respect the institutions of religion,
and not to lay rash hands on sacred things, and while I believe that
every man should preach Christ by an upright life, and chaste
conversation, yet I think one of the surest ways to injure a Church, and
to make the pulpit lose its power over the rising generation, is for men
without a true calling, or requisite qualifications to enter the
ministry because they have failed in some other avocation and find in
preaching an open door to success."

"But they often succeed."

"How?"

"Why by getting into good churches, increasing their congregations and
paying off large church debts." "And is that necessarily success? We
need in the Church men who can be more than financiers and who can
attract large congregations. We need earnest thoughtful Christly men,
who will be more anxious to create and develop moral earnestness than to
excite transient emotions. Now there is Rev. Mr. Lamson who was educated
in R. College. I have heard him preach to, as I thought, an honest, well
meaning, but an ignorant congregation, and instead of lifting them to
more rational forms of worship, he tried to imitate them and made a
complete failure. He even tried to moan as they do in worship but it
didn't come out natural."

"Of course it did not. These dear old people whose moaning during
service, seems even now so pitiful and weird, I think lea