After this blow I recalled with gratitude the Reverend
Mark Trafton's excellent advice, and I immediately
applied for ordination in the Methodist Protestant
Church. My name was presented at the Conference
held in Tarrytown in October, 1880, and the fight
was on.
During these Conferences it is customary for each
candidate to retire while the discussion of his in-
dividual fitness for ordination is in progress. When
my name came up I was asked, as my predecessors
had been, to leave the room for a few moments. I
went into an anteroom and waited--a half-hour, an
hour, all afternoon, all evening, and still the battle
raged. I varied the monotony of sitting in the ante-
room by strolls around Tarrytown, and I think I
learned to know its every stone and turn. The next
day passed in the same way. At last, late on Saturday
night, it was suddenly announced by my opponents
that I was not even a member of the Church in
which I had applied for ordination. The statement
created consternation among my friends. None of
us had thought of that! The bomb, timed to ex-
plode at the very end of the session, threatened to
destroy all my hopes. Of course, my opponents
had reasoned, it would be too late for me to do
anything, and my name would be dropped.
But it was not too late. Dr. Lyman Davis, the
pastor of the Methodist Protestant Church in Tarry-
town, was very friendly toward me and my ordina-
tion, and he proved his friendship in a singularly
prompt and efficient fashion.
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