Off-Hand Sketches, a Little Dashed with Humor

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Arthur Timothy Shay. Off-Hand Sketches, a Little Dashed with Humor

PREFACE

THE CIRCUIT-PREACHER

THE PROTEST

RETRENCHMENT; OR, WHAT A MAN SAVED BY STOPPING HIS NEWSPAPER

HUNTING UP A TESTIMONIAL

TRYING TO BE A GENTLEMAN

TAKING A PRESCRIPTION

THE YANKEE AND THE DUTCHMAN; OR, I'LL GIVE OR TAKE

A TIPSY PARSON

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING; OR, THE REASON WHY MRS. TODD DIDN'T SPEAK TO MRS. JONES

ALMOST A TRAGEDY. A REMINISCENCE OF MR. JOHN JONES

THAT JOHN MASON

A NEW WAY TO COLLECT AN OLD DEBT

A SHOCKING BAD MEMORY

DRIVING A HARD BARGAIN

OUT OF THE FRYING-PAN INTO THE FIRE; OR, THE LOVE OF A HOUSE

MARRYING A COUNT

JOB'S COMFORTERS; OR, THE LADY WITH NERVES

THE CODE OF HONOUR

TREATING A CASE ACTIVELY. A PHYSICIAN'S STORY

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THE Methodist circuit-preacher is in the way of seeing human nature in many rare and curious aspects. Under the itinerating system, the United States are divided into conferences, districts, and circuits. The conference usually embraces a State, the district a certain division of the State or conference, and the circuit a portion of the district. To every circuit is assigned a preacher, who is expected to provide himself with a horse, and his duty is to pass round his circuit regularly at appointed seasons through the year, and meet the members of the church at the various places of worship established on the circuit. Every year, he attends the annual conference of preachers, at which one of the bishops presides, and is liable to be assigned a new circuit, in the selection of which, as a general thing, he has no choice—the bishop making all the appointments; and so, term after term, he goes to a new place, among strangers. Before any strong attachments can be formed, the relation between him and his people is severed; and he begins, as it were, life anew, hundreds of miles away, it may be, from any former field of labour. To a married man, this system is one involving great self-denial and sacrifice, assuming often a painful character.

In those circuits that embrace wealthy and populous sections of the country, the Methodist minister is well taken care of; but there are many other sections, where the people are not only very poor, but indifferent to matters of religion, ignorant in the extreme, and not over-burdened with kind or generous feelings. On circuits of this character, the preacher meets sometimes with pretty rough treatment; and if, for his year's service, he is able to get, being, we will suppose, a single man, fifty or sixty dollars in money, he may think himself pretty well off.

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"Very good; and it will be all the sweeter because I am welcome."

"'Deed massa, and you is welcome, five hundred times over! But it was a downright shame for all de white folks to go off so. I never seed such people."

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