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 learned to mourn out in prayers, thoughts and feelings wrung from their agonizing hearts, which they did not dare express when they were forced to have their meetings under the surveillance of a white man.”

“It is because I consider the ministry the highest and most sacred calling, that I cannot, nay I dare not, rush into it unless I feel impelled by the strongest and holiest motives.”

“You are right and I think just such men as you ought to be in the ministry.”

“Are you calling me?” “I wish it were in my power.”  “I am glad that it is not, I think there are more in the ministry now than magnify their calling.”