“I have not done with our difficulties yet.  The road leading to the village was anything but a good one; indeed, in the winter it was very bad:  so that, though in summer we could get plenty of teachers, yet when winter came we could get none, and the whole concern of the school then fell upon three or four.  In the midst of our discouragements, one of our superintendents left us.  The other was taken ill, and was prevented from being with us for six months.  I was nominated to the office of our friend who had left, and excepting when a substitute could be found—­which was not very often—­I had to take the place of our sick one also:  add to this the fact that we had only two other teachers who regularly attended, and you will see that our difficulties were of no light character.  Often have I been at our little school with only one teacher and myself; and, indeed, at length things were come to such a crisis, that I said on my return home one afternoon, ‘I will go no more; I’ll give it all up,’ But my friends reasoned with, and showed me the impropriety of such a decision; they told me that as the school was now entirely dependent upon myself for support, I should be much to blame if I gave it up.  I listened to their advice, and continued to discharge my duties as well as I was able.”

  “Beware of desperate steps; the darkest day,
   Live till to-morrow, ’t will have pass’d away.”

So sang Cowper, and so it proved in the case of I——­ school!

“I determined,” writes the subject of our narrative, “not to abandon the school.  I made its position a matter of earnest prayer; canvassed our people for teachers; and God raised us up friends, so that soon we had a supply of teachers, and things went on smoothly.  And here I would remark, that during the lack of teachers the attendance of the children was most gratifying, considering that most of them had to come a distance of from one to two miles, through roads which a ‘Londoner’ would consider almost, if not quite, impassable.

“Our little school, from this time, began to attract some notice, and we had an examination or two, had sermons preached, and gave the children an annual treat.  This mode of procedure we found absolutely necessary; so that, by coming out prominently, we might draw the attention of our friends, and so reach their pockets.

“Our school continuing to prosper, we began to talk about a chapel, and several subscriptions were promised toward it; but in consequence of the landowner’s antipathy to Methodism, we could not obtain a spot of ground to build upon.  The death of the landowner, some time after, obviated the difficulty; a suitable site was obtained, and a chapel built, in which, a few years after, I had the pleasure of addressing the children on one of their festive occasions.  The scene had changed, the new chapel which had been erected was well attended, the school prosperous, and the blessing of God evidently rested upon the place.”