His circuit extended sometimes for fifty, sixty, or an hundred miles, and he rarely spent his evenings at home, if he had one, but slept where night overtook him, glad of the opportunity to share a bunk with his parishioners’ children, or make himself as comfortable as he could upon a mattress on the floor. His uniform may have been frayed and not of the orthodox cut; his sermons may not have possessed that virtue of brevity which so many congregations now demand; they may have fallen far short of some of the sensational discourses of to-day; but he was a faithful exponent of the Gospel, the plain and simple truth as he found it exemplified in the life of our Saviour. That the pioneers closely followed the tenets of the Golden Rule is largely due to the self-sacrificing efforts and exemplary life of the early missionaries. [Illustration: FOOT STOVE. CRACKLE] Among the Methodists no other religious gathering could compare with the camp-meeting. It was the red-letter week of the year, given up wholly to prayer, singing and exhortation. In selecting a location for these annual gatherings there were several details to be considered. The first essential was a grove, high and dry, and free from underbrush, accessible both by land and water. The auditorium was in the shape of a horseshoe, about one-half acre in extent, surrounded by tents made of canvas or green boughs supported by poles. Across that part corresponding with the opening in the shoe was a preachers’ platform. In front of it was a single row of logs—the penitent bench—and the rest of the space was filled with parallel rows of logs—the pews. Thither by land and water came the devout Methodists of the district; but then, as now, the women far outnumbered the men in their religious observances. With them they brought chests of provisions, their bedding, and Bibles. Morning, noon, and night, the woods resounded with songs of praise, the warning messages of the preachers, and the prayers of the faithful, pitched in every conceivable key. The surroundings seemed to add an inspiration to the services. When the great throng joined fervently in "All hail the power of Jesus’ name", to the accompaniment of the rustling leaves, the hearts of all present were deeply moved. During the closing exercises, marching in pairs around the great circle, with mingled feelings of gladness and sorrow, they sang lustily the good old hymns and then, with many affectionate leave-takings, dispersed to their several homes.