An Item of Brethren History

A Bookseller with over two million titles, I believe, contacted me by email this week. I was offered a personal invitation to attend a meeting to consider investment in the company. To my knowledge, I only ever purchased one book from them online and visited their physical outlet maybe twice some years ago, visits which would not be recorded.

I have no interest in any kind of investment and NO MONEY to invest: a really excellent client, I don't think!

But ignoring the invite, I decided to travel to the site to see if their warehouse was significantly better than the last time I visited. It was worse! Presumably, the reason why someone like myself would receive such an invite, a bolt out of the blue.

My wife drove me there and exercised considerable patience as I searched vainly for something, anything of interest. I found three or four books written by Brethren, all of which I already possessed and mine in significantly better condition. As a last resort, I went into a room where there was a collection of "antique, rare, and collectible" books. It basically meant that they were old!

But I did not come away completely fruitless. I found and purchased a book of bound magazines entitled "Wells and Pastures;" with a subtitle, "Wells of Salvation and Pastures of Satisfaction. For Old and Young." Vol. 11. But most interestingly it bore a comprehensive inscription:

Victoria Hall Sunday School 

Queen St. Exeter.

Presented by Mr. Heyman Wreyford

I am omitting the rest of the inscription apart from the date of this Sunday School reward, save for the date: 1891.

A very brief perusal afforded me a precious poem simply entitled: "A Question." The poem was attributed to A.M. (Perhaps Andrew Miller, but I have no evidence to support this suggestion.)