CHAPTER V.

CALL TO PREACH.

"The throng is great, My Father! many a doubt
And fear and danger compass me about;
And foes oppress me sore. I cannot stand
Or go alone. O Father; take my hand,
And through the throng

Lead safe along

Thy Child."

"Hinder me not! the path is long and weary,

I may not pause or tarry by the way:
Night cometh, when no man can journey onward;
For we must walk as children of the day."

The healing of Miss Leffingwell was the turning point of her whole life. It ended the old and began the new. She had gone over the ground as to her consecration before healing, and the duties which must follow it, so many times and so thoroughly that there was now no doubt or hesitancy on her part. That life which now had been renewed to her must be spent, and all spent, in the service of her Master.

She immediately began to move out in the line of duty. She had, as yet, no distinct call to foreign missionary work, but she knew she must labor for the Lord in a public way. Her call as a foreign missionary was, however, dimly before her mind,

for she writes at this time in the poem given in the previous chapter: "E'en though that way in Afric's darkest wilds should lead my feet;" but at first her work seemed nearer home. It is always best and safest to begin any work as near home as

possible. She began at once to hold meetings for the salvation of souls.

It is to be regretted that the dates of these meetings and more of the circumstances connected with them are not preserved. The first of these of which we have any account was held at a place then called Song Bird, in the Bradford oil fields. Her

brother, Clayton, lived near there. She secured the schoolhouse for service and tacked to the door a paper on which it was stated that a lady would preach there the next Sunday. On the day appointed it rained hard, and as they were starting for the service, her brother remarked, "No one will be out"-but Clara smiled and said nothing. The house was packed full. She preached there quite a number of times. Some were saved, and the people gave her a sum of money, entirely without solicita. tion.

This was probably in the latter part of 1886, In October of the same year, she received her first license to preach. It was granted by the Chautau qua district quarterly conference of the Free Methodist church, of which Rev. S. K. J. Chesbro was chairman and Rev. John Robinson, secretary. The Free Methodist church always grants to those women who feel called of God to the ministry, the opportunity and privilege of doing all the labor along this line that they may desire; but there are many members of the church, both ministers and laymen, who do not encourage these women very much in this particular calling. Miss Leffingwell had a clear call of God to this work. To her it was as definite as had been either her salvation or her healing. Some verses given here were written about this time and show she firmly believed herself called to preach. She says of them: "These verses express my call to the work of God, written when God met every excuse I could make why I should not do so, and swept away every objection or argument I could raise. This experience is sacred to me, for

between my soul and God these words of His spoken to me constituted my credentials as being called of God to break the bread of life to hungry souls."

FEEDING THE MULTITUDE; OR, HAVE FAITH AND

OBEY

(Matthew 15:37)

See the vast throng that surrounds you
Far from where food may be found.
Send them away? They would perish.
Seat them, low down, on the ground;
True, you have only a pittance,

But that is enough for a start;

Supplies will increase as you need them,
Have faith in Jesus, Faint Heart!

It was not direct from the Master's hand
That the multitude was fed;

He gave His disciples the blessed task

Of giving the hungry ones bread.

He blessed, brake and gave to His followers;
(A half loaf or less was each share)

And they stepped out in faith at His bidding
To feed the great multitude there.

So many fed with so little!

Yet all are abundantly filled.

They gave at the word of the Master

And simply obeyed as He willed.

Lo, when the feasting was ended

Seven baskets of fragments remained;

Forever a proof to all Christians

That by giving, more ever is gained.

Then think of the millions now dying.
So soon they'll faint and be lost.

With Jesus' blood were they purchased,
Dost value them less than they cost?
Do the toils of service affright you,

Haunting your path in life's course?
If sermons seem to be lacking,
Move up! Get nearer the source!

Did Jesus ere ask the doing,
Without the power to do well?
Still hold your faith in Jehovah,
What He commands, "go and tell."
And when your mission is ended
And the fight of faith is past,
Fragments-A heart full of sermons,
Untold,-will remain at last.

It was very trying, however, for her to labor in a public way as a minister. Some opposed her and not a few looked coldly on her labors. She was extremely sensitive, having been born so, and grace did not change her nature. Grace, however, helped her to bear what came against her. Miss Frances E. Willard well expresses this when she says: "No words can measure the suffering of those people whose souls are on the end of their nerves, and to whom a cold look or a slighting word is like a frost to the flower. God pity them! The world is a hard place for natures as fine as theirs."

Miss Leffingwell saw much of this spirit of coldness towards others, and felt some of it herself. In writing about those women who are called to preach the gospel, she says: "Consider the diffi culties they must encounter, prejudice (being judged and usually condemned before they are heard), lack of faith in their calling, lack of confidence in their ability and other things; till they can hardly