"Can't find any," said the man.
"Looked hard for it?" was the next question.
"I have," and the man looked Mr. Beecher in the eye.
"Want some?" asked Mr. Beecher.
"I do," said the man.
"Come with me," said the preacher. And then to Edward, as they walked along with the man following behind, he added: "That man is honest."
"Let this man sweep out the church," he said to the sexton when they had reached Plymouth Church.
"But, Mr. Beecher," replied the sexton with wounded pride, "it doesn't need it."
"Don't tell him so, though," said Mr. Beecher with a merry twinkle of the eye; and the sexton understood.
Mr. Beecher was constantly thoughtful of a struggling young man's welfare, even at the expense of his own material comfort. Anxious to save him from the labor of writing out the newspaper articles, Edward, himself employed during the daylight hours which Mr. Beecher preferred for his original work, suggested a stenographer. The idea appealed to Mr. Beecher, for he was very busy just then. He hesitated, but as Edward persisted, he said: "All right; let him come to-morrow."