Around the World in 88 Years -E Book - Arthur Burt

The Lake District. Bump! Bump! Bump!In the summer, I bought a small tent, put it on a trek cart, andtraveled around to the villages of Ulverstone and Dalton in theLake District. My plan was this: I got leaflets, and going to eachhouse, I’d knock at the doors, hand a leaflet to the lady, and say,“Good morning. We are holding Gospel meetings in your village,and I’ve come to ask you if you could loan me a chair. Idon’t want a good chair. Any reasonable one will do. You see,we (I would always say ‘we’, but it was only me.) do not carryseats ‘round with us. I promise we will take good care of yourseat. I have some labels here and I will stick a label on the bottomof your chair.”“Oh yes, yes, certainly, anything to help a good cause,” the ladywould answer. “How will this chair do?”“Now what is your name?” I would ask. “Oh, Mrs. Sema. Nowwhere are we? At 7 Cedar Close. There is just one thing. Can Iinvite you to come and sit on your own seat tonight at 7:30? Oh,well, it is your chair, isn’t it? Especially reserved for you in thetent! Do come along, and by the way, there are meetings for thechildren.”“Well,” she would respond, “take the chair.”“Oh, no, I’m not going to take the chair now.” I would have aplan. I would round up the children in that district. I’d make allthe commotion and upheaval I could, running with the trek cartand having all the kids around bringing me chairs.“Go to number 14 and ask them if you can have the chair,” Iwould direct them. “There is another one on 32 up there.”The kids loved it, running backwards and forwards with chairs,then setting them up in the tent. This was my plan: special sit-onyour-own-seatservices! I did the preaching, sang the solos, playedthe piano accordion, collected the seats and painted the posters.I saw to myself, doing my own washing, my own cooking andmy own shopping. I prayed for the sick, I did the lot! I was still aone-man show!Everything was going fine, until one day, after the children hadtheir meeting, it was time for the adults’ meeting. It was summer-40