"If I'm not very much mistaken I've seen it before."
"Well, you are very much mistaken, for I brought it to this city with me yesterday, and I have not been in your office until this minute. But I am not soliciting money. I only called to see if I can secure free transportation for one hundred dollars' worth of lumber to Adrian for an orphan school-room, as forty little homeless waifs, under our care, have no school-room, except a wood-house and play-room. The cold weather will soon overtake us."
He listened patiently to my short speech, and said he had no authority to grant such a favor; that I would have to write to C. H. Hatch, then in Chicago.
"I know he would grant it," I said, "for he granted this quarter pass on his road for my mission work," showing the pass.
He turned it over and spent double the time in examining it that he did on my introductory letter, and said, slowly, "I think I will risk sending this car-load," and wrote an order to his assistant to send it forthwith to Adrian.
I thankfully returned to my duty of calling on the list of the benevolently inclined wealthy persons whose names Dr. Duffield and J. F. Conover had furnished. Rev. Dr. Hogarth, Mr. Raymond, the book-merchant, and Rev. Dr. Duffield gave sufficient to pay the cartage of the lumber to the depot. Soon it was on its way. I dined at Moses Sutton's, who gave $5, and his sister Annie $1. Mr. Brooks gave me $25 in lumber. Mr. Bronson gave five thousand shingles; another gave $2.50 in shingles.
After a few days at home I returned, October 25th, to Detroit, and toiled, like the fishermen, nearly all day, and caught nothing. Weary, and almost discouraged, I was about to retire to my resting-place at Augustus Leggett's, when one gave $5, another $2. The following day I called on C. Merrill, who gave $5; another gave $5; Mr. R. C. Renuick gave $10; Mr. Whitney gave $5. Weariness coaxed me to another sweet resting-place, the home of my dear friends J. F. and Hannah Conover. I called on a few persons whose names had been given me by Mr. Palmer, from whom I received $17; and from a few others I received $15. John Bagley gave $10; another gave $5; Rev. J. A. Baughman, $5; and Mr. King, his son-in-law, $5. I also called on Governor Crapo, who gave $5. Others gave $5, $2, and $1, until I had forty dollars more to aid in constructing our school-room.
We secured sufficient means to build our school-room. In all, with the favors granted by the Michigan Southern and Lake Shore Railroad, we received about four hundred dollars.
Through the kindness of my friend, L. Tabor, Esq., who purchased a house and small lot for me, I again had a place for my children to occupy, which I could call my home; for which I praised the Lord, from whom all blessings flow.
As our orphan asylum was now in a good condition, Mrs. Edgerton, the matron, said the secretaries of the three divisions of the Missionary Association, Chicago, Cincinnati, and New York, met and voted her one hundred dollars a month, with which to carry forward this asylum. She deemed this an ample supply, with what had been raised on the place. She said it was then on a more substantial basis than it had been during the year she had had it in charge.