His mode of Traveling--Excursion in Missouri, 1820--His monthly circuit in Missouri and Illinois--A night Adventure--A Horseback Excursion--Origin of Carrollton Church--Faith and Prayer--Interview with Rev. J. Going--A “Standard” Sermon-- An Affectionate Embrace--Comforts of Old Age--Last Illness and Death. 268 SKETCHES OF “FATHER CLARK.” CHAPTER I. Birth.--Ancestry.--Misfortune of Becoming Suddenly Rich.--A Religious Mother.--Fate of an Elder Brother.--Mathematics.-- Purposes of Life.--Deportment in Youth.--Views of War. Cast your eyes, reader, on a map of Scotland. Look towards the north-eastern part, and you will find distinctly marked, the _Frith of Murray_, a narrow channel of salt water, like a bay, penetrating a long distance into the interior of Scotland, and named after the Earl of Moray, or Murray. Follow up this channel to the city of Inverness, once regarded as the capital of the Scottish Highlands. Near this city is the small and secluded parish of _Petty_, which we notice as the birth-place of Father Clark, on the 29th of November, 1758. Here his father, grandfather, and other ancestors, for several generations, were born, lived and died. A brother of his grandfather, whose name was _John Clark_, became an eminent scholar, and taught the parish school for many years. All the family connections, for many generations, were strict Presbyterians, who paid careful attention to the morals of their children. The classics and mathematics, the Presbyterian catechism, and their forms of religious worship were taught the children in the parish schools, and in families, in that part of Scotland. They were taught to do justly, love mercy, and always speak the truth. The father of our John Clark was named Alexander, who, in the early part of his life, owned and worked a farm. He had a brother named Daniel, who was educated for the ministry in the Presbyterian church; but he had no taste for that business, and became qualified for a merchant. In this capacity he sailed for South Carolina; then went to Georgia in company with some Scottish traders by the name of Macgilvary, who monopolized the trade with the Creek Indians. In that connection he gathered a large fortune, and dying, left his estate to his brother Alexander, who had previously married a respectable and religious woman. They had two sons, Daniel and John, and three daughters, one of whom lived many years after her mother’s death.