W. B. Godbey - Enter His Rest

came and, to my unutterable surprise; contained sixty dollars. When I opened it and read the bills, I could hardly
believe my eyes.
Gushing tears of gratitude and surprise flooded my eyes till I could not read the bills. I went around and paid my
debts, bidding the people adieu, and mounting the stage, as that was the day before railroads were in that
country, I hastened to Perryville. I went at once to see old Dr. Polk, a very venerable local Methodist preacher,
who was president of the Board of Trustees. I asked him “Why did you send me sixty dollars, when you only me
thirty?” He responded: “When we drew the public money, it amounted to thirty dollars more than we expected,
and I felt that we ought to send it all to you, so I went around and asked the patrons what they thought about it.
They, without a single exception, responded: 'Of course, send it all to him, for he deserves it; that boy taught us
the best school we ever had in town; he labored from sunrise to sunset, as he had so many scholars, in order to
give them all due attention.' “ The explanation of that is easy and simple. Who ever heard of people overpaying
a teacher thirty dollars? God touched the hearts of those stingy Kentuckians to sympathize with the boy, so that
they responded unanimously and sent him all the money.
At that time the “woman's rights” problem was only beginning to receive a little attention. I am glad it has
subsequently reached a glorious victory. Then, as you see in my case abundantly verified, a boy could prosecute
a thorough classical education by simply alternating student and teacher, as he had no trouble to get a place as a
teacher, while it was not at all common for girls to teach the public schools. It is very gratifying now to
recognize facilities quite as available in behalf of girls as boys, and therefore there is no reason whatever why all
the young people who desire a thorough collegiate education may not receive it. The reason why the expenses
had better be defrayed by teaching is because it will facilitate the education about as rapidly as if you were
enjoying all the opportunities of a student in college. I taught Latin and Greek, and everything else which I was
studying in college, whenever I was out in the public schools laboring to defray my educational expenses. I
actually graduated as if I had not stopped to teach, because so assiduously did I study while teaching that I never
fell behind my classes. N. B. I only taught enough while going through to make five hundred dollars of my
expenses, as friends willingly and gladly loaned me the other five hundred, which God enabled me to pay after I
had completed my education. The day of my graduation, I was offered a hundred dollars a month for teaching.
During all of my collegiate life I preached also. The colored people, who constituted about half the population,
were in slavery and consequently had very little preaching. When I went to Georgetown I soon found the
colored Methodists, Baptists and Presbyterians all had separate church buildings. This was really necessary, as
they were not encouraged to attend the white churches. As that was a Baptist College, and there was quite a host
of preachers attending, but all members of that denomination except your humble servant, when I went with a
Baptist preacher to preach for the slaves in the Methodist Church, and he introduced me to them as a Methodist
preacher, they were surprised and shouted over it and asked me to preach for them. It soon happened, from the
fortuitous circumstances of my being the only Methodist preacher in college, that I had the complete monopoly
of the Methodist colored church. This I much enjoyed. They always gave me a packed audience; and we had
rousing times. Oh, how the old style shouts invariably roared through the house, when the Spirit fell on the
people toward the winding up of the service, reminding me of Gabriel's trumpet.
I can never forget their singing. Of course they had no books to bother them, as none could read. It is a conceded
fact that the children of Ham excel all of their consanguinity in musical talents. I have never known a Negro
who could not sin. Though none of their race had learning, there were natural poets among them who made their
songs and they all committed them to memory. Oh, how delighted I would be to hear those songs now! In my
humble appreciation, the learning which has come to those people since their emancipation has damaged their
singing. They can now all read. Therefore they use books like white people and have given up their old songs
which were so delectable to my soul. They knew many of these songs and could sing all night. I sometimes was
taken to task by their masters for keeping them out so late in the night. We would have the altar crowded and
piled with mourners seeking the Lord, and they held on till the small hours of the morning were coming and
going, singing and praying and shouting over the mourners to get them through. Of course I could not use
authority any more than to pronounce the benediction in due time, then leave them in the hands of God. I give
you a little specimen of their songs, of which they had an ample supply so that I never knew them to run out. Of
course, in the absence of all learning, they would be characteristic of repetition.