"'Well, brother,' said he, 'why did you not come in to prayers?'
"'Because,' said I, 'it is wrong to pray of a morning in the family before we wash.'
"The old brother passed on, and no more was said at that time. That evening, just before we were about to retire to rest, the old brother set out the book and said to me: 'Brother, hold prayers with us.'
"'No, sir,' said I.
"Said he, 'Come, brother, take the book and pray with us.'
"'No, sir,' said I; 'you love to pray so well, you may do it yourself.'
"He insisted, but I persistently refused, saying: 'You are so fond of praying yourself, that you even thanked God this morning that he had spared you all to see the light of a new day, when your family had not yet opened their eyes, but were all fast asleep. And you have such an absurd way of holding prayers in your family, that I do not wish to have any thing to do with it.'
"He then took the book, read, and said prayers, but you may rely on it, the next morning things were much changed. He waited for me, and had all his family up in order. He acknowledged his error, and told me it was one of the best reproofs he ever got. I then prayed with the family, and after that all went well."
Among his clerical brethren was a poor hen-pecked husband, whose wife was possessed of a temper that made her the terror of the neighborhood. Cartwright had often been invited by the poor man to go home with him; "but," he says, "I frankly confess I was afraid to trust myself" but at length, yielding to his importunities, he went home with his oppressed brother, intending to spend the night with him. His visit roused the fury of the wife, and "I saw in a minute," says our preacher, "that the devil was in her as big as an alligator, and I determined on my course." The woman held her tongue until after supper, when her husband asked her kindly to join them in prayers. She flew into a rage, and swore there should be no praying in her house that night. Cartwright tried to reason with her, but she cursed him roundly. Then, facing her sternly, he said, "Madam, if you were my wife, I would break you of your bad ways, or I would break your neck."
"The devil you would," said she. "Yes, you are a pretty Christian, ain't you?"