Page:Robert Carter- his life and work. 1807-1889 (IA robertcarterhis00coch).pdf/218

202 a man came to Mr. Carter seeking a supply for a church a few miles off, and asked him if there were any good preachers at Dr. Strong’s. Mr. Carter told him he could find no one better than Dr. Parker, and accordingly brought the two together. Dr. Parker agreed to preach, and after going through the day’s services one of the trustees asked him what he charged. He made answer, that he was not accustomed to make a charge, but took whatever the congregation thought right to give. “I suppose your return ticket cost you one dollar and eighty cents. Here are two dollars,—never mind the change.” When Dr. Parker returned and told his story to a group of ministerial friends, there was a good deal of laughter at his expense, and one of the listeners said, “Mr. Carter got you the job, and you ought to divide the profits with him. You certainly owe him ten cents.” “On the contrary,” said Mr. Carter, “Dr. Parker ought to have received at least twenty dollars for his services, and I ought to share the loss, and here are the ten dollars.”

Mr. Carter while at Saratoga regularly attended the noonday prayer meeting, and frequently took part in it. Prayer was to him “vital breath” and “native air.” He went to such meetings, not from a mere sense of duty, but from keen enjoyment.

Another author with whom Mr. Carter had very delightful relations was Dr. Bickersteth, now Bishop of Exeter. He had long known and loved the Bishop’s father, Rev. Edward Bickersteth, one of England’s most saintly clergymen, and when the son published “Yesterday, To-day, and Forever,” Mr. Carter read it with exceeding pleasure. He at once brought it out in America, and it was one of his most successful publications, reaching a circulation of more than fifty