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24 TH] AN EVANGELISTIC TRIP TO GILMER COUNTY, W. VA. It is the excellent custom of Lexington Presbytery to assign to each of the ministers in her older and more settled churches, an Evangelistic field in its great Home Mission Territory in West Virginia. This field he is expected to visit at some time during the year, and conduct such services as may be feasible. Sometimes these fields are already ?ui>i>ut;u wnn preacning ay some faithful Home Missionary. Often they are vacant and greatly in need of the ministrations of the visitor. It was the writer's privilege recently to fill such an appointment at the Coal Valley Church in Gilmer County, W. Va. This little church is situated on the Little Kanawha River about five miles from Glenville, the County Seat. It was organized several years ago and has enjoyed the ministry of Dr. Brooke, Rev. C. S. Lingamfelter, Frank L. McCue, H. McC. Moffett, W. J. Tidball, and others. It is not very Btrong numerically, but rich in the character of its officers, and in loyalty to Christ and His Church. Like most West Virginia communities, it is over-churched. In its immediate neighborhood there are four or five other denominations at work. Yet so high is the character of its members and so pure its influence in the community, that all the denominations joined with us in our meeting and made it a feast of spiritual things for us all. I was the guest of Ruling Elder John R. Lynch, on the bank of the river. He is a man of large family. Three of his fine boys bear the names of honored iuimsiers ui me gospel. n>acn one or them, toys and girls, is either already well-educated or rapidly becoming so. Several are teachers in the public schools. Mr. Lynch has eleven children in all. I reached Gilmer County late on Saturday evening after a journey from Lexington, Va? which began on Thursday noon, and took me around by Harper's Ferry, through Cumberland and Clarksburg. An enthusiastic welcome made me at once at home In Brother Lynch's home On the Sabbath mnrniner a goodly attendance at Church and Sabbath-school gave evidence of the permanence of the work done there in days gone by. Darwin says that "Forgotten yesterdays have made possible the full blown flowers of today." How much prayer and effort, how much faith and patience; how much discouraging labor and toil, have been crowded into the forgotten yesterdays in that field; Could the men of God who once labored here return, they would rejoice. for their memory is still verdant, and their "works do follow them." Every night for a week in the heart of the busy harvest season, with the pressure of unfinished work in the cornfields, also to hinder, the comfortable and commodious church was crowded by eager listeners. It was noticeable that y y C PRESBYTERIAN OF THE SOUT1 a very large proportion of these was of the male sex. The toys and young men came regularly to every service, listened attentively to every appeal, and showed great interest. Yet only one of them joined tne t'hurch. We found that our beloved fellow worker. Brother W. J. Tidball, had just returned to this field, and was entering again upon the labors interrupted two years ago by his removal to North Carolina. He has a warm place in the hearts of this people and every prospect of success. He was not able to be present at the opening of the meeting but soon we saw his pleasant face in the congregation and felt the thrill of his sympathetic presence. What West Virginia needs today is more men of the Tidball type. Unselfish, patient, gentle, and withal powerful in the pulpit, he is exercising an influence which can be felt all through that country. Together we visited the people in their homes, finding always a welcome from the heart. The only trouble was that we could not find time for all the invitations which came to us. The people are not poor, for God has blessed this favored section with oil and gas and coal in fabulous quantities. Every farmer has his own private "Coal Banks," and if so disposed, can lease or sell his oil or( mineral rights for large sums in ready cash. There is a great work to be done here by our church. And under the efficient leadership of Rev. Hnlmho Pnlo#rtn n""-u?* * ' ..w.^vd ..uioiuu, mr n?ujieri&n v_^nairman of Home Missions, it is being done most faithfully. A flying visit to Sand Fork Church in the heart of the oil field, and also to my old field, the Sutton group in Braxton County completed a tour long to be treasured among the pleasant things of memory. Sutton has a splendid man in charge of its churches and outstations, in the Rev. J. M. Sedgewick. Brother Sedgewick, with his wife and newly-born infant, live in the charming little manse at Sutton and his field extends to Flatwoods, Gassaway, Corley, Newville, and other points in the county. His work is greatly appreciated and he is personally much beloved by his people. For the summer he is assisted by our can dictate, orotner Klrebaugh, of Rockbridge County, Va. One point which greatly impressed it self upon my mind was the great influx of foreigners in the mining sections about Clarksburg. Something must be done for these people in the near future. And our Church ought to do it. We have a fine location and plant at Clarksburg, with a congregation deeply imbued with the Missionary spirit. This point .is however vacant, and our opportunty is slipping away from us. God send us tbe man and the money to do this great work at our very doors. R. E. SteeJe. New Monmouth, Va. I have a great ambition higher and deeper than you can think to be a great deal better than myself.?Anna Warner, in Old Helmet. H. August i8, 1909. STORM OF LETTERS AT DR. JACOBS. Absurd stories have been published in some newspapers in Texas that Dr. W. S. Jacobs, of Houston, has preached a sermon advocating or apologizing for Sunday basebati. As a result warm letters have come from many quarters to Dr. Jacobs asking him about the matter. and some few even denouncing him without taking the trouble to inquire iuto the correctness of the reports. As a matter of fact, the very opposite is true. In a sermon on baseball preached at the First Presbyterian church Sunday night Dr. Jacobs vigorously condemned Sunday baseball and started a movement in favor of a half holiday on Saturday for employes that would do away with the necessity for Sunday ball playing, destroy the excuse for it and put it out of business. Dr. Jacobs, however, did not make his condemnation of Sunday baseball dependent upon the adoption of this suggestion, but condemned it anyhow, and said that any Sabbath breaking nation would find baseball too tame and go in for uun ngnung and Dear Daiting. Dr. Jacobs is indignant that a mistaken report should have been given such wide circulation, and begs through the columns of "The Chronicle" to assure Presbyterians and Christian people all over the state that he is as hearty an advocate of Sabbath observance as can be found and holds the strict Presbyterian views In regard to its sanctity. "BUNCOMBE." It Dont Always Pay to be Skeptical. When a newspaper writer and proofreader that works nights can feed himself out of dyspepsia, which most all that class suffer with, it is worth white to know the kind of food used. The man says: "Being a newspaper writer and proofreader, also a graduate in medicine as ncu, iiiuuga not practicing, makes a combination that would produce a skeptic on the subject if anything would. "Day after day I read the proof on the Grape-Nuts advertisements with the feeling that they were all 'buncombe.' All this time I was suffering from dyspepsia from the improper food I was eating at the restaurant. "One day I saw a package of GrapeNuts at the restaurant and tried some with good, rich cream. The food took my fancy at once. After a few lunches at midnight I noted an improvement in my feelings, and was able to work with less fatigue. "I have used Grape-Nuts as a regular diet since then, and have improved greatly. The old dyspepsia and bad feelings that I thought were necessary adjuncts to nljfht work all 1 ?. aiiu 1 mil able to do mnc.. more and oetter work with less effort than ever before. "I was nearly ready to give up night work and seek health in some other walk in life, bat thanks to my change in diet 1 am now an right." "There's a Reus . " * Read "The Road to Wellville" in pkgs. Evar read the above letter? A new one appears from time to time. They are genuine, true, and full of human interest.