After a number of questions from Mr. Q—— and myself of similar import, Mr. Q—— said, “The general opinion is that General Washington and General Jackson died good men and went to heaven. What is your opinion, bishop?”
He replied contemptuously, “Why, sir, we don’t pretend to know whether they are in heaven or not; those are the secret things that belong to God.”
“Stop, bishop,” said I, “you said last night that you held the keys of the kingdom of heaven in your church, and that to you it was given to open and shut the door; and I now demand of you as one of these door-keepers, to tell us whether you have let in the immortal Washington or not.”
In a few moments the call was coming from every part of the house, “Tell us whether you have let Washington into heaven or not.”
The bishop tore his surplice off in a rage, and put out of the house with one or two priests after him—the crowd following him, and calling out, “Come back and answer the question about our beloved Washington.” But he went on, ordered his horse, pronounced a curse on the place, closed his meetings, and left the town. The excitement of the crowd was most intense.
CHAPTER X.
I had now been in my second year of labor for some months, during which I had made some long journeys, and seen some hard service.
I made an arrangement with Mr. M——, a very intelligent gentleman whom I had employed a few months before as a colporteur, to accompany me. The whole tour required us to travel near four hundred miles. More than two thirds of the way the country was wild and romantic, the population sparse and rude. Few thought it safe to go unarmed.
On the day set I met Mr. M—— at C——, where he resided. To my surprise he had provided a pistol for each of us. With some persuasion I took one, but soon got it to the bottom of my saddle-bags.
The first day we reached W——, where we found a young preacher who had been waiting there some days for an escort over the same route, fearing to travel the road alone. We all started in company early the next morning, with the understanding that we had to reach G——, a new county-town thirty miles distant, or lodge in the woods. Nothing special occurred that day, except that an enormous rattlesnake crossed the road before us and frightened our horses. We called at the door of all the cabins we saw, and preached Christ to the people, and gave them books. We reached G—— late in the evening, and found a pious lawyer who had just moved there, and owned the only Bible in the place. There were not a dozen families in it. By breakfast-time the next morning we had supplied him with a neat Sunday-school library, which he used to great advantage.