great duty was involved. And they must write to him oftener because
he would need their letters, their love, more than ever now. And so
God keep them in health and bless them. And he was their grateful
son, who too often had been a care to them, who could never forget
the sacrifices they had made to send him to college, and whose only
wish was that he might not cause them any disappointment in the
future.

This letter drew a quick reply from his father. He returned the
money, saying that he had done better on the farm than he had
expected and did not need it, and that he had a man employed, his
former slave. Sorry as they were not to see him that summer, still
they were glad of his desire to study through vacation. His own
life had not been very successful; he had tried hard, but had
failed. For a longtime now he had been accepting the failure as
best he could. But compensation for all this were the new
interests, hopes, ambitions, which centred in the life of his son.
To see him a minister, a religious leader among men--that would be
happiness enough for him. His family had always been a religious
people. One thing he was already looking forward to: he wanted his
son to preach his first sermon in the neighborhood church founded
by the lad's great-grandfather--that would be the proudest hour of
his life and in the lad's mother's. There were times in the past
when perhaps he had been hard on him, not understanding him; this
only made his wish the greater to aid him now in every way, at any
cost. When they were not talking of him at home, they were thinking
of him. And they blessed God that He had given them such a son. Let
him not be troubled about the future; they knew that he would never
disappoint them.