habit of sin. To be a physician of souls demands a knowledge and a wisdom equal at least to that of a physician of the body. When I think of the time I wasted in trying to fathom the nature of God while I was ignorant of the first elements of the nature of man, I hang my head in shame.

The experience of this retreat inspired me with a desire to know the soul, that I might instruct in the powers of the soul, teaching the method whereby the soul can resist evil and acquire virtue. It was, therefore, of vast importance to my spiritual life that I was compelled to study this great subject in order that I might apply what little knowledge I could acquire to the specific cases that were submitted to my judgment as a conductor of a retreat. That I did not fail entirely in this first effort follows from the fact that I was called again and again to perform the same service for the Sisters of St. Mary. I must have conducted at least five retreats for them in the course of my history, and the report of those retreats must have gone forth into the world and given me work of like character to be done elsewhere.

Among the most notable of these efforts was a retreat which I conducted at the request of the Right Reverend William Croswell Doane for the clergy of Albany. This retreat was held in the chapel of the Cathedral of All Saints, Albany, during the vacation of the cathedral schools where the retreatants were accommodated during their stay. The rule of the retreat was the same as that which prevailed with the Sisters of St. Mary. The conductor had complete charge; he gave his instruction, his meditation, his address, and he was at the call of the retreatants for spiritual counsel and advice.

This retreat was followed by others of like character for the clergy and also by "quiet days" for both clergy and laity. A "quiet day" is a retreat in little; the same pro

gram is followed as that of the longer retreat; a day is set apart for prayer and meditation. The conductor of the day celebrates the communion, gives his instruction, meditation and address. I was frequently called to this duty in various parts of the country.

I

CHAPTER XXVIII

A MISSIONER

N the year 1892 there was a stirring among the dry bones of Episcopalianism. It was felt by the leaders

of that cult that they were losing ground and that if they were to maintain their standing as an active working body they must wake up. The consequence was that they determined to cast aside their dignity for the time being and to adopt Methodistic methods of religious work; in other words, they determined to have a great revival in the city of New York. In this movement High Church, Low Church and Broad Church united. In order to save their dignity, they did not call this action a revival, but they adopted the Catholic term of "mission." The leader of the enterprise was the great Broad-Churchman of the country, Dr. William S. Rainsford. Certain churches in the city were selected as the places where the work was to be carried on. Men of reputation as preachers and spiritual guides were selected to do the work.

It was my high honour to be one of those so chosen. I was asked to take the mission at St. Philip's Church in Mulberry Street. Now, as the reader is aware, St. Philip was of African descent and the churches called by this name were patronized by his people, so that I became the missioner to the coloured Episcopalians of the city of New York. When I left home I was accompanied by my friend, Mr. Paul Rochester, a son of John Rochester. The mission was to be opened on a certain Wednesday evening. On the morning of that day Mr. Rochester and

myself went to the church to meet the wardens in order that we might make the proper arrangements for what was to come. When we reached the vestry room we found the two wardens waiting for us. The senior warden was a Mr. White, a West Indian Negro, as fine-looking a man as one would care to see in a day's journey; regular features, bronze complexion, tall and slender; he was a gentleman every inch of him. He was a free man and always had been a free man. The junior warden, if I recollect correctly, was a Mr. Prince; he was an American Negro and had about him the air of a man who had always been subjected to control. As soon as we greeted one another, Mr. White said to me, "Mr. Crapsey, if you and your friend will kindly follow us, Mr. Prince and I will lead you to the hotel where we have your rooms engaged." Instinctively and without a moment's hesitation, I stepped forward and laid my hand on the arm of Mr. White and said, "Mr. White, with your permission, I will walk with you and Mr. Rochester will walk with Mr. Prince; we can talk together as we go along." I saw at once a flash in the eye of this man; he seemed surprised and gratified, and so we walked together through the streets of the city until we came to our hotel. It was this instinctive act, which came without any thought whatever, that was the cause of the great success of my work among these people. Mr. White said to me afterward, speaking of this incident, "Mr. Crapsey, no white man in America ever acted in such a manner toward me as you did on the morning of your arrival." That is, no white man had ever been a gentleman in his relations with this coloured gentleman, and that is the reason why we have the Negro question and will always have the Negro question with us until the white man recognizes the fact that he is nothing but a man and every other man is his equal and that the colour of the skin is an indifferent matter.

The mission opened in the evening with a congregation of coloured people sprinkled with whites that about half filled the church building. In conducting a mission, I departed from the ordinary custom of preaching a sermon. I began with an instruction on some Christian doctrine or practice, and after speaking for about fifteen or twenty minutes, I interrupted myself and called upon the choir to sing a hymn. At the conclusion of the hymn I applied the principles that I had laid down in my instruction to practical life, exhorting the people to practise what I had just preached to them. This exhortation was followed by another hymn and this by a meditation which I delivered from my chair. In this way I was able to hold the attention of these people for about an hour, and to keep them all the time at a high tension of interest. This is the method which I followed as a missioner as long as I exercised that office.

The program for the day began with an early celebration of the Holy Communion and a short meditation at 7 o'clock. At this service, only the faithful few were gathered around the altar. At 9 o'clock I gave a lecture in theology, taking up the great fundamentals of Christian doctrines. During my mission at St. Philip's I had only one auditor at these lectures; this was Brother Fisher, a very intelligent, educated man, and we had what was really a conference. As I went along, I would appeal to Brother Fisher as to his opinion in the matter under consideration. Brother Fisher would nod gravely his assent and I would I never regretted the time that I devoted to the education of Brother Fisher; he enjoyed it; I enjoyed it and, by this practice, became more proficient in my office as a teacher of theology. During the whole of my career as a preacher I have never slurred over my work because there were only two or three present; some of the very best work that I have ever done in my life has been in the

go on.