"There was a priest at Port Tobacco, whose name was Mr. O'Neal; he talked to me a great deal. I remember he said to me one day, 'Harry, now you are concerned about your soul, you must come and join the Catholic church.' 'What for,' said I, 'Mr. O'Neal?' 'Because,' said he, 'it is the true church.' 'Then,' said I, 'if the Catholic church will lead me to Jesus, I will join it with all my heart, for that is all I want;' and Mr. O'Neal said, 'If you will join the church, I will warrant that you shall go to heaven.' 'How can you do that, Mr. O'Neal?' said I.
"Then he told me that a great many years ago our Saviour came into the world, and He chose twelve apostles, and made St. Peter their head; and the Pope succeeded St. Peter; and so all that join the Pope belong to the true church. 'Then,' said I, 'why, how do you know that, Mr. O'Neal?' 'Because,' said he, 'our Saviour told Peter, I give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.'
"And I said, 'The Lord knows how it is, Mr. O'Neal; I am a poor ignorant creature, but it always did seem to me that Peter was nothing but a man, like the other apostles;' but Mr. O'Neal said, 'No, he was the head and chief of the apostles; for our Saviour said again, Thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' And I asked him, 'Now, do you think Peter was that rock, Mr. O'Neal?' He answered, 'To be sure he was;' and I said again, 'The Lord knows how it is; but it never did seem so to me.
"'Now I think it was just so—when Peter said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, our Saviour told him, Thou art Peter,'" (while the old man repeated the words, Thou art Peter, he pointed his finger at me, and looked me directly in the face, but as soon as he began the following part of the quotation he brought his hand briskly down to his knee, saying with emphasis, as he looked at himself), "'and upon this rock will I build My church; and that rock was Christ; for it is written in another place, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner-stone, elect, precious; and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded; and that corner-stone is Christ.'
"Then Mr. O'Neal said to me, 'Why, Harry, where did you learn that?' I said, 'From my Bible.' 'Oh!' said he, 'you have no business with the Bible; it will confuse and frustrate you.' But I said, 'It tells me of my Saviour.' Then a gentleman, who was sitting by, said, 'Oh! you might as well let him alone, Mr. O'Neal; you cannot make anything of him;' and from that time I never had any desire to join the Roman Catholics."
The narrative, of the truth of which I could not entertain a moment's doubt, showed a promptness of reply and an acquaintance with the Scriptures which truly surprised me, and I remarked, "I suppose, Uncle Harry, you take great pleasure in reading the Bible?" "Ah, master! when I could read, it was the pleasure of my life. But I am old now; and my book is so rubbed that the print is dim, and I can scarcely make out to read a word."
On this, Mr. W. said, "Well, Uncle Harry, you shall have a new Bible. Do you call on Mr. ——, when you go down town, and he will give you a new one from the Bible Society." Harry bowed, and expressed gratitude for the kindness, but did not manifest as much pleasure as I expected, considering how highly he professed to value the Bible. While I was wondering, and rather sorrowing on the account, I observed the old man to be feeling, with an air of embarrassment, in his pocket.
At length he pulled out an old tattered case, which appeared to have been long in use, and observed, "This new Bible will not be of much use to me, because my spectacles are so bad that they help me very little in reading." With that he opened his case, and showed a pair of spectacles of the cheapest sort, of which one glass was broken, and the other so scratched, that it was wonderful that he could see through it at all.
Mr. W. no sooner observed this than he said, "Well, Uncle Harry, you must have a new pair; do call at Mr. ——'s store, and tell him to let you have a pair suited to your age, and I will settle with him about it." On hearing this, Harry's eyes gleamed with joy, and he exclaimed, "Thank God! God bless you, master! Now I shall have comfort again in reading the Bible." And I never saw a happier, or a more grateful countenance.
Presently, he said the wagon would soon call for him to take him home, and he must go down town, and be getting ready: on which he again thanked his friend, and invoked a blessing on him and his family. He then affectionately and respectfully took me by the hand, and said, "I never saw you before, and I never shall see you again in this world; but I love you as a minister of my blessed Lord and Master, and I hope that I shall meet you in the house above. Remember and pray for poor old Harry."