Page:Robert Carter- his life and work. 1807-1889 (IA robertcarterhis00coch).pdf/25

Rh out, ‘Fourpence.’ ‘It is yours,’ cried he, ‘my little fellow; you’re the youngest bidder we’ve had to-day.’ This fourpence had been collecting for some time previously, and was probably the largest sum I had ever possessed. When I got the book in my arms, it was with no small difficulty I carried it home. With an apple I hired a little playmate to help me, and we carried it between us, and when we got tired, we laid the book down on the roadside and rested, each sitting on an end. But O what a treasure it proved while I eagerly devoured its contents! I used to lay it down upon the cottage floor, and myself beside or upon it, and travel slowly down the long page until I reached the bottom, and then tackle the next page. I had read the Bible through twice in order, and I was eager to get all the additional information I could about the Jews. I was greatly puzzled by the word ‘Greeting,’ which occurred so often as a salutation at the beginning of letters. That was our Scottish word for crying, and I could not understand its relation to letters bearing good tidings.

“Shortly after I finished Josephus, one fine summer evening, my father took me with him to pay a visit to a friend who owned a pretty little farm about three miles distant. He was reading Fox’s Book of Martyrs when we arrived, and he told us that he was greatly fascinated by it. My father said that he would like to have such a book for his little boy, but that it was far too costly for him to purchase. The gentleman asked me to read a little for him. When I paused, he exclaimed, ‘He is the finest reader I ever heard,’ and inquired what school I attended. My father told him that I had not been at school since I was nine years old, but that I was extravagantly fond of reading. ‘Well,’ said he, ‘I have