Mrs Forsyth,
or whoever it was, had her reply in the hidden terms of
an equation--was it any farther for the people of East
Elgin to walk to hear him preach than for him to walk to
minister to the people of East Elgin, which he did quite
once a week, and if so, how much? Mrs Forsyth, or whoever
it was, might eliminate the unknown quantity. It cannot
be said that Dr Drummond discouraged the project; he
simply did not mention it and as it was known to have
been communicated to him this represented effectively
the policy of the closed door. He found himself even
oftener in East Elgin, walking about on his pastoral
errands with a fierce briskness of aspect and a sharp
inquiring eye, before which one might say the proposition
slunk away. Meanwhile, the Methodists who, it seemed,
could tolerate decentralization, or anything short of
round dances, opened a chapel with a cheerful sociable,
and popularized the practice of backsliding among those
for whom the position was theologically impossible. Good
Presbyterians in East Elgin began to turn into makeshift
Methodists. The Doctor missed certain occupants of the
gallery seats and felt the logic of circumstances. Here
we must all yield, and the minister concealed his
discomfiture in a masterly initiative. The matter came
up again at a meeting of the church managers, brought up
by Dr Drummond, who had the satisfaction of hearing that
a thing put into the Doctor's hands was already half
done.
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