Grafton was the seat of the next conference, Bishop J. Dickson directing its business. The year had been fairly successful in various ways, but the salaries remained exceedingly low. Over the conference they average $202.88. My own was $433.18, with the addition of $74.50 in presents. Of the thirty-seven charges reported, only two paid as much as $400; five paid from $300 to $350; eleven from $200 to $300; while all the rest fell below $200. But the brethren were ready and willing to try it again. The secretary says at the close of the proceedings: “The unanimity among the preachers and delegates, and the deep solicitude manifested by all for the prosperity of the conference, made the entire session remarkably pleasant.” Referring to the Sabbath evening service, he adds: “At the close a number of the ministers made brief remarks relative to their past hardships, and bespoke the prayers of the conference for success during the coming year. This part of the service was deeply affecting.” Yes, I remember the occasion well. Dr. Landis, of the Seminary, was present, and wept with the rest of us, as he listened to the story of more than one who was willing to “endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” The following will indicate the courageous attitude of the conference on questions of moral reform: “WHEREAS, the use of tobacco is expensive, filthy, unnecessary, and, therefore, an evil, and, “WHEREAS, it is especially unbecoming for ministers of the gospel to surrender to an acquired appetite, defile the body, the temple of the Holy Ghost, and thus, by example, encourage the young to do likewise; and, “WHEREAS, this evil cannot be remedied so long as ministers freely and openly indulge in it, therefore, “_Resolved_, 1. That from this time forward no person be granted license to preach by this Annual Conference who persists in the use of tobacco. “_Resolved_, 2. That all licentiates who indulge this habit be required to give it up before taking upon themselves the vows of ordination.” The significance of this action will be more fully appreciated when it is understood that West Virginia is a tobacco-producing States and that its use, in one form or another, is pretty general among the people. A report on temperance, which mercilessly arraigned the liquor traffic, and its political abetters, was also adopted. Here is a sentence or two from it: “Believing as we do that prohibition is both humane and holy, we can have no sympathy for a policy, or a Christianity that ignores it at the ballot-box.” Men who were willing to work for a pittance, which meant that they and their families were to go scantily fed, and half clothed, all for the sake of redeeming their native State, could not be expected to condone the offenses of the liquor dealer, or to have decent respect for those who did. [Illustration: House Where the Bishop First Went to Housekeeping and Where His First Child Was Born, Grafton, W. Va.]