Shortly after the evangelistic work of Henry Varley in Yorkville and Toronto, about 1875, when the songs in the first edition of our book were heard all over the land, a carpenter and his apprentice were working on a building in Yorkville. The man was a Christian and had consecrated his fine tenor voice to the Master's use. The boy had just given himself to Jesus and was also a singer for the Lord. One morning, as they met at the usual hour for work, the following dialogue took place between them : " Do you know who is coming here to work today ? " " No, I did not hear of anybody coming here." " Well, there is ; and it is Tommy Dodd." " And who might Tommy Dodd be ? " " He is a painter, and the greatest drunkard and wife-beater in Yorkville." " Well, Joe, we must give him a warm reception." " Yes, we will sing like everything, so that he can't get a bad word in. " So, when Tommy Dodd came, they struck up " Hold the Fort." And they kept on singing till he left his work and came closer to listen. He asked them to sing it over and over again, joining heartily in it himself, for Tommy was very fond of singing. This was followed by an invitation to the young men's prayer-meeting, where the Spirit led him to surrender to Christ. Afterwards he was found at the church instead of the saloon, singing the sweet songs of Zion. << less