20

-19-

addition 30 or more congregations of slaves had been organized to have the Gospel preached to them.

Of Bishop Polk's pastoral and episcopal character the following account has been furnished by the Reverend John Fulton, who was brought to the Bishop's home in May, 1857, to be examined for Holy Orders: "Presently we heard a quick, firm step in the hall, and the bishop entered. One glance revealed the man; his first address, the gentleman; his penetrating, sympathetic look, the friend and father. He was then over fifty years of age, but his clear complexion, his keen bright eye, and his elastic step made him appear not more than forty-six or forty-eight. Standing over six feet in height, his form was cast in the ideal mold of a soldier. His broad shoulders, his lean flank, his erect carriage, and his decidedly military bearing prepared one for the clear, distinct voice, which never struck one as imperious, but always had a certain tone of command. It was a voice to make itself heard amid the din of battle, and yet by the bedside of the sick and