I N E

Generous friends. Christian, Catholic Methodist, $1.50 $1.00
$0.00 A hawk story. April 15, 1865. All Irish but one. The
Bible in school. Not Papa.

During this period of my life, which included the latter part of the
Civil War, I was occupied mostly at Christian Liberty, and
Washington, Daviers County, Ind., both teaching and preaching. A
part of the two years following this was spent in school at
Indianapolis and Miram, Ohio. At Christian Liberty, my church house
and school house were in the same yard. On the first day I occupied
the one and on the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth days, I
occupied the other. And on the seventh day I rested. That is the
way teachers and preachers work. I am not a sabbatarian.

At Christian Liberty which was a country place I made my home for
almost four years in the family of W. A. Wilson. He was a well-to-do
farmer and had an interesting family. He was a good man, but
somewhat peculiar. For instance, as fast as I earned money teaching
he would borrow it, giving his note drawing legal interest, and when
the note was due he would pay it with the identical money he had
borrowed. He would also pay the interest. I asked why he did that,
"O" he would answer, "I always like to have money in my pocket."
"Then besides," he would add, "a young man ought to have his money at
interest." Mr. Wilson was a Christian and very generous and kind.
He only charged me $1.50 per week for board. I also boarded at
another period in my life in a Catholic family named Wade, for three
years. They, too, were kind and generous, charging me only $1.00 per
week. The father and mother were old and allowed me all the
privileges about the home as I were a son. More than that: they
allowed he all the liberty of a Protestant Christian, telling me to
read my Bible as much as I pleased, and if I wished to offer thanks
at the table to do so. This I did and they their crosses.

One Saturday, when sitting in my room in the spring of the year,
looking out of the open door I saw what not one boy in a million,
perhaps, ever saw. A large chicken hawk made a dive down in the yard
at an old hen and her brood of little chickens. Mrs. Wade heard the
noise and dashed out through the open door, and threw her apron over
the hawk, and caught it and choked it to death.

One winter when teaching in Tophet, I boarded with a Methodist man.
He too, was kind and generous to a fault. All he charged