I have seen all my people in their homes now, and some of them repeatedly, have had a crowded and very pleasant reception at the “Home,” and begin to feel as if I knew the ground. I see great reason for encouragement. We have 60 members on the ground whom I can find, and who seem to be quite as consistent as the average church members at the North. This, out of a list of 77, seems to me a pretty good showing. Half of the absentee list is accounted for by the former teachers who have not taken their letters, and students at Atlanta and Talladega. I have more reliable “prayer-meeting” members in proportion to our number than most pastors enjoy. _“Pauses” in the prayer meeting_ have not yet been introduced. The majority of Christians who come to prayer-meeting at all seem to take it for granted that they must take an active part in carrying it forward; and the majority, male and female, do so with great acceptance. They are free from the “Shame-facedness” of Northern Christians about religious activity; and have not yet fallen into any routine ways. Of course they are generally ignorant; but I find their spiritual exercises very quickening and helpful to me. In this respect the work is very delightful. We sustain two prayer meetings every week, at the church Wednesday evening, and from house to house Monday evening; and I have begun a young people’s meeting Sunday evening half an hour before regular service, which opens with good promise. The Lord has given us one soul as a pledge of His readiness to bless. A bright, promising young girl has been seeking Christ for a long time, but has been hindered by the general superstitious notion that she must have a _vision_ or tangible evidence of God having heard her prayers. She has finally been persuaded to trust God, and try to walk by faith, and has found peace in believing. So we can already set up our Ebenezer, and go forward. Outside of the direct church work I am impressed with two things especially. First, that a good number of the people are making substantial progress in material things. They show a very healthy tendency to seek the outskirts of the city, and to obtain homes of their own. Montgomery is girdled all around with little cottages (not very fine, to be sure, but a vast improvement on the plantation cabins), which they have built on land bought with their savings since Emancipation. The Democratic Legislature a year ago took advantage of this fact, and, by drawing in the city limits, changed Montgomery from a Republican to a Democratic town, throwing out a thousand colored votes. This shows the extent of the movement.