“How do you manage to keep up in all the studies?” I asked. “Do you
carry text-books around with you in your pockets?”
“Yes, and I always have. I study all the time. I have acquired several
languages in that way.”
“When do you prepare your sermons?”
“I have never prepared a lecture or a sermon in my life, and I have
lectured for thirty-seven years. I seldom use even notes. When in the
pulpit, I rivet my attention on preaching, and think of nothing else.
“Application in the most severe form, and honesty, are the means by
which true success is attained. No matter what you do, do it to your
utmost. You and I may not do something as well as someone else, but
no stone should be unturned to do it to the best of our individual
ability. I have had a varied life, and many experiences, and I
attribute my success, if you are so pleased to call it, to always
requiring myself to do my level best, if only in driving a tack in
straight.”