“…in one place in Virginia, where Mr. [John] Leland went to preach one cold day, the principal people were in the habit of going out before the meeting was done, if the minister spake much over three quarters of an hour. Some of the brethren told him they hoped he would not preach long, for if he did, there were some gentlemen that would leave the house. He said nothing, but went to meeting. After speaking about forty-five minutes, he noticed that some grew uneasy, and acted as though they meant to go out. Observing this, he paused a moment, and then said, ‘My friends, it is cold, and I have now got about half through my discourse, and I suppose those of you who have holes in the heels of your stockings will be obliged to leave the house before the meeting is done.’ This saying removed all the apparent uneasiness; and no one dared leave the house, till the meeting closed.”
From The Life, Conversion, Preaching, Travels, and Sufferings of Elias Smith, pp. 225-226
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