The orator was much pleased and said to his congregation: “See what God has sent us this Sunday morning,” and he invited me to give the address in the evening. We had an amusing altercation on the platform. “I do not know what to call him, or who he is; he may be anybody, a doctor, a professor, a——” he looked at me inquiringly.
“Oh, plain Mr.,” said I.
He hung on, however, to “Professor” till I interrupted him again.
At the close of my address the deacons came out to assess the congregation in the matter of collection. They looked it up and down and decided that twenty-two dollars was the amount that could be raised. So with their solemn faces they stared patiently at the congregation while the plates went round. The collection was counted, and was found to be considerably less. So the deacons addressed themselves once more to the congregation, averring that some of the young men were holding back. Then for five minutes individuals were moved to come up singly and make additional offerings. Progress was reported, and then more individuals came up till the assessment had been realized.
Then the most touching thing occurred. The pastor turned to me and offered to share the collection with me.
“Oh, no!” I whispered hurriedly, feeling, perhaps, rather shocked at the idea.
“He says ‘Oh, no,’” said the pastor to the congregation.