“That is not my duty.”
“I think it a very important part of my duty.”
“You are right. It is. You are a pastor.”
“And you?”
“I am a preacher. My duty is to preach Christ and him crucified. To save souls. There are others whose work it is to serve tables, and comfort and advise in trouble and perplexity.”
“But you must lose all the personal and social influence of a pastor.”
“If I had desired personal and social influence, I should hardly have chosen the office of a Methodist preacher. ‘Out of breath pursuing souls,’ was said of John Wesley and his pretorian band of helpers. I follow, as best I can, in their footsteps. But though I have no time for visiting, it is not neglected.”
“Yes?” said the rector, inquiringly.
“Our class-leaders do that. John Dawson and Jacob Hargraves and Hannah Sarum are the class-leaders in Hallam and West Croft. You know them?”
“Yes.”