Project Gutenberg 2005-02-01 Public domain in the USA. 256 Howells, William Dean 1837 1920 Howells, W. D. (William Dean) Howells, William D. (William Dean) The Minister's Charge; Or, The Apprenticeship of Lemuel Barker Produced by Anne Folland, Eric Eldred, Charles Franks, David Widger, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team “The Minister's Charge; Or, The Apprenticeship of Lemuel Barker” by William Dean Howells is a novel written during the late 19th century. The story follows the relationship between a minister, David Sewell, and a young, aspiring poet named Lemuel Barker living in rural Willoughby Pastures. The narrative delves into themes of ambition, artistic failure, and the responsibilities that come with mentorship. The opening of the novel provides a glimpse into Sewell's life as he reflects on his encounters with Lemuel and the disappointment he feels about the boy's unrealistic aspirations in poetry. After initially offering praise to the young poet, Sewell grapples with guilt over his previous encouragement as he receives a letter from Lemuel seeking assistance in publishing his work. The minister's internal conflict grows throughout the opening chapters, establishing the deep moral quandary he faces when he finally meets Lemuel again in Boston. Sewell's hesitance is met with Lemuel's naïveté, as he remains hopeful despite the odds against him, contrasting the harsh realities of rural life with the aspirations of artistic ambition. This sets the tone for a thoughtful exploration of sincerity, disappointment, and the complexities of kindness versus honesty. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 79.0 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Clergy -- Fiction Boston (Mass.) -- Fiction Poets -- Fiction PS Text Category: Novels Category: American Literature 778111 2025-07-03T11:09:32.323385 text/html 810003 2021-02-26T01:21:02 text/html 363666 2025-07-03T11:09:42.988416 application/epub+zip 376274 2025-07-03T11:09:36.034361 application/epub+zip 347068 2025-07-03T11:09:34.672403 application/epub+zip 735180 2025-07-03T11:09:48.405347 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 686980 2025-07-03T11:09:41.983402 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 646716 2022-09-04T05:53:49.853722 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 671467 2025-07-03T11:09:30.886475 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 671118 2018-02-25T13:58:52 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19257 2025-07-03T11:09:48.537326 application/rdf+xml 23786 2025-07-03T11:09:35.191414 image/jpeg 4572 2025-07-03T11:09:34.930365 image/jpeg 248700 2018-03-20T08:28:42 application/octet-stream application/zip 261636 2021-02-26T01:21:05 application/octet-stream application/zip 353767 2025-07-03T11:09:32.387378 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia