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NOV 16 1886 
 

GOLDEN GLEANINGS. 
 
 A Select Miscellany. 
 
 COMPILED BY 
 
 DAVID HESTON 
 
 ^PYRIGH^A ( 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 Jacob Smedley, 304 Arch Street. 
 1886. 
 

 o\6 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1886, by 
 
 DAVID HESTON & SONS, 
 in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 
 
 -Thb Library 
 of Congress 
 
 Washington 
 
 ELECTROTYPED BY 
 DUNCAN 4. ROSS, PHILAOELPHI 
 
 CAXTON PRESS OF 
 SHERMAN & CO. PHILADELPHIA. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The following pages embrace a variety of short, interesting 
 Anecdotes, Sketches, &c, which will be found, it is believed, to 
 be adapted to fostering an appetite for solid and profitable 
 reading. Much of the matter here presented has been 
 gleaned from the columns of The Tract Repository* and lays 
 no claim to originality or to literary merit. It has not been 
 the aim of the editor in making these selections to enforce 
 distinctive or sectarian views, they being gathered originally 
 from a variety of sources, and from authors differing in their 
 religious profession, who have been allowed to express them- 
 selves in their own language and way. It is believed, however, 
 that the real value of the moral or religious lessons of instruc- 
 tion inculcated, will be found to far outweigh any imperfections 
 of style or objectionable modes of expression, which may be 
 noticed to exist. 
 
 D. H. 
 
 Frankford, Phila., 1886. 
 
 * A small monthly periodical published by the compiler of this work. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. page. 
 
 A Thrilling Incident 9 
 
 The Outside Passenger 13 
 
 The Hopeless Made Hopeful 14 
 
 "Do Good to Them that Hate You" 17 
 
 Uncle Benjamin's Advice 20 
 
 Bob, the Cabin Boy 22 
 
 Profitable Politeness 26 
 
 Interesting Story 27 
 
 Christian Contentment 30 
 
 The Child Witness 31 
 
 The Story of Colbert; " Honesty is the Best Policy" ^^ 
 
 A Strange Funeral Sermon 36 
 
 Indian Test of Honesty 37 
 
 Transforming Power of Grace 38 
 
 A Ray of Sunshine 41 
 
 Work in Faith , 42 
 
 Who Can Bear a Guilty Conscience 43 
 
 Anecdote of John Collingsworth 46 
 
 Our Defender 47 
 
 "A Soft Answer Turneth Away Wrath" . 48 
 
 Captain Ball's Experience, as Related by Himself 49 
 
 Preservation from Danger 56 
 
 The Learned Professor and the Cobbler 57 
 
 "But the Greatest of these is Charity" 60 
 
 The Converted Actress 63 
 
 Stick to your Bush 65 
 
 The Orphan Boy 66 
 
 Where did He Get that Law? 68 
 
 The Widow's Son and His Bible 71 
 
 A Word in Season . , 72 
 
 Ingratitude 74 
 
 Conversion at Sea 75 
 
 The Preaching of George Fox 79 
 
 A Railway Incident , 83 
 
 What One Sin Will Do 80 
 
 Remarkable Conduct of a Little Girl 8^ 
 
 Letter from Mother to Son, upon Completion of her 90TH Year, 87 
 
 Pacific Policy of William Penn 89 
 
 A Bible in a Hotel 90 
 
 The Young Prodigal; or "That's Thee, Jim" 92 
 
 "Quench not the Spirit" 94 
 
 The Foraging Party 97 
 
 Exercise of Faith . 98 
 
Return of the Prodigal 103 
 
 I Knew I Did Wrong 105 
 
 Incidents and Reflections 107 
 
 A Backslider's Sin . in 
 
 They shall not Blush for their Father 112 
 
 A Work of Grace 113 
 
 John Woolman 116 
 
 Noble Conduct 117 
 
 Anecdote of C. G. Steinhofer 119 
 
 Married without Shoes 121 
 
 Exhortation of a Mexican Indian to His Son 122 
 
 Ex-President Jefferson and the Cooper's Shop 123 
 
 Agnes' Lost Money 124 
 
 Incidents in the Life of Oliver Heywood 126 
 
 The Story of President Garfield's Mother 130 
 
 Anecdote of Abraham Lincoln 132 
 
 The Indian's Reproof . . . . 134 
 
 Anecdote of John Fletcher, of Madeley 135 
 
 A Dance Postponed 137 
 
 Satan's Responsibility 138 
 
 The Russian Tailor 139 
 
 Help Sally to Count Forty 141 
 
 Heaping Coals of Fire 142 
 
 Begin at Matthew , 144 
 
 A Tired Mother's Victory 145 
 
 The Town Clerk of Ephesus 147 
 
 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 Providence Directing 149 
 
 A Particular Providence 151 
 
 A Remarkable Deliverance 154 
 
 A Merchant Saved from Bankruptcy 159 
 
 Instructive Incidents 160 
 
 A Providential Deliverance 162 
 
 A Collision Averted . . . 163 
 
 Providence and Potatoes 165 
 
 Anecdotes of Quincey Maynard 166 
 
 Succored from Distress : 168 
 
 Providentially Directed Sermons 169 
 
 "Ask, and Ye Shall Receive" 171 
 
 Special Providence 173 
 
 Wonderful Deliverance 174 
 
 Larks Sent to the Starving 175 
 
 "Send Provisions to Caleb" 176 
 
 "The Lord Helps" 177 
 
 Remarkable Instance of Providential Deliverance 179 
 
 God's Providence in the Sea 180 
 
"I Have Just Met with a Wonderful Manifestation of Divine 
 
 Providence" 181 
 
 Providential Waking 183 
 
 The Value of Premonitions 184 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 Remarkable Answer to Prayer 187 
 
 A Prayer-answering God 189 
 
 A Duelist's Praying Wife 191 
 
 Answer to Prayer 193 
 
 The Locust Plague and Prayer 194 
 
 Answered Prayer 196 
 
 The Boy's Prayer and the Waterspout 198 
 
 Singular Answers to Prayer 199 
 
 Pray in Fair Weather 200 
 
 The Indian Girl, Hannah 202 
 
 The Starving Captain's Prayer 204 
 
 The Children's Cow Restored 205 
 
 The Wife's Prayer 206 
 
 A Mother's Prayer 207 
 
 A Sister's Prayer 208 
 
 The Captain's Prayer 210 
 
 Praying Mary 212 
 
 DREAMS. 
 
 Dreams 215 
 
 Captain Yonnt's Dream , 219 
 
 Warning by a Dream 220 
 
 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 The Happy Negro 223 
 
 Uncle Johnson 226 
 
 The Judge and the Poor African Woman 234 
 
 Uncle Tom Mayes 237 
 
 Happy Nancy's Secret, or Confidence in God 239 
 
 My Colored Washerwoman 241 
 
 A Slave's Prayer • . . 242 
 
 Old Aunt Sally 245 
 
 Old Susan 247 
 
 Thirty Years Ago 251 
 
 Uncle Harry 256 
 
 ANECDOTES OF INDIANS. 
 
 Anecdotes of Indians 263 
 
 Poor Sarah 266 
 
 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 Something for Drinking Men to Read 273 
 
 Blessings of Temperance 275 
 
Who is Responsible? 277 
 
 The Drunkard's Girls 278 
 
 The Pint of Ale 279 
 
 How to Break the Chain 281 
 
 Money Well Expended 282 
 
 My Experience . . . * 284 
 
 Thirty Years a Drunkard 285 
 
 Effects of Temperance 287 
 
 Story of the Engineer 288 
 
 A Doctor's Story . 291 
 
 Into Bondage and Out of It 293 
 
 The Two Pledges 295 
 
 One Young Man's "No" 297 
 
 A Child's Influence 299 
 
 Can God Destroy the Appetite? 300 
 
 "Stand Out From the Danger" 303 
 
 Saved by His Children 304 
 
 "I Mean Business" 305 
 
 INFIDELITY. 
 
 The Death-bed of an Awakened Infidel 307 
 
 An Infidel Strangely Converted 309 
 
 A Devoted Pastor 311 
 
 The Astonished Infidel, or the Power of the Bible 313 
 
 An Unbeliever's Death -bed 315 
 
 SWEARING. 
 
 The Profane Swearer 319 
 
 Warnings to the Wicked 320 
 
 Signal Lights 322 
 
 Incidents and Reflections 323 
 
 A True Incident 327 
 
 The Swearer Reproved 328 
 
 LYING. 
 
 The Truth at All Hazards 331 
 
 Lie Never 334 
 
 STEALING 
 
 A Thief Caught in His Own Snare 337 
 
 John Kane and the Robbers 339 
 
 The Clergyman and the Burglar 340 
 
 The Lady and the Robbkr 342 
 
 TOBACCO. 
 
 Effects of the Use of Tobacco 345 
 
 An Original Anecdote for Students 346 
 
 A Bad Fire 347 
 
 Tobacco . . 34 8 
 
 Tobacco Cure '....'. 349 
 
GOLDEN GLEANINGS, 
 
 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES, 
 
 A THRILLING INCIDENT. 
 
 IN THE winter of 1870, I had occasion to go from Green 
 Bay to Chicago, on the North-western Railway. At 
 Oshkosh we were joined by a delegation of lawyers, on 
 their way to Madison, the capital, to attend the legislature, then 
 in session. They were all men of more than usual intellect, 
 and of exceptional character. Two were ex-judges of the 
 circuit court, and one I had seen chairman of the Young - Men's 
 Christian Association. The party found seats near together, 
 and after the first salutations were over, and the news duly 
 discussed, began to look about for means to pass away the time. 
 After awhile some one proposed a game of cards. No sooner 
 said than done. Two seats were turned apart so as to face 
 each other, a cushion improvised for a table, and three of our 
 lawyers, including; the chairman of the Young Men's Christian 
 Association, and a Chicago runner on good terms with them, 
 were soon deep in the mysteries of a game of euchre. 
 
 I was surprised to see Christian gentlemen and judges of 
 law and equity ; leaders of society, makers of public sentiment, 
 lawgivers for a great State, directors of public morals, supposed 
 
io SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 to be public exemplars of all that is good, and guides to the 
 young, thus setting publicly their seal of approval to a most 
 dangerous and evil practice. To be sure they played for stakes 
 no higher than the cigars for the party; but it seems to me 
 that in the eyes of all discreet persons, this does not change 
 the act nor lessen the danger of its example, but rather height- 
 ens it; as from the less to the greater is the invariable course 
 of crime. But I did not intend to moralize on paper, but was 
 about to say that while I was filled with such thoughts as these, 
 one of the party grew tired of the game, and our remaining 
 judge was invited to take his place. I saw the blood mount 
 in an honest blush of disapproval to his manly face, and he 
 hesitated and drew back. But the game had become interest- 
 ing, and his excited companions urged him. " Come, Judge, 
 take a hand," they cried, "we can't do without you." So the 
 judge slowly rose from his seat, inwardly condemning the act, 
 as I evidently saw, and stepping forward took a seat among the 
 players, and the game went on. 
 
 I had noticed an old lady in a seat to the rear of the 
 players, who had got on board at Menasha, I believe. Gray 
 and bent with age she had sat abashed, and, with eyes closed, 
 seemed asleep most of the time, until the train, stopping at 
 Oshkosh, took on board the company of lawyers. She then 
 underwent a change and became greatly interested in the 
 company, looking often from one to the other as if she recog- 
 nized them all, or was trying to recall their faces. When the 
 game of cards was started, she became very restless, would 
 hitch uneasily about in her seat, take up the hem of her faded 
 apron and nervously bite the threads. Once or twice I thought 
 she wiped her eyes under her "Shaker bonnet," but could not 
 tell. She acted so strangely, I became more interested in her 
 than in the players, and watched her closely. She got up after 
 a time and tottered forward, holding on to the seats as she 
 
 passed. She brushed against Judge in passing, but he 
 
 had become interested in the game and did not notice her. 
 Reaching the water-tank at last, she drank a cup of water and 
 took a seat near the door with her back to the players. But 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. n 
 
 she did not long remain there; rising again with difficulty, she 
 tottered back toward her former seat, but reaching the players, 
 she paused directly in front of them, and now, greatly excited, 
 threw back her bonnet from her face and looked around the 
 company. Her action at once arrested their attention, and 
 pausing in their play, they all looked up inquiringly. 
 
 Gazing directly in the face of Judge , she said in a 
 
 tremulous voice: "Do you know me, Judge ?" 
 
 "No, mother, I don't remember you," said the judge pleas- 
 antly. " Where have we met ? " 
 
 " My name is Smith," said she ; " I was with my poor boy 
 three days off and on, in the court room at Oshkosh, when he 
 was tried for — for — for robbing somebody, and you are the 
 man who sent him to prison for ten years, and he died there 
 last June." 
 
 All faces were now sobered, and the passengers began to 
 gather around and stand up all over the car to listen and see 
 what was going on. She did not give the judge time to answer 
 her, but becoming more and more excited, she went on : " He 
 was a good boy if you did send him to jail. He helped us 
 clear the farm, and when father was took sick and died he did 
 all the work, and we were getting along right smart, till he 
 took to going to town and got to playing keards and drinking ; 
 and then, somehow, he didn't like to work after that, but used 
 to stay out often till mornin', and then he'd sleep so late, and I 
 couldn't wake him when I knov/ed he'd bin out so late the 
 night before. And then the farm kinder run down, and then 
 we lost the team ; one of them got killed when he'd bin to 
 town one awful cold night. He staid late and I suppose they 
 got cold standin' out, and got skeered and broke loose and 
 run most home, but run agin the fence and a stake run into 
 one of 'em, and when we found it the next morning it was 
 dead, and the other was standin' under the shed. And so after 
 awhile he coaxed me to let him sell the farm and buy a house 
 and lot in the village, and he'd work at carpenter work. And 
 so I did, as we couldn't do nothin' on the farm. But he grew 
 worse than ever, and after awhile he couldn't get any work, 
 
12 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 and wouldn't do anything but gamble and drink all the time. 
 I used to do everything I could to get him to quit and be a 
 good, industrious boy agin', but he used to get mad after awhile, 
 and once he struck me, and then in the morning I found he 
 had got what little money there was left from the farm, and 
 had run off. After that I got along as well as I could, cleanin' 
 house for folks and washin', but I didn't hear nothing of him 
 for four or five years ; but when he got arrested and was took 
 up to Oshkosh for trial, he writ to me." 
 
 By this time there was not a dry eye in the car and the cards 
 had disappeared. The old lady herself was weeping silently 
 and speaking in snatches. But recovering herself, she went on : 
 
 " But what could I do ? I sold the house and lot to get 
 money to hire a lawyer, and I believe he is here somewhere," 
 
 looking around. " Oh, yes, there he is, Mr. ," pointing to 
 
 Lawyer , who had not taken part in the play. "And this 
 
 is the man, I am sure, who argued agin him," pointing to 
 
 Mr. , the district attorney. "And you, Judge , sent 
 
 him to prison for ten years. I s'pose it was right, for the poor 
 boy told me that he really did rob the bank ; but he said he 
 must have been drunk, for they had all been playing keards 
 most all night and drinking. But, oh ! dear, it seems to be 
 kinder as though if he hadn't got to playing keards he might 
 a been alive yet. But when I used to tell him it was wrong 
 and bad to play, he used to say, 'Why, mother, everybody 
 plays now. I never bet only for the candy or cigars, or some- 
 thing like that.' And when we heard that the young folks 
 played keards down to Mr. Culver's donation party, and that 
 Squire Ring was goin' to get a billiard table for his young 
 folks to play on at home, I couldn't do nothing at all with him. 
 We used to think it was awful to do that way, when I was young, 
 but it jist seems to me as if everybody nowadays was going 
 wrong into something or other. But may be it isn't right for 
 me to talk to you Judge, in this way ; but it jist seemed to me 
 as if the very sight of them keards would kill me, Judge ; I 
 thought if you only knew how I felt, you wouldn't play on so ; 
 and then to think, right here before all these young folks. May 
 
SKE TCHES A ND AN EC DO TES. 1 3 
 
 be, Judge, you don't know how younger folks, especially boys, 
 look up to such as you ; and then I can't help thinking, that 
 if them as ought to know better than to do so, and them as is 
 higher larnt, and all that, wouldn't set sich examples, my poor 
 Tom would be alive and caring for his poor old mother ; but 
 now, there ain't any of my family left but me and my poor 
 little gran' chile, my dead darter's, little girl, and we are going 
 to stop with my brother in Illinoy." 
 
 Tongue of man or angel never preached a more eloquent 
 sermon than that gray, withered old lady, trembling with old 
 age, excitement, and fear that she was doing wrong. I can't 
 recall half she said, as she, poor, lone, beggared widow, stood 
 before those noble-looking men, and pleaded the cause of the 
 rising generation. The look they bore as she poured forth 
 her sorrowful tale, was indescribable. To say that they looked 
 like criminals at the bar would be a faint description. I can 
 imagine how they felt. The old lady tottered to her seat, and 
 taking her little grandchild in her lap, hid her face on her 
 neck. The little one stroked her gray hair with one hand and 
 said, " Don't cry, ganma ; don't cry, ganma." Eyes unused to 
 weeping were red for many a mile on that journey. And I can 
 hardly believe that one who witnessed that scene ever touched 
 a card again. It is but just to say, that when the passengers 
 came to themselves they generously responded to the Judge, 
 who, hat in hand, silently passed through her little audience. 
 
 THE OUTSIDE PASSENGER. 
 
 SOME years ago a young lady, who was going into a north- 
 ern county, took a seat in a stage-coach. For many miles 
 she rode alone ; but there w T as enough to amuse her in 
 the scenery through which she passed, and in the pleasing 
 anticipations that occupied her mind. She had been engaged 
 as governess for the grandchildren of an Earl, and was now 
 traveling to his seat. At mid-day the coach stopped at an inn, 
 at which dinner was provided, and she alighted and sat down 
 
H SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 at the table. An elderly man followed and sat down also. The 
 young lady arose, rang the bell, and addressing the waiter, 
 said, " There is an outside passenger; I cannot dine with an 
 outside passenger." The stranger bowed, saying, " I beg your 
 pardon, madam, I can go into another room," and immediately 
 retired. The coach soon afterward resumed its course, and the 
 passengers their places. At length the coach stopped at the 
 gate leading to the castle to which the young lady was going ; 
 but there was not such prompt attention as she expected. All 
 eyes seemed directed to the outside passenger, who was pre- 
 paring to dismount. She beckoned, and was answered, "As 
 soon as we have attended to his lordship we will come to you." 
 A few words of explanation ensued, and, to her dismay, she 
 found that the outside passenger, with whom she had thought 
 it beneath her to dine, was not only a nobleman, but that very 
 nobleman in whose family she had hoped to be an inmate. 
 What could she do ? How could she bear the interview ? 
 She felt really ill, and the apology she sent for her non-appear- 
 ance that evening, was more than pretense. The venerable 
 peer was a consistent man, and one who knew the way in which 
 the Scripture often speaks of the going down of the sun. "We 
 must not let the night pass thus," said he to his countess; 
 "you must send for her, and we must talk to her before bed- 
 time." He reasoned with the foolish girl respecting her conduct, 
 insisted on the impropriety of the state of mind that it evinced, 
 assured her that nothing could induce him to allow his grand- 
 children to be taught such notions, refused to accept any 
 apology that did not go the length of acknowledging that the 
 thought was wrong ; and when the right impression seemed to 
 be produced, gave her his hand. 
 
 THE HOPELESS MADE HOPEFUL. 
 
 NEARLY half a century ago there wandered through the 
 highlands of Scotland, in summer's heat and winter's 
 cold, a most wretched and forlorn creature. 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 15 
 
 She once had a home and loving friends ; but impelled by 
 evil, she broke loose from all restraint and fell into disgrace. 
 She became an outcast, and the terror of even those in whose 
 company she had first gone astray. Her friends gave up all 
 hope, and strove to bury her memory. 
 
 After a few years the miserable woman forsook the abodes 
 of men, and lived far up among the heath-clad hills, and was 
 only seen occasionally by some shepherd boy, running swiftly 
 over the hills with a lamb or sheep across her shoulders ; and 
 after this, a smoke rising above the low fire would show where 
 she was roasting the victim she had slain. 
 
 "Muckle Bess," as she was called, had never possessed any 
 womanly grace or beauty. She was tall, stalwart and mascu- 
 line in appearance and voice, and now that she dressed only in 
 the clothes she could steal from the lines and barns, and lived 
 almost without shelter from sun or storm, she was most forbid- 
 ding in her appearance. It is little wonder that when the 
 farmers' wives saw her, they were terror stricken. By her 
 bitterness, her dishonesty and profaneness, she had wholly 
 separated herself from her kind. Her hand was against every 
 man, and every man's hand against her. 
 
 One day as an honest cotter, whose wife had known her in 
 her early days, saw her dart by his window, he spoke of it, and 
 called her to come in and eat bread there. She looked at him 
 an instant and cried out : " What have I to do among the pure 
 and honest women, like Tybie ? I'm awa' to my only com- 
 panions — the beasts on the hills ! " 
 
 About this time, and when " Muckle Bess " was past middle 
 life, there was a great awakening in the Highlands. The people 
 gathered from many parishes to hear the preaching of the 
 godly young men whose lips .had been touched with fire from 
 God's altar, and who brought a living message from him to the 
 people. 
 
 On a certain occasion, several congregations had gathered 
 on the hill-side in front of a "church" which would not hold a 
 quarter of them. They were seated in groups of many hund- 
 reds, with a minister to address each company. 
 
1 6 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 Suddenly one of these groups was startled as if by an electric 
 shock. " Muckle Bess," in all the grotesqueness of her poverty, 
 stood like a giant before them. The women trembled, and the 
 men looked scornfully at her, as if to say : " Who hath warned 
 you to flee from the wrath to come ? " 
 
 All thought she had come to cavil and disturb ; and many a 
 strong arm was held ready to put her away whenever she 
 should attempt it. 
 
 But. there she stood, head and shoulders above the speaker, 
 on Avhom her wild eyes were firmly fixed. She did not move 
 a muscle, but listened as if for her life. 
 
 At length a merciful woman, braver than the others, moved 
 and made room for her on the green-sward, and touched and 
 beckoned her. At this unwonted civility Bess forgot herself, 
 and called out in bitterness of spirit : " What ha' I to do wi' ye, 
 honest Cressy Irving, I am na worthy to sit on the same ground 
 wi' ye — it wad pollute ye all, gude wifes and mothers. What 
 is the glorious gospel that the noble laddie is preaching to ye — 
 what is it to me ? I ha' sinned awa' the day o' grace, and e'en 
 the all-powerful blood has na power to cleanse me ! Look at 
 me, all ye lassies o' happy homes, and see what sin has brought 
 forth. O, Christ ! O, Christ ! Has it come to this, that Satan 
 is stronger than ye ? That he has given the lie to thy word, 
 that whosoever cometh shall in na wise be cast oot ? " 
 
 Here the silence of death reigned over the company; and 
 no one disturbed the woman in her anguish. She now ceased 
 speaking to the people, and raising her weather beaten face to 
 heaven, she stretched forth her brawny hands, and cried in 
 tones of agony : " O, thou God o' my fathers ; O, thou God 
 of bonnie Scotland that has been steeped in blood for thy 
 name's sake, look on me, a wretched sinner who has scorned 
 thee, and defied thee ! O, it is a fearful thing to fall into the 
 hands of the livin' God ! " Then exhausted by her emotion, 
 she fell fainting to the earth ; and pitiful women, who had before 
 fled at her approach, now ministered to her ; and great fear fell 
 on the people. 
 
 Then the minister preached of Christ as the only way of 
 
SKE TCHES AND AN EC DO TES. 1 7 
 
 access to the Father, and set Him forth in all his glory as a 
 mediator ; and showed that he made him a liar who doubted 
 his power to forgive all manner of sin ! He dwelt on his com- 
 passion and tenderness, till all, even the poor outcast, were 
 melted into tears. At length Bess cried out, in this most 
 informal service : " Hear me, ye people of God ! Hear me, ye 
 angels above ! Hear me, ye powers of evil, while I avow afore 
 ye all, that I will e'en tak' Him at his word, and leave it there ! " 
 
 From that time forward Bess went from farm house to cot- 
 tage, from field to pasture, telling in deep solemnity what God 
 was able to do for the chief of sinners. She had a welcome 
 at every "ingleside," and every house where dwelt a child of 
 God was her home. When offered work at the wheel or in the 
 dairy, she said : " Nay, nay, I ha' na' time for that. I must e'en 
 be on my way tellin' the story." 
 
 And she told "the story" with streaming eyes; indeed, she 
 was always weeping ; and once, when reminded that God had 
 called his children to peace and joy, she said : "Aye, aye, that's 
 here within the breast ; but how can I ever forget that I cruci- 
 fied the Lord o' glory, and put him to an open shame. There 
 is na time nor way to redeem the past. Let me, like Mary, 
 wash his feet wi' my tears ! " 
 
 Bess lived to prove the genuineness of her repentance. 
 
 DO GOOD TO THEM THAT HATE YOU: 
 
 WERE professing christians more careful to exemplify 
 in all their actions, the obligation to follow this precept 
 of our Saviour, there can be no doubt that the influence 
 of example would have a powerful effect in their families and 
 neighborhoods. It is related of a young man residing in a 
 town in Massachusetts, that he had on numerous occasions 
 been treated by a female acquaintance with marked unkindness 
 and contempt. Neither of them moved in the upper circles of 
 society; but this woman, without apparent cause, cast reproach- 
 ful reflections on the young man, as though she regarded him 
 
 B 
 
1 8 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 as beneath her notice; not worthy of common respect. One 
 day a valuable chaise was destroyed by a runaway horse that 
 had not been properly tied. She had borrowed both, and was 
 required to make good the loss to the owner. This brought 
 her into great distress, on account of her limited pecuniary 
 resources. The noble young man resolved to return good for 
 evil, and at once set about collecting money for her relief. He 
 gave freely of his own means, and by active solicitation with 
 others, was soon able to raise a liberal sum, and without her 
 knowledge of what he had done. He appeared before her and 
 modestly placed it at her disposal. She was completely bewild- 
 ered. He departed without allowing time for her acknowledge- 
 ment. She was quite overcome, wept like a child, and said she 
 would never again be guilty of showing, as she had done, 
 contempt for a fellow-creature; or of speaking reproachfully, 
 or otherwise treating unkindly a brother or sister. 
 
 Some years ago a young woman in Vermont, married a poor 
 but worthy young man, contrary to her father's wish. His 
 passion and resentment was so strong that he drove them from 
 his doors and closed his heart against them. They removed 
 to the neighborhood of Boston, where their honest industry 
 was blessed with prosperity. Many years afterward the old 
 man, having business in Boston, concluded to call on his 
 daughter, from whom he anticipated a cold reception. On his 
 return home, a neighbor, hearing where he had been, inquired 
 how his daughter and her husband had treated him. " I never 
 was so treated before in my life," he replied weeping. "They 
 have broken my heart — they have killed me — I don't feel as 
 though I could live under it." The neighbor asked if they had 
 abused him. "They loved me to death, and killed me with 
 kindness," said he, "I can never forgive myself for treating so 
 cruelly my own daughter, who loved me so truly. I feel as if 
 I should die to think how I grieved the precious child when I 
 spurned her from my door. Heaven bless them, and forgive 
 me my cruelty and injustice to them." 
 
 Yes, love to enemies, is indeed calculated to change them 
 into friends. " If ye love them that love you, what reward have 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 19 
 
 ye." But the submission to the reign of the Prince of Peace 
 produces a very different course from this. In our hearts to 
 forgive and to love those who hate us, is indeed a great attain- 
 ment, and one that is impossible in the unregenerate state. I 
 have read another anecdote illustrating the same subject, with 
 which I will conclude this paper. 
 
 There was a christian in New Jersey, who had a neighbor 
 of such a malevolent and savage character, as made him a 
 plague and terror to those with whom he became offended. 
 Forgiveness or mercy nobody expected from him. 
 
 One day he found the hogs of his good neighbor in his corn- 
 field. He drove them out, and came to their owner in a storm 
 of passion, making a great complaint about the damage done 
 to his crop. "If I ever see them in my corn again," said he, 
 " I'll kill them — that I will ! " The good man kept calm, and 
 said nothing but what was calm and good-natured in reply; 
 and after the wrathful man had spent all his fury, and went off, 
 much vexed to see none of the effect he wished, he shut up 
 his swine at once. But, impatient for their favorite and new- 
 found food, they made their escape, and got into the same 
 corn-field again, without the knowledge of their owner. 
 
 M. W. discovered them and at once attacked them with 
 might and main, slaughtering three or four of them before they 
 could make their retreat. Then, to cap the climax, and aggra- 
 vate his neighbor's feelings to the utmost, he put the dead 
 bodies on a sled or cart, and drew them over to his neighbor's 
 house. He threw them down before the door, saying with 
 sarcastic bitterness, "Your hogs got into my corn again, and I 
 thought I would bring them home ! " 
 
 The owner of the swine kept cool, giving no look or word 
 of resentment at the injury done to him. He might have gone 
 to law with his neighbor, and, perhaps, made him smart severely 
 for destroying his property and insulting him as he did. But 
 he thought it best to keep out of the law; and every man 
 should think so, unless driven to it by a sense of duty. 
 
 The next year he himself had a corn-field situated beside 
 the road, and it so happened that his wrathful neighbor had 
 
20 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 some unruly swine running at large, which got into the good 
 man's corn-field and committed a depredation, similar to that 
 which his own swine had done in the corn-field the year before. 
 He went to him and told him what mischief his vagrant swine 
 had done, and requested him to shut them up. But he paid 
 no attention to the request. Soon after they got into the same 
 field again. The christian discovered them ; but actuated by a 
 different temper and motives from his neighbor, instead of 
 killing them and conveying them home dead, he caught them, 
 tied their legs carefully, and drew them with his team to their 
 owner's door. " Neighbor," said he, kindly, " I found your hogs 
 in my corn again, and I thought I would bring them home /" 
 
 Never was a man more completely confounded than M. W. 
 He saw the wide difference between his neighbor's conduct and 
 his own; he looked on the living swine, but he thought of the 
 dead ones ! It was too much for him. He told his neighbor 
 that he was very sorry, and that he would pay all the damages 
 the hogs had done. He offered to pay him, too, for the hogs 
 he had killed the year before! "No," replied the other, "I 
 shall make no account of the damages your hogs have done; 
 and I shall take nothing for what you did to mine. I let that 
 pass." 
 
 M. W. was completely overcome. He concluded at once* to 
 yield, and retreat from a contest where such unequal odds were 
 against him. He was as kind and generous to his christian 
 neighbor afterward, as he was mischievous and cruel before. 
 
 UNCLE BENJAMIN'S ADVICE. 
 
 NOT many hours ago, I heard Uncle Benjamin discussing 
 this matter to his son, who was complaining of the 
 pressure. 
 "Rely upon it, Sammy," said the old man as he leaned on 
 his staff, with his gray locks floating in the breezes of a May 
 morning, "murmuring pays no bills. I have been an observer 
 these fifty years, and I never saw a man helped out of a hole 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 21 
 
 by cursing his horses. Be as quiet as you can, for nothing will 
 grow under a moving harrow, and discontent harrows the mind. 
 Matters are bad, I acknowledge, but no ulcer is any the better 
 for fingering. The more you groan, the poorer you grow. 
 
 "Repining at losses is only putting pepper in a sore eye. 
 Crops will fail in all soils, and we may be thankful that we 
 have not a famine. Besides, I always took notice, that when- 
 ever I felt the rod smartly, it was as much as to say, ' Here is 
 something which you have got to learn/ Sammy, don't forget 
 that your schooling is not over yet, though you have a wife 
 and two children." 
 
 "Ay," said Sammy, "you may say that, and a mother-in-law 
 and two apprentices into the bargain; and I should like to 
 know what a poor man can learn here, when the greatest 
 scholars and lawyers are at loggerheads, and can't for their 
 lives tell what has become of the hard money." 
 
 " Softly, Sammy, I am older than you, — I have not got these 
 gray hairs and crooked back without some burdens. I could 
 tell you stories of the days of continental money, when my 
 grandfather used to stuff a sulky-box with bills to pay for a 
 yearling or a wheat fan, and when the Jersey women used 
 thorns for pins, and laid their teapots away in the garret. You 
 wish to know what you can learn ? You can learn these seven 
 things : 
 
 " First — That you have saved too little, and spent too much. 
 I never taught you to be a miser, but I have seen you giving 
 your dollars for a 'notion,' when you might have laid one-half 
 aside for charity, and one-half for a rainy day. 
 
 " Secondly — That you have gone too much upon your credit. 
 I always told you credit was a shadow; it shows that there is 
 a substance behind, which casts the shadow; and no wise man 
 will follow the shadow any farther than he can see the sub- 
 stance. You may now learn that you have followed the opinion 
 and fashions of others, until you have been decoyed into the 
 bag. 
 
 " Thirdly — That you have been in too much haste to become 
 rich. Slow and easy wins the race. 
 
22 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 " Fourthly — That no course of life can be depended upon as 
 always prosperous. I am afraid the younger race of working- 
 men in America have had a notion that nobody would go 
 to ruin on this side of the water. Providence has secretly 
 blessed us, but we have become presumptuous. 
 
 "Fifthly — That you have not been thankful enough to God 
 for his benefits in past times. 
 
 "Sixthly — That you may be thankful that our lot is no 
 worse. We might have famine, or pestilence, or war, or 
 tyranny, or all together. 
 
 "And lastly, you may learn to offer, with more understand- 
 ing, the prayer of infancy, 'Give us this day our daily bread."' 
 
 BOB, THE CABIN BOY. 
 
 SOME years since, a vessel sailed from England with a 
 captain whose habitual blasphemy, drunkenness and 
 tyranny so disgusted the crew, that some of the most 
 fatal consequences might have taken place, but for his sudden 
 and alarming illness. The mate took charge of the ship, and 
 the captain, greatly afflicted in his cabin, was left by the unani- 
 mous voice of a hardened crew, to perish, He had continued 
 nearly a week in this neglected state, no one venturing to visit 
 him, when the heart of a poor boy on board was touched with 
 his sufferings, and he determined to enter his cabin and speak 
 to him. He descended the companion-ladder, and opening the 
 state-room door, called out, " Captain, how are you?" A surly 
 voice replied, " What's that to you ? be off" Next morning, 
 however, he w T ent again. " Captain, hope you are better." 
 "O, Bob, I'm very bad; been very ill all night." "Captain, 
 please to let me wash your hands and face ; it will refresh you 
 very much." The captain nodded assent. Having performed 
 this kind office, the boy said, "Please, master, let me shave 
 you." He was permitted to do this also ; and having adjusted 
 the bed-clothes, he grew bolder, and proposed some tea. The 
 kindness of this poor boy found the way to his heart ; and, in 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 23 
 
 spite of all his daring, independent spirit, his bowels melted, 
 and his iron face displayed the starting tear. 
 
 The captain now declined apace : his weakness was daily 
 increasing, and he became gradually convinced that he should 
 not live many weeks at the farthest. Alarmed at the idea of 
 death, and ignorant of the way of salvation, with a conscience 
 thundering conviction to his guilty soul, he cried one morning, 
 as Bob opened the state-room door and affectionately inquired, 
 "Well, master, how is it with you this morning?" "Ah, Bob, 
 I'm very bad; my body is getting worse and worse, but I 
 should not mind that so much, were it not for my soul. O, 
 Bob, what shall I do ? I'm a great sinner. I'm afraid I shall 
 go to hell — I deserve it. Alas, Bob, I'm a lost man." "O, no, 
 master," said the boy, "Jesus Christ can save you." " No, Bob, 
 no, I cannot see the least prospect of being saved. O, what a 
 sinner I have been; what will become of me?" His stony 
 heart was broken, and he poured out his complaints before the 
 boy, who strove all he could to comfort him, but in vain. 
 
 One morning, as soon as the boy appeared, the captain said, 
 " O, Bob, I've been thinking of a Bible. I know there is not 
 one in the cabin ; go forward and see if you can find one in the 
 men's chests."- The boy succeeded, and the poor dying man 
 beheld him enter with tears of joy. "Ah, Bob, that will do, 
 that will do ; you must read to me, and I shall soon know 
 whether such a wicked man as I am can be saved, and how it 
 is to be done. Now, Bob, sit down on my chest, and read to 
 me out of that blessed book." "Where shall I read master?" 
 "I do not know, Bob. I never read it myself; but pick out 
 some places that speak about sinners and salvation!' " Well, 
 master, then I'll take the New Testament; you and I shall 
 understand it better, for as my poor mother used to say, there 
 are not so many hard words there." The boy read for two 
 hours, while the captain, stretching his neck over the bed place, 
 listened with the eagerness of a man on the verge of eternity. 
 Every word conveyed light to his mind, and his astonished 
 soul soon beheld sin as he had never seen it before. The 
 justice of God in his eternal ruin struck him with amazing 
 
24 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 force ; and though he had heard of a Saviour, still the great 
 difficulty of knowing how he could be saved appeared a mys- 
 tery unfathomable. He ruminated a great part of the night on 
 some passages Bob read, but they only served to depress his 
 spirits and terrify his soul. 
 
 The next morning, when the boy entered the state-room, he 
 exclaimed, " O, Bob, I shall never live to reach the land. I am 
 dying very fast ; you will soon have to cast me overboard ; 
 but all that is nothing ; my soul, my poor soul. Ah, Bob, my 
 dear lad, what shall become of my soul ? Oh, I shall be lost 
 forever. Can't you pray ? " " No, master, I never prayed in 
 my life, any more than the Lord's prayer my mother taught 
 me." " O, Bob, pray for me : go down on your knees, and cry 
 for mercy ; do, Bob, God will bless you for it. O, kneel down 
 and pray for your poor wicked captain." The boy hesitated, 
 the master urged ; the lad wept, the master groaned, " God be 
 merciful to me a sinner." Both cried greatly. "O, Bob, for 
 God's sake kneel down and pray for me." Overcome by impor- 
 tunity and compassion, the boy fell on his knees, and with 
 heavy sobs and in broken words, begged God to have mercy 
 on his poor dying master. " 
 
 The captain was too much affected to speak. The simplicity, 
 sincerity, and humility of the lad's prayer had so much impressed 
 his mind, that he lay groaning inwardly with spiritual anguish, 
 and wetting his couch with tears. Bob retired on deck, for 
 the scene had quite overcome him. In the evening he again 
 read the Bible to the captain, whose soul appeared to receive 
 every word with indescribable eagerness. The next morning, 
 on entering the state-room, the boy was struck with the extra- 
 ordinary change visible in his master's features. That gloomy 
 horror, which had so long added to the natural ferocity of his 
 weather-beaten countenance, was fled, and the circumstances 
 of the past night had settled the whole arrangement of his fea- 
 tures into a holy, pleasant, calm, and resigned state, that would 
 seem to say, "An heir of grace can find ' glory begun below.' " 
 
 " O, Bob, my dear lad," said the captain, with great humility, 
 " I have had such a night ! After you left me I fell into a sort 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 25 
 
 of a doze; my mind was full of the many blessed things you 
 had been reading to me from the precious Bible. All on a 
 sudden I thought I saw, in that corner of my bed-place, Jesus 
 Christ bleeding on his cross. Struck with the view, I thought 
 I arose and crawled to the place, and casting myself at his feet 
 in the greatest agony of soul, I cried out for a long time, like 
 the blind man you read of, 'Jesus, thou Son of David, have 
 mercy on me.' At length I thought he looked on me. Yes, 
 my dear lad, he looked at your poor, wicked captain ; and, O, 
 Bob, what a look it was ! I shall never forget it. My blood 
 rushed to my heart; my pulse beat high; my soul thrilled with 
 agitation ; and, waiting for him to speak, with fear, not unmixed 
 with hope, I saw him smile. O, my child, I saw him smile — 
 yes, and he smiled on me — on me; Bob. 0, my dear boy, he 
 smiled on wretched, guilty me. Ah ! what did I feel at that 
 moment; my heart was too full to speak, but I waited, and 
 ventured to look up, when I heard him say, hanging as he did 
 on the cross, the blood streaming from his hands, and feet, and 
 side — 0, Bob, what sounds were these; shall I ever hear his 
 beloved voice again ? — I heard him say in sounds that angels 
 cannot reach, 'Son, be of good cheer: thy sins, which are many, 
 are forgiven thee T My heart burst into joy; I fell prostrate 
 at his feet; I could not utter a word but glory, glory, glory. 
 The vision vanished; I fell back on my pillow; I opened my 
 eyes ; I was covered with perspiration. I said, ' O, this cannot 
 be a dream.' No, Bob, I know that Jesus bled and died for 
 me; I can believe the promises, the many precious promises 
 you have read to me out of the Bible, and I feel that the blood 
 of the cross can cleanse even me. I am not now afraid to die; 
 no, Bob, my sins are pardoned through Jesus. I want no 
 more; I am now ready to die; I have no wish to live. I can- 
 not, I feel I cannot be many days more on this side of eternity. 
 The extreme agitation of my mind of late, has increased the 
 fever of my body, and I shall soon breathe my last." 
 
 The boy, who had silently shed many tears, now burst into 
 a flood of sorrow, and involuntarily cried, " No, my dear master, 
 don't leave me." "Bob," said he calmly, "my dear boy, comfort 
 
26 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 your mind; I am happy, I am going to be happy forever. 
 I feel for you ; my bowels yearn over you as if you were my 
 own child. I am sorry to leave you in such a wicked world, 
 and with such wicked men as sailors are in general. 0, may 
 you ever be kept from those crimes into which I have fallen. 
 Your kindness to me, my dear lad, has been great; God will 
 reward you for it. To you, as an instrument in the Lord's 
 hands, I owe everything. Surely he sent you to me. God 
 bless you, my dear boy; tell my crew to forgive me, as I 
 forgive and pray for them." Thus the day passed in the most 
 pleasing and profitable manner, when Bob, after reading the 
 Bible as usual, retired to his hammock. 
 
 The next morning Bob arose at daylight, and opening the 
 state-room door, saw his master had risen from his pillow and 
 crawled to the corner of his bed-place, where, in his dream, he 
 beheld the cross. There he appeared kneeling down in the 
 attitude of prayer, his hands clasped and raised, and his 
 body leaning against the ship's side. But the spirit had fled 
 some hours before, to be with Christ, we hope, which is far 
 better. ' 
 
 PROFITABLE POLITENESS. 
 
 THE Boston Traveler, in commenting on the prevalence 
 of rudeness, tells the following incident that happened 
 some years ago. 
 There was a plainly dressed elderly lady who was a frequent 
 customer at the then leading dry goods store in Boston. No 
 one in the store knew her even by name. All the clerks but 
 one avoided her, and gave their attention to those who were 
 better dressed and more pretentious. The exception was a 
 young man who had a conscientious regard for duty and sys- 
 tem. He never left another customer to wait on the lady, but 
 when at liberty, he waited on her with as much attention as 
 though she had been a princess. This continued a year or 
 two, until the young man became of age. One morning the 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 27 
 
 lady approached the young man, when the following conver- 
 sation took place : 
 
 "Young man, do you wish to go into business for yourself?" 
 
 "Yes ma'am, he responded, "but I have neither money, 
 credit, nor friends ; nor will any one trust me." 
 
 "Well," continued the lady, "you go and find a good situa- 
 tion, ask what the rent is, and report to me," handing the 
 young man her address. The young man went, found a capital 
 location, a good store, but the landlord required security, 
 which he could not give. Mindful of the lady's request, he 
 forthwith went to her and reported. 
 
 "Well," she replied, "you go and tell Mr. that I will be 
 
 responsible." 
 
 He went, and the landlord or agent was surprised, but the 
 bargain Avas closed. The next day the lady called to ascertain 
 the result. The young man told her, but added, " What am I 
 to do for goods ? No one will trust me." 
 
 "You may go and see Mr. , and Mr. , and Mr. , 
 
 and tell them to call on me." 
 
 He did, and his store was soon stocked with the best goods 
 in the market. There are many in this city who remember the 
 circumstances and the men. He died many years since, and 
 left a fortune of $300,000. So much for politeness, so much 
 for treating one's elders with the deferance due to age, in 
 whatever garb they are clothed. 
 
 INTERESTING STORY. 
 
 THE following artless and interesting relation is another 
 proof of the advantages of Bible and Tract Societies. 
 It is important that the sinner, through some medium, 
 be warned of his danger. If this be well and faithfully done, 
 the laborer will not always be without his reward. 
 
 The W , a vessel of upwards of 400 tons, was freighted 
 
 from Liverpool for a trading voyage up the Mediterranean 
 Sea. I was intimately acquainted with the captain's nephew, 
 
28 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 an accomplished young man, of handsome person, but alas ! a 
 willing victim at the shrine of pleasure. He had shipped 
 himself for the voyage as steward. When leaving Liverpool, 
 I put into his hands a small bundle of tracts, and, in proof of 
 his esteem for me, he promised to read them at his leisure, and 
 likewise to distribute some among the ship's company. Not 
 an individual, from the captain to the cabin boy, had the least 
 sense of religion, nor do I believe they had a Bible or Testa- 
 ment on board. On the return of the vessel, about twelve 
 months afterward, as soon as my young friend could step on 
 shore, he paid me the first visit. On my saluting him with, 
 " Well, what cheer, my lad ? " he answered (at the same time 
 the tears trembling in his eyes), " Through the mercy of God, 
 I am well, and the whole ship's crew." Surprised at hearing 
 a strain of pious gratitude flow from those lips which formerly 
 were seldom opened except to pollute them with profane con- 
 versation, I said, "William, what has produced this change in 
 your look, your address, your language ? How is it that you 
 acknowledge it is of the Lord's mercies that you are not 
 consumed?" "Sir," said he, "I will relate* particulars — you 
 recollect on my taking leave of you, you placed in my hand a 
 small parcel of tracts, and I promised to read them: this I 
 I have done. On leaving the port we had a favorable wind 
 through the channel; the wind then chopped around direct in 
 our teeth. We had to contend with light, contrary winds, till 
 we entered the Gut of Gibraltar. During this part of our 
 voyage I had little or no opportunity to read the tracts. I did 
 on the first Sabbath turn them over, and put a few in my 
 pocket, and occasionally taking one out, gave it a sneering 
 glance, and then handed it to one of the boys or men, with a 
 smile of ridicule. On passing the Gut, we had a tedious 
 though pleasant voyage to Smyrna. 
 
 " Having much time upon my hands, I now and then looked 
 at a tract to pass away time. One evening ( I well remember 
 the evening), about an hour before sunset, scarce a breath of 
 air, we had spread all the canvas we could, which lay flapping 
 against the mast; the men on board, some sitting on the fore- 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 29 
 
 hatch, others lolling over the windlass, now and then whispered 
 a curse instead of a prayer for a breeze; a boy sitting athwart 
 a gun'; the captain in the cabin smoking his cigar, with his 
 allowance of grog before him; the wide and beautiful expanse 
 of water, smooth as glass, bounded by a calm and serene sky; 
 the smoke of Mount Vesuvius just visible in the horizon, 
 bearing E. N. E. — every object hushed into silent solitude; not 
 a sound was heard but our own breathings, and the gentle 
 breaking; of the sea ag;ainst the bow of the vessel — I was 
 looking over the ship's side, viewing the calm and peaceful 
 close of another day. This brought to my recollection the 
 scenery and calmness of the evening when I took my last 
 farewell of my friends at home. It was sunset on a lovely 
 evening in July. Musing thus of home, my mind had acquired 
 a tint of melancholy. I just then put my hand in my jacket 
 pocket, and feeling some paper, took it out, and it proved to 
 be a tract — 'The Swearer's Prayer.' I read it aloud, in the 
 hearing of the whole crew, and I suppose much of the tincture 
 of my feelings was mixed with my tone of voice. When I 
 had read it, a curious kind of silence ensued; not one of us 
 felt inclined to raise his eyes from what they were fixed upon, 
 fearing to meet the look of another, and knowing that to a 
 man, we were all shockingly guilty of swearing. At length 
 we looked at each other in a sidelong kind of way, and one 
 man said, 'Mr. William, I never heard or thought of this 
 before; this kind of reading has made me feel very strange — I 
 am trembling; I don't think I shall live to swear again; shall 
 you, Jack ? ' turning short to a seaman alongside of him, who 
 looked him full in the face and burst into tears. The shedding 
 of tears ran like a contagion through the whole of us, even to 
 the boy across the gun. After weeping in silence, with our 
 faces hid in our hands, one man said, 'Jack, suppose we put 
 up a prayer to God for forgiveness- Mr. William, you have 
 had more learning than we, you can make a prayer.' — Alas ! I 
 had never prayed; I could only sigh; I really thought my 
 heart would burst. O, how dreadful did sin appear ! One of 
 the men then broke the silence of grief. With his arms across 
 
30 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 his breast, and the tears of penitential sorrow rolling down his 
 manly countenance, he cried out, ' O God, who made our souls, 
 have mercy, and pardon the miserable and damned crew on 
 this deck.' Not a heart but what responded, ' Lord, hear this 
 prayer and forgive.' But not to enter too long into detail, the 
 Lord was pleased to work a change in the whole ship's 
 company. One circumstance I must not forget to mention. 
 The captain, a drunken, swearing character, thought his men 
 bewitched. On the following morning he came on deck, 
 and, as usual, was giving his orders, mixed with fearful oaths, 
 when one of the men, in a most respectful manner, begged 
 he would not swear at them, — they would obey his orders 
 with more comfort to themselves without it. Indeed, the 
 captain remarked to a person on his return, that he was 
 obliged to refrain from swearing, it began to appear on board 
 so singular." 
 
 CHRIS TI All CONTENTMENT. 
 
 WE WENT the other day to see a very old lady. She 
 was eighty-eight years old. She lived in a small room, 
 all by herself, and she had a small fire and small ket- 
 tles, and a small pantry, and a little round table, and a little 
 teapot. Everything was on a small scale, to suit her small 
 strength and her small means. She was very glad to see us. 
 
 "Are you not lonely sometimes ? " we asked. 
 
 "Oh, no," she answered in a cheerful tone; "the Lord Jesus 
 is always with me ; and he is the best society, you know." 
 
 We inquired about her nights : " did she sleep well ? " 
 
 "Yes," she said; "but she arose early, at five o'clock, or 
 thereabouts." We expressed our surprise. "Well, my Saviour, 
 you know, arose a great while before day to pray, and I find it 
 so sweet to follow his example ; and when the moon shines, 
 and I don't have a light, I have such beautiful times;" and her 
 aged face shone, I thought, something as Moses' did when he 
 came down from talking to God on the mount. 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 31 
 
 She bustled about and showed us her old Bible, and the 
 quilts she made seventy years ago, and related in a lively style 
 the way things used to be in her day. 
 
 "I suppose you think a great deal of those old times," we 
 said. 
 
 "Yes," she answered. "Yes; but I think a great deal more 
 of those good times to come!' 
 
 "You have mercies; goodness and mercy seem to crown 
 your days." 
 
 "Yes, yes," she exclaimed, "and I count it one of my great 
 mercies, that I can turn over in my bed!' 
 
 Oh, I thought, how easy it is for the thankful heart to find 
 occasion for thankfulness. 
 
 THE CHILD WITNESS. 
 
 A LITTLE girl, nine years of age, was offered as a witness 
 against a prisoner who was on trial for felony committed 
 in her father's house. 
 
 "Now, Emily," said the counsel for the prisoner, upon her 
 being offered as a witness, " I desire to know if you understand 
 the nature of an oath?" 
 
 " I don't know what you mean," was the simple answer. 
 
 "There, your honor," said the counsel, addressing the court, 
 "is anything further necessary to demonstrate the validity of 
 my objection? This witness should be rejected. She does 
 not comprehend the nature of an oath." 
 
 " Let us see," said the judge. " Come here my daughter." 
 
 Assured by the kind tone and manner of the judge, the 
 child stepped toward him, and looked confidently up into his 
 face, with a calm, clear eye, and in a manner so artless and 
 frank that it went straight to the heart. 
 
 "Did you ever take an oath ?" inquired the judge. 
 
 The little girl stepped back with a look of horror; and the 
 red blood mantled in a blush all over her face and neck as she 
 answered, "No, sir." 
 
32 SKE1 CHES A ND A NEC DO TES. 
 
 She thought he intended to inquire if she had ever blas- 
 phemed. 
 
 "I do not mean that," said the judge, who saw her mistake. 
 "I mean were you ever a witness before?" 
 
 "No, sir; I never was in court before," was the answer. 
 
 He handed her the Bible open. 
 
 "Do you know that book, my daughter?" 
 
 She looked at it and answered, "Yes, sir; it is the Bible." 
 
 "Do you ever read it?" he asked. 
 
 "Yes, sir; every evening." 
 
 "Can you tell me what the Bible is?" inquired the judge. 
 
 "It is the word of the great God," she answered. 
 
 "Well, place your hand upon this Bible, and listen to what 
 I say;" and he repeated slowly and solemnly the oath usually 
 administered to witnesses. 
 
 "Now," said the judge, "you have sworn as a witness, will 
 you tell me what will befall you if you do not tell the truth?" 
 
 "I shall be shut up in the State prison," answered the child. 
 
 "Anything else?" asked the judge. 
 
 " I shall never go to heaven," she replied. 
 
 " How do you know this ? " he asked. 
 
 The child took the Bible, and turning rapidly to the chapter 
 containing the commandments, pointed to the injunction, 
 "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." "I 
 learned that before I could read." 
 
 "Has any one talked with you about being a witness in 
 court here against this man?" inquired the judge. 
 
 " Yes, sir," she replied. " My mother heard they wanted me 
 to be a witness, and last night she called me to her room, and 
 asked me to tell her the Ten Commandments; and then we 
 kneeled down together, and she prayed that I might under- 
 stand how wicked it was to bear false witness against my 
 neighbor, and that God would help me, a little child, to tell the 
 truth as it was, before him. And when I came up here with 
 father she kissed me, and told me to remember the Ninth 
 Commandment, and that God would hear every word that I 
 said." 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 33 
 
 "Do you believe this?" asked the judge, while a tear glis- 
 tened in his eye, and his lip quivered with emotion. 
 
 "Yes, sir," said the child, with a voice and manner that 
 showed that her conviction of its truth was perfect. 
 
 "God bless you, my child!" said the judge; "you have 
 a good mother. This witness is competent," he continued. 
 " Were I on trial for my life, and innocent of the charge against 
 me, I would pray God for such witnesses. Let her be 
 examined." 
 
 She told her story with the simplicity of a child as she was, 
 but there was a directness about it which carried conviction of 
 its truth to every heart. She was rigidly cross-examined. The 
 counsel plied her with infinite and ingenious questioning, but 
 she varied from her first statement in nothing. The truth as 
 spoken by that little child was sublime. Falsehood and perjury 
 had preceded her testimony; the prisoner had intrenched him- 
 self in lies until he deemed himself impregnable; witnesses 
 had falsified facts in his favor, and villiany had manufactured 
 for him a sham defence; but before her testimony falsehood 
 was scattered like chaff. The little child for whom a mother 
 had prayed for strength to be given her to speak the truth 
 as it was before God, broke the cunning devices of matured 
 villiany to pieces like a potter's vessel. The strength that her 
 mother prayed for was given her, and the sublime and terrible 
 simplicity — terrible, I mean, to the prisoner and his associates 
 — with which she spoke, was like a revelation from God 
 himself. 
 
 THE STORY OF COLBERT. 
 
 COLBERT, the woolen draper's apprentice, who afterward 
 became Prime Minister of France, was, in a certain 
 sense, the maker of his own fortune, although we know 
 that it is God's blessing only which can really bring us success, 
 and that it was God who enabled Jean Baptiste Colbert to 
 
34 SKE TCHES AND A NE CD TES. 
 
 perform the honorable action which was his first step to 
 prosperity. 
 
 We read that he was a thoughtful boy, loving nothing so 
 well as his books, and prompted only by duty to his parents, 
 when he was willing to be bound apprentice to a woolen 
 draper at Rheims. One day he was sent to the house of a 
 banker of Paris, to show him some cloths, and, having been 
 informed of the prices, he started on his errand. 
 
 Upon being taken into the presence of the young gentleman, 
 he laid the goods before him, and he chose one of the pieces. 
 Upon asking the price, he was told fifteen crowns a yard — 
 Colbert believing himself to be right. The banker, opening 
 his desk, handed him four hundred and fifty crowns, the price 
 of the thirty yards required. Colbert wrote a receipt for it, 
 took the money, and returned to the shop. 
 
 The sharp old woolen-draper asked if he had made any 
 mistake, declaring that he should return the surplus money if 
 he had charged too little. To Colbert's dismay, however, it 
 was found that he had charged fifteen crowns for the cloth, 
 which was worth but eight. The master was delighted, 
 and embraced him, declaring that he would be an honor 
 to his family ; but the boy seized his hat, exclaiming, " I 
 will return to the gentleman, and give him back what I have 
 retained in mistake ! " With a bound he cleared the thres- 
 hold, and was out of sight before his old master could 
 hinder him. 
 
 Upon arriving at the hotel and asking for the gentleman, he 
 was so persistent in his demands that the valet went to his 
 master, who was dressing. 
 
 "The young woolen-draper, sir, wishes to speak with you." 
 
 " I cannot see him now," was the reply. 
 
 "Oh! please sir, one word," said a voice at the door. It 
 was Colbert, who had ventured to follow the servant, and who 
 now stepped into the room, told his tale, and laid down two 
 hundred and ten crowns upon the table. 
 
 "That is the sum you overpaid me, sir; I beg your pardon, 
 and have the honor to wish you good morning." 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 35 
 
 But the young banker called him back, and asked how it 
 was he had not kept the money. 
 
 "I never thought of it, sir," was the simple reply, 
 
 " Suppose I were to make you a present of it ? " 
 
 "Sir, I would not take it;" and the fair young face flushed 
 with crimson. 
 
 "Well, good-by. We shall meet again:" and the banker 
 dismissed him. 
 
 When Colbert reached the street, the first person he met 
 was the angry woolen-draper, who ordered him to return to 
 his home, and never to venture again into his presence. 
 
 That evening Colbert walked into the little room where 
 his parents were eating their frugal supper, and told them 
 what had happened, and that he had lost his situation. 
 There was only one feeling in the hearts of the good 
 people — Colbert had acted rightly, and God would not 
 desert him. 
 
 While they were talking a visitor was announced, a stranger 
 to his parents, but not unknown to Colbert. It was the 
 young banker, who had been to the woolen-draper's shop, 
 and then traced the boy to his home, that he might offer 
 him a situation in his own banking house. His strict and 
 conscientious application to business led to rapid advance- 
 ment, and Colbert was at length made traveler to the firm. 
 
 His mind and taste developed in the course of his journeys, 
 and when he was about thirty years of age he was placed with 
 the Secretary of State. He was advanced from time to time, 
 until he became Privy Councilor, and upon the resignation of 
 Mazarin, who had become disliked and mistrusted, was made 
 Comptroller-general of Paris, acquitting himself with zeal and 
 prudence. 
 
 But now that he was a great man, Colbert did not forget his 
 home. He procured good appointments for his brothers, and 
 advanced them by every means in his power. 
 
 His great work was to found a chamber of commerce, to 
 establish naval schools, and to open the harbors of Brest, 
 Toulon and Rochefort. 
 
36 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 At the age of sixty-four years he died, leaving behind him 
 nine children, who all occupy high and distinguished stations. 
 Thus ended the life of Jean Baptiste Colbert — the slight, fair 
 boy, who, with silken curls falling upon his shoulders, once 
 pored over his favorite books in the woolen-draper's shop at 
 Rheims. 
 
 A STRANGE FUNERAL SERMON 
 
 THE deceased had long been renowned throughout that 
 part of the country for his wickedness. His intellectual 
 abilities were of no mean order; his property was con- 
 siderable, and he had belonged to a highly respectable family 
 — advantages which he used most assiduously in the service 
 of his master. By the practice of every kind of dissipation 
 he had achieved an evil notoriety, and gloried in being consid- 
 ered the most dangerous and fascinating roue in the country. 
 This being so, his associates resolved upon giving him a 
 funeral worthy of his reputation. 
 
 As one means of insuring this, they invited one of the most 
 eminent Presbyterian ministers in the region to deliver the 
 funeral discourse. To the surprise of many, after some little 
 hesitation, he consented. On the day and at the hour appointed 
 the meeting house was crowded to overflowing by an assembly 
 composed of the relatives, friends, and companions of the 
 deceased, together with a mixed multitude drawn from far 
 and near to hear what such a minister could have to say of 
 such a man. 
 
 Punctual to the moment the services began. The announce- 
 ment of the text fell like a clap of thunder upon the assembly. 
 It was from Luke xvi. 23: "And in hell he lifted up his eyes, 
 being in torment." The sermon was a most pungent and pow- 
 erful exhibition of the character, course, and end of a wicked 
 man. It held the assembly spell-bound to the very last word; 
 but there was in it not a single direct allusion to the person 
 whose obsequies they had come there to celebrate. 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 37 
 
 In silence and deep solemnity the congregation dispersed 
 after the sermon was finished. Some were indignant, but the 
 attempt to excite odium against the preacher was a failure. It 
 was generally thought that in what he had done he was 
 governed by a sense of duty. He was said to have stated 
 afterward, that when he was invited to preach upon that occa- 
 sion he had determined to decline, but, in answer to prayer, 
 received a message, which he believed to be from God, " Go 
 and preach the preaching that I bid thee." 
 
 INDIAN TEST OF HONESTY. 
 
 WHEN the Indians went away after the cession of their 
 lands east of the Mississippi, I went with them. I 
 took up my quarters at the head-waters of Wis-se-ba, 
 at the junction of two important streams, tributaries to the great 
 father of waters ; I opened a store and resolved to become an 
 Indian trader. Permit me to tell you a coon story — not a 
 political one, but a commercial one. After exposing my goods, 
 in all their Indian varieties, for some days, without any success 
 in selling, I became almost discouraged, and nearly concluded 
 to give it up. The Indians would come into the store by 
 dozens; they would examine the goods and go away without 
 buying. They had plenty of shu-ne-ha (money), and plenty 
 of furs, and destitute of goods — and that to me was a mystery. 
 At length the head war-chief of the nation came into the store 
 in company with a large crowd of Indians. He instantly 
 exclaimed, " How do, Thomas ? come show me some of your 
 nice goods; what do you ask for this? I'll take four yards of 
 calico, three coon skins for one yard, half-dollar exactly, by, 
 meby to-morrow I'll pay you." The next day he came accom- 
 panied by his whole band; his blanket above his waist stuffed 
 with coon skins : "American, I'll pay that bill now." Suiting 
 the action to the word, he began to pull the skins from the 
 blanket: throwing them on the counter, he counted out twelve 
 and stopped, still holding the thirteenth in his hand; at last he 
 
38 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 laid it down with the rest, exclaiming-, " That's it, exactly!" 
 I handed it hack to him, telling him he owed me but twelve, 
 and that the Great Spirit would not let me cheat him. We 
 continued to pass it back and forth, each one asserting that it 
 belonged to the other. At last he appeared to be satisfied ; he 
 gave me a scrutinizing look, then placed the skin within the 
 folds of his blanket, stepped to the door, gave a yell, and cried 
 with a loud voice, "Come right away, all of you, and trade 
 with the pale face boy; he is honest, he will not cheat Indian, 
 he believes in the Great Spirit, his heart is big, he is an honest 
 trader ! " He then turned to me and said, " If you had taken 
 that one coon skin, I would have told my Indians to have 
 nothing to do with you, and would have driven you away like 
 a dog; but I have found that you are the Indian's friend, and 
 we will be yours." The Indians then began to flock into the 
 store and trade, and before the sun had gone down, I was waist 
 deep in furs, besides shu-ne-ha (money) in plenty. That one 
 coon skin saved me. 
 
 TRANSFORMING POWER OF GRACE. 
 
 ONE of the most marvelous instances of the transforming 
 power of Divine Grace is that related by John B. Gough, 
 of a woman whom he encountered in Edinburgh, Scot- 
 land, where he had gone to labor in the interests of temperance. 
 He attended a meeting in the wickedest part of the city. He 
 had never before witnessed such degradation, misery and filth, 
 as were visible among the outcasts there assembled. Among- 
 the audience was one of the most desperate characters known 
 to the city authorities. She had served fifty-four terms in 
 prison. Not one of the police force would attempt to arrest 
 her without help, and when she was excited by rum or passion, 
 the thieves and outlaws among whom she lived would flee 
 from her. 
 
 Some one on the platform pointed her out to J. B. Gough, 
 and was telling him her character, when she noticed that they 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 39 
 
 were looking at her. She immediately arose, went upon the 
 platform, and in a defiant manner asked Gough whether he 
 would give the temperance pledge to such an one as she. His 
 companion greatly feared a scene of fighting and confusion, 
 and whispered to Gough not to notice her — that she w r ould 
 never keep a pledge to abstain from liquor. She demanded in 
 a threatening way, "Is he ready to give me the pledge?" He 
 replied, "Yes; but there is a man here who says you will not 
 keep it." Terribly excited at this, she screamed at the top of 
 her voice, and demanded to know who and where he was that 
 had so said. Her excitement v/as calmed by Gough, who 
 again said he would give her the pledge, and that he would 
 take her word to keep it as quick as he would take the word 
 of any woman in Edinburgh. Touched by his confidence, she 
 stood quiet and thoughtful for a minute, and yielding to the 
 visitation of Divine love to her soul, afresh extended to her at 
 that critical moment, she promised to give up her drinking 
 habits. 
 
 Four years after, J. B. Gough held another meeting in Edin- 
 burgh. Two women sat in front of the platform, listening 
 attentively. The tears and emotions of one touched his heart 
 deeply. When the meeting closed, one of the women came 
 up to the platform, and asked him if he knew the woman who 
 sat sobbing in front of him. He said, "No." "Well," she 
 said, "that is my mother; and, oh, how proud I am of her; 
 but the fire and rum are all taken out of her now, wherein the 
 neighbors were all afraid of her when she drank. Now, when 
 they have trouble or sickness, the worst of them will say, 
 'bring me the good angel,' for she has got the comfort that 
 serves all." 
 
 There she sat clothed, and in her right mind. She that was 
 as ferocious as a tiger sat with streams of joyful tears, rubbing 
 her cheeks, so subdued and humbled that she shrank from 
 making herself known, even to the man that dared trust her 
 word when no other living creature would believe her. He 
 asked her how she got along. " Oh, sir, the struggle was hard, 
 hard, hard, very hard. Often I have dreamed that I had gone 
 
40 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 back to drink, and that I was fighting with the neighbors with 
 a worse nature than ever before. The dreams have been so real 
 to me, that I have often awakened out of sleep and rolled out 
 of bed upon my knees, crying at the top of my voice for God 
 to save me, and I would never drink or fight again. The voice 
 of my daughter has often called me to consciousness, in times 
 of such despair. She would cry, 'Mother, mother, you are 
 safe; it is only a dream you have had.' As I passed from that 
 anguish at the thought of falling, I had some idea of the 
 misery of a lost soul. And when I threw myself on the floor 
 of my little, quiet, clean room, with my saved daughter by my 
 side, oh, how the joy of a heaven on earth flooded through 
 my soul. Praise God, I am not only saved from drink, but 
 saved from sinning against such a merciful and loving God as 
 I have found in Jesus." 
 
 J. B. Gough made inquiry from others how she got along 
 and spent her time. He found that she hired a little shop and 
 sold eatables, such as the poor around her us^ed, at a lower 
 price than they could buy at other places. Her daughter and 
 she made common sacks. They lived on thirty cents a day 
 and were able to help scores of poor families. As soon as the 
 drink got out of her own system, she began to labor with 
 others like herself. Her first effort was with a woman who 
 was counted the next hardest case in Edinburgh. She never 
 left her until she was reclaimed. When she went after such 
 ones, she was never known to fail. She believed when she felt 
 for them, God felt for them, and had laid the burden on her 
 for them. There was no sacrifice too great for her to make, 
 in view of rescuing another immortal soul. She generally 
 brought them to her house, and kept them there, until she 
 broke up their hardened hearts with her love. She would 
 watch every move that they would make. She would wait on 
 them, wash their feet, comb their hair, pat their cheeks and kiss 
 them as but few mothers can. She knew her work, and had 
 the assurance that she was successfully wooing them for Christ. 
 She was never idle in her new Master's work. Many were lifted 
 up from the lowest depths of sin through her instrumentality. 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 41 
 
 She lived to the honor of her Redeemer, Jesus Christ, over 
 twenty-seven years. She died in great joy, praising God for 
 his power to save to the uttermost all who come to Him 
 through Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and 
 man. The mayor of Edinburgh, with the city officers, and 
 ministers of the gospel, and Christians of every denomination, 
 together with thousands of the citizens, mourned with a heart- 
 felt grief as her remains were lowered into the grave. 
 
 A RAY OF SUNSHINE. 
 
 A MINISTER, whom the Master has been pleased to honor 
 as a comforter of His people, relates the following 
 incident: "In the earlier years of my christian life, I 
 was accustomed to visit a poor district of a city in Scotland. 
 One day I stepped into a hovel, dimly lighted and scantily 
 furnished, but yet displaying a studied neatness and order. 
 The only inmate, an aged woman, bowed down with infirm- 
 ities, and almost blind, was seated near the fire-place. A few 
 moments' conversation satisfied me that she was one of Christ's 
 lowly ones, rich in faith, full of peace, and rejoicing in hope 
 of the glory of God. After my own soul had been refreshed 
 with her gracious words, I asked, 'And how do you spend the 
 long day here ? ' ' There is little difference to me,' she replied, 
 'between the hours of day and night, but they do not seem 
 long. There is One who abides with me, whose love makes 
 it all joy and light to my soul. When I awake, He is still 
 with me, and the time seems too short to meditate on His 
 perfection, and to commune with Him. My neighbors are 
 very kind, and when they come in to help me, I have the 
 privilege of telling them what He is to me, and of persuading 
 them to taste and see that God is good. There is just one 
 hour for which I watch. You see that window,' she said, 
 pointing to the four little panes that admitted the dim light 
 into the apartment in which we sat. 'For about an hour 
 every day, when it is not cloudy, the sun shines in there. 
 
42 SKE TCHES AND A NEC DO TES. 
 
 I then take my large print Bible and sit down in the sunlight, 
 where I can see well enough to read, and a precious hour 
 it is to me.'" 
 
 "I thought," said the minister, when he related her little 
 story, "I thought of the great sun, the centre of the solar 
 system, sending his light and heat to so many distant worlds. 
 I thought of all that he shone for in this busy world — the 
 fields of grain and golden fruits that were ripening in his heat 
 — all the labors of man that were advancing in his light; and 
 I felt sure that from his going forth from the ends of heaven, 
 as a bridegroom coming forth from his chamber, as a strong 
 man to run a race, in all his circuit to the end of it, he did no 
 nobler service, and none more grateful to our Father in heaven, 
 who causeth his sun to shine on the evil and on the good, than 
 when for a short hour, he sent a few beams into that little 
 window, to light up the sacred page to the dim eyes of that 
 poor old woman whom the world knew not." 
 
 WORK IN FAITH. 
 
 WHEN John Wesley was endeavoring to found an orphan 
 school, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he had his plans 
 arranged, his workmen engaged, and was going to 
 leave. They desired one hundred pounds for materials to 
 commence the work, but Wesley had not the money. His 
 plans were all laid and the time fixed for leaving, but where 
 would the money come from ? Just as he was about to leave, 
 a Quaker called upon him and said, "John, I had a strange 
 dream about thee last night. I thought I saw thee with a 
 parcel of little lambs in a storm, and thee was trying to shelter 
 them and had no place. I woke up and thought of thy 
 orphan-house, and here is my check for one hundred pounds." 
 This was just the .sum that was wanted. God intended that 
 the poor children should be taken care of, so he put into 
 Wesley's mind the purpose to go forward, and placed in the 
 old Quaker's pocket the money, and the heart to give it. God 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 43 
 
 works by diverse agencies: we little know what He is doing 
 in the world. He is putting a thought into this heart and a 
 thought into that heart. His work is like a. grand mosaic 
 picture. Here and there are stones of different colors and 
 shadings, and they are scattered all over the earth. There is 
 no picture about it, but God's Spirit takes hold of the colors 
 and works, by and by, a beautiful picture. God saw it all, but 
 we could not see it. Faith takes hold of it, saying, "It is 
 God's will it should be done." All the great works of earth 
 have been done by faith. The churches planned, the institu- 
 tions raised, the great universities founded — the lights that 
 shine in the world and are drawing men toward Christ — are 
 the works of faith. 
 
 WHO CAN BEAR A GUILTY CONSCIENCE? 
 
 WHEN I was a child, I was invited to spend an evening 
 with a companion of mine, who lived about a quarter 
 of a mile from my father's house. It was autumn; 
 the leaves had fallen from the trees; the birds had departed; 
 the cold winds had begun to blow, and the ground was 
 whitened with frost. 
 
 My mother gave her consent, but little did she think of the 
 temptation to which her child would be exposed. I went, and 
 found I was to pass the evening with other children of the 
 village. There were gathered the wealthy and the poor, but I 
 was poorest of them all. I was clothed in my best attire, but 
 it was thin and scanty for the season. I looked upon my 
 companions, and they were well and comfortably dressed. I 
 told my sorrows to no one, but grieved at my lot, until envy, 
 cruel envy, arose in my bosom and destroyed all my peace. 
 It was soon proposed by one of the company that we should 
 play blind-man's-buff, and by another that we should take off 
 our shoes to prevent the noise it would occasion. All but 
 myself commenced doing this, and ran to put them together 
 in one corner of the room. I had none to take off. I had 
 
44 SKE TCHES AND A NE CD TES. 
 
 none to wear. Indeed, I expected to go to school many days 
 with cold feet, and when the snow came to stay at home, which 
 to me would be a greater grief than the former. The play was 
 soon ended, and as the evening was very fine, it was proposed 
 to walk in the garden. Every one ran for their shoes. I had 
 thought too long and too deeply about them. I ran with the 
 group, and selected a pair belonging to a boy of about my 
 own age and size, and was among the first that entered the 
 garden, leaving the boy making many inquiries for his shoes. 
 
 When we returned, I did not take them into the house with 
 me, but placed them where I could conveniently take them 
 when we went home, for I had determined upon keeping them. 
 It was my first attempt to take that which did not belong to 
 me. The sports of the evening were soon ended, and we 
 prepared to return to our homes. I made great haste, and 
 bidding the company good-night, was the first to leave the 
 house. Glad should I have been if the darkness of the night 
 had surrounded me, but to me it appeared that the moon never 
 shone with more brilliancy, or the stars shed more lustre. 
 Notwithstanding this, I seized the shoes and hurried home. 
 Conscience, however, had not ceased to upbraid me since the 
 first moments of my wrong, and as I walked home it was my 
 only companion. 
 
 At length I arrived at the door, but was afraid to go in. I 
 dreaded to meet my parents, for I felt that they knew all that I 
 had done, and they had taught me the command, "Thou shalt 
 not steal." I hid the shoes, and summoned courage to go in. 
 How awful it is to meet our dearest friends ! Their kindness 
 seems reproof, and their smiles at that time worse than frowns. 
 
 It being late, I soon retired with my brothers to our cham- 
 ber, but not to sleep. Very soon all around me was silent; 
 nothing was heard but the breath of innocency sleeping by my 
 side.^ But oh, the wretched condition of my mind. I felt I 
 had justly deserved the displeasure of my parents, for I had 
 disobeyed their commands, and if their command, how much 
 more had I disobeyed God's. Ever before, I had considered 
 him as a lovely being, but now I felt I had provoked his anger. 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 45 
 
 He had fixed the bounds of my habitation, but I wished to be 
 the disposer of my own fortune. I knew he had witnessed 
 the whole transaction, and that his All-seeing eye was every 
 moment upon me. Had it been possible, how gladly would I 
 have hid myself from him ! I reflected upon my crime until 
 it appeared so great, that every moment I expected the anger 
 of the Lord would burst upon me. My head was pained, my 
 limbs trembled. 
 
 At length I resolved to arise and go, even at midnight, and 
 return the shoes to the house from which I had taken them. 
 I was about leaving my room, when I looked upon the counte- 
 nances of those who were free from the enormous crime of 
 which I was guilty, and consequently were sleeping sweetly, 
 and knew nothing of my sorrows. Gladly would I have 
 awakened one to accompany me; but no, I must go alone. I 
 passed easily down the stairs, and again found myself encom- 
 passed with difficulty. I could not go out without passing 
 through my mother's room, and if I awoke her, she would, of 
 course, be solicitous to know the reason of my leaving my 
 chamber. But I was determined I would go, and if she awoke 
 I would tell her all. I succeeded in passing out without waking 
 her, and taking the shoes, hurried half-way to the house where 
 I had passed the evening, and left them a short distance from 
 each other on the road, and again returned to my chamber, 
 and laid my head upon my pillow. But my mind was not 
 relieved, and compelled by conscience, I again arose, returned 
 to the spot where I had left them, and with a trembling heart 
 went quite to the house, and placed them under the window 
 near the door, and again returned to my bed. Being quite 
 exhausted, I soon fell asleep, 
 
 The next week, I went in company with some of my 
 companions on a nutting excursion. The boy whom I had 
 wronged was one of the number. I need hardly say that I 
 was happy when I saw the shoes I had coveted upon his feet, 
 although I was still destitute. 
 
 This incident has had a beneficial effect upon my life. Its 
 influence is yet felt, although many years have passed since it 
 
46 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 occurred. Let it be a warning to all who may read it, to resist 
 even the first approaches to evil, and they will avoid the misery 
 of an upbraiding conscience, and the pain of self-reproach in 
 after years. 
 
 ANECDOTE OF JOHN COLLINGSWORTH. 
 
 ON ONE occasion John Collingsworth was passing through 
 Virginia, and seeing so much land given up to tobacco- 
 growing, he became greatly stirred in spirit. In a 
 sermon which he preached, after denouncing the wickedness, 
 he offered an earnest prayer to God, in which he besought 
 Him to convince the people of their great error in spending 
 their time, and means, and toil, in the cultivation of so noxious 
 a weed. He prayed the Lord to manifest His disapproval of 
 their course by destroying the crops, then in a most flourishing 
 state, if nothing else would convince them. * During that same 
 afternoon a violent hail storm passed through that section of 
 the country, blasting the prospects of the Virginians for a 
 bountiful crop. The fields were literally torn up, and the 
 tobacco utterly destroyed. 
 
 An old, ungodly planter, who had been a great sufferer, 
 hearing of the Methodist preacher's prayer, resolved to follow 
 him and chastise him for the evil done. Overtaking him, full 
 of wrath, he inquired, "Are you, sir, the Methodist preacher 
 who prayed the Lord to destroy my crop of tobacco ? " The 
 preacher replied, "My name is Collingsworth; I preached 
 yesterday in the neighborhood, and prayed the Lord to show 
 His disapproval of raising tobacco." 
 
 "Well, sir, you are just the man I am after. I am ruined 
 for this season, and I have come to take my revenge on you, 
 sir ! " at the same time brandishing a frightful-looking wagon 
 whip, with which the whipping was to be done. 
 
 The minister commenced slowly to dismount, coolly address- 
 ing the planter as he did so : " Well, if I must be whipped for 
 it, I suppose I must submit; but take care that, before you 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 47 
 
 have done, I do not pray the Lord to overtake you with some- 
 thing worse than overtook your crop." That thought had 
 never entered the planter's mind. Wishing to get as far away 
 from such a man's prayers as possible, he put spurs to his 
 horse, and galloped off with all possible speed. 
 
 OUR DEFENDER. 
 
 JAMES KENNEDY, now of San Jose, California, crossed 
 the plains in 1852 with his family to California. This was 
 but a few years after the discovery of gold, and the coun- 
 try was full of desperadoes. For awhile he worked in the 
 mines. Then he went into the business of transporting on 
 pack mules supplies to the miners, and he crossed the Sierras 
 twenty-three times. Afterward, for twenty years, he kept the 
 toll-gate at Los Gatos. During all this time he never went 
 armed. When he kept the gate, it was well-known that he 
 had money in the house — sometimes over a thousand dollars. 
 There was no bank near, and he made his report to the 
 treasurer only once a month. Yet, during all this time, he 
 was never once molested. Other buildings near him were 
 robbed, but no one attempted to rob him. He committed 
 himself, and all his interests, to the Lord, and he was graciously 
 preserved. Once, when the charter of the road was renewed, 
 the people denied the legality of the act. A mob assembled 
 and tore down the gate. They ordered him out of the house 
 that they might burn it. But he very decidedly refused to go 
 at their bidding. He was not molested. 
 
 Nor was his immunity due to his taking what is commonly 
 called a prudent, popular course. He was an out-spoken, 
 aggressive abolitionist, when the most of those around him 
 were intensely pro-slavery, and the excitement of the slavery 
 question ran high. He was an ardent temperance man among 
 those whose chief drink was whisky. He refused to carry 
 liquor, when in the transportation business, though the 
 merchants, of whom he bought his goods, assured him that 
 
48 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 unless he did so, he could not make his living. At the end of 
 the season, they were greatly surprised to learn that he had 
 cleared two hundred dollars a month, when, as they said, every 
 other man on the road had lost that year by the business. 
 
 Whenever he stopped in camp, he was always preaching his 
 doctrines. Once he was challenged by the keeper of the 
 station, an ex-college professor, to discuss the slavery question 
 in an orderly manner. He accepted the challenge, and before 
 eleven o'clock at night, so completely silenced his antagonist, 
 that, in dismay, he fled from the room and went to bed. 
 
 Many of the stockholders of the road, for which he collected 
 tolls, were firewaters from the South. With these he would 
 sometimes have sharp controversies, and they would get very 
 angry. But as they had full confidence in his honesty, they 
 would not dismiss him. 
 
 Have faith in God. He is able to take care of you, both 
 soul and body. Be kind to all; do your duty faithfully; and 
 then commit the keeping of all your interests to Him who 
 never slumbers nor sleeps, and who has all power in heaven 
 and in earth. 
 
 "A SOFT ANSWER TURNETH AWAY WRATH." 
 
 N^OTHING is more true than that "A soft answer turneth 
 away wrath," and gentleness of spirit and expression 
 has a most happy effect. The following is illustrative 
 of this: "A merchant, in London, had a dispute with a Friend 
 or Quaker, respecting the settlement of an account. The 
 merchant was determined to bring the matter into court, a 
 procedure which the Friend earnestly deprecated, using every 
 argument in his power to convince the merchant of his error, 
 but the latter remained inflexible. Desirous of making the 
 last effort, he called at the house of the merchant one morn- 
 ing, and asked the servant if his master was at home. The 
 merchant, hearing the inquiry and knowing the voice, called 
 aloud from the top of the stairs, ' Tell that rascal I am not at 
 
SKETCHES A ND A NE C DOTES. 49 
 
 home.' The Friend, looking up toward him, calmly said, 
 • Well, friend, God put thee in a better mind.' The merchant 
 was affected by the meekness of the reply, and, after deliberately 
 investigating the matter, he became convinced that he was 
 wrong, and the Friend right. He requested to see him, and, 
 after acknowledging his error, he said, ' I have one question to 
 ask you, how were you able with such patience, on various 
 occasions, to bear my abuse?' 'Friend,' replied the Friend, 
 'I will tell thee: I was naturally as hot and violent as thou art; 
 I knew that to indulge this temper was sinful, and I also found 
 that it was imprudent. I observed that men in a passion 
 always speak very loud, and hence I thought, if I could con- 
 trol my voice, I could restrain my passion*. I have, therefore, 
 made it a rule never to suffer my voice to raise above a certain 
 key, and, by a careful observance of this rule, I have, with the 
 blessing of God, entirely mastered and subdued my naturally 
 impetuous temper.'" 
 
 CAPTAIN BALL'S EXPERIENCE, AS RELATED BY HIMSELF. 
 
 "T HAVE had a strange experience," said Captain Ball, 
 speaking with much emotion. It began about three 
 weeks ago. I had lately been making some very good 
 trades; and one night, I was riding home, reckoning up my 
 gains, and feeling a pride and triumph in the start I had got 
 in the world by my own shrewdness and exertions. It was 
 starlight, and very still; I could scarcely hear a noise but the 
 field-crickets and the tramp of my horse on the dark road, 
 when suddenly a voice said, ' What shall it profit a man if he 
 shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul f ' 
 
 "Was it actually a voice?" I questioned. 
 
 " No ; I knew it wasn't at the time. It was, I have no doubt, 
 my own mind; or rather, the voice of the Holy Spirit in the 
 conscience. But the expression was just as distinct and unex- 
 pected as if it had been spoken by some person in my ear. I 
 went to talk with my minister. I wanted to get into the 
 
50 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 church, where I thought I should be safe. I had no conception 
 of repentance and a change of heart. I supposed our pastor 
 would commence questioning me about doctrines, and so forth, 
 to let me know what I would have to understand and believe 
 before I could become a church member. But he didn't take 
 any such course. He made me go into the house and sit 
 down in his study, where he talked with me a long time about 
 the blessedness of religion, and its value above all other things 
 of this world, independently of its rewards hereafter. Then 
 he said: 
 
 " ' Captain Ball, do you know the first thing to be done, if 
 you would be a Christian ? ' 
 
 "'I do not know.* 
 
 " ' The Christian life — the life of a faithful follower of Jesus 
 Christ,' said he, 'can be founded only upon repentance. Now, 
 it is easy to say we repent, but the only repentance that is 
 worth anything, is an active repentance — by which I mean not 
 only sorrow for sin, and an earnest desise to avoid it in the 
 future, but one that goes to work, and seeks, as far as it is in 
 our power, to make amends for every wrong we have ever 
 done. Is there a person in the world, Captain Ball, who can 
 look you in the face, and say you have wronged him ? ' 
 
 " He knew my weak point," added the captain. " Every man 
 has his weak point, and I suppose the lancet must be applied 
 there first. That question was like sharp-scratching steel driven 
 into my soul. I writhed and groaned inwardly, and struggled 
 and perspired a long time before I could answer. I saw it was 
 going to be dreadful hard for me to be a Christian. I meant, 
 however, to get off as easily as I could. So I determined to 
 confess something which I suppose was known to everybody 
 who knows me — my horse trade with Peter Simmons last 
 spring. 
 
 " ' Did you wrong Peter ? ' asked the minister. 
 
 "'I shaved him a little,' said I. 
 
 "'How much do you think?' said he. 
 
 " ' I let him have a ring-boned and wind-broken nag that I 
 had physicked up to look pretty gay — worth, for actual service, 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 51 
 
 not over ten dollars, and got in return a steady beast worth 
 sixty dollars, and twenty-five dollars to boot. So I honestly 
 think,' said I, 'that I shaved him out of about seventy-five 
 dollars.' 
 
 " 'And with seventy-five dollars in your possession, belonging 
 to poor Peter Simmons, do you think you can commence a life 
 of Christian purity ? Do you think that Christ will hear your 
 prayers for pardon, with stolen money in your pocket ! ' said 
 the minister. 
 
 " I said something about a trade is a trade, and men must 
 look out for themselves when they swap horses — but he cut 
 me short. 
 
 "'Your own soul,' said he, 'will not admit the excuses which 
 your selfishness invents.' 
 
 '"But the rule you apply,' said I, 'will cut off the heads of 
 church members as well as mine. There's Deacon Rich; he 
 trades in horses, and shaves when he can.' 
 
 "'No matter,' said he, 'whose head is cut off; no matter 
 what Deacon Rich does. You have to deal with your own 
 soul, and with your Lord. And I tell you, whether you are 
 out of the church or in it, a single dollar which you have 
 unjustly and knowingly taken from any man, without rendering 
 him its full value to the best of your ability — a single dollar, I 
 say, will be like a mill-stone hung upon your neck, to sink 
 your soul into the sea of spiritual death ! ' 
 
 " I couldn't stand that. The Spirit of God used those words 
 with terrible effect upon my heart. I was greatly agitated. 
 The truth spoken by the pastor appealed to my understanding 
 with irresistible power. I went away, but I couldn't rest. So 
 I took seventy-five dollars, and went to Peter and paid him, 
 making him promise not to tell anybody, for I was ashamed to 
 have it known that I was conscience-stricken, and had paid 
 back the money. 
 
 "Then I went to the minister again, and told him what I 
 had done. He didn't praise me as I thought he would. He 
 took it as a matter of course, and no more merit in me than it 
 is to wash my hands before I sit down to supper. On the 
 
52 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 contrary, he seemed to suspect that my hands were not quite 
 clean yet. He wanted to know if I had wronged anybody else 
 besides Peter. I tried to say no, but my conscience wouldn't 
 let me. I could have told a plumper lie than that once without 
 flinching — yes, and flattered my own heart to believe the lie. 
 I was discouraged. I felt bitterly disheartened. It was, indeed, 
 so much harder being a Christian than I supposed, that I 
 regretted going to talk with the minister at all. Like the 
 young man who had great possessions, I was on the point of 
 going away sorrowful. But my heart burned within me, and I 
 was forced to speak. 
 
 "'In the way of business,' said I, 'no doubt I have taken 
 advantage here and there — as everybody does-^as church 
 members themselves do where they can.' 
 
 " ' What everybody does is no rule for you and me, Captain 
 Ball/ said the minister. ' It is to be Christians in the fullest 
 sense — not simply church members — that we must strive with 
 all our hearts. The fact of being in the' fold does not make 
 the lamb ; there are wolves in the fold, alas ! but we are by no 
 means justified in doing as the wolves do, even when they 
 appear in sheep's clothing.' 
 
 "I felt the rebuke. 'Well,' said I, 'there is Deacon Rich— I 
 think he paid me a note twice. The first time he paid it we 
 were transacting other business, and by some mistake the note 
 wasn't destroyed. I found it among my papers afterward. I 
 was a good deal excited, and lay awake more than one night 
 thinking what I ought to do about it. The Deacon was 
 a hard man, I considered, and took advantage of people 
 when he could. He had driven more than one hard bargain 
 with me.'" 
 
 The Deacon, who was present, and heard these allusions to 
 himself, whined and coughed uneasily. Captain Ball went on 
 without appearing to mind him. 
 
 "'So,' said I to the minister, 'I concluded I would serve the 
 Deacon as he would probably have served me under the same 
 circumstances. I kept the note by me a good while, and when 
 I thought the particulars of our settlement had slipped his 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 53 
 
 mind, I said to him one day, maybe he would like to take up 
 that note, which had been due then a considerable time. He 
 was surprised — looked excited and angry — said he had paid it, 
 and held out stoutly for awhile ; but there was the note. There 
 was no proof that it had ever been paid, and finally he took 
 out his pocket-book, and, with some pretty hard words, paid 
 it over again, with interest.' 
 
 " 'And now,' said the minister, * what are you going to do 
 about it?' 
 
 "'I suppose,' said I, 'the money must be paid back.' 
 
 " So I went to the Deacon the next day, told him that, on 
 reflection, I was convinced that he was right and I was wrong 
 about the first payment of the note, and returned the money — 
 one hundred and thirteen dollars — a good deal to his aston- 
 ishment. 
 
 "I hoped then all was right," continued Captain Ball. "I 
 tried to satisfy my conscience that it was. But I was afraid to 
 to go back to the minister, he has such a way of stirring up 
 the conscience and finding mud at the bottom, when we flatter 
 ourselves, that because it is out of sight, there is no impurity 
 there. And I knew, that as long as I dreaded to see the 
 minister, something must be wrong; and, on looking carefully 
 into my heart, I found the little matter of a mortgage which I 
 had foreclosed on a poor man, and got away his farm, when 
 he had no suspicion but I would give him time to redeem it. 
 By that means I had got into my possession property worth 
 two thousand dollars, for which I did not actually pay, and for 
 which Isaac Dorr never actually realized more than half that 
 amount. But the proceeding was entirely legal, and so I tried 
 to excuse myself. But my awakened conscience kept saying, 
 4 You have taken a poor man's land without giving him a just 
 return; the law of God condemns you, although the law of 
 man sanctions the wrong. You shall have no peace of soul; 
 your heart will burn you, until with justice, you wipe out 
 your own injustice to him, and to all others whom you have 
 wronged.' 
 
 "Against the decree of my conscience I rebelled a long time. 
 
54 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 It was hard for me to raise a thousand dollars, together with 
 the interest due from the time the mortgage was foreclosed; 
 and it was like taking a portion of my life, to be obliged to 
 subtract so much money from my gains, and give it to a man 
 who had no legal claim upon me. I groaned and mourned 
 over it in secret, and tried to pray; but that mortgage came 
 right up between my prayer and God, and heaven looked dark 
 and frowning through it. At last I could not resist the appeals 
 of conscience any longer, and I went again to the minister. I 
 told him my trouble and asked him what I should do. 
 
 " ' There is a simple test,' said he. ' Do you love your neigh- 
 bor as yourself? If you do, you will be just to him, if it takes 
 from you the last dollar you have in the world.' 
 
 " That was a terrible sentence. I went out staggering from 
 it as if I had received a blow. ' Oh God,' I said, ' how can I 
 be a Christian ! " But I had help beyond myself, otherwise I 
 could never have ended that struggle. I knelt before God, and 
 solemnly vowed for His sake, for the sake of His pardon and 
 love, I would not only do justly to the poor man I had wronged, 
 but would give up, if need be, all that I had in the world, so 
 that I might find peace in Him. A strange, soothing influence 
 came over my soul, and a voice seemed to say, ' Though you 
 lose all you have, God and Christ, and the blessings of a heart 
 pure and at peace, shall be left you — the best and only true 
 source of happiness and life.' And in the solemn night time, 
 after I gave up the struggle, that comfort seemed to me so 
 great and precious, that I felt willing, if it w r ould only stay 
 with me, to accept poverty, and to go into the world poor and 
 despised, hugging that priceless blessing to my heart. The 
 next day I was as light as if I had wings. Nothing could keep 
 me from going to Isaac Dorr, with a couple of hundred dollars 
 in my pocket, and a note for the remainder of what I owed 
 him. 
 
 "Well," said the narrator, with tears running down his 
 cheeks, " I only wish that every person here could have seen 
 the Dorr family when I visited them and made knov/n my 
 errand. Poor Isaac had grown discouraged, and had just 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 55 
 
 made up his mind to quit his wife and children and go to 
 California. His children were crying, and his wife in an 
 extremity of distress and despair. She received me a great 
 deal better than I anticipated; I had acted according to law, 
 she said, and Isaac, careless and improvident, was greatly to 
 blame. 
 
 " ' Yes, said Isaac, with the firmness of a desperate man, ' it 
 was a savage game you played me, but I was a fool ever to 
 get in debt as I did, and then fancy that any man would not 
 take an advantage when the law permits it. I am ruined in 
 consequence, and here you see this woman and babes — ' 
 
 "The poor fellow broke down as he looked at them, and 
 cried like a child. 
 
 " ' Isaac,' said I, as soon as I could speak, ' I have come to 
 show you that a man can be honest even when the law doesn't 
 compel him to be. I want to do right, because God com- 
 mands it, and I have come to tell you that you needn't leave 
 your wife and babes yet, unless you prefer to.' 
 
 "'Prefer to — go off into a strange country, and leave them 
 here to suffer,' he cried, and he caught the children in his 
 arms, and wrung his wife's hand, and sobbed as if his heart 
 would break. 
 
 " Then I counted out the money I had brought, and explained 
 what I intended to do, and gave him the note; and such sur- 
 prise and happiness I never saw. They would have kissed my 
 feet, if I would have let them. It seemed to me as if heaven 
 were opened then and there — and it was opened in my heart, 
 with such a flood of light and joy as I had never experienced, 
 or thought possible before. 
 
 "My friends," added the captain, his once hard voice now 
 almost as mellow as a woman's, his cheeks still moist with 
 tears, "I have been constrained to make this confession; I 
 thank you for listening to it. The minister tells me a man 
 may be a church member and not a Christian. I mean to be 
 a Christian first, and if I fail — " 
 
 He could proceed no further, but sat down with an emotion 
 more effective than any words. 
 
56 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 I have nothing to add to this narrative, except that he 
 became a church member, and that his example of thorough 
 repentance, of child-like faith in Christ, and of vigorous, 
 practical, every-day righteousness, elevated the standard of 
 Christianity among my people. 
 
 PRESERVATION FROM DANGER. 
 
 A FACT, related by a minister of the Society of Friends, 
 shows at once the primitive simplicity, which still pre- 
 vails in some retired districts of England, and the 
 evident power of faith in Providence over the spirit of evil. 
 
 In one of the thinly populated dales of that very beautiful, 
 and yet, by parts, very bleak and dreary region, the Peak of 
 Derbyshire, stood a single house far from neighbors. It was 
 inhabited by a farmer and his family, who lived in such a state 
 of isolation, so unmolested by intruders, and unapprehensive 
 of danger, that they were hardly in the habit of fastening their 
 door at night. The farmer, who had a great distance to go to 
 market, was sometimes late before he got back. On these 
 occasions, the good woman used to retire to rest at the usual 
 time, and her husband returning found no latch or bolt to 
 obstruct his entrance. But one time the wife hearing some 
 one come up to the door and enter the house, supposed it was 
 her husband; but, after the usual time had elapsed, and he did 
 not come to bed, she got up and went down-stairs, when her 
 terror and astonishment may be imagined, for she saw a great 
 sturdy fellow in the act of reconnoitering for plunder. At the 
 first view of him, she afterward said, she felt ready to drop ; 
 but, being naturally courageous, and of deep religious expe- 
 rience, she immediately recovered sufficient self-possession to 
 avoid any outcry, and to walk with apparent firmness to a chair 
 which stood at one side of the fire-place. The marauder imme- 
 diately seated himself in another chair which stood opposite, 
 and fixed his eyes upon her with a most savage expression. 
 Her courage was now almost spent; but recollecting herself, 
 
SKE TCHES A ND A NE CDOTES. 57 
 
 she put up an inward prayer to the Almighty for protection, 
 and threw herself upon His providence. She immediately felt 
 her internal strength revived, and looked steadfastly at the 
 man, who now had drawn from his pocket a large clasp-knife, 
 and, with a murderous expression in his eyes, appeared ready 
 to spring upon her. She, however, evinced no visible emotion ; 
 she said not a word, but continued to pray for deliverance, or 
 resignation, and to look upon the fearful man with a calm 
 seriousness. He rose up, looked at her, then at the knife; 
 then wiped it across his hand; then again eagerly glanced at 
 her; when at once a sudden damp seemed to fall upon him; 
 his eyes seemed to blanch before her still, fixed gaze; he 
 closed his knife and went out. At a single spring she reached 
 the door, shut the bolt with a convulsive rapidity, and fell 
 senseless on the floor. When she recovered from her swoon, 
 she was filled with the utmost anxiety on account of her 
 husband, lest the man should meet him by the way. But 
 presently she heard his well-known step; and let him in with 
 a heart trembling with mingled agitation and thankfulness. 
 
 TEE LEARNED PROFESSOR AND TEE COBBLER. 
 
 " If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become 
 a fool that he may be wise." — i Cor., 3: 18. 
 
 THERE resided in Paris some years ago, an eminent 
 journalist, who was a professor in a college, and a man 
 noted for his learning, but who knew nothing of true 
 religion, not having been a learner in the school of Christ. 
 At a time when he was on a visit to a friend, residing near 
 Lyons, he frequently met with Pastor Fisch, a worthy Christian. 
 One day, as he was walking in the grounds of his friend, 
 he met this good man who was reading the Scriptures, and 
 remarked to him, " I have a great admiration of your conduct 
 as a Christian, and have wished to know what are the principles 
 that seem to produce such an effect upon your life." After 
 telling him of the desire he, himself, felt of becoming religious, 
 
58 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 he said, " If you have any book which states the doctrines you 
 profess, and the principles by which you live, I should be 
 glad to read it." "I have," replied the pastor, "an admirable 
 treatise, written by one of the early converts to the Christian 
 faith, and I will lend it to you. It is the letter of the Apostle 
 Paul to the Christians at Rome." 
 
 " Nonsense," said the learned professor, " I have repeatedly 
 read it, and found it an unintelligible jargon." 
 
 "Well," was the reply, "this is the authoritative exposition 
 of our faith, and I would have you read' it carefully." 
 
 A few days after this they met again, and on inquiring of 
 the professor if he had fulfilled his promise, he said, " I have, 
 but it is perfect nonsense. I read the first chapter, and found 
 it unintelligible; the second was worse; and, on reading the 
 third chapter, I threw the book on the ground in disgust." 
 
 With all his great learning he could not understand it. He 
 was told that human learning was opposed to a real acquaint- 
 ance with the Scriptures, and it was nothing less than the 
 Spirit of God that must open the heart, and give it a right and 
 profitable understanding of the Scriptures, even a measure of 
 the same Spirit that first gave them forth, and that, under the 
 teachings of this Spirit, the illiterate had a better understanding 
 of them, than those who were better educated had, if without 
 its illuminating influence. In proof of this the pastor offered 
 to accompany him to see a poor unlearned cobbler. 
 
 "A good joke, truly," said the professor, but, on being 
 assured that the proposal was made in earnest, he added, "I 
 shall be glad to see one of these wonderful ignoramuses, who 
 can understand this Epistle to the Romans." 
 
 When they reached the cobbler's humble cot and the pastor 
 had introduced his learned friend to him, he departed, leaving 
 them alone together. After the pastor had left them, the 
 professor, addressing the humble cobbler, said, "Pastor Fisch 
 tells me you profess to know something of the Scriptures. 
 We are here alone, and I will tell no one what will pass, so 
 just confess that you do not understand that book, for it 
 stands to reason that if I, an educated man, and a teacher in 
 
SKE TCHES A ND ANECDOTES. 59 
 
 the University, can make nothing of it, still less can you, whom 
 I perceive to be without education." 
 
 "Ah ! but I have something that you have not, with all your 
 learning," said the cobbler. 
 
 "And what is that, pray ? " 
 
 "The Holy Spirit," said the Christian, solemnly, "and if you 
 are brought to ask light from Him, you, too, may understand 
 the Scriptures." 
 
 He then told his learned listener, in his own simple, 
 unadorned language, the story of God's dealings with his soul, 
 and how He had shown him that he was a poor, helpless 
 sinner; and that, when he saw this, how he was given to see 
 by the same blessed, illuminating Spirit, that in Jesus he had a 
 perfect Saviour, just such as he needed; and how, in turning 
 to Him, and seeking an acquaintance with Him, he had 
 experienced the efficacy of His cleansing and sanctifying 
 power, creating in him a clean heart, and making him a new 
 creature, a fit temple for the Lord, by his Holy Spirit, to dwell 
 in. Further telling him, that it was a measure of this light, 
 grace and Holy Spirit, that now enlightened his understanding, 
 and gave him a right understanding of the Scriptures, which 
 before had been as a sealed book to him. 
 
 Professor T remained all morning in conversation with 
 
 his humble instructor, and then, on meeting Pastor Fisch soon 
 after, he exclaimed, with an emotion he could not conceal, " I 
 thought that you were well acquainted with the Bible, but I 
 find that you spoke the truth, when you said that your cobbler 
 knew it far better than you did. I have had a lesson to-day, 
 such as I never had before." 
 
 Thus the Lord had opened this proud skeptic's heart in the 
 cobbler's stall. The Scriptures, which before had been sealed 
 and hidden from his understanding, were now unfolded to his 
 view, and became his delight; and, to those who are familiar 
 with the ways of the Lord, it will not be surprising, that the 
 third chapter of Romans was an intrumental means for his 
 enlightenment. The Spirit revealed to him Jesus, the Son of 
 God, the Saviour of sinners, and he became a new man. His 
 
60 SEE TCHES AND AN EC DO TES. 
 
 heart had been humbled, and he sought a place at the feet of 
 Jesus, where he might learn of Him, who continues to teach 
 as never man taught He ever after continued a humble 
 follower of the Lord Jesus, and became an earnest laborer in 
 the ministry of the Gospel in Paris, and was often found visit- 
 ing among the poor, the sick, and the dying; telling them of a 
 Saviour's love, and the all-sufficiency of His saving Grace. 
 Many of his learned associates, among whom he was once 
 distinguished and honored, now regarded him with contempt- 
 uous pity, but he could now understand the paradox of Paul : 
 " If any man seemeth to- be wise in this world, let him become 
 a fool that he may be wise." 
 
 'BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS CHARITY." 
 
 AN INCIDENT, in the life of a young man in Boston, 
 came to our knowledge the other day; which, from the 
 spice of romance it contains, as well as an illustration 
 of what a vast deal of good a slight bestowal of charity some- 
 times does, makes it worthy of record. 
 
 As the young clerk and a friend were passing hastily through 
 Broad street, one raw, chilly day in November, a few years 
 ago, they saw standing near the corner of India street, as they 
 turned to go down to the wharf, a poor old woman, thinly clad 
 in a calico dress, tattered bonnet and shawl, holding on her 
 arm a small basket, in which were a few uninviting apples, 
 which she vainly offered to the hurrying pedestrians who 
 passed her. Her stockingless feet thrust into old slippers, and 
 a few threads of white hair scattered over her forehead, she 
 stood in the keen, searching wind as our two clerks drew near. 
 " Poor old woman ! " said one, as he approached the poor 
 creature, and with a sudden impulse he plunged his hand into 
 his pocket, and, grabbing every cent it contained, threw it into 
 her basket — the old woman's " God bless you ! " followed him on 
 the frosty air as he rapidly passed away. His companion, who 
 witnessed the act, ejaculated at the moment of its performance : 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 61 
 
 "Bill, you are a fool to throw your money away in that 
 manner on street beggars." 
 
 "Perhaps I am," said the other, "but I could not help it; 
 she may be an impostor, but I do not believe it." 
 
 The next day the affair was forgotten, and, indeed, might 
 never have been remembered, had it not been brought to mind 
 in the following manner. 
 
 The next summer, one day, as the young man was busy 
 over his ledgers, in an inner counting-room at his employer's 
 store, he was summoned to the outer office by the message 
 that some one wished to see him. Going out, he saw waiting 
 a fine-looking sailor, in a nautical costume, who eyed him 
 closely as he approached. 
 
 " Did you wish to see me, sir ? " 
 
 "Is your name William ?" 
 
 "Yes, sir, that's my name." 
 
 "Blue eyes, light complexion, stands straight, speaks quick," 
 said the sailor, half soliloquizing. 
 
 "Yes, you must be the man,, you look just like it," said the tar. 
 
 "Just like what?" said the young man a little surprised. 
 
 "Why, I will tell you ! Overhaul your log, and tell me if 
 you recollect seeing a poor woman, about ten months ago, 
 shivering in the cold on Broad street, and trying to sell a few 
 articles to keep her from starving, and you threw a dollar and 
 a half in silver change into her basket, and walked on — you 
 did — didn't you — you can remember it, can't you ? " said the 
 sailor, with feverish anxiety. 
 
 Somewhat staggered by the questioner's eagerness, it was 
 a moment or two before the young man could collect his 
 thoughts, when he replied that he did recollect throwing some 
 change into a poor woman's basket, but that the circumstances 
 had passed out of his memory. 
 
 "Ah ! but she hasn't forgotten ! " said the sailor warmly, 
 "but do you recollect what the man who walked with you 
 said ? " he now inquired. 
 
 "Why, yes; now that I recall the circumstance, I think I do. 
 He said, ' Bill, what a fool you are to throw your money away.' " 
 
62 SKE TCHES AND AN EC DO TES. 
 
 "That proves it," said the sailor joyfully, and dashing his 
 hat on the floor, he seized the astonished young man by the 
 hand, with a hearty grasp, saying, " God bless your soul, sir ! 
 you saved my mother's life, you did — I knew you must be the 
 man," continued he, to the astonished clerk, "the moment I 
 set my eyes on you ; why, bless your generous heart, that poor 
 old woman was my mother," said the sailor, a big tear running 
 over his brown cheek. 
 
 Drawing his guest aside, the clerk learned that he was 
 second mate of a ship now in port; that he had been searching 
 for his mother's benefactor nearly three weeks, upon almost 
 every wharf in that part of the city; that during his absence, 
 the winter before, he had been taken sick in a foreign port, his 
 mother had met with misfortunes, had heard nothing of him, 
 and was deprived of the provision he had made for her support 
 during his absence; that expecting to hear from him, she 
 managed to eke out an existence till the chilling month of 
 November found her without food, fire or clothing, and drove 
 her to the street to procure them ; that the handful of change, 
 which the young man threw into her basket, procured her 
 necessaries till other means fortunately reached her. 
 
 In answer to the clerk's inquiry, as to what clue he had to 
 direct him in his search, he replied: 
 
 " My mother marked you, sir, although you walked off so 
 quickly, and her description of the color of your eyes and 
 hair, and of your height, is correct. Furthermore, she heard 
 your companion call you ' Bill/ and say something about the 
 wharf, and she concluded you must be in a store on the wharf; 
 so I've been into every store on the wharves, where there 
 were any Williams, and overhauled about two dozen 'Bills,' 
 but didn't run alongside the true 'Bill' till I found you, sir. 
 There," continued the sailor, "that's my yarn. I felt I could 
 not rest easy till I thanked you — and that's what I've called 
 to do. My old, poor old mother, is well provided for now, 
 and I'm second mate of a ship. God bless you, sir! I'll 
 never forget your name, and may you never know what it is 
 to be poor!" 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 63 
 
 And the sailor wrung the hand of his benefactor, whose 
 heart glowed with the richness of the poor man's blessing as 
 he departed. 
 
 THE CONVERTED ACTRESS. 
 
 AN ACTRESS, in one of the English provincial or country 
 theatres, was one day passing through the streets of 
 the town in which she then resided, when her attention 
 was attracted by the sound of voices, which she heard in a 
 poor cottage before her. Curiosity prompted her to look in at 
 an open door, when she saw a few poor people sitting together, 
 one of whom, at the moment of her observation, was giving 
 out the following hymn, which the others joined in singing: 
 
 " Depth of mercy ! can there be 
 Mercy still reserved for me ? " 
 
 The tune was sweet and simple, but she heeded it not. The 
 words had riveted her attention, and she stood motionless, 
 until she was invited to enter by the woman of the house, who 
 had observed her standing at the door. She complied, and 
 remained during a prayer, which was offered up by one of the 
 little company; and, uncouth as the expressions sounded, 
 perhaps, to her ears, they carried with them a conviction of 
 sincerity on the part of the person thus employed. She quit- 
 ted the cottage, but the words of the hymn followed her. She 
 could not banish them from her mind, and at last she resolved 
 to procure the book that contained them. She did so, and the 
 more she read it, the more decided her serious impressions 
 became. She attended the ministry of the Gospel, read her 
 hitherto neglected and despised Bible, and bowed herself in 
 humility and contrition of heart before Him, whose mercy she 
 now felt she needed, whose sacrifices are those of a broken 
 heart and a contrite spirit, and who has declared that with 
 such sacrifices he is well pleased. 
 
 Her profession she determined at once and forever to 
 renounce; and, for some little time, excused herself from 
 
64 SKE TCHES AND AN EC DO TES. 
 
 appearing on the stage, without, however, disclosing her 
 change of sentiments, or making known her resolution to 
 finally leave it. 
 
 The manager of the theatre called upon her one morning, 
 and requested her to sustain the principal character in a new 
 play, which was to be performed the next week for his benefit. 
 She had frequently performed this character to general admi- 
 ration ; but she now, however, told him of her resolution never 
 to appear as an actress again, at the same time giving her 
 reasons. At first he attempted to overcome her scruples by 
 ridicule, but this was unavailing; he then represented the loss 
 he would incur by her refusal, and concluded his arguments 
 by promising, that if she would act on this occasion, it would 
 be the last request of the kind he should ever make. Unable 
 to resist his solicitations, she promised to appear, and on the 
 appointed evening went to the theatre. The character she 
 assumed required her, on her entrance, to sing a song; and, 
 when the curtain went up, the orchestra began the accompani- 
 ment; but she stood as if lost in thought, and as one forgetting 
 all around her, and her own situation. The music ceased, but 
 she did not sing; supposing her to be overcome by embarrass- 
 ment, the band commenced again. A second time they paused 
 for her to begin, but still she did not open her lips. A third 
 time the air was played, and then, with clasped hands, and eyes 
 suffused with tears, she sang, not the song, but 
 
 " Depth of mercy ! can there be 
 Mercy still reserved for me ? " 
 
 It is almost needless to add that the performance was sud- 
 denly ended ; many ridiculed, though some were induced from 
 that memorable night to " consider their ways/' and to reflect 
 on the wonderful power of that religion, which could so influ- 
 ence the heart and change the life of one so vain, and so 
 evidently pursuing " the road to ruin." 
 
 It might be satisfactory to the reader to know, that the 
 change in her character was as permanent as it was singular. 
 She walked consistently with her profession of religion for a 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 65 
 
 number of years, and at length became the wife of a minister 
 of the Gospel. 
 
 STICK TO YOUR BUSH. 
 
 THE secret of the man who got rich by " sticking to his 
 bush " will bear repetition even in these times. In answer 
 to a question as to how he became so very successful, he 
 told the following story: 
 
 " I will tell you how it was. One day, when I was a lad, a 
 party of boys and girls were going to pick blackberries. I 
 wanted to go with them, but was afraid father would not let 
 me. When I told him what was going on, he at once gave me 
 permission to go with them. I could hardly contain myself. 
 
 " I rushed into the kitchen, got a basket, and asked mother 
 for a luncheon. I had the basket on my arm, and was just 
 going out at the gate, when my father called me back. He 
 took my hand and said in a very gentle voice: 
 
 "'Joseph, what are you going to do?' 
 
 "'To pick berries,' I replied. 
 
 "'Then, Joseph, I want to tell you one thing. It is this: 
 when you find a pretty good bush, do not leave it to seek for 
 a better one. The other boys and girls will run about, picking 
 a little here and a little there, passing a good deal of time, and 
 getting but a very few berries.' 
 
 " I went and had a capital time. No sooner had one found 
 a bush than he called all the rest, and they left their several 
 places, and ran off to the new-found treasure. Not content 
 more than a minute or two in one place, they rambled over 
 the whole pasture, got very tired, and at night had very few 
 berries. 
 
 " My father's words kept ringing in my ears, and I ' stuck to 
 my bush.' When I had done with one I found another, and 
 finished that, then I took another. When night came I had a 
 basket full of ripe berries, more than all the others put together, 
 and was not half so tired as they were. I went home happy. 
 
66 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 But when I entered I found my father had been taken ill. He 
 looked at my basket full of ripe blackberries, and said : ' Well 
 done, Joseph. Was I not right when I told you always to 
 stick to your bush ?' 
 
 " He died in a few days after, and I had to make my way in 
 the world as best I could My father's words sank deep into 
 my mind, and I never forgot the experience of that blackberry 
 party — 'I stuck to my bush.' When I had a fair place and 
 was doing tolerably well, I did not leave it, and spend weeks 
 and months seeking one I thought might be a little better. 
 When other young men said, ' Come with us, and we will make 
 a fortune in a few weeks,' I shook my head and ' stuck to my 
 bush.' Presently my employers offered to take me into business 
 with them. I staid with the old house until the principals died, 
 and then I had everything that I wanted The habit of sticking 
 to my business led people to trust me, and gave me a character. 
 I owe all I have to this motto : ' Stick to your bush.' " 
 
 THE ORPHAN BOY. 
 
 HAVING taken a great deal of pains to learn the histories 
 of boys on the Erie Canal, and having found many of 
 them deeply interesting, I will relate one (that of an 
 orphan), as it was told to me, by one who knew all the particu- 
 lars. It was the more interesting to me, as I was myself 
 acquainted with the individual. 
 
 A lad, a driver, was taken sick, but continued to drive until 
 he could hardly sit on his horse. In starting a boat out of a 
 lock one day, being very weak, he fell from his horse, struck 
 his head against a stone, cut a hole in his head, and became 
 senseless. The brutal captain took him up, threw him into an 
 old board shanty beside the lock, put his other boy on the 
 horse, and drove along. 
 
 There was no one who saw him but the lock-tender, and he 
 was " of the same piece " with the rascally captain. The boy 
 was in so bad a condition that he did not know anything for 
 
SKE TCHES AND AN EC DO TES. 67 
 
 some time. At length his senses returned, but he could not 
 speak, if to save his life. He seemed to be completely palsied, 
 and could not move any more than a dead person. 
 
 At length a man came along, and seeing him lying in the 
 shanty, said, " Here is a boy with his head all cut open ! 
 Who is he?" The lock-tender answered that he was the 
 wickedest boy on the canal. 
 
 "What are you going to do with him?" asked the man. 
 
 " Let him die," replied the lock-tender, " I wish he was dead." 
 
 The boy heard the answers, but he could not speak. Several 
 other questions were asked, and like answers given. 
 
 The boy thought he must die there, for it was a very hot 
 day in July, and the boards were off the west side of the 
 shanty, so that, when the sun was about two hours high, it 
 shone full in his face. He thought, if he had been in posses- 
 sion of the whole world, he would have given it freely for a 
 half-pint of water; but he could not speak, and he made up 
 his mind that he must die. 
 
 Just at dusk, the "good Samaritan" came along, and asked, 
 "What boy is this? He looks as though he were dead." 
 The lock-tender made the same reply as on former occasions. 
 Said the man (he was a Christian), "I don't know but he is 
 dead, but, if he is alive, I shall try to save him." He turned 
 the lad over, and upon examination found him yet living. He 
 then told his own boy, who was with him, to run home, and 
 bring his one-horse wagon with a bed in it He took the boy 
 home with him, washed his wounds, and procured a physician ; 
 but it was four days before he could speak. After awhile, as 
 he grew better, the man asked if it were true that he was the 
 worst boy on the canal. He began to cry, and said he supposed 
 he was ; but he had been constantly treated like a slave for five 
 years, which was the time he had been on the canal. He had 
 never had a kind word spoken to him; he was an orphan, and 
 had no one to take his part; had been cheated out of his 
 wages, and he did lie, steal, and get drunk. 
 
 The man told him he might be a man if he would only 
 behave correctly, and, advised him, when he got well, to hire 
 
68 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 himself out to some one who would pay him, lay up his wages, 
 and go to school in winter, when navigation would be closed. 
 He soon told the man, that he had made up his mind to do as 
 he had advised him. He went back to the canal, hired out to 
 a good captain, became a good boy, laid up his money, went 
 to school in winter, and continued in this course for five years. 
 By this time he had an excellent business education, was 
 appointed to the office of captain of a boat in a line on the 
 canal, became very much respected, and obtained a good 
 property. 
 
 WHERE DID HE GET THAT LAW? 
 
 AN AGED lawyer of great eminence and talents, who, 
 from early life had imbibed infidel principles, one day 
 met a Christian man, who was also a lawyer, and said 
 to him, "I wish, sir, to examine into the truth of the Christian 
 religion. What books would you advise me to read on the 
 evidences of Christianity?" 
 
 The elder, surprised at the inquiry, replied, " That is a ques- 
 tion, sir, you ought to have settled long ago. You ought not to 
 have put off a subject so important to this late period of life." 
 
 "Is it too late?" said the inquirer; "I never knew much 
 about it, but I always supposed that Christianity was rejected 
 by the great majority of learned men. I intend, however, now 
 to examine the subject thoroughly myself. I have upon me, 
 as my physician says, a mortal disease, under which I may live 
 a year and a half or two years, but not probably longer. What 
 books, sir, would you advise me to read ? " 
 
 "The Bible," said the elder. 
 
 " I believe you don't understand me," resumed the unbeliever, 
 surprised in his turn; I wish to investigate the truth of the 
 Bible." 
 
 "I would advise you, sir," repeated the elder, "to read the 
 Bible ; and I will give you my reasons. Most infidels are very 
 ignorant of the Scriptures. Now to reason on any subject 
 
5 KE TCHES A ND A NE CDOTES. 69 
 
 with correctness, we must understand what it is about which 
 we reason. In the next place, I consider the internal evidence, 
 of the truth of the Sacred Scriptures, stronger than the 
 external evidence." 
 
 "And where shall I begin my investigation ? " inquired the 
 unbeliever. "At the New Testament?" "No," replied the 
 elder; "begin at the beginning — at Genesis." 
 
 The infidel bought a commentary, went home, and sat down 
 to the serious study of the Scriptures. He applied all his 
 strong and well-disciplined powers of mind to the Bible, to try 
 rigidly but impartially its truth. 
 
 As he went on in his perusal, he received occasional calls 
 from the elder. The infidel freely remarked upon what he 
 had read, and stated his objections. He liked this passage — 
 he thought that touching and beautiful — but he could not 
 credit a third. 
 
 One evening the elder called and found the unbeliever 
 walking the room with a dejected look, his mind apparently 
 absorbed in thought. He continued, not noticing that any one 
 had come in, busily to trace and retrace his steps. The elder 
 at length spoke : 
 
 "You seem, sir, to be in a brown study. Of what are you 
 thinking?" 
 
 "I have been reading," replied the infidel, "the moral law." 
 
 "Well, what do you think of it?" asked the elder. 
 
 "I will tell you what I used to think," answered the infidel. 
 "I supposed that Moses was the leader of a horde of banditti; 
 that, having a strong mind, he acquired great influence over 
 superstitious people; and, that on Mount Sinai he played off 
 some sort of fire-works, to the amazement of his ignorant 
 followers, who imagined, in their mingled fear and superstition, 
 that the exhibition was supernatural." 
 
 "But w r hat do you think now?" interposed the elder. 
 
 "I have been looking," said the infidel, into the nature of 
 that law. I have been trying to see whether I can add any- 
 thing to it, or take anything from it, so as to make it better. 
 Sir, I cannot. It is perfect? 
 
70 SKETCHES A ND A NE CD TES. 
 
 "The first commandment," continued he, "directs us to 
 make the Creator the object of our supreme love and reverence. 
 That is right If He be our Creator, Preserver, and Supreme 
 Benefactor, we ought to treat Him, and none other, as such. 
 The second forbids idolatry. That certainly is right. The 
 third forbids profanity. The fourth fixes a time for religious 
 worship; and if there be a God, He ought surely to be worship- 
 ped. It is suitable that there should be an outward homage, 
 significant of our inward regard If God be worshipped, it is 
 proper that some time should be set apart for that purpose, 
 when all may worship him harmoniously, and without inter- 
 ruption. One day in seven is certainly not too much, and I do 
 not know that it is too little. The fifth defines the peculiar 
 duties arising from family relations. Injuries to our neighbor 
 are then classified by the moral law. They are divided into 
 offenses against life, chastity, property, and character. And" 
 said he, applying a legal idea with legal acuteness, " I notice 
 that the greatest offense in each class is expressly forbidden. 
 Thus, the greatest injury to life is murder; to chastity, adultery; 
 to property, theft; to character, perjury. Now the greater 
 offense must include the less of the same kind. Murder must 
 include every injury to life; adultery, every injury to purity; 
 and so of the rest. And the moral code is closed and perfected 
 by a command forbidding every improper desire in regard to 
 our neighbors. 
 
 "Ihave been thinking," he proceeded, "where did Moses 
 get that law ? * I have read history ; the Egyptians and the 
 adjacent nations were idolaters; so were the Greeks and 
 Romans; and the wisest and best Greeks or Romans never 
 gave a code of morals like this. Where did Moses get this 
 law, which surpasses the wisdom and philosophy of the most 
 enlightened ages ? He lived at a period comparatively barbar- 
 ous, but he has given a law in which the learning and sagacity 
 of all subsequent times can detect no flaw. Where did he get 
 
 * It is a revelation, from the Creator Himself, as to what is desirable to Him, 
 and acceptable from His creature man — which is information, that no man, ncr set 
 of men, could get, except from Himself. 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 71 
 
 it ? He could not have soared so far above his age as to have 
 devised it himself. It came down from heaven. I am convinced 
 of the truth of the religion of the Bible." 
 
 The infidel — infidel no longer — remained to his death a firm 
 believer in the truth of Christianity. 
 
 THE WIDOW'S SON AND HIS BIBLE, 
 
 THERE was a pious widow, living in the northern part of 
 England, on whom devolved the sole care of a large 
 family, consisting of seven daughters and one son. It 
 was her chief anxiety to train up her children in those virtuous 
 and religious habits, which promote the present happiness and 
 the immortal welfare of man. Her efforts were crowned with 
 the best success, so far as the female branches of her family 
 were concerned. But, alas ! her boy proved ungrateful for her 
 care, and became her scourge and her cross. He loved worldly 
 company and pleasure; till, having impoverished his circum- 
 stances, it became necessary that he should go to sea. When 
 his mother took leave of him she gave him a New Testament, 
 inscribed with his name and her own, solemnly and tenderly 
 entreating that he would keep the book, and read it for her sake. 
 He was borne far away upon the bosom of the trackless deep, 
 and year after year elapsed v/itout tidings of her boy. She 
 occasionally visited parts of the island remote from her own 
 residence, and particularly the metropolis; and, in whatever 
 company she was cast, she made it a point to inquire for the 
 ship in which her son sailed, if perchance she might hear 
 some tidings of the beloved object, who was ever uppermost 
 in her thoughts. On one occasion, she accidently met, in a 
 party in London, a sea captain, of whom she made her accus- 
 tomed inquiries. He informed her that he knew the vessel, 
 and that she had been wrecked; that he also knew a youth of 
 
 the name of Charles ; and added, that he was so depraved 
 
 and profligate a lad, that it were a good thing if he, and all 
 like him, were at the bottom of the sea. 
 
72 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 Pierced to her inmost soul, this unhappy mother withdrew 
 from the house, and resolved in future upon strict retirement, 
 in which she might at once indulge and hide her hopeless 
 grief. "I shall go down- to the grave," was her language, 
 "mourning for my son." She fixed her residence at one of 
 the seaports on the northern coast. After the lapse of some 
 years, a half-naked sailor knocked at her door, to ask relief. 
 The sight of a sailor was always interesting to her, and never 
 failed to awaken recollections and emotions, better imagined 
 than described. She heard his tale. He had seen great perils 
 in the deep, had been several times wrecked, but said he had 
 never been so dreadfully destitute as he was some years back, 
 when himself and a fine young gentleman were the only indi- 
 viduals, of a whole ship's crew, that were saved. " We were 
 cast away on a desert island, where, after seven days and 
 nights, I closed his eyes. Poor fellow, I shall never forget it." 
 And here the tears stole down his weather-beaten cheeks. 
 "He read day and night in a little book, which he said his 
 mother gave him, and which was the only thing he saved. It 
 was his companion every moment; he wept for his sins, he 
 prayed, he kissed the book; he talked of nothing but this 
 book and his mother; and at last he gave it to me, with many 
 thanks for my poor services. ' There, Jack,' said he, * take this 
 book, and keep it, and read it, and may God bless you — it's all 
 that I've got.' And then he clasped my hand and died in 
 peace." "Is all this true?" said the trembling, astonished 
 mother. "Yes, madam, every word of it." And then, drawing 
 from his ragged jacket pocket a little book, much battered and 
 time-worn, he held it up, exclaiming, "And here's the very 
 book, too." She seized the Testament, descried her own hand- 
 writing, and beheld the name of her son, coupled with her. 
 own, on the cover. She gazed, she read, she wept, she rejoiced. 
 She seemed to hear a voice, which said, "Behold! thy son 
 liveth." Amidst her conflicting emotions, she was ready to 
 exclaim, " Now, Lord, lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, 
 for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." "Will you part with 
 that book, my honest fellow ? " said the mother, anxious now 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 73 
 
 to possess the precious relic. " No, madam," was the answer, 
 " Not for any money — not for all the world. He gave it to me 
 with his dying hand. I have more than once lost my all since 
 I got it, without losing this treasure, the value of which, I 
 hope, I have learned for myself; and I will never part with it, 
 till I part with the breath out of my body." 
 
 A WORD IN SEASON. 
 
 KILSTEIN, a pious German minister, once heard a labor- 
 ing man use the most awful curses and imprecations in 
 a fit of passion, without reproving him for it. This so 
 troubled him that he could scarcely sleep the following night. 
 In the morning he arose early, and soon saw the man coming 
 along, and addressed him as follows : 
 
 "My friend, it is you I am waiting to see." 
 
 " You are mistaken," replied the man; "you have never seen 
 me before." 
 
 "Yes, I saw you yesterday," said Kilstein, "while returning 
 from your work, and heard you praying." 
 
 "What! heard me pray ?" said the man. "I am sure that 
 you are mistaken, for I never prayed in my life." 
 
 "And yet," calmly and earnestly replied the minister, "if 
 God had heard your prayer you would not be here, but in hell ; 
 for I heard you beseeching God, that He might strike you with 
 blindness and condemn you to hell-fire." 
 
 The man turned pale, and trembling said, " Dear sir, do you 
 call this prayer ? Yes, it is true ; I did this very thing." 
 
 "Now, my friend," continued Kilstein, "as you acknowledge 
 it, it is my duty to beseech you, to seek with the same earn- 
 estness the salvation of your soul, as you have hitherto its 
 damnation, and I will pray to God that He will have mercy 
 upon you."' 
 
 From this time the man regularly attended upon the ministry 
 of Kilstein, and ere long was brought in humble repentance 
 to Christ as a believer. 
 
74 SKETCHES A ND AN EC DO TES. 
 
 "A word in season, how good it is ! " " Be instant in season 
 and out of season ; rebuke, reprove, exhort with all long suffer- 
 ing and teaching." 
 
 INGRATITUDE. 
 
 AS Geraldine Hooper was standing on the railroad platform 
 at Norfolk, England, her attention was called to a game- 
 keeper, standing on the other side of the line, with a 
 dog by him. The man had the reputation of being an irre- 
 ligious character. She quickly crossed the line, went up to 
 him, and, stroking his four-footed friend, said cordially, " What 
 a beautiful dog you have here ! " " Yes," said the man, rather 
 gruffly; "but take care he doesn't bite you. He is not partic- 
 ularly fond of strangers." " Oh, he won't bite me. Dogs know 
 who are fond of them. No doubt you are fond of him?" 
 "That I am." "Do you feed your dog?" "Yes ma'am." 
 " House him ? " " Yes, of course." " Does your dog obey your 
 word of command ? " " Yes ma'am." "And you would be disap- 
 pointed if he did not love and obey you ? " " That I should," 
 then looking proudly at his dog, "but Rover does love his 
 master," and he patted the dog's head as it looked up trust- 
 fully in his face. "Would you be grieved if he followed a 
 stranger?" "Yes," he replied, rather impatient at so many 
 questions. "Ah ! " said she, in a sad, tender, reproachful tone, 
 "you ungrateful sinner, what a lesson does that dog teach 
 you ! God has fed you, housed you, cared for you, loved you, 
 these many years — but you do not love or obey Him — you do 
 not follow Him ! He so loved you, that He gave His only 
 begotten Son to die on the cross for your sins, and yet you 
 never have loved Him in return ! You follow a stranger. Satan 
 is your chosen master. The dog knows its owner — you know 
 not yours ! Truly it may be said of you, ' The ox knoweth its 
 owner, and the ass its master's crib ; but Israel doth not know, 
 my people doth not consider ! ' " She looked sadly, yet kindly, 
 at him as she earnestly uttered these words. His eyes filled 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 75 
 
 with tears, he fixed them on his dog, and in a choking voice 
 said, "Ah ! Rover, Rover ! thee has taught thy master a lesson 
 this day! I have been an ungrateful sinner, but by God's 
 help I'll be so no longer." 
 
 CONVERSION AT SEA. 
 
 SOMETIME about the year 1840, a young man named 
 Cresson, left a comfortable home in Philadelphia for a 
 career of adventure. His father, without whose knowl- 
 edge or consent he had gone, followed him to New Bedford. 
 Here he found him intent on going to sea. As he deemed it 
 more wise to direct the future course of his son than peremp- 
 torily to stop it, he obtained for him a situation on a whale ship, 
 about starting for a cruise in the South Pacific. The captain, 
 William P. Howland, was in connection with the Society of 
 Friends, and on this account he felt better satisfied to entrust 
 his son under his care. But, alas ! how little can profession 
 do for us ! How little do the virtues of ancestry avail us ! 
 The captain, notwithstanding his religious connection, was a 
 profane and wicked man. The mates were in this respect, 
 perhaps, his equals ; so that, in the enforcement of the discipline 
 thought necessary on shipboard, the crew were subjected to 
 much abuse. A large share of this abuse fell to the lot of 
 Cresson. It had been in the indulgence of a proud, indomi- 
 table spirit that he had absconded from his home ; and, with 
 this spirit still rife in his bosom, he was required to submit to 
 the subordination of sea-faring life. His superior mind and 
 education made him a leader among the crew, and thus he 
 became an object of jealousy to the officers of the ship. This 
 spirit of mistrust was especially nursed by the captain, as 
 upon him devolved the responsibility of preserving disci- 
 pline. In the event of any misconduct, or assumed miscon- 
 duct among the crew, the charge was likely to be made out 
 against Cresson. 
 
 On one occasion the captain had been arranging some timber 
 
y6 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 for the carpenter to work at and while so doing, missed the 
 rule he had been using. A careful search failed to discover it. 
 While thus baffled in his endeavors, he commenced question- 
 ing Cresson about having hidden or stolen it. The questions 
 soon grew into charges, and these became more and more 
 pointed and furious, until he even threatened that the victim 
 of his suspicion should be "skinned alive" if the rule was not 
 at once produced. But he was restrained from further violence. 
 The conscious innocence of Cresson rose superior to his 
 unfounded malice. The rule was afterward found behind a 
 sliding panel of the cabin, where it had dropped from the 
 position in which the captain had laid it. 
 
 In another instance, when Cresson was at the helm, the 
 captain was on the lookout for whales. Wishing to change 
 the course of the ship, he called out, "Keep her close to." 
 Although his order was obeyed, it was repeated, and again 
 repeated, until the helmsman was induced, in his efforts at 
 strict obedience, to turn so much as to "bring down the sails." 
 This brought upon him the enraged captain in a storm of 
 profane words and physical violence, so that his still unsubdued 
 spirit was roused to resistance. For this offense, thus brought 
 on, he was tied to the mast and lashed, and his bleeding stripes 
 washed with brine. 
 
 As this continuous cruelty seemed unendurable, the crew 
 concluded to petition the consul at one of the South American 
 ports for a redress of grievances. Accordingly, a paper drawn 
 up on their behalf by Cresson, was sent to that officer on 
 arriving at the place. He responded by calling on the captain 
 with the document in his hand. The latter called the crew 
 before him and demanded the author of the offensive paper. 
 Cresson acknowledged having written it, but stated that it was 
 the united act of the crew. This measure v/as so far from 
 affording the desired redress, that it but added to the fury and 
 abuse of the captain. The spirit of Cresson was now broken. 
 Henceforth his conduct was that of abject submission. He 
 hated the officers, but dared not on any occasion act so as to 
 incur their resentment. 
 
 
SKETCHES AXD AXECDOTES. 
 
 // 
 
 These incidents have been narrated that we may in some 
 measure comprehend the depth of that Divine Love that 
 yearns for the salvation of all, and the power of that Grace by 
 which man may be rescued from a "pit so horrible." 
 
 Sometime after this, Cresson was one day again at the helm, 
 the captain standing out on the davits, and the rest of the 
 ship's company below or out of sight. At a sudden lurch of 
 the ship, the captain lost his hold. No one but Cresson saw 
 him fall into the sea, and whatever were his latent feelings of 
 resentment, he obeyed the better impulses of his nature. He 
 called out "Man overboard!" and soon as possible "brought 
 the ship to." The captain was again taken on board. It might 
 be supposed that on being thus rescued from' a watery grave, 
 he would at least have expressed thanks to the men concerned 
 in his escape. But no ; so far was he debased below the com- 
 mon courtesies of humanity, that he paced the deck in wrath, 
 vainly assuming that the crew or some of them were charge- 
 able with an attempt to "get rid of him." 
 
 The vessel had now rounded Cape Horn on the homeward 
 voyage. The captain, released from the excitement of the 
 whaling ground had an opportunity for reflection. Just what 
 those reflections were, we know not. He is no longer in this 
 state of existence to tell us. But within a few weeks from the 
 time of his being thrown overboard, the crew noticed a change 
 in his demeanor. Nothing like a profane oath was any longer 
 heard from his lips. No act of violence was committed by 
 his hand. That voice, once dreaded for its sternness, was 
 now mellowed by a different spirit. The change of character 
 appeared complete. The kindness breathed by his words and 
 actions astonished a crew, to whom this conduct was a strange 
 exhibition. He became the object of their frequent remarks, 
 but it does not appear that any one spoke or thought lightly 
 of his motives or procedure. They no longer dreaded him. 
 The more they contemplated the changed captain, the more 
 they respected — the more they loved him. 
 
 In the development of his altered behavior, he one day had 
 the crew together and said to them, " Men, I do not wish you, 
 
yS SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 hereafter, on meeting me to take off your hats ; and, in address- 
 ing me, you need not say, ' Sir,' but simply call me ' Captain 
 Howland.'" 
 
 The idea, however, was started among the men that if 
 the captain was sincere, he must make an acknowledgment 
 to Cresson, toward whom his conduct had been especially 
 unjust and cruel. The convictions of Divine Grace, the faithful 
 monitor in the heart, did not long permit the captain to neglect 
 the discharge of this humiliating duty. He one day sent for 
 Cresson to come to the cabin. There, with no one else present, 
 and with the open Bible before him, he confessed the injustice 
 of his treatment, and asked his forgiveness. 
 
 During the rest of the voyage, he not only maintained a 
 tone of uniform kindness toward the crew, but also endeavored 
 to restrain the violence of the mates. 
 
 Cresson's feelings toward the captain had been wrought to 
 such a pitch of resentment, that he promised himself, that as 
 soon as released from the discipline of the ship, he would 
 retaliate with personal violence. Even when the captain had 
 with such feeling asked his forgiveness, he felt no disposition 
 to grant it. As had been the case with the captain, he, too, for 
 a time, held out against conviction. The hard heart of unre- 
 generate man is not commonly changed in a moment. But, 
 before they landed, the same convicting influence that had 
 overcome the heart of the stern master of the ship, wrought a 
 happy change in his own feelings. He then could forgive. He 
 could respect and love the man who had so deeply wronged 
 him. 
 
 William P. Howland, after his return, lived in New Bedford, 
 and carried out the principles he had espoused at sea. He 
 thus proved that it was no vagary of the imagination, that had 
 led him to forsake the ways of evil, but the living, eternal 
 Truth of God. 
 
 May the circumstances here narrated encourage others to 
 close in with convictions for sin whenever met with. The 
 Grace of God, which bringeth salvation, still appears unto all 
 men. Its visitations are meted out in Infinite Wisdom, as best 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 79 
 
 adapted to our necessities. The call to repentance and amend- 
 ment of life, may come at the third, the sixth, the ninth, or the 
 eleventh hour. It may speak to us in thunder tones, amid the 
 perils of the ocean, or in the gentle whispers of conscience 
 when no danger is near. But in all cases it is the same Spirit 
 of our compassionate Redeemer, and whoever will submit, 
 shall make his peace with God, and experience the record of 
 his sins to be blotted out. 
 
 THE PREACHING OF GEORGE FOX. 
 
 NOT only was he frequently engaged in opening the 
 doctrines of the Christian faith, in a clear and con- 
 vincing manner, but having a sense of discernment 
 given him of God, respecting the state of his auditory, he 
 spake unto them under the leading of the Holy Spirit, very 
 pertinently, to their admiration and convincement, an instance 
 of which was related by an ancient woman Friend, as follows, 
 viz : ''And now, friends, I will tell you how I was first 
 convinced. I was a young lass at that time, and lived in 
 Dorsetshire, when George Fox came to that county; and he 
 having appointed a meeting, to which people generally flocked, 
 I went among the rest; and, in my going along the road, this 
 query arose in my mind: 'What is it that I feel which con- 
 demneth me when I do evil, and justifieth me when I do well? 
 What is it ? ' In this state I went to the meeting. It was a 
 large gathering, and George Fox rose up with these words: 
 'Who art thou that queriest in thy mind, what is it which I 
 feel, which condemneth me when I do evil, and justifieth me 
 when I do well ? I will tell thee what it is. Lo ! He that 
 formeth the mountains and createth the wind, and declareth 
 unto man what are his thoughts; that maketh the morning 
 darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth ; the 
 Lord, the God of Hosts is his name. It is He, by his Spirit, 
 that condemneth thee for evil, and justifieth thee when thou 
 dost well. Keep under its dictates, and it will be thy preserver 
 
80 SKE TCHES A ND ANECDOTES. 
 
 to the end.'" To this narrative, the ancient Friend added, 
 " It was the truth, the very truth, and I have never departed 
 from it." 
 
 A RAILWAY INCIDENT. 
 
 k 
 
 CORRESPONDENT in Iowa sends us the following 
 touching incident, written by J. M. Dosh, a member of 
 the United Brethren Society, with whom he was per- 
 sonally acquainted, and whom he represents as a man whose 
 statements may be relied upon as correct. 
 
 In traveling, we often meet with persons of different nation- 
 alities and languages. We also meet with incidents of various 
 characters, some sorrowful, and others joyful and instructive. 
 One of the latter character I witnessed recently, while traveling 
 upon the cars. The train was going west, and the time was 
 evening. At a station a little girl about eight years old came 
 aboard, carrying a little budget under her arm. She came into 
 the car and deliberately took a seat. She then commenced 
 an eager scrutiny of faces, but all were strange to her. She 
 appeared weary, and placing the budget for a pillow, she 
 prepared to try to secure a little sleep. Soon the conductor 
 came along, collecting tickets and fare. Observing him, she 
 asked if she might lie there. The gentlemanly conductor 
 replied that she might, and then kindly asked her for her ticket. 
 She informed him that she had none, when the following con- 
 versation ensued. Said the conductor: 
 
 " Where are you going ? " 
 
 She answered, " I am going to heaven." 
 
 He asked again, "Who pays your fare ?" 
 
 She then said, "Mister, does this railroad lead to heaven, 
 and does Jesus travel on it?" 
 
 He answered, " I think not. Why did you think so ? " 
 
 "Why, sir, before my ma died, she used to sing to me of a 
 heavenly railroad, and you looked so nice and kind I thought 
 this was the road. My ma used to sing of Jesus on the 
 heavenly railroad, and that He paid the fare for everybody, and 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. Si 
 
 that the train stopped at every station to take people on board, 
 but my ma don't sing to me any more. Nobody sings to me 
 now, and I thought I'd take the cars and go to ma. Mister, 
 do you sing to your little girl about the railroad that goes to 
 heaven ? You have a little girl, haven't you ?" 
 
 He replied, weeping, "No, my little dear, I have no little 
 girl now. I had one once, but she died some time ago, and 
 went to heaven." 
 
 Again she asked, " Did she go over this railroad ; and are 
 you going to see her now?" 
 
 By this time all persons in the coach were upon their feet, 
 and most of them were weeping. An attempt to describe 
 what I witnessed is almost futile. Some said, " God bless the 
 little girl ! " Hearing some person say that she was an angel, 
 the little girl earnestly replied, "Yes, my ma used to say I 
 would be an angel some time." 
 
 Addressing herself once more to the conductor, she asked 
 him, " Do you love Jesus ? I do, and if you love Him, He 
 will let you ride to heaven on His railroad. I am going 
 there, and I wish you would go with me. I know Jesus 
 will let me in when I get there, and He will let you in, too, 
 and everybody that will ride on His railroad — yes, all these 
 people. Wouldn't you like to see heaven, and Jesus, and your 
 little girl?" 
 
 These words, so innocently and pathetically uttered, brought 
 a gush of tears from all eyes, but most profusely from the eyes 
 of the conductor. Some who were traveling on the heavenly 
 railroad shouted aloud for joy. 
 
 She now asked the conductor, " Mister, may I lie here until 
 we get to heaven ?" 
 
 He answered, "Yes, dear, yes." 
 
 She then asked, "Will you wake me up then, so that I may 
 see my dear ma, your little girl, and Jesus ? " for I do want so 
 much to see them all." 
 
 The answer came in broken accents, but in words very 
 tenderly spoken, "Yes, dear angel, yes. God bless you!" 
 "Amen ! " was sobbed by more than a score of voices. 
 
82 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 Turning her eyes again upon the conductor, she interrogated 
 him, "What shall I tell your little girl whenT see her? Shall 
 I say I saw her pa on Jesus' railroad — shall I ? " 
 
 This brought a fresh flood of tears from all present : and the 
 conductor kneeled by her side, and, embracing her, wept the 
 reply he could not utter. At this juncture the brakesman 
 
 called out, " H s." The conductor arose and requested him 
 
 to attend to his (the conductor's) duty at the station, for he 
 was engaged. That was a precious place. I thank God that 
 I was a witness to this scene, but I was sorry that at this point 
 I was obliged to leave the train. 
 
 A few months after the above occurrence, the w T riter of this 
 narrative received a letter from the conductor, acknowledging 
 that the circumstance had been a blessing to him spiritually, 
 and giving some additional information respecting the little 
 girl. The letter says: 
 
 "I had proposed adopting her in the place of my little 
 daughter, who is now in heaven, With this intention I took 
 
 her to C B , and on my return trip I took her back to 
 
 S -n, where she left the cars. In consultation with my 
 
 wife in regard to adopting her, she replied, ' Yes, certainly, and 
 immediately, too, for there is a Divine Providence in this. 
 Oh,' said she, ' I never could refuse to take under my charge, 
 the instrument of my husband's salvation.' I made inquiry 
 
 for the child at S n, and learned that in three days after her 
 
 return she died suddenly, without any apparent disease, and 
 her happy soul had gone to dwell with her ma, my little girl, 
 and the angels in heaven." 
 
 WHAT ONE SIN WILL DO. 
 
 THERE was but one crack in the lantern, and the wind 
 found it out, and blew out the candle. How great a 
 mischief one unguarded point of character may cause 
 us ! One spark blew up the magazine, and shook the whole 
 country for miles around. 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 83 
 
 One leak sank the vessel, and drowned all on board. One 
 wound may kill the body, one sin destroy the soul. It little 
 matters how carefully the rest of the lantern is protected, the 
 one point which is damaged is quite sufficient to admit the 
 wind; and so it little matters how zealous a man may be in a 
 thousand things, if he tolerates one darling sin, Satan will find 
 out the flaw and destroy all his hopes. 
 
 The strength of a chain is to be measured, not by its strong- 
 est, but its weakest link; for if the weakest snaps, what is the 
 use of the rest ? 
 
 Satan is a very close observer, and knows exactly where our 
 weak points are. We have need of very much watchfulness, 
 and we have great cause to bless our merciful Lord, who 
 prayed for us that our faith fail not. Either our pride, our 
 sloth, our ignorance, our anger, or our lust, would prove our 
 ruin unless Grace interposed. Any one of our senses or facul- 
 ties might admit the foe; yea, our very virtues and graces 
 might be the gates of entrance to our enemies. O, Jesus, if 
 Thou hast indeed bought me with Thy blood, be pleased to 
 keep me by Thy power even unto the end. 
 
 REMARKABLE CONDUCT OF A LITTLE GIRL. 
 
 THE following extraordinary act was performed by a 
 child in Lyons, not long ago, according to a continen- 
 tal paper. 
 An unfortunate artisan, the father of a family, was deprived 
 of work by the depressed state of his trade during the whole 
 winter. It was with great difficulty he could get a morsel 
 of food now and then for his famished wife and children. 
 Things grew worse and worse with him, and, at length, on 
 attempting to rise one morning, for the purpose of going out 
 as usual, in quest of employment, he fell back in a fainting 
 condition beside his wife, who had already been confined to 
 her bed by illness for two months. The poor man felt himself 
 ill, and his strength entirely gone. He had two boys yet in 
 
84 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 mere childhood, and one girl about twelve or thirteen years 
 old. For a long time the charge of the household had fallen 
 on this girl. She had attended the sick-bed of her mother, 
 and had watched over her little brothers with more than paren- 
 tal care. Now, when the father too was taken ill, there seemed 
 to be not a vestige of hope for the family, excepting in the 
 exertion that might be made by her, young as she was. 
 
 The first thought of the poor girl was to seek for employ- 
 ment proportioned to her strength. But, that the family might 
 not starve in the mean time, she resolved to go to one of the 
 houses of charity where food was given out, as she had heard, 
 to the poor and needy. The person, to whom she addressed 
 herself, accordingly inscribed her name in a list of applicants, 
 and told her to come back again in a day or two, when the 
 case would have been deliberated upon. Alas ! during the 
 deliberation, her parents and brothers would starve. The girl 
 
 stated this, but was informed that the formalities mentioned 
 
 i 
 
 were indispensable. She came again to the street, and, almost 
 agonized by the knowledge of how anxiously she was expected 
 with bread at home, she resolved to ask charity from the 
 passengers in the public ways. 
 
 No one heeded the modest, unobtrusive appeal of her out- 
 stretched hand. Her heart was too full to permit her to speak. 
 Could any one have seen the torturing anxiety that filled her 
 breast, she must have been pitied and relieved. As the case 
 stood, it is not perhaps surprising that some rude being menaced 
 her with the police. She was frightened. Shivering with cold 
 and crying bitterly, she fled homewards. When she mounted 
 the stairs and opened the door, the first words that she heard 
 were the cries of her brothers for something to eat — " bread ! 
 bread ! bread ! " She saw her father soothing and supporting 
 her fainting mother, and heard him say, " Bread ! she dies for 
 want of food ! " 
 
 " I have no bread ! " cried the poor girl, with anguish in her 
 tones. 
 
 The cries of disappointment and despair which came at these 
 words from her father and brothers, caused her to recall what 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 85 
 
 she had said and conceal the truth. " I have not got it yet," 
 she exclaimed, "but I will have it immediately. I have given 
 the baker the money; he was serving some rich people, and he 
 told me to wait or come back. I came to tell you that it would 
 soon be here." 
 
 After these words, without waiting for a reply, she left the 
 house again. A thought had entered her head, and, maddened 
 by the distresses of those she loved so dearly, she had instan- 
 taneously resolved to put it into execution. She ran from one 
 street to another, until she saw a baker's shop in which there 
 appeared to be no person, and then, summoning all her deter- 
 mination, she entered, lifted a loaf, and fled ! The shopkeeper 
 saw her from behind. He cried loudly, ran out after her, and 
 pointed her out to the people passing by. The girl ran on. 
 She was pursued, and finally a man seized the loaf which she 
 carried. The object of her desire having been taken away, 
 she had no motive to proceed, and was seized at once. They 
 conveyed her toward the office of the police; a crowd, as 
 usual, having gathered in attendance. The poor girl cast around 
 her despairing glances, which seemed to seek some favorable 
 object from whom to ask mercy. At last, when she had been 
 brought to the court of the police office, and was in waiting 
 for the order to enter, she saw before her a little girl of her 
 own age, who appeared to look upon her with a glance full of 
 kindness and compassion. Under the impulse of the moment, 
 still thinking of the condition of her family, she whispered to 
 the stranger the cause of her theft 
 
 " ' Father and mother, and my two brothers, are dying for 
 want of bread ! " said she. 
 
 "Where?" asked the strange girl, anxiously. 
 
 "Rue , No. 10 ." She had only time to add the 
 
 name of her parents to this communication, when she was 
 carried before the commissary of the police. 
 
 Meanwhile the poor family at home suffered all the miseries 
 of suspense. Fears for their child's safety were added to the 
 other afflictions of the parents. At length they heard footsteps 
 ascending the stairs. An eager cry of hope was uttered by all 
 
86 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 the poor unfortunates ; but, alas ! a stranger appeared, in place 
 of their own little one. Yet the stranger seemed to them like 
 an angel. Her cheeks had a beautiful bloom, and her long 
 flaxen hair fell in curls upon her shoulders. She brought to 
 them bread, and a small basket of other provisions. "Your 
 girl," said she, "will not come back, perhaps, to-day; but keep 
 up your spirits! See what she has sent you!" -After these 
 encouraging words, the young messenger of good put into the 
 hand of the father five francs, and then turning around to cast 
 a look of pity and satisfaction on the poor family, who were 
 dumb with emotion, she disappeared. 
 
 The history of these five francs is the most remarkable part 
 of the affair. This little benevolent fairy was, it is almost 
 unnecessary to say, the same pitying spectator, who had been 
 addressed by the abstractor of the loaf at the police office. 
 As soon as she heard what was said there, she had gone away, 
 resolved to take some meat to the poor family. But she 
 remembered that her mamma was from home that day, and 
 was at a loss how to procure money or food, until she 
 bethought herself of a resource of a strange kind. She recol- 
 lected that a hair-dresser, who lived near her mother's house, 
 and who knew her family, had often commended her beautiful 
 hair, and told her to come to him whenever she wished to have 
 it cut, and he would give her a louis for it. This used to make 
 her proud and pleased, but she now thought of it in a different 
 way. In order to procure money for the assistance of the 
 starving family, she went to the hair-dresser, put him in mind 
 of his promise, and offered to let him cut off all her pretty 
 locks for what he thought them worth. 
 
 Naturally surprised at such an application, the hair-dresser, 
 who was a kind and intelligent man, made inquiry into the 
 cause of his young friend's visit. Her secret was easily drawn 
 from her, and it caused the hair-dresser to almost shed tears of 
 pleasure. He feigned to comply with the conditions proposed, 
 and gave the bargainer fifteen francs, promising to come and 
 claim his purchase at some future period. The little girl got a 
 basket, bought provisions, and set out on her errand of mercy. 
 
SKE TCHES A XD A XE CDOTES. 87 
 
 Before she returned, the hair-dresser had gone to her mother's, 
 found that lady at home, and related to her the whole circum- 
 stance; so that, when the possessor of the golden tresses came 
 back, she was gratified by being received into the open arms 
 of her pleased and praising parent. 
 
 When the story was told at the police office by the hair- 
 dresser, the abstractor of the loaf was visited with no severe 
 punishment. The singular circumstances connected with the 
 case raised many friends to the artisan and his family, and he 
 was soon restored to health and comfort. 
 
 LETTER FROM A MOTHER TO HER SON, UPON THE COM- 
 PLETION OF HER NINETIETH YEAR. 
 
 Y very Dear and only Sox: — I sit down to address to 
 you probably the last letter you will have from me. 
 I have suffered much on account of your and your 
 ever-beloved wife's heavy trials; but my faith is immovable in 
 all these things working out for you both, and for myself, "A 
 far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,' I am now 
 nearly ninety years old; but I consider myself one of the 
 happiest beings in existence, for the most of my trials are gone 
 through; and, under the apprehension of those to come, I am 
 happy to tell you that my feet are on the Rock. I have a 
 husband, three children, and two grandchildren, beyond the 
 boundary line of sin and sorrow. God was manifestly glorified 
 in the deaths of those who came to maturity, and the rest are 
 quite as safe. My health is just as good as ever it was, except- 
 ing the infirmities incident to old age, and I have fewer of 
 these perhaps than any other of my age. My memory is 
 good; I seldom forget anything I hear; I can read a little, and 
 hear tolerably well; I have food to eat, and raiment to put on, 
 and, when sick, tender hands to aid my infirmities. I feel as 
 if a volume would not be too much for me to fill, if I told you 
 all I think of you both, and the dear children; and, when 
 over-whelmed with the thought of you all, I can only ease my 
 
88 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 full heart by crying to heaven, in the language of the apostle, 
 "That the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ would 
 bless you all with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in 
 Christ Jesus." I know, and often say that our prayers are 
 reciprocal, for I feel assured you are asking for me, and the 
 blessed access I feel tells me that I am heard for you. 
 
 But one thing, above all things, I would have you enforce — 
 the necessity of teaching the dear children, that the religion I 
 am recommending is a thing not merely to be found in books, 
 sermons, or knowledge, but at the throne of Grace. It is a 
 " casting off the works of darkness, and putting on the armor 
 of light;" it is "putting off the old man, and putting on the 
 new;" a "crucifying the flesh, with its affections and lusts;" 
 it is set about by a knowledge of themselves; a repentance 
 toward God; a faith in Christ; a passing through the straight 
 gate; a new birth; Christ formed and brought forth in the 
 soul, enabling the new creature to walk in Christ, with a 
 knowledge of salvation by the remission of sins; a self-denying 
 life. I tell my dear grandchildren these are my views of relig- 
 ion, after sixty-four years of experience — for so long has my 
 Saviour kept me; and now I know that neither life nor death 
 (nor any of the dangers in the catalogue) shall be able to 
 separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus my 
 Lord. I shall ever, while life remains, remember you in all 
 my prayers, night and day, and I trust you will do the same 
 for me, for I am still in the field, and the wolf of the evening 
 is still going about. But, after sixty-four years of conflict, the 
 sword of the Spirit is still bright; and, oh, to have the promised 
 land in view! This is what Bunyan calls the land of Beulah; 
 or the prophet Isaiah, "The land that is afar off, where the 
 King is seen in His beauty." I was reading of this to-day— 
 the first of the year — and I trust, ere another year rolls around, 
 that faith will be lost in sight But, before I let the pen be 
 dropped, again I would say, tell the dear children that, in 
 searching for religion, Jacob "wrestled," David "wept and 
 watered his couch with tears," Paul prayed, the Publican "smote 
 upon his breast," the jailor asked, "What shall I do?" and, 
 
SKETCHES A ND A NE CD TES. 89 
 
 above all, Jesus, when asking for us, rose a great while before 
 day, and went into a solitary place, and there prayed. Every- 
 thing for life or death is to be got at the throne of Grace, but 
 the soul must be on the stretch for all we want And now, 
 my dear children, I have told you what I have to say before I 
 leave this vale of tears. Meet me above, that I may say, 
 " Here am I, and the children Thou hast given me." 
 
 May the good Lord keep you all in "a house not made 
 with hands," is the prayer of, my dear son, 
 
 Your affectionate 
 
 Mother. 
 
 PACIFIC POLICY OF WILLIAM PENN. 
 
 THE case of William Penn is perhaps the fullest and fairest 
 illustration of pacific principles, in their bearing on the 
 intercourse of nations. His colony, though an append- 
 age to England, was to the Indians an independent State. 
 They knew no power above or beyond Penn himself; and they 
 treated his colony as another tribe or nation. The king had 
 himself expressly abandoned these Quakers entirely to their 
 own resources. 
 
 " What ! " said Charles II. to Penn, on the eve of his depart- 
 ure, "venture yourself among the savages of North America! 
 Why, man, what security have you that you will not be in 
 their war-kettle within two hours after setting your foot on 
 their shores?" 
 
 "The best security in the world," said the man of peace. 
 
 "I doubt that, friend William; I have no idea of security 
 against those cannibals, but a regiment of good soldiers with 
 their muskets and bayonets; and I will tell you beforehand, 
 that with all my good will to you and your family, to whom 
 I am under obligations, I will not send a single soldier with 
 you." 
 
 "I want none of thy soldiers; I depend on something 
 better." 
 
 "Better! on what?" 
 
90 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 " On the Indians themselves ; on their moral sense and the 
 promised protection of God." 
 
 Such was the course of William Penn, and what was the 
 result ? In the midst of the most warlike tribes on this conti- 
 nent, the Quakers lived in safety, while all the other colonies, 
 acting on the war policy of armed defense, were involved 
 almost incessantly in bloody conflicts with the Indians. Penn 
 was an embodiment of his principles, and the efficacy of these 
 is strikingly exhibited in the fact that Pennsylvania, during all 
 the seventy years of her peace policy, remained without harm 
 from the Indians, but as soon as she changed the policy, she 
 suffered the same calamities as the other colonies. 
 
 It has been said that William Penn's treaty with the Indians, 
 "was the only one made without an oath, and which was never 
 broken." 
 
 A BIBLE IN A HOTEL. 
 
 A SMALL party of friends, gathered about a cozy tea- 
 table, were discussing the propriety of the Bible Society 
 placing copies of the Holy Scriptures in railroad cars, 
 steamers, hotels, and other places of public resort. One or 
 two of this party raised the objection to the practice, that in 
 such public places the Bible often received rude and careless 
 treatment at the hands of irreverent and irreligious persons. 
 After all the rest had expressed an opinion, a woman, the sweet 
 graces of whose Christian character gave her a wide-reaching 
 influence in the village, related this touching incident of per- 
 sonal experience: 
 
 It seems that two or three years after her conversion and 
 union with the church, troubles came upon her and her family. 
 Instead of bearing her troubles with patience and submission, 
 she lost faith in the goodness of God, in His ever-watchful 
 care, doubted the genuineness of her conversion, ceased to 
 pray, read her Bible, or even to think of seeking divine 
 guidance. While in this pitiable state, circumstances made it 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 91 
 
 imperative for her to visit the city of New York, on a very 
 painful matter of business. She was of a retiring disposition, 
 unused to traveling, and had never been in a large city. While 
 on her journey, in the cars, a slight act of courtesy led her to 
 make the acquaintance of a gentleman and his wife, who took 
 her under their protection, and, after their arrival in the city, 
 went out of their way to leave her at the entrance of a respect- 
 able hotel. 
 
 She ascended the stairs oppressed with an almost over- 
 whelming sense of loneliness, mingled with the consciousness 
 of an utter inability to perform the unpleasant errand she had 
 in hand. On being ushered into the capacious and elegantly- 
 furnished parlors, she walked mechanically to a centre-table, 
 and opening the single book which lay on the marble top, her 
 eye fell upon these words, " I will never leave thee, nor forsake 
 thee." An emotion of tenderness suddenly stole into her 
 heart. Still bending over the precious book, the gathering 
 tears beginning to dim her eyes, she read further on — "Jesus 
 Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever." The comfort 
 which these passages of Scripture brought to her it was impos- 
 sible to describe. The black clouds of unbelief and doubt 
 rolled away; the glorious sunlight of divine love and protection 
 shone in upon her soul; she was no longer alone ; and this 
 assurance came to her heart like a balm and a blessing. Her 
 perturbed and distracted mind was at rest now; the by-gone 
 joy, peace and trust sat again upon the throne of her heart, 
 and held more potent, loving sway than ever. "Jesus CJirist, 
 the same yesterday, to-day, and forever /" she kept saying to 
 herself, over and over again. 
 
 Quieted and perfectly self-poised now, she gave her orders 
 with the assurance of an experienced traveler. She ate a 
 hearty supper, went to her room, and in time to her bed, with 
 as great a sense of security as if she had been in her own 
 house. She slept peacefully, and awoke at her usual time in 
 the morning, thoroughly refreshed. Unexpected facilities for 
 transacting her trying business opened up on all sides. She was 
 uniformly treated with respect; her questions were promptly 
 
92 SKE TCHES AND AN EC DO TES. 
 
 answered; she was marvelously aided in her quest, and her 
 mission proved successful. 
 
 Had it not been for that copy of the Bible, found so oppor- 
 tunely in her pathway, she was sure she would have taken the 
 next return train to her distant home, without making an effort 
 even toward the accomplishment of her mission. The Bible 
 in the hotel was in the right place. 
 
 THE YOUNG PRODIGAL: OR ''THAT'S THEE, JIM. 
 
 SOME years ago, says the author of the following true and 
 touching story, I was staying at a very beautiful and 
 much frequented watering-place in England, where I met 
 with an earnest Christian tradesman of the town, named Carr, 
 who was ever watchful for an opportunity of doing good. 
 Though not a bookseller, yet he always had in a prominent 
 place, in his shop window, an assortment of Bibles, with a card 
 in large letters, saying, "Luther's swords sold here" 
 
 One day a band or " troupe" of young men who were giving 
 entertainments in the place, their hands and faces blackened, 
 and dressed in very grotesque costumes, arranged themselves 
 before this gentleman's door, one day, for an exhibition of their 
 peculiar "performances." These people used to be called the 
 "Ethiopian Serenaders." After they had sung some comic 
 and some plaintive melodies, with their own peculiar accompa- 
 niments of gestures and grimaces, one of the party, a tall and 
 interesting young man, who had the look of one who was 
 beneath his proper station, stepped up to the door, tambourine 
 in hand, to ask for a few "dropping pennies" of the people. 
 Carr, taking one of the Bibles out of his window, addressed 
 the youth : 
 
 "See here, young man," he said, "I will give you a shilling 
 and this book besides, if you will read a portion of it among 
 your comrades there, and in the hearing of the bystanders." 
 
 "Here's a shilling for an easy job !" he chuckled out to his 
 mates; "I'm going to give you a public reading!" 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 93 
 
 Carr opened at the 15th chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, and 
 pointing to the nth verse, requested the young man to com- 
 mence reading at that verse. 
 
 "Now, Jim, speak up!" said one of the party, "and earn 
 your shilling like a man ! " 
 
 And Jim took the book and read, "And he said, A certain 
 man had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, 
 Father give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And 
 he divided unto them his living." 
 
 There was something in the voice of the reader, as well as 
 in the strangeness of the circumstances, that lulled all to 
 silence; while an air of seriousness took possession of the 
 youth, and still further commanded the rapt attention of the 
 crowd. 
 
 He read on: "And not many days after, the younger son 
 gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country 
 and there wasted his substance with riotous living." 
 
 "That's thee, Jim!" ejaculated one of his comrades; "it's 
 just like what you told me of yourself and your father!" 
 
 The reader continued: "And when he had spent all, there 
 arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in 
 want." 
 
 "Why, that's thee again, Jim !" said the voice. "Go on !" 
 
 "And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that coun- 
 try; and he sent him into the fields to feed swine. And he 
 would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine 
 did eat: and no man gave unto him." 
 
 "That's like us all!" said the voice once more, interrupting; 
 " we're all beggars and might be better than we are ! Go on ; 
 let's hear what came of it." 
 
 And the young man read on, and as he read his voice trem- 
 bled: "And when he came to himself, he said, How many 
 hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, 
 and I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father." 
 
 At this point he fairly broke down, and could read no more. 
 All were impressed and moved. The whole reality of the past 
 rose up to view, and, in the clear story of the Gospel, a ray of 
 
94 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 hope dawned upon him for the future. His father — his father's 
 house — and his mother's too; and the plenty and love ever 
 bestowed upon him there; and the hired servants, all having 
 enough; and then himself his father's son, and his present 
 state, his companionships, his habits, his sins, his poverty, his 
 outcast condition, his absurdly questionable mode of living — 
 all these came climbing like an invading force of thoughts and 
 reflections into the citadel of his mind, and fairly overcame him. 
 That day — that scene — proved the turning point of that 
 young prodigal's life. He sought the advice of the Christian 
 friend, who had thus providentially interposed for his deliv- 
 erance. Communications were made to his parents, which 
 resulted in a long lost and dearly loved child returning to the 
 familiar earthly home; and, still better, m his return to his 
 Heavenly Father ! He found, as I trust my readers will, how 
 true are the promises of the parable of the "Prodigal Son," 
 both for time and for eternity. 
 
 QUENCH NOT THE SPIRIT/' 
 
 THE AWFUL CONSEQUENCES OF DELAY, RELATED IN THE CONFES- 
 SION OF AN AGED MAN. 
 
 AMONG the thousands and tens of thousands of mankind, 
 who are living according to the course of this vain and 
 wicked world, few are found who are resolved to die as 
 they live. Convictions at times arise in their hearts, which 
 clearly manifest their entire unfitness to appear before the 
 judgment seat of the Saviour, whom they are now so awfully 
 slighting. Were the inquiry addressed to them — " Is it your 
 intention to go into eternity in the same careless, and even 
 sinful state, in which you are now living?" would not most of 
 them be shocked at the question ? They would, perhaps, 
 reply: "Do you think we care so little for our immortal souls? 
 Although we are, we confess, neglecting them too much, we 
 mean to think more seriously before we die." Awful delusion ! 
 evidently the crafty snare of the enemy, for how few have been 
 
SKETCHES A ND A NE CDOTES. 95 
 
 known to comply with this intention ! Most of these loiterers 
 find, if there are any reasons to induce them to be guilty of 
 this culpable neglect now, reasons of the same deceptive char- 
 acter are not wanting in the future period of their lives. The 
 following circumstance is calculated to rouse the most careless. 
 May it prove a warning to those into whose hands this tract 
 may fall. 
 
 "My. children," said an old man, "the words of your dying 
 father will be few ; I wish them to sink deep into your hearts." 
 Then raising himself a little in his bed, with a degree of 
 strength which he had not been able to command for several 
 of the last weeks of his sickness, he proceeded: "When young, 
 I enjoyed religious privileges, and was the subject of occasional 
 serious reflections. When just entering on my sixteenth year, 
 these impressions were made on my mind with unusual force. 
 I seemed at times to hear a voice saying to me, ' Seek an inter- 
 est in the Saviour.' I was unhappy, my former amusements 
 lost their relish. Still I was not willing to relinquish them, 
 and obey the voice that was calling me to this duty, and in 
 which obedience, alas ! I do now feel would have been my 
 greatest happiness. One day, after much reflection, I deliber- 
 ately vowed that after the season of youthful amusement lost 
 its relish, I would give myself up to religious pursuits. My 
 anxiety for my soul's welfare immediately left me, I returned to 
 my foolish amusements, and the subject was soon forgotten. 
 When I had attained the age of twenty-five, the monitory 
 voice returned; it reminded me of my neglected vow, and 
 again pressed upon me the importance of eternal things. 
 Though I had not thought of my promise for years, yet 
 I acknowledged its obligations, but an immediate fulfilment 
 seemed more impracticable than it did nine years before. I 
 vowed with increasing solemnity, that when the cares of # a 
 rising family should subside, I would certainly attend to the 
 concerns of my soul. 
 
 "Again I applied myself to worldly avocations, and soon 
 buried all thoughts of the admonition I had received. At fifty, 
 when you, my children, were diminishing instead of increasing 
 
9 6 SKE TCHES A ND A NE CD TES. 
 
 my cares, this heavenly monitor returned. ' Fulfil thy promise, 
 seek reconciliation with God, through a crucified Redeemer,' 
 was continually pressing on my mind. 
 
 " I knew that I had promised to attend to the all-important 
 concerns of my soul, but I was dissatisfied that its fulfilment 
 should be claimed so soon, and yet, I regretted that I had not 
 attended to the subject before, when I could have done it, I 
 thought, with less difficulty; but such were the extent and 
 pressure of my business, that to do it then seemed impossible. 
 I became very unhappy, and, after again deliberating, I sought 
 relief to my troubled feelings, by again solemnly renewing my 
 promise to God. I said, 'When the pressure of my business 
 is passed, I will devote my attention to a preparation for 
 eternity.' 
 
 " No sooner had I fixed my mind on this course, than my 
 anxiety again disappeared — the strivings of the Spirit ceased 
 in my bosom, and ceased forever ! 
 
 "When sickness warned me of approaching death, I sought 
 to fix my mind on this subject, but in vain. There was a 
 gloom and terror drawn around religion, at which my soul 
 shuddered. I felt, alas ! that I was forsaken of God, but it did 
 not move my sad heart. I had no love to God, no repentance 
 for sin, nor wish to forsake it. I felt nothing but the sullen 
 gloom of despair. I knew I was in the hands of a justly 
 offended God, from whom I expected no mercy, and could ask 
 none. With these feelings, I am now about to enter an eternal 
 world. To you, my children, I can only say, profit by my 
 example — ' Quench not the Spirit,' — seek reconciliation with 
 God now, if you would avoid a miserable eternity — put not off 
 the concerns of your souls till " 
 
 The sentence died on his lips ; his strength, which had been 
 summoned to make this last effort, suddenly failed; he fell back 
 upon his bed, and, with a heart-piercing groan, the immortal 
 spirit took its flight from that body, which it had inhabited 
 nearly four-score years, to receive according to that it hath 
 done. This little narrative was related to the writer by the 
 grandson of the old man, who had stood by his dying bed. 
 
 
SKE TCHES A XD A NE CD TES. 97 
 
 This grandson afterward became a minister of the Gospel, and 
 dated his first permanent convictions of sin and eternal ruin, 
 from that awful scene. The descendants of the old man were 
 numerous, many of whom became pious; several were awak- 
 ened by his dying charge. 
 
 THE FORAGING PARTY. 
 
 SOON after the surrender of Copenhagen to the English, in 
 the year 1807, detachments of soldiers were for a time 
 stationed in the surrounding villages. It happened one 
 day that three soldiers belonging to a Highland regiment were 
 sent to forage among the neighboring farm houses. They 
 went to several, but found them stripped and deserted. At 
 length they came to a long garden or orchard, full of apple 
 trees, bending under the weight of fruit. They entered by a 
 gate, and followed a path which brought them to a neat farm 
 house. Everything without bespoke quietness and security; 
 but as they entered by the front door, the mistress of the 
 house and her children ran screaming out by the back. The 
 interior of the house presented an appearance of order and 
 comfort, superior to what might be expected from people in 
 that station, and the habits of the country. A watch hung by 
 the side of the fire-place, and a neat book-case, well-filled, 
 attracted the attention of the elder soldier. He took down a 
 book : it was written in a language unknown to him, but the 
 name of Jesus Christ was legible on every page. At this 
 moment, the master of the house entered by the door through 
 which his wife and children had just fled. 
 
 One of the soldiers, by threatening signs, demanded provis- 
 ions; the man stood firm and undaunted, but shook his head. 
 The soldier who held the book approached him, and pointing 
 to the name of Jesus Christ, laid his hand upon his heart and 
 looked up to heaven. Instantly the farmer grasped his hand, 
 shook it vehemently, and then ran out of the room. He soon 
 returned with his wife and children, laden with milk, eggs, 
 
 G 
 
9 8 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 bacon, etc., which were freely tendered; and when money was 
 offered in return, it was at first refused; but, as two of the 
 soldiers were pious men, they, much to the chagrin of their 
 companion, insisted on paying for all they received. When 
 taking leave, the pious soldiers intimated to the farmer that it 
 would be well for him to secrete his watch; but, by the most 
 significant signs, he gave them to understand that he feared no 
 evil, for his trust was in God ; and that, though his neighbors 
 on the right hand and on the left had fled from their habita- 
 tions, and by foraging parties had lost what they could not 
 remove, not a hair of his head had been injured, nor had he 
 even lost an apple from his trees. 
 
 " The angel of the Lord encampeth rouhd about them that 
 fear Him, and delivereth them." 
 
 EXERCISE OF FAITH. 
 
 WILLIAM BRAY, better known in the neighborhood 
 where he lived as Billy Bray, was a poor Cornish 
 miner. For many years he had -'been a drunken, pro- 
 fane, reckless man. Through the visitations of Divine Grace, 
 to which he yielded, he was enabled to turn from his evil ways, 
 and to experience a new birth unto righteousness. The won- 
 derful change, wrought in his heart by the power of redeeming 
 love, altered the whole course of his life. He could no longer 
 serve sin, but now became a faithful servant to the best of 
 masters, the Lord Jesus Christ. Though a poor man, daily 
 laboring in one of the mines of Cornwall, England, he found 
 time to labor in various ways for Him whom he now so greatly 
 desired to serve. He was particularly active in building places 
 of worship in his neighborhood, and having to depend upon 
 receiving aid from others to enable him to accomplish his 
 object, his faith was often pretty severely tested, yet he could 
 trust in child-like simplicity upon the Lord, to make a way for 
 and help him through every difficulty. He thus describes his 
 labors in erecting a place of worship near where he lived : 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 99 
 
 " In the neighborhood where I lived there were a great many 
 dark-minded, wicked people, and chapels were few. The Lord 
 put it into my mind to build a chapel. My mother had a small 
 place; and by one of her little fields, there was a small piece 
 of common. The Lord opened my mother's heart to give a 
 spot, on that piece of common, to build on. When my mother 
 gave me the ground, I began to work as the dear Lord told 
 me, and to take away the hedge of my mother's field, and to 
 dig out the foundation for a chapel, or a house to worship God 
 in, which was to be called Bethel. 
 
 "Many will have to bless God forever that Bethel chapel 
 was built, for many are in heaven already that were born there. 
 In that day there was but one little chapel in our neighbor- 
 hood, at a place called Twelve-heads, which belonged to the 
 Wesleyans. ' Our people had a little house to preach in, which 
 would hold only twenty or thirty people. So we wanted a 
 place to preach in, and the people a place to hear in. Paul 
 had a thorn in the flesh, and so had I. For I had not only the 
 wicked against me, but a little class, which was held in the 
 house where we preached; most of them turned against me, 
 and tried to set the preachers against me. But with all they 
 could do, they could not hurt me, though they made me 
 uneasy at times. I went to work and raised the stone, and got 
 mortar, and set the masons to work. And the dear Lord 
 helped me, for I was very poor, and had no money of my own. 
 But the dear Lord raised me up friends, who sent me money 
 to pay the masons. We got the chapel walls up; and timber 
 for the roof, and then got it sawed and put up. But we had 
 not timber enough for the roof by one principal, and I asked 
 my Heavenly Father to send me some timber, or money to 
 buy some. That morning there was a Wesleyan local preacher 
 at home, praying; the Lord said to him while he was on his 
 knees, ' Go down and give William Bray a pound note.' At 
 that time there were no sovereigns; there were one pound 
 notes, drawn on the banks. After he had taken his breakfast, 
 he came down to me by the chapel, and said to me, ' What do 
 you want a pound note for ? ' and I replied, ' To buy timber to 
 
 : 
 
ioo SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 put a principal on that end of the chapel. He said he never 
 felt such a thing in all his life, ' for while I was home praying, 
 this morning, it was always coming in my mind to go down 
 and give you a pound note, and here it is.' So I had the note, 
 went to Truro, bought a principal, put it on the chapel, and 
 there it is to this day. 
 
 " When the timber was on the chapel, I went around and got 
 two pounds toward covering the chapel. At that time we 
 had young children, and the youngest of them was taken very 
 ill. When my little maid was taken ill, Satan tempted me that 
 it would take seven pounds to cover the chapel, and I had but 
 two pounds; and our little one would diQ, and it would take 
 one pound to bury her, and then I should have but one pound 
 left. The devil tempted me very much on that point; for if I 
 wanted it, I had a right to take it, for the dear Lord and ' me ' 
 in this place kept but one purse ; * and I paid any money that 
 I earned at mine to the chapel, when I wanted it. So I had 
 but one to give my account to, and that was the dear Lord, 
 the very best comrade that man can ever have. So the devil 
 tempted me that the child would die. While I was thus sore 
 tempted, it came into my mind that I should be paid for build- 
 ing this chapel, and it was applied to me, ' Because thou hast 
 built this chapel, I will save thy child's life.' And I said, 
 ' Where is this coming from ? ' And it was said to me, ' I am 
 the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; be nothing doubting, 
 it is I, saith the Lord;' and I believed it, and it was so. When 
 I went home I told my wife the child would not die, for the 
 Lord had told me so. She replied, 'Don't say so; for all the 
 neighbors say she will die, she is so very ill.' I then went to 
 the mine to work ; when I came home the child was not any 
 better, and had not eaten any meat. On that night the child 
 was very ill, and got no better all the forenoon of the next 
 day. She was very ill when I came home to dinner. That 
 day I was afternoon 'core' at the mine. We knelt down to 
 
 *This expression may be misunderstood without an explanation. He freely 
 used his own money, when he had any, but what was given him for the Lord's 
 cause was sacredly appropriated. 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 101 
 
 pray; the child was lying on the window-seat; we had for 
 dinner what was very plentiful at that time, fish and potatoes ; 
 and in my prayer I said, ' Dear Lord, thou hast said that my 
 child shall live, but she has not eaten any meat yet.' And she 
 began to eat there and then. She is living now, and is the 
 mother of ten children; so the Lord made the devil a liar 
 once more. The devil did not do me any hurt; he only made 
 me bolder. 
 
 "I had only two pounds, and the cost would' be seven 
 pounds by the time the roof was on. I borrowed a horse, and 
 rode ten or twelve miles from where I lived, up among the 
 farmers, and asked one of them whether he had any reed to 
 sell, for I wanted three hundred sheaves. He told me that he 
 had, and that it was two pounds for a hundred. So I told the 
 farmer to bring three hundred sheaves to me as soon as he 
 could, and some spears for them. But I did not tell him that 
 I had only two pounds. He brought down one hundred first, 
 and some spears. I had three pounds when he came; so I 
 paid him for the hundred of reed, and the spears, and had a 
 few shillings left. I asked the farmer to bring down the rest 
 of the reed as soon as he could, but I didn't tell him I had not 
 money to pay for it. And it was not necessary that I should, 
 for, by the time the other two hundred sheaves were sent, a 
 friend gave me money to pay for it. Then I put a man to 
 work to cover the roof, and that would cost one pound, ten 
 shillings, with a little other work besides; and when the man 
 came to be paid, I had but one pound; so I wanted ten shil- 
 lings more. The Lord put it into my mind to go into a high 
 road near, where a great many people went up and down to 
 
 work; and the first man I met was P B . I said to 
 
 him, ' You have not given me anything yet toward my Father's 
 house.' And he said, 'No; nor do I intend to.' I replied, 
 * What, are you 'amind' for the Lord to say to you in that day, 
 You saw me an hungered, and gave me no meat; thirsty, and 
 ye gave me no drink; a stranger, and ye took me not in; 
 naked, and ye clothed me not ? ' And he said, ' Well, I don't 
 mind if I do give you ten shillings.' I said, ' That is just the 
 
102 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 money I want.' So he gave me the ten shillings, and I went 
 home and paid the thatcher. 
 
 "After that I wanted timber for the door and windows and 
 forms. A mine had lately stopped, and they were selling off 
 the timber. There was a bargain in timber, for one pound, six 
 shillings; but I had no money to buy it. To a friend who 
 asked me whether I had been to the mine, and bought any 
 timber, I said I had not, because I had no money. Then he 
 gave me one pound, and with that, and some other sums the 
 Lord sent me from other places, I was able to buy what I 
 wanted. As the timber had to be brought home to the dear 
 Lord's house, I wanted a horse and cart* One of the neigh- 
 bors had a horse, but he said she would not draw anything. 
 I asked him to lend her to me. He told me I might have her, 
 but she would not draw; but I took the mare and put her in 
 the cart, and brought the timber home. I never saw a better 
 horse in my life. I did not touch her with whip or stick, 
 though we had steep hills to come over. When I took back 
 the mare, and told my neighbor, ' I never saw a better mare/ 
 he said, ' I never saw such a thing ; she will not draw with any 
 one else.' That mare was working that day for a very strong 
 company, Father, Son and Holy Ghost; horses, angels, men 
 and devils must obey them. If there had been no one there 
 more powerful than Billy Bray, she would have been as bad 
 with him as with anybody else. But, bless and praise the 
 name of the dear Lord, He said, 'The horse shall work, for 
 the timber is to seat my house;' and what the dear Lord says 
 shall be obeyed. 
 
 "I went on and finished the chapel. Then some of them 
 said, ' Now your chapel is done, you shall not have preaching 
 there.' When they said that, I locked up the chapel door, and 
 carried the key home, and hung it to a nail behind the door. 
 I said, 'Lord, there is the key; I have done what thou hast 
 told me to do; the chapel is built, and there is the key; if it is 
 Thy will the key should stay there seven years, or that it 
 should be taken down every minute in the day, Thy will be 
 done, my dear Lord.' That very day our preacher appointed 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 103 
 
 services at the new chapel, even more frequently than I should 
 have asked, had I been present." 
 
 RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL. 
 
 THE person referred to in this narrative was the son of a 
 devoted New England minister, and the child of many 
 prayers. His mind was carefully stored with religious 
 knowledge, and disciplined in the best schools in his native 
 city. Evil companionships, however, early led him astray 
 from the paths of virtue. A vicious habit of novel reading 
 alienated him from the open fountains of wisdom, and drew 
 him away from parental influence and restraint. 
 
 At length his restless and adventurous spirit sought a sphere 
 of unchecked indulgence, and he went to the Pacific coast. 
 There he found his associates among the thoughtless sons of 
 fortune, and gave himself to the life of a homeless adventurer. 
 Prosperity and adversity served alike to harden his heart. 
 Early convictions were stifled; Divine worship neglected. 
 
 But there were bands in his wickedness stronger than those 
 of Satan. The anxious and aching hearts of his parents were 
 turned toward God. Unceasing, believing prayer ascended in 
 his behalf. His father, especially, cherished the unwavering 
 conviction that his wayward son, after running the prodigal's 
 career of vice and folly, would trace the prodigal's steps of 
 penitence and salvation. Year after year he clung to the 
 divine promises, and pleaded them earnestly at the mercy seat. 
 He felt that he could not be denied. 
 
 A few days ago the hearts of the parents were gladdened by 
 the intelligence that the lost was found — that the prodigal had 
 returned. He had visited a remote South American port, and 
 on his return voyage he was the only cabin passenger. The 
 captain had depended on him to furnish a supply of cards, 
 novels, and other sources of time-killing and soul-destroying 
 amusements; and he, in turn, knowing the disposition of the 
 captain, had looked to him for an adequate supply. The few 
 
104 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 means of diversion were soon exhausted, and, after ten days 
 at sea, the young man found nothing to do but think. His 
 past life came up in review before him, and conscience revived. 
 Early teachings whispered around him. An injured father's 
 persevering faith, and a weeping mother's counsels, haunted 
 his solitary berth. The emptiness of worldly pleasures and 
 the vanity of earthly plans led him to reflect on the surer joys 
 and riches of the Christian. He turned to the Scriptures and 
 read his condemnation. His guilt rose mountain-high, as the 
 Holy Spirit unfolded the immaculate law. He fell upon his 
 knees and cried for pardon. 
 
 By one of those providences which callTorth the adoration 
 of the devout, there were, in the cabin of this ship, copies of 
 Nelson's Cause and Cure of Infidelity, Baxter's Call to the 
 Unconverted, James' Anxious Inquirer, and Abbott's Young 
 Christian — the first to dispel his skeptical doubts, the second 
 to fasten the arrow of conviction in his heart, the third to 
 instruct his inquiring soul, and the last to present encourage- 
 ments and allurements to the Christian life. He read them all 
 prayerfully. Before the vessel landed at San Francisco, the 
 great question was settled, we hope, forever. He found peace 
 in believing, and entered at once on the new life of Christian 
 discipleship. He made his way immediately to the sanctuary, 
 engaged in Sabbath school instruction, sought the company 
 of ministers and godly men — abandoning his former com- 
 panions in sin, or visiting them only to labor for their salvation ; 
 and his letters to his parents breathed the spirit of penitence 
 and consecration, coupled with the most touching expressions 
 of gratitude and affection. The "fatted calf" would be a small 
 testimony of the joy that fills the house long saddened by the 
 wandering prodigal, but now gladdened by his return. 
 
 Christian parents, and especially those whose sons are far 
 away from home and from God, will find encouragement to 
 their faith in this narrative. There are few cases apparently 
 more hopeless of repentance and conversion than the one 
 before us. Pride kept him from coming home; an evil con- 
 science restrained him from places and companionships likely 
 
SKETCHES AXD AXECDOTES. 105 
 
 to benefit him: only a vigorous faith could anticipate the 
 possibility of a change. Yet Grace triumphed; God's truth is 
 vindicated; everlasting promises have their fulfilment; the 
 prodigal returns. Trust that Grace; cling to those promises; 
 your prodigal son may yet be saved. 
 
 I KNEW I DID WRONG. 
 
 WILLIAM WILLIAMS, a valuable and dedicated min- 
 ister of the Society of Friends, residing in the State 
 of Tennessee, says : " I think proper to relate a circum- 
 stance which took place as I was traveling, which is as follows: 
 "I was alone, and put up at a professor's house to lodge. 
 After I had been in the hall a little while, the landlord asked 
 to be excused, and walked out to order his evening business, 
 so that I was left alone, which gave me a better opportunity to 
 hear what was passing in an adjoining room, where one of the 
 company raised her voice in singing praises to her Maker (as 
 she called it), and after a short line, it broke off into very loud 
 laughter, and so on for four; so that I thought I should be 
 under the necessity of telling my thoughts, if I should get an 
 opportunity. Supper was soon set in the hall, and they were 
 invited to sup, whereupon the landlady and four young women 
 came in, and we sat down and supped. 
 
 "After we had done, before we left the table, I brought on 
 the discourse I wished, by observing to the landlady, that I 
 hardly thought that these were her daughters. She answered 
 that two of them were her daughters, and the other two were 
 neighbors, who had come on a visit. I thought I could mark 
 out the singer; so I spoke and said, 'It is likely I may give 
 you reason to think that I am a meddling traveler, for I have 
 some remarks to make to you, from what I have heard since I 
 came here.' I then told them what I had heard as above 
 related. I told them not to misunderstand me, for I was not 
 speaking against praising their Maker, if it was done with the 
 Spirit; but against its being interrupted by loud, unbecoming 
 
106 SKETCHES A ND AN EC DO TES. 
 
 laughter; a thing that ought to be beneath the dignity of so 
 noble beings as they were, at any time, and much more when 
 eno-ao-ed in that exercise. 
 
 " I told them it brought to my remembrance the words of 
 the apostle, where he was speaking of the unruliness of the 
 tongue, with which, saith he 'we bless God and curse men; 
 these things ought not so to be.' (James 3: 9, 10.) Said I, 
 'these things ought not to be mixed together.' When I was 
 done, the noble young woman whom I had marked out in my 
 mind, spoke and said, ' I thank you kindly, sir, for your rebuke. 
 I am the very one, and I knew I was doing wrong when I did 
 it; yea,' said she, 'there was something here (clapping her 
 hand on her breast) which told me that it was wrong.' 
 
 "After some further conversation she observed, referring to 
 sin in the heart, that the leprosy was out of the power of man 
 to cure. I said it was ; but did she not think that Christ was 
 able to heal the leprosy now, as He was when here on earth ? 
 She said He v/as. But, continued she, we read that it gets 
 into the wall, then the wall has to be taken down and rebuilt 
 before it can be cleansed. (Lev. 14: 37-43.) And this, she 
 said, was a great work. To which I agreed, and asked if it 
 was not a necessary work to salvation. She said it was. I 
 asked if she did not think it was a possible work, through the 
 assistance of the Spirit of Christ. After a solemn pause, she 
 said it was. So I told her, if we have a great work to do, and 
 a necessary work, it is no matter how soon we begin, in faith, 
 to do it. To which she acknowledged, and was silent. 
 
 "Then I took the opportunity, in a few words, to open to her 
 and the rest, that to do this work was to attend to that in the 
 breast, which tells us when we do wrong. For instance, if thou 
 (directing my discourse to the young woman) hadst attended 
 to that within at first, perhaps thou wouldst not have been 
 overtaken in the first breach of good order, much less to have 
 repeated it. For. that which spoke in thy breast, and told thee 
 that thou wast doing wrong, was Christ within, the saint's hope 
 of glory, who has descended into the hearts of the children of 
 men, in order to heal them from all sin and leprosy, and make 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 107 
 
 them a pure people, and enable them to praise God in humility 
 of spirit, and purity of mind; then this degrading thing of 
 loud laughter would be far from our minds, and we should be 
 preserved from being overtaken by that fault, as well as by all 
 others." 
 
 As W. W. was about to retire for the night, they came in 
 and said to him: "You are a traveler, and will likely be up 
 and gone in the morning, before we shall come down from our 
 chamber, and we thought we could do no less than take our 
 solemn leave of you, and once more thank you for your advice 
 and counsel, hoping we may never forget it nor you." 
 
 " So said they all as they bid me farewell, with tears flowing 
 from their eyes, which they did not try to hide, for the truth 
 had tendered their hearts. So we parted in great tenderness 
 and love." 
 
 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 
 
 ANNA SHIPTON mentions a case, related to her by a 
 friend, who met a young man coming out of the surgery 
 of a Medical Mission, who was evidently far gone in 
 consumption, and who was fully conscious of his condition. 
 In a conversation which followed, after expressing the hope he 
 felt of eternal rest when this life was ended, he gave the follow- 
 ing relation: 
 
 "'This morning, when I was coming here, my landlady saw 
 me in the passage, and said, ' Mr. Weeks, you look very ill.' 
 I answered, 'Yes; I feel very ill.' She put her head behind 
 the door, which she held in her hand, and after whispering to 
 some one within, she remarked, 'We should like you to get 
 another lodging.' I well knew what that meant; so I returned 
 to my room, and threw myself on my knees before the Lord, 
 telling Him that I had no friends, no money, and no home; 
 and begged Him to provide some place for me, and tell me 
 where to go.' 
 
 " ' Well, what do you think of doing ? ' 
 
108 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 "'The Lord has not told me yet; it was only this morning 
 that I asked Him,' he replied with great simplicity. 
 
 " I gave him my address, and told him to let me hear from 
 him as soon as he moved. 
 
 "At the end of the week I received a letter, saying that he 
 was much worse in health, and would like to see me at No. — 
 
 street. I went and found my friend in a cheerful parlor, 
 
 nicely carpeted; a round table in the centre covered with 
 books, and the window gay with geraniums, fuchsias, and other 
 flowers, bright in the morning sunshine. 
 
 "In a corner with linen clean and white, was the bed in 
 which lay Weeks, propped up with pillows. A little table 
 stood by his side, with a flower freshly gathered, and a tumbler 
 of toast and water. I mention these marks of attention, as 
 evidence of the interest and kindness of those who had under- 
 taken to care for him. His face brightened up as he welcomed 
 me; but the pallor of death was unmistakable. 
 
 "'Well, Weeks, I think you have got into very comfortable 
 quarters. How did you find them out ? ' 'I did not find them 
 out, he answered with a smile. ' Why, did you not know these 
 people?' 'No.' 'How then did you come here?' 'I got a 
 message to come here and I should find a lodging, and I came. 
 Oh, they are so kind and good ! And I am happy, far more 
 so than I can tell you.' Then clasping his emaciated hands, 
 and looking up, he said, ' But what will it be to be there ! Bless 
 the Lord, O my soul : and all that is within me bless His holy 
 name. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and forget not all His 
 benefits.' 
 
 "Before taking my leave, I expressed a wish to see the 
 friends whom God had given him. ' You will find them in the 
 back,' he said; 'they have given me their parlor, and are living 
 in their kitchen.' 
 
 " I found an elderly woman, and her daughter who was mar- 
 ried, but the husband was away. I asked them how they knew 
 the poor fellow in the parlor. 'We did not know him,' they 
 said, 'but we heard that a Christian was being turned out of his 
 lodging because he was dying. We inquired about him, found 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 109 
 
 him out, and tried to get him a lodging; but no one would 
 take him in, when they heard he could not live long, and of 
 course we were obliged to tell them that, you know. So at 
 last we said, 'He belongs to Jesus, so we'll just take him in 
 ourselves, and care for him.' " 
 
 David Ferris relates that when he was quite young, a 
 circumstance occurred which much affected his mind, and 
 afforded him lasting instruction. He says : 
 
 "As I was riding through a river and against a rapid current, 
 a young dog attempted to swim after me. The stream being 
 too strong for him, he could not keep up with my horse. He 
 appeared to be in the utmost distress, even to desperation. As 
 my mind was filled with pity for the poor animal, it was opened 
 to view the awful amazement a poor soul must be in, when 
 leaving the world destitute of hope. As simple a circumstance 
 as this may appear, it was, I believe, of use to me for years. 
 My mind was humbled under a sense of my daily want of 
 divine help; and as I abode under a religious concern, attend- 
 ing to the reproofs of instruction, which are the way to life, 
 an increase of light and life was communicated to me; so that 
 I came to delight in virtue. As my desires and care for divine 
 things increased, the knowledge of them was unfolded. I 
 could truly say, the Lord was my delight." 
 
 Various are the means made use of by our Heavenly Father 
 to arrest the attention of the careless and ungodly, as well as 
 to instruct and teach His people. There is on record, an old 
 anecdote of an innkeeper addicted to intemperance, who had 
 heard that the singing at a place of worship some miles from 
 his home was peculiarly pleasing, and who went to gratify his 
 curiosity, but with a determination not to hear a word of the 
 sermon. 
 
 Having with difficulty found admission into a narrow open 
 pew, he listened with great attention to the singing of a hymn, 
 but as soon as it was finished, secured both his ears against 
 the sermon with his fore-fingers. He had not been in this 
 .position many minutes, before the prayer was finished, and the 
 sermon commenced with an awful appeal to the consciences of 
 
no SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 the hearers, of the necessity of attending to the things which 
 belong to their everlasting peace; and the minister addressing 
 them solemnly said, " He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." 
 The moment before these words were pronounced, a fly fast- 
 ened on the face of the innkeeper, and stung him sharply; so 
 that he drew one of his fingers from his ears to brush off the 
 painful visitant. At that very time, the words, " He that hath 
 ears to hear, let him hear," pronounced with great solemnity, 
 entered the ear that was opened as a clap of thunder. It 
 struck him with irresistible force: he kept his hand from 
 returning to his ear, and, feeling an impression he had never 
 known before, he presently withdrew the other finger, and 
 hearkened with deep attention to the discourse which followed. 
 A salutary change was produced in him. He abandoned his 
 former evil practices, 'became truly serious, and for many years 
 went, during all seasons, six miles- to the place of worship 
 where he had first been awakened. 
 
 Another interesting incident, which may be found in White- 
 cross' Anecdotes of the New Testament, is that of a man 
 bitterly hostile to religion, who had long been an opposer of 
 his pious wife. One morning he took an axe, and went to his 
 wood-lot to fell some trees. As he looked around, he saw one 
 tree dead and dry, with its leafless branches extended into the 
 air, and he said to himself, "That tree I will cut down; it is 
 dead and dry, fit only to burn." At that moment the thought 
 rushed into his mind, "Am not I a dead tree, fit only to burn?" 
 He tried to banish the thought, but it was an arrow from the 
 quiver of the Almighty. He went to the tree and struck a few 
 blows with his axe. But the thought still rankled in his heart, 
 "Am not I a dead tree, fit only to burn ? Will not God say con- 
 cerning me, ' Cut him down, for he cumbereth the ground ? ' " 
 Again and again he tried to drive away the unwelcome and 
 harrowing thought. He plied his axe with increasing vigor, 
 but every blow seemed but to deepen the conviction of his 
 own spiritual deadness. At last he could endure no longer; 
 he returned to his home, went to his chamber, fell upon his 
 knees before God, and cried for mercy. 
 
SKE TCHES A XD A NE CD TES. 1 1 1 
 
 In the same work an account is given of a woman who had 
 spent an afternoon and evening at cards, in gay company; who, 
 when she came home, found her maid-servant reading a pious 
 book. "Poor melancholy soul,' said she, "what pleasure canst 
 thou find in pouring so long over a book like that?" 
 
 After she had gone to bed, she could not sleep; but lay 
 sighing and weeping so much, that her servant, overhearing 
 her, came and asked what was the matter with her. At length 
 she burst into a flood of tears, and said, " Oh ! it was one word 
 that I saw in your book that troubles me; there I saw that 
 word, eternity r 
 
 The consequence of this impression was, that she laid aside 
 her cards, forsook gay company, and set herself in earnest to 
 prepare for another world. 
 
 A BACKSLIDER'S SIN. 
 
 THOMAS D , who lived in M , had a large family 
 to support. Time was when he delighted to attend relig- 
 ious meetings, to read his Bible and other good books, 
 and endeavored to instruct his children in the fear of God. 
 
 In the year 1826 work was very slack, and Thomas strug- 
 gled hard against poverty and sickness. Great indeed were his 
 trials; but instead of taking them to the Lord, and calling 
 upon him for help, he sank into a low state bordering on 
 despondency. This was Satan's opportunity. When Thomas 
 was reduced to this strait, and feared that his wife and little 
 ones would be famished, he meditated upon and planned a step 
 at which he formerly would have shuddered. He resolved on 
 stealing a lamb from the flock of a neighboring farmer. This, 
 after many inward struggles, was accomplished, and that, too, 
 without detection. The lamb was killed and brought home. 
 To the inquiries of his wife Thomas gave an evasive answer, 
 and part of the stolen provision was cooked for supper. The 
 poor woman called her husband from the loom when it was 
 ready, and when he was about to ask a blessing upon it, he 
 
ii2 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 was as one speechless, and snatching up the dish before his 
 astonished family, he went with it to the farmer's house and 
 confessed his guilt. "My life," said he, "is yours, or, if you 
 spare it, I will try and pay you for the lamb." The farmer was 
 touched with his tale of misery and want, and the voluntary 
 confession of the theft. He told the poor fellow to take the 
 dish and its contents back to his cottage, and freely forgave 
 him for what he had done. 
 
 THEY SHALL NOT BLUSH FOR THEIR FATHER. 
 
 TWO men had entered into an agreement to rob their 
 neighbor. Everything was planned. They were to enter 
 the house at midnight, break open his chests and drawers, 
 and carry off the gold and silver they could find. 
 
 " He is rich, and we are poor," said they to each other, by 
 the way of encouragement in the evil they were about to 
 perform. " He will never miss a little gold, while its possession 
 will make us happy. Besides, what right has one man to all 
 this world's goods ? " 
 
 Thus they talked together. One of the men had a wife and 
 children, but the other had no one in the world to care for but 
 himself. The man who had the children went home and joined 
 his family, after agreeing upon a place of meeting with the 
 other, at the darkest hour of the coming night. 
 
 " Dear father," said one of the children, climbing upon his 
 knee, I am so glad you have come." 
 
 The presence of the child troubled the man, and he tried to 
 push him away, but his arms clung tighter about his neck, and 
 he laid his face against his cheek, and in a sweet, gentle voice, 
 said: 
 
 " I love you, father." 
 
 Involuntarily the man drew the innocent and loving one to 
 his bosom, and kissed him. 
 
 There were two other children in the man's dwelling, a boy 
 and a girl. They were poor, and these children worked daily 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 113 
 
 to keep up the supply of bread, made deficient, more through 
 idleness on the part of the father than from lack of employ- 
 ment. These children came in soon after their father's return, 
 and brought him their earnings for the day. 
 
 " O father ! " said the boy, " such a dreadful thing has hap- 
 pened. Henry Lee's father was arrested to-day for robbing. 
 They took him out of our shop, when Henry was there, and 
 carried him off to prison. I was so sad when I saw Henry 
 weeping. He hung his head for shame, for shame of his own 
 father ! Only think of that ! " 
 
 The man did not reply to the words of his son, but turned 
 his face away to conceal his expression. 
 
 "Ashamed of his father ! " thought he. "And will my 
 children hang their heads also in shame ? No, no, that shall 
 never be !" 
 
 At the hour of midnight, the man who had no children to 
 throw around him a sphere of better intention, was waiting at 
 the place of rendezvous for him whose children had saved him. 
 But he waited long in vain. Then he said: 
 
 "I will do the deed myself, and take the entire reward;" and 
 he did according to his word. 
 
 When the other man went forth to his labor the next day, 
 he learned that his accomplice had been taken in the act of 
 robbery, and was already in prison. 
 
 "Thank heaven for virtuous children!" said he, with fervor. 
 "They have saved me. Never will I do anything that will 
 cause them to blush for their father." 
 
 A WORK OF GRACE. 
 
 IT WAS about the year 1830 that a young girl, Elizabeth 
 H , left her home to go to the village of Great Falls, 
 
 N. H., to work in a cotton mill which had been recently 
 erected there. She had become discontented in school, having 
 seen her young friends, who had worked in the factory, come 
 
 home with their fine dresses and gold necklaces and shell 
 
 H 
 
ii 4 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 combs, and she wanted to go away and work, and procure 
 such things, which seemed so very pleasing to her childish 
 eyes. Her judicious mother urged her to remain at school 
 and obtain an education ; but she was anxious to go, and her 
 father, who worked in the mill, consented, and came home one 
 time and said he had found her a place to work. Her mother 
 wept as she parted with her, but she said: 
 
 "Well, Elizabeth, you will go, and your father is willing, 
 and I can only give you into God's hands, and pray for you." 
 
 She went to the factory, and entered a boarding-house where 
 there were one hundred and ten girls, wfth hardly a Christian 
 among them. They were giddy, wild and gay, and she heard 
 what she never heard before, oaths and curses from the lips of 
 women. 
 
 Elizabeth was a great reader, and having exhausted her 
 stock of novels and romances, she one night went into the 
 adjacent room, occupied by a Methodist girl, to get something 
 to read. The girl loaned her a tract, Serious Thoughts on 
 Eternity. She read it through in a few minutes, and went to 
 bed. It fastened itself on her mind, and she got up again and 
 read it over. There was no slumber for her that night, and 
 from that time for three weeks she could hardly eat or sleep. 
 She felt herself the chief of sinners, and knew not the way of 
 escape. She had as a room-mate a backslider, and she once 
 asked her, if she would pray with her if she would kneel down 
 by her side. She reluctantly promised that she would, but 
 before she reached their room the room-mate was in bed, and 
 she was left to struggle with her convictions alone. 
 
 Elizabeth was in great distress. At ten o'clock, when they 
 came to take the lights away from the rooms, she still sat 
 trembling in her chair in agony of soul, and at length fell on 
 her knees in the darkness and prayed: 
 
 " O, God, if there is a God, either take me out of the world, 
 or give me what the Christian has to take away the fear of 
 death ! " 
 
 While on her knees, there came to her mind a revelation of 
 the justice of God, and the depth of her own guilt, and Christ 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 115 
 
 was manifested to her as the Saviour of sinners, of whom she 
 was the chief. 
 
 She went into the mill the next day, and it seemed on the 
 way, as if she wanted to kiss every blade of grass that grew, 
 because her God had made them. The day was one of joy 
 and gladness, and rest and peace. Others of the girls, who 
 were her fellow-boarders and workers in the factory, were influ- 
 enced by her example, and by the visitation of Divine Grace 
 extended to them, and became changed in life and character. 
 
 About this time a minister in New Hampshire, who knew 
 nothing of these circumstances, had an impression on his 
 mind, " You must go to Great Falls." He sought in prayer to 
 be released from this impression, but it continued. He was 
 unwilling to go there; wickedness abounded; there w T as little 
 to attract him; it was a hard and godless field; and he prayed 
 the Lord to excuse him from this service. But all was in vain ; 
 he must go to Great Falls and preach the Gospel. Shortly after, 
 he attended the Annual Conference, where the bishop assigned 
 the preachers their stations for the year. As the bishop was 
 calling the roll and announcing the appointments, he mentioned 
 
 S , naming the place to which he was assigned. Instantly 
 
 he arose and said : 
 
 " Not so, Bishop ; the Lord says I must go to Great Falls 
 this year." 
 
 "What God has made known to you I dare not contradict," 
 said the bishop. "Go!" 
 
 And so he was assigned to that station. He came there a 
 tall, spare, vigorous athletic man, in the prime of life, and with 
 great power bore witness to the Gospel of Christ, preaching 
 righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come. His great 
 plainness of speech offended many, but their complaints made 
 little impression upon him, and to those who desired him to 
 soften his words and smooth his tongue, he replied: 
 
 "I was not sent here by the bishop, but by the Lord; and I 
 shall preach to please the Lord, if I preach to bare walls." 
 
 There was little likelihood of his preaching to bare walls. 
 The congregation filled the house and crowded it. The young 
 
u6 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 converts from the boarding-house came to hear and rejoice. 
 The place was too strait for the people, and the next year 
 two ministers were sent instead of one. The field of labor 
 grew larger; other churches were subsequently organized, and 
 houses of worship erected; and, though many years have 
 passed since then, the memories of those wonderful meetings 
 do not fade from the minds of those who participated in them. 
 Seed was sown for an immortal harvest, and much people were 
 added to the Lord. 
 
 A few days since we saw Elizabeth, now a gray-haired 
 grandmother, and heard her tell this story of her conversion, 
 and the great revival which followed. And we remember a 
 day, in the summer of 1879, when we stood by the dying bed 
 of that preacher, an old man of four-score and three years, 
 who had lived through a long life of struggle, conflict and 
 testimony, by no means free from errors and mistakes, but who 
 came to his grave in peace and hope, like a shock of corn fully 
 ripe, waiting for the harvest of immortality. 
 
 JOHN WOOLMAN. 
 
 THIS Friend was remarkable in many respects. He was 
 particularly guarded in his expressions, being careful 
 that his assertions should be strictly and literally true; 
 and he appears to have inculcated a similar care in others, in a 
 gentle and yet impressive manner. It is reported that being 
 once employed, with the aid of an assistant, in clearing an 
 orchard of caterpillars, that had formed webs on the branches, 
 and having gone, as he supposed, over the orchard, expressed 
 his belief that they were done ; but his companion perceiving 
 that one was left, with a considerable collection on, mentioned 
 the circumstance, with the declaration, that it was as full as it 
 could hold. John Woolman going to the tree remarked, there 
 was room for a number more on it. 
 
 Two young men wishing to try whether he could not be 
 drawn to utter, by mistake, an expression not literally true, are 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 117 
 
 said to have gone to his house, the first taking a seat in his 
 parlor, and the other coming a little afterward to his door. 
 Upon the latter knocking at the door, John Woolman went to 
 receive him, and as soon as he left the room where they were 
 sitting, the young man went out another way. The one at the 
 door then inquired for his companion, expecting of course to 
 be answered, "He is in the parlor." But John was not so 
 easily caught. His answer was simple and literally true : "I 
 left him in my parlor." 
 
 His conduct was probably as guarded as his language. 
 Abel Thomas, a religious young man, residing for awhile in 
 his family, was frequently reminded of his faults, until he 
 began to think himself rather closely scrutinized, and con- 
 cluded to reciprocate his kindness by pointing out some of his 
 faults; but they must be found, and to find them was no easy 
 task. After watching him for months, he was unable to fix 
 upon anything bearing the appearance of a fault, except one 
 trivial circumstance. He had passed a man in the street with- 
 out reciprocating a friendly recognition; but when told of it, 
 his mind appeared to have been otherwise occupied, for the 
 man was not observed. 
 
 NOBLE CONDUCT. 
 
 A CORRESPONDENT of the Blair County (Pa.) Whig, 
 furnishes that paper with the particulars of the follow- 
 ing interesting incident, of which he was an eye-witness. 
 It occurred some years ago on the line of the great internal 
 improvements of that State. 
 
 At the point this side of the mountain, w T here occurred the 
 transhipment of passengers from the West, was moored a 
 canal-boat, awaiting the arrival of the train ere starting on its 
 way through to the East. The captain of the boat, a tall, 
 rough, sun-embrowned man, stood by his craft, superintending 
 the labors of his men, when the cars rolled up, and a few min- 
 utes after a party of about half a dozen gentlemen came out, 
 
uS SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 and deliberately walking up to the captain, addressed him 
 something after this wise : 
 
 " Sir, we wish to go on east, but our farther progress to-day 
 depends on you. In the cars, we have just left, is a sick man, 
 whose presence is disagreeable. We have been appointed a 
 committee, by the passengers, to ask that you will deny this 
 man a passage on your boat. If he goes, we remain; what 
 say you ? " 
 
 " Gentlemen," replied the captain, " I have heard the passen- 
 gers through their committee. Has the sick man a represen- 
 tative here ? " ' 
 
 To this unexpected interrogatory there was no answer; 
 when, without a moment's pause, the captain crossed over to 
 the car, and entering, beheld in one corner a poor, emaciated, 
 worn-out creature, whose life w T as nearly eaten up by that 
 canker-worm, consumption. The man's head was bowed in 
 his hands, and he was weeping. The captain advanced and 
 spoke to him kindly. 
 
 " Oh ! sir,'' said the shivering invalid, looking up, his face 
 now lit with trembling expectations, " are you the captain, and 
 will you take me ? God help me ! The passengers look upon 
 me as a breathing pestilence, and are so unkind ! You see, sir, 
 I am dying ; but oh ! if I am spared to reach my mother, I 
 shall die happy. She lives in Burlington, sir, and my journey 
 is more than half performed. I am a poor painter, and the 
 only child of her in whose arms I wish to die ! " 
 
 "You shall go," replied the captain, "if I lose every other 
 passenger for the trip." 
 
 By this time, the whole crowd of passengers were grouped 
 around the boat, with their baggage piled on the path, and 
 they, themselves, awaiting the decision of the captain before 
 engaging their passage. 
 
 A moment more and that decision was made known, as they 
 beheld him coming from the cars with the sick man cradled in 
 his arms. Pushing directly through the crowd with his dying 
 burden, he ordered a mattress to be spread in the choicest part 
 of the boat, where he laid the invalid with the care of a parent. 
 
SKETCHES A ND AN EC DO TES. 1 1 9 
 
 That done, the captain directed the boat to be prepared for 
 starting. 
 
 But a new feeling seemed to possess the astonished passen- 
 gers — that of shame and contrition at their inhumanity. With 
 one common impulse they walked aboard the boat, and in a 
 few hours after, another committee was sent to the captain, 
 entreating his presence among the passengers in the cabin. 
 
 He went, and from their midst there arose a white-haired 
 man, who, with tear-drops starting in his eyes, told that rough, 
 sun-embrowned man that he had taught them a lesson, that 
 they felt humbled before him, and they asked his forgiveness. 
 It was a touching scene. The fountain of true sympathy was 
 broken up in the heart of nature, and its waters welled up, 
 choking the utterance of all present. 
 
 On the instant, a purse was made up for the sick man, with 
 a "God speed" on his way home, to die in the arms of his 
 mother. 
 
 ANECDOTE OF C. G. STEINHOFER. 
 
 DURING the year 1820, when C. G. Steinhofer was in 
 America without his family, whilst in one of our Western 
 towns, in the winter season, he heard of a community 
 of religious people, about eighteen miles from the place where 
 he was in, who, for some immoral conduct of their preacher, 
 had dismissed him. Immediately he felt a great drawing of 
 mind to visit this flock, who were without an earthly shepherd. 
 The pressure on his mind was so great, and the inward call to 
 prompt obedience so urgent, that, although there was a great 
 depth of snow on the ground, he started to walk to the settle- 
 ment where these religious people lived. As he passed on, his 
 feet became very sore, and so blistered, that, before he had 
 traveled half-way to the place he aimed at, he felt almost totally 
 incapacitated for walking, and not being able to comprehend 
 how he could finish the journey, felt tempted to doubt whether 
 the concern he had felt was of Divine origin. Whilst musing 
 
j20 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 in pain and sorrowful doubt, he saw a man following along the 
 road he had been traveling, riding on a horse, and leading 
 another with a saddle on it. Immediately there was a reanima- 
 tion of his drooping faith, and he was satisfied that he had 
 been rightly led, believing the Lord had sent that horse for 
 him to ride. He then thought, if the horse is for me, the man 
 will ask me to ride, even if I say nothing. So he held his 
 peace. The traveler looked at him earnestly, but passed by, 
 and as, just before, the road made a descent, he was soon out 
 of sight. At this, Christian felt a reproof in himself, remem- 
 bering that it was the child's duty to ask for what it felt to be 
 needful. He pressed forward, however, and, on reaching the 
 brow of the hill, he saw the man was making very little 
 progress, for the horse without a rider was holding back, and 
 stubbornly resisting all forward movement. When in his 
 struggling with him the rider moved backward, the horse 
 became gentle, and appeared to be willing to move in that 
 direction. On seeing the situation of things, the poor foot-sore 
 traveler endeavored to hasten toward them, and the man on 
 the horse, seeing him, rode back to meet him. He told Chris- 
 tian he had better mount the horse. " I believe," he said, " I 
 should have asked you to get on when I rode by you. My 
 horse never acted this way before, although I went with him 
 eighteen miles yesterday, and nine to-day." After they had 
 traveled together for a time, the owner of the horse asked 
 Christian where he was intending to go. On learning his 
 destination, and the concern which was leading him there, the 
 man exclaimed, " Surely the Lord must have a hand in this, 
 and I have the right man. I started from home with this 
 horse, on purpose to see if I could find a minister who would 
 stay among us. Finding none, I was returning home disap- 
 pointed." Christian's feet were very sore all that winter, but 
 the kind man whom he had accompanied to the settlement, 
 kept him at his house, lending . him a horse to ride to their 
 meetings as they occurred. In these meetings, Christian was 
 often made sensible of the Lord's presence, enabling him to 
 labor among the people, and when he thought his duty was 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 121 
 
 accomplished, he parted with the flock in love. The remem- 
 brance of his sojourn there, was a great satisfaction to him 
 afterward, and a renewed cause of thankfulness and love unto 
 Him, who had been his leader and feeder from his youth. The 
 Lord yet leadeth His children in paths they know not; — He is 
 yet the Wonderful Counselor, — and those who trust in Him in 
 living faith, He still upholds and supports in every trial, and 
 through every difficulty. 
 
 MARRIED WITHOUT SHOES. 
 
 M™ 
 
 ORE than twenty years ago a smart young fellow named 
 
 Virginia, made up his mind to be married. 
 
 "But you have not a penny," remonstrated his friends. 
 
 " I have two hands. A man was given two hands, one to 
 scratch for himself, the other for his wife," he said. 
 
 On the day of the wedding Johnson appeared in a whole 
 coat and trousers, but barefooted. 
 
 "This is hardly decent," said the clergyman. "I will lend 
 you a pair of shoes. " 
 
 "No," said Johnson. "When I can buy shoes I will wear 
 them — not before." 
 
 And he stood up to be married without any thought of his 
 feet. 
 
 The same sturdy directness showed itself in his future 
 course. What he had not money to pay for he did without. 
 He hired himself to a farmer for a year's work. With the 
 money he saved he bought a couple of acres of timber land 
 and a pair of sheep, built himself a hut, and went to work on 
 his ground. 
 
 His sheep increased; as time flew by he bought more; then 
 he sold off the cheaper kinds, and invested in Southdown and 
 French Merino. His neighbors tried by turns raising cattle, 
 horses, or gave their attention to experimental farming. 
 
 Johnson, having once found out that sheep-raising in his 
 district brought a handsome profit, stuck to it. He had that 
 
122 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 shrewdness in seeing the best way, and that dogged persistence 
 in following it, which are the elements of success. 
 
 Stock buyers from the Eastern market found out that John- 
 son's fleeces were the finest and his mutton the sweetest on the 
 Cheat. He never allowed his reputation to fail — the end of 
 which course is, that the man who married barefoot is now 
 worth a large property. 
 
 EXHORTATION OF A MEXICAN INDIAN TO HIS SON 
 
 M 
 
 Y SON, we know not how long Heaven will grant to 
 us the enjoyment of that precious gem which we 
 possess in thee; but however short the period, 
 endeavor to live exactly, praying God continually to assist 
 thee. He created thee; thou art his property. He is thy 
 father, and loves thee still more than I do. Repose in him thy 
 thoughts, and day and night direct thy sighs to him. Rever- 
 ence and salute thy elders, and hold not one in contempt. To 
 the poor and distressed be not dumb, but rather use words of 
 comfort. Honor all persons, particularly thy parents, to whom 
 thou owest obedience, respect, and service. 
 
 " Mock not, my son, the aged or imperfect. Scorn not him 
 whom thou seest fall into some folly or transgression, nor 
 make him reproaches; but restrain thyself, and beware lest 
 thou fall into the same error which offends thee in another. 
 Go not where thou art not called, nor interfere in that which 
 does not concern thee. Endeavor to manifest thy good breed- 
 ing in all thy words and actions. 
 
 "In conversation, do not lay thy hands upon another, nor 
 speak too much, nor interrupt or disturb another's discourse. 
 When any one is discoursing with thee, hear him attentively, 
 and hold thyself in an easy attitude, neither playing with thy 
 feet, nor putting thy mantle to thy mouth, nor spitting too 
 often, nor looking about here and there, nor rising up fre- 
 quently if thou art sitting; for such actions are indications of 
 levity and low breeding." 
 
SKETCHES AXD ANECDOTES. 123 
 
 He proceeds to mention several vices, which are to be par- 
 ticularly avoided, and concludes with — "Steal not, nor give 
 thyself to gaming; otherwise thou wilt be a disgrace to thy 
 parents, whom thou oughtest to honor for the education they 
 have given thee. If thou wilt be virtuous, thy example will 
 put the wicked to shame. Xo more, my son : enough has been 
 said in discharge of the duties of a father. With these coun- 
 sels I wish to fortify thy mind. Refuse them not, nor act in 
 contradiction to them, for in them thy life and all thy happiness 
 depends." 
 
 EX-PRESIDENT JEFFERSON AND THE COOPER'S SHOP 
 
 THE following was related, many years since, by one of the 
 parties, who was a very respectable citizen of Mont- 
 gomery county, Pa., since deceased: 
 During the presidential term of Thomas Jefferson, two 
 young men from Pennsylvania took a lease from him of his 
 merchant mill at Monticello, one of the stipulations of which 
 was, that the landlord should erect for their use, within a given 
 period, a cooper's shop. The time for a meeting of Congress 
 soon arriving, the President had to repair to Washington to 
 attend to his official duties, where he remained a long time 
 absorbed in national concerns, and the building of the coopers' 
 shop was entirely forgotten by him. Xot so with his tenants, 
 whose daily wants constantly reminded them of the provisions 
 contained in the lease, and finally they determined to erect it 
 themselves, and charge the cost of it to their landlord. On 
 the return of the President to his mansion, the parties met to 
 settle a long account current, which had been running during 
 his absence. The items were all gone over and scrutinized, 
 one by one, and all were found satisfactory but the charge for 
 building the cooper's shop, to which he objected, alleging that 
 he could have erected it with their own workmen. Several 
 attempts were made to effect a settlement, but they always 
 failed when they came to the cooper's shop. The young men 
 
124 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 became warm and zealous in the affair; and the parties, instead 
 of getting nearer together, found themselves at every interview 
 wider apart. 
 
 In this state of affairs, the father of the young men, who 
 was a mild, affable, conciliating gentleman, possessing some 
 knowledge of the world and its ways, arrived on a visit to his 
 sons, who informed him of their difficulty with their landlord. 
 He requested them to leave it to him, observing that he 
 thought he could effect an amicable settlement in the case. 
 This course was accordingly acceded to, and in due time he 
 waited on the President with the account. It was scanned and 
 agreed to, except the charge for building the shop, which, he 
 said, with some firmness, he should not allow for reasons 
 stated. His opponent, observing his apparent decision on the 
 subject, very gravely remarked: "Well, friend Jefferson, it has 
 always been my practice, through life, to yield rather than to 
 contend." Immediately on this remark being made, the Presi- 
 dent's chin fell on his breast for an instant, when raising his 
 head in an erect position, he observed in a very emphatic man- 
 ner, "A very good principle, Mr. Shoemaker, and I can carry 
 it as far as you can : let the account for building the cooper's 
 shop be allowed." Thus ended the difficulty, and the parties 
 continued their friendly regard for each other till death separa- 
 ted them. And the cultivation of a similar disposition, "to 
 follow peace with all men," would terminate thousands of diffi- 
 culties, add much to the happiness of individuals, and tend to 
 promote the general harmony and order of society. 
 
 
 AGNES' LOST MONEY. 
 
 T ] 
 
 ITTLE Agnes felt very rich one morning, when she set 
 
 _j out with two dollars in her pocket, with permission to 
 
 spend them as she liked. She had earned the money 
 
 picking strawberries, and had counted over the many things it 
 
 would buy. But she made no note of the articles she wished 
 
 to get, and her mind was much like a sieve. 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 125 
 
 She was not much used to shopping, and the many tempting 
 trifles she saw quite ran away with her judgment. She bought 
 one little thing after another, thinking, " That is not much, I 
 can certainly afford that." But all at once her money seemed 
 to be gone. She was thrown into quite a flutter, and searched 
 nervously through her handkerchief, but no money appeared. 
 She was sure she had lost part of it, and went home in a very 
 sorrowful mood. She told over her sad tale to her mother, 
 who listened quietly, though she shrewdly suspected how the 
 money had been lost 
 
 " Let me see what you have bought with the part you did 
 not lose," she said, at length. 
 
 Rather reluctantly Agnes drew forth the bottle of cologne, 
 gay neck-ribbon, pretty shawl-pin, pearl sleeve-buttons, ("so 
 cheap, mother, only thirty cents;") paper of pins, flimsy hand- 
 kerchief, with cheap lace edge, ("only fifty cents;") and then 
 that ten-cent paper of candies was everything she bought. 
 Where the rest of the money v/ent, she could not tell. She 
 had just seven cents left in her pocket, when she decided to 
 get herself a pretty white apron, but found to her dismay that 
 she had " lost her money." 
 
 "Just take your pencil, Agnes, and set down the several 
 articles you have bought, with the prices, and then add them 
 together; then you can see just how much is missing. Add in 
 the seven cents also." 
 
 Agnes figured away a few minutes, and then looked up with 
 much surprise. 
 
 "Why, mother, I have added it twice over, and it comes to 
 just two dollars." 
 
 " I thought so," said the mother. 
 
 " Why, mother, it can't be possible that all these little things 
 came to two dollars. I did not suppose that I had spent one." 
 
 "I am very glad of the lesson, my dear, as nothing but 
 experience would ever convince you how fast money runs 
 away in little sums. Now, if you will begin a system of even 
 penny accounts, I will give you a neat little book in which to 
 set them down. Write down the article -honestly for which 
 
126 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 you spend your money, even if it is only a stick of candy. It 
 may often serve as a check to wastefulness, and it will certainly 
 keep you from suspecting that your money is lost or stolen, 
 when it is only spent." 
 
 If all young people would keep an accurate account of all 
 the money they spend, even to the pennies, they would find it 
 of great advantage in after life. Just such habits, in boyhood, 
 have made millionaires of many, who had only a pair of hands 
 for capital to start with. The want of such habits has brought 
 to bankruptcy and poverty, if not to dishonor, many who once 
 seemed special favorites of fortune. Remember Poor Richard's 
 maxim about "taking care of the pence." 
 
 INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF OLIVER HEYWOOD. 
 
 THERE are some circumstances in the life of Oliver Hey- 
 wood, who was a persecuted minister of the Seventeenth 
 Century, which afford us pleasing ideas of the providen- 
 tial care of God toward His people. The following anecdote, 
 says his biographer, is authentic. It is said that his little stock 
 of money was quite exhausted, the family provisions were 
 entirely consumed, and Martha, a maid-servant who had lived 
 with his family for several years, and who often assisted them, 
 could now lend no more assistance from the little savings of 
 former days. Oliver Heywood still trusted that God would 
 provide, when he had nothing but the divine promise to live 
 upon. He said: 
 
 "When cruise and barrel both are dry, 
 We still will trust in God most high." 
 
 When the children began to be impatient for want of food, 
 Oliver Heywood called his servant, and said to her, " Martha, 
 take a basket, and go to Halifax ; call upon N , the shop- 
 keeper, in Northgate, and tell him, I desire him to lend me five 
 shillings: if he will be kind enough to do it, buy us some 
 cheese, some bread, and such other little things as you know 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 127 
 
 we must want: be as expeditious as you can in returning, for 
 the poor children begin to be fretful for want of something to 
 eat. Put on your hat and cloak, and the Lord give you good 
 speed: in the mean time we will offer up our requests to Him 
 who feedeth the young ravens when they cry, and who knows 
 what we have need of before we ask Him." 
 
 Martha observed her master's directions ; but when she came 
 near the house where she was ordered to beg for the loan of 
 five shillings, through timidity and bashfulness, her heart failed 
 her. She passed by the door again and again, without having 
 courage to go in and tell her errand. At length N , stand- 
 ing at his shop door, and seeing Martha in the street, called 
 her to him, and said, "Are you not Oliver Heywood's servant ? " 
 When she had with an anxious heart answered in the affirma- 
 tive, he added, " I am glad I have this opportunity of seeing 
 
 you. Some friends at M have remitted to me five guineas 
 
 for your master, and I was just thinking how I could contrive 
 to send it." Martha burst into tears, and for some time could 
 not utter a syllable. The necessities of the family, their trust 
 in Providence, the seasonableness of the supply, and a variety 
 of other ideas breaking in upon her mind at once, quite over- 
 powered her. At length she told N upon what errand 
 
 she came, but that she had not courage to ask him to lend her 
 poor master money. The tradesman could not but be affected 
 with the story, and told Martha to come to him when the like 
 necessity should press upon them at any future time. She 
 made haste to procure the necessary provisions, and, with a 
 heart lightened of its burden, ran home to tell the success of 
 her journey. 
 
 The spirit of the persecution raged so warmly against him, 
 that this worthy man was under the necessity of taking leave 
 of his dear family, and going he knew not whither. But the 
 question was, "How should he be equipped for the journey?" 
 He had a horse, but the little money that remained must be 
 left for the support of the family, for whom Oliver Heywood 
 was much more concerned than for himself. One winter 
 morning when it was yet dark, the horse was saddled; and 
 
123 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 this good man, after bidding adieu to his affectionate wife, and 
 saluting his children in their beds, set out, like Abraham, when 
 he left his father's house, not knowing whither he went. He 
 moved silently along in by-ways- for some time, for fear of 
 being seen, till he had got out of the neighborhood. Having 
 not one farthing in his pocket to bear his traveling expenses, 
 he committed himself to the protection of Providence. He 
 determined at length to leave his horse at full liberty to go 
 what way it would, and thus traveled on for a considerable 
 part of the day, till both man and beast stood in great need of 
 refreshment Toward evening the liorse bent its course to a 
 farm house, a little out of the road. Oliver Heywood called 
 at the door, and a clean, decent woman came out to inquire 
 what he wanted. "I have reason," said he, "to make an 
 apology for giving you this trouble, being a stranger in these 
 parts. My horse stands in need, as v/ell as myself, of shelter 
 and refreshment for the night. If you could in any way make 
 it convenient to furnish him with a little hay, and a stand 
 under cover, and myself a seat by your fireside, I ask no 
 more." The good woman, a little surprised at his request, 
 told him she would consult her husband. After a few minutes, 
 they both came to the door, and Oliver Heywood renewed his 
 solicitations, but told them that he had no money to satisfy 
 them for any trouble they might have on his account; yet he 
 hoped God would reward them. They immediately desired 
 him to alight; the master led the horse into the stable, and 
 the mistress took the stranger into the house, invited him to 
 sit down, stirred up the fire, and began to prepare him some- 
 thing to eat. Oliver Heywood told her that he was concerned 
 at her giving herself so much trouble ; that, being unable to 
 make her any recompense, he did not request either a supper 
 or a bed, but only a seat by the fireside till morning. The 
 mistress assured him, that for an act of hospitality she did not 
 expect any reward, and that, though the accommodations her 
 house would afford were indifferent, he should be welcome to 
 them, and therefore, she hoped he would make himself easy. 
 After supper, they all sat down by the fire, and the master 
 
SKETCHES A ND A NE CD TES. 1 29 
 
 of the house desired to know of the stranger, what country- 
 man he was. "I was born," said he, "in Lincolnshire, but I 
 have a wife and family in the neighborhood of Halifax." 
 "That is a town," said the farmer, "where I have been, and 
 some years ago, I had a little acquaintance with several per- 
 sons there. Pray do you know Mr. S , and Mr. D , 
 
 and is old Mr. F yet alive?" The stranger gave suitable 
 
 answers to these and many more inquiries. At length the 
 kind hostess asked him, if he knew anything of one Oliver 
 Heywood, who was formerly a minister at some chapel not far 
 from Halifax, but was now, for some account or other, forbid- 
 den to preach. The stranger replied, "There is a great deal 
 of noise and talk about that man , some speak well, others say 
 everything that is bad of him; for my own part, I can say 
 little in his favor." " I believe," said the farmer, " he is of that 
 sect which is everywhere spoken against; but, pray do you 
 personally know him? and what is it that inclines you to form 
 such an indifferent opinion of his character?" "I do know 
 something of him," said the stranger; "but as I do not choose 
 to propagate an ill report of any one, if you please, we will 
 talk on some other subject." 
 
 After keeping the farmer and his wife in suspense for some 
 time (who were a little uneasy at what he had said), he told 
 them, that he was the poor outcast of w T hom they had made 
 so many kind inquiries. All was then surprise, and joy, and 
 thankfulness, that a merciful Providence had brought him 
 under their roof. The master of the house said, "Mr. Hey- 
 wood, I am glad to see you here, having long had a sincere 
 regard for you, from the favorable reports I have always heard 
 of you. The night is not far spent. I have a few neighbors 
 who love the Gospel ; if you will give them a few words of 
 exhortation, I will run and acquaint them. This is an obscure 
 place, and your coming here is not known, so I hope we shall 
 have no interruption." Oliver Heywood consented; a small 
 congregation was gathered; and he preached to them with 
 that fervor, affection and enlargement, which attending circum- 
 stances served to inspire. On this joyful occasion, a small 
 
 I 
 
130 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 collection was voluntarily made to help the poor traveler on 
 his way. 
 
 THE STORY OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD'S MOTHER. 
 
 HER maiden name was Eliza Ballou. She is a descendant 
 of Maturin Ballou, a Huguenot of France, who was 
 driven from his country upon the revocation of the 
 edict of Nantes. 
 
 He joined the colony of Roger Williams and settled in 
 America. He built a meeting-place at Cumberland, R. L, 
 which is still carefully preserved as a relic of the past, and is 
 known as the Elder Ballou Meeting-House. At the time it 
 was built there were no saw-mills, no nails, and few tools in 
 the country. Its galleries, and pews, and even its floors, were 
 hewn out of the solid logs, and put together with wooden 
 pegs. 
 
 Abram Garfield and Eliza Ballou, both emigrants from the 
 State of New York, were married in 1821. They had gone in 
 1830 to Orange, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, where a year later 
 their son James was born, being their fourth child. Their log 
 house was built when the heavy forest was but partly cleared 
 away. The fences were not yet made about the fields when 
 the father, in fighting a forest fire that threatened the destruc- 
 tion of their home, overheated himself, was suddenly chilled, 
 and in a few days died. His last words to his wife, as he 
 looked upon his children, were : " I have planted four saplings 
 in this forest. I must now leave them to your care." 
 
 A happier family never dwelt in a palace than had been in 
 that cabin home. Little James was but eighteen months old 
 when his father died — too young to understand the irreparable 
 loss, or feel the pangs of grief that well-nigh crushed other 
 hearts. The neighbors came — only four or five families in a 
 radius of ten miles — and wept with the widow and the father- 
 less. With their assistance, the lifeless form was enclosed in a 
 rough coffin, and buried in a corner of the wheat field near by. 
 
SKETCHES A ND A NE CDOTES. 131 
 
 No sermon, no prayer, except the silent prayers that went up 
 from aching hearts. Winter was approaching. Could human 
 experience be more dreary than a woman left a widow, alone 
 with her children in a wilderness swept by wintry storms! 
 The howl of the wolves and the cry of the panthers never 
 sounded so terrible, as during those long, desolate winter 
 nights. It seemed to the weary ones that spring would never 
 come again. But at last it did come, and swept away the snow 
 and ice. The dead things of the field and forest returned to 
 life, save only the dead in the corner of the wheat field, and 
 hope was not revived in the cabin. There was no money in 
 the house, there was a debt on the farm, and the food supply 
 was limited. 
 
 Then Eliza Garfield sought the advice of a neighbor, who 
 had been kind to her in her time of trouble. He advised her 
 to sell the farm, pay off the debt, and return to her friends, 
 believing it to be impossible for her to support herself and her 
 children there. Her reply was characteristic : 
 
 " I can never throw myself and children upon the charity of 
 friends. So long as I have health, I believe my Heavenly 
 Father will bless these two hands, and make them able to sup- 
 port my children. My dear husband made this home at the 
 sacrifice of his life, and every log in this cabin is sacred to me 
 now. It seems to me a holy trust that I must preserve as faith- 
 fully as I would guard his grave." 
 
 Her neighbors left her, and she went to the Friend that 
 never fails, and asked God to make her duty clear to her; and 
 when she came from her place of prayer, she felt that new 
 light and strength had been given to her. She called her 
 oldest son, Thomas, to her, and, though he w r as only a child 
 ten years old, she laid the whole case before him. With the 
 resolute courage of his race, he gladly promised that he would 
 plow and sow, cut wood and milk the cows, if she would only 
 keep the farm. So this brave mother and son commenced 
 their work. She sold part of the farm, and paid every dollar 
 of debt. Thomas procured a horse, plowed and sow r ed and 
 planted. The mother with her own hands split the rails, and 
 
132 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 completed the fencing. But the harvest was still far away, and 
 the corn was running low. The mother carefully measured 
 her precious grain, counted the days to the reaping time, and, 
 rinding it would be exhausted long before that, at their present 
 rate of consumption, she resolved to live on two meals a day 
 herself, that her children might not suffer. Then, as the store 
 rapidly disappeared, she ate but a single meal herself, conceal- 
 ing her self-denial from her children, until the blessed harvest 
 brought relief. That year it was very abundant, and the wolf 
 of hunger never came so near their door again. 
 
 Still, there were many years of hardship and self-denial, in 
 which the brave woman had to be father and mother, teacher 
 and preacher to her children. She was the wise and tender 
 friend, guiding them in the right way, and inspiring them to 
 choose the best things in life. She still lives to see her great 
 reward, "and her children rise up and call her blessed." 
 
 ANECDOTE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 
 
 THE life of Abraham Lincoln, by J. G. Holland, furnishes 
 some pleasing illustrations of that straight-forward hon- 
 esty, which was so marked a feature in the character 
 of this illustrious man. 
 
 When a young man, he was employed as clerk and manager 
 of a store at New Salem, Illinois. Here, on one occasion, he 
 sold a woman a little bill of goods, amounting in value, by the 
 reckoning, to two dollars and six and a quarter cents. He 
 received the money, and the woman went away. On adding 
 the items of the bill again, to make himself sure of correctness, 
 he found that he had taken six and a quarter cents too much. 
 It was night, and closing and locking the store, he started out 
 on foot, a distance of two or three miles, for the house of his 
 defrauded customer, and delivering over to her the sum, whose 
 possession had so much troubled him, went home satisfied. 
 
 On another occasion, just as he was closing the store for the 
 night, a woman entered and asked for half a pound of tea. 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 133 
 
 The tea was weighed out and paid for, and the store left for the 
 night. The next morning Abraham entered to begin the 
 duties of the day, when he discovered a four-ounce weight on 
 the scales. He saw at once that he had made a mistake, and 
 shutting the store, he took a long walk before breakfast to 
 deliver the remainder of the tea. His biographer remarks that 
 these are very humble incidents, but they illustrate his sensi- 
 tive honesty better, perhaps, than they would if they were of 
 greater moment. 
 
 About this period of his life, he was appointed postmaster 
 for New Salem. The business and emoluments of the office 
 were both very small, and it was given to him, because he was 
 the only man in the neighborhood who would take it, who 
 could make out the returns. Not willing to be tied, to the 
 office, as it yielded him no revenue that would reward him for 
 the confinement, he made a post office of his hat. Whenever 
 he went out, the letters were placed in his hat. He kept the 
 office till it was discontinued or removed, but his accounts 
 with the post office department were not settled till several 
 years afterward. In connection with this settlement occurs an 
 interesting exhibition of his rigid honesty. 
 
 It was after he had become a lawyer, and had been made a 
 legislator. He had passed through a period of great poverty, 
 had acquired his education in the law in the midst of many 
 perplexities, inconveniences and hardships, and had met with 
 temptations, such as few men could resist, to make temporary 
 use of any money he might have in his hands. One day, 
 seated in the law office of his partner, the agent of the post 
 office department entered and inquired if Abraham Lincoln 
 was within. Lincoln responded to his name, and was informed 
 that the agent had called to collect a balance due the depart- 
 ment since the discontinuance of the New Salem office. A 
 shade of perplexity passed over his face, which did not escape 
 the notice of friends who were present. One of them said at 
 once: "Lincoln, if you are in want of money, let us help you." 
 He made no reply, but suddenly rose, and pulled out from a 
 pile of books a little old trunk, and returning to the table, 
 
1 34 SKETCHES A ND A NE CD TES. 
 
 asked the agent how much the amount of his debt was. The 
 sum was named, and then he opened the trunk, pulled out a 
 little package of coin wrapped in a cotton rag, and counted 
 out the exact sum, which he had thus carefully laid away, 
 amounting to more than seventeen dollars. After the agent 
 had left the room, he remarked quietly that he never used any 
 man's money but his own. Although this sum had been in his 
 hands during all these years, he had never regarded it as avail- 
 able, even for any temporary purpose of his own. 
 
 THE INDIAN'S REPROOF. 
 
 A SHOSHONE warrior possessed a beautiful mare; no 
 horse on the prairie could outspeed her, and in the 
 buffalo or bear hunt, she would enjoy the sport as much 
 as her master, and run alongside the huge beast with great 
 courage and spirit. Many propositions were made to the war* 
 rior to sell or exchange the animal, but he w T ould not hear to it. 
 
 The dumb brute was his friend, his sole companion; they 
 had both shared the dangers of battle and the privations of the 
 prairie, traveling; why should he part with her? The fame 
 of that mare extended so far, that in a trip he made to San 
 Francisco, many Mexicans offered him large sums of money; 
 nothing, however, could shake him in his resolution. In those 
 countries, though horses will often be purchased at the low 
 price of one dollar, it often happens that a steed, well-known 
 as a good hunter or rapid pacer, will bring sums equal to those 
 paid in England for a fine race horse. 
 
 One of the Mexicans, a wild young man, resolved to obtain 
 the mare whether or no. One evening, when the Indian was 
 returning from some neighboring plantation, the Mexican laid 
 down in some bushes a short distance from the road, and 
 moaned as if in the greatest pain. The good and kind-hearted 
 Indian having reached the spot, heard his cries of distress, 
 dismounted from his mare and offered any assistance. It was 
 nearly dark, and although he knew the sufferer to be a pale- 
 
SKETCHES A ND A NE C DOTES. 135 
 
 face, yet he could not distinguish his features. The Mexican 
 begged for a drop of water, and the Indian dashed into the 
 neighboring thicket to procure it for him. As soon as the 
 Indian was sufficiently distant, the Mexican vaulted upon the 
 mare, and apostrophised the Indian : 
 
 "You fool of a red-skin, not cunning enough for a Mexican; 
 you refused my gold, now I have the mare for nothing, and I 
 will make the trappers laugh, when I tell them how easily I 
 have outwitted a Shoshone." 
 
 The Indian looked at the Mexican a few moments in silence, 
 for his heart was big, and the shameful treachery wounded him 
 to the very core. At last he spoke : 
 
 "Pale-face," said he, "for the sake of others I may not kill 
 thee. Keep the mare since thou art dishonest enough to steal 
 the only property of a poor man; keep her, but never say a 
 word how thou earnest by her, lest hereafter a Shoshone, hav- 
 ing learned distrust, should not hearken to the voice of grief 
 and woe. Away, away with her ! let me never see her again, 
 or in an evil hour the desire of vengeance may make a bad 
 man of me." 
 
 The Mexican was wild, inconsiderate, and not over scrupu- 
 lous, but not without feeling. He dismounted from the horse, 
 and putting the bridle into the hands of the Shoshone, he said, 
 " Brother, I have done wrong, pardon me ! from an Indian I 
 learn virtue; and, for the future, when I would commit any 
 deed of injustice, I will think of thee." 
 
 ANECDOTE OF JOHN FLETCHER, OF MADELEY. 
 
 JOHN FLETCHER, the pious vicar of Madeley, near Coal- 
 brookdale, in England, on one occasion, on ascending his 
 pulpit with the intention of preaching a sermon, which he 
 had previously prepared for the purpose, suddenly found that 
 he could not remember any part of that sermon, nor even the 
 text. He feared he would have to come down without saying 
 anything, but gathering his mind into calm collectedness, he 
 
136 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 remembered the circumstance of the three men of old who 
 were cast into the fiery furnace, with the divine preservation 
 they witnessed, and he concluded to say something in regard 
 to it. In doing so he found, as he afterward related, "such an 
 extraordinary assistance from God, and such a singular enlarge- 
 ment of heart," that he supposed there must be some peculiar 
 cause for it. He therefore desired that if any of the congre- 
 gation had met with anything particular, they would acquaint 
 him with it. j 
 
 Three days afterward, a female fc of his congregation called 
 on him, and gave him the following account, viz: 
 
 " Mrs. K had been for some time much concerned about 
 
 her soul. She attended the church at all opportunities, and 
 spent much time in private prayer. At this her husband 
 (who was a butcher) was exceedingly enraged, and threatened 
 severely what he would do, if she did not leave off going 
 to John Fletcher's church — yea, if she dared to go to any 
 religious meeting whatever. When she told him she could 
 not in conscience refrain from going, he grew quite outra- 
 geous, and swore dreadfully that, if she went to any more, he 
 would cut her throat as soon as she came home. This made 
 her cry mightily to the Lord to support her in the trying hour. 
 She determined to go on in her duty and leave the event to 
 Him. Last Sunday," continued the informant, "after many 
 struggles with the devil and her own heart, she came down- 
 stairs ready for church. Her husband asked her whether she 
 was resolved to go thither; she told him she was. ' Well then,' 
 said he, 'I shall not as I intended, cut your throat; but I will 
 heat the oven, and throw you into it the moment you come 
 home.' Notwithstanding this threat, which he enforced with 
 many bitter oaths, she went, praying all the way that God 
 would strengthen her to suffer whatever might befall her. 
 While you were speaking of the three Hebrews whom Nebu- 
 chadnezzar cast into the burning fiery furnace, she found it all 
 belonged to her, and God applied every word to her heart. 
 She felt her whole soul so filled with His love, that she hast- 
 ened home, fully determined to give herself to whatever the 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 137 
 
 Lord pleased, nothing doubting but that He would take her 
 to heaven, if He suffered her to be burned to death, or that 
 He would in some way deliver her, even as He did His three 
 servants that trusted in Him. But when she opened the door, 
 to her astonishment and comfort she found that her husband's 
 wrath had abated, and soon had reason to believe that he was 
 under a concern for the salvation of his own soul." 
 
 In a few days her husband joined the congregation himself, 
 and John Fletcher adds, that he now understood why his 
 sermon had been taken from him. 
 
 A DANCE POSTPONED. 
 
 IN Shropshire, England, about one hundred years ago, a 
 number of acquaintances and friends had assembled to 
 spend a social evening together. In the course of the 
 evening they resolved to have a dance, and prevailed on 
 Michael Onions, at whose house they were, to go to Brosely, 
 some distance away, to procure a fiddler for them. 
 
 On the way he met a stranger, who, having missed the 
 road, requested Michael to direct him to Madely. The stran- 
 ger ascertained the errand on which Onions was going, and 
 began to talk with him about his soul, showing him the unsuit- 
 ableness of such follies to a dying man, &c. When the 
 stranger left Michael, the serious conversation had so deeply 
 impressed him, that he dared not proceed on his errand, but 
 returned to his home. When he opened the door, his friends 
 inquired, "Have you brought the fiddler?" 
 
 He answered, " No." 
 
 " Is he at home ? Have you been to Brosely ? " 
 
 "No." 
 
 " Why, what is the matter ? you look ill, and are all of a 
 tremble." 
 
 Michael then told them that he met somebody, but whether 
 a man or an angel he could not tell. He never before heard 
 of such a man. He repeated what had been said to him on 
 
138 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 Spiritual subjects, and added, "I dare not go to Brosely; I 
 would not for the world." He became a zealous, devoted, 
 and useful Christian. "A word spoken in due season how 
 good it is ' " 
 
 SATAN'S RESPONSIBILITY. 
 
 THE late John Thomas, one of the missionary brethren of 
 Serampore, was one day addressing a crowd of natives 
 on the banks of the Ganges, when he was accosted by 
 a Brahmin as follows: 
 
 ''Sir, don't you believe that Satan tempts man to sin?" 
 
 " Yes," answered J. Thomas. 
 
 "Then," said the Brahmin, "certainly the fault is Satan's; 
 Satan therefore, and not the man, ought to suffer the punish- 
 ment." 
 
 While the countenances of many of the natives discovered 
 their approbation of the Brahmin's inference, J. Thomas, 
 observing a boat with several men on board descending the 
 river, with that felicity of instructive retort for which he was 
 distinguished, replied: 
 
 " Brahmin, do you see yonder boat ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Suppose I was to send some of my friends to destroy every 
 person on board, and bring me all that is valuable in the boat, 
 who ought to suffer punishment, /, for instructing them, or 
 they, for doing this wicked act?" 
 
 "Why," answered the Brahmin, with great emotion, "you 
 ought all to be put to death together." 
 
 "Aye, Brahmin," replied J. T., "and if you and Satan sin 
 together, Satan and you will be punished together." 
 
 We cannot lay all the blame of our sins on the devil. He 
 tempts, we yield. It is not wicked to be tempted, it is wicked 
 to yield to temptation. If we invite the devil, he will come. 
 We ought to resist him that he may flee. 
 
 " Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye 
 may be able to withstand in the evil day." "Be sober, be 
 
SKE TCHES A ND A NE C DOTES. 139 
 
 vigilant; because the adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, 
 walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist, 
 steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are 
 accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the 
 God of all grace, who hath called you unto His eternal glory, 
 by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered awhile, make you 
 perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. To whom be glory 
 and dominion forever and ever. Amen." 
 
 THE RUSSIAN TAILOR. 
 
 THE late Richard Knill, a worthy missionary, relates an 
 incident in his experience during his residence in St. 
 Petersburgh, concerning a Russian tailor, who called on 
 him one day. After asking him to sit down, he was handed a 
 tract, while Richard left the room for a short time. When he 
 returned, he paid the tailor his bill. During some conversa- 
 tion which followed, the tailor said he never troubled himself 
 about books. A fear being expressed that there was some- 
 thing else that he neglected, "Ah ! " said the tailor, I can guess 
 what you mean; you think I ought to be religious." He then 
 went on to say, that it would be impossible for him to carry 
 on his large business if he were religious; that he had thirty 
 men employed, and that the first-day of the week was his best 
 and busiest day; that he did not at any time attend a place of 
 worship, and, from further conversation, it became evident that 
 he was in reality an unbeliever. 
 
 He was then asked if he did not believe that there was a 
 God. At this the tailor looked angry and said, "God, sir! 
 God ! have you ever seen God ? " 
 
 At this Richard was grieved to think how far down a man 
 might sink in his iniquity, and replied to him, " I have not seen 
 God, but have seen you, and you are one of his works." 
 
 "Very well," said he, "when you meet with any one who 
 has seen God, please let me know it." The tailor then took 
 his leave and was seen no more by Richard, till he met him at 
 
140 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 the funeral of the friend who had introduced the tailor to him 
 This excellent man had been seized with typhus fever, and 
 died. Here Richard saw the Russian tailor with tears rolling- 
 down his aged cheeks, appearing deeply affected. Soon he 
 began to see him at the place of worship which he attended, 
 and was told that he had bought an English Bible, and was 
 determined to read it through, to see if what he had been told 
 about it was true or not. 
 
 One evening as Richard Knill was sitting in his study, his 
 wife entered and said, "There is a^ stranger inquiring for you' 
 I think it is the Russian tailor." "So," says Richard, "I 
 walked out, and there I saw him." He had brought him a 
 new coat as a present, and when pressed to know what had 
 induced him to do this, the tailor burst into tears, and said, 
 "Ah! sir; if God had not changed my heart, I should never 
 have thought of giving you the coat." 
 
 He then gave striking proof that his heart was changed, 
 indeed; for, speaking about the men he employed, he seemed 
 desirous of advice in regard to what he should do to promote 
 their welfare, expressing the anxiety and concern which he felt 
 about their souls. It was decided that he should give each 
 one a copy of the New Testament. His youth seemed renewed 
 like the eagle's. He hurried home, called his men together, 
 and said to them, " Can you read ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir," said one, "I read Swedish." 
 
 To another, " Can you read ? " 
 
 " Yes, I read Finnish." 
 
 To a third, " Can you read ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir, I read German." 
 
 To a fourth, " Can you read ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir, I read Russ." 
 
 Having ascertained how many of his people could read, he 
 supplied each one with a copy of the New Testament. Nor 
 did he stop here ; for, by his inquiry among his men, he also 
 found out who could not read. These he supplied with spell- 
 ing books, and set those who could read to teaching them, 
 being resolved that every man and boy in his employ, who 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 141 
 
 could not read, should be instructed. A great change was 
 soon brought about among his employees, and God's saving 
 Grace was magnified among them. 
 
 HELP SALLY TO COUNT FORTY. 
 
 TNCLE Ichabod C lived in one of the New England 
 
 \^J States, and was an earnest, active, godly man, who had 
 quite a notable way of speaking his mind upon all need- 
 ful occasions. 
 
 He was at a meeting one day, where the members were all 
 expected to be present, and to make some statement of their 
 personal experience, and their religious state. A maiden lady, 
 called "Sister Sally," was a member of the church, who used 
 to earn her living by spinning stocking yarn for the neighbors, 
 for which she was paid so much per knot; a knot being, as 
 some of our older readers know, a thread of yarn long enough 
 to go forty times around the reel, and which was then knotted, 
 or tied around with a thread to keep it separate from the rest. 
 Mysteriously, Sally's knots of yarn were said to be very liable 
 to lack the requisite number of threads when counted, and this 
 kind of mistake, it was said, occurred too frequently, and was 
 too commonly in the spinster's favor, to escape the remark of 
 those who were deficient in charity. 
 
 The meeting referred to progressed, till at length "Sister 
 Sally's" turn came, and she proceeded to relate the story of 
 her trials and sorrows, which, unhappily, were very numerous. 
 She confessed she did not make the progress she desired, and 
 had many temptations and trials, and went through a some- 
 what common-place acknowledgment of sins, and expressed a 
 desire for the sympathies and prayers of Christian brethren, 
 when the monotony was broken by the ringing voice of Uncle 
 Ichabod, saying, 
 
 " Lord, help Sister Sally to count forty ! " 
 
 It may reasonably be expected, that if this prayer was 
 answered, some of Sally's troubles would diminish, as her 
 
142 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 threads of yarn increased in number, till they reached the legal 
 standard of an honest woman's work. 
 
 Uncle Ichabod is dead, but when listening to persons who 
 bewail their sins, and still hide and persist in little cheating 
 tricks, and petty meannesses, we are reminded of this prayer, 
 and feel that they need the Lord's help "to count forty," or 
 fifty, or an hundred, as the case may be, or to do an honest 
 day's work, or measure an honest bushel of corn, or an honest 
 yard of cloth, or pack an honest barrel of apples or tub of 
 butter; and we generally think that a little help from the Lord 
 about counting, reckoning, measuring, weighing, trading and 
 working, would do more toward driving away "temptations, 
 trials and dark hours," from many minds, than a good deal of 
 whining and mourning, that is not attended with fruits meet 
 for repentance. 
 
 HEAPING COALS OF FIRE. 
 
 NOT many years since, says a "country parson" there was 
 a Christian merchant, in Mesopotamia, of great wealth, 
 with the right spirit in him. A neighboring trader, 
 who did not know much about the Christian merchant, 
 published a calumnious pamphlet about him. The Christian 
 merchant read it. It was very abusive, wicked and malicious. 
 All he said was, that the man who wrote it would be sorry for 
 it some day. This was told the libelous trader, who replied 
 that he would take care that the Christian merchant should 
 never have the chance of hurting him. 
 
 But men in trade cannot always decide who their creditors 
 shall be, and in a few months the trader became a bankrupt, 
 and the Christian merchant was his chief creditor. The poor 
 man sought to make some arrangement that would let him 
 work for his children again, but every one told him it was 
 impossible without the consent of this creditor. 
 
 "I need not go to him" the poor bankrupt said, "I can 
 expect no favor from kim" 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 143 
 
 "Try him," said one who knew the good man better. So 
 the bankrupt went to him, and told his sad story of heavy 
 losses, and asked his signature to a paper already signed by 
 the other creditors. 
 
 "Give me the paper," said this Christian creditor, sitting 
 down at his desk. 
 
 It was given him, and the good man, as he glanced over it, 
 said, "You wrote a pamphlet against me once;" and without 
 waiting for a reply, handed back the paper, having written 
 something upon it. The poor bankrupt expected to find 
 libeler, or slanderer, or something like that written. But no ! 
 There it was, fair and plain, the signature that was needed to 
 give him another chance in life. 
 
 "I said you would be sorry for writing that pamphlet," the 
 good man went on. " I did not mean it as a threat. I meant 
 that some day you would know me better, and see that I did 
 not deserve to be attacked in that way. And now tell me all 
 about your prospects, and especially tell me how your wife and 
 children are faring." 
 
 The poor trader told him that, partly to meet his debts, he 
 had given up everything he had in the world, and that for 
 many days they had hardly had bread to eat. 
 
 "That will never do," said the Christian merchant, putting 
 into the poor man's hand money enough to support the pinched 
 wife and children for many weeks. "This will last for awhile, 
 and when it is gone you shall have more; and I shall find 
 some way to help you, and by God's blessing you will do 
 beautifully yet. Don't lose heart, I will stand by you." 
 
 I suppose I need not tell you that the trader's heart over- 
 flowed, and he went away crying like a child. To meet evil 
 with good, fairly beats the evil and puts it down. The debtor 
 was put on his feet again, and the hungry little children were 
 fed. The trader never again published an attack on that good 
 man as long as he lived, and among the Christian merchant's 
 multitude of friends, as he grew old, there was not a truer, 
 heartier one than the old enemy thus fairly beaten. "There- 
 fore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him 
 
144 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 drink : for in so doing thou shalt heap coals' of fire upon his 
 head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." 
 — Rom. 12: 20, 21. 
 
 BEGIN AT MATTHEW. 
 
 A PLEASING story is related of an old colored preacher, 
 who knew the Grace of God in truth. There lived in 
 his immediate vicinity,^ a respectable man who had 
 become interested in the subject of religion, and who had 
 begun with some earnestness to search the Scriptures. He 
 had read but a few chapters, when he became greatly perplexed 
 with some of the passages, which an inspired apostle has 
 declared to be " hard to be understood." 
 
 In this state of mind he repaired to our preacher for instruc- 
 tion and help, and found him at noon, on a sultry day in sum- 
 mer, laboriously engaged in his corn. As the man approached, 
 the preacher with patriarchal simplicity, leaned upon the handle 
 of his hoe, and listened to his story. " Uncle Jake," said he, 
 " I have discovered lately that I am a great sinner, and com- 
 menced reading the Bible, that I may learn what I am to do to 
 be saved. But I have met with a passage here," holding up 
 his Bible, "which I know not what to do with. It is this, 
 ' God will have mercy upon whom He will have mercy, and 
 whom He will He hardeneth.' What does this mean?" 
 
 A short pause intervened, and the old African replied as 
 follows: "Master, if I have been rightly informed, it has not 
 been but a day or two since you began to read the Bible, and, 
 if I remember rightly, the passage you have mentioned is 
 away yonder in Romans. Long before you get to that, at the 
 very beginning of the Gospel it is said, ' Repent, for the king- 
 dom of heaven is at hand.' Now, have you done with that ? 
 The truth is you have read entirely too fast. You must begin 
 again, and take things as God has pleased to place them. 
 When you have done all you are told to do in Matthew, come 
 and talk about Romans." 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 145 
 
 Having thus answered, the old preacher resumed his work, 
 and left the man to his own reflections. Who does not admire 
 the simplicity and good sense of the reply ? 
 
 " The same person to whom this sensible advice was ad- 
 dressed," says the writer, "gave me an account of it with his 
 own lips. He still lives, and most readily will he testify to its 
 strict accuracy, and most joyfully will he now say, as he did to 
 me then, 'It convinced me most fully of the mistakes into 
 which I had fallen. I took the old man's advice. I soon saw 
 its propriety and wisdom, and am thankful for it' " 
 
 A TIRED MOTHER'S VICTORY. 
 
 THE mother had laid her table with great care and pains, 
 for a company of distinguished guests, when her little 
 girl accidentally overturned a tureen of gravy on the 
 snowy cloth. 
 
 " What should I do ? It seemed a drop too much for my 
 tired nerves — many drops too much for my tablecloth. I was 
 about to jerk my child down angrily from the table, when a 
 blessed influence held me. I caught the expression on her 
 face — such a sorry, frightened, appealing look I never saw — 
 and suddenly a picture of the past came and stood out vividly 
 before my mind's eye. My child's face revealed feelings which 
 I had experienced twenty years before. 
 
 " I saw myself a little nervous girl, about eight years old, in 
 the happy home of my childhood. It was a stormy afternoon. 
 It was when coal-oil lamps were first introduced, and my father 
 had bought a very handsome one. The snow had drifted up 
 against the kitchen window, so, although it was not night, the 
 lamp was lighted. Mother was sick in bed up-stairs, and we 
 children were gathered together in the kitchen, to keep the 
 noise and confusion away from her. 
 
 "I was feeling very important helping get supper; at any 
 rate I imagined I was helping, and in my ofrlciousness, I seized 
 that lamp and went down into the cellar for some butter. I 
 
 J 
 
146 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 tried to set it on the hanging-shelf; but alas ! I didn't give it 
 room enough, and down it fell on the cemented floor. I never 
 shall forget the shock it gave me. I seemed almost paralyzed. 
 I didn't dare go up-stairs, and I was afraid to stay down there; 
 and, to make it worse, I heard my father's voice in the kitchen. 
 He had cautioned us all, again and again, to be careful of the 
 lamp ; and now, there it lay, smashed to pieces at my feet ! 
 
 "But his voice seemed to give me the impetus I needed to 
 go up and meet the scolding, or whipping, or both, which I 
 felt sure awaited me, and which I really felt I deserved. So I 
 crept up over the dark stairway, and as I entered the kitchen, 
 I met my father with such a stern look on his face, that I was 
 frightened. I saw there was no need to tell him. what had 
 happened. He had heard the crash, and if he hadn't, I guess 
 my face would have told the story. The children stood silently 
 around, waiting to see v/hat father would do, and I saw by 
 their faces that they were horror-struck; for that lamp had 
 been the subject of too much talk and wonder to be smashed 
 without a sensation. As for me, I felt so frightened, so con- 
 fused and sorry, that I couldn't speak. But upon glancing 
 again at my father, I saw the angry look die out of his eyes, 
 and one of tenderest pity take its place. 
 
 " I doubt not that he saw the same look in my face then, as 
 I saw in my child's face to-day. In a moment he had lifted me 
 in his arms, and was hugging me close to his breast. Then he 
 whispered, oh! so kindly, 'Never mind, little daughter; we all 
 know 'twas an accident, but I hope you will take the small 
 lamp when you go down into the cellar again.' 
 
 "Oh, what a revolution of feelings I experienced! It was 
 such a surprise to me, that I was suddenly overwhelmed with 
 feelings of love and gratitude ; and burying my face, I sobbed 
 as if my heart was breaking. No punishment could have 
 affected me half so much, and nothing can ever efface the 
 memory of it from my mind. 
 
 "How I loved my father to-day, as the sight of my own 
 little girl's face brought it all so freshly before me ! 
 
 "Will she love me as dearly, I wonder, twenty years 01* 
 
SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 147 
 
 more from now, because, moved by the same God-given impulse 
 that stirred my father's heart in that long-ago time, I was able 
 to press the frightened little thing to my heart, and tell her 
 kindly, that I knew she didn't mean to spill the gravy, and that 
 I knew she would be more careful another time ? Will she be 
 helped by it when she is a mother, as I have been helped 
 to-day ? Mother ! rule with Love's sceptre. It is the nearest 
 way to the heart." 
 
 THE TOWN CLERK OF EPHESUS. 
 
 COTTON MATHER often used to say, there was one 
 mentioned in the nineteenth chapter of Acts, to whom 
 he was indebted for some of the best advice he ever 
 received, and this was the town-clerk of Ephesus, whose coun- 
 sel was to do nothing rashly. 
 
 When any matter of consequence came before Mather for 
 judgment or decision, he was accustomed to say, " Let us first 
 consult the town-clerk of Ephesus." 
 
 How much trouble and sorrow would be avoided, if more 
 people would follow this advice. How many more things 
 would be done right the first time, and not have to be done 
 over again ; how much less of fretting there would be over 
 hasty moves, disastrous results, and irrecoverable opportunities ; 
 and how much more of joy, and safety, and rest, in the assur- 
 ance that we deliberated well, weighed consequences, waited 
 the leadings of the Lord's Spirit, and followed the openings of 
 his Providence. 
 
 The hardest lesson of many a life, is waiting. It is easy 
 enough to hurry when all the world is hurrying, and to make 
 quick resolves, rash promises, and unpremeditated assertions, 
 but to pause, while the swift current is sweeping by on either 
 side, to think, and wait and pray, and to listen for the "still 
 small voice" of the Holy Spirit, which whispers to the truly 
 listening Christian ear, "He that believeth shall not make 
 haste," is no easy task. 
 
148 SKETCHES AND ANECDOTES. 
 
 Some people are strongly inclined to run before they are 
 sent; and if the Lord left them to themselves, ruin would soon 
 terminate their course. But in mercy He restrains our ways. 
 He shuts us up, and hedges us about many times, till the 
 lesson is learned which he would teach us: to be quiet, and 
 to know moderation; to be slow in speech, calm in thought, 
 and temperate in action. How many a heart can say with 
 Rosetti : 
 
 "I would have gone, God bade me stay; 
 
 I would have worked, He bade me rest; 
 He broke my will from day to day, 
 
 He read my yearnings unexpressed, 
 And said them nay," 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 PROVIDENCE DIRECTING. 
 
 OUR Heavenly Father sometimes restrains His children 
 from running into dangers, to them unforeseen; some- 
 times He preserves them in the midst and through the 
 dangers, and at others He permits the accidents, as they are 
 termed, to open a speedy entrance for them into His eternal 
 rest. To those who are faithful to known duties, and who are 
 found constantly waiting on the dear Master, for His counsel, 
 He more frequently manifests a restraining, directing guidance. 
 To such, a little uneasiness of mind, a slight pointing of the 
 finger of Truth, seems sufficient to cause them to move in 
 the path of safety. In some other cases, it seems as if the 
 parties were constrained to be prepared to escape unseen dan- 
 gers. The night when the ship Amazon was consumed by 
 fire, Blood, on retiring to rest, felt himself restrained from 
 undressing. He could not tell why, but when, on the sudden 
 alarm of the burning ship, he found that his being dressed, 
 when it was given, was the occasion of his being preserved, he 
 could but feel that the hand of his Merciful Creator was in it. 
 Many instances of a similar character might be adduced. 
 
 An instance of safety arising from the inward pointing of 
 duty, occurred in the experience of C. G. Steinhofer. Early 
 in the spring, after his winter sojourn in the West, as he was 
 on his way toward Philadelphia, he stopped at a tavern on the 
 bank of the upper waters of the Susquehanna river. His feet 
 
150 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 were still very tender, and to save them, he concluded to go 
 by water as far as Harrisburg. On inquiring about a boat, the 
 inn-keeper told him that one would soon come by. Christian 
 then asked for some bread and milk. The food had scarcely 
 been brought to him when he was told that he must hurry, for 
 the boat was in sight. The landlord shouted to him, " Hurry, 
 hurry ! " Christian felt that something within him said, " Eat 
 thy bread and milk; do not go before." Some of those stand- 
 ing by said, " If you do not start, the boat will leave you ; it is 
 shoving off." Christian seemed riveted to the spot, and when 
 the landlord, losing his patience, called him a "foolish Dutch- 
 man," he quietly replied, "Well, I know I am often foolish in 
 the eyes of people, but I reckon it is all right." Whilst still 
 talking, a loud cry was heard, which caused them all to run to 
 the river. The water was very high, owing to the snow melt- 
 ing on the mountains, and the boat, as it was swept down upon 
 it, struck a snag hidden from sight, and was capsized. Of 
 three men who were upon it, two were drowned, and the other 
 was only saved by swimming. The landlord, struck by the 
 preservation which Christian had witnessed, turned to him and 
 said, "Why, you must be under particular protection." Chris- 
 tian, disclaiming anything special as afforded to him, said, 
 "All are, if they call for protection." 
 
 An instance of Divine Providence interfering for the preser- 
 vation of a little child, may be given from the experience of 
 Christian. When residing in Tioga county, Pennsylvania, with 
 his family, he was one day in the woods, at the distance of 
 half a mile from his own house, gathering blossoms from a 
 wild-cherry tree, to use in his medicinal practice. Whilst in 
 a tree he heard, as he thought, his wife plainly calling, "Stein- 
 hofer ! " and again, as if in distress, " Steinhofer ! " Descending 
 the tree, he started across the field, taking the nearest way to 
 his house. On his passage he again thought he heard the cry, 
 "Steinhofer!" but this time it seemed to come from the public 
 road. Hastening thither, he saw, as soon as he emerged from 
 the thicket skirting the road, his little girl, not then three years 
 of age, going as fast as she could into the woods on the other 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 151 
 
 side of the road. There, if she had entered, she might have 
 wandered until her life terminated, for there were but few set- 
 tlements then in that part of Tioga. When he asked her 
 where she was going, her answer was, " Hunt the sheep, hunt 
 sheep !" 
 
 Christian took her home, and on arriving there, he found 
 that no one had called him, and that the little sheep hunter 
 had not been missed. 
 
 Christian Gotlieb Steinhofer would at times find it right for 
 him to narrate to his children, some of the many instances he 
 had met with in his life, of Divine guidance and preservation. 
 This he believed might have a tendency to encourage them, to 
 trust to and wait for the same blessed influence and direction 
 he had mercifully experienced. When asked, however, to 
 commit the incidents of his life, of this sort, to paper, he 
 declined, on the ground that his children might unduly pride 
 themselves, as though he were better than others. This, he 
 said, he wished them to know was not the case. He was. not 
 what he ought to have been, but that he had experienced 
 much mercy and Divine protection. The best history of his 
 life that could be written, would be his children walking in the 
 ways and according to the direction of the Lord. 
 
 A PARTICULAR PROVIDENCE. 
 
 THE following narrative, illustrative of the doctrine of a 
 particular Providence, was related by one of the individ- 
 uals most deeply concerned in it to the writer, who sent 
 a copy of it to a Friend under great trial, by whom it was 
 many times acknowledged, that much instruction and encour- 
 agement had been derived from the narrative. 
 
 A young man and woman residing at Exeter, the children 
 of parents, on both sides, who had acquired considerable 
 property by success in commerce, had married and taken off 
 by purchase a long-established and lucrative business, with the 
 fortune given to each by their parents. With the ardor of 
 
152 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 youth, and a smiling future before them, the young man pur- 
 chased a large quantity of goods to refresh, he said, the old 
 stock of his predecessor in business, and for a short time, 
 matters seemed to progress very comfortably with the young 
 beginners; but as matters were a little more closely looked 
 into, the young man seemed suddenly to awake to the reality, 
 that ^"1,000 must be paid in a given time, for the goods he 
 had ordered to refresh his stock. He spoke to his young wife 
 about it, and she made light of his uneasiness, saying playfully 
 to him, " There are three months yet unexpired of the time 
 when you must be prepared; we are sure to have enough by 
 that time, and do not be anxious; and if we are not prepared, 
 we have only to go to our parents, they will help us." Her 
 husband's reply alarmed her: "They are the last persons in 
 the world we must apply to ; if we reveal to them our position, 
 we shall forever be regarded by them as fools, utterly incapable 
 of managing our temporal concerns with discretion; no, no, 
 dear Jane, breathe not a word either to your parents or to 
 mine." 
 
 A time of increasing anxiety ensued as time wore on; 
 various plans were proposed and tried to effect a loan of 
 money to cancel the debt, but a very small part only was 
 realized by them to meet the inevitable demand that was 
 approaching. Every avenue of help seemed closed, one friend 
 after another excusing himself from helping them in their 
 great emergency and trial ; all failed. 
 
 On the morning of the day when the expected call would 
 be made, the young wife proposed to her husband to try 
 one other friend, residing in the same city as themselves ; he 
 agreed to go, and asked his wife to keep the warehouse while 
 he went on this painful errand. She agreed to do so, but 
 begged for a short absence up-stairs, which her husband 
 granted. Having entered her bed-room, "she shut the door," 
 and locked herself in; throwing herself beside her bed in the 
 attitude of prayer, she poured forth a supplication to God, 
 whom she knew hitherto as a God afar off, something on this 
 wise, " Oh, my Heavenly Father, I bow before thee in an agony 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 153 
 
 of prayer, to beseech thee to look down upon us, my husband 
 and myself, in this great extremity; open some door of relief 
 or succor for us; thou knowest, oh, thou great Searcher of 
 hearts, that we would not wrong any mortal, that our present 
 errors are those of want of judgment, not intention, and there- 
 fore, I beseech thee, send us help from some quarter." She 
 rose from her knees, descended the stairs, appeared before her 
 husband calmer than she had left him, wished him in an affec- 
 tionate tone a successful issue, and, as he left the door, took 
 her seat at her husband's desk, relieved by having appealed in 
 reverence, confidence, and humility to her Heavenly Father as 
 her best, her truest friend. 
 
 Her husband had not been gone above ten minutes, when a 
 gentleman known to them both, stepped in and said, " Is Mr. 
 K. at home ? " She answered, " He is not within now, but will 
 shortly be here." "Oh, very well, I will look in again." He 
 left without telling his business; quickly returning to her, he 
 said, "Mrs. K., you will do just as well as Mr. K.; my call 
 upon you was to say, that I was thinking of you, that as young 
 people beginning the world, a little money might not be unac- 
 ceptable to you for a year or so ; in this roll in my hand you 
 will find in bank notes .£1,000; take it for a year without 
 interest, and just give me on a slip of paper an acknowledg- 
 ment of its receipt." She took the money from him, and 
 either wrote the acknowledgment, or said her husband would 
 give it to him. He pleasantly took his leave; the young wife 
 laid her head on the desk and wept bitterly, overpowered by 
 the goodness of her Heavenly Father in the prompt, almost 
 immediate answer of her prayer for succor. In this state her 
 husband found her when he returned to her; his errand had 
 been unsuccessful; he simply said, "You may well weep, we 
 are ruined." She bade him sit down beside her, and remain 
 quiet until she should recover herself sufficiently to speak to 
 him; he did so, and when she revealed to him the whole truth, 
 he was so overwhelmed that he went away from her to be 
 alone. "From that day to this," she said to me, "we have 
 never been in any degree pinched in our finances, we have 
 
154 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 never for a moment doubted the particular Providences of 
 God, and we endeavor to act uprightly in His holy sight. It 
 is now, I- believe," she continued, "forty years since the inci- 
 dent I have related to you happened; you must excuse my 
 emotion (for she wept much while relating the above particu- 
 lars), for I can never recur to it without the deepest emotion." 
 She further said, "I rejoice I have found a friend in you, who 
 believes as fully in a particular Providence as I do myself." 
 
 She was known to be a woman of the strictest integrity and 
 high moral tone, in all her transactions acting from an inward 
 and perceptible guidance, and she lived to an old age. I heard 
 no particulars of her closing moments; but her narrative has 
 often strengthened and refreshed me in moments when faith 
 was less, if possible, than a grain of mustard seed; and, oh! 
 may its recital here reassure thee, my widowed friend, "that a 
 judge of the widow is God, in His holy habitation, as well as 
 a father to the fatherless." I would affectionately encourage 
 each of you, the mother and her children, to trust in the 
 Lord your God; to know Him as your Husband and Father, 
 through the appointed medium Christ Jesus, and the Holy 
 Spirit, by whom only we can say, "Abba, Father," or call Jesus 
 "Lord." Through the Holy Spirit we know saving truths, 
 and through the one same blessed medium we progress in 
 the divine life, and are made heirs of God and joint heirs with 
 Christ, knowing a passing from death unto life, and from the 
 power of Satan unto God — to whom be all glory ascribed. 
 
 A REMARKABLE DELIVERANCE. 
 
 " God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." — Ps. 46 : 1. 
 
 \ BOVE a century ago, in a sequestered part of Scotland, a 
 _/~\_ hard-working couple were struggling through life, and 
 frequently found it difficult to gain a bare subsistence, 
 or to provide even necessaries for their young family. But 
 though their lot was cast among the poor of this world, they 
 were honest. They lived in a thinly peopled neighborhood, 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 155 
 
 remote from town or village, and indeed, at a considerable 
 distance from any habitation whatever. The poor man could 
 generally contrive to earn a scanty subsistence, barely sufficient 
 to maintain his wife and four children. At times, indeed, his 
 means of support were cut off; for, though industrious when 
 he could procure work, his employment at best was preca- 
 rious. Sometimes this worthy couple were reduced to great 
 necessity for want of food, when they experienced unexpected 
 interpositions of Providence, by which help was sent to them 
 in the most unlooked-for manner. Thus God often reveals 
 himself to his chosen ones, and in time of their need proves 
 that He is "a very present help in trouble." 
 
 At some miles' distance from this humble cottage, was the 
 residence of an excellent Christian lady — Lady Kilmarnock, 
 who devoted her time and fortune to doing good, and was 
 indeed a blessing to those around her. These worthy cot- 
 tagers had, of course, been frequent objects of her bounty, 
 and through her aid they had often obtained seasonable relief 
 But, though Ann Young — for that was the former name of 
 the cottager's wife, by which she was still known in the neigh- 
 borhood — had formerly been a servant in her family, yet such 
 was her repugnance to appearing burdensome to her benefac- 
 tress, that it was seldom indeed that, when in want, her distress 
 was made known by herself. 
 
 On one occasion these poor people were reduced to the 
 greatest extremity of want. Their little store of provisions 
 gradually diminished, till they were exhausted. Her children 
 had received the last morsel she could furnish, yet she was 
 not cast down; for Ann Young was a Christian. She had 
 learned to trust in the loving-kindness of her God, when 
 apparently cut off from human aid; and having found by 
 experience, that man's extremity is God's opportunity, she did 
 not despond. Night came at last, and still no relief was 
 vouchsafed to them. The children were crying for their sup- 
 per; and because there was none to give them, their mother 
 undressed them and put them to bed, where they soon cried 
 themselves to sleep. Their father was much dejected and like- 
 
156 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 wise went to bed, leaving Ann in solitary possession of the 
 room. And yet she was not alone. Many sweet hours had 
 she spent in that little cottage, apart from the world, with her 
 Bible and her God. Precious had these opportunities ever 
 been to her of pouring out her soul to God — of spreading her 
 sorrows, her trials, all before Him, and giving vent to a full, 
 and now, alas ! a heavy heart. 
 
 Having seen her children safely at rest, she made up the 
 peat fire on the hearth, that she might not afterward be dis- 
 turbed for the night. She then trimmed and lit the lamp, and 
 hung it upon its accustomed place on the wall, and moved the 
 clean, oaken table near it; and, having taken a large family 
 Bible from the book-shelf, she deposited it upon it. She 
 paused, however, before opening the sacred volume, to implore 
 a blessing on its contents, when the following text involunta- 
 rily came into her mind: "For every beast of the forest is 
 mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills." 
 
 The text, thought Ann, is not very applicable to my present 
 condition ; and opening her Bible, she proceeded to look out 
 some of her favorite passages of Scripture. Yet " For every 
 beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand 
 hills," was uppermost in her thoughts. She knelt down and 
 committed her case to the hearer and answerer of prayer; and 
 then she tried to recall former experiences, to bring to remem- 
 brance the promises of God, and those portions of the Scrip- 
 ture which used to come home with power to her heart, but 
 without now feeling that lively pleasure and satisfaction she 
 had ever found in the Bible. The text " For every beast of 
 the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills," 
 seemed fastened to her memory; she could not banish it from 
 her mind. Yet, thought Ann, it is God's own word; and she 
 read the fiftieth Psalm, in which the text is contained. It was, 
 she thought, a beautiful Psalm, but many verses in it appeared 
 to her more suited to her condition than this one. Again she 
 prayed, hoping that, while presenting her supplication before 
 the throne of Grace, she might forget it; but with no better 
 success. Still she endeavored to encourage her drooping heart 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 157 
 
 with the belief, nay, God's blessed assurance, of the efficacy of 
 earnest, persevering prayer, and continued her occupation, 
 alternately supplicating in prayer and reading her Bible, until 
 midnight. Indeed, early dawn found her engaged at this same 
 employment. At length daylight appeared through the little 
 casement, and a loud impatient rap was heard at the door. 
 
 "Who's there?" said Ann. 
 
 A voice from without answered, "A friend." 
 
 "But who is a friend?" she replied. "What are you ?" 
 
 "I'm a drover; and quick, mistress, and open the door and 
 come out and help me. And if there's a man in the house, 
 tell him also to come out, for one of my cattle has fallen down 
 a precipice and broken its leg, and is lying 2X your door!' 
 
 On opening the door, what was the first object that met the 
 gaze of Ann ? A large drove of cattle, from the Highlands of 
 Scotland. As far as the eye could reach in either direction, 
 the road was black with the moving mass, which the man was 
 driving on to the market in the South. And there lay the 
 disabled beast, its leg broken, the poor drover standing by, 
 looking ruefully over it; his faithful dog by his side, gazed up 
 as if in sympathy with his master, and as if he understood his 
 dilemma, and knew also, that his services could now be of no 
 avail. 
 
 The worthy couple were concerned for the poor drover, and 
 evinced their willingness to assist him in his misfortune, had it 
 been in their power. He, in his turn, felt at a loss to know 
 how he should dispose of the animal, and paused to consider 
 what course he ought to pursue. But the more he thought, 
 the more his perplexity increased. To drive the maimed beast 
 was obviously impossible. To sell it there, seemed equally so. 
 What was to be done ? The drover drew his Highland plaid 
 closer around him. He shifted and replaced his bonnet from 
 one side of his head to the other. 
 
 "I never," he at length exclaimed, "was more completely 
 brought to my wit's end in my life;" and then turning to Ann, 
 he added, "'Deed, mistress, I must just make you a present 
 of it, for in truth I don't know what else I can do with it; so 
 
3 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 kill it and take care of it, for it is a fine beast. I'll answer 
 for it, a mart like that has never come within your door." 
 And without waiting for thanks, he whistled on his dog and 
 joined the herd, which was soon seen moving slowly on its 
 weary journey. 
 
 The poor cottagers were lost in wonder at this unexpected 
 deliverance from famine, by so signal an interposition of Provi- 
 dence. After they had in some measure recovered from the 
 surprise, such an incident was calculated to excite, the father 
 assembled his little family around him to unite in prayer, and 
 to give thanks to the " Giver of all good," for this new proof 
 of His condescending kindness toward them. Thus their 
 prayer was turned into praise. All was now rejoicing, prepa- 
 ration and gladness. They had meat sufficient to serve them 
 for many months to come, and in their first joy, they totally 
 forgot that they had no bread. But He who " commanded the 
 ravens" to bring to the prophet "bread and flesh" did not 
 forget it. God does not work by halves. About six o'clock 
 in the morning, another knock was heard at the door, which 
 this time flew quickly open, when who should present himself 
 but the bailiff of Lady Kilmarnock, with a load on his back. 
 He then proceeded to relate how Lady Kilmarnock sent for 
 him the day previous to inquire if anything had happened to 
 Ann Young; to which he replied, that he was not aware 
 that she had met with any calamity, and that when he last 
 heard of her family, they were all well. "Then," said her lady- 
 ship, "she must be in want, for these few days she has been 
 incessantly in my thoughts. / cannot get her out of my head, 
 and I am sure she is in distress. So take a sack of meal to 
 her — a large one, too, and take it directly. You had better 
 convey it yourself, that it may be safely delivered to her; and 
 bring me word how she is, for I know she would almost starve 
 before she w r ould apply for relief." 
 
 Thus were these pious cottagers, by a wonderful interference 
 of Providence, amply provided for; and Ann Young found out 
 ivhy that passage of Scripture had been so impressed upon her 
 mind, and learned to understand, more fully than she did 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 159 
 
 before, the meaning of that old, and yet new, and true and 
 ever faithful word of God, "Every beast of the forest is mine, 
 and the cattle upon a thousand hills /" 
 
 A MERCHANT SAVED FROM BANKRUPTCY. 
 
 THE following is a striking illustration of the ways of 
 Providence in the affairs of men. It occurred during 
 the severe monetary pressure of 1858; and should 
 encourage all hearts to commit to God their temporal interests. 
 
 "The heaviest and most important engagements of my busi- 
 ness life were maturing in the month of July. I had made 
 them the subject of earnest prayer to God, and felt myself to 
 be in His hands, and at the disposal of His goodness. I laid, 
 in due time, before the Board of Directors of our bank, for 
 discounting, real negotiable paper, in amount about fifty per 
 cent, more than my payments coming due. This resource had , 
 never before failed me, but owing to some peculiar circum- 
 stances surrounding the bank at that time, no paper was dis- 
 counted. I then became not a little distressed in mind, but 
 continued to carry the matter before the Lord regularly in all 
 my private devotions. Bankruptcy and ruin stared me in the 
 face. 
 
 " What apparently added much to my difficulties, I was com- 
 pelled to leave home and attend court in an adjoining county, 
 only a few days prior to the maturity of two of the heaviest 
 notes. I went, trusting in God for deliverance; all other hope 
 had fled. I remained from Monday morning until Thursday 
 afternoon. On Friday the notes above referred to must be 
 paid or be protested. I returned home, pledging myself to be 
 back in time to answer the call of my name the next morning 
 at nine o'clock. On reaching home, after speaking a few 
 minutes with my wife and children, I shut myself up in my 
 room and poured out the agony of my mind before the Lord. 
 I then repaired to my place of business, but learned my 
 receipts were even less than usual for the same space of time. 
 
160 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 I returned home for supper, and at the family altar had liberty 
 in prayer. Immediately after tea I repaired to my closet; the 
 Lord was with me, my soul was made happy, and I felt per- 
 fectly resigned to the will of God, be my fate what it might. 
 I still felt it to be my duty to use every possible effort to 
 secure the money. I set out on this endeavor, confidently 
 believing that relief would come, though I knew not how. 
 Up to nine o'clock in the evening every effort had been 
 unavailing. I was passing along the street on my return from 
 the last place at which I had^ hoped to secure some money, 
 when a gentleman touched me on the shoulder, and familiarly 
 calling my name, said he wished to speak to me. We stepped 
 aside, and he said, ' I stopped you to say, that if you are in 
 want of some money, I can accommodate you.' Here was the 
 deliverance I had looked for; my heart was too full to say 
 more than ' I thank you, sir.' All the necessary arrangements 
 were made for the payment of my notes, and I went home 
 with a heart overflowing with gratitude to God." 
 
 A remarkable feature in the above case is, that no applica- 
 tion had been made to the person who proffered this relief, but, 
 as he expressed it, he felt himself moved to make the offer. 
 
 INSTRUCTIVE INCIDENTS. 
 
 THERE are many testimonies to the watchful care of our 
 Heavenly Father, and many proofs that His ear is open 
 to the cries and prayers of His people, who look to Him 
 in the day of distress, even as to outward things. The ancient 
 declaration, "This poor man cried and the Lord heard him, 
 and saved him out of all his troubles," is applicable to many 
 in the present day. Not long since, at a meeting in New York, 
 a man arose and said : 
 
 " Yesterday forenoon a man came to my office and paid me 
 forty dollars in bills, which I took and put in my pocket 
 instead of the drawer. When I was making up my account 
 for deposit in the bank in the afternoon, I put my hand into 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 161 
 
 my pocket, to take those bills to put with the other deposits, 
 but something suggested to my mind to leave those bills in 
 my pocket, and I did so, without thinking of any good reason 
 why I should do so. This morning, on my way to my store, 
 I came past the store of a friend, and an impulse seized me on 
 the instant to go in and see him. I went in and met him in 
 his front store, and without any knowledge on my part that he 
 wanted money, I said to him, 'George, would you like to 
 borrow forty dollars this morning ? ' Said he, ' Come into the 
 counting-room, I have something to say to you.' We went in 
 there, and my friend continued, 'Yesterday, in looking over 
 my bills payable, I found I had a note coming due to-day for 
 one hundred and fifty dollars. I went home and told my wife 
 that I could not raise that sum, and between us we raised one 
 hundred and ten dollars, but where tp get another dollar we 
 did not know. So we both knelt down, and earnestly prayed, 
 that God would in his own way send help to avert the impend- 
 ing calamity; and we prayed again this morning for the needed 
 deliverance. I came to my store trusting in God, and I had 
 no sooner got here than you came in and volunteered to lend 
 me the exact sum I needed, Why, to my mind, this is an 
 absolute demonstration that God not only hears but answers 
 prayer. To His name be all the glory.' " 
 
 On another occasion the following incident was related: "A 
 friend in business in this city told me a few days ago of an 
 answer to prayer in his case. Said he : * I had certain bills to 
 meet, and tried every resource I had, but could not get the 
 money. As the time approached, and my ability to meet the 
 obligations seemed out of the question, I went to God in my 
 troubles, and poured out my soul in earnest prayer to Him to 
 send me help. The morning of the day when my obligation 
 became due arrived, but the help had not come. I went to my 
 store, and soon after a gentleman came in whom I had known 
 for some years, but not intimately. He greeted me kindly, 
 and then asked after my business, and if I had plenty of funds, 
 &c. I frankly told him the truth, and that I was quite short 
 of funds for that day. He asked me how much I needed, and 
 
 K 
 
1 62 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 I told him. Without another word, he drew a blank check 
 from his pocket, and filled it out for the sum I had named, and 
 handed it to me, saying I could repay it when I became easy 
 aeain.'" 
 
 A PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCE. 
 
 CANON FLEMING, Vicar of St. Michael's, Chester-square, 
 in a contribution to The 'Day of Days, tells the following 
 striking anecdote, which was told to him by an old man, 
 who showed to him the lock of hair referred to: "I was a 
 little child of four years old, with long curly locks, which in 
 sun or wind or rain hung down my cheeks. One day my 
 father went into the woods to cut up a log, and I w T ent with 
 him. I was standing a little way behind him, or rather at his 
 side, watching the strokes of the heavy axe, as it went up and 
 down upon the wood, sending splinters off in all directions. 
 A large splinter fell at my feet, and I eagerly stooped to pick 
 it up. In doing so I stumbled forward, and in a moment my 
 curly head lay upon the log. I had fallen forward just at the 
 moment the axe was descending with all its force. It was too 
 late to stay the blow. Down it came. I screamed, and my 
 father fell to the ground in terror. In the blindness which the 
 sudden horror caused, he thought he had killed his own son. 
 We soon recovered — I from my fright, and he from his terror. 
 He caught me in his arms — then looked at me from head to 
 foot, to find out the deadly wound which he was sure he must 
 have inflicted. Not a drop of blood — not a scar to be seen. 
 He fell on his knees on the grass and gave thanks to God. 
 Having done this, he took up the axe and found a few hairs 
 glittering on its edge. He turned to the log, and there was a 
 single curl of his boy's hair, cut clean through, and lying upon 
 the wood. What an escape ! It was as if an angel of mercy 
 had turned aside the edge at the moment it was descending 
 on my head. With renewed thanks to God he took up the 
 curl and carried me home in his arms. That lock of hair he 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 163 
 
 kept all his remaining life as a memorial of God's care and 
 love. That lock he left to me on his death-bed. It always 
 rebukes unbelief and dispels alarm. It bids me trust Him 
 forever. I have had many tokens of Fatherly love in my life, 
 but somehow this speaks most to my heart, It used to speak 
 to my father's heart: it still speaks to mine!" 
 
 A COLLISION AVERTED. 
 
 A CORRESPONDENT of the Hartford Times writes as 
 follows: I met William D. Hilton, of Providence, the 
 other day. He used to be superintendent of the Prov- 
 idence and Worcester railroad, and he told me some rather 
 odd experiences of his own, which he gave me free permission, 
 to publish. I give you, as exactly as is possible, a transcript 
 of this rather extraordinary conversation. 
 
 "I think the most remarkable instance of supernatural in.ter-' 
 ference for the benefit of humanity, of which I have personal 
 knowledge," said W. D. Hilton, "occurred when I was in the 
 freight department of the Providence and Worcester railroad. 
 As the tracks entered the depot here, some few rods up the 
 road, there was a combination of switches, which, if covered 
 by a standing train, could not be rearranged, so that a down 
 train would, unless signalled to stop, inevitably rush directly 
 on whatever stood in the way. One night the freight train, 
 which always arrived in time to make its changes and get out 
 of the way before the Shore Line express should arrive, was 
 late. There were but twenty-five minutes to make all arrange- 
 ments and clear the track. This was no unusual occurrence; 
 and as the signal red-light at the mast head was up_ and 
 brightly burning, there was no apparent danger of anything to 
 produce the slightest nervousness. The delays very frequently 
 occurred and were thus provided for by the signal. I remem- 
 ber very distinctly, however, that on this occasion I walked out 
 to the very end of the depot platform, and that I suddenly 
 heard in my ear these words, twice repeated, and with impres- 
 
1 64 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 sive distinctness : ' Hilton, the light will go out ! Hilton, the 
 light will go out ! ' 
 
 "The sound was so positive, and struck me with such 
 strange power, that I instantly looked at my watch, saw that 
 the Shore Line express was due in three minutes, grabbed the 
 red lantern on the last car of the freight train, and ran up the 
 track with all the speed of which I was capable. Along I 
 fairly flew, impelled by some strange intuition that there was 
 danger, and never questioning for an instant, as I ran, why I 
 was running, or what I was tor do. Arriving at the first end 
 of the curve near the Corliss Engine Works, I stopped, and 
 for an instant turned and looked back at the red-light. It was 
 burning, but in a second it fluttered a little and suddenly went 
 out. A world of emotions then seemed to rush through my 
 mind, for the light of the on-coming express already illumina- 
 ted the rails. I swung my lantern round and round, shouted 
 and danced up and down in my terrible anxiety. It seemed a 
 thousand years before I heard the whistle for 'down brakes.' 
 The fate of the crowded train, the horrible telescoping of the 
 cars as they would inevitably crush into that solid freight 
 train, seemed to rise like- a vision of Hades before me. But at 
 last the engine was stopped. Without indicating to him his 
 previous danger, I informed the engineer that the signal had 
 gone out, and that I was stationed to warn him, and started 
 back to the depot. When I got to the switch, I found the 
 switch-man running round and round it, almost mad with 
 terror, for he could not light the treacherous lantern, and had 
 anticipated a most horrible disaster. When he saw me and 
 heard that all was safe, he put his arms about my neck, and 
 he — well, he cried like a child, and I believe I offered up a 
 prayer of praise and thanksgiving. I immediately established 
 a series of three lights as signals, so that nothing of the kind 
 could possibly occur again. 
 
 "We examined the light, and could see no possible reason 
 why it should have gone out. It was full of oil, with a perfect 
 wick, and there was no wind blowing, although, if there had 
 been, it should have remained burning, as it had through many 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 165 
 
 a storm. Now, what was it that spoke in my ear ? What was 
 it that forced me to save that train ? There were ordinarily 
 but two passenger cars on the express, and this night there 
 were seven, all full." 
 
 PROVIDENCE AND POTATOES. 
 
 IT IS a blessed thing to trust in the good Providence of 
 God, but those who trust the most implicitly, also work 
 the most faithfully. God giveth the increase; but Paul 
 must not leave off planting, nor Apollo s watering, on that 
 account; they can do all this, and then have plenty left to 
 trust in God for. 
 
 The man who trusts in God to do what the Lord has told 
 him to do for himself, will find that there is some misunder- 
 standing about matters somewhere. Faith and works should 
 ever go together, and he who does his best is quite as trustful, 
 as he who is less faithful over the few things committed to 
 him. 
 
 It is related that the celebrated Welsh preacher, Christmas 
 Evans, was once discussing the potato question with his thrifty, 
 diligent wife, and perhaps in a playful, but still in a character- 
 istic way, said to her: 
 
 "Catherine, you never mind the potatoes; put your trust in 
 Providence and all will be well." 
 
 "I tell you what we'll do, Christmas," replied Catherine; 
 "you go and sit down on the top of Moelly Gest, waiting for 
 Providence, and I'll go and hoe the potatoes ; and we shall see 
 to which of us Providence will come first I" 
 
 Noah, Abraham, Moses, Gideon, David, Elisha, Daniel, 
 Paul, Peter, Matthew, John, James, and others whom the Lord 
 chose, honored, and blessed, were very busy, active men, and 
 were, in most instances, called to the work of God when busily 
 engaged in secular pursuits : — keeping sheep, threshing wheat, 
 plowing the fields, guiding the State, receiving taxes, catching 
 fish, mending nets, and such like active and useful occupations. 
 
1 66 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 From the midst of these labors they were called to deliver 
 nations, lead armies, utter prophecies, and save men. 
 
 We should have to look long before we could find an 
 elegant " gentleman of leisure" on the staff of the Captain of 
 our Salvation. Paul, to be sure, was an educated man, but he 
 was also a tent-maker, and was full of restless energy, perse- 
 cuting the saints even to strange cities, when the Lord called 
 him to His work. 
 
 Pray much, but work with all your might. "Trust in the 
 Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily 
 thou shalt be fed!' 
 
 ANECDOTES OF QUINCEY MAYNARD. 
 
 THE facts I am about to relate are of unquestioned authen- 
 ticity, and derived by myself and others from his own 
 lips. On one occasion, in the depth of winter, himself 
 and family were found with their small stock of wood, laid up 
 for their comfort, almost wholly exhausted; scarce enough 
 wood for the support and comfort of his tried ones; as under 
 similar circumstances, his prayer was upon the altar, and left 
 with his Father in heaven. He retired to bed at night, not 
 knowing how, but confident of the fact, that God's immutable 
 will would be fidfilled. Ere the morning light had entirely 
 dispelled the darkness of night, a load of wood was dropped 
 at his door, through the direction of some kind but unknown 
 friend. "How mysterious are the ways of God; past finding 
 out!" 
 
 On another occasion, being exceedingly pressed in his 
 circumstances, and needing; funds to meet his immediate neces- 
 sities, his mind became so much exercised that he felt himself, 
 for the time, wholly disqualified for the work in which he was 
 engaged. Laying aside the tool in his hand ( he was a machin- 
 ist) he walked to the door of his shop. After being there a 
 few minutes, he was accosted by an old and feeble colored 
 man, who inquired of him, whether he knew him. Maynard 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 167 
 
 replied, that he did not remember having seen him before. 
 The colored man made such statements as caused him very 
 soon to recollect him. The sequel proved that several years 
 before this interview he had done some work for the old man, 
 for which he had never been paid. He assured him that he 
 had not met this claim, because it had been out of his power. 
 His family had been called to pass through a series of pro- 
 tracted afflictions. His wife had died; and, subsequently, he 
 had been ill, and because of his necessitous condition, was 
 compelled to seek an asylum in the almshouse. Since his 
 recovery and dismissal he had been diligently engaged in 
 labor, and by great economy had succeeded in saving enough 
 to liquidate the debt, for which purpose he had called. 
 
 Once more — At a season of great depression, a gentleman, 
 who knew him favorably and esteemed him highly, loaned him 
 a sum of money. This he was unable to return, although con- 
 siderable time had elapsed since the reception of the favor. 
 His mind became painfully exercised lest the gentleman should 
 lose confidence in him. One morning, after partaking of a 
 scanty meal, and unable to perceive any opening by which 
 more could be obtained to meet the pressing wants of his 
 family, he left his humble dwelling for his shop. On his way 
 thitherward he was necessarily obliged to pass the store of his 
 friend. Before reaching it, he saw him standing in his door- 
 way. Fearing lest he should be asked for what was justly due, 
 and thus be placed under the painful necessity of soliciting 
 further indulgence, he crossed the street to avoid him. On 
 coming to a point opposite where the gentleman was standing, 
 he was called by him. He obeyed the summons, persuaded 
 that he was about to realize the fulfillment of his worst fears. 
 As he approached him, his friend extended his hand toward 
 him in a most friendly manner, and kindly inquired as to the 
 state of his health, and that of his family. He then said, 
 "Mr. Maynard, I called you because I have this morning been 
 strangely and strongly impressed that you were at this time in 
 actual need. Here are ten dollars, which you will do me the 
 personal favor to receive, and appropriate to your own benefit, 
 
168 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 in such way as you may deem most proper." As might be 
 expected, an interposition of Divine Providence, so clear and 
 decided as this, caused his heart to leap within him with joy 
 and gratitude, and he "went on his way rejoicing." 
 
 SUCCORED FROM DISTRESS. 
 
 THE following narration which appears in a London jour- 
 nal seems to be authentic r and is interesting and valuable, 
 showing as it does, the importance of yielding to the 
 impressions of duty, which are often made upon the human 
 mind, quite independently of any operations of its own powers. 
 The date of the occurrence is not given, but as it took place 
 before the Island of Ascension had any inhabitants, we cannot 
 consider it recent. The island belongs to Great Britain, and is 
 situated about 280 miles N. W. of St. Helena. 
 
 Admiral Thomas Williams, a straight-forward and excellent 
 man, was in command of a ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean. 
 His course brought him in sight of the Island of Ascension, 
 at that time uninhabited, and never visited by any ship except 
 for the purpose of collecting turtles, which abound on the 
 coast. The Island was barely descried on the horizon, and 
 was not to be noticed at all; but as Thomas looked at it, he 
 was seized by an unaccountable desire to steer toward it. 
 
 He felt how strange such a wish would appear to his crew, 
 and tried to disregard it, but in vain. His desire became more 
 and more urgent and distressing, and foreseeing that it would 
 soon be more difficult to gratify it, he told his lieutenant to 
 prepare to "put about ship," and steer for Ascension. The 
 officer to whom he spoke ventured to respectfully represent 
 that changing their course would greatly delay them — that just 
 at that moment the men were going to their dinner — that, at 
 least, some delay might be allowed. 
 
 But these arguments seemed to increase Admiral Williams' 
 anxiety, and the ship was steered toward the uninteresting 
 little island. All eyes and spy-glasses were now fixed upon it, 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDEXCES. 169 
 
 and soon something was perceived on the shore. " It is white 
 — it is a flag — it must be a signal!" When they neared the 
 shore, it was ascertained that sixteen men, wrecked on that 
 coast many days before, and suffering the extremity of hunger, 
 
 had set up a signal, though almost without hope of relief. 
 
 PROVIDENTIALLY DIRECTED SERMONS. 
 
 IT IS recorded that a clergyman, who had prepared with 
 more than usual care a written discourse, to deliver to a 
 large congregation, whilst on the way to the place of 
 worship, saw a half-leaf of a book lying on the ground, which 
 he took up. What the book was, of which it had been a part, 
 he never knew; but there was a text of Scripture on the frag- 
 ment, and a remark there which he read, that took such hold 
 of his mind, that he believed it to be his duty to preach on it. 
 So with his carefully prepared manuscript in his pocket, he 
 spoke to the audience as his mind seemed led. He treated on 
 skeptical sophistries, and closed with a solemn appeal to such 
 as give way to such shallow reasonings, to examine the Truth 
 in its own spirit, and earnestly seek, through the Lord's assist- 
 ance, to become sons of God. He was much favored in this, 
 his unpremeditated ministry; so much so as to call forth this 
 remark, from the most spiritually minded members of the 
 church: "Most assuredly of God to the congregation." He 
 told them he hoped it was so, and said he had no thought of 
 taking; that text, or delivering such a sermon when he left his 
 own house. They, as well as he, could feel there was some- 
 thing about this discourse, which was not to be found con- 
 nected with his usual written essays. 
 
 In a few weeks after the delivery of this sermon, a young 
 lawyer called upon him to say, that, through the blessing of 
 God on that discourse, he had been delivered from deep 
 inward conflicts with skeptical temptations. An entire change 
 of heart and life followed; he found it necessary to give up 
 practice at the bar, and to seek after a profession which did 
 
170 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 not present so many difficulties in the way of being a truly 
 consistent Christian — whose meat and drink it is to do the will 
 of God, and to promote peace and harmony amongst all men. 
 
 Another preacher has left it on record, that on a certain 
 occasion, as he was just ready to commence the delivery of a 
 discourse, deliberately prepared at home, he observed four 
 men enter the place of worship. Immediately, as they entered, 
 his mind was turned in such a remarkable manner to the 
 Scripture account of the general deluge, and trains of thought 
 so presented on this subject, , that' he felt impelled to speak 
 on it. There was no time for delay, and believing it to be 
 his duty, he spoke as matters were opened to his mind. He 
 treated on the reasons for the deluge, the useful results spring- 
 ing from it, and Noah's wisdom, in obedience to the Lord's 
 command, in preparing for it. The congregation seemed 
 unusually attentive, and to the speaker himself, the new train 
 of thought into which he had been led, and the solemn feeling 
 which accompanied the delivery, were intensely interesting. 
 
 Several months had passed away, when one day three men 
 called to see him. They were three of the four men whose 
 entrance into his meeting-house had been so particularly 
 observed. They told him that all four had been avowed 
 deists; that, upon the day alluded to, they had been seeking 
 amusement together, and as they were returning, the Scriptural 
 account of the deluge had been the subject of their conversa- 
 tion and ridicule; that they had heard in his discourse, to their 
 amazement, not a few of their own sophistries repeated in the 
 very language in which they had uttered them, and with clear- 
 ness and power solidly refuted. 
 
 These four men were all, in the suffering mercy of God, 
 through the instrumentality of that discourse, brought under 
 deep religious concern for the well-being of their immortal 
 souls; and there is good reason to believe, in time, witnessed 
 the new birth unto holiness, and walked thereafter in the lowly 
 path of self-denial, as true-hearted followers and disciples of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. Of one of them, who had deceased 
 when the account was taken down, it is stated, that he left 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 171 
 
 behind him a blessed testimony — in the minds of those who 
 witnessed his departure — that he had exchanged mortality for 
 immortality, the trials and tribulations of this life for joy 
 unspeakable and full of glory. 
 
 ■ASK, AND YE SHALL RECEIVE: 
 
 A FEW years since, the writer became possesor, by will of 
 a relative, of a sum of money, to be distributed at my 
 discretion among those in limited or needed circum- 
 stances, as their condition might require. 
 
 Shortly after it came under my control (and before I had 
 taken much thought about who might be most in need), I felt 
 on a certain evening, an unexpected, but clear impression, that 
 on the next morning I must make a social visit to an intimate 
 friend, a widow living in a neighboring state, whose humble 
 home I could reach in a few hours. I had been intending for 
 several weeks to make the visit, which had again and again 
 been postponed on account of the various hindering things 
 which will unavoidably occur to thwart our plans, and it did 
 not therefore strike me as anything wonderful that I should 
 so suddenly decide to accomplish it, now that these seemed 
 removed, and I could step in and perhaps add to her pleasure 
 by the surprise such an unlooked for guest might be to her. 
 Soon after concluding to take an early train the next morning, 
 I seemed forcibly reminded to take with me some of the 
 money above alluded to, but hesitated, as I did not really know 
 that she was in need of assistance. This I did know, that her 
 income, at most, was small, and had been reduced by unfor- 
 tunate investment a few years before. On consulting my 
 husband, we concluded it best for me to take it, and if she had 
 no use for it, no harm could be done either by the offer or the 
 refusal, and I felt satisfied that in her character she was so 
 truly Christian, that no offense would be taken at my seeming 
 intrusion upon her own private affairs, of which at that time I 
 knew but little. 
 
172 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 I reached her home a little before noon, found her alone, her 
 only daughter being absent. The remainder of the day passed 
 pleasantly, and as she was one of those cheerful, trusting 
 ones, who looked on the bright side of things, fully believing 
 that even our afflictions are our blessings, I saw no evidence 
 of anything troubling her; and as I looked around her com- 
 fortable room, with everything really needful for her small 
 family, though not containing a single unnecessary article, I 
 almost regretted having replenished my purse on her account, 
 and felt much hesitation about-mentioning the subject to her. 
 
 But as the evening closed in upon us, and we sat by her 
 bright fire, I finally told her what I had done and why. I 
 scarcely had time to finish before she burst into tears, and 
 seemed so deeply affected, that for some minutes she could 
 not proceed with explaining why it was so. After expressing 
 her gratitude in broken sentences, she went on to tell me how 
 her heart had been pained the day before by receiving a letter 
 from her only son, living in one of the Southern States, telling 
 her that from various causes not within his control, he had 
 become so reduced as to be unable to provide for his family, 
 and that they were really in a suffering condition. 
 
 She said she could neither eat or sleep after hearing it, and 
 added, "I earnestly prayed to my Heavenly Father, that he 
 would be pleased to make a way, by which I might obtain 
 means to relieve my poor boy and his little ones, and now my 
 prayer has been answered in a way so unexpected to me," with 
 much more which I cannot recall, expressive of her gratitude 
 to God for His great kindness to her and her children. 
 
 I think it might truly be said that her petition was imme- 
 diately granted, for it was made near the same time in the 
 evening, when it seemed so plainly to come before me, that on 
 the morrow I must set out on my visit to her. 
 
 It may add something to the interest of my narrative to tell 
 how she was roused from her train of sad thoughts, by the 
 little son of a next door neighbor, who often ran in and 
 entertained her with his childish prattle. He entered in child- 
 like haste, and seeing no lamps lighted as usual, he said: 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 173 
 
 "Mrs. 'ou has no light, has 'ou had no supper?" This 
 
 startled her, and she found she had neither remembered that 
 she was in the dark, nor that she had made no preparation for 
 her evening meal. 
 
 The whole circumstance impressed me deeply, and I often 
 refer to it with the firm conviction, that to all those who trust 
 in the Lord shall be verified that emphatic declaration of our 
 Saviour, "Ask, and ye shall receive." 
 
 SPECIAL PROVIDENCE. 
 
 DR. O. H. TIFFANY, of Chicago, tells the story of a 
 remarkable case which occurred many years ago in 
 Pennsylvania: 
 
 "A dear friend of mine, Dr. John M'Clintock, had been 
 indicted on a charge which grew out of the escape of an 
 alleged fugitive slave, and the case attracted general attention. 
 Pending the trial, Jacob Rheem, whom I knew well, was told a 
 conspiracy existed to secure the conviction of Dr. M'Clintock, 
 and the conversation of the conspirators was related to him by 
 one who had overheard it. The fact, if established, would end 
 the case, but, unfortunately, J. R. could not remember the 
 name of the man who had given him the information, and so 
 the case was imperiled. Every care was taken by J. R. to 
 recall each event of the day when he gained the valuable 
 knowledge, but it was all in vain ; his mind was perfectly blank 
 as to the party, and so remained until the trial was begun. He 
 was put on the witness stand, still unable to remember, 
 
 "He gave the conversation as detailed to him; and when 
 asked to name his authority, spoke not a word, but cast his 
 eyes first to the roof, and then around the court room, till, as 
 they were fixed upon the entrance, he suddenly sprang almost 
 into the air, as he pointed his finger at a man just coming in, 
 and said, ' There he is ! That's the man ! ' On being called to 
 the stand, the stranger corroborated Rheem in every particular, 
 and stated that he was a countryman living miles out of Car- 
 
174 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 lisle, and he had not been in the town since the day he had 
 told Rheem what he had heard, and had come in that day 
 knowing nothing about the trial, not suspecting that he was 
 wanted, and had merely strolled into the court house without 
 motive, except to gratify an idle curiosity, and 'see what was 
 up.' William Meredith, of Philadelphia, one of Dr. M'Clin- 
 tock's counsel, when he told the story, as he often did, always 
 closed by saying, 'After that, gentlemen, I cannot refuse to 
 believe in a special Providence.' " 
 
 WONDERFUL DELIVERANCE. 
 
 THE Watchman and Reflector furnishes the following extra- 
 ordinary incident: "A clergyman, whom I personally 
 knew, was charged by a woman with crime. A council, 
 consisting of seven clergymen, with other persons, was con- 
 vened. Two days were consumed by a long detail of circum- 
 stances, all of which bore the semblance of guilt, and which 
 were sustained by the solemn affidavit and oath of the accusing 
 party. Sometime about ten o'clock on the closing day, the 
 evidence being all adverse, although the minister solemnly 
 protested his perfect innocency, a resolution was introduced to 
 depose him. To this, he requested simply that the action 
 upon it might be deferred till the next morning; which request 
 was granted. He then proposed that the night should be 
 devoted to special prayer, saying, ' I believe there is a righteous 
 God in heaven, and who, in His providence, governs upon 
 earth. I believe I am His servant, and am willing to commit 
 my case to Him, after such an exercise in prayer.' The clergy- 
 men were much exhausted, nevertheless two of them agreed 
 to his proposition. These two remarked as they met, one to 
 the other, 'I have had remarkable freedom in prayer, and I 
 believe light will beam from some quarter, I know not where.' 
 While they were at prayer, a loud rap was heard upon the 
 door of the house. A messenger from the dwelling of the 
 accuser was there, with an urgent entreaty that they would 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 1/5 
 
 come immediately thither. On entering her apartment, she 
 addressed them, saying, ' I have sinned. He is perfectly inno- 
 cent' By circumstances which she related, all were convinced 
 that she told the truth. She had been suddenly prostrated by 
 disease, which terminated fatally. Her statements were given 
 to the public. Great fear fell upon the people, and to this day, 
 many remember well the emphasis with which these words 
 were quoted in that region; namely, 'Verily there is a reward 
 for the righteous; verily He is a God that judgeth in the 
 earth.'" 
 
 LARKS SENT TO THE STARVING. 
 
 THOMAS FULLER, that ancient, quaint, witty, religious 
 writer, relates the following interesting circumstance 
 which occurred at the city of Exeter in England, in the 
 year 1643. He was himself a witness of the transaction which 
 he records, and we give the narrative in his own words : 
 
 "When the city of Exeter was besieged by the Parliamen- 
 tary forces, so that only the south side thereof, toward the sea, 
 was open unto it, incredible numbers of larks were found in 
 that open quarter, for multitudes, like quails in the wilderness, 
 though blessed be God, unlike them both in cause and effect, 
 as not desired with man's destruction, nor sent with God's 
 anger, as appeared by their safe digestion into wholesome 
 nourishment; hereof I was an eye and mouth witness. I will 
 save my credit in not conjecturing any number, knowing that 
 therein, though I should stoop beneath the truth, I should 
 mount above belief. They were as fat as plentiful; so that, 
 being sold for two pence a dozen and under, the poor, who 
 could have no cheaper, or the rich no better meat, used to 
 make pottage of them, boiling them down therein. Several 
 natural causes were assigned hereof. * * * * However, the 
 cause of causes was Divine Providence!' 
 
 There were, without doubt, divers other pious persons 
 besides Fuller, shut up in Exeter at that time; children also, 
 
i;6 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 and many simple, ignorant persons, who, in a spiritual sense, 
 could hardly "discern between their right hand and their left," 
 and He who spared Ninevah of old; who caused quails and 
 manna to fall around the camp of His hungry Israel in the 
 wilderness; who bade even ravens minister to the necessity of 
 His prophet Elijah, saw meet, in His preserving Providence, to 
 cause the famine in Exeter to be stayed by the larks. 
 
 "SEND PROVISIONS TO CALEB: 
 
 A CLERGYMAN residing near Bath, England, awoke 
 one night with an impression on his mind: "Send 
 provisions to Caleb." Not knowing any one of that 
 name, he settled off again to sleep, but not to rest. " Send 
 provisions to Caleb," again sounded in his ear, sleeping or 
 waking; and, uneasy in his mind, he addressed his wife, inquir- 
 ing if she knew any one of that name. The reply was in the 
 negative, and not seeing how to help himself in the darkness 
 of night, he once more endeavored to compose himself to 
 sleep. 
 
 It was, however, in vain. " Send provisions to Caleb," con- 
 tinued to haunt him, until at last, unable to rest, he rose, called 
 up his coachman, and descending to the larder, filled a hamper 
 with bread, meat and other food, telling the man he must go 
 and find out where "Caleb" lived, in full belief some one of 
 that name was in great need. 
 
 "With all my heart, sir," said the man, "if you will tell me 
 where; but how in the name of goodness am I to find Caleb 
 in the darkness of night, with no one about who could help or 
 direct me ?" 
 
 "It matters not," said his master, "saddle the horse and 
 start. Take the basket, and lay the bridle across the horse's 
 neck; my impression of duty is so strong, that I believe, in 
 our ignorance, the horse will be guided aright." 
 
 It was snowing fast, and in the pitiless night the kind- 
 hearted coachman sallied forth on his apparently hopeless 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 177 
 
 errand; but it did not turn out so. On went the horse, un- 
 guided, neither turning to the right or left for some miles, 
 when suddenly, coming to a barren heath, he turned out of 
 the road, and through the deep snow went across the common, 
 where was no beaten track, and then stopped suddenly before 
 a little hovel, which would have been passed unnoticed but for 
 his sudden halting. "Does any one named Caleb live here?" 
 shouted the coachman; when a voice replied, "Yes, indeed, 
 you are all right — our prayers are answered ! " It was found 
 that this poor and aged man, living in this lonely abode, had 
 been brought very low through sickness and poverty, and that 
 he and his family were none of them able to seek help. They 
 had been for some days in a most destitute condition ; how to 
 make their sad case known they knew not, and they had just 
 been praying to their Heavenly Father either to send relief, or 
 enable them to submit to His will and die. This circumstance 
 was some time after narrated at a meeting, when a gentleman 
 rose and said, " That is quite true, for I know Caleb, and have 
 heard him speak of this fact as a proof that God hears and 
 answers prayer." 
 
 THE LORD HELPS: 
 
 THE subject of our story was only a poor weaver, living 
 in the little German town of Wupperthal; a poor man 
 in his outward circumstance, but rich toward God, and 
 well-known in his neighborhood as one who trusted in the 
 Lord at all times. His constant faith was expressed in what 
 became his habitual utterance, under all circumstances of 
 trouble or prosperity. "The Lord helps," he was wont to say; 
 and he said it undauntedly, even when it looked as if the Lord 
 had forsaken him. Such a time it was when, in a season of 
 scarcity, work ran short, many hands were discharged, and the 
 master by whom our weaver was employed gave him his dis- 
 missal. After much fruitless entreaty that he might be kept 
 on, he said at last, "Well, the Lord helps," and so he returned 
 
 L 
 
178 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 home. His wife, when she heard the sad news, bewailed it 
 terribly; but her husband strove to cheer her with his accus- 
 tomed assurance. " The Lord helps," he said ; and even though, 
 as the days went on, poverty pinched them sorely, nothing 
 could shake his firm reliance on Him in whom he trusted. At 
 last came the day when not a penny was left, no bread, no fuel 
 in the house, only starvation stared them in the face. Sadly 
 his wife tidied and swept the little room on the ground floor 
 in which they lived. The window was open, and possibly the 
 words, with which the weaver strove to keep up their courage, 
 "The Lord helps," were heard outside. Presently a street boy 
 looked saucily in, and threw a dead raven at the feet of the 
 pious man. "There, saint! there is something for you to eat," 
 he cried. 
 
 The weaver picked up the dead raven, and stroking its 
 feathers down, said compassionately, " Poor creature ! thou 
 must have died of hunger." When, however, he felt its crop 
 to see whether it was empty, he noticed something hard, and 
 wishing to know what had caused the bird's death, he began 
 to examine it. What was his surprise when, on opening the 
 gullet, a gold necklace fell into his hand. The wife looked at it 
 confounded; the weaver exclaimed, "The Lord helps," and in 
 haste took the chain to the nearest goldsmith, told him how 
 he had found it, and received with gladness two dollars, which 
 the goldsmith offered to lend him for his present need. 
 
 The goldsmith soon cleaned the trinket, and recognized it 
 as one he had seen before. "Shall I tell you the owner?" he 
 asked, when the weaver called again. "Yes," was the joyful 
 answer, "for I would gladly give it back into the right hands." 
 
 But what cause had he to admire the wonderful ways of 
 God when the goldsmith pronounced the name of his master 
 at the factory. Quickly he took the necklace and went with 
 it to his former employer. In his family, too, there was much 
 joy at the discovery, for suspicion was removed from a servant. 
 But the merchant was ashamed and touched; he had not 
 forgotten the words uttered by the poor man when he was 
 dismissed. "Yes," he said, thoughtfully and kindly, "'The 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 179 
 
 Lord helps,' and now you shall not only go home richly 
 rewarded, but I will no longer leave without work, a workman 
 whom the Lord so evidently stands by and helps. You shall 
 henceforth be no more in need." Thus He who fed Elijah by 
 living ravens, proved Himself equally able to supply the needs 
 of His tried servant by the same bird when dead. 
 
 REMARKABLE INSTANCE OF PROVIDENTIAL 
 DELIVERANCE. 
 
 PIERRE RABINEL was a worthy old man, and a minister 
 amongst the little company of Friends at Congenies in 
 the south of France. He earned a living by pruning 
 the vine, as well as from a vineyard of his own, which he culti- 
 vated himself. The latter was situated in a distant part of the 
 country, on the side of a hill. 
 
 One evening whilst the moon shone brightly, Pierre Rabinel 
 was pursuing his usual work of digging about the roots of his 
 vineyard. Hearing a noise near him, he looked up and saw a 
 wolf advancing toward him, growling and showing his hungry 
 teeth. The good old man did not lose his presence of mind, 
 but keeping his eye on the ravenous wolf, fell on his knees, 
 and poured forth an earnest prayer to his Heavenly Father to 
 be his protector, and enable him to drive away or escape his 
 fearful companion. 
 
 Rising from his knees, still keeping his eyes steadily fixed on 
 those of the wolf, which was only distant from him the length 
 of his pickaxe, he walked backward over a very stony path, if 
 path it might be called, for at least a mile, the wolf keeping 
 close to him all the way, when an unexpected noise frightened 
 the ravenous beast, which after grinning at him, turned sud- 
 denly away and very soon disappeared. 
 
 The Friend who related the particulars of this circumstance 
 to the writer, is a native of Congenies, and says the story has 
 been familiar to her since her childhood, and that she has often 
 made the good old man relate it to her whilst she sat on his 
 
180 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 knee. "He never related it," she adds, "without deep serious- 
 ness, and the recollection of the power which in so remarkable 
 a manner kept his enemy at bay, frequently filled his eyes with 
 tears of gratitude." 
 
 GOD'S PROVIDENCE IN THE SEA. 
 
 THE captain took me home to dine with him, after morn- 
 ing service, and somehow we got to talking about special 
 Providences. He had no theory to propound; but his 
 own experience as a sea-faring man had taught him to believe 
 that God's care extends to even the minutest things. I have 
 jotted down some of the incidents he related. 
 
 The chirp of a bird once saved his life, and kept his soul 
 from going into eternity unprepared. It happened in this wise. 
 He was a young seaman in a vessel off the coast of Mozam- 
 bique. The ship master felt apprehensive that they were 
 approaching the dangerous coral-reefs, and before going below, 
 gave strict orders that his vessel should "lay to" at two 
 o'clock in the morning. On the watch together, were the 
 mate and the young man. Half-past one had struck, and the 
 officer said, "Look sharp for two o'clock; we must be near 
 the reefs." 
 
 Hardly had the words been spoken, when the young man 
 heard the chirp of a bird. There was nothing extraordinary 
 in this, for the sea-gulls were common, and he supposed it was 
 one of them. He considered it hardly worthy of remark, but 
 some peculiarity of the note made him call the attention of 
 the mate to it. 
 
 "That may be a land bird," said the practiced seaman at 
 once; "and if so there is land — and probably rock — not far 
 off." Springing forward he shouted to the sailor on the look- 
 out: "See anything ahead up there?" 
 
 " Hard-up ! hard-up your helm, and be quick about it ! " was 
 the ringing response. 
 
 The ship swung round within a few feet of a coral-reef An 
 instant more and there would have been an inevitable wreck. 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 181 
 
 Did the crew get through the breakers alive, it would only be 
 to perish by starvation on the low island, which furnished no 
 food and was far from the usual track of vessels. He believed 
 — and who would dispute him — that it was not good luck, but 
 the good God that sent a little twittering land bird, wind- 
 blown, to save a whole ship's crew from a terrible death, in 
 a sea so lonely, that neither parents, nor wives, nor children 
 should ever know of their fate. 
 
 One illustration more he gave of God's Providence in the 
 sea. In a terrible storm, a heavy wave washed over his ship's 
 deck. The mate was swept from the helm over the taffrail, 
 into the boiling sea. All were too busy in looking out for 
 themselves to render him any aid. He seemed to have no 
 possible chance of escape. But the same wave had wrenched 
 a boat-hook from its place. As it was washed over the side 
 the hook caught on a ratlin, and when the drowning man 
 came to his senses, he found the boat-hook just within his 
 reach, as if put there by a friendly hand. He grasped it, 
 pulled himself on board, and was saved. Hardly one chance 
 in a million was there, that the instrument of safety would 
 have been in just that place at just that instant. Yet a few 
 inches of variation would have put it beyond the struggling 
 man's reach in the whirl of waters. Was he indebted to the 
 millionth chance, or to the Almighty arm of Jehovah, for 
 being snatched from an ocean grave ? Can nineteenth century 
 science give a better answer than that of the book of Proverbs, 
 a thousand years before Christ: "He gave to the sea His 
 decree, that the waters should not pass His commandment." 
 
 "I HAVE JUST MET WITH A WONDERFUL MANIFESTA- 
 TION OF DIVINE providence:' 
 
 THUS spake a venerable man of God, some months since, 
 on meeting me on one of the streets of our city. He 
 was aged, though active; had a .wife and children to 
 provide for, and withal was poor. After introducing the sub- 
 
182 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 ject in the manner, and with the words at the head of* this 
 article, he proceeded to narrate the following facts. 
 
 That morning as he sat down at his table with his wife and 
 children, to partake of a very scanty breakfast, his partner told 
 him it was the very last in the house, and said, "Husband, 
 where is the dinner to come from ?" He replied that he knew 
 not, and added, "God will provide." After finishing their 
 humble meal, instead of offering thanks to God in the cus- 
 tomary manner, they bowed down upon their knees, and by 
 "prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving," made known 
 their requests. Before concluding their devotions, a knock 
 was heard at the front door of his house. On finishing the 
 prayer, he went to the door, and much to his surprise, there 
 stood before him a most excellent and pious brother, a member 
 of one of the Presbyterian churches of this city; a gentleman 
 whose worth was "known and read" of many, but whose 
 numerous acts of noble charity will never be fully manifested 
 until the "judgment of the great day." His astonishment at 
 seeing this excellent man was the greater, because he had but 
 a partial personal acquaintance with him, and he had never 
 before visited his dwelling. Upon invitation he entered, and 
 after being seated, asked the old gentleman how it was with 
 him and his family. After telling him, in reply, that physically 
 they were well, and spiritually they were at "peace with God 
 and all mankind," he apologized for keeping him at the door 
 for a short time, and told him of what his wife had said at the 
 commencement of their meal, and further remarked that when 
 he knocked, they were engaged in fervent prayer to God, com- 
 mending themselves in their necessitous state to His fatherly 
 care. 
 
 After listening to his simple and affecting narrative, this 
 brother told him that he had left his home, thus early, for the 
 purpose of visiting a poor widow who lived some distance 
 beyond him, and without the most remote thought of calling 
 on him or his family. On passing his door, the impression 
 was made strongly on his mind, that he ought to stop and 
 inquire after his health. He resisted it, and went on, because 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 183 
 
 of not being, as he supposed, sufficiently intimate with him to 
 justify such a visit, and particularly so early in the day. He 
 had not, however, progressed very far, before the impression 
 became so strong, that he stopped, and after reflecting for a 
 moment or two, determined to yield to it. He had done so. 
 Whilst in the act of saying a few words of encouragement to 
 this aged servant of God, he took leave of him, at the same 
 time pressing into his hand a ten dollar gold piece. 
 
 This was truly a direct and " wonderful manifestation of 
 Divine Providence," in behalf of His needy child. The a eye 
 of the Lord" was over him for good, and thus sent help from 
 a quarter least expected, and at the very time in which it was 
 most called for. 
 
 PROVIDENTIAL V/AKING. 
 
 THE following incident, related by the person concerned in 
 it, shows the watchfulness of our Heavenly Father in 
 preserving us in our defenseless hours. The narrator 
 says: 
 
 "In 1845-6, while attending the Jefferson College in Phila- 
 delphia, I was boarding in one of the houses kept for the 
 accommodation of the students, and rooming alone in the 
 second story, other students occupying five or six rooms on 
 the same floor. 
 
 "Just before retiring, one evening, as was my custom, I 
 covered up the coal fire with the ashes, and immediately laid 
 down to sleep. Some time during the night — the hour I know 
 not, but quite late, as all the students had retired, as well as 
 the family occupying the first floor and the basement — I was 
 aroused, got up, unlocked my door, walked three or four paces, 
 and opened the door to the garret above, when I found the 
 stairway and lath near it, in flames ! 
 
 " Without making any alarm I quickly returned to my room, 
 and taking the water provided for my morning ablutions, I 
 put out the flames as well as I could, and went down-stairs for 
 
1 84 PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 
 
 more. Before sleeping again, I satisfied myself that the fire 
 had been extinguished, but did not speak of the matter until 
 at breakfast, when I related the whole affair to the students 
 and others present at the table. They were, of course, much 
 startled at their escape from such an imminent peril. And 
 they had good reason to be seriously impressed with the 
 particular care God exercised over that house, and the lives 
 therein, during that night. It may be that some will say that 
 there is nothing strange in this, and that it is no evidence of a 
 special Providence. I can never persuade myself so to believe. 
 Why I awoke just at that moment, being in good health, with 
 everything quiet in the house, and opened the doors and 
 looked as I did, and thus became the means of saving prop- 
 erty and lives from destruction, is only known to Him who 
 rules the nations of the earth, and sees when a sparrow falls to 
 the ground. It could not have been long, judging from the 
 appearances when I opened the garret door, before the flames 
 would have communicated with the floor and roof above, and 
 the consequences that might have followed are known only to 
 Him who caused me to act as I did. ' Oh, that men would 
 praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works 
 to the children of men.' " 
 
 THE VALUE OF PREMONITIONS. 
 
 ONE of our railroad engineers some years since was run- 
 ning an express train of ten well-filled cars. It was in 
 the night, and a very dark night too. His train was 
 behind time, and he was putting the engine to the utmost 
 speed of which it was capable, in order to reach a certain 
 point at the proper hour. He was running on a straight and 
 level track, and at this unusual velocity, when a conviction 
 struck him that he must stop. U A something seemed to tell 
 me," he said, "that to go ahead was dangerous, and that I 
 must stop if I would save my life. I looked back at my train, 
 and it was all right. I strained my eyes and peered into the 
 
PARTICULAR PROVIDENCES. 185 
 
 darkness, and could see no signal of danger, or anything 
 betokening danger, and there in the- day-time I could have 
 seen five miles. I listened to the working of my engine, tried 
 the water, looked at the scales, and all was right. I tried 
 to laugh myself out of what I then considered a childish fear; 
 but it grew stronger in its hold upon me. I thought of the 
 ridicule I would have heaped upon me if I did stop, but it was 
 all of no avail. The conviction — for by this time it had 
 ripened into conviction — that I must stop, grew stronger, and 
 I resolved to stop. I shut off, and blew the whistle for brakes 
 accordingly. I came to a dead halt, got off, and went ahead a 
 little, without saying anything to anybody as to what was the 
 matter. I had a lantern in my hand, and had gone about 
 sixty feet, when I saw what convinced me that premonitions 
 are sometimes possible. I dropped the lantern from my nerve- 
 less grasp, and sat down on the track, utterly unable to stand." 
 
 He goes on to tell us that there he found some one had 
 drawn a spike, which had long fastened a switch-rail, and 
 opened a switch which had always been kept locked, and 
 which led on a track — only about one hundred and fifty feet 
 long — which terminated in a stone quarry. "Here it was, 
 wide open, and had I not obeyed my premonitory warning — 
 call it what you will — I should have run into it, and at the end 
 of the track, only about ten rods long, my heavy engine and 
 train, moving at the rate of forty-five miles an hour, would 
 have come into collision with a solid wall of rock, eighteen 
 feet high ! The consequences, had I done so, can neither be 
 imagined nor described, but they could by no possibility been 
 otherwise than horribly fatal." 
 
 No one can here doubt the fact of a special interposition of 
 God, by which, from a calamity most terrific, hundreds of lives 
 were wonderfully spared. 
 

PRAYER. 
 
 REMARKABLE ANSWER TO PRAYER. 
 
 THE following circumstance was related to me by the late 
 Brother P , who was one of the most deeply pious 
 
 men I ever knew, and for many years a class-leader in 
 one of the Methodist churches in Philadelphia. This brother 
 and myself were conversing one day on God's dealings toward 
 His children, and how far we might expect the interposition 
 of Divine Providence, in answer to prayer, in the prosecution 
 of the ordinary business of life, when, with tears of joy rolling 
 down his cheeks, he related to me the following: 
 
 "After I had served out my time, and had married, which 
 was about thirty-five years ago, I moved with my little family 
 to Wilmington, about thirty miles below Philadelphia, and 
 opened a small jewelry store, which was my business, trusting 
 in God to prosper me. But, for several years, business was 
 dull, and frequently, for weeks, I would not take in enough to 
 keep my family in bread. This state of things continued so 
 long, that I began to be discouraged, and to look around for 
 some way of escape, but none appeared to offer. To make 
 my difficulties worse, if possible, a very deep snow had fallen ; 
 it was midwinter, and, with the exception of a watch or two 
 to repair, I had taken nothing in for many days. The wants 
 of myself and family were pressing upon me, and two notes 
 were coming due in Philadelphia in a few days for over $400. 
 I tried to borrow of my friends; but those who would have 
 
1 88 PRAYER. 
 
 gladly assisted me, were, in consequence of the stringency of 
 •the times, unable to do so. I then tried to get the notes 
 renewed, but this was positively refused ; so that, apparently, 
 in a few days my little all would be sold out by the sheriff. 
 In this emergency I resolved to lay my case before the Lord, 
 and, in order to do this, I set apart a day for fasting and prayer. 
 This was on Friday; the next Monday the payment of the 
 notes fell due ; and my creditors told me plainly, if they were 
 not paid, they would immediately proceed against me. 
 
 "Under these discouraging .circumstances, I arose very early 
 on the morning which I had devoted to prayer and fasting, 
 and, locking myself in my room, commenced to pray. All 
 day I stayed there; now reading some encouraging chapter 
 in God's blessed book, then earnestly pressing my case at 
 the throne of Grace. Having thus passed the day, in the 
 twilight of the evening I received what I believed to be clear 
 evidence, that the Lord had heard my prayer, and that deliver- 
 ance was at hand. I left the room happy in God. Frequently 
 on Saturday, and also on the Sabbath, would my mind turn to 
 my approaching difficulties; but, if I attempted to pray about 
 it, the same evidence would be renewed that deliverance was 
 at hand. On Monday morning I arose three hours before day. 
 It had been snowing, and everything outward was dreary. I 
 fell on my knees, and attempted to lay my case before the 
 Lord again, when, with such power that I was thrown flat on 
 my face on the floor, the evidence was again renewed — deliv- 
 erance is at hand. I went to my store, made a fire, and sat 
 down behind the counter. It was now nearly daylight. I 
 would here state, that in my window there hung, as a show- 
 set, an antiquated set of silverware, of English make, very 
 heavy, having 'the English coat of arms engraved on it. It 
 had been owned by my last employer for some twenty years, 
 and by me for several. No one ever asked its price; it was 
 simply in the window for a show. As the day began to dawn, 
 I heard the creak of a wagon, and, on looking out, I perceived 
 an old-fashioned gig drive up and stop, when a tall and vener- 
 able-looking man, whose locks were almost as white as the 
 
PRAYER. 189 
 
 snow that lay on the ground, stepped down, and, after looking 
 in my window for a moment, entered the store, and imme- 
 diately asked the price of the silver-set in the window. I told 
 him with a faltering voice five hundred dollars. He asked me 
 with a benevolent look, if I had a box that would hold it; 
 and, on my answering in the affirmative, he told me he would 
 take it. In a few minutes it was safely boxed, and put into his 
 gig; the money in gold paid down, and he, with a smile, drove 
 off. No one was ever able to tell from whence he came, or 
 whither he went; nor have I ever been able to tell to this day. 
 Suffice it to say, I procured a good horse, mounted him, and a 
 few minutes before three o'clock, was in Philadelphia, paid my 
 notes, and returned the next day to my family, strong in faith, 
 giving glory to God." 
 
 A PRAYER-ANSWERING GOB. 
 
 \ COMPANY of Moravian missionaries were on their 
 J^\_ voyage from London to St. Thomas, on board the ship 
 Britannia. Nothing remarkable occurred till they dis- 
 covered a pirate. 
 
 The pirate ship approached till it came within gun-shot of 
 the Britannia; and then, from the cannon ranged along its 
 deck, began to pour out a heavy fire. There were grappling 
 irons on board, or strong sharp hooks, fixed to -long ropes^ 
 ready to throw into the Britannia, and hold her fast, while the 
 pirates should board her, and do their work of destruction. 
 It seemed that there was little chance of escape from such an 
 enemy. But the captain, whose heart was sinking at the fear- 
 ful prospect before him, did not know what powerful helpers 
 he had below, in the few peaceful missionaries, whose fervent 
 prayers were then ascending, through the noise of the fight, 
 to heaven. 
 
 The moment the pirates tried to throw their grappling irons 
 across to the other ship, their own was tossed violently, and 
 the men who held the ropes were thrown by force into the 
 

 1 90 PRA YER. 
 
 sea. Vexed by this disaster, the pirate captain sent others 
 who shared the same fate. Seeing that he could not succeed 
 in this manner, he resolved to fire at the Britannia, till she 
 sunk from repeated blows. But this effect failed strangely 
 also ; for the balls missed their aim, and fell into the sea. The 
 smoke of the frequent charges was very dense, and hung 
 about the vessels for several minutes, hiding them from each 
 other's view. At last a sudden gust of wind cleared it away; 
 and to the amazement of the pirate captain, the Britannia was 
 seen at a distance with all her sails spread to the wind, speed- 
 ing swiftly away from the attack, and they were forced in great 
 anger to abandon their cruel purposes. Thus wonderfully had 
 God appeared, and saved the vessel in answer to prayer. The 
 missionaries' prayers had been greatly honored, but they were 
 to have a further fruit still. 
 
 Five years afterward, during which the missionaries had 
 been diligently preaching the Gospel at St. Thomas, they, and 
 the other missionaries on the island, agreed to meet together 
 to celebrate the anniversary of their deliverance from the 
 pirates, and to thank God for His other mercies. As they sat 
 together, word was brought that a stranger wished to speak to 
 them, and at their permission a tall man entered, with fine bold 
 features, and a bold expression of face. The missionaries 
 wondered, and one asked what was the strangers' business 
 with them. 
 
 "First answer me one question," said he. "Are you the 
 men who came to this island five years ago in the English 
 ship Britannia?" 
 
 "We are," replied the missionary who had spoken. 
 
 "And you were attacked on the sea by pirates ?" 
 
 " Exactly, but why these questions ? " 
 
 " Because," answered the stranger, " I am the captain who 
 commanded the vessel which attacked you." Then the mis- 
 sionaries looked at one another in silent wonder, as their 
 former enemy continued: "The miraculous way in which your 
 vessel escaped was the cause of my own escape from the 
 power of sin, through faith in Christ." 
 
PR A YER. 191 
 
 It would be too long to tell you all his words; but you may 
 imagine with what unspeakable joy the missionaries listened 
 to his tale, as he went on to tell them how, in his vexation at 
 their escape, he had made inquiries for the captain of the 
 Britannia, and learned that it was through the prayers of the 
 Moravian missionaries of St. Thomas, and how, not under- 
 standing how a vessel could be saved from pirates by prayer, 
 he resolved to know the Moravian brothers. He sold his 
 vessel, and in the United States of America one day visited a 
 Moravian chapel, and heard a sermon from the words, " Work 
 out your own salvation with fear and trembling." He sought 
 the preacher, and heard from him the way of salvation through 
 Jesus Christ, "and thus," he concluded, "from a pirate captain 
 I am a poor sinner, saved by the grace and mercy of Christ, 
 and my chief hope has been that I might one day be able to 
 see you, and relate to you my miraculous conversion. This 
 joy is granted to me to-day." 
 
 He ceased, and you may imagine the feelings of the mission- 
 aries. They were met to celebrate their deliverance from the 
 pirates on that day five years ago, through prayer, and there 
 stood before them the pirate captain himself, not fierce now, 
 but humble and pious, who traced his own deliverance from 
 the bondage of Satan to the same prayer that rescued them 
 from him ! They all knelt down together before God, and 
 thanked Him for His great mercies. 
 
 A DUELISTS PRAYING WIFE. 
 
 IN YEARS that are gone there lived in a Southern city, a 
 fine-looking man, of large wealth and old family. His 
 wife was from a family as old, and wealth almost as great 
 as his own. But his family was one of the gayest in the city; 
 hers one of the most actively and truly Christian. The theatre, 
 the opera, the dancing party, were his delight To read the 
 Bible and pray with her servants each morning, to care for 
 their life-needs and their soul-needs, to sit by their sick-beds 
 
1 9 2 PRAYER. 
 
 and point their souls heavenward, were her pursuits. It is said 
 that if one has walked in the Spice Islands, the aroma of their 
 garments will tell it. So not words, but the gentle doings and 
 not-doings of her daily life, told that her walk was with God. 
 And her religion was so a part of herself that no time, place 
 or circumstance could part her from it; and her husband idol- 
 ized in her this very unlikeness to himself. 
 
 Her mother told me — and it is for that, that I write these 
 recollections at this time — that, after high words, her son-in- 
 law was challenged by a notorious duelist and unfailing shot 
 It was a fancy feat of his to snuff a candle at long range. His 
 friends told her son that it was certain death to accept the chal- 
 lenge, and his wife, with her arms around his neck, implored 
 him, for her sake, for his children's sake, for his own soul's 
 sake, to refuse the challenge. But he talked about the code, 
 and his honor, and the like. 
 
 "Will you give your worst enemy a pleasure, your dearest 
 ones a life of suffering?" she asked. 
 
 "I'll give him sorry pleasure; Til give him a bullet. I'll 
 send him to a bad place." 
 
 " Will you meet your Judge, with a murdered man as a pass- 
 port to heaven?" 
 
 "Do hush, dear wife; you unnerve me." 
 
 But she could not hush until he pledged his honor that, if 
 God spared his life, as soon as he had his breakfast, he would 
 refuse ever to fight a duel. It was a subterfuge which she did 
 not understand at the time, but she did understand it when a 
 little after break of day, a light kiss on Her forehead — her 
 husband's farewell kiss — made her open her eyes and find him 
 gone. The noise of wheels at that unwonted hour made her 
 fly to the window, only to see the back of the carriage as it 
 moved fast away, speeding her husband to an eternal death. 
 
 She fell on her knees in an agony. One — the God, the holy 
 God — whose laws he was violating and whose justice he was 
 daring, could save him from the eternal, eternal doom he was 
 courting. But " Father, spare him ! Father, spare him ! spare 
 him ! " was her heart-cry to God, unheard by mortal, but heard 
 
PR A YER. 
 
 193 
 
 in heaven. She took no thought of time, she took no note of 
 sounds, for more than two hours. She did not move till his 
 voice, cheery and clear rang out, " I knew you were praying for 
 me" She sprang up and staggered toward him, and he caught 
 her in a close embrace, and to the questioning of her eyes 
 answered : 
 
 " No ! I did not hurt him. I fired into the air." 
 After her "heavenly smile," as he called it, he added: 
 " He had the first fire, and took deliberate aim and didn't 
 touch me, though I have seen him snuff a candle at that dis- 
 tance. He declared some one hit his elbow ! I knew, then, 
 you were praying, and I fired in the air. His craven soul was 
 not worthy of my bullet, but he would have had it but for 
 your sake." 
 
 ANSWER TO PRAYER. 
 
 A LADY was traveling with her young family and their 
 governess to the sea. They used post horses with 
 their own carriage. They had not gone many miles 
 before she discovered that the cook, contrary to her orders, 
 had filled all the pockets and every spare nook of the coach 
 with provisions. She was very much annoyed, and the first 
 time they stopped to change horses, had everything turned 
 into a hamper, and told the servant to give it away. The 
 governess asked permission to go with the servant while the 
 carriage was detained to see it properly given. A reluctant- 
 consent was obtained, and she hastened into the poorest part 
 of the town that lay near the inn. She had little time for any 
 choice, so turning down a street, she resolved to leave the 
 hamper at the first clean-looking house she came to. Passing 
 several, she stopped at one with a snow-white curtain in a 
 bright window. She knocked against the door, but receiving 
 no answer, tried the latch and went in. A woman reduced by 
 starvation or sickness to a mere skeleton was kneeling at a 
 
 bedstead, which was the only article of furniture in the room. 
 
 M 
 
i 9 4 PRA YER. 
 
 She looked languidly at the lady, who without delay emptied 
 the hamper on the ground — ham, pork-pie, tongue, &c. 
 
 "I was told to give this away," said she, "and as I know no 
 one here, I determined to leave it at the first clean house I 
 came to." 
 
 Instead of thanking or even answering her, the woman, still 
 on her knees, raised her hands and said, " I thank Thee, O my 
 Father; Thou knowest my need." 
 
 A few minutes told her story. She had lost her husband 
 after twenty weeks of fever. m Nursing him had reduced her 
 strength and devoured her substance. She was too weak to 
 work, and had been compelled to part with all her goods, 
 piece by piece, to pay her rent and obtain bread. " I knew I 
 could work if I had meat to nourish me," she said, "but where 
 could I get it? — where?" she continued, "why from Him 
 who sent it by you as I was asking Him to let me have some, 
 unless it was His blessed will that I should go to the work- 
 house." 
 
 THE LOCUST PLAGUE AND PRAYER. 
 
 IN ANSWER to a request for information as to the results 
 which followed the observance of a day of fasting and 
 prayer during the prevalence of the locust plague in 
 Minnesota, the Presbyterian received the following from its 
 well-known correspondent, " Itasca." It is, we believe the best 
 account that has been published of facts, the remembrance 
 of which should be carefully preserved: 
 
 "The grasshoppers made their appearance in Minnesota 
 about six years ago. They multiplied with great rapidity, 
 and soon extended over a large portion of the State. Their 
 depredations were great. Wherever they went they destroyed 
 nearly every green thing. Before them the land was as the 
 garden of Eden, and behind them a desolate wilderness. 
 Every expedient that human ingenuity and the most matured 
 science could suggest was resorted to, in the vain endeavor to 
 
PRA YER. 195 
 
 destroy the locusts. Sheet-iron ' hopper-dozers,' covered with 
 tar, were drawn across the fields, and millions of insects were 
 thus captured and then burned. Poison, and fire, and water, 
 and various kinds of destructive machinery were employed; 
 but the number of the locusts was not appreciably diminished. 
 The helplessness of man was demonstrated, and his pride 
 humbled. The insect was mightier than he. All the material 
 interests of the State were suffering, and hundreds of families 
 were impoverished. Still the scourge had its own way, and it 
 was evident that the next appeal must be made to Omnipo- 
 tence. 
 
 "Accordingly, the Governor appointed a day of fasting, 
 humiliation, and prayer, calling upon all the people to ' beseech 
 the mercy of God for the sins of the past, and His blessing 
 on the worthier aims of the future.' Thursday, the 26th of 
 April, 1877, was set apart for the purpose. The day was 
 observed throughout the entire State. In Minneapolis and 
 St. Paul, and in nearly every town and village, there was- a 
 Sabbath stillness in all the streets. The solemnity that marked 
 the religious exercises was great. The people were on their 
 knees before God, and they pleaded with Him for His own 
 name's sake. They felt that great as were the material interests 
 involved, there were far greater interests at stake. Infidelity 
 scoffingly asked, 'Where is your God?' Liberal leagues had 
 made merry over the superstitiousness of people who, in this 
 enlightened age, believed in the efficacy of prayer. Physical 
 phenomena, it was declared, were beyond the control of man's 
 supplication. A reflex influence upon those who prayed was 
 admitted by some, but nothing more. 
 
 " But what was the result ? The plague was not immediately 
 terminated, and yet prayer was signally answered. That very 
 night, entirely out of season, a snow storm swept across the 
 State, and the moisture, succeeded by cold, destroyed myriads 
 of young locusts and eggs just ready to reinforce the great 
 army. The next morning prominent citizens, who had ridi- 
 culed prayer were silent. The back-bone of infidelity was 
 broken, and from that day to this there has not been heard, 
 
196 PR A YER. 
 
 within my knowledge, a single sneering reference to prayer, 
 although subsequent events seemed to encourage unbelief. 
 The fact is not to be concealed, that for two months after the 
 day of prayer the grasshoppers were still abundant. But the 
 locusts were doomed. Great multitudes died, and those that 
 lived until the middle of July, having done comparatively little 
 harm meanwhile, suddenly took wings and disappeared. When 
 last seen they were flying toward the West, and what became 
 of them no one could tell. A few months later forty millions 
 of wheat had been garnered or shipped to Eastern markets — 
 a yield unprecedented in the history of the State, and perhaps 
 never again to be equalled. 
 
 " I have heard of men who were scoffing infidels before that 
 day of prayer, who are devout believers now. A clergyman, 
 who has traveled through that part of the State which suffered 
 most from the plague, states that whole families are now iden- 
 tified with Christian churches, that were entirely beyond the 
 pale of evangelical religion before the people of God, on that 
 memorable fast-day, settled the question of the efficacy of 
 believing prayer. . . . Our experience confirms the Divine 
 promise, and encourages our faith in God. By His power, in 
 answer to prayer, He has stayed the destruction that wasted 
 at noon-day." 
 
 ANSWERED PRAYER. 
 
 THERE lived a few years ago, in one of the villages of 
 the West of England, a good old man, whose strong 
 faith and love for God were conspicuous among the 
 little band of Christians with whom he worshipped. 
 
 Both Daniel P and his wife were very old and poor ; 
 
 added to which the former was a great sufferer from asthma; 
 yet, notwithstanding poverty and sickness, he was a bright and 
 happy Christian. He was nearly always to be found, sitting 
 in his old arm-chair, with the open Bible on a little round deal 
 table close by his side, or at the prayer meeting, supplicating 
 
PRA YER. 197 
 
 on behalf of his neighbors, and entreating the young men and 
 women to give themselves to Christ. 
 
 One cold winter's morning, before her husband had risen, 
 Sallie went up-stairs to his room, saying: "Daniel, there's no 
 bread in the house, and nothing at all for breakfast; I must 
 take some of the rent money and go down to the shop." 
 
 "No, Sallie," he said; "I have only just enough, and the 
 man will call for it to-morrow." 
 
 Sallie went away murmuring, while Daniel got up and 
 dressed. When he went down-stairs, Sallie said: "Well, I'm 
 sure I don't know what's to be done; nothing for breakfast, 
 and dinner time coming presently." 
 
 " Let's tell the dear Lord about it," said Daniel. So he took 
 the old Bible, and to revive Sallie's drooping faith, read some 
 of the promises therein contained, where our Father bids us 
 trust Him at all times, and assures us of His continual and 
 watchful care. Then the old couple knelt down while Daniel 
 " told the Lord about it." 
 
 The morning passed away, still no help. "Daniel," said 
 Sallie, "let me go down to the shop and ask them to let us 
 have a loaf, and trust us a few days." 
 
 "No, Sallie," said Daniel; "we have never gone in debt yet, 
 and we won't now. Trust the Lord, Sallie; He'll send help 
 before bedtime." Afternoon wore away, and the daylight 
 went; then Daniel said: "Put on the kettle, Sallie, and we'll 
 pray while it is boiling." 
 
 Again, on the strong wings of faith, his earnest prayer rose 
 to the ear always ready to listen to the cry of His children. 
 Scarcely had they risen from their knees, when a voice called 
 from without, " Sallie ! Sallie!" She opened the door, and a 
 woman stood near by with a heavy parcel in her hand. 
 
 "This was left at the turnpike for you, Sallie, with orders 
 to be sent on at once, and they asked me to bring it. Good- 
 night!" 
 
 When the parcel was opened, it was found to contain a 
 package of tea — another of sugar, and a half-crown. 
 
 "Praise the Lord," said Sallie; "now I'll get a loaf." 
 
198 PRAYER. 
 
 "Wait a bit," said Daniel; "let us thank the Lord first." 
 And once more the aged couple fell upon their knees, this 
 time with full hearts, praising the prayer-hearing and prayer- 
 answering God. 
 
 Daniel never heard who sent them the timely aid; it was 
 enough for him that " God did it." 
 
 THE BOY'S PRAYER AND THE WATERSPOUT. 
 
 IN APRIL of i860, the brig "Helen Jane," bound from 
 St. Domingo, when well advanced on her course in the 
 southern latitudes, was one day confronted with that fear- 
 ful aqueous phenomena — sometimes so dangerous a foe to 
 ships at sea — which was bearing down upon the vessel with 
 great rapidity. The sails — for there was little or no wind — 
 afforded no means of escape, and the firing off of a pistol, in 
 the absence of any larger gun, could not produce a concussion 
 of the mighty column of uplifted water from its threatening 
 altitude. All now w r as consternation and confusion on board 
 among both crew and passengers, of whom there were several, 
 including three or four young children and their parents, per- 
 sons of culture and education from a Massachusetts city. One 
 of their little group, a boy of about ten years, noticing the 
 captain's pale and terrified looks, and his pious mother with 
 the rest in tears, with despair depicted on their faces, came up 
 to her who had taught him from infancy to pray to the great 
 God as "our Father in heaven," and our only Helper in time 
 of trouble, and exclaimed in an earnest, yet composed voice, 
 "Mamma, why don't you pray ! why don't you pray /" And 
 then, without waiting for a reply, he knelt down in the midst 
 of the trembling cabin company, and in a few simple words 
 besought that Almighty Being, whom winds and waves and 
 the whirlwind obey, to turn away the awful waterspout and 
 mercifully save them from the impending danger. 
 
 After his prayer, the child seemed to feel sure that the Lord 
 would hear it and grant deliverance. Nor was he mistaken in 
 
PRA YER. 199 
 
 his expectation of relief from the power of an overruling 
 Providence. In a few moments the dark, seething, hissing, 
 cloud-crested mass of waters passed harmlessly by, not touch- 
 ing, yet almost grazing the vessel's side, so as to cause all to 
 regard their escape as marvelous, and to realize that to God 
 the Lord belonged all the praise. 
 
 From that mother's still fresh memories of the scene, we 
 have received the narrative given above. Her dear son's life- 
 voyage ended in his early manhood, but not without the honor 
 and the crowning grace of true religion. What has been here 
 recorded is a just tribute to his memory, and a true story of a 
 boy's great faith in God. 
 
 SINGULAR ANSWERS TO PRAYER. 
 
 THE person to whom this anecdote refers, when speaking 
 to the writer of the goodness of God, said: "God never 
 gave me what I wanted; He always gave me more. As 
 a proof, I will tell you the following anecdote : 
 
 "When I married, I was a workingman, and consequently, 
 I had not much money to spare. In about three months after 
 my marriage, I fell ill, and my illness continued for more than 
 nine months. At that period I was in great distress. I owed 
 a sum of money and had no means to pay it; it must be paid 
 on a certain day or I must go to jail. I had no food for 
 myself and wife ; and in this distress, I went up to my room 
 and took my Bible. I got down on my knees, and opened it, 
 laid my finger on several of the promises, and claimed them 
 as mine. I said, ' Lord, this is Thine own word of promise ; I 
 claim Thy promises.' I endeavored to lay hold of them by 
 faith. I wrestled with God for some time in this way. I got 
 up off my knees, and walked about some time. I then went 
 to bed, and took my Bible, and opened it on these words, 
 ' Call upon Me in the time of trouble : I will deliver thee, and 
 thou shalt glorify Me.' I said, 'It is enough, Lord.' I knew 
 deliverance would come, and I praised God with my whole 
 heart. Whilst in this frame of mind I heard a knock at the 
 
200 PR A YER. 
 
 door. I went and opened it, and a man handed me a letter. 
 I turned to look at the letter, and when I looked up again, the 
 man was gone. The letter contained the sum I wanted, and 
 five shillings over. It is now eighteen years ago, and I never 
 knew who sent it. God only knows. Thus God delivered me 
 out of all my distress. To Him be all the praise ! " 
 
 G. A. was a very intimate acquaintance of mine, when he 
 
 was living in the city of C . I heard the story which I 
 
 am about to relate, from his own lips. He had been out of 
 employment for a considerable* time, and was, in consequence, 
 so circumstanced as only to be able to keep himself from 
 dying of hunger; in fact, he was left with but eightpence half- 
 penny in the world. Nor had he one " friend, but the Friend 
 that "sticketh closer than a brother." He went to the chapel, 
 thanking God for that which was past, and trusting Him for 
 that which was to come, and heard Dr. Newton preach a 
 sermon in aid of a society that v/as under perplexing circum- 
 stances. Sensibly feeling the solemn appeal which the Doctor 
 made to the liberality of the audience in behalf of the society, 
 he at once gave the whole of his eightpence halfpenny. But 
 he still trusted in Him who delivered the Israelites out of the 
 hands of Pharoah. He rose the next morning penniless. But 
 soon a message came to him, saying that he was to commence 
 work that morning. He has been in constant employment 
 ever since; and God, in His infinite goodness and mercy, has 
 raised him to a state of respectability. Truly the words of the 
 Lord were verified in this man : " Them that honor me I will 
 honor." — I Sam. 2: 30. 
 
 PRAY IN FAIR WEATHER. 
 
 IN a recent number of a religious paper, an anecdote to this 
 import is told. A number of years ago, a ship bound to 
 New York, whilst far out in the ocean, suddenly encoun- 
 tered a dreadful storm. All hands were called to take in sail 
 and put the ship in the best trim to stand such a hurricane, 
 
PRA YER. 201 
 
 and all seemed too few. At this moment one of the men, the 
 most hardened, wicked person in the ship, was missing; the 
 captain, himself an irreligious man, looked round for him and 
 found him below, on his knees, repeating the Lord's prayer 
 over and over again. Seizing him by the collar, the captain 
 jerked him on his feet, and shouted with a voice heard even 
 amid the roaring of the storm, "Say your prayers in fair 
 weather." 
 
 The ship, through the good management of the skillful 
 mariners, and the blessing of a merciful God, was saved, and 
 in a few days reached her port. The man who prayed in the 
 storm was at once discharged, having been through his wick- 
 edness a pest in the ship for the preceding fifteen months. 
 But Divine Grace had touched him. The blunt speech of the 
 captain, "Say your prayers in fair weather," seemed ever sound- 
 ing in his ears, and deep distress for his past sins and present 
 state came upon him. Through the mercy of God, and the 
 cleansing baptisms of His Spirit, the work of regeneration 
 went on, until the late hardened sinner became a child of the 
 kingdom, an heir of God, and joint heir with Christ. 
 
 On a certain occasion, years after this event, this man was 
 engaged in preaching, and was surprised at seeing the captain, 
 who had been made the instrument of good to him, sitting 
 among his hearers. At once the scene of the storm came 
 vividly before him, and with a voice so loud as to startle all 
 present, he exclaimed, "Say your prayers in fair weather." 
 When he had recovered in a measure his composure, he pro- 
 ceeded to narrate the circumstance we have given above. The 
 captain, on finding who the preacher was, and how it had 
 pleased the Lord of mercy and loving-kindness, to make use 
 of him, and his scornful exclamation, in turning a hardened 
 sinner into a preacher of righteousness, was much affected. 
 His mind was awakened, and Divine Grace operating therein, 
 led him also forward in the path of purity and peace, until, 
 through the baptisms of repentance and the renewing of the 
 Holy Ghost, he too was made a partaker of the blessed hope 
 of the Gospel of life and salvation. 
 
202 PRAYER. 
 
 These words, "Pray in fair weather," so eminently blessed 
 in these two instances, may well claim the serious consider- 
 ation of each one of us. The paper in which the narrative is 
 given, puts the inquiry to each of its readers, if they say their 
 prayers in fair weather, or whether they wait until some storm, 
 fraught with sorrow and danger, comes upon them, to drive 
 them in anguish and terror to seek comfort and security in 
 God. We have need to be doubly watchful and prayerful in 
 times of prosperity. When God gives us most outward bless- 
 ings, we are most likely to forget Him. Reader, whether it 
 be fair weather or foul weather with thee, seek ever for the 
 spirit of prayer; then, through a full surrender of thy own 
 will to the Lord Jesus, His redeeming and sanctifying mercy 
 will prepare thee to bear the afflictions of time without terror, 
 and the blessings of prosperity without injury to thy immortal 
 soul. 
 
 THE INDIAN GIRL, HANNAH. 
 
 A PRAYER TEST. 
 
 TWO years after her conversion, one of the missionaries 
 who was about to leave the country for a visit in Ohio, 
 proposed to take Hannah along. She was exceedingly 
 pleased with the idea, remarking that she had a great desire to 
 visit the land from whence the Gospel came, as it must be 
 almost the same there as heaven itself, as no doubt all the 
 people there loved the Lord Jesus. Her mother and many of 
 her other relatives were Christians, and readily gave their con- 
 sent to her going; but her father, who was a great "medicine 
 man," utterly refused to let her go, and declared further that 
 in case she went and anything befell her, especially if she 
 should die, he would revenge her death — the life of one of the 
 missionaries should go for her life. 
 
 On hearing this her mother and sisters endeavored to dis- 
 suade her from going. On one occasion, I recollect, as her 
 friends were representing the great trouble that would result 
 
PR A YER. 203 
 
 if she should never return, she opened the Ojibwa Testament 
 and read the first verse of the fourteenth chapter of John's 
 Gospel, "Let not your heart be troubled," "That is enough," 
 said she, "trust the whole matter in the hands of Jesus; He 
 will take care of consequences. I am going to the white 
 man's country, and I know that my father will do no injury to 
 any one, though I never return. All that matter I have freely 
 communicated to my God, and He has assured me that I may 
 go, and He will see that only good will result from it." 
 
 She went to Ohio in the spring, and was quite well until the 
 close of the winter following, when she sickened and died. A 
 
 few hours before her death, Barnard, who had the care 
 
 of her, spoke of her father's threats, and expressed the fear 
 that he would do some great evil to the missionaries. 
 
 To this Hannah replied, " Do not give yourself any trouble 
 about that. My father will do no violence to any one." She 
 then remarked that she was full of joy and peace; that she 
 already heard the songs of the happy ones in the other world: 
 
 When the end came, she was informed that she had only a 
 few minutes to live. Folding her hands, she said, "Let Thy 
 kingdom now come and fill the earth" — and passed away leav- 
 ing a sweet smile upon her countenance. A letter was sent to 
 Red Lake informing us of her death. We were much affected, 
 as were her friends. 
 
 Her father was about one hundred miles away, hunting. 
 He soon heard of his daughter's death and hastened home. 
 Stopping when about four miles from us, he changed his hunt- 
 ing attire and put on his war accoutrements. Then coming to 
 the mission, he asked to have the families (three in all) gath- 
 ered at our house. When all were in, he said, " Read me the 
 letter." It was read, and all the particulars freely explained. 
 Then stepping into the middle of the room, tomahawk in 
 hand, he said: 
 
 " I charge you with murder. You have murdered my 
 daughter. She was my child, not yours; I loved her. You 
 have broken my heart. I told you, if you took her away and 
 anything should befall her, I would revenge it. I am full of 
 
204 PR A YER. 
 
 courage. I do not fear your pale faces. I do not fear your 
 great father in Washington. I do not fear the other Indians. 
 My heart is strong, but I cannot hurt you. My strength is 
 gone; my mind is changed. The Great Spirit will not suffer 
 me to injure you. I am powerless. He spoke to me in a 
 dream, and took away my strength to hurt you, so these 
 women need not fear. My heart is strong, but I cannot lift up 
 my hand to execute my threat; but don't call me a coward." 
 
 THE STARVING CAPTAIN'S PRAYER. 
 
 CAPTAIN H and crew sailed some time since from 
 the port of . After having been at sea for several 
 
 days, they were assailed by an unusually severe storm, 
 which continued forty-five days and nights in succession. 
 They were driven far from their course by the violence of the 
 wind. Nature had become nearly exhausted by hard and long 
 toiling; and to add to their affliction, famine began to threaten 
 them with a death far more appalling than that of a watery 
 grave. 
 
 The captain had with him his wife, two daughters, and ten 
 persons besides. As the provisions grew short, his wife became 
 provident and careful of the pittance that fell to their family 
 share. She would eat but little, lest her husband should 
 starve. The children would eat but little, for fear the mother 
 would suffer, and the captain refused to eat any, but left his 
 portion for his suffering family. At length they were reduced 
 to a scanty allowance for twenty-four hours, in the midst of a 
 storm, and one thousand miles from land. Captain H. was a 
 man who feared God. In this, his extremity, he ordered his 
 steward to bring the remaining provision on deck, and spread 
 the same on the tarpaulin which covers the hatch, and falling 
 down beside the fragments of bread and meat before him, he 
 lifted up his voice in prayer to Him who heareth out of the 
 deep, and said, " O thou that didst feed Elijah by a raven while 
 in the wilderness, and who commanded that the widow's cruise 
 
PR A YER. 205 
 
 of oil and barrel of meal should not fail, look down upon us 
 in out present distress, and grant that this food may be so 
 multiplied that the lives now in jeopardy may be preserved." 
 After this he arose from his knees, went to the companion- 
 way and found his wife and children engaged in the same holy 
 exercise. He exhorted them to pray on, and assured them 
 that God had answered his prayer, and that not one soul on 
 board should perish. Scarcely had he uttered the words, when 
 his mate, who had been at the mast-head for some time on the 
 look-out, exclaimed, " Sail O ! sail O ! " At this crisis the 
 captain shouted with swelling gratitude, " What, has God sent 
 the ravens already!" — and in one hour from that time, through 
 the friendly sail, barrels of bread and meat were placed upon 
 the deck. 
 
 "Thus one thing secures us, whatever betide; 
 The Scripture assures us the Lord will provide." 
 
 THE CHILDREN'S COW RESTORED. 
 
 A RECENT traveler was shown a very large meteoric 
 stone in the Mineralogical Cabinet at Vienna, con- 
 nected with which the following singular facts were- 
 related : 
 
 A man residing in Croatia, had a large family of young 
 children depending upon him. His means were very small, 
 but he possessed a good cow, which furnished almost all the 
 nourishment by which the younger portion of the household 
 was sustained. At last, this highly valued, much loved and 
 much needed animal died, leaving the family disconsolate and 
 almost destitute. The poor afflicted man was inconsolable, and 
 speaking to a religious friend on the subject, he let him know 
 that he did not see how his children could get along, as their 
 principal support was taken away. In his sorrow he seemed 
 ready to murmur at this dispensation of Providence, but his 
 friend checked him, saying: "Do not do so, pray and work on, 
 in hope and trust God may, perhaps, send you another cow." 
 
206 PRA YER. 
 
 The man, by dint of hard work, supported his family. He 
 had faith in the mercy of his Almighty Caretaker, but if he 
 looked for the other cow spoken of, without doubt he found it 
 long in coming. 
 
 A year of privation, we may trust cheerfully borne by the 
 poor man, passed away, when one day an immense round stone 
 fell from the air, and struck the ground immediately before the 
 door of the cottage. When the fright caused by the incident 
 had subsided, he felt the stone and found it quite hot. Little 
 did he imagine that in that stone was the answer to his prayers 
 on behalf of his children. So, however, it proved ! Convinced 
 that the stone could be no common one, he had it hoisted into 
 a cart and conveyed to a neighboring town. There it was 
 recognized as meteoric, and being sent to Vienna, the emperor 
 purchased it of the poor man, paying him for it five hundred 
 florins, which would have procured for him a number of cows. 
 Whilst thankfully looking up to his Heavenly Father as the 
 giver of every good gift, he without doubt felt rejoiced, that 
 instead of the cow he had asked for his children, he had 
 received a stone. 
 
 THE WIFE'S PRAYER. 
 
 A NOTABLE instance of praying to God, and resolving 
 to take no denial, and prevailing when hope seemed 
 gone, was that of the pious wife of a hard-drinking 
 man, named Martin, in West Riding, Yorkshire, England, who 
 prayed twenty-one years for his reformation and conversion. 
 
 When that long time had passed, and no answer had come 
 to her prayers, she went one night at midnight, to the "public" 
 where her husband spent much of his time, and found him sit- 
 ting in the bar-room, with several other men and the landlady. 
 "You go home," said Martin, roughly, when he saw his wife 
 enter. 
 
 " Wait a little, and your husband will go with you," said the 
 landlady. 
 
 " Tolman," replied the poor wife, advancing to the table 
 
PR A YER. 207 
 
 where they were sitting, " I have waited twenty-one years for 
 my husband to ' go with me ' — and all that time I have prayed 
 for him." She steadied her voice and added: "I am certain, 
 too, that God will answer my prayers. As sure as he is sitting 
 in your bar, I shall live to see him pass your house and have 
 no inclination to go in." She turned to go out, and Martin 
 rose and followed her, saying not a word. 
 
 That night was the turning-point in his life. The long-felt 
 promise to the heart of the pious wife that her husband should 
 "go with her" began to fulfill her patient waiting. He went to 
 meeting with her, and was melted by a sermon on the words, 
 "Where thou goest, I will go; . . . thy people shall be my 
 people, and thy God my God." He went with her on the road 
 to life, and helped to lead their children in the narrow way. 
 
 A MOTHER'S PRAYER. 
 
 A WEATHER-BEATEN sailor, on making his homeward 
 passage, as he doubled the stormy Cape, encountered 
 a dreadful tempest. The mother had heard of his 
 arrival outside of the Cape; she was awaiting with the anxiety 
 a mother alone can know, to see her son. But now the storm 
 had arisen, and when the ship was in the most dangerous place, 
 fearing that each blast, as it swept the raging deep, might howl 
 the requiem of her son, with faith strong in God, she com- 
 menced praying for his safety. At this moment news came 
 that the vessel was lost. 
 
 The father, an unconverted man, had till this time preserved 
 a sullen silence, but now he wept aloud. The mother observed, 
 "It is in the hands of Him who does all things well;" and 
 again the subdued and softened spirit bowed, commending her 
 son and her partner, in an audible voice, broken only by the 
 bursting of a full heart, to God. 
 
 Darkness had now spread her mantle abroad, and they retired, 
 but not to rest, and anxiously awaited for the morning, hoping, 
 at least, that some relic of their lost one might be found. 
 
208 PRA YER. 
 
 The morning came. The winds were hushed, and the ocean 
 lay comparatively calm, as though its fury had subsided since 
 its victim was no more. At this moment the little gate in front 
 of the dwelling turned on its hinges; the door opened; and 
 their son, their lost, loved son, stood before them. The vessel 
 had been driven into one of the many harbors on the coast, 
 and was safe. The father rushed to meet him. His mother, 
 hanging on his neck, earnestly exclaimed, "My child, how 
 came you here ? " 
 
 " Mother," said he, as the tears coursed down his sun-burnt 
 face, "I knew you'd pray me home !" 
 
 What a spectacle ! A wild, reckless youth acknowledging 
 the efficacy of prayer ! It seems he was aware of his perilous 
 situation, and that he labored with the thoughts — u My mother 
 prays — Christian prayers are answered, and I may be saved." 
 This reflection, when almost exhausted with fatigue, and ready 
 to give up in despair, gave him fresh courage, and with 
 renewed effort he labored till the harbor was gained. Christian 
 mother, go thou and do likewise. Pray for that son, who is 
 likely to be wrecked in the storm of life; and his prospects 
 blasted forever. He may be saved. 
 
 A SISTER'S PRAYER. 
 
 IN THE autumn of 1865, a young woman, whose renewed 
 and humble heart was earnestly seeking to be led in all 
 the ways of the Lord, felt herself directed to leave the 
 home of her childhood among the mountains of New England, 
 and for awhile take up her abode with a Christian family in 
 another section of the country. She was one of a family of 
 children who were now scattered. One was in the North, 
 another in the East, a third in the South, while a fourth, a 
 beloved eldest brother, for many months had been roaming 
 the wide West, she knew not where. 
 
 Long accustomed to these separations, the sharpness of 
 former anxieties for the absent ones had become abated, and 
 with a cheerful and strong heart she went about the duties of 
 
PR A YER. 209 
 
 her new- home, only thinking occasionally and quietly of those 
 dear brothers and sisters, whose paths had so far diverged 
 from each other, and from their common home. 
 
 But one evening, when the toils of the day were ended, and 
 the little family which was then under her charge, had gathered 
 together, for an evening of quiet rest and conversation, a wild, 
 
 uncontrollable and unaccountable yearning toward E' , the 
 
 wandering brother, came over her. She could think of noth- 
 ing else. Let her conversation turn as it might, E would 
 
 come up in her thoughts, and force himself upon her lips. 
 Thus impelled to speak of him, she commenced relating his 
 history, telling of his roamings and his adventures, talking of 
 his virtues and excusing his faults, till the time arrived for 
 retirement. 
 
 She went to her repose, but she could not sleep. In vain 
 she turned upon the bed and tried to calm herself to rest. At 
 
 length she felt urged to get up and pray for E . But 
 
 doubting at first whether this was really an impression from 
 the Lord, or only the result of her own nervousness and fear, 
 she delayed to yield to the silent prompting, till the conviction 
 forced itself upon her with such power that further hesitation 
 seemed a sin. She accordingly arose, and poured out the 
 abundance of her burdened heart before the Lord, specially 
 
 and earnestly pleading that wherever E was, if he were in 
 
 any danger, the Lord would graciously deliver him and spare 
 his life. She laid down again, hoping to rest, but the same 
 agony of spirit returned. Visions of horror, and danger, and 
 death flitted before her, till again she felt herself impelled to 
 
 arise and pray for E . She did so, once more entreating 
 
 the Lord for his safety, and committing his soul to the keeping 
 of Him who neither slumbereth nor sleepeth. She sought her 
 pillow, but only to arise again, and pray as before. And thus 
 passed that night in alternate tossing and praying, till the 
 morning dawned; when the strange, afflicting experience van- 
 ished. For weeks following she remembered that night as a 
 sad thing of the past, gradually settling back into her former 
 quiet and submissive way of thinking of her brother. 
 
 N 
 
210 PRAYER. 
 
 In a few weeks there came a letter from E , the first 
 
 tidings that had been received for months. He wrote from 
 one of the extreme Southern States, and his letter unraveled 
 the mystery of that memorable night. By comparing dates, 
 to her surprise and awe, the sister learned that while she was 
 wrestling before the Lord in agony and tears for her brother's 
 safety, he, in that distant State, and an almost friendless stran- 
 ger, in the small, uncomfortable office in a business house, lay 
 dreadfully ill, and given over to death. His only attendant was 
 a clerk in the establishment,«who waited upon the sufferer as 
 he could snatch a few moments from the rush and hurry of 
 business, while a horde of merciless and gold-thirsting men 
 were around them, pressing their claims to the very gates of 
 death, till the sick and weary man, after tremblingly writing 
 his signature, as for the last time, had laid himself back on his 
 rude bed to die. But contrary to every expectation, he had 
 survived, and suddenly and speedily grew better, to the sur- 
 prise of those who had known his extreme illness and danger. 
 Little knowing of his sister's wrestling before the Lord on his 
 
 behalf, E had sent this record of his recovery to her. 
 
 E is still living, grateful indeed for a sister's loving care 
 
 and prayerful remembrance. 
 
 As she recalls the holy ministry to which the Spirit of the 
 Lord was pleased to direct her on that memorable night, she 
 still desires to bear witness to the safety and blessing which 
 ever attends those who follow the Lord's wondrous leadings 
 with contrite and believing hearts. 
 
 THE CAPTAIN'S PRAYER. 
 
 CAPTAIN MITCHELL K was from early life accus- 
 tomed to the sea. He commanded a merchant ship 
 that sailed from Philadelphia. After his marriage he 
 again went to sea, and one day committed to writing, while in 
 a highly devotional frame of mind, a prayer for the temporal 
 and eternal happiness of his beloved wife and unborn babe. 
 
PRAYER. 211 
 
 This prayer, nearly filling a sheet of paper, was deposited with 
 his other writings, at the bottom of an old oak chest The 
 captain died before the completion of the voyage, in the year 
 1757, and his instruments, papers, etc., were returned to his 
 wife. Finding they were generally what she could not under- 
 stand, she locked up the chest for the inspection and use of 
 her babe, who proved to be a son, at some future period. 
 
 At eighteen this son entered the army, and in 1775 marched 
 for Boston. He gave the reins to his lusts, and for many 
 years yielded to almost every temptation to sin. At last he 
 was called to the death bed of his mother, who gave him the 
 key of his father's chest, which, however, he did not open, 
 lest he should meet with something of a religious kind that 
 would reprove his sins and harass his feelings. 
 
 At length in 18 14, when in his fifty-sixth year, he deter- 
 mined to examine its contents. When he reached the bottom, 
 he discovered a paper neatly folded, and endorsed, " The prayer 
 
 of Mitchell K for blessings on his wife and child, August 
 
 23, 1757." He read it. The scene, the time, the place and 
 circumstances under which it was written and put there, all 
 rushed upon his mind and overwhelmed him; for often had 
 his widowed mother led him to the beach and pointed to him 
 the direction on the horizon where she had traced the last 
 glimpse of flowing canvas that bore his father from her, never 
 to return. He threw the contents back into the chest, folded 
 up the prayer, and put it into the case with his father's 
 quadrant, locked up the chest, and determined never again to 
 unlock it. 
 
 But his father's prayer still haunted his imagination, and he 
 could not forget. His distress then became extreme, and a 
 woman with whom he sinfully lived entreated to know the 
 cause. He looked on her with wildness, and replied, " I can- 
 not tell you." This only increased her solicitude; he entreated 
 her to withdraw; as she left the room she cast an anxious and 
 expressive look on him, and he instantly called her back. He 
 then, with all the feelings which an awakened guilty conscience 
 could endure, told her the cause of his agonies — his father's 
 
212 PRAYER. 
 
 prayer found in the old chest. She thought him deranged; 
 his neighbors were called in to comfort him, but in vain. The 
 prayer had inflicted a wound which the great Physician of 
 souls only could heal. From that period he became an altered 
 man, and lived and died an humble, exemplary Christian. 
 
 PRAYING MARY. 
 
 A NUMBER of ministers were assembled for discussion 
 of difficult questions, and among others it was asked, 
 how the command to "pray without ceasing" could be 
 complied with. Various suppositions were started, and at 
 length one of the number was appointed to write an essay 
 upon it, to be read at the next monthly meeting; which being 
 overheard by a plain, sensible servant girl, she exclaimed, 
 " What ! a whole month wanted to tell the meaning of that 
 text ! It is one of the easiest and best texts in the Bible." 
 
 "Well, well," said an old minister, "Mary, what can you say 
 about it? let us know how you understand it; can you pray 
 all the time?" 
 " O, yes, sir." 
 
 "What! when you have so many things to do?" 
 " Why, sir, the more I have to do, the more I can pray." 
 "Indeed! well, Mary, do let us know how it is; for most 
 people think otherwise." 
 
 " Well, sir," said the girl, " when I first open my eyes in the 
 morning, I pray, Lord, open the eyes of my understanding; 
 and while I am dressing, I pray that I may be clothed with the 
 robe of righteousness; and when I have washed me, I ask for 
 a washing of regeneration; and as I begin to work, I pray that 
 I may have strength equal to my day ; when I begin to kindle 
 up the fire, I pray that God's work may revive in my soul; 
 and as I sweep out the house, I pray that my heart may be 
 cleansed of all impurities; and while preparing and partaking 
 of breakfast, I desire to be fed with the hidden manna, and the 
 sincere milk of the word; and as I am busy with the little 
 
PRAYER. 213 
 
 children, I look up to God as my father and pray for the spirit 
 of adoption, that I may be His child; and so on, all day, 
 everything I do, furnishes me with a thought for prayer." 
 
 "Enough, enough," cried the old divine, "these things are 
 revealed to babes, and often hid from the wise and prudent; 
 go on, Mary," said he, "'pray without ceasing;' and as for us, 
 my brethren, let us bless the Lord for this exposition, and 
 remember that 'the meek will He guide in judgment.'" 
 
DREAMS 
 
 SOME persons pay a superstitious respect to dreams, which 
 are but the unbalanced and unrestrained operation of the 
 mind, when the controlling power of reason is wholly or 
 partially at rest. Yet there is abundant evidence that it does 
 please the Almighty Dispenser of wisdom, sometimes to speak 
 to man in the vision of the night, when the head is reclining 
 in slumber. Such dreams are accompanied in the waking 
 hours which follow, with an impression that a lesson is to be 
 learned from them ; and have often been a means of conveying 
 instruction, warning, or comfort. 
 
 In the Philadelphia Methodist, within a few years, an account 
 was published by Joseph Mason, of a member of the congre- 
 gation with which he was connected, who had been awakened 
 to a , sense of her condition by a remarkable dream, and who 
 became an exemplary and devoted Christian. She dreamed a 
 man of remarkable beauty and heavenliness, dressed in the 
 purest white, came to her, and said he had come to take her 
 along with him. Immediately he began to ascend, and she, as 
 though attracted by a magnet, began to follow without effort 
 They seemed to ascend in the air, and after they had proceeded 
 for a considerable distance, she heard in the distance the most 
 enchanting music. She listened, and asked her attendant what 
 the music was. He answered, "The song of the heavenly 
 host." She desired him to take her nearer. "No," said he, 
 
216 DREAMS. 
 
 "you are not prepared for that." He then began to descend, 
 she still being attracted as before. They went down, down, as 
 though into a deep, dark pit, until they came to what appeared 
 like a trap-door, which flew open as they approached, when 
 she heard the most awful groans and lamentations, where there 
 was, as it were, a sea of flame. She saw several walking amid 
 the flames, who appeared to be in the greatest agony, yet 
 unconsumed. Among them was a tall man, wrapped in a 
 large cloak, who seemed to be walking to and fro, and every 
 time he approached them, he 'gnashed his teeth. She asked 
 her guide what was the matter with this man. He told her to 
 ask him when he came near.- When he came near again, she 
 asked him the cause of his agony, when he suddenly opened 
 his cloak, and his whole person was as though it was a blazing 
 furnace of fire. She asked her guide what place that was. 
 "The place," said he, "for which you are prepared, and to 
 which you will soon go unless you change your life." Terri- 
 fied beyond description, she begged him to take her away from 
 that awful place, and in her agony, and effort to escape, she 
 awoke. 
 
 Such was the effect of the dream upon her, that she yielded 
 to the heavenly visitation, and was enabled, by the grace of 
 God, to deny all her former evil works and to live soberly, 
 righteously and godly. Well was it for her that she expe- 
 rienced this change while in health — for, years after, being 
 unwell, she called at her physician's office for advice and medi- 
 cine, and while he was preparing the medicine, he heard a 
 noise as of something falling, and turned to see the cause, and 
 there she lay insensible on the floor, and in a few minutes she 
 had passed away. 
 
 In the Illustrated Christian Weekly ', there is published, by 
 John E. Edwards, an account of a very remarkable dream of 
 a woman who lived at Petersburg, Va., and who is described 
 as a woman of more than ordinary intelligence. The writer 
 says: 
 
 " She was a married woman, and the mother of four children 
 at the time of the occurrence of the incident which I now 
 
DREAMS. 217 
 
 relate. The writer received the story from her own lips before 
 she was called away from earth. She died at an advanced age, 
 having adorned her Christian profession by a life of exemplar}- 
 piety. 
 
 " Martha, her eldest child, was a beautiful girl at the time 
 referred to, being about fourteen years of age. She was her 
 mother's idol, though her mother was unconscious of the 
 fact. Handsome in person, sweet in disposition, gentle in her 
 manners, and withal devotedly attached to her mother, she 
 occupied a supreme place in her affections. Just as she was 
 verging on womanhood she was taken ill, and gradually grew 
 from bad to worse. The most assiduous care in the way of 
 nursing, and the most constant attention of the skillful physi- 
 cian failed to arrest the disease. The mother was frantic in 
 her grief as it became apparent that Martha must die. Amid 
 all, the sweet girl was calm, patient and resigned. At last the 
 death-angel came and released the wan and wasted sufferer 
 from the grasp of disease. 
 
 "The mother was positively inconsolable. Nothing could 
 allay the bitter anguish of her broken heart. She lost her 
 appetite, refused to take her food, sleep deserted her pillow, 
 and gradually she wasted away almost to a skeleton. She 
 wept until she had no more tears to weep. Her friends 
 exhausted every device to divert her mind from the painful 
 subject. It seemed she must w T aste away and die. 
 
 "In this state of mind, late one night, she fell asleep, with a 
 few stray tear-drops on her shrivelled cheek. Her sleep was 
 fitful for awhile, and then she fell into a profound slumber, and 
 sleeping she dreamed. Suddenly, as she related the vision to 
 me, a bright and beautiful angel, clothed in the habiliments of 
 light, appeared to her, and, in a sweet and winning voice, 
 tenderly asked, ' Would you see Martha ? ' 
 
 " Instantly she responded, ' Yes ; above all things in the uni- 
 verse, I would see her.' 
 
 " ' Then follow me,' said the heavenly visitant. 
 
 " She arose and followed her guide without a word of further 
 inquiry. Presently a stately and magnificent edifice greeted her 
 
2i3 DREAMS. 
 
 wondering and half-bewildered gaze. The door of entrance 
 was open. She ascended the steps and entered the resounding 
 hall, followed closely behind the angel, not knowing whither 
 he would lead her. Without even casting a glance behind or 
 saying a word, suddenly the angel paused, and with his ethe- 
 real finger touched a secret spring. Noiselessly a door swung 
 wide open and revealed the inmates to her astonished gaze. 
 There was a throng of excited revellers, in the midst of 
 bacchanalian excesses, flushed with wine, and presenting a 
 revolting scene of debauchery*' and worldly dissipation. The 
 angel pointed his white index finer at the most conspicuous 
 figure in the group, the one who led the dance and was most 
 boisterous in the mirth and festive glee, and then turning his 
 eye on the mother, said, ' There is Martha, behold her ! ' 
 
 " The mother passionately exclaimed, ' No, No ! that is not 
 Martha ! I was raising her for God, and for His church, and 
 for heaven. That is not Martha.' 
 
 "'So you thought,' responded the angel in tenderest accents, 
 'but she was your idol. You could deny her nothing. That 
 is what she would have been.' The door closed. 'Follow 
 me,' said the angel. 
 
 " She followed with a palpitating heart. Her mind was filled 
 with anxious and painful thought. The angel paused and 
 again touched a secret spring, and the door flew open as if on 
 golden hinges. Before her enraptured eyes there was displayed 
 a vast multitude of the most resplendent forms she had ever 
 conceived of in human mold. Brows of lustrous beauty, faces 
 radiant with supernatural light, voices sweetly modulated, and 
 all enrobed in spotless white. Not a trace of sorrow was on 
 any face. It was heaven, and the angel, pointing to the joyous 
 and happy throng, said, turning his glad eye on the mother, 
 'There is Martha as she is.' 
 
 " The dreamer awoke, but awoke from that dream in unut- 
 terable ecstacy— she awoke praising God. And in relating 
 this dream she said to the writer, ' Dream though it was, to me 
 it was an apocalypse. I brushed away my tears. My heart 
 was relieved of its sorrow, and I now believe, a*nd have long 
 
DREAMS. 219 
 
 believed, that Martha's death was best for her, and best for her 
 mother.' " 
 
 CAPTAIN YONNT'S DREAM. 
 
 A STRIKING instance of Providential deliverance is nar- 
 rated by Horace Bushnell in his work on "Nature and 
 the Supernatural, as together constituting the one sys- 
 tem of God." 
 
 "As I sat by the fire," says this writer, " one stormy night, 
 in a hotel parlor in the Napa Valley, California, there came in 
 a most venerable and benignant looking person, with his wife, 
 taking their seats in the circle. The stranger, as I afterward 
 learned, was Captain Yonnt, a man who came over into Cali- 
 fornia as a trapper, more than forty years ago. Here he has 
 lived apart from the great world and its questions, acquiring 
 an immense landed estate, and becoming a kind of acknowl-' 
 edged patriarch in the country. 
 
 "In the course of conversation, he related the following 
 incident in his experience. About six or seven years previous, 
 in a midwinter's night, he had a dream, in which he saw what 
 appeared to be a company of emigrants arrested by the snows 
 of the mountains, and perishing rapidly from cold and hunger. 
 He noted the very cast of the scenery, marked by a huge 
 perpendicular front of a white rock cliff; he saw the men cut- 
 ting off what appeared to be tree-tops rising out of deep gulfs 
 of snow; he distinguished the very features of the persons 
 and the look of their particular distress. He awoke profoundly 
 impressed with the distinctness and apparent reality of his 
 dream. At length he fell asleep and dreamed exactly the same 
 dream again. In the morning he could not expell it from his 
 mind. Falling in shortly with an old hunter comrade, he told 
 him the story, and was only the more deeply impressed by his 
 recognizing, without hesitation, the scenery of the dream. 
 
 "This comrade came over the Sierra by the Carson Valley 
 Pass, and declared that a spot in the pass answered axactly to 
 
220 DREAMS. 
 
 his description. By this the unsophisticated patriarch was 
 decided. He immediately collected a company of men, with 
 mules, and blankets, and all necessary provisions. The neigh- 
 bors were laughing, meantime, at his credulity. 'No matter,' 
 said he ; ' I am able to do this, and I will, for I verily believe 
 that the fact is according to my dream.' The men were sent 
 into the mountains, one hundred and fifty miles distant, directly 
 to the Carson Valley Pass. And there they found the com- 
 pany in exactly the condition of the dream, and brought in 
 the remnant alive. 
 
 "A gentleman present said, 'You need have no doubt of 
 this, for we Californians all know the facts, and the names of 
 the families brought in, who now look upon our venerable 
 friend as a kind of saviour.' These names he gave, and the 
 places where, they reside, and I found out afterward that the 
 California people were ready everywhere to second his testi- 
 mony." 
 
 WARNING BY A DREAM. 
 
 R 
 
 ALPH W. WOOD, a young English resident in India, 
 returned to his native country about the year 1781. 
 He took with him his eldest daughter, leaving his wife 
 and three youngest children in India, who were to follow him 
 sometime in the next year. When the time had nearly arrived, 
 she expected to take passage in the Grosvenor, which was 
 announced to sail in the Sixth month, 1782. The children 
 remaining with her— the oldest being but five years of age — 
 were an anxious care for their mother to undertake during the 
 voyage, long as it then was from India to England. 
 
 While making preparations for her departure, she was 
 troubled by a dream of the shipwreck of the vessel. The 
 impression would probably have faded away, had not the 
 dream occurred a second and a third time before the vessel 
 sailed. She then visited the captain, and informed him of her 
 dream, and of her efforts not to allow herself to be influenced 
 
DREAMS. 221 
 
 by it, until its repetition so impressed her mind, that she had 
 resolved that he must sail without her. The friends who were 
 to have accompanied her on the voyage, endeavored by reason- 
 ing and ridicule to induce her to change her mind. The 
 women especially were urgent, but her resolution was not to 
 changed, and she was left behind. 
 
 The Grosvenor sailed on the thirteenth of Sixth month, and 
 on the fourth of Eighth month she struck upon the rocks on 
 the coast of Africa, some distance from the Cape of Good 
 Hope. In the attempt to land the crew and passengers, nine- 
 teen men lost their lives; the remainder reached the inhospita- 
 ble shore. The next morning the natives came upon them, and 
 carried off all they could lay their hands on, without actually 
 plundering their persons. They then determined to journey 
 by land to the Cape, and started upon this expedition under 
 the command of Captain Coxon. They were followed by the 
 natives, who continually plundered and insulted them. On 
 one occasion they were attacked by a party of more than three • 
 hundred Kaffirs armed for war. A number of them were 
 wounded, but no lives lost. Peace having been made at 
 length, they pursued their journey. A few days later, the 
 natives came upon them again, and robbed them of everything 
 valuable, including flint, steel, and tinder-box, which had been 
 useful in kindling fires at night. - The distressed party after- 
 ward divided into two bands, half of them traveling inland, 
 and the rest by the sea-shore. Those who took the inland 
 way, were soon compelled by hunger to return to the coast, 
 where they could procure shell-fish, which was their principal 
 article of food. After enduring these dreadful privations, at 
 the expiration of one hundred and seventeen days, only a 
 small portion of their number succeeded in reaching a settle- 
 ment near the Cape, where they were kindly cared for by the 
 Dutch government, although it was then engaged in war with 
 England. 
 
 When the news of the loss of the Grosvenor reached 
 England, R. W. Wood gave up his family for lost. At the 
 end of six months, being on a visit to his wife's mother, a 
 
222 . DREAMS. 
 
 carriage drove to the door. It contained his wife and three 
 children. His joy at thus again beholding them was almost 
 overpowering. The faithful wife, with her usual energy and 
 decision of character, had hastened from the vessel which had 
 brought her safely to her native land, to be the first to commu- 
 nicate to him their safety. She had only waited for the next 
 ship that sailed, a Danish East-Indiaman, and then safely 
 returned to her husband, to unite with him and her children, 
 in thanking Him who in mercy had so wonderfully warned 
 and preserved them from impeading dangers. 
 
 
ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 THE HAPPY NEGRO. 
 
 M 
 
 ANY years ago an English gentleman had occasion to 
 visit North America, where the following circumstance 
 occurred, which is thus related in his own words: 
 "Every day's observation convinces me that the children of # 
 God are made so by His own especial Grace; and that' all 
 means are equally effectual with Him, whenever He is pleased 
 to employ them for conversion. 
 
 " In one of my excursions while I was in the State of New 
 York, I was walking by myself over a considerable plantation, 
 amused with its husbandry, and comparing it with that of my 
 own country, till I came within a little distance of a middle- 
 aged negro, who was tilling the ground. I felt a strong incli- 
 nation, unusual with me, to converse with him. After asking 
 him some little questions about his work, which he answered 
 in a sensible manner, I asked him to tell me whether his state 
 of slavery was not disagreeable to him, and whether he would 
 not gladly be at liberty. 
 
 "'Massa,' said he, looking seriously upon me, 'I have a wife 
 and children; my massa take care of them, and I have no care 
 to provide anything. I have a good massa, who teaches me 
 to read; and I read good book, that makes me happy.' 'I am 
 glad,' replied I, 'to hear you say so, and pray what is the good 
 book you read?' 'The Bible, massa — God's own book.' 'Do 
 
224 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 you understand, friend, as well as read this book ? — for many 
 can read the words well, who cannot get hold of the true and 
 good sense.' 
 
 " ' O massa,' said he, ' I read the book much before I under- 
 stand; but, at last, I felt pain in my heart; I found things in 
 the book that cut me to pieces.' 'Ah!' said I, 'and what 
 things were they?' 'Why, massa, I found that I had bad 
 heart, massa — a very bad heart indeed. I felt pain that God 
 would destroy me, because I was wicked, and done nothing as 
 I should do. God was holy, and I was very vile and naughty; 
 I could have nothing from Him but fire and brimstone in hell.' 
 
 " In short, he entered into a full account of his convictions 
 of sin, which were indeed as deep and piercing as almost any 
 I had ever heard of; and what Scriptures came to his mind, 
 which he had read, that both probed to the bottom of his sin- 
 ful heart, and were made the means of light and comfort to 
 his soul. I then inquired of him what ministry or means he 
 made use of, and found that his master was a plain sort of 
 man, who had taught his slaves to read, but who had not con- 
 versed with this negro upon the state of his soul. 
 
 " I asked him, likewise, how he got comfort under all this 
 trial. ' O massa,' said he, ' it was Christ gave me comfort by 
 His dear word. He bade me come unto Him, and He would 
 give me rest, for I was very weary and heavy laden.' And 
 here he repeated a number of the most precious texts in the 
 Bible, showing by his artless comment upon them, as he went 
 along, what great things God had done in the course of some 
 years for his soul. 
 
 " Being more acquainted with doctrinal truths and the Bible, 
 than he had been, or could easily be, I had a mind to try. how 
 far a simple experience, graciously given without the usual 
 means, could preserve a man from error; and I therefore asked 
 him several questions about the merit of works, the power of 
 Grace, and the like. I own I was as much astonished at, as I 
 aclmired the sweet spirit and simplicity of his answers, with 
 the heavenly wisdom that God had put into the mind of this 
 negro. 
 
ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 225 
 
 " His discourse, flowing merely from the richness of Grace, 
 with a tenderness and expression far ' beyond the reach of art,' 
 perfectly charmed me. On the other hand, my entering into 
 all his feelings, together with an account to him, which he had 
 never heard before, that thus and thus the Lord, in His mercy, 
 dealt with all His children, and had dealt with me, drew 
 streams of joyful tears down his black face, and we looked 
 upon each other, and talked with that inexpressible glow of 
 Christian affection, that made me more than ever believe, what 
 I have often too thoughtlessly professed to believe, the com- 
 munion of saints. 
 
 "I shall never forget how the poor creature seemed to hang 
 upon my lips, and to eat my very words, when I enlarged 
 upon the love of Christ to poor sinners, the free bounty and 
 tender mercy of God, the frequent and delightful sense He 
 gives of His presence, the faith He bestows in His promises, 
 the victories this faith is enabled to get over trials and tempta- 
 tions, the joy and peace in believing, the hope in life and death, 
 and the glorious expectation of immortality. To have seen 
 his eager, delighted, animated air and manner, would have 
 cheered and warmed any Christian's heart, and have been a 
 masterpiece for any painter. 
 
 "He had never heard such a discourse, nor found the oppor- 
 tunity of hearing it before. He seemed like a man who had 
 been thrown into a new world, and had at length found com- 
 pany. Though the conversation lasted, at least, two or three 
 hours, I scarcely ever enjoyed the happy swiftness of time so 
 sweetly in all my life. We knew not how to part. He would 
 accompany me as far as he might; and I felt, on my side, such 
 a delight in the artless, solid, unaffected experience of this 
 pious soul, that I would have been glad to have seen him 
 oftener then, or to see his like at any time now, but my situa- 
 tion rendered it impossible. 
 
 " I therefore took an affectionate leave, with feelings equal to 
 those of the warmest and most ancient friendship; telling him, 
 that neither the color of his body, nor the condition of his 
 present life, could prevent him from being my dear brother in 
 
226 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 our dear Saviour; and that though we must part now, never 
 to see each other again in this world, I had no doubt of our 
 having another joyful meeting in our Father's home, where we 
 should live together, and love each other, throughout a long 
 and happy eternity. 'Amen, dear massa; God bless you, and 
 poor me too, forever and ever.' 
 
 "If I had been an angel from heaven, he could not have 
 received me with more evident delight than he did; nor could 
 I have considered him with a more sympathetic regard, if he 
 had been a long-known Christian of the good old sort, grown 
 up into my affection in the course of many years." 
 
 UNCLE JOHNSON. 
 
 THE PILGRIM OF SIX SCORE YEARS. 
 
 UNCLE JOHNSON, the subject of the following narrative, 
 was born in Virginia, it is believed, about the year 1745. 
 His death took place in the year 1864, in his one hun- 
 dred and twentieth year. The account here given is chiefly an 
 abridgment of a pamphlet, written by one who lived near him 
 for many years. 
 
 "Since the death of Uncle Johnson, we have thought of 
 many things concerning that venerable relic of a former gener- 
 ation, things of so much interest to us, that we are constrained 
 to tell them to others. He was one of our most intimate 
 neighbors for years, living in an humble cabin upon a lot 
 which joined the back end of our own. From our study 
 window we could look down upon his garden, and in the 
 summer season, we had no difficulty in being familiar with the 
 tenor of his life. 
 
 "Before Uncle Johnson* came to dwell in the cabin it 
 changed its occupants frequently, and at each change we were 
 glad and hopeful. Hearing that the place had now been 
 
 * He was of pure African descent. His full name was Johnson Harrison — 
 the Harrison, as he said, being his master's name in Virginia, and the Johnson 
 his own. For this reason he preferred being called Johnson. 
 
ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 227 
 
 purchased by a colored man, though free from any special 
 prejudice against his race, our hopes on the score of good 
 neighborhood were not raised high. 
 
 "We soon found that we were subject to no annoyance from 
 the cabin; that all was quiet and orderly there. We heard 
 little except that at times, more frequent than morning and 
 evening, the voice of praise and prayer ascended with a pecu- 
 liar fervor from within its walls. Listening once to these 
 sounds, we heard these words: 
 
 "'0 Lord, dy servant has been a pilgrim more dan a hundred 
 years, when will he get home ? ' 
 
 " Such a declaration induced us to think that our new neigh- 
 bor might be both an aged and good man. At any rate it led 
 to an intimate acquaintance, in which we found that in both 
 of these respects he was a man most rare. 
 
 "When about thirty years of age he was allowed to have a 
 wife. He lived with her fifty years ; then for several years had 
 no wife, and his last wife, who died two years before him, said 
 that she had lived with him twenty-eight years. He also 
 stated that he was set free by his last master and sent to 
 Canada, partly because he was more than one hundred years 
 old, and by right of age deserved to be his own man. He 
 delighted in telling of the scenes of his early life, and his 
 narrations would so accord with the pages of history, as to 
 make it evident that he had lived as far off from the present 
 as he asserted. Certainly he was a wonderful man as an ' ante- 
 revolutionary relic' 
 
 " But he was still more interesting and wonderful because of 
 his religion. He accounted for his long life in part by saying, 
 ' I neber work bery hard. When I was a boy I chored 'bout 
 house, and den for about sixty years I blowed de Gospel 
 trumpet on de plantation for 'bout six months ob de year, to 
 make de slaves good and 'ligious, and I tell ye, massa, when I 
 was in my prime, say long 'bout eighty, I could blow de old 
 trumpet so dat dey could hear me for miles.' His own account 
 of his early religious knowledge and experience was about as 
 follows : 
 
228 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 " ' I was quite a chunk of a boy afore I hearn much about 
 dis glorious Gospel. 
 
 " ' Once in 'bout a year one o' dem clergy dat com'd ober de 
 big water, com'd round and preached up all de funerals ob de 
 slaves dat died sen he com'd afore, and sometimes I feels very 
 bad den. But after a bit dere com'd round one ob de big men 
 from de college in de Jarseys, and he telled us 'bout de matter 
 werry solemn. But I know nothing den about Jesus.' And 
 now the tears began to trickle down the old man's cheeks. 
 
 " 'An' den dar com'd along dat man dat died an' den com'd 
 to life again, an' he telled de slaves 'bout Jesus. Oh, wat was 
 he name ? I don't mind now.' I suggested William Tennent. 
 'Oh, yes, massa; Willie Tennent! Glory to God! I been 
 tryin' to tink ob dat name dese many years. I knowed I 
 should know him in glory, but now I will call him by name 
 jus as soon as I sees him. After I heard him, how I did 
 feel ! Wen I was walkin' on de ground it would keep sayin' 
 1 Unworthy ! unworthy ! ' Wen I took a bit ob bread, or a cup 
 ob water, dey keep sayin' '-Unworthy ! unworthy /' Wen I goes 
 into de field all de trees keep sayin' 'Unworthy / unworthy /' 
 Wen I goes into de yard, I sees dat all de cattle kneels down 
 afore dey lies down, an' I neber done dat. O massa, I thought 
 I should die. I feels so bad.' (Then he would go on in 
 various terms to tell of his utter despair.) ' But bimbye dere 
 com'd along a colored man, who telled me des no use in my 
 libin' dat way. He telled me ob de passage dat says : ' Behold 
 de Lamb of God dat takes away de sins ob de world;' an' den 
 I goes into de woods, an' all night I cries, 'O Lamb of God, 
 hab mercy on dis poor man ; ' an' I cries an' prays dis ober an' 
 ober; an', O massa ! just as de light was comin' ober de moun- 
 tains ob ole Virginia, de Light ob Jesus shined into dis poor 
 soul, an' from dat day on, now about a hundred years, I've 
 been tryin' to tell to saints and sinners round, what a dear 
 Saviour I have found.' 
 
 "He was ever magnifying the Grace that rescued such a 
 sinner as he, and that had sustained and comforted him in his 
 long and weary pilgrimage. 
 
ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 229 
 
 "I can call to mind many interesting incidents concerning 
 him, but will mention only a few of such as made the most 
 impression on my mind at the time. His voice and manner 
 were such, as to give his declarations a power that they cannot 
 have upon the lifeless page. The reader needs to imagine his 
 earnest manner and emotional utterance, with the tone com- 
 mon among preachers and exhorters at the South many years 
 ago. The fact, too, that he did not appear to know that lie 
 had said anything interesting, when he had uttered thoughts 
 as rich as human language can express, gave to his words a 
 peculiar charm. They would come forth as spontaneously as 
 if they were the natural outflow of his soul, as if they were 
 specimens of the rich quarry within, or as if God would thus 
 show what can be wrought in a heart that gives him entire 
 dominion. 
 
 " One day while he was at work in his garden, singing and 
 shouting, I said, 'You seem happy to-day.' 
 
 '"Yes, massa, I'se jus finking.' 
 
 '"What are you thinking of?' 
 
 '"Oh, I'se jus tinking;' and then his emotions prevented 
 utterance. 'I'se jus tinking dat ef de crumbs dat fall from de 
 Master's table, in dis world, am so good, wat will de great 
 loaf in glory be ! I tells ye, massa, dar will be nuff an' to 
 spare dar.' 
 
 "At another time when he seemed very happy, and I heard 
 him shout, 'Lord Jesus, will dar be one for me?' I said, 'You 
 are having a good time to-day, uncle?' He answered: 
 
 " ' O massa, I was meditatin' about Jesus bein' de Carpenter ; 
 an' so He can make mansions for His people in glory.' And 
 then with uplifted face, and with tears, he cried out, ' O Jesus, 
 will dar be one for me ? ' 
 
 "Once I said to him, 'Uncle Johnson, why don't you go to 
 church once in awhile?' He answered, 'Massa, I wants to be 
 dar, but I can't Liave! 
 
 " ' You can't behave ? ' 
 
 '"Well, massa, you knows, late years, de flesh be weak; an' 
 when dey 'gins to talk and sing about Jesus, I 'gins to fill up, 
 
230 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 and putty soon I has to holler, an' den dey say, 'Carry dat 
 man to de door, he 'sturb de meetin'.' ' 
 
 '"But you should hold in until you get home.' 
 
 '"O massa, I can't hold in — I bust if I don't holler.' 
 
 " Once, after hearing him.pray and sing at midnight, while a 
 thunder storm was passing, in the morning I said, ' Was that 
 you shouting so last night?' 
 
 ""'Yes, massa, I 'spose.' 
 
 "■'Well, I thought the thunder made noise enough without 
 your hallooing.' 
 
 "He looked up, and with astonishment said: 'Massa, do 
 you tink I'se goin' to lie dere on my bed like a great pig, wen 
 de Lord com'd along shakin' de earth an' de heavens ? No, 
 massa, when I hears de thun'er coming, I says, ' Ellen, Ellen, 
 wake up here, we 's goin' to J tear from home agin ! ' ' 
 
 " We chanced to be present when one called with whom he 
 was not acquainted. After entering and shaking the old man 
 by the hand, he said: 'Is this Uncle Johnson? I have often 
 heard of you, and have meant sometime to see you. But as I 
 was passing just now, something said to me, 'Go in there and 
 give the old man a dollar.' I said, 'I can't do it;' and again 
 something said, ' Go in there, I tell you, and give him a dollar.' 
 So here it is, get anything you please with it' 
 
 '"Yes, massa, thank you, thank you. I tought de Lord 
 would send you dis afternoon, sit doAvn, sit down.' 
 
 "'No, not now, I am in a hurry. I hope you are getting 
 along comfortably. Good-bye.' 
 
 '"Hold! hold! massa! Afore you go I wants to know if 
 you are bound for de kingdom ? May-be I neber see you 
 ag'in. Am you bound for dat land ob pure delight, where 
 saints immortal reign ? Hab you de passport ? ' 
 
 "'The what?' 
 
 "'De passport all signed and sealed wid de blood ob Jesus. 
 You must hab dat, massa, or you neber get fru de gates ob de 
 city.' 
 
 "In some such manner as this he would improve every 
 opportunity of doing good to those who came in his way. 
 
ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 231 
 
 He would with perfect naturalness run all conversation 
 into a religious channel. 'Out of the abundance of the 
 heart the mouth speaketh.' He was perpetually saying such 
 things as declared that he was seeking a country, that is, an 
 heavenly. 
 
 " His anticipations of the heavenly inheritance were such 
 that in times he thought himself in full possession. Said he: 
 ' Sometimes when Fse walking up and down in dis cabin, prais- 
 ing de Lord, I tinks I am in heaven; I tinks dis am one ob de 
 mansions dat Jesus gives His people. Den dis world is under 
 my feet. I jus sees it a great way off, and I jus cries: 'O my 
 God! am I in glory?" 
 
 "'But how do you feel when you find that you are not 
 there?' 
 
 "'I has a long crying, and den I says, 'I will wait my 
 appointed time.' 
 
 "'How long would you be willing to wait?' 
 
 " ' I will wait anuder hundred years, if de Lord please! 
 
 "Realizing his need of fitness for heaven, we heard him 
 praying one night: 'O Lord, an'oint our souls with angels* 
 balm, that when w r e have done with dis world, we may be at 
 home in glory.' 
 
 "Nothing rejoiced him more than to hear that sinners were 
 inquiring the way to the Saviour. Such tidings would make 
 him weep for joy. Once, lifting his hands, he cried: 'O Lord, 
 call dem in. Ho Lord ! make dem willing in de day of dy 
 power.' 
 
 " Once, in illustrating that sinners should be more in earnest, 
 he said: 'Many tink dey be seeking and seeking 'ligion, and 
 dey be jus putting it off all de time; dey must lay right down 
 to it, jus as de hos would to de dray, or dey neber can get free. 
 You know de gate is narrow — 'tis mighty narrow /' 
 
 "His confidence in the Scriptures was unbounded. Let 
 him be sure that the Lord had said anything, and nothing 
 could shake his faith in it. We were mentioning this fact to 
 a friend one day, just as we were going over to call on the old 
 man. So, after having been there awhile, my friend said: 
 
232 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 '"Uncle Johnson, you believe so and so,' naming some 
 fundamental doctrine of the Gospel. 
 
 "'Yes, massa, I believes dat' 
 
 '"What makes you believe that?' 
 
 ""Cause, massa, you knows dat de Lord says so,' quoting a 
 passage or two. 
 
 '"Well, Uncle Johnson, you believe so and so/ naming 
 another doctrine, seemingly antagonistic to the former. 
 
 '"Yes, massa, I believes dat, too, 'cause de. Lord said,' and 
 then he quoted again. 
 
 '"But see here, uncle, both of these things can't be true; 
 you said you believed so and so, and also so and so. Now 
 how do you reconcile these two things ? They can't both be 
 true, in the nature of things ; it is not philosophical that both 
 should be true.' And thus my friend went on attempting to 
 confuse the old man with metaphysical subtleties. 
 
 "Uncle Johnson heard him for awhile, and then lifting him- 
 self from his chair, and in a manner indicating grief and impa- 
 tience, said: 
 
 * " ' Massa, I knows nothing about your philosophies an' your 
 natur ob tings, but I knows dat de Lord said dem tings, an' I 
 hab tried de Lord more dan a hundred years, (weeping) and 
 I'se not going now to gib up one ting dat he said! 
 
 " Having said this he sat down. My friend turned and said 
 to me in a low tone, 'That will do; I give it up.' 
 
 " He seemed to have so long rested upon the simple decla- 
 rations of God, and to have had so many fulfillments of the 
 promises in his own experience, that anything intimated or 
 said in a manner indicating distrust of these things, was 
 regarded with no degree of allowance. 
 
 "A great sorrow overtook him in the death of his wife, 
 which took place about two years before his own release. We 
 found him at the bedside of the lifeless form of his wife, crying 
 out with uplifted face and hands, ' Farewell, Ellen— farewell, my 
 dear Ellen! must you leave me! must you leave me! O Jesus 
 my dear Ellen is coming ! Gib her one ob de mansions till I 
 come ! Lord Jesus ! how can I wait ? Send de chariot ag'in.' 
 
ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 233 
 
 "Such like expressions were numerous until the tide of his 
 emotions had subsided; then, kneeling by the bedside, he 
 breathed his sorrows into the ear of his Saviour, in such a 
 prayer as we never expect to hear again. 
 
 " From that hour on, through the funeral occasion, and in 
 the days following, his spirit and manner were beautiful beyond 
 description. Being- human he often felt lonely, and believing 
 that he would ultimately attain heaven, he greatly longed to 
 be there. We said to him one day: 
 
 "' Uncle Johnson, don't you feel lonely since Ellen left you ?' 
 
 "'Oh yes, massa, I feels bery lonely, but den de Lord comes 
 round ebery day and gives me a taste ob de kingdom, jus as 
 de nus would wid de spoon ; but, oh ! how I wants to get hold 
 ob de dish,' (suiting the manner to the words.) 
 
 " Ever after Ellen's death he seemed only waiting, as he said, 
 ' for dat chariot to come ag'in.' Once, after he had been ill for 
 a few days, as he began to get out again, I said : ' I thought 
 that your appointed time had about come.' He replied : ' Oh, 
 yes, I tought dat day dat I could see de dust ob de chariot 
 coming ober de mountains, an' den somethin' said, 'Hold on, 
 Johnson, a little longer; I'll come round directly.' Yes, massa, 
 an' I will hold on, if de Lord please, anuder hundred years; 
 for I'se bound for Canaan.' Then he broke out singing: 
 
 " ' But this I do find, we two am so jin'd, 
 He'll not live in glory and leave me behind/ 
 
 "During those days he would often bid his friends farewell, 
 'till we meets in glory.' 
 
 " One day Dr. H called on him with me. After a con- 
 versation which surely my friend will never forget, he said: 
 
 "'I must now go; good-bye Uncle Johnson; I shall prob- 
 ably hear soon that you have gone over Jordan, but we'll 
 follow on.' 
 
 "'Oh, yes, massa, great many years ago, young men like 
 you tell me dat, an' den after a bit I'd hear dat dey had gone 
 home, an' I am a pilgrim yet, but I always manages to send 
 word.' 
 
234 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 "'Well, if I should die first,' said Dr. H , 'what word 
 
 would you send?' 
 
 "'0 massa, if you gets home afore I do,' (weeping) 'tell 'em 
 to keep de table standin\ for Johnson is holding on his way. 
 I'se bound to be derel 
 
 " We might record other incidents and expressions, but they 
 would be like those already given." 
 
 The writer of the account knew but little of the circum- 
 stances connected with his death, further than that his illness 
 was brief. In such an hour as- he thought not "the chariot" 
 came, and doubtless found him ready. May the reader be 
 instructed by his bright and cheering example. 
 
 THE JUDGE AND THE POOR AFRICAN WOMAN. 
 
 IN ONE of the towns on the banks of the Ohio River, there 
 dwelt years ago a just judge, honorable in life as well as 
 title, and a poor lone African woman. 
 
 The judge was rich and highly esteemed. He dwelt in a 
 mansion, not so fine as to repel, nor so splendid as to make 
 him the envy of the foolish — large enough to be the social 
 centre of the town, and plain enough to make every one feel 
 it a home ; and his heart was in keeping with his house — large 
 and open. 
 
 The poor African lived in a cabin on an alley, all alone, with- 
 out chick or child, kith or kin. Her own hands ministered 
 amply to her wants while she had her health. Her home 
 though poor and small was always tidy. She belonged to the 
 church of which the judge was an officer. But it so happened 
 that they had never had free conversation together about the 
 things of the kingdom. 
 
 At last she received a severe injury from which she never 
 recovered ; and for many months before her death was depend- 
 ent and helpless, alone and bed-ridden. During this time, the 
 judge's ample table and abundant wardrobe had contributed a 
 full share to the comfort of the poor woman. But for a long 
 
AXECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 235 
 
 time, for one reason and another, he put off a personal visit 
 which he fully purposed to make her; until, at last, one day 
 as he thought of the cheeriness of his own pleasant home, the 
 contrast between this and the loneliness and desolation of the 
 poor woman's cabin came into his mind, and filled him with 
 sympathy for her. "Who can tell but I may cheer her a little, 
 and perhaps, by a little timely sympathy, save her from repin- 
 ing at her hard lot? Possibly, too, I may be able to throw 
 some light upon the rugged pathway along which she is going 
 to the kingdom." 
 
 The judge loved to do good. So taking a well-filled basket, 
 he sallied forth to visit the poor woman. As the door opened, 
 he was struck with the air of neatness in the cabin. If she 
 was bed-ridden, some kind hand supplied the place of her 
 own. But again, as he looked around, and contrasted the 
 social joys of his own ample mansion, where the voices of 
 children as well as the presence of books and friends made all 
 cheerful and happy, with the solitude of the poor woman alone 
 here from morning to night, and from night to morning, only 
 as one and another called out of kindness to keep her from 
 suffering, his heart filled again with sadness and sympathy. 
 
 Seating himself on the stool at the side of her cot, he began 
 to speak to her in words of condolence: "It must be hard for 
 you, Xancy, to be shut up here alone so many days and weeks." 
 
 " O no, thank God, massa Judge, the good Lord keeps me 
 from feelin' bad. I'se happy now as ever I was in all my life." 
 
 "But, Nancy, lying here from morning till night, and from 
 night till morning, all alone and racked with pain, dependent 
 upon others for everything, do you not get tired and down- 
 hearted, and think your lot a hard one to bear?" 
 
 "Well, I'se 'pendent on others, dat's sure, 'deed I is, and I 
 was allers used to have something to give to de poor, and to 
 de missionary too, and to de minister, but den I'se no poorer 
 dan my good Lord was when He was here in de world, and 
 I'se nebber suffer half so much yet as He suffer for me on de 
 cross. I'se very happy when I tink of dese things." 
 
 "But, Nancy, you are here alone." 
 
256 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 "Yes, massa, I'se all alone, dat's true; but den Jesus is here 
 too, all de time. I am neber alone no how, and He's good 
 company." 
 
 " But, Nancy, how do you feel when you think about death ? 
 What if you should die here all alone some night ? " 
 
 "Oh, massa Judge, I 'spect to, I 'spect nothin' else but jes' 
 to go off alone here some night, as you say, or some day. 
 But its all one, night or day, to poor Nancy; and den, massa, 
 I 'spect I'll not go alone arter all; for Jesus says in de blessed 
 book, 'I'll come and take you to myself, dat where I am, dare 
 you may be also;' and I believe Him. I'se not afraid to die 
 alone." 
 
 "But, Nancy, sometimes when I think about dying I am 
 filled with trouble. I think how bad I am, what a sinner, and 
 how unfit for heaven; and I think, now what if I should die 
 suddenly, just as I am, what w r ould become of me? Are you 
 not afraid to die and go into the presence of a holy God?" 
 
 "Oh no, massa, 'deed I'se not." 
 
 " Why not, Nancy ? "' 
 
 " Oh, massa, I was 'fraid berry much. When I was first injer', 
 I see I must die, and I thought how can such a sinner as I is 
 eber go into such a holy place as de New Jerusalem is? An' I 
 was miserable. Oh, I was miserable 'deed, sure ! But den, by 
 and by, arter awhile, I jes' thought I must trust myself to de 
 blessed Jesus to make me all ready for de kingdom. An' so I 
 soon found res' for my poor soul in Jesus, and since dat time I 
 feel somehow all better. I know now He will make me all 
 ready, pure and white, for de New Jerusalem above. An' now I 
 love to think about de time when I shall come to 'pear before 
 de Father's throne wid Him in glory, all starry, spangly white." 
 
 For a moment the judge sat in silence, admiring the power 
 of Grace. "Well, Nancy, one thing more let me ask you: Do 
 you ever complain ? " 
 
 "Complain! Oh now, massa Judge; complain do you say, 
 massa ? Why massa, what should such a one as I complain 
 of? The good Lord, He knows bes' what's bes' for poor 
 Nancy. His will be done !" 
 
ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 237 
 
 The judge bowed his head in silence for a moment, and then 
 rose and bade Nancy good-bye, without the word of consola- 
 tion and prayer, which he fully purposed to offer when he went 
 into the cabin. All the way home he kept saying to himself, 
 "Well, I never yet said, 'His will be done,' in that way. I 
 never felt it. Alone, poor, helpless, bed-ridden, dependent, 
 miserable in body, and yet happy as an angel. Ah ! there is a 
 power there I never felt." 
 
 UNCLE TOM MAYES. 
 
 IT WAS in the beginning of the war. In the slave States it 
 -had long been a custom from choice, that wherever con- 
 venient the negroes chose wives on another plantation, as 
 this gave them an opportunity of frequently leaving home, 
 and Uncle Tom was homeward bound, between daylight and 
 sunrise, when he was overtaken by Federal scouts who were 
 looking for some Confederates who had been in the neighbor- 
 hood. 
 
 "Hello, old man, where are you going?" 
 
 "Going home, sah." 
 
 "Where have you been so early?" 
 
 " To my wife's house, sah." 
 
 "Where does your wife live?" 
 
 "On the Booker farm, sah." 
 
 "Have you seen any Confederate soldiers last night or this 
 morning?" 
 
 "No, sah; haven't seen any soldiers no sort." 
 
 "Do you know Colonel Cooper?" 
 
 "No, sah; don't know any man by dat name." 
 
 "Where do you live?" 
 
 " Right dar, sah, on dis plantation. Dat's my cabin." 
 
 " How long have you been living there ? " 
 
 "All my life -time, and expects to die dar." 
 
 "And don't know Colonel Cooper ? Why he lives on this 
 pike only a few miles from here. Colonel Duncan Cooper." 
 
233 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 "What! you mean marsa Dune Cooper? Didn't know he 
 was a cunnel. Why, I know marsa Dune Cooper eber since 
 he was born, and I know his fader and all his family." 
 
 The soldiers thought Uncle Tom knew more than he was 
 willing to tell, and told him he was a prisoner and must go to 
 head-quarters at Columbia. In' vain the old man pleaded his 
 innocence and ignorance, but succeeded in obtaining permis- 
 sion to enter his cabin to make everything secure. For safe- 
 keeping from soldiers on both sides, Uncle Tom had gathered 
 up his chickens every night, and put them in a box under his 
 bed. Upon opening the door, the morning light was welcomed 
 by the rooster with a boisterous crowing. 
 
 " We're in luck, boys," was the cry. " Bring the box out, 
 old man; we are much obliged to you for bringing us into 
 your cabin." 
 
 The chickens were soon tied, and while this was being 
 done, Uncle Tom begged that as he was about to be taken to 
 head-quarters and perhaps never return, he might have the 
 privilege of offering one more prayer in his cabin he might 
 never see again. It was granted him on condition that his 
 prayer be short, as they were in a hurry. But a Southern 
 negro cannot pray until he has sung. So Uncle Tom lined 
 out and sang the following beautiful hymn : 
 
 How can I sink with such a prop, 
 
 As my eternal God, 
 Who bears the earth's huge pillars up, 
 
 And spreads the heavens abroad ? 
 
 How can I die while Jesus lives, 
 
 Who rose and left the dead ? 
 Pardon and grace my soul receives 
 
 From my exalted Head. 
 
 All that I am, and all that I have, 
 
 Shall be forever thine ; 
 Whate'er my duty bids me give, 
 
 My cheerful hands resign. 
 
ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 239 
 
 Then he knelt down and prayed, the soldiers standing 
 around him. He prayed that God would take care of his 
 master and his family; that God would take care of his wife; 
 then he prayed for himself, and then for dese Buckra soldiers 
 who had taken him prisoner: "O Lord, take good care of 
 dese men. Keep dem safe from cannon-ball, keep dem safe 
 from de bullet and de sword, keep dem from sickness, keep 
 dem in de hollow of dy hand in de midst of danger on de 
 battle-field, and soon, soon, O Lord, may dey return unhurt to 
 dere happy homes where dere mudders, and wives, and chil- 
 dren are, for dy dear name's sake, O Lord. Amen." 
 
 The prayer was more than they had bargained for, and one 
 of the soldiers said: 
 
 " Here, old man, after such a prayer as that, we can't take 
 your chickens, nor will we take you to headquarters; we 
 believe you know nothing of the man we are looking for." 
 
 HAPPY NANCY'S SECRET; OR CONFIDENCE IN GOD. 
 
 THERE once Jived in an old brown cottage, a solitary 
 woman. She was some thirty years of age, tended her 
 little garden, knit and spun for a living. She was known 
 everywhere, from village to village, by the name of "Happy 
 Nancy." She had no money, no family, no relatives; and was 
 half-blind, quite lame, and very crooked. There was no come- 
 liness in her, and yet there, in that homely deformed body, 
 the Great God, who loves to bring strength out of weakness, 
 had set his royal seal. 
 
 "Well, Nancy, singing again !" would the chance visitor say, 
 as he stopped at her door. 
 
 " Oh, yes, I'm forever at it." 
 
 "I wish you'd tell me your secret, Nancy. You are all 
 alone; you work hard; you have nothing very pleasant sur- 
 rounding you; what is the reason you're so happy?" 
 
 " Perhaps it's because I havn't got anybody but God," replied 
 the good creature, looking up. "You see, rich folks like you, 
 
240 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 depend upon their families and their houses; they've got to 
 thinking of their business, of their wives and children; and 
 then they're always mighty afraid of troubles ahead. I ain't 
 got anything to trouble myself about, you see, cause I leave it 
 all to the Lord. I think, well, if he can keep this great world 
 in such good order, the sun rolling day after day, and the stars 
 a shining night after night, make my garden things come up 
 the same season after season, he can certainly take care of 
 such a poor, simple thing as I am ; and so, you see, I leave it 
 all to the Lord, and the Lord takes care of me." 
 
 "Well, but, Nancy, suppose a frost should come after your 
 fruit trees are all in blossom, and your little plants out; sup- 
 pose — " 
 
 "But I don't suppose; I never can suppose; I don't want to 
 suppose, except that the Lord will do everything right. That's 
 what makes you people unhappy; you're all the time suppos- 
 ing. Now, why can't you wait till the suppose comes, as I do, 
 and then make the best of it." 
 
 "Ah, Nancy! it's pretty certain you'll get to heaven, while 
 many of us, with all our worldly wisdom, will have to stay 
 out." 
 
 "There, you are at it again," said Nancy, shaking her head, 
 "always looking for some black cloud. Why, if I was you, I'd 
 keep the devil at arm's length, instead of taking him right into 
 my heart; he'll do you a desperate sight of mischief." 
 
 She was right. We do take the demon of care, of distrust, 
 of melancholy foreboding, of ingratitude, right into our hearts. 
 We canker every pleasure with this gloomy fear of coming ill. 
 We seldom trust that blessings will enter, or hail them when 
 they come ; instead of that, we smother them under the blanket 
 of apprehension, and choke them with our mistrust. 
 
 It would be well for us to imitate "Happy Nancy," and 
 "never suppose." If you see a cloud, don't suppose it's going 
 to rain; if you see a frown, don't suppose a scolding will 
 follow; do whatever your hands find to do, and there leave it. 
 Be more childlike toward your Heavenly Father; believe in 
 his love; learn to confide in his wisdom, and. not in your own; 
 
ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 241 
 
 and above all, "wait till the suppose comes, and then make the 
 best of it." Depend upon it, earth would seem an Eden, if 
 you would follow "Happy Nancy's" rule, and never give place 
 in your bosom to imaginary evils. 
 
 MY COLORED WASHERWOMAN. 
 
 THAT imprudence, negligence, and an unwillingness to 
 labor, and to save in "summer's warmth, for winter's 
 cold," is the cause of the most of the poverty and 
 wretchedness in our midst, there can be no doubt. A little 
 circumstance came under my notice yesterday which goes to 
 confirm this. 
 
 During the deeply drifted snow which covered our streets, 
 and in many places precluded traveling even to pedestrians, 
 until they first " digged their way out," I was pleased to see 
 my good old colored washerwoman, a widow near three score 
 years of age, come trudging in, looking as pleasant as a " May 
 morning," though not for some hours after her usual time, 
 because, as she said, she had first to dig a path through the 
 deep snow. Upon asking her how she got through the night, 
 — it was so extremely cold — she said, with a bright face, and 
 a sprightly voice : " Oh, right well ; I have plenty of bed covers 
 that I got with my own earning, and I wedged my old ratlin' 
 winders all 'round right tight, so that there didn't much snow 
 git in; and I kept a fire in my stove all night, which I don't 
 do when its moderit weather, and so I didn't suffer at all. 
 Now I tell you how I does; I work steady all summer, so as 
 to lay up for winter. And when a great many that's as poor 
 as" I am are goin' off on 'scurszons, and dressing themselves very 
 fine in summer, I'm layin' up my meats, like the squirrels, for 
 winter. I goes on no 'scursions, but when work's scarce I 
 goes down to the Capes for two or three weeks, and cooks for 
 the boarders, and washes for 'em. Then I takes that money 
 that I gits, and buys my coal, right in the summer time, for 
 sometimes I gits it cheaper then; and I never had any coal or 
 
242 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 wood given to me in my life; only some people what knows 
 me, lets me have it a dollar a ton cheaper, sometimes, caze 
 they see I'm layin' in for winter; and now, when these 'scur- 
 sioners and lazy things are goin' about half-froze, and half- 
 starved, a beggin', I'm crackin' my nuts by a good warm stove, 
 and I've good thick, warm clothes, all bought with my own 
 money, too. 
 
 " I belongs to a society that'll help me if I become helpless, 
 but I've not been helped yet, case I don't need it; and I often 
 give little matters to others that's poorer than me." She was 
 then asked if she went to any place of worship, and replied, 
 " Oh yes, bless you mistress, I goes all day, every Sunday, and 
 now lately 'tween worship, I goes into the Sunday School, and 
 I'm tryin' hard to learn to read ; and I think I shall ketch it 
 soon, for I can spell right smartly. I would love to read the 
 New Testament for myself, for the Lord is so good to me; 
 and I love Him." When I heard this good, industrious, cheer- 
 ful old woman, the descendant of African parents, give this 
 honest account of herself, I could but say, " There is no need 
 of such poverty and wretchedness, as we daily witness in this 
 country." 
 
 Can anything be done to make these work for their subsist- 
 ence, and " gather nuts in summer, to crack in winter," as do 
 the squirrels, and many of our colored population, as well as 
 this washerwoman? 
 
 A SLAVE'S PRAYER. 
 
 ITS WONDERFUL EFFICACY IN CHANGING THE LIVES OF HIS MASTER 
 AND MISTRESS A TRUE AND TOUCHING STORY. 
 
 NOT long since, an old gentleman of Harrison county, 
 Kentucky, was gathered to his fathers, after having 
 attained the age of seventy-five years. A notice of the 
 old gentleman's death was mailed to some old friends in this 
 city, and they, of course, had a great deal to say about the life 
 and character of their deceased friend. The circumstances of 
 
ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 243 
 
 the old gentleman's death recalled to their minds a very 
 remarkable incident in his career, and we have been fortunate 
 enough to obtain the particulars connected therewith. The 
 truth of the story we can heartily vouch for, because it comes 
 from a source perfectly reliable. We give it to show it some- 
 times happens that the current of a man's life is changed 
 almost in the twinkling of an eye, as it were, and to illustrate 
 the efficacy of prayer. 
 
 The circumstances occurred when the gentleman referred to 
 was comparatively a young man and completely worldly in the 
 truest sense of the word. Neither himself nor his wife were 
 members of any church, and, up to the time mentioned, had 
 never given the subject of religion any serious thought. He 
 was a prosperous farmer, and, as civil war had not yet deso- 
 lated the land and changed the condition of the "peculiar 
 institution," of course owned a number of slaves. Among the 
 number was a colored man named Jacob, known to be a pious 
 man, and whose mind dwelt a great deal on the great truths 
 revealed in the Bible, but he had to conform to the discipline 
 which all slaves were subjected to in those days, and his 
 master was a man of violent temper and unreasonable preju- 
 dices. One evening Jacob came in from work, and his master 
 being in a very ugly frame of mind, objected to something he 
 had done, and chastised him severely for it. Jacob received 
 the chastisement meekly, and went away without a word of 
 complaint and attended to his usual duties. 
 
 The next morning he got up, looking very solemn and 
 troubled in mind, and refused to eat his breakfast. It was such 
 an unusual occurrence for him to refuse to eat, that his master 
 concluded that he was "sulking," and expressed the opinion 
 to his wife that he had not been severe enough with him the 
 night before. He therefore concluded to watch Jacob, and if 
 he saw more signs of "sulkiness," as he called it, he would 
 chastise him again. He ate his breakfast and walked out to 
 see what Jacob was doing, but at first could not find him. 
 Finally, he went near the corn crib, intending to throw a few 
 ears of corn to some calves in the lot, and just as he started to 
 
244 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 open the door, he heard a voice and paused to listen. Then 
 he discovered that it was Jacob's voice, and being curious to 
 know what the former had to say, remained motionless. After 
 listening to the voice for a few moments, he was seized with 
 astonishment, for Jacob was praying, and for the master who 
 had just a short time before wrongfully punished him. It was 
 a pathetic appeal, full of humble simplicity and a grand unself- 
 ishness. The burden of it was that the good Lord would 
 pardon the high-tempered master for the wrong he had done 
 his slave, and that he would fili his heart with a love for the 
 true, the beautiful, and the good. "Do not judge my poor 
 sinful master for his wrong to me," said this loving slave, "but 
 teach him the error of his ways and bring him to Thy feet, 
 and save him from himself. If Thou wilt but teach him," he 
 continued, "to feel as I do whenever I hear the story of the 
 sufferings of Thy Son on Calvary's cross, I will not complain 
 of his treatment to me." 
 
 Then he prayed for his mistress, and asked God to forgive 
 her and show her the joys of an humble Christian life. Not 
 one word did he utter for himself, but the end of his prayer 
 was, " Forgive them, forgive them." 
 
 Subsequent events proved that Jacob's lowly prayer ascended 
 straight to the throne of Almighty God, for both his master 
 and mistress became changed beings from that time until their 
 death. As soon as the prayer was finished, the master slipped 
 away and wandered over his farm for hours, his heart being 
 disturbed by emotions it never felt before. In the afternoon 
 he repaired to the house, and his wife was thunderstruck at 
 the wonderful change in his appearance and his actions; that 
 haughty, over-bearing look, peculiar to himself, was gone, and 
 was replaced by one of humble resignation. 
 
 His wife could only ask: "William, what on earth has come 
 over you ?" 
 
 His reply was: "Mary, I have inhumanly chastised an 
 angel, for Jacob is surely one of them." Then he told her all; 
 and she became almost as much affected as her husband. The 
 result was they connected themselves with the Baptist church 
 
ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 245 
 
 and became noted for their Christian virtues. Wherever they 
 were known, their upright walk in life and their noble charities 
 were subjects of general remark, and they were always pointed 
 to as a living evidence of the wonderful pow r er of God's 
 redeeming grace. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to say that Jacob was never chastised 
 asrain. His master often remarked afterward, that he would 
 almost as soon think of striking the Almighty Himself as 
 Jacob. 
 
 There never was another misunderstanding between Jacob 
 and his master and mistress. He would not receive his free- 
 dom, for he said he wished to live and die on the old home- 
 stead. 
 
 We can assure our readers that this is no fancy sketch. We 
 have given the story just as it was told to us by one who 
 knows it to be true, and whose word has never been ques- 
 tioned. 
 
 OLD AUNT SALLY. 
 
 A WRITER in the Chicago Standard describes a visit 
 paid to an old colored woman in the poor-house at 
 Columbia, S. C. 
 "As it was 'visitors' day,' the outside surroundings were 
 passably clean. On entering, however, I was obliged to call 
 to my aid every particle of will-power that I possessed, in 
 order to endure the sight of the complete wretchedness of the 
 place. The walls were grimy with dirt and smoke. Not a 
 vestige of comfort was to be seen. Two poor old women, one 
 of them blind, sat crouching over a dying fire, while on a 
 miserable bed lay Aunt Sally, about ninety years old, perfectly 
 blind and helpless, shrivelled and shrunken, her body tortured 
 with intense pain. She had lain there for years, looking long- 
 ingly 'for the home just over the way.' 
 
 " Can there be such a thing as beauty amid such wretched- 
 ness ? Yes, out of the depths of that helpless suffering and 
 
246 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 poverty, in the radiance of Aunt Sally's poor old black face, 
 shone the beauty of the Lord. 
 
 " I went to see her with the dim idea that I might, perhaps, 
 be able to afford her a little comfort in her affliction, but 
 I soon found from the heights in which she dwelt, that she 
 had already appropriated all the comfort the Lord had to 
 give to such as she, so that my poor attempts seemed quite 
 out of place. I said, however, 'I am very sorry to see you 
 suffering so much, Aunt Sally, and wish that I could help 
 you.' 
 
 "'Oh, la, Missus, don't you feel sorry. De Lord is mighty 
 good to dis poor cretur.' 
 
 " ' But you are helpless and blind, Aunt Sally.' 
 
 "'No, no, not blind. I sees Jesus, I don't want to see de 
 way you sees.' 
 
 "'Not want to see with your eyes?' said I, quite surprised. 
 
 "'No, Missus, for if de Lord wanted me to see, he'd not 
 make me blind. De Lord has blessed me with a long bed of 
 'fliction.' 
 
 " ' Blessed you with affliction ? ' I said. 
 
 "'Yes, Missus, blessed me, or He would not give it to me. 
 All He does is a blessing. De will of de Lord must be done. 
 You're so good to me, but la, you can't help yourself; it's de 
 Spirit of de Lord. It works just like medicine, 'pears to me 
 it comes jes like a peach or an apple on a waiter.' 
 
 "'Are you not lonely?' feeling that I must say something. 
 
 " ' Oh no, not lonesome, Missus, I done got plenty of com- 
 pany — plenty of company at midnight. I'se no time to get 
 lonesome.' 
 
 " ' You live so near to the Lord, then, that the devil never 
 comes to trouble you. Does he, aunty ? ' 
 
 "'Oh, la now, he done tries to get in here every chance 
 he can get.' 
 
 '"But you have lain on this bed all these years, Aunt Sally; 
 how can you stay so cheerfully ? ' 
 
 "'Oh,' said she, 'I don't want to hear tell of years — if Jesus 
 says 'stay,' I stay. When Jesus says 'come,' all de world can't 
 
AXECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 247 
 
 stop me. I don't want to set de time; but He'll come, He'll 
 come ! ' 
 
 "Thus her simple faith in Christ took hold of everything. 
 We could say nothing. He must say it ally 
 
 OLD SUSAN. 
 
 B" 
 
 LESS de Lord, I'm pretty well, and granny's no wuss." 
 heard the voice below my window just as the dawn 
 of a bright summer day was coloring the eastern 
 horizon. Then another question was asked by the cook below, 
 as she threw open the shutters, but I could only hear old 
 Susan's reply: "No, I can't come in; I'm up so airly to look 
 for wood to bile de kittle. Granny'll be wantin' breakfast." 
 
 Soon after I saw the poor old woman bent almost double 
 with the weight of fagots on her back, and her check apron 
 filled with chips and corn-cobs from the wood yard. I raised' 
 the sash, and called her: 
 
 "Aunt Susan, do come in ! Flora will get your breakfast, 
 and you can take some home with you for granny," said I. 
 
 She lowered the bundle of fagots from her shoulders, and 
 pushed back the long gingham sun-bonnet, as she looked up 
 at my window. 
 
 "Bless yer heart, chile, but I couldn't — wouldn't!" She 
 shook her head very decidedly, and adjusted the red bandana 
 turban which had been crushed down by the sun-bonnet " Ye 
 see, me and granny ain't had fambly prayers yit this morning. 
 That's it; obliged to yer jes' the same." 
 
 I suggested that our Heavenly Father would not reject 
 prayers that were offered after breakfast. She looked up to 
 me as I leaned from the window to catch the glory of the 
 sunrise, and said, with rather a touch of sadness in her tone : 
 
 " No, chile, yer hadn't oughter think so. De Lord fust, an' 
 everything else afterwards. Ef ye eat, or ef ye drink, do it all 
 to de glory of God; but it tain't ter His glory ef yer please 
 yerself fust. Til be round biemby; then we 'splain de matter 
 
248 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 together." And reloading her tired shoulders, she tottered off 
 under her burden. 
 
 In my visits among the poor, I remember calling to see her 
 one day, and being obliged to wait some time after knocking, 
 although I heard her voice within. I was surprised that she 
 should keep me waiting, for she had such a delicate sense of 
 the duties of hospitality, that she was particularly careful never 
 to oblige a visitor to remain standing at her door. I soon 
 discovered that she was engaged in prayer; one greater than 
 any earthly guest was with her; it almost seemed as if she 
 pleaded before one who was visibly present. She waited and 
 wept, she urged, entreated, and earnestly pleaded; then grad- 
 ually her tone changed, and her voice rose in prayer and loud 
 hallelujahs, and then she was silent. I knocked once more, 
 and hastily now she threw open the door; the traces of tears 
 were still on her cheeks, and in her poor, dim eyes. 
 
 " Welcome, welcome ! " she exclaimed : " come in. De Lord's 
 bin wid me dis day. Praise and bless His holy name. I'se 
 had sich a blessed time." 
 
 Then she dusted the only spare seat her poor room afforded, 
 and placed it so that as she seated herself upon her bed she 
 should face me. 
 
 "Oh, chile!" she exclaimed; "de prayers dat's gone up 
 from dis poor shanty for you and de Sunday school ? Dey's 
 gone right up from dis poor, low, mean place, right up through 
 dis old roof, straight up to de great white throne ! " And she 
 clasped her hands and looked up as if she saw the vision 
 beyond. " God's holy angels has heard 'em, Jesus has listened 
 to 'em, and God's treasured 'em up, and dey'll come down in 
 blessin's when old Susan's dead and gone. When I gits rid 
 of dis mis'able, sickly body, and rises up to where my holy 
 prayer's gone before me, oh, how I'll sing wid de holy angels, 
 praise de Lord, praise de Lord!" 
 
 She used to go off in these rhapsodies frequently; she had 
 dull prosaic neighbors, who never got excited over praise or 
 anything else, and they used to say that old Susan was crazy 
 when she prayed. In alluding to this, she once told me, 
 
ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 249 
 
 smiling, that she was going to ask the Lord to make them 
 crazy in prayer. She thought a little more earnestness on the 
 subject would be an improvement. Her faith was so strong, 
 that it seemed to have an element of sublimity in it; it was 
 grand! The extreme poverty in which she lived, and her 
 reliance upon others for every comfort in life, made her realize 
 her dependence upon our Father in heaven more strongly than 
 those who live in ease and luxury. She has often said to me ; 
 " I am poor and sick, broken down with hard work, crooked 
 and bent with rheumatism, my wrists are so weak and my 
 fingers so stiff, that I can hardly pick up chips; boys often 
 laugh at me in the street, because when I bend down I cannot 
 always get up again; sometimes my fire goes out, and I have 
 nothing to eat until the Lord sends some kind friend with 
 food. But, bless the Lord, I am going home. The Lord is 
 my Father, and in my Father's house there is plenty; more 
 than enough. Oh, when I get home ! Dear Lord, dear Lord ! 
 When I shall reach my home, I shall forget all the troubles I 
 have had in this poor shanty." Looking at her in her poor 
 room, I have often thought that if possible, heaven would 
 seem more glorious to her, coming out of distress and misery, 
 sickness and want, darkness and cold, into the full blaze of 
 heavenly light. 
 
 She was very grateful to those who paid her rent. Of one 
 lady, in particular, she often spoke to me with great affection. 
 She said to me once, naming this lady: "She is to be paid 
 back every cent." It was spoken with so much earnestness, 
 that I involuntarily looked around, as if I expected to see 
 some one standing there with the money. She smiled, and 
 told me she had been reminding God of His promise to pay 
 her debts. 
 
 I once called on passing to leave some dinner for her; she 
 met me at the door, and insisted on my coming in. "I know'd 
 you was a comin'," she said, "for I had nothin' t'eat, and I 
 prayed de Lord ter send me somethin'." 
 
 "Well," I replied, "He has heard your prayer, and has sent 
 this to you." 
 
'250 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 She placed the dish on her stove to keep warm, and then 
 she began to talk of prayer. " I does pray fur you," she said, 
 "and fur Mr. and Mrs. L., and Miss C. I prays fur all de 
 world, but de Lord lets us choose out those who's good to us, 
 and pray fur them most of all. Mr. L. has been so good, so 
 good to me, oh, I do pray fur him!" She paused, and sat 
 thinking a moment, and then added: "When Aunt Susan 
 stops a prayin', she'll be cold and dead." 
 
 Old Susan's faith led her to believe that she could see the 
 hand of God in even the most -trifling events of life, and that, 
 as He was leading her, and teaching her through these means, 
 she should be ever on the watch, so as not to lose the lessons 
 His providence set in her way. She came to me one day with 
 the utmost gravity, to tell me of a lesson in resignation. Her 
 pet dog, through some inadvertence, had eaten a portion 
 prepared for rats; her tender heart was much troubled by the 
 suffering so carelessly inflicted. Just before extinguishing her 
 light at night, she turned to Dinah, and — to let her tell her 
 own story, as she told it to me : " Sez I, ' Granny, look yer last 
 on poor Prince, fur you'll never see him alive no more.' Then 
 it kinder struck me that I wasn't resigned, so I kneels down, 
 and sez I, '0 dear Lord, he's bin a faithful dog to me. He's 
 watched over my things many a day when I was out a beggin' 
 fur daily bread; he's bin very faithful, but I gin him up to de 
 Lord. If de Lord says his time's out, I gin him up. I'se 
 resigned.' Next mornin' I opens de winders, an' behold, dere's 
 Prince, jis as well as ever! Sez I, 'Granny, de Lord has gin 
 him back to me. He was jis a tryin' my faith ! His will is 
 best fur us all, ye mus larn dat, granny, dat's de lesson from 
 dis providence." 
 
 Old Susan stills lives, but her faculties seem gradually fail- 
 ing, while yet life retains hold in her weak frame. She is 
 helpless, weak, and old. While earthly matters seem fading 
 out of her memory, her thoughts still cling to things above. 
 In my last tract-distributing visit to her room, I found her 
 holding an open Testament, with the leaf folded down at the 
 fourteenth chapter of St. John's Gospel. She cannot read, but 
 
AXECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 251 
 
 she sat pathetically looking at the text. As I entered, she 
 exclaimed: "Oh, read it, read it, for me!" It seemed as if 
 her faith, so sorely tried by her long waiting, and her earthly 
 sufferings, was for a moment wavering. As I slowly and 
 distinctly read the words, "In my father's house are many 
 mansions," etc., the glimmering rays rekindled, her faith reas- 
 serted itself. "Yes, yes!" she exclaimed, "I knew it was so, 
 I knew it was written somewhere there; now I remember it. 
 I'll have a home in my Father's house." As I looked at the 
 poor, worn-out frame; the weak, helpless hands; the wrinkled 
 face, and the dim eyes, my faith could see, through these, the 
 glorious spirit that should one day arise, and take its upward 
 flight toward the heavenly mansions. 
 
 THIRTY YEARS AGO. 
 
 TTT B. was a great merchant in Baltimore. One morning 
 
 Y Y • as ne was passing over the vessels that lay at the 
 
 wharf, he stepped upon the deck of one at the stern 
 
 of which lay a negro, whose dejected countenance gave sure 
 
 indications of distress. He accosted him with.: 
 
 "Hey! my man, what is the matter?" 
 
 The negro, lifting up his eyes and looking at W. B., replied: 
 "Ah ! massa, I'se in great trouble." 
 
 "What about?" 
 
 " Case I'se fetched up here to be sold." 
 
 "What for ? What have you been doing ? Have you been 
 stealing, or did you run away, or what?" 
 
 " No, no, massa, none o'dat. It's bekase I didn't mind de 
 auders." 
 
 "What kind of orders?" 
 
 "Well, massa stranger, I will tell you. Massa Willum wery 
 strict man, and a werry nice man, too, and ebrybody on de 
 place got to mind him, and I brake frew de rule, doe ; I forgot 
 myself and I got too high." 
 
 " It is for getting drunk, then, is it." 
 
252 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 " O no, sah, not dat nother." 
 
 "Then tell me what you are to be sold for." 
 
 "For praying, sah." 
 
 " For praying;! That's a strange tale. Will not your master 
 permit you to pray ? " 
 
 "O yes, sah, he let me pray easy; but I hollers too loud." 
 
 "And why do you halloo in your prayers ? " 
 
 " Kase de Spirit comes on me and I gets happy 'fore I knows 
 it; den I gone, kan't controll myself, den I knows nuttin' 'bout 
 massa's rule." 
 
 "And do you suppose your master will really sell you for 
 that?" 
 
 "O yes; no help for me now. All de men in de world 
 couldn't help me now — kase when massa Willum say one ting 
 he no do anoder." 
 
 " What is your name ? " 
 
 " Moses." 
 
 " What is your master's name ? " 
 
 " Massa's name is Colonel William C ." 
 
 "Where does he live?" 
 
 "Down on de Easin Shoah." 
 
 "Is he a good master, and does he treat you well ?" 
 
 " O yes, no better man in de wuld." 
 
 "Stand up and let me look at you." 
 
 And Moses stood up and presented a robust frame; and 
 as W. B. stripped up his sleeve, his arm gave evidence of 
 unusual muscular strength. 
 
 " Where is your master ? " 
 
 "Yonder he is, jes' comin' to de warf." 
 
 As W. B. started for the shore he heard Moses give a heavy 
 sigh, followed by a deep groan. Moses was not at all pleased 
 with the present phase of affairs. He was strongly impressed 
 with the idea that W. B. was a trader, and intended to buy him, 
 and it was this that made him so unwilling to communicate to 
 W. B. the desired information. 
 
 W. B. reached the wharf just as Colonel C. did. He intro- 
 duced himself, and said: 
 
AXECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 253 
 
 " I understand you want to sell that negro man yonder, on 
 board the schooner." 
 
 Colonel C. replied that he did. 
 
 'What do you ask for him?" 
 
 " I expect to get $700." 
 
 " How old do you reckon him to be ?" 
 
 "Somewhere about thirty." 
 
 "Is he healthy?" 
 
 "Very; he never had any sickness in his life, except two 
 spells of the ague." 
 
 "Is he hearty?" 
 
 "Yes, sir; he will eat as much as any man ought, and it will 
 do him as much good." 
 
 " Is he a good hand ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir; he is the best hand on my place. He is steady, 
 honest, and industrious. He has been my foreman for the last 
 ten years, and a more trusty negro I never knew." 
 
 "Why do you wish to sell him?" 
 
 "Because he disobeys my orders. As I said, he is my fore- 
 man; and that he might be available at any moment I might 
 want him, I built his hut within a hundred yards of my own 
 house, and I have never rung the bell at any time, in the night 
 or morning, that his horn did not answer me in five minutes 
 after. But two years ago he got religion, and commenced 
 what he terms family prayer — that is praying in his hut every 
 night and morning — and when he began his prayer, it was 
 impossible to tell when he would stop, especially if (as he 
 termed it) he got happy. Then he would sing and pray and 
 halloo for an hour or two together, that you might hear nearly 
 a mile off. And he would pray for me, my wife and children, 
 and our whole family connections to the third generation, and 
 sometimes, when we would have visitors, Moses' prayers would 
 interrupt the conversation and destroy the enjoyment of the 
 whole company. The women would cry and the children 
 would cry, and it would get me almost frantic, and, even after 
 I had retired, it would be almost daylight before I could go to 
 sleep, for it appeared to me that I could hear Moses pray for 
 
254 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 three hours after he had finished. I bore it as long: as I could, 
 and then forbid his praying any more — and Moses promised 
 obedience, but he soon transgressed, and my rule is never to 
 whip, but whenever a negro proves incorrigible, I sell him. 
 This keeps him in subjection, and is less trouble than whip- 
 ping. And I pardoned Moses twice for disobedience in pray- 
 ing so loud, but the third time I knew I must sell him, or 
 every negro on the place would soon be perfectly regardless 
 of all my orders." 
 
 " You spoke of Moses' hutr I suppose from that he has a 
 family?" 
 
 "Yes; he has a woman and three children, or wife, I sup- 
 pose he calls her now — for soon after he got religion, he asked 
 me if they might get married, and I presume they were." 
 
 "What will you take for her and the children ?" 
 
 "If you want them for your own use, I will take $700; but 
 I shall not sell Moses or them to go out of the State." 
 
 "I wish them all for my own use, and will give you the 
 $1,400." 
 
 W. B. and Colonel C. then went to W. B.'s store, drew up 
 the writings and closed the sale, after which they returned to 
 the vessel; and W. B. approached the negro, who sat with his 
 eyes fixed on the deck, wrapped in meditation of the most 
 awful forebodings, and said: 
 
 "Well, Moses, I have bought you." 
 
 Moses made a low bow, and every muscle in his face worked 
 with emotion when he replied: 
 
 "Is you, massa? Where is I gwine, massa? Is I gwine to 
 Georgia?" 
 
 " No," said W. B., "lama merchant here in this city. Yon- 
 der is my store, and I want you to attend on the store; and I 
 have purchased your wife and children, too, that you may not 
 be separated." 
 
 " Bress God for dat ! and massa, kin I go to meeting some- 
 times?" 
 
 "Yes, Moses, you can go to church three times on Sabbath, 
 and every night in the week, and you can pray as often as you 
 
 
ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 255 
 
 choose, and as long as you choose; and every time you pray, 
 whether it be at home or in church, I want you to pray for me, 
 my wife, and all my children; for, if you are a good man, your 
 prayers will do us no harm, and we need them very much; 
 and if you wish, you may pray for everybody of my name in 
 the State. It will not injure them." 
 
 When W. B. was dealing out these privileges to Moses, the 
 negro's eyes danced in their sockets, and his full heart laughed 
 outright for gladness, exposing two rows of as even, clean 
 ivories as any African can boast; and his heart's response was, 
 " Bress God, bress God all de time, and bress you, too, massa ! 
 Moses neber tinks 'bout he gwine to hab all dese commoda- 
 tioners ; dis makes me tink 'bout Joseph in Egypt" And after 
 Moses had poured a few blessings upon Colonel C, and bidden 
 him a warm adieu, and requested him to give his love and 
 farewell to his mistress, the children, and all the servants, he 
 followed W. B. to the store, to enter on the functions of his 
 new office. 
 
 The return of the schooner brought to Moses his wife and 
 children. 
 
 Early next spring, as W. B. was one day standing at the 
 store door, he saw a man leap upon the wharf from the deck 
 of a vessel, and walk hurriedly toward the store. He soon 
 recognized him as Colonel C. They exchanged salutations, 
 and to the Colonel's inquiry after Moses, W. B. replied that he 
 was up-stairs measuring grain, and invited him to walk up and 
 see him. Soon W. B.'s attention was arrested by a very 
 confused noise above. He listened and heard an unusual 
 shuffling of feet, some one talking very hurriedly; and when 
 he reflected upon Colonel C.'s movements and the peculiar 
 expression of his countenance, he became much alarmed at 
 what was transpiring. 
 
 When he reached the head of the stairs, he was startled at 
 seeing Moses in the middle of the floor, down upon one knee, 
 with his arm around the Colonel's waist, and talking; most 
 rapidly, while the Colonel stood weeping audibly. So soon 
 as the Colonel could control his feelings, he told W. B. that 
 
256 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 he had never been able to free himself from the influence of 
 Moses' prayers, and that during the past year, he and his wife 
 and children had been converted to God. 
 
 "Moses responded: "Bress God, Massa C., doe I way up 
 hea, I neber forgit you in my prayers; I olles put de ole 
 massa side de new one. Bress God, dis make Moses tink 
 'bout Joseph in de Egypt again." 
 
 The Colonel then stated to W. B. that his object in coming 
 to Baltimore was to buy Moses and his family back again. 
 But W. B. assured him that was out of the question for he 
 could not part with him ; and he intended to manumit Moses 
 and his wife at forty, and his children at thirty years of age. 
 
 Moses was not far from wrong in his reference to Joseph, for 
 when Joseph was sent into Egypt, God overruled it to his good, 
 and he obtained blessings that were far beyond his expecta- 
 tions : so with Moses ; he eventually proved the instrument, in 
 God's hands, of saving the soul of the man who sold him. 
 
 UNCLE HARRY. 
 
 LATE in the last autumn, it was my privilege (says the 
 author, in the Literary and Evangelical Magazine, 1824) 
 to spend a few hours in the hospitable mansion of the 
 Rev. S. B. W., of F. I arrived at the house very early in the 
 morning — just before the family assembled to perform their 
 customary devotions. On the signal being given, the children 
 and domestics came into the room where we were sitting. 
 
 Among the latter, there was a very aged black man, whom 
 every one called Uncle Harry. As soon as he entered, I 
 observed that W. and lady treated him with marked attention 
 and kindness. The morning was sharp and frosty, and Uncle 
 Harry had a chair in the corner, close to the fire. 
 
 The portion of Scripture selected was the second chapter 
 of Luke. I observed that the attention of Harry was deeply 
 fixed; and he soon began to manifest strong emotions. The 
 old man's eye kindled as the reader went on, and when he 
 
AXECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 257 
 
 came to the tenth verse, Harry appeared as though his heart 
 was tuned to the angelic song, and he could hardly help utter- 
 ing a shout of triumph. 
 
 There was not, however, the smallest ostentation of feeling, 
 or endeavor to attract attention. He only, in a gentle manner, 
 turned his face upward, strongly clasping his hands as they 
 lay on his lap, and expressing by his countenance the joy of 
 his heart. By this time he had interested me so highly, that I 
 could not keep my eyes from him. 
 
 I watched the varying expressions of his countenance, and 
 saw that every word seemed to strike on his heart and produce 
 a corresponding emotion. I thought I would give the world, 
 if I could only read the Bible just as Harry heard 'it. While 
 I was thinking, and looking on with intense interest, the reader 
 came to the passage where old Simeon saw the infant Saviour, 
 took Him in his arms, blessed God, and said, "Lord, now 
 lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have 
 seen thy salvation." 
 
 Harry's emotion had become stronger and stronger, until 
 the words just quoted were read, when he was completely 
 overpowered. Suddenly turning on his seat, to hide as much 
 as possible his feelings, he bent forward and burst into a flood 
 of tears; but they were tears of joy. He anticipated his 
 speedy peaceful departure, and his final rest. This state of 
 feeling continued during the remainder of the service, and 
 when we rose from our knees, Uncle Harry's face seemed liter- 
 ally to have been bathed in tears. 
 
 As soon as we had risen, the old man came toward me with 
 a countenance beaming with joy. "This," said W., addressing 
 me, "is Uncle Harry." He reached out his hand and said, 
 " O, why did my God bring me here to-day, to hear what I 
 have heard, and see this salvation ? " I asked, "Are you ready 
 to depart, Uncle Harry, as good old Simeon was, of whom we 
 read in this chapter?" ' I shall never forget his look of hum- 
 ble, joyful submission, when he replied, "Just when it shall 
 please my blessed Lord and Master." "You hope to go to 
 heaven?" "Through Divine mercy, I do." "What is the 
 
 Q 
 
258 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 foundation of that hope?" "The righteousness of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ." 
 
 On perceiving that I wished to converse with the old man, 
 W. said, with a kindness which showed that he recognized 
 Harry as a Christian brother, and respected his age, " Come, 
 take your seat again, Uncle Harry, and sit up near the fire." 
 He accepted the invitation, and I entered into a conversation, 
 which afforded me higher pleasure than I ever enjoyed in the 
 circles of fashion, beauty, wit and learning. I here give some 
 of the most interesting particufars. 
 
 "How old are you, Uncle Harry?" "Why, as nigh as I 
 can tell, I am eighty-nine or thereabout." "Where were you 
 born?" "At Port Tobacco, in Maryland." "And who had 
 you to preach the Gospel to you there?" "Ah, we had no 
 preacher of the Gospel there at that time." "Then it was after 
 you left Port Tobacco, that you embraced religion, was it?" 
 " No, sir, it was while I lived there, and I will tell you how it 
 was : A great many years ago, there was one Dr. Whitefield, 
 that traveled all through this country, preaching the Gospel 
 everywhere — I dare say you have heard of Dr. Whitefield; he 
 was the most powerful preacher. 
 
 "Well, as I was saying, he went through Maryland; but his 
 place of preaching was so far off, that I did not hear of it 
 until he was gone. But not long afterward, I met a man, an 
 acquaintance of mine, who did hear him. He told me about 
 the sermon; and what I heard opened my eyes to see that I 
 was a poor lost sinner : and ever since that time, I have been 
 determined to seek Jesus as my Saviour, and spend my life in 
 His service." 
 
 • Happy Whitefield ! thought I, and greatly honored of thy 
 Master, who has used thee as His instrument in saving so 
 many souls. 
 
 " But," said I, " how old were you then ? " " Why, as nigh as 
 I can guess, I was somewhere about sixteen or seventeen years 
 old." "And you have never repented of this resolution?" 
 "No, indeed, master; I have never repented of anything, but 
 that I have served my blessed Saviour so poorly." 
 
ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 259 
 
 "But have you not met many trials and difficulties by the 
 way?" "Yes, indeed, master; but out of them all the Lord 
 has delivered me; and having obtained help of God, I continue 
 to this day. Blessed be his name; he will never leave or for- 
 sake me; I have good hope of that." 
 
 " Well, how did you obtain religious instruction where you 
 lived, as you say there was no preacher of the Gospel in the 
 neighborhood?" "Why, by the mercy of God, I learned to 
 read the Bible ; and that showed me the way to Jesus. But, 
 now I think of it, when the Roman Catholics heard that I was 
 concerned about my soul, they sent for me, and tried hard to 
 get me to join them. 
 
 "There was a priest at Port Tobacco, whose name was 
 O'Neal; he talked to me a great deal. I remember he said to 
 me one day, ' Harry, now that you are concerned about your 
 soul, you must come and join the Catholic church.' 'What 
 for, Mr. O'Neal?' said I. 'Because,' said he, 'it is the true 
 church.' 'Then,' said I, 'if the Catholic church will lead me 
 to Jesus, I will join it with all my heart, for that is all I want;' 
 and Mr. O'Neal said, ' If you will join the church, I will war- 
 rant that you shall go to heaven.' ' How can you do that, Mr. 
 O'Neal?' said I. 
 
 "Then he told me that a great many years ago, our Saviour 
 came into the world, and he chose twelve apostles, and made 
 St. Peter their head; and the pope succeeded St. Peter; and so 
 all that join the pope belong to the true church. Then said I, 
 'Why, how do you know that, Mr. O'Neal?' 'Because,' said 
 he, ' our Saviour told Peter, ' I give you the keys of the king- 
 dom of heaven; and whatsoever you bind on earth, shall be 
 bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth, shall be 
 loosed in heaven.' ' 
 
 "And I said, 'The Lord knows how it is, Mr. O'Neal; I am 
 a poor ignorant creature, but it always did seem to me, that 
 Peter was nothing but a man like the other apostles ; ' but Mr. 
 O'Neal said, 'No, he was the head and chief of the apostles; 
 for our Saviour said again, 'Thou art Peter, and on this rock- 1 
 will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
 
260 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 against it.' ' And I asked him, ' Now, do you think Peter was 
 that rock, Mr. O'Neal?' He answered, 'To be sure he was;' 
 and I said again, ' The Lord knows how it is, but it never did 
 seem so to me. 
 
 "'Now I think it was just so: When Peter said, 'Thou art 
 the Christ, the Son of the living God,' our Saviour told him, 
 'Thou art Peter', (while the old man repeated the words, 
 ' Thou art Peter', he pointed his finger at me, and looked me 
 directly in the face, but as soon as he began the following part 
 of the quotation, he brought -his hand briskly down to his 
 knee, saying with emphasis, as he looked at himself,) 'and on 
 this rock will I build my church;' and that rock was Christ; 
 for it is written in another place, 'Behold, I lay in Zion a chief 
 corner stone, elect, precious; and he that believeth on him 
 shall not be confounded;' and that corner stone is Christ' 
 
 "Then Mr. O'Neal said to me, 'Why, Harry, where did you 
 learn all that ? ' I said ' From my Bible.' ' 0/ said he, ' You 
 have no business with the Bible; it will only confuse and frus- 
 trate you.' 'But,' I said, 'it tells me of my Saviour.' Then, a 
 gentleman who was sitting by, said, 'O, you might as well 
 leave him alone, Mr. O'Neal; you cannot make anything of 
 him;' and from that time, I never had any desire to join the 
 Roman Catholics." 
 
 The narrative, of the truth of which I could not entertain 
 a moment's doubt, showed a promptness of reply, and an 
 acquaintance with the Scriptures, which truly surprised me, and 
 I remarked, " I suppose, Uncle Harry, you take great pleasure 
 in reading the Bible?" Ah, master, when I could read, it was 
 the pleasure of my life. But I am old now, and my book is 
 so rubbed that the print is dim, and I can scarcely make out 
 to read a word." 
 
 On this W. said, "Well, Uncle Harry, you shall have a new 
 
 Bible. Do you call on Mr. , when you go down-town, 
 
 and he will give you a new one from the Bible Society." 
 Harry bowed, and expressed gratitude for the kindness, but 
 did not manifest as much pleasure as I expected, considering 
 how highly he professed to value the Bible. While I was 
 
ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 261 
 
 wondering, and rather sorrowing on the account, I observed 
 the old man to be feeling, with ah air of embarrassment, in his 
 pocket. 
 
 At length, he pulled out an old tattered case, which appeared 
 to have long been in use, and observed, "This new Bible will 
 not be of much use to me, because my spectacles are so bad, 
 that they help me very little In reading." With that he opened 
 his case, and showed a pair of spectacles of the cheapest sort, 
 of which one glass was broken, and the other so scratched, 
 that it was wonderful that he could see through it at all. 
 
 W. no sooner observed this, than he said, "Well, Uncle 
 
 Harry, you must have a new pair; do you call at Mr. 's 
 
 store, and tell him to let you have a pair suited to your age, 
 and I will settle with him about it" On hearing this Harry's 
 eyes gleamed with joy, and he exclaimed: "Thank God ! 
 God bless you, master ! Now I shall have comfort again in 
 reading the Bible." And I never saw a happier, or a more 
 grateful countenance. 
 
 Presently, he said the wagon would soon call for him to take 
 him home, and he must go down-town, and be getting ready: 
 on which he again thanked his kind friend, and invoked a 
 blessing on him and his family. He then affectionately and 
 respectfully took me by the hand, and said, " I never saw you 
 before, and I never shall see you again in this world; but I 
 love you as a minister of my blessed Lord and Master, and I 
 hope that I shall meet you in the house above. Remember 
 and pray for poor old Harry." 
 
 I squeezed his hand, and assured him of my affectionate 
 remembrance, and requested that he would pray for me, and 
 for the preachers of the Gospel generally. "O," said he, " may 
 God Almighty bless all the dear ministers of Christ, and 
 enable them to call many poor sinners to the dear Saviour. 
 O, I do love to hear of souls coming to Christ ! and it is my 
 daily prayer. Thy kingdom come, and thy will be done on 
 earth, as it is in heaven ! " With that the old man took leave. 
 
 I confess that I have often since wished to see him and hold 
 communion with him. There was about him a spirit of piety 
 
262 ANECDOTES OF COLORED PEOPLE. 
 
 and benevolence, and humble zeal and fervent hope, of meek- 
 ness and submission, which I have rarely seen equaled. At 
 the same time, there was a degree of intelligence, and an 
 extent of religious knowledge, which in his condition really 
 surprised and delighted me. 
 
 I saw here one of the triumphs of Divine Grace. I was 
 made to appreciate the value and the excellence of that religion 
 which could take a poor slave, and so transform him, that he 
 was well-nigh fitted to be a companion of saints in light and 
 of just men made perfect. And since I saw him, I have often 
 prayed, that after the days of my wandering shall be over, and 
 all the sufferings of my lot shall be endured, I may obtain a 
 share in the rest, and a lot in the inheritance, which I have no 
 doubt are prepared for Uncle Harry. 
 
ANECDOTES OF INDIANS. 
 
 ^T^HE Indians often express themselves in a striking and 
 interesting manner. From Heckewelders's account of 
 "The Delawares," we extract the following anecdote: 
 "Seating myself once upon a log by the side of an Indian, 
 who was resting himself there, being at that time actively 
 employed in fencing in his corn field, I observed to him, that 
 he must be very fond of working, as I never saw him idling' 
 away his time, as is so common with the Indians. The answer 
 he returned made a very great impression on my mind. I 
 have remembered it ever since, and I shall try to relate it as 
 nearly in his own words as possible. 
 
 " ' My friend, the fishes in the water, and the birds in the air, 
 and on earth, have taught me to work. By their example, I 
 have been convinced of the necessity of labor and industry. 
 When I was a young man I loitered about a good deal, doing 
 nothing, just like the other Indians, who say that working is 
 for whites and negroes, and the Indians have been ordained 
 for other purposes — to hunt the deer and catch the beaver, 
 otter, raccoon, and such other animals. But it one day so 
 happened, that while hunting, I came to the bank of the Sus- 
 quehanna, and having sat myself down near the water's edge 
 to rest a little, and casting my eye on the water, I was forcibly 
 struck when I observed with what industry the Mecehgalingus 
 (sun-fish) heaped small stones together, to make secure places 
 for their spawn; and all this labor they did with their mouth 
 and body, without hands ! 
 
264 AN EC DO TES OF INDIA NS. 
 
 "'Astonished, as well as diverted, I lighted my pipe, sat 
 awhile smoking and looking on, when presently a little bird 
 not far from me raised a song, which enticed me to look that 
 way. While I was trying to distinguish where the songster 
 was, and to catch it with my eyes, its mate with as much grass 
 as it could hold in its bill, passed close by me and flew into a 
 bush, where I perceived them together, busily employed in 
 building their nest, and singing as their work went on. I saw 
 the birds in the air and the fishes in the water working dili- 
 gently and cheerfully, and all -this without hands. I thought 
 it was strange, and I became lost in wonder. I looked at 
 myself, and saw two long arms, provided with hands and 
 fingers, and with joints that might be opened and shut at 
 pleasure. I could, when I pleased, take anything up with 
 these hands, hold it fast, or let it loose, and carry it along with 
 me. When I walked, I observed, moreover, that I had a stout 
 body, capable of bearing fatigue, and supported by two stout 
 legs, with which I could climb to the top of the highest moun- 
 tains, and descend at pleasure into the valleys. 
 
 "'And is it possible, said I, that a being so wonderfully 
 formed as I am, was created to live in idleness; while the birds 
 which have no hands, and nothing but their little bills to help 
 them, work with cheerfulness, and without being told to do so? 
 Has then the great Creator of man, and of all living creatures, 
 given me all these limbs for no purpose ? It cannot be. I will 
 try to go to work. I did so, and went away from the village 
 to a spot of good land, where I built a cabin; enclosed ground, 
 and raised cattle. Ever since that time, I have enjoyed a good 
 appetite and sound sleep, and while others spend their nights 
 in dancing, and are suffering with hunger, I live in plenty. I 
 keep horses, cows and fowls. I am happy. See, my friend, 
 the birds and fishes have taught me to work ! ' " 
 
 It is related that a Mohegan Indian asked a female Indian 
 who was one of the Moravian converts, whether all the people 
 who belonged to the congregation she did, felt the love of God. 
 "I cannot tell," she answered, "whether all feel it, but those 
 who believe, and love the Saviour, feel it certainly. Suppose 
 
A XE CD TES OF INDIA NS. 265 
 
 there was a very good meal preparing in this room, and many 
 people attending; those only who eat can say that the victuals 
 taste well. The others cannot say so. Thus it is with our 
 Saviour; those only who have tasted of His love can speak of 
 it, and they never forget it" To this the Mohegan assented, 
 and speaking of the birth of his first child, said, " I thought, 
 this child God has made; and I loved it so much, that I could 
 not forbear looking at it continually. Soon after the child died, 
 and I mourned to that degree that nothing would comfort me. 
 I had no rest day nor night, and my child was always in my 
 thoughts, for my very heart cleaved to it. At last I could bear 
 the house no longer, but ran into the woods, and almost lost 
 my senses. The Indians then advised me to take an emetic to 
 get rid of my sorrow. I complied; but the love for my child, 
 and my sorrow for its loss were not removed, and I returned 
 to the woods. There I beheld the trees and the birds, and I 
 considered that the same God created them who made my 
 child. I then said, 'Thou, O God who madest all things, I' 
 know not where thou art, but I have heard that thou dwellest 
 in heaven. Thou hast taken my child, take my sorrows 
 and griefs also from me.' This was done, and I could then 
 forget my child. From this I conclude, that those who love 
 God, are disposed as I was toward the child I so dearly loved. 
 They can never forget Him, nor find rest nor pleasure in any- 
 thing else." 
 
 An Indian, being among his white neighbors, asked for a 
 little tobacco to smoke, and one of them having some loose in 
 his pocket, gave him a handful. The day following, the Indian 
 came back, inquiring for the donor, saying he had found a 
 quarter of a dollar among the tobacco. Being told, that as it 
 was given to him he might as well keep it, he answered, pointing 
 to his breast, " I got a good man, and a bad man here, and the 
 good man say, ' It ain't yours ; you must return it to its owner : ' 
 the bad man say, ' Why he gave it to you, and it is your own 
 now:' the good man say, 'That's not right; the tobacco is 
 yours, not the money:' the bad man say, 'Never mind, you 
 got it, go buy some dram:' and the good man say, 'No, no, 
 
266 ANECDOTES OF INDIANS. 
 
 you must not do so : ' so I don't know what to do, and I think 
 I go to sleep ; but the good man and the bad keep talking all 
 night, and trouble me; and now I bring the money back I feel 
 good." 
 
 Another Indian related, that having got some money, he 
 was, on his way home, tempted to stop at a tavern and buy 
 some rum: "But," said he, pointing to his breast, "I have a 
 good boy, and a bad boy here; and the good boy say, 'John, 
 don't you stop there : ' the bad one say, ' Poh ! John, never 
 mind, you love a good drarru' the good boy say, 'No, John, 
 you know what a fool you made yourself when you got drunk 
 there before, don't do so again.' When I come to the tavern, 
 the bad boy say, ' Come, John, take one dram ; it won't hurt 
 you:' the good one say, 'No, John, if you take one dram, then 
 you take another:' then I don't know what to do, and the 
 good boy say, ' Run, John, hard as you can' — so I run away, 
 and then, be sure, I feel very glad." 
 
 POOR SARAH. 
 
 RELIGION EXEMPLIFIED IN THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A PIOUS 
 INDIAN WOMAN.* 
 
 IT was a comfortable morning in March, 1814, when I first 
 formed an acquaintance with the subject of the following 
 sketch. She called to solicit a few crusts, meekly saying, 
 "she desired nothing but the crumbs — they were enough for 
 her poor old body, just ready to crumble into dust." I had 
 heard of Sarah, a pious Indian woman, and was therefore pre- 
 pared to receive her with kindness. And remembering the 
 words of my Lord, who said, " Inasmuch as ye have done it 
 unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it 
 unto me," I was ready to impart a portion of my little unto 
 her, (for little, alas ! was my store.) 
 
 * The above account was published some years ago in The Religious Intelli- 
 gencer, the editor of which says: "The subject of this narrative lived and died in 
 a town in the eastern part of Connecticut. We are well acquainted with the 
 writer, and we can assure our readers that the account here given is true." 
 
ANECDOTES OF INDIANS. 267 
 
 ''And how," I asked her, "have you got along this long, 
 cold winter, Sarah ? " 
 
 " O, Misse," she replied, " God better to Sarah than she fear. 
 When winter come on, Sarah was in great doubt No hus- 
 band, no child here but ; she wicked, gone a great deal. 
 
 What if great snow storm come? W T hat if fire go out? 
 Neighbor great way off — what if sick all 'lone ? What if I 
 die ? Nobody know it. While I think so in my heart, I cry. 
 While I crying, something speak in my mind and say, ' Trust 
 God, Sarah, He love His people; He never leave them, He 
 never forsake them, He never forsake Sarah, He friend indeed. 
 Go tell Jesus, Sarah ; He love hear prayer, He often hear Sarah 
 pray/ So I wipe my eyes, don't cry any more; go out in the 
 bushes where nobody see, fall down on my old knees and pray. 
 God give me a great many words; pray great while. God 
 make all my mind peace. When I get up, go in house, can't 
 stop praying in my mind. Ail my heart burn with love to 
 God; willing live cold, go hungry, be sick, die all 'lone, if God 
 be there. He know best, Sarah don't know; so I feel happy; 
 great many day go singing Baptist hymn : 
 
 "Now I can trust the Lord forever, 
 He can. clothe, and he can feed, 
 He my rock, and He my Saviour, 
 Jesus is a friend indeed.'" 
 
 "Well, Sarah, have you been comfortably supplied?" 
 
 "0, yes," she replied, "I never run out corn meal once all 
 winter." 
 
 "But how do you cook it, Sarah, so as to make it comforta- 
 ble food?" 
 
 "0, I make porridge, misse; sometimes I get out like 
 to-day, and I go get some crusts bread and some salt to put in 
 it, then it is so nourishing to this poor old body; but when 
 can't get more, then make it good I can, and kneel down, pray 
 God to bless it to me; and I feel if God feed me, and be so 
 happy here," laying her hand on her heart. 
 
268 A NE CD TES OF IND I A NS. 
 
 Oh, what a lesson ! thought I, for my repining heart. " But 
 do you have no meat or other necessaries, Sarah ? " 
 
 " No, Misse ; sometimes I get so hungry for it I begin feel 
 wicked, then think how Jesus hungry in desert. But when 
 Satan tempt him to sin to get food He would not, so I say, 
 Sarah won't sin to get victuals. I no steal, no eat stole food,* 
 though be hungry ever so long. Then God give me small 
 taste of His self, His Son, and His glory, and I think in my 
 heart they all be mine soon, then I no suffer hunger no more 
 — my Father have there many-mansions." 
 
 In one of her many visits she afterward made me, she gave 
 me, in substance, the following account of her conversion. 
 She lived, according to her own account, until she became a 
 wife and mother without hope and without God in the world 
 (having been brought up in extreme ignorance), her husband 
 treating her with great severity. She became dejected and 
 sorrowful, and to use her own simple language, "I go sorrow, 
 sorrow all day long. When the night come, husband come 
 home angry, beat me so; then I think, O, if Sarah had friend, 
 Sarah no friend; I no want tell I got trouble, that make only 
 worse. So I be quiet, tell nobody, only cry all night and day 
 for the good friend. 
 
 " One Sunday good nabor come and say, ' Come, Sarah, go 
 meetin'. So I call my children, tell 'em stay in house while I 
 go meetin'. When got there, minister tell all about Jesus; 
 how He was born in stable, go suffer all His life, die on great 
 cross, bury, rise, and go up into Heaven, so always be sinner's 
 friend. He say, too, if you got trouble, go to Jesus. He best 
 friend in sorrow, He cure all your sorrow, He bring you out 
 of trouble, He support you, make you willing suffer. 
 
 "So when I go home think great deal what minister say, 
 think this the friend I cry for so long. Poor ignorant Sarah 
 never hear so much about Jesus before. Then I try hard to 
 tell Jesus how I want such friend. But, O, my heart beat so 
 hard, can't feel, can't pray, can't love Jesus though he so good. 
 This make me sorrow more and more. When Sunday come 
 
 * This might refer to food stolen by her wicked daughter. 
 
ANECDOTES OF INDIANS. 269 
 
 want go meetin' 'gain. Husband say, 'You shan't go, I beat 
 you if you go.' So I wait till he go off hunting, then shut up 
 children safe and run to meetin', sit down in door, hear minis- 
 ter tell how bad my heart is — no love to God, no love to Jesus, 
 no love to pray. 
 
 " So then I see why can't have Jesus for friend, 'cause got 
 so bad heart; then go prayin' all way home, Jesus make my 
 heart better. When got home find children safe, feel glad 
 husband no come; only feel sorry 'cause my wicked heart, 
 don't know how to make it better. When I go sleep, then 
 dream I can read good book; dream I read there, Sarah 
 must be born 'gain ; in morning keep thinking what that word 
 mean. 
 
 "When husband go work, run over my good nabor, ask her 
 if Bible say so. Then she read me where that great man go 
 see Jesus by night, 'cause fraid to go in daytime. I think he 
 just like Sarah. She must go in secret to hear 'bout Jesus, 
 else her husband be angry and beat her. Then feel 'couraged 
 in mind, determined to have Jesus for friend. So ask nabor 
 how get good heart. She tell me give your heart to Jesus, He 
 will give Holy Spirit, make it better. Sarah don't know what 
 she mean, never hear 'bout Holy Spirit. 
 
 " She say must go to meetin' next Sunday, she will tell min- 
 ister 'bout me; he tell me what to do. So Sarah hear how 
 must be born 'gain ; minister say, * You must go fall down 
 'fore God; tell Him you grieved 'cause you sin; tell Him you 
 want better heart; tell Him for Christ Jesus' sake give Holy 
 Spirit, make your heart new.' Then Sarah go home light 
 'cause she know the way. When get home husband beat me 
 'cause I go to meetin' — don't stay home work. I say, Sarah 
 can't work any more on Sunday 'cause sin 'gainst God. I 
 rather work nights when moon shine. So he drive me hoe 
 corn that night, he so angry. I want to pray great deal, so go 
 out hoe corn, pray all the time. When come in house hus- 
 band sleep. Then I kneel down and tell Jesus take my bad 
 heart — can't bear bad heart; pray give me Holy Spirit, make 
 my heart soft, make it all new. So great many days Sarah go 
 
2;o ANECDOTES OF INDIANS. 
 
 begging for a new heart. Go meetin' all Sundays ; if husband 
 beat me never mind it; go hear good nabor read Bible every 
 day. So after great while God make all my mind peace. I 
 love Jesus; love pray to him; love tell him all my sorrows; 
 He take away my sorrow, make all my soul joy; only sorry 
 'cause can't read Bible — learn how to be like Jesus; want to 
 be like His dear people Bible tell of. 
 
 "So I make great many brooms; go get Bible for 'em. 
 When come home husband call me fool for it; say he burn it 
 up. Then I go hide it; when* he gone, get it, kiss it, 'cause it 
 Jesus' good word. Then I go ask nabor if she learn me read ; 
 she say yes. Then I go many days learn letters, pray God all 
 the while help me learn to read His holy word. So, Misse, I 
 learn read Baptist hymn; learn to spell out many good words 
 in Bible. So every day take Bible, tell my children that be 
 God's word, tell 'em how Jesus die on cross for sinner, then 
 make 'em all kneel down. I pray God give them new heart; 
 pray for husband too, he so wicked. O, how I sorry for him, 
 fear his soul go in burning flame." 
 
 "Sarah," said I, "how long did your husband live?" 
 
 " O, he live great many year." 
 
 "Did he repent and become a good man?" 
 
 "No, Misse, I fraid not; he sin more and more. When he 
 get sick I in great trouble for him; talk every day to him, but 
 he no hear Sarah. I say how can you bear to go in burning 
 fire, where worm never die, where fire never go out. At last 
 he get angry, bid me hold my tongue. So I don't say any 
 more, only mourn over him every day 'fore God. When he 
 die my heart say, Father, Thy will be done — Jesus do all things 
 well. Sarah can't help him now, he be in God's hands; all is 
 well. So then give my heart all away to Jesus, tell Him I be 
 all His; serve him all my life; beg Holy Spirit come fill all 
 my heart, make it all clean and white like Jesus. Pray God 
 help me learn more of His sweet word. And now Sarah live 
 poor Indian widow great many long year; always find Jesus 
 friend, husband, brother, all. He make me willing suffer, 
 willing live great while in this bad world, if He see best. 
 
A NE CD TBS O F IND I A NS. 27 1 
 
 'Bove all, he give me great good hope of glory when I die. 
 So now I wait patient till my change come." 
 
 In the spring of 18 18, it was observed by her friends that 
 she did not appear at meeting as usual, and one of her partic- 
 ular female benefactors asked her the reason; when she with 
 streaming eyes told her, that her clothes had become so old 
 and ragged, that she could not come with comfort or decency; 
 but said she had been praying God to provide for her in this 
 respect a great while, and telling Jesus how much she wanted 
 to go to His house of prayer, and expressing a strong desire 
 to be resigned and submissive to His will. This was soon 
 communicated to a few friends, who promptly obeyed the call 
 of Providence, and soon furnished this suffering member of 
 Christ with a very decent suit of apparel. This present was 
 almost overpowering to her grateful heart. She received them 
 as from the hand of her Heavenly Father and kind Redeemer 
 in answer to her special prayer. But this did not in the least 
 diminish her gratitude to her benefactors; but she said, she 
 would go on tell Jesus how good His dear people were to this 
 poor old creature, and pray good Father to give them great 
 reward. 
 
 The last visit I had from her was in the summer of 18 18. 
 She had attended a funeral, and returning called at my cottage. 
 She complained of great weariness and pain in her limbs, and 
 showed me her feet which were much swollen. I inquired the 
 cause. "O," said she, with a serene smile, "death comes 
 creeping on; I think in graveyard, to-day, Sarah must lie here 
 soon." 
 
 "Well, are you willing to die ? Do you feel ready?" 
 
 " O, I hope, Misse, if my bad heart tell true, I willing and 
 ready to do just as Jesus bid me; if he say, 'You must die,' 
 I glad to go and be with Him; if He say, 'Live and suffer 
 great deal more,' then I willing; to do that ; I think Jesus know 
 best. Sometime I get such a look of Heaven, I long to go 
 see Jesus, see happy angel, see holy saint — throw away my 
 bad heart, lay down my old body, and go where I no sin. 
 Then I tell Jesus, He say, 'Sarah, I prepare place for you, then 
 

 272 ANECDOTES OF INDIANS. 
 
 I come take you to myself.' Then I be like child, don't want 
 to go till He call me." Much more she said upon this inter- 
 esting subject, which indicated a soul ripe for heavenly glories. 
 When we parted I thought it very doubtful whether we should 
 ever meet again below. In the course of three weeks from 
 this time I heard that Sarah was no more. 
 
 Thus while the pen of many a ready writer is employed in 
 imparting instruction, reproof or correction to the rising gener- 
 ation ; while the deeds of the mighty are recorded with splen- 
 dor, the exploits of heroes proclaimed from the house-tops, 
 and the virtues and charities of God's people are exhibited 
 that others may see their good works and glorify their Father 
 who is in Heaven, I would, according to my humble ability, 
 snatch from oblivion the example of one, who though scorned 
 by the proud and overlooked by the great, yet was known and 
 beloved by a humble few, and by them the Grace of God was 
 magnified on her account 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 SOMETHING FOR DRINKING MEN TO READ. 
 
 I HAVE lately read a story about one Samuel Pikington, 
 who was said to be a good mechanic and could earn fair 
 wages, but for all that his family were all the time in a # 
 most destitute condition, for he is represented as having a wife, 
 a good, patient, forgiving creature, and several small children. 
 The reason assigned for the pinching want to which this family 
 was subjected, was that instead of Samuel's carrying home to 
 them the wages which he earned, he was in the habit of spend- 
 ing the largest part of his weekly earnings in rum shops and 
 taverns. He often came home in a bad humor, and would 
 scold his poor wife, and find fault with her almost continually. 
 Sometimes he would say to her, "Why arn't the children at 
 school — -free schools — you can't say it takes money to send 
 them there f" 
 
 Edward, Emma, Samuel and Francis would no doubt have 
 been glad enough to have been there, but the weather was 
 cold, and the ground was frozen and covered with snow, yet 
 they were all without shoes. Their clothing, though mended 
 and patched, was very poor, and scarcely sufficient to keep 
 them comfortable in the house, much less in the out-door 
 air. One day he said to his wife in a fierce, angry manner: 
 
 " Why haven't the children got shoes and clothes fit to go 
 
 to school ? That's what I want to know." 
 
 R 
 
274 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 Upon this the poor wife said to him, " Samuel, I want you to 
 answer me a few questions." 
 
 "Well," says Samuel, "ask them, and be quick about it." 
 
 She then queried with him how much he earned where he 
 was employed. 
 
 "Two dollars and a half a day, fifteen dollars a week, the 
 same as the other hands." 
 
 " How much do you allow me out of that to keep house 
 with?" 
 
 " Why six dollars a week* a whole dollar a day, counting 
 out Sunday, when I am out with my friends." 
 
 "Samuel, out of this, four dollars a week has to go for rent 
 or we would have no house to live in. This leaves me but 
 two dollars, out of which you expect me to feed you and four 
 children, and to clothe them, and keep shoes on their feet." 
 
 "Well, Jane," says he, "you get washing to do." 
 
 She acknowledged to him that by making considerable 
 exertion, all that her strength was equal to, she managed to 
 get a little in this way. Poor drinking Samuel, cross and ugly 
 as he often was, now saw a little how badly he used his family, 
 for he said to her, "Well, Jane, this does look rather hard, but 
 never mind, I will give you a little more next week." But 
 just then he was out of money himself, and not having work 
 in the shop that day, he was thinking how he would do to get 
 his accustomed dram, so he said to his wife, "Have you any 
 money in the house?" 
 
 " Yes, Samuel," says she, " I have twenty cents." 
 
 "Good," says Samuel, "Will you just run around to the 
 grocery and get me a bottle of gin ? " 
 
 Poor Jane, who was probably used to doing what he asked 
 her to, without attempting to cross him, signified that she 
 would obey his demands, and stooping down she took off the 
 poor worn-out shoes and stockings from her feet, when she 
 was asked by her husband, "What are you doing that for, 
 Jane ? " She told him that the ground was covered with wet 
 snow; that if she got them wet, she had no others to put on 
 when she came back; and if she got sick the children might 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 275 
 
 starve entirely, for they were half-starved now. So bare-footed 
 she took the bottle to go out. 
 
 "Stop, Jane," he said huskily, "stop, this is too bad; I don't 
 want that gin. I am a brute." 
 
 His wife was no doubt rejoiced at this unexpected change 
 in Samuel, and reminded him how happily they had lived 
 together before he drank, talked kindly to him till both of 
 them were affected to tears, while the children stood and won- 
 dered. 
 
 "Jane," he sobbed, "you once asked me to sign the pledge, 
 but I cursed you and refused. Bring it to me now, and I will 
 both sign it and keep it." 
 
 It is easy to imagine how glad a wife would naturally feel 
 under such changed prospects. It is related of him, that 
 Samuel was as good as his word. That he not only signed a 
 temperance pledge and kept it, but that he became increasingly 
 industrious, and that his weekly earnings were all brought 
 home for the use of his family, who were soon made comfort- 
 able, and that ever after they were prosperous, and lived 
 happily together. 
 
 Whether all that is related in this little story actually occur- 
 red or not, I have no means of knowing; but there can be no 
 doubt but what hundreds of wretched families are made so 
 through the use of strong drink, while those husbands who 
 reform from their intemperate habits, and are industrious, and 
 kind to their families, cause a great rejoicing therein, as was 
 the case in the family of Samuel Pikington. 
 
 BLESSINGS OF TEMPERANCE. 
 
 ONE day in the streets of Cork, a man by the name of 
 Barry, a corn dealer, on his way to the savings bank, 
 was met by a tavern keeper named Murphy ; the latter 
 said, "Why do you not come to see me as often as you used 
 to?" To which the former answered, "I cannot do any such 
 thing now, as Father Matthew has desired me to keep out of 
 
276 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 the way of temptation." "I am sorry to see you looking so 
 badly," said the tavern keeper; "why, your face is quite yel- 
 low." "Why," said Barry, "if my face be yellow, so are my 
 pockets too," and he pulled out of his pocket four sovereigns, 
 which he was going to lay by in the savings bank. 
 
 Not less than three or four hundred new books have been 
 opened in the Cork Savings Bank since the spread of temper- 
 ance there. By laying up money in that manner, they would 
 have but little need of poor-laws or work-houses. By becom- 
 ing teetotalers, the people would, in fact, constitute poor-law 
 societies among themselves. Then, neither the aged father 
 nor mother of a teetotaler would be under the heart-rending 
 necessity of applying for admission to a work-house. 
 
 Such results are common wherever this blessed reformation 
 has worked its way. Its path is strewed with the trophies of 
 its redeeming power, and millions have already rejoiced, and 
 millions more will yet rejoice, that it has dawned upon the 
 world. 
 
 WHO IS RESPONSIBLE? 
 
 A WRITER relates the following: A gentleman traveling 
 in New England, put up at a hotel, and for a time took 
 his seat in the bar-room. While sitting there, the door 
 opened suddenly, and a woman stepped in. She was the very 
 picture of agony; her dress negligent, her eye unsteady. She 
 seemed to hesitate at first, but finally gathering courage, she 
 moved to the bar and said : 
 
 "Landlord, don't sell my husband any more rum. You 
 have already ruined us. You know that before he came to 
 your bar he was a sober man. He was as kind a husband as 
 woman ever had. We had a good home, a good farm, and 
 every comfort. But you sold him liquor until he had no 
 money to pay. Unknown to me, you got a mortgage on his 
 farm; you sold it and turned me and my helpless children out 
 of doors ! My husband lost his health, his character, and his 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 277 
 
 reputation. He became cross and abusive to me, whom he 
 once so tenderly loved. He beats me and my children cruelly, 
 and threatens to murder us. Oh, don't let him have any more 
 liquor ! " And the tears gushed from her eyes, while the land- 
 lord stood speechless. 
 
 In the midst of these entreaties, a man stepped into the bar- 
 room, and with the vacant stare of an inebriate, moved toward 
 the bar. 
 
 Instantly the pleading wife threw herself between the man 
 and the bar, and with one hand against his breast, and the 
 other stretched Out imploringly to the landlord, she said : 
 
 "Oh don't, my dear! don't drink! You will break my 
 heart ! " and bursting with agony, she turned to the landlord 
 and said: "Oh, don't let him have it! don't, don't!" 
 
 And while this scene was passing, the landlord walked 
 deliberately out from behind the counter, and taking the 
 woman rudely by the arm, said: "This is no place for women;" 
 and violently tore her from her husband, and pushing her out, 
 shut the door against her. 
 
 The wretched inebriate staggered up and drank his dram, 
 placing a piece of money on the counter, and the landlord 
 wiped it off complacently into the till. The whole transaction 
 was under the sanction of the law ! For the sale of eveiy 
 glass of that ruinous liquor, which reduced an honest man and 
 good citizen to the lowest degree of suffering and infamy, he 
 could show a "license." 
 
 There was, then, no redress in law for that suffering woman. 
 She had been robbed of her home, of her comfort, of her 
 husband; and the blight of despair had been thrown over her 
 whole family ; but the law protected her destroyer, and left her 
 to endure her anguish without the hope of relief. 
 
 This is but one of the ten thousand horrible infamies of the 
 liquor traffic. And it is useless to appeal for redress to those 
 who are engaged in this business. They have counted the 
 cost; they have entered upon the business with their eyes 
 open, knowing that their success means the ruin of their 
 customers. 
 
278 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 Is it not time that this whole traffic was swept from the 
 earth ? If tears and sighs and heart-breaks would have stayed 
 the curse, it would have been rolled back long ago. Some- 
 thing is needed, what is it ? 
 
 THE DRUNKARD'S GIRLS. 
 
 THE chaplain of the Lawrence (Mass.) jail, relates the 
 following interesting fact: There was a man, one of the 
 worst of drunkards. He was a carpenter, and had 
 once owned a little house; but the house had gone for drink, 
 his family were neglected, and his poor wife had to support 
 them, while he wasted his time and money in intemperance 
 and sin. 
 
 One day he had become intoxicated, and lay down on the 
 ground out in the field, and when he awoke he heard two little 
 girls talking on the other side of the wall. They were his 
 little daughters, and they knelt down there and prayed, and 
 said, "O God, bless father, and make him the good father he 
 used to be before he was a drunkard; and bless mother, and 
 keep her alive, for father's conduct is killing her." 
 
 Then presently he heard two other little girls coming along 
 the road to pick berries, and they said, " Let us not pick the 
 berries there, for those are the drunkard's girls;" and so they 
 went past to another place. And then his two daughter's put 
 their arms around each other's neck, and wept, and said, 
 " Why does everybody hate us ? We are good — we try to do 
 right; why do they all hate us? It is because our father is a 
 drunkard." 
 
 The words of the little children were like arrows to the 
 father's heart. He had a shilling in his pocket, and he went 
 and bought a little flour, and went home and asked his wife to 
 make him a little porridge to eat. He ate it, and drank no 
 more liquor that day. 
 
 The next morning he went to a man who had formerly 
 employed him, and who was building a house. 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 279 
 
 "Can you trust me?" said he, "the last drop of liquor has 
 passed my lips." 
 
 " Do you mean that ? " said the man. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Well, if you do, there is my house; there is the stone and 
 the lumber; you may go to work." 
 
 He worked hard all day, and at night said, " Can you trust 
 me with a dollar?" 
 
 "Yes," said the employer, "you have earned two dollars;" 
 and he paid him the money. 
 
 He got some food for the family, and the next morning, as 
 his wife was going away, he inquired, " Where are you going 
 to-day?" 
 
 "I am going to wash at " said she. 
 
 " Well, will you obey me ? " 
 
 "Yes," said she. 
 
 "Then don't go. There is fifty cents, buy some calico and 
 make the children some clothes." 
 
 She promised to do so, and he went to his work. He 
 worked faithfully all the week, and brought home his wages, 
 ten dollars, and gave them to his wife, who knew then, for the 
 first time, that she had her husband back again in the ways of 
 sobriety and peace. 
 
 He persevered. The little home came back again; comfort 
 and peace came back again; and the man was saved through 
 the blessing of God, we may believe, in answer to the prayers 
 of those little girls. 
 
 THE PINT OF ALE. 
 
 A MANCHESTER calico printer was, on his wedding- 
 day, asked by his wife to allow her two half-pints of 
 ale a day as her share of extra comforts. He made 
 the bargain, but not cheerfully, for though a drinker himself 
 (fancying, no doubt, that he could not well do without), he 
 would have preferred a perfectly sober wife. They both worked 
 
28o INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 hard. John loved his wife, but he could not break away from 
 his old associates at the ale-house, and when not at the factory 
 or at his meals, he was with his boon companions. His wife 
 made the small allowance meet her housekeeping expenses — 
 keeping her cot neat and tidy, and he could not complain that 
 she insisted upon her daily pint of ale, while he, very likely, 
 drank two or three quarts. Once in awhile the wife succeeded, 
 by gentle, loving artifice, in drawing her husband home an 
 hour or two earlier than usual, and very rarely she persuaded 
 him to sperid a whole evening in her company. They had 
 been married a year, and the morning of their wedding anni- 
 versary John looked with real pride upon the neat and comely 
 person of his wife, and, with a touch of remorse in his look 
 and tone, he said: 
 
 "Mary, we'n had no holiday since we were wed, an' only 
 that I haven't a penny i' th' world, we'd take a jaunt to th' 
 village and see th' mither." 
 
 "Would like to go, John?" she asked. 
 
 There was a tear with her smile, for it touched her heart to 
 hear him speak tenderly as in the old times. 
 
 " If thee'd like to go, John, I'll stand treat." 
 
 "Thou stand treat, Mary ! Hast got a fortin' left thee?" 
 
 " Nay, but I'm gotten the pint o' ale," said she. 
 
 "Gotten what, wife?" 
 
 "The pint o' ale," she repeated. 
 
 And thereupon she went .to the hearth, and from beneath 
 one of the stone flags drew forth a stocking, from which she 
 poured upon the table the sum of 365 threepences — £4 us. 
 3d. — exclaiming: 
 
 "See, John, thee can have the holiday." 
 
 " What is this ? " he asked in amaze. 
 
 "It is my daily pint o' ale, John." 
 
 He was conscience stricken as well as amazed. 
 
 " Mary, hasn't thee had any share ? Then I'll ha' no more 
 fro' this day." 
 
 And he was as good as his word. They had their holiday 
 with the old mother, and Mary's little capital, saved from the 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 281 
 
 "pints o' ale," was the seed from which, as the years rolled on, 
 grew shop, factory, warehouse, country-seat and carriage — 
 with health, happiness and peace. 
 
 HOW TO BREAK THE CHAIN* 
 
 A MAN once said to me, "I was a pretty hard case; my 
 wife used to be afraid of me, and my children used to 
 run away from me when I came into the house; it was 
 but a word, and then a blow or kick. When I was induced 
 to put my name to the temperance pledge, the thought came 
 into my mind, what my wife would say to this. Then I 
 thought if I went in and told her all of a sudden it might 
 make her faint. At another time I would have gone home 
 and knocked her down, and then kicked her up again. Now 
 I was going home thinking how I could break it to her and 
 not hurt her ! So I thought I would try and break it to her 
 .easy. When I got to the door, I saw her leaning over the 
 embers of the fire. She looked up. I suppose she expected 
 a blow or a curse as usual, and I said, ' Mary ? ' She did not 
 turn ; again I said, ' Mary ? ' ' Well, Dick, what is it ? ' I said, 
 ' Mary, cannot you guess ?' She looked round at me, her face 
 was very white. ' I say, Mary, I have been to the temperance 
 meeting, and have put my name down on the pledge, and 
 taken my oath that I will never take another drop.' She was 
 on her feet in an instant. She did not faint away, but she got 
 her arms around my neck and pulled me down on my knees, 
 the first time I remember going down on my knees since I 
 was a boy, when she said, ' O, God, bless my poor husband ! ' 
 and I said, 'Amen.' 'Help him to keep that pledge,' and I 
 said, 'Amen,' and she kept on praying. It was the first time 
 we had ever prayed together, but it was not the last." 
 
 A great many men have said to me, "I can reform without 
 becoming a Christian; but I say this, within my experience, 
 that nine out of ten, that try it fail. A gentleman that I know 
 
 * Extracted from an address delivered in Boston by John B. Gough. 
 
282 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 after marrying into an excellent family, got so far abased as to 
 drink a quart of brandy a day. How he stood it, no one 
 knows. He had a loving wife, and three boys. One day, 
 when in the house, he said to his wife, " Come, my dear, and 
 sit on my knee." She came and sat, and then she said to him, 
 " If my husband did not drink, I should be one of the happiest 
 women in Canada." "Well," said he, "I married you to make 
 you happy, and I ought to do everything I can to make you 
 so, and if that will make you happy, I will never drink another 
 drop as long as I live." That was seven years ago, and he 
 has kept his word. That man had a mighty will, but I want 
 to tell you something else. Walking with him up Young 
 Street, one day last winter, he said, " You see that red saloon ? 
 I have gone two blocks out of my way many a time to keep 
 out of the way of that, but since I have got the Grace of God 
 in my heart, I can go right by that place. I can cry to God 
 and he helps me, and I can go right along." The first was a 
 risk, but with God's help there was safety. 
 
 MONEY WELL EXPENDED. 
 
 CAPTAIN S. C. S., of Portland, was one day passing 
 through one of the streets in Boston, when he saw a 
 poor sailor lying on the side-walk, with his feet in the 
 gutter, in such a position as to endanger his limbs, if not his 
 life. Captain S. lifted him up, aroused him, and by degrees 
 got his history. He belonged to a good family, who resided 
 in the eastern part of Maine, had been well educated, and 
 exhibited now the wreck of a brilliant intellect and amiable 
 disposition. He said he had been sick, had stayed his time 
 out in the Charlestown Hospital, and had that morning been 
 discharged without a cent, and in so feeble a state as to dis- 
 qualify him from going to sea again at present. "Then why 
 don't you go home?" said Captain S. "I cannot pay my 
 passage; I have no money," answered the desponding sailor. 
 "Have you found anybody that would give you any break- 
 
IN TEMPER A XCE. 283 
 
 fast?" said the Captain. "No," was the reply, "but I found a 
 man who gave me something to drink, and, as I was very 
 weak and very hungry, the liquor overcame me; but I am not 
 so much intoxicated as I seem to be; I have my senses per- 
 fectly well." How much will take you home?" inquired the 
 Captain. "There is," said the tar, "a vessel lying at the wharf 
 which would take me within two miles of my home for one 
 dollar, and I would go if I only had the money." "Now 
 shipmate," continued the Captain, "give me your hand, and 
 look me straight in the eye. Now promise, upon the honor 
 of a sailor, that you will never drink any more of the poison 
 stuff, and I'll give you some breakfast, and pay your passage 
 home." The sailor clasped his emaciated fingers around the 
 rough hand of the Captain, and pronounced the pledge. Cap- 
 tain S. handed him a bill, and saw him safe in the nearest 
 public-house, and went his way. 
 
 Some three years after, as Captain S. was passing along 
 Exchange Street, in Portland, some one behind him called .out: 
 "Captain! I say Captain! Halloo! Captain!" Captain S. 
 turned around, and a well-dressed stranger grasped him by 
 the hand, and inquired if he knew him. He confessed that he 
 did not recollect ever having seen him before. The stranger, 
 after several ineffectual attempts to refresh his memory, finally 
 brought to his recollection the scene narrated above, and said 
 that he was the sailor to whom the Captain had acted the part 
 of the Samaritan, and insisted on returning four-fold for the 
 money which had been bestowed on that occasion. All remu- 
 neration was refused, and the young man was exhorted to go 
 and do likewise. "I will with all my heart," said he, as the 
 tears gathered in his eyes; "but I owe you a debt that I never 
 can discharge. I have never broken my pledge, and with the 
 help of God I never will. I went home after you left me, and 
 through the entreaty of my friends, I commenced trading, and 
 am now here to purchase goods. I have been prospered in 
 business, and have been lately united to the woman of my 
 choice. You were the means of saving both soul and body; 
 for I have lately been made acquainted with the blessed Saviour 
 
284 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 of sinners. Oh ! if my poor old father could get hold of your 
 hand, he would almost wring it from your body with grati- 
 tude." The generous heart of the Captain was melted, for he 
 loved the Saviour too. The flood-gates of his soul were 
 opened, and they wept together like two children, shook hands 
 again, exchanged a hearty "God bless you," and parted. 
 
 3IY EXPERIENCE. 
 
 A RECENT editorial in The Christian Advocate, in refer- 
 ence to young men just beginning business life, attracted 
 my attention. I have been over the road upon which 
 they have entered, and at almost every step have seen its 
 diverging paths. In early life I was "trained to be temperate, 
 chaste and honest," and being ambitious, I determined to enter 
 some mercantile business, for which purpose I visited the city 
 of Baltimore. I had not an acquaintance on my arrival there, 
 and but a few dollars to pay my expenses. On going to my 
 room alone, my thoughts were, "I am in a strange city, far 
 from home, without a friend, surrounded by dangers of every 
 kind. I have my reputation and character as a professing 
 Christian to maintain against fearful odds. What shall I do ? 
 I will do this: "I here promise never to drink a drop of spirit- 
 uous liquors as a beverage, or to be found in any place where 
 I should be ashamed for my father or mother to see me; and 
 I will look to the Lord in every trial to make a way for my 
 escape." Then, kneeling down, I asked the Lord to help me 
 keep my promise. I then did not know how soon the trial 
 was to come. The next evening I was invited by two of my 
 new acquaintances to take a walk to see the city, and, being 
 unacquainted with city life, was glad to accept. After passing 
 several squares we came in front of what was called the 
 "Green House," into which it was proposed that we should go. 
 I inquired, "What kind of a place is this?" "The Green 
 House," they said; "only an oyster saloon." I replied, "You 
 may go in, and I will wait for you here." "Come in, come in," 
 
INTEMPERA XCE. 285 
 
 they exclaimed; "we will not stay two minutes." "No," I 
 replied; "you go, if you wish, and I will wait here five minutes 
 for you (looking at my watch), but if you are not out by that 
 time, you will not find me here." I waited that space of time, 
 and then returned to my hotel. That night one of those 
 young men was brought in from the gutter, into which he had 
 fallen intoxicated. I watched his downward course for several 
 years, until I learned that a wave dashed him from the deck 
 of a ship and he perished. The last I heard of his comrade 
 was, that he, too, was fast hastening to a drunkard's grave. 
 In Baltimore I soon obtained a situation, and at once gave it 
 my undivided attention, and have now pursued the same busi- 
 ness more than thirty years. To the present time, the promise 
 I made is still unbroken, and largely to it, through the help of 
 the Lord, I owe my success and escape from the snares into 
 which I have seen so many fall; and I would say, as I once 
 heard Alfred Cookman say to a young man just starting out, 
 "Thomas, take God with you." 
 
 THIRTY YEARS A DRUNKARD. 
 
 THE Bible and Fruit Mission is doing a precious work; 
 visiting hospitals and asylums to dispense spiritual and 
 temporal aid to the suffering; going about doing good 
 like the Master. Perhaps its greatest work is the establish- 
 ment of a coffee and a lodging house, at 416 East 26th Street, 
 where clean, wholesome food and beds are furnished at a very 
 low price, and pleasant rooms provided, with free entertain- 
 ments, where the poor may spend an evening enjoyably. The 
 following account is taken from an annual report: 
 
 "The first week our Coffee House opened in 1880, a most 
 miserable man came in just as we were closing, and asked for 
 food. He was the very worst specimen of the race we have 
 ever seen, ragged in the extreme, his miserable garments tied 
 on him by a heavy cord, filthy and decrepit from a long life 
 of intemperance. As he stood at the desk, trembling in every 
 
286 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 limb, we inquired, 'What ever brought you to this abject 
 condition?' 'Oh, lady,' he replied, 'don't scold me; there's 
 no hope for me. I never can be any better. I was educated 
 for a physician, but fell through liquor, and have now been 
 thirty years a drunkard. I have a mother and a sister who 
 are praying for me, but 'tis no use.' We pointed him to the 
 drunkard's Friend, the Great Physician, from whom could 
 come the only permanent cure, and, after furnishing him with 
 some oatmeal and milk, saw him depart, believing this was 
 indeed a hopeless case. 
 
 "In the course of the following eighteen months, he was 
 continually coming and going, never any better, if possible, 
 worse. One day he came to the desk, saying, ' I want you to 
 take the address of my mother,' — this he had always withheld. 
 'I am going to the hospital to die, and do not wish to be 
 buried in a pauper's grave. Do try and find out when I am 
 dead, and send for my friends to take my body.' This last 
 opportunity was not neglected to press earnestly upon him 
 the greater importance of caring for his soul, but in his great 
 physical weakness he seemed absorbed by the one idea, the 
 dread of being buried in the potter's field. On making appli- 
 cation at the hospital he was refused admittance. ' Go to the 
 poor-house,' they said; 'we are sick and tired of you here.' 
 So we went with him ourselves, procured the necessary pass, 
 and saw him on the boat for Charity Hospital. 
 
 "Two years passed away without our hearing anything 
 from him, and we naturally concluded the poor fellow was 
 filling the pauper's grave he so dreaded. A few days since, a 
 gentlemanly, well-dressed man came to the desk, and asked, 
 ' Have you any oatmeal and milk ? ' Something in the tone 
 of the voice induced us to look up, and, to our unutterable 
 astonishment, we recognized in the speaker, the miserable 
 creature we supposed had long ere this filled a drunkard's 
 grave. ' Have you come from the dead ? ' we exclaimed. His 
 laconic answer was, ' I came to God, and he forgave my sins 
 for Christ's sake. My mother's prayers brought me back. 
 She is eighty years old, but never gave up hope; she kept on 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 287 
 
 praying to God for me even when she did not know whether 
 I was living or dead. In the hospital I determined, with 
 Christ's help, to give up drink. On leaving, I went direct to 
 Belleville, N. J., and in passing through the streets saw the 
 sign, 'Ark of Safety.' This is the place for me, I thought. 
 I applied for admission, and there found a home and work, 
 and now I am going through this city to preach to the lowest 
 drunkards, and tell them there is salvation for them in Christ 
 jesus.'" 
 
 EFFECTS OF TEMPERANCE. 
 
 W 
 
 E entered, one day, a cottage in a suburb of Cork: a 
 woman was knitting at the door; it was as neat and 
 as comfortable as any in the most prosperous district 
 of England. We tell her brief story in her own words, as 
 nearly as we can recall them. "My husband is a wheel- 
 wright, and always earned his guinea a week; he was a-good 
 workman, and neither a bad man nor a bad husband, but the 
 love for the drink was strong in him, and it was not often he 
 brought home more than five shillings out of his pound on a 
 Saturday night; and it broke my heart to see the poor children 
 too ragged to send to school, to say nothing of the starved 
 look they had out of the little I could give them. Well, God 
 be praised, he took the pledge; and the next Saturday he laid 
 twenty-one shillings upon the chair you sit upon. Oh ! didn't 
 I give thanks on bended knees that night ? Still, I was fearful 
 it wouldn't last. I spent no more than the five shillings I was 
 used to, saying to myself, the money will be more wanted than 
 it is now. Well, the next, week he brought me the same, and 
 the next, and the next, until eight weeks passed, and there was 
 no change for the bad in my husband; and all the while he 
 never asked me why there was nothing better for him out of 
 his hard earnings ; so I felt there was no fear for him ; and the 
 ninth week when he came home to me, I had this table bought, 
 and these six chairs — one for himself, four for the children, 
 and one for myself. And I was dressed in a new gown, and 
 
288 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 the children all had new clothes and shoes and stockings, and 
 upon his own chair I put a bran new suit; and upon his plate 
 I put the bill and receipt for them all — just the eight sixteen 
 shillings they cost that I had saved out of his wages, not 
 knowing what might happen, and that always before went for 
 drink. And he cried, good lady and good gentleman, he cried 
 like a baby — but it was with thanks to God; and now where' s 
 the healthier man than my husband in the county Cork, or 
 happier wife than myself, or dacenter or better fed children 
 than our own four?" 
 
 It is most unlikely that such a family will again sink into 
 poverty and wretchedness. 
 
 STORY OF THE ENGINEER. 
 
 ET me put my name down first — I can't stay long !" It 
 
 L' 
 
 was a red ribbon meeting, and the man was a loco- 
 motive engineer, bronzed and strong, having eyes full 
 of deep determination. He signed his name in a bold, plain 
 hand, tied a red ribbon in his button hole, and as he left the 
 hall, he said: 
 
 "As the Lord looks down on me, I'll never touch liquor 
 again." 
 
 • "Have you ever been a hard drinker?" queried a man who 
 walked beside the engineer. 
 
 " No. Fact is, I was never drunk in my life. I've swallowed 
 considerable whiskey, but I never went far enough to get 
 drunk. I shouldn't miss it, or be worse off for an hour, if all 
 the intoxicating drink in the world were drained into the 
 
 ocean." 
 
 " But you seemed very eager to sign the pledge." 
 
 "So I was, and I'll keep to it through thick and thin, and 
 talk temperance to every man on the road." 
 
 "You must have strong reasons?" 
 
 "Well, if you walk down to the depot, I'll tell you the story 
 on the way. It hasn't been in the papers, and only a few of us 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 289 
 
 know the facts. You know I run the night express on the 
 
 B road. We always have at least two sleepers and a 
 
 coach, and sometimes we have as many as two hundred pas- 
 sengers. It's a good road, level as a floor and pretty straight, 
 though there is a bad spot or two. The night express has the 
 right of way and we make fast time. It's no rare thing for us 
 to skim along at the rate of fifty miles an hour for thirty or 
 forty miles, and we rarely go below thirty. One night I pulled 
 out of Detroit with two sleepers, two coaches, and the baggage 
 and mail cars. Nearly all the berths in both sleepers were full, 
 and most of the seats in the coaches were occupied. It was a 
 dark night, threatening all the time to rain, and a lonesome 
 wind whistled around the cab as we left the city behind. 
 We were seventeen minutes late, and that meant fast time all 
 through. 
 
 "Well," he continued, after a moment, "everything ran along 
 all right until after midnight. The main track was kept clear 
 
 for us, the engine was in good spirits, and we ran into D •- 
 
 as smooth as you please. The express coming east should 
 
 meet us fifteen miles west of D , but the operator at the 
 
 station had failed to receive his usual report from below. This 
 was strange and yet it was not, and after a little consultation 
 the conductor sent me ahead. We were to keep the main 
 track, while the other train would run in on the side track. 
 Night after night our time had been so close, that we did not 
 keep them waiting over two minutes, and were generally in 
 sight when they switched in. 
 
 " When we left D we went ahead at a rattling speed, 
 
 fully believing that the other train would be on time. Nine 
 
 miles from D is the little village of Parto. There was a 
 
 telegraph station there but the operator has no night work. 
 He closed his office and went home about nine o'clock, and 
 any messages on the wires for him were held above or below 
 until next morning. When I sighted this station I saw a red 
 lantern swinging between the rails. Greatly astonished, I 
 pulled up the heavy train, and got a bit of news that almost 
 lifted me out of my boots. It was God's mercy, as plain as 
 
290 INTEMPERA NCE. 
 
 this big depot. It was the operator who was swinging the 
 lantern. He had been aroused from sleep by the whistles of 
 a locomotive, when there wasn't one within ten miles of him. 
 He heard the toot ! toot ! toot ! while he was dressing, and all 
 the way as he ran to the station, thinking he had been sig- 
 nalled. Lo ! there was no train there. Everything was as 
 quiet .as the grave. The man heard his instrument clicking 
 away, and leaning his head against the window he caught 
 these words, as they went through to D : 
 
 " ' Switch the Eastern express off quick ! Engineer on the 
 Western express crazy drunk, and running a mile a minute ! ' 
 
 "The operator signalled us at once. We had left D 
 
 nine miles away, and the message couldn't have reached us 
 anywhere except at Parto. It was time we were there, lacking 
 one minute. We lost two or three minutes in understanding 
 the situation and consulting, and had just got ready to switch 
 in where we were, when the headlight of the other train came 
 in view. How that train was flying ! The bell was ringing, 
 sparks flying, and the whistle screaming, and not a man of us 
 could raise a hand. We stood there on the main track spell- 
 bound, as it were. There wouldn't have been time, anyhow, 
 either to have switched in or got the passengers out. It wasn't 
 over sixty seconds before that train was upon us. I prayed to 
 God for a breath or two, and then shut my eyes and waited for 
 death, for I hadn't the strength to get out of the cab. 
 
 "Well, sir, God's mercy was revealed again. Forty rods 
 above us that locomotive jumped the track, and was piled into 
 the ditch in an awful mass. Some of the coaches were consid- 
 erably smashed, and some of the people badly bruised, but no 
 one was killed, and of course our train escaped entirely. The 
 other engineer didn't get a bruise, but was up and across the 
 field like a deer, screaming and shrieking like a mad tiger. It 
 took five men to bind him after he was run down, and to-day 
 he is the worst lunatic in the State. 
 
 "Tom was a good fellow," continued the engineer, after a 
 pause, " and he used to take his glass pretty regularly. I never 
 saw him drunk, but the liquor kept working away on his 
 
/A r TEMPER A N CE. 291 
 
 nerves till at last the tremens caught him, when he had a 
 hundred and fifty lives behind his engine. He broke out all 
 of a sudden. The fireman was thrown out of the engine, all 
 steam turned on, and then Tom danced and screamed, and 
 carried on like a fiend. He'd have made awful work, sir, but 
 for God's mercy. I'm trembling yet over the way he came 
 down for us. Nobody asked me to sign the pledge, but I 
 wanted my name there. One such night on the road has 
 turned me against intoxicating drinks, and now that I have 
 got this red ribbon on, I can talk to the boys with a better face. 
 Tom is raving, as I told you, and the doctors say he'll never 
 get his reason again. Good night, sir — my train goes in ten 
 minutes." 
 
 A DOCTOR'S STORY. 
 
 AT a social meeting of temperance reformers, held recently 
 in the lecture hall of the National Temperance League, 
 at 337 Strand, London, Dr. Munroe, of Hull, who has 
 devoted much time to the study of the physiological action of 
 alcohol, made the following remarkable statement, which we 
 give in his own words: 
 
 "With regard to the prescription of alcoholic beverages I 
 will relate one circumstance. Some years ago, before I became 
 a teetotaler, a man came to me to be cured of an abscess in 
 his hand. I said to him : 
 
 "'You will be obliged, during the time you are suffering 
 from this large amount of suppuration which is taking place, 
 to take a bottle of stout every day.' 
 
 " ' But I am a teetotaler,' said my patient. 
 
 "'O, but you must take it as a medicine/ 
 
 "'Ah, but, Doctor, I was a drunken man once, and I should 
 not like to try it.' 
 
 " ' I believed the drink would do the man good, and said to 
 him that if he did not choose to follow my advice he might 
 consult another doctor. However, he took the stout and got 
 
292 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 better. I said to him afterward, 'You would have sacrificed 
 your life for this little bottle of stout daily. It has saved your 
 life; be thankful.' So he went away a cured man. I am sorry 
 to say that only a few months after that, I was driving down 
 one of our public thoroughfares, when I saw a poor, miserable, 
 ragged-looking man standing against a public house door. It 
 struck me at once that this was my late patient. I got out of 
 my conveyance to see him. You know how severe a drunken 
 man may be. He had been a member of a Wesleyan society, 
 a prayer leader, an ornament to the church, and useful therein, 
 before he came to me. I have heard him speak with great 
 edification. 
 
 '"Oh, S./ I said, 'is that you?' 
 
 "'This is me,' he said, in a sarcastic tone, 'don't you know 
 me?' 
 
 '"I am ashamed of you,' I said. 
 
 "'You have no right to be ashamed of me. You are my 
 doctor. I was a teetotaler, but you sent me here, here to 
 this public house, for your medicine, which saved my body 
 but ruined my soul.' 
 
 " He fell into the arms of two or three of his drunken com- 
 panions, and I left him. I did not sleep that night, thinking 
 about that man. I was not a teetotaler then, but it almost 
 made me one. From that night I sought him out. He lived 
 a little way from the town when I had last known him. His 
 home was in a pleasant cottage with a little garden before it. 
 He was a happy man in his family. Now, however, he was 
 not there, and on inquiring where he had gone to, I found it 
 was to a low part of the town. Here, in such a home as only 
 a drunken man can live in, I found him upon a straw bed, 
 sleeping off the effects of his previous night's debauch. His 
 poor children were clothed in rags, and the appearance of his 
 broken-hearted wife I shall not soon forget. I talked to the 
 man, reasoned with, and succored him from that time, and 
 never let him rest until he signed the pledge. It took him 
 some time to recover his character in the church, and I had 
 the happiness of seeing him restored to his place there; and 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 293 
 
 now he has a larger class, is more popular than before, and 
 has been a devoted worker in the temperance cause ever since. 
 Can you wonder that I never again ordered strong drink for a 
 patient ? " 
 
 INTO BONDAGE AND OUT OF IT. 
 
 WHILE in Van Diemen's Land, James Backhouse re- 
 ceived a visit from a man formerly a prisoner, who 
 gave some striking particulars of his life. He said 
 the first occasion on which he took spirits was when going a 
 short voyage; a little was given him in a vial, which he was 
 charged to drink, lest he should take cold ! His father was a 
 man who endeavored carefully to inculcate honest principles 
 into his children, both by example and precept, and who used 
 to ejaculate in a low tone on leaving his house, "The Lord 
 preserve my going out and my coming in, from henceforth and 
 forevermore ; " but he was a drunkard ! and his son was some- 
 times sent to the public house to bring him home. On such 
 occasions his father often gave him "a little sup" in the bot- 
 tom of the glass, and was amused at the wry faces that his son 
 made on drinking it. When the boy was able to drink a 
 whole glassful, his father expressed great pleasure ! little antic- 
 ipating that he was training his son, not only to drunkenness, 
 but through drunkenness to dishonesty. 
 
 At length his son became both a drunkard and a thief, and 
 was transported for robbery. He was now a prisoner in bond- 
 age in a foreign land; but years rolled on, and the term of his 
 transportation expired; he regained his freedom, but not from 
 the bondage of habitual drunkenness; this to him was more 
 powerful than the bondage under the laws of his country. 
 Many times he sold his shirt for drink, and, to use his own 
 expression, parted with the flesh off his back for it also; for, 
 while a prisoner, he was several times flogged for being drunk. 
 
 As soon as he was loosed from the triangles, he hurried on 
 his clothes, and with his back bleeding, went to the first place 
 
294 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 where drink was sold, and drank again ! Often the declaration, 
 '' Drunkards shall not inherit eternal life," came awfully before 
 his mind: he was alarmed, miserable, ashamed of himself, and 
 he cried to God for deliverance. He joined the temperance 
 society, resolved he would leave off the use of spirits, and 
 drink only a little wine or beer; but these kept alive his 
 depraved appetite. 
 
 He began to attend the Methodist meeting, hoping thereby 
 to gain strength; but in a few weeks he was again overcome 
 by his old enemy, and being ashamed to be met in that condi- 
 tion, he left the road and lost himself in the bush, where he 
 remained all night in confusion. Still in the anguish of his 
 soul, he cried unto the Lord for deliverance, and in this state 
 he attended a meeting that we held at the Back River, New 
 Norfolk, where his attention was directed to the Holy Spirit, 
 as a witness against sin revealed in the secret of the heart, and 
 as a guide, leading those who attend to its convictions to 
 repentance, and to the bearing of the cross in the practice of 
 self-denial; and giving them a sense of their weakness, in 
 order that they may place their trust in the Lord alone, obtain- 
 ing strength from Him to perform His will, and receive remis- 
 sion of sins through Jesus Christ. 
 
 These doctrines made a deep impression on this individual, 
 and under the conviction wrought upon his mind, he sought 
 Divine help to leave off the use of all stimulating liquors. He 
 not only forsook the use of spirits, but of wine and beer; he 
 also left off smoking and chewing tobacco; and to enable him 
 the sooner to pay his debts, he likewise left off the use of tea 
 and sugar. 
 
 These privations were trying to him for a few weeks, after 
 which the desire for such indulgence left him; and he is now 
 in better health and spirits than before. Several persons have 
 brought liquor to him and tried to persuade him to drink, say- 
 ing that as he had drank, chewed and smoked so long, he 
 would certainly die from leaving off these practices ! The 
 poor man is now working for ten shillings per week as a 
 builder, and is in a very humble, thankful state of mind; he 
 
INTEMPERA NCE. 295 
 
 walks eight miles into town to attend our meetings, and is 
 likely to stand his ground so long as he continues in humility 
 and watchfulness. 
 
 THE TWO PLEDGES. 
 
 64 y ITTLE DENNIE," was the only son of a clergyman, 
 _y who, some years since, lived on the shore of Lake 
 George. This was before the commencement of the 
 temperance reformation, when every family kept intoxicating 
 liquors constantly on hand, and used them as an occasional, if 
 not a daily beverage. Taught by the example of his father 
 and his guests, the little boy contracted a love for strong 
 drinks, that gave his parents most painful apprehensions on 
 his account, and was the subject of their frequent but unavail- 
 ing remonstrance. At length, at a barn raising he had been 
 permitted to attend, and where he had free access to a keg of 
 liquor, he became dead drunk, and was laid upon a board 
 under a tree. The rest of the story we copy in the language 
 of the author: 
 
 "About four o'clock his father called to accompany him 
 home ; not seeing him, he eagerly inquired for his child ; they 
 pointed him to the place where he lay. With a heart full 
 of sorrow, he carried him home to his mother and sisters. 
 Together his parents watched beside his bed during the tedi- 
 ous night that followed, not knowing but the dreadful stupor 
 would result in his death; but fully resolved, if he lived, not 
 to leave untried any effort that might promise to save him. 
 
 " It was not until the evening of the second day that he was 
 restored to perfect consciousness. His parents thought it best 
 not to speak to him of the cause of his illness for some days, 
 hoping his own reflections would do him much more good; 
 but in this they were disappointed — he did not exhibit the 
 first symptoms of remorse or consciousness that he had done 
 wrong. 
 
 "About a week after the event just related, his father invited 
 
296 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 him one pleasant morning to take a walk. Their road ran 
 along the shore of a lake, and was lined with stately trees on 
 either side. For a time they walked on in silence. 
 
 "'Dennie,' said he, 'do you know what made you so sick 
 the other day?' 
 
 "'Why, I suppose I drank too much rum,' he artlessly 
 replied. 
 
 "'Well, my son, do you know that I think you are in dan- 
 ger of becoming a drunkard ? ' 
 
 "'Why, father, I know you*tell me so, but I am not afraid 
 of it. You drink rum every day, and you are not a drunkard; 
 and when I get old enough to know how much it will do for 
 me to drink, then I can keep from being drunk too.' 
 
 "They both seated themselves on a rock near the shore, and 
 most faithfully did his father speak of the evils of intemper- 
 ance ; then taking from his pocket a small gold watch, which 
 Dennie had long desired to call his own, he said, 'De'nnie, if 
 you will promise me that you will never drink any more rum, 
 I will give you this gold watch. Will you do it?' 
 
 " Rising from his seat, and looking his father full in the face, 
 he replied, ' If it is wrong for me to drink rum, I scorn to be 
 hired not to drink it. But I will tell you, sir, what I will do. 
 If it is wrong for me to drink, it is wrong for you, and if you 
 stop drinking, I will.' 
 
 "Had a flash of lightning burst from the cloudless sky 
 above them, his father would not have been more startled. 
 ' How could he preach or perform the laborious duties of a 
 pastor without his daily glass of bitters ? How could he get 
 up in a cold winter's night, and go pray by the bed of some 
 dying parishioner, without a glass of something to prevent him 
 taking cold ? How could he attend the various ecclesiastical 
 meetings of the church without something to help him bear 
 the fatigues of the journey?' The sacrifice was indeed great, 
 but the welfare of his child demanded it. And summoning all 
 his resolution, with a faltering voice, he replied, '/ will do it, 
 my son! And thus they pledged themselves to Total Absti- 
 nence there. 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 297 
 
 "The lake, the trees, and the pure blue sky, being their only 
 witnesses, save only that Holy Being who is everywhere. As 
 they retraced their steps, his father, taking the little watch 
 from his pocket, gave it to Dennie, and said, 'My son, you 
 have long wished that I would give you this watch. It is now 
 yours as long as you keep your promise. Should that ever be 
 broken, I shall expect you to return it to me; till then, let it 
 be a token to you of this promise we have now made.' 
 
 " Years have passed, and little Dennie is now a distinguished 
 clergyman in one of the most populous Western cities. Four 
 bright little boys call him father. The same little gold watch 
 decorates his parlor wall, and often does he point to it, and tell 
 of his danger and his escape from the whirlpool of Intemper- 
 ance." 
 
 ONE YOUNG MAN'S "NO: 
 
 M 
 
 ANY a weak youth has escaped temptation because a 
 stronger companion said "No," and many another has 
 fallen because no such help was near. The following 
 life-sketch (by an eye witness) details a scene in a hotel 
 billiard-room, at a fashionable resort, where half a dozen young 
 men were playing for money and the "drinks." An acquaint- 
 ance having some errand to one of the players came in, and 
 was boisterously urged to make one of the party to join in 
 the game and bibulous indulgence. 
 
 " Bring another hot Scotch ! " 
 
 "Not for me," said Harry, peremptorily, and with a bit of 
 color in his face. 
 
 " O pshaw ! You won't play ? " 
 
 "No, I don't wish to." 
 
 "Nor you won't drink a bumper with us?" 
 
 "Jack, you are going too far. I would drink if I wanted 
 to. You would not force a man to drink who is not thirsty?" 
 
 " O fudge ! Harry, you are afraid to risk a dollar ! You'd 
 drink a hot Scotch or a glass of wine with us if you dared to 
 play, I didn't know you had grown so timid," 
 
29S INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 And now the young man's face flushed to some purpose. It 
 was a handsome face, and he looked really grand — noble — as 
 he drew himself up to his full, manly height 
 
 " Boys, you have spoken freely to me ; let me say a word to 
 you in reply. I am timid — I confess. I am fearful ; but you 
 know — you know very well — that I do not fear the loss of a 
 dollar. I will tell you presently what I do fear. Do you 
 
 remember D H ? " naming a young man, who, not a 
 
 year previously, had been apprehended, tried and convicted of 
 forgery and embezzlement to a large amount; and was at this 
 time serving his penalty in the State Prison. And further than 
 that a young man — a trusted bookkeeper and cashier — but had 
 been intimate with these very young men. 
 
 "You remember him, I know," Harry continued, "and you 
 can remember the time when he was as jovial and happy over 
 his billiards and whiskey, and his gambling, as you are now. 
 O, do not wince ! I call it by its right name. If it is not 
 gambling, what is it ? Ah, boys ! if Dan had been a little 
 fearful in those days, he might have been differently situated 
 now." 
 
 He paused a moment, looked around upon the players, and 
 presently added, in a lower tone and with deep solemnity : 
 
 "And now, boys, I'll tell you frankly of what I am afraid. I 
 have a mother — ^ou .know whether she loves me or not — and 
 I have a dear sister, looking to me for comfort and joy in life. 
 I have also a business character, and I trust a broad, bright 
 future before me. Must I tell you — I am afraid — I shrink in 
 mortal dread from anything that can endanger these sacred 
 interests. Not for all the wealth of the world would I know- 
 ingly and willingly bow my mother's head in sorrow. And 
 since the appearance of evil may weaken the prop of a sterling 
 character I will try to avoid that. Now, you understand me. 
 Go on, if you will; enjoy yourselves, if you can. It would be 
 misery for me to join you here. 
 
 "One word more, If anything of this interview should 
 become known abroad, be sure I did not tell it, for my lips 
 will be closed when I go from you." 
 
IN TEMPER ANCE. 299 
 
 He then called aside the young man whom he had called to 
 see, who, after a brief conversation with Harry, put up his cue, 
 and announcing he should not go on with the game, quietly 
 went out with his friend. 
 
 Two balls remaining on the table were not pocketed. The 
 game was suffered to end where it stood. There was a ques- 
 tion asked by one of the remaining five as to what should be 
 done with the money in the "pot." The chief answered 
 instantly, and without argument, by giving each man back his 
 dollar. Then they put their heads together, and after the con- 
 fab, which I could not overhear, they left the place, leaving full 
 one-half the drink in their glasses untouched. 
 
 Six months later I had occasion to spend another night at 
 the same house, and during my sojourn I spoke to the host of 
 the six young men whom I had seen engaged in that game of 
 pool. He knew what I meant because I had told him the 
 story at the time. 
 
 He answered that three of those youths had not been seen 
 in the billiard-room since that evening, two of them had occa- 
 sionally dropped in together and had a social game; but had 
 neither put up money nor drank. Of the sixth one he would 
 not speak. 
 
 And then I thought of the personal influence of that young 
 man. And the end is not yet. The end no man can see. 
 
 A CHILD'S INFLUENCE. 
 
 SOME twenty-five years ago a man came to me desiring to 
 join our Temperance society. He said, "I am deter- 
 mined to try and be a man. I have as good a wife as 
 any man, and three lovely little girls ; and yet like a fool, I am 
 spending the most of my earnings for whiskey. I am now 
 under the influence of whiskey; have been on a spree for a 
 week. I never go home when on a spree, for the place would 
 be too warm for me. I determined this morning that I would 
 'call off' and go home. So soon as I took my seat, one of 
 
3 oo INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 my little ones, my pet, came to me as usual, and sat upon my 
 knee. Looking up into my face, at the same time stroking 
 down my hair with her little hands, she asked me : 
 
 "'Papa, do you love me?' 
 
 "'Yes, my child.' 
 
 "This was repeated twice. The last time she asked the 
 question, I said, 'Why do you ask me if I love you ? Do you 
 not know that I love you ? ' 
 
 "With tears running down her little cheeks, she said, 'Well, 
 papa, if you love me, why do -you let me be called a ' drunk- 
 ard's child?"' 
 
 He was received, and became a highly esteemed and hon- 
 ored man. He removed from our town, and when under very 
 strong temptation — led into temptation and sin by improper 
 association-— he violated his pledge, but was restored. He 
 finally removed to a small town in East Tennessee, where he 
 established himself in a good business, and lived an honored 
 and highly esteemed citizen until called for his reward. 
 
 I saw him a few months before his death. He was then 
 confined to his room by protracted sickness, but was waiting 
 patiently the coming of the Master. He died in peace. 
 
 In giving the foregoing statement, I have written it for the 
 purpose of bearing testimony to the power and influence of 
 children for good, when properly trained by their mothers. 
 The mother was a Christian; and the child but reflected, under 
 the influence of the Spirit, the teachings of the mother. 
 
 CAN GOB DESTROY THE APPETITE?* 
 
 " For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the 
 works of the devil." — I John, 3: 8. 
 
 THE Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of 
 the devil. If this terrible curse of intemperance is not 
 the work of the devil, I do not know what is. When 
 we had our civil war on hand, a great many were driven to 
 
 * From an address by D. L. Moody, in Boston. 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 301 
 
 God in prayer, and we thought that the war was the greatest 
 curse that ever visited this nation. But it strikes me that this 
 curse of intemperance is worse. That cut off a great many 
 men — ten, twenty, thirty, perhaps forty years earlier than their 
 time; but think of the men that are being ruined, body and 
 soul, by this curse; and my only hope is that the nation will 
 get their eyes open to the fact that it is a curse, and that there 
 will be a cry going up to God, that He may wipe out this 
 terrible iniquity. 
 
 What are we going to do to stem this terrible torrent of 
 iniquity ? We have tried a great many methods, and I don't 
 know but I am getting discouraged with all these things. I 
 am coming to the conclusion that the only hope is that the 
 Son of God is to come and destroy man's appetite. You can- 
 not legislate men to be good. We have failed, and now it is 
 time for us to appeal to God. I am thoroughly convinced 
 that if drunkards will only get done leaning upon their own. 
 strength, and call upon God to destroy the appetite, He will 
 do it, for He was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. 
 
 Don't condemn the drunkards. They don't need that, for 
 they condemn themselves more than any one else could; they 
 are to be pitied and not condemned. What we want is to go 
 to them full of love and tell them that there is power in the 
 Gospel of the Saviour. I used to get discouraged in working 
 in the temperance cause, for I have been a worker in it ever 
 since I have known Christ, but in the last year I have been 
 more encouraged than ever before, because I have been work- 
 ing on a new line. I used to appeal to men to sign the pledge, 
 and they used to do so and then break it. But I have given 
 that all up; my only hope is that they will join Christ and 
 lean upon the arm of God — lean upon his almighty arm, and 
 then there is victory for them. But some of you may say, 
 "Don't these men, who profess to be Christians, fall, too?" 
 Yes; but it is because they trust in- their own strength. If 
 they trust in God they do not fall. Why, just read Isaiah 41 : 
 13: "For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying 
 unto thee, fear not, I will keep thee. In me is thy help." 
 
3 02 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 God can give you help. If God has hold of the drunkard's 
 right hand, He will not lead him into the rum saloon; He will 
 not lead him into temptation, but away from it; and not only 
 that, if Satan trips him up he shall not fall, for God has hold 
 of his right hand. If the Lord God, who created heaven and 
 earth, has hold of the drunkard's right hand, cannot He hold 
 it and keep it ? So let us tell them that there is hope, that the 
 Son of Man was made manifest to destroy their appetites, and 
 He can do it and take them away; He can turn their tastes 
 against it, and if that is done, it will soon close up the saloons. 
 In one of our last temperance meetings in Chicago, a business 
 man got up and told the most remarkable story I had heard 
 for several years. He said that eight years before he was a 
 confirmed drunkard. His father used to give him liquor when 
 he was a little boy four or fives years old in England, and died 
 a vagrant and drunkard. The son's friends had all left him in 
 Chicago, and he had been taken into court and pronounced a 
 vagrant and sent off to jail. And now his only fear was the 
 policemen, and his only ambition was to just keep out of the 
 hand of the law, and to drink liquor all day, and sleep at night 
 wherever he could. One night he went down to the lake 
 shore and there was a terrible storm, and for the first time in 
 his life he cried to God to help him. That was eight years 
 ago, and he said: "My friends, although a vagrant and an out- 
 cast, God met me there on the lake shore; He took hold of 
 my right hand, and I have never had any taste for liquor since; 
 He has kept me for eight years." Now I believe that. I 
 believe the statement he made that God destroyed it, root and 
 branch. 
 
 How many times have men told me that they have gone 
 and taken blood out of their veins and signed the pledge, gone 
 before a magistrate and taken an oath, gone and bowed down 
 upon their mother's grave, and sworn by the love they had for 
 their mother they would never touch it, and inside of thirty 
 days they were down in the gutter again ! Some people tell 
 us that there is something very noble in all men, and appeal 
 to that noble thing in a man and he will rise above it. But I 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 303 
 
 am done appealing to that; I appeal to God in Heaven — that 
 is where to appeal. Men have not the power. If they had, 
 the Son of Man would never have come into this world to 
 save men. I have done telling men to reform themselves — 
 they cannot do it; and when they have got to the end of 
 reforming themselves and will come to God, He will help 
 them. 
 
 STAND OUT FROM THE DANGER.' 
 
 WE WERE fast approaching Cape Hatteras. Already 
 its dim outline was appearing to the southwest, and 
 we were anticipating a close run to its rocky shores, 
 when suddenly the order to tack was given, and we stood out 
 in the Atlantic, leaving the cape far astern. 
 
 " Is not the water deep enough to make a closer run to the 
 shore?" asked Adjutant Culver, who was impatient to' get a 
 good sight of land after the three days' voyage. 
 
 " Certainly," answered the captain, gazing off to the south 
 at the signs of an approaching storm. 
 
 "But, why, then, did we tack out here?" asked the adjutant. 
 
 "Because," replied the captain, "if in running close to the 
 cape we had become in any way disabled, we might have 
 drifted on the rocks and have been wrecked. A good sailor, 
 when possible, stands out from the danger." 
 
 When I see a young man leaving the pure influences of the 
 home circle, and spending his hours in places where drink and 
 gambling have their programme, although he may be present 
 only as a spectator, yet I tremble for his safety, and long to 
 warn him to stand out from the danger. 
 
 When I see the moderate drinker indulge in his occasional 
 glass, and looking down with a contemptuous smile on the 
 fanatical temperance people, I know that he is sailing close 
 along the rocks of intemperance, and that his only safety is to 
 stand out from the danger. 
 
 When I see fair hands proffer the sparkling wine to the 
 
3 04 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 noble and gifted, I think what a terrible wreck theirs would be 
 if the rocks were encountered, and I crave that the scales may 
 fall from the eyes of the tempted, so that they may stand out 
 from the danger. 
 
 SAVED BY HIS CHILDREN. 
 
 THEODORE L. CUYLER tells the story of a physician 
 who escaped ruin by the mimicking of his children. 
 He began his professional life with the brightest pros- 
 pects, and being thoroughly educated and skillful, soon won a 
 large and fashionable practice. His danger was in the baneful 
 custom of social wine drinking in fashionable gatherings and 
 at aristocratic dinners. The young physician was witty and 
 agreeable, a welcome guest everywhere. The rich petted him. 
 At their tables he found the social glass. He drank. His 
 appetite was aroused. It grew strong. Soon he could not 
 control it. He, neglecting his business, sank lower, losing 
 patrons and friends, till he became a staggering drunkard. 
 His wife and children wanted the necessaries of life. Close 
 before him and them waited the rum pauper's inevitable fate. 
 
 One Sunday, when, half-sobered after a night of excess, he 
 was likely to remain awhile at home, his wife went to church, 
 and left him with his two little boys. While the children 
 played about the room, he lay upon a lounge and sank into a 
 torpid sleep. Presently their noise awoke and angered him, 
 but on opening his eyes he saw what struck him dumb. His 
 little six-year old son was staggering across the floor and 
 tumbling in exact imitation of an intoxicated man. The other 
 boy, older than he, laughed with delight at his performance. 
 
 " That's just like papa; let's both play drunk!" he cried, 
 and then joined his brother in the sport. How the agony of 
 conscience awoke in that fallen father's breast ! Had he lived 
 to become such an infamous pattern to those innocent little 
 ones ? When next the wretched man left his house, it was not 
 to go to the dramshop — nor to visit a patient. He had no 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 305 
 
 patient. He went forth to suffer his own self-accusings, and 
 think of his own sadly-heeded cure. In misery he wandered 
 through the fields. The sight he had seen had exposed him 
 to himself, smiting him with ceaseless rebukes. But it saved 
 him, for it broke his heart, and drove him to the Divine Healer 
 for help and grace. Alone with God he registered a vow that 
 he would drink no more. He was still young, and recovery 
 and returning prosperity rewarded the keeping of his solemn 
 pledge. 
 
 / MEAN BUSINESS." 
 
 A DRUNKEN engineer, who by the grace of God, had 
 become a Christian, and been enabled entirely to 
 relinquish the use of strong drink, thus relates his 
 experience : 
 
 "It is about seven months since the Lord found me, and 
 made known his love for me. I am an engineer on the rail- 
 road, and was a drunkard. Many a time have I been in liquor 
 when on the engine, and many is the time I have held on to 
 the throttle-valve with my train leaping over the ground and 
 my heart aching, and the sweat rolling off me, and tears in my 
 eyes, yet desperate and half mad, aroused at last to see what I 
 was doing, and sobered by the thought to slacken the speed. 
 Oh, how many nights have I gone plunging into darkness that 
 seemed Egyptian, bearing loads of unconscious ones, when, if 
 anything had been in the way, all would have been dashed to 
 pieces. 
 
 " It was on my engine and while drunk that the Spirit con- 
 victed me of sin. I was led to think of what I was and what 
 an awful doom was before me as a sinner. But I was sober 
 when I was converted. I saw what Christ had done for just 
 such lost ones, and just because I was a lost sinner I learned 
 that it was for me. 
 
 "Very soon after my conversion, when I drove my engine 
 up to the old stopping-place where I was accustomed to take a 
 
306 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 meal, and sometimes to drink besides, I saw my old compan- 
 ions there ready for me. As soon as they saw me they called 
 out, ' Here comes Tom, now we'll have a good time.' " 
 
 " I hope you did not go near them, nor go into the saloon 
 with them, but avoided them altogether," said one of the 
 crowd of listeners who had gathered around the dear man. 
 
 "That was what was first suggested to me. I think it must 
 have been Satan, though," answered the man. "This was my 
 dining place regularly, and as I had helped them to serve the 
 devil there, it seemed to come clearly to my mind that I should 
 now testify of my new Master. So I looked up to Him in my 
 hour of need, and went in and took my seat at the table and 
 began to eat. 
 
 "Soon they pressed me to drink as usual; but I told them 
 I could not do it, I belonged to the Lord Jesus now. They, 
 of course, began to ridicule me at first. But I told them how 
 the Lord had met me, and what he had done for me, and they 
 quieted down under this. Since that time the Lord has con- 
 verted every one of them. 
 
 " I do not know how it is, but I have found enough to do 
 just to tell of his work, with and for me and in me. And 
 sometimes I have been sent for to talk with others. Once 
 when I was sent for to see a friend that was very sick, he asked 
 me to pray for him. I did not know just what to say, but I 
 concluded to tell the Lord just what was in my heart. So I 
 knelt down by his bed-side and all I could say was, ' O Lord ! 
 I mean business.' 
 
 "This may seem strange to you, but He understood me and 
 knew the business in hand, which was the conversion of this 
 man. And he was converted. That was enough for me. 
 
 "Well friends, I have known what they call the pleasures 
 of sin in this world, and they are nothing but sorrow and evil. 
 And I know what the Lord can be and do for a poor lost one 
 like me. I have no desire for the old ways. He keeps me, 
 and He will keep me to the end." 
 
INFIDELITY. 
 
 THE DEATH-BED OF AN AWAKENED INFIDEL. 
 
 HENRY H , a young man whose happiness was 
 undermined by the specious infidelity of the Owenite 
 principles, died in London, whence he had arrived from 
 Maidstone, in the autumn of 1831. His education had been 
 liberal; his disposition was kind; his manners pleasing and 
 courteous. Like many other young men, however, he had 
 greedily perused those publications so widely circulated at the 
 present day, the leading principles inculcated in which, are 
 deism or atheism. In addition to this he had become a 
 constant attendant at the places where these principles were 
 publicly maintained. The result was that he became an unbe- 
 liever. The Bible and everything pertaining to it were now 
 objects of aversion to him. Those parts of it which were 
 above his comprehension, he condemned as irrational; its 
 plain and practical precepts he turned into ridicule. 
 
 The advice and example of the relation, under whose roof 
 he was, produced no change. Poor Henry had been taught 
 to believe that the Bible produced taxation and suffering, 
 discontent and disunion. All forms of worship were alike 
 abjured by him. In the belief or disbelief of an hereafter, he 
 was in a state of wavering and uncertainty. 
 
 On the 27th of the Eleventh month, he was in the enjoy- 
 ment of excellent health, and full of life and gaiety, and while 
 walking with the writer, in Brunswick Square, he was strenu- 
 
308 INFIDELITY. 
 
 ously maintaining the position that death was only a change 
 of one form of matter to another, and was advocating the 
 principles of Owen and other infidel writers. Before three 
 weeks he was a corpse, and within a few yards from where 
 he had been conversing, was consigned to the grave. On the 
 29th he complained of headache — his disease was the small- 
 pox. About the sixth or seventh day of his illness, he became 
 restless and uneasy, and from certain impressions, it appeared 
 that something lay heavy upon his mind. Calling me from 
 the next room, he said, "I wish you would not leave me; I 
 am not happy. Look at me (holding up both his hands), see 
 what a figure I am become, and all within these few days. 
 When we were walking together last week, who would have 
 thought of this?" He then put some papers into my hands, 
 requesting that I would deliver them to a person who had 
 often accompanied him to the meetings of the unbelievers. 
 "Do me this favor, it is not likely that I shall ever see him; I 
 have no wish to do so. Even if I were able, I should never 
 visit those haunts of infidelity again. What do my visits to 
 them avail me now ? Nothing, worse than nothing ! What 
 consolation have I now from what I have of late been taught 
 to believe ? " Two days before his death he was heard crying 
 out, " O, my Lord and my God, do thou forgive me ! " Ejacu- 
 lations of this kind were continued by him for hours together. 
 To a person who attended him he often repeated, " How can I 
 bear this heavy visitation ? Have mercy upon me. O God, 
 do thou assist me ! Oh, how I have been deluded ! Into 
 what errors I have fallen!" And calling on his Saviour, 
 exclaimed, " Have mercy upon me ! O God, do thou assist 
 me !" The day before he died, he said, "I shall very soon be 
 numbered with the dead. I have one request to make; will 
 you promise to fulfill it ? Tell Owen that I listened to him 
 with attention, and that, as a young man, I was pleased with 
 his philosophy. But tell him at the same time, I would now 
 give worlds that I had never heard it ; it was vanity, on my 
 part, and on his, foolishness. Tell him also, not to lead other 
 young men astray as he did me. I was wrapped up in him, 
 
INFIDELITY, 309 
 
 and was deluded, fatally deluded. Beseech him to search the 
 Scriptures with a desire to understand them, and not for the 
 purpose of cavilling and unprofitable dispute. A few days 
 ago I was in health like him; see me now. Tell him, from a 
 dying young man, not to trust in his philosophy; it will not 
 console him when he is as I am." Exhausted with speaking, 
 he disengaged his hands, which had been clasped in those of 
 his friend ; and after dozing a short time resumed : " One more 
 
 request, S ; for my sake, I hope you will not forget it. I 
 
 was often accompanied to those lectures by E. W . Tell 
 
 her affectionately for me, if she values her peace here, and her 
 happiness hereafter, to avoid those assemblies where every- 
 thing serious is scoffed at. I shall never see her again ; but 
 oh, tell her for me, that except she repent, she cannot see God; 
 that which I have listened to in her company is now a source 
 of bitterness and remorse to me, but that the goodness of the 
 Almighty gives me on my death-bed, peace and hope, and that 
 I die in charity with all men." At one o'clock in the morning 
 of the 15th, he had only strength enough to exclaim,' "My 
 God, I am an orphan child, have mercy upon me; O, Jesus, I 
 come." And a little after two he quietly expired. 
 
 AN INFIDEL STRANGELY CONVERTED. 
 
 A NATIVE of Sweden, residing in the south of France, 
 had occasion to go from one port to another in the 
 Baltic Sea. When he came to the place from whence 
 he expected to sail, the vessel was gone. On inquiring, he 
 found a fishing-boat going the same way, in which he 
 embarked. After being; for some time out at sea, the men 
 observing that he had several trunks and chests on board, 
 concluded that he must be very rich, and therefore agreed 
 among themselves to throw him overboard. This he heard 
 them express, which gave him much uneasiness. However, 
 he took occasion to open one of his trunks, which contained 
 some books. Observing this, they remarked among them- 
 
310 INFIDELITY. 
 
 selves that it was not worth while to throw him into the 
 sea, as they did not want any books, which they supposed 
 was all the trunks contained. They asked him if he were 
 a priest. Hardly knowing what reply to make, he told them 
 that he was; at which they seemed much pleased, and said 
 they would have a sermon on the next day, as it was the 
 Sabbath. 
 
 This increased the anxiety and distress of his mind, for he 
 knew himself to be as incapable of such an undertaking as it 
 was possible for any one to be, as he knew very little of the 
 Scriptures; neither did he believe in the inspiration of the 
 Bible. 
 
 At length they came to a small rocky island, perhaps a 
 quarter of a mile in circumference, where there was a company 
 of pirates, who had chosen this little sequestered place to 
 deposit their treasures. He was taken to a cave, and intro- 
 duced to an old woman, to whom they remarked that they 
 were to have a sermon preached the next day. She said she 
 was very glad of it, for she had not heard the word of God 
 for a great while. His was a trying case, for preach he must; 
 still he knew nothing about preaching. If he refused, or 
 undertook to preach and did not please, he expected it would 
 be his death. With these thoughts he passed a sleepless 
 night. In the morning his mind was not settled upon any- 
 thing. To call upon God, whom he believed to be inaccessible, 
 was altogether in vain. He could devise no way whereby he 
 might be saved. He walked to and fro, still shut up in dark- 
 ness, striving to collect something to say to them, but could 
 not think of even a single sentence. 
 
 When the appointed time for the meeting arrived, he 
 entered the cave, where he found the men assembled. There 
 was a seat prepared for him, and a table with a Bible on it. 
 They sat for the space of half an hour in profound silence; 
 and even then, the anguish of his soul was as great as human 
 nature was capable of enduring. 
 
 He then arose and delivered the following, "Verily, there is 
 a reward for the righteous: verily, there is a God that judgeth 
 
INFIDELITY. 311 
 
 in the earth." Other words presented themselves, and so on 
 until his understanding became opened — his heart enlarged 
 in a manner astonishing to himself. He spoke upon sub- 
 jects suited to their condition; the rewards of the righteous 
 — the judgments of the wicked — the necessity of repentance 
 and the importance of a change of life. The matchless love 
 of God to the children of men, had such a powerful effect 
 upon the minds of these wretched beings, that they were 
 melted into tears. Nor was he less astonished at the un- 
 bounded goodness of Almighty God, in thus interposing to 
 save his spiritual as well as his natural life, and well might 
 he exclaim, "This is the Lord's doings, and marvelous in 
 our eyes." Under a deep sense of God's goodness, his heart 
 became filled with such thankfulness, that it was out of 
 his power to express. What marvelous change was thus 
 suddenly brought about by Divine interposition ! He, who 
 a little before disbelieved in God, was now humbled before 
 Him. And they who were meditating his death were moved 
 to affection. 
 
 The next morning they put him in one of their vessels, and 
 conveyed him where he desired. From that time he was a 
 changed man. From an infidel he became a believer in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 A DEVOTED PASTOR. 
 
 N a time of revival in a certain church and congregation, 
 the pastor urged one of his brethren, an able and skill- 
 ful lawyer, to converse with a scoffing infidel of their 
 acquaintance. "You know," said he, "that R. comprehends an 
 able argument as well as any of us; and you and I have often 
 seen how his eye will kindle under a compact and well-drawn 
 argument. Now, can you not go over with him, the proofs on 
 which the Christian system rests ? " 
 
 "I have done that already," said the lawyer, "and he 
 heard me through patiently, and then pounced upon my argu- 
 
312 INFIDELITY. 
 
 ments like a tiger on his prey. Then he wound up with 
 bitter reproaches, which made me dread to encounter him 
 again." 
 
 One of the elders of the church had been also to visit the 
 infidel, and met with a like reception, and he made similar 
 objections to hi-s pastor to visiting the infidel again. But on 
 the subsequent evening -he was led, by the Spirit of God, to 
 wrestle before the throne with most agonizing prayer in that 
 infidel's behalf. At intervals, he continued all night present- 
 ing his case before God, and praying for his conversion and 
 salvation, as a man would pray for a friend's life on the eve of 
 his execution. 
 
 Prayer was followed by corresponding effort, and not long 
 after, in the crowded church, R. stood up, a changed man, to 
 relate his Christian experience. 
 
 "I am as a brand," said he, "plucked out of the burning. 
 The change in my views and feelings is astonishing to myself; 
 and all brought about by the grace of God and that unanswer- 
 able argument. 
 
 " It was a cold morning in January, and I had just begun 
 my labor at the anvil in my shop, when I looked out and saw 
 the elder B. approaching. As he drew near, I saw he was 
 agitated — his look was full of earnestness. His eyes were 
 bedimmed with tears. He took me by the hand. His breast 
 heaved with emotion. With indescribable tenderness, he said, 
 ' R., I am greatly concerned for your salvation ! ' and he burst 
 into tears. He often essayed to speak, not a word could he 
 utter; and finding that he could say no more, he turned, went 
 out of the shop, mounted his horse, and rode slowly away. 
 
 '"Greatly concerned for my salvation', said I, audibly, and I 
 stood and forgot to bring my hammer down. 'Greatly con- 
 cerned for my salvation' Here is a new argument, thought I, 
 for religion, which I never heard before, and I know not how 
 to answer it. Had the elder reasoned with me, I could have 
 confounded him; but here is no threadbare argument for the 
 truth of religion. Religion must move the soul with benevo- 
 lent, holy, mighty impulses, or this man would not feel as he 
 
INFIDELITY. 313 
 
 does. ' Greatly concerned for my salvation ' — it rung through 
 my ears like a thunder-clap in a clear sky. 'Greatly con- 
 cerned ought I to be for my own salvation,' said I; 'what 
 shall I do to be saved ? ' 
 
 " I went into my house. My poor pious wife, whom I had 
 so often ridiculed for her religion, exclaimed, 'Why, R., what 
 is the matter with you ? ' ' Matter enough,' said I, filled with 
 agony — ' Matter enough. Elder B. has ridden two miles this 
 cold morning to tell me he was greatly concerned about my 
 salvation. What shall I do ?' She advised me to go and see 
 him. No sooner said than done. I mounted my horse and 
 pursued after him. I found him alone in that same little room 
 where he had spent the whole night in prayer for my poor 
 soul. 'I am come,' said I to him, 'to tell you I am greatly 
 concerned for my own salvation.' 
 
 "'Praised be God,' said the elder. 'It is a faithful saying 
 and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the 
 world to save sinners, even the very chief ; ' and he began, at 
 the same Scripture, and preached unto me Jesus. On the 
 same floor we knelt, and together we prayed. And here per- 
 mit me to say, if you would reach the heart of such a poor 
 sinner as I, you must get your qualification where the good 
 elder did his, in your closet and on your knees." That con- 
 verted infidel long outlived the elder, and was the means of 
 the conversion of many. 
 
 THE ASTONISHED INFIDEL, OR THE POWER OF THE 
 
 BIBLE. 
 
 A VIRGINIA banker, who was the chairman of a noted 
 infidel club, was once traveling on horseback through 
 Kentucky, having with him bank bills of the value of 
 twenty-five thousand dollars. W T hen he came to a lonely 
 forest where robberies and murders were said to be frequent, 
 he was soon "lost" through taking a wrong road. The dark- 
 ness of night came quickly over him, and how to escape from 
 
3 H INFIDELITY. 
 
 the threatened danger he knew not. In his alarm, he sud- 
 denly espied in the distance a dim light, and, urging his horse 
 onward, he at length came to a wretched-looking cabin. He 
 knocked, and the door was opened by a woman, who said 
 that her husband was out hunting, but would shortly return, 
 and she was sure he would cheerfully give him shelter for the 
 night. The gentleman "tied up his horse, and entered the 
 cabin, but with feelings which may be better imagined than 
 described. Here he was with a large sum of money, alone, 
 and perhaps in the house of one of those robbers, whose 
 name was a terror to the country. 
 
 In a short time the man of the house returned. He had 
 on a deer-skin hunting shirt, a bear-skin cap, seemed much 
 fatigued, and in no talkative mood. All this boded the infidel 
 no good. He felt for his pistols in his pocket, and placed 
 them so as to be ready for instant use. The man asked the 
 stranger to retire to bed, but he declined, saying that he 
 would sit by the fire all night. The man urged, but the more 
 he urged the more the infidel was alarmed. He felt assured 
 that this was his last night on earth, but he determined to sell 
 his life as dearly as he could. His infidel principles gave him 
 no comfort. His fears grew into a perfect agony. What was 
 to be done ? 
 
 At length the backwoodsman rose, and reaching to a 
 wooden shelf, he took down an old book, and said, "Well, 
 stranger, if you won't go to bed, / will; but it is my custom 
 always to read a chapter of Holy Scripture before I go to 
 bed." 
 
 What a change did these words produce ! Alarm was at 
 once removed from the skeptic's mind. Though avowing 
 himself an infidel, he had now confidence in the Bible. He 
 felt that the man who kept an old Bible in the house, and read 
 it, and bent his knees in prayer, was no robber nor murderer. 
 He listened to the simple prayer of the good man, at once 
 dismissed all his fears, lay down in that rude cabin and slept 
 as calmly as he did under his father's roof. From that night 
 he ceased to revile the good old Bible. He became a sincere 
 
INFIDELITY. 315 
 
 Christian, and often related the story of his eventful journey, 
 as the best proof he could possibly give of the folly of 
 infidelity, 
 
 AN UNBELIEVER'S DEATH-BED. 
 
 The following is from the graphic pen of our valued friend, James Kite^ 
 deceased, written after visiting the death-bed of one, who in early life, had been 
 an intimate friend; but who, at a later period, had become an infidel. It is no 
 fancy sketch, but faithfully portrays the sad scene he witnessed, and the deep 
 agonies of the last hours of his fife. 
 
 SOUNDS of deep lamentation met my ear, 
 As I approached his chamber. At the door 
 I paused a moment to compose my mind, 
 To meet the scene of suffering within. 
 At length I entered — Stretched upon his bed, 
 In the last stages of a dire disease, 
 Lay the companion of my youthful hours, 
 And the loved friend of manhood's early years. 
 Alas ! how altered — then, all health and bloom, 
 And joyful in his purity he stood, 
 Blessed with bright talents, known to be admired, 
 And crowned with virtues, known to be beloved ; 
 Now, he not only lay in the firm grasp 
 Of that dreadful and incurable disease, 
 But worse — far worse, his soul tormented too 
 By the swift witness of offended God — 
 A wounded conscience, fearfully revived, 
 And quickened as the hour of death drew nigh 
 To claim its office, and assert its power. 
 He had become an infidel ! The gifts 
 And graces, which in early life had served 
 God, their Great Giver, had of later years, 
 Been prostituted to the vilest use — 
 Spent in unholy efforts to assail 
 With ridicule and blasphemy, that faith — 
 That only faith, which triumphs over death 5 
 And robs the dark cold grave of victory. 
 His relatives well knew all human skill 
 Was unavailing, and the close at hand \ 
 
316 INFIDELITY. 
 
 And they were gathered round him : — brothers gazed 
 
 In speechless agony, and sisters wept. 
 
 Their ancient father leaned upon the bed 
 
 In mournful silence, while his mother bent, 
 
 With feelings which no language can portray, 
 
 Over her guilty, yet still cherished son — 
 
 Her eldest born, — now launching out of time, 
 
 His body writhing with disease and pain, 
 
 And his soul frenzied by its weight of sin. 
 
 " Mother," said he, "I'm dying, and must go 
 
 Where thy pure spirit will not, cannot be — 
 
 I sink into the bottomless abyss ! 
 
 But thou shalt rise in glory, to that God 
 
 Whom thou hast served, tut whom I have reviled. 
 
 Farewell forever, brothers, sisters, all ; 
 
 My voice is failing — life is ebbing fast — 
 
 Yet I must leave this legacy behind : 
 
 Shun, I beseech you, as you value all 
 
 Dear to you here—shun, as you wish to find 
 
 Felicity hereafter — shun the path, 
 
 The downward path of infidelity, 
 
 And seek your Saviour, and obey his will. 
 
 Behold a mournful monument in me ! — 
 
 Oh ! had I followed, as Christ showed the way, 
 
 By His inspeaking Spirit in my heart, 
 
 And turned from flattery's deadly breath, 
 
 The unforgiven sin which weighs me down, 
 
 Would never have been mine. But oh ! alas, 
 
 Flattered by faithless infidels, I plead 
 
 Their cause on earth, and shall forever reap 
 
 Their awful harvest in the world to come ; 
 
 But weep not, mother. Listen to my words, — 
 
 For I have had, since stretched upon this bed, 
 
 Indubitable evidence to prove 
 
 There is, indeed, a solemn after scene — 
 
 A heaven of joy — a hell of bitter woe. 
 
 Oh ! I have seen them both. I gazed upon 
 
 The realms of gladness and the holy saints 
 
 And angels gathered round the throne of God ; 
 
 And I have seen — oh, yes ! indeed I have — 
 
INFIDELITY. 317 
 
 The place of woe — the burning lake of fire — 
 The soul's dread canker — the undying worm. 
 Yes ! and the countless myriads who are there ; 
 Oh ! I was there myself — I was indeed — 
 The worm was gnawing at my very soul — 
 The fire consuming, oh, but for a drop 
 Of water to extinguish scorching flames ; — 
 No, they can never, never more be quenched. 
 Mother ! I am dying — save, oh, save thy son. 
 Wilt thou not do it ! Tell me then who will ? 
 God I have blasphemed — Christ I have reviled — 
 I dare not pray for mercy, and am lost ! — 
 What ails me, mother? I am whirling 'round ! 
 What means this rattling? I have lost my sight ! 
 Where am I ? I am falling. Hold me up, — 
 I will not die, I dare not — Hold me fast ! ' ' 
 And as the words, half uttered, died away, 
 One last convulsive struggle closed the scene. 
 
SWEARING, 
 
 THE PROFANE SWEARER. 
 
 ONE cold morning in the winter of 1875, I took my seat 
 in a stage in Greenville, Maine, which town is situated 
 at the foot of Moosehead Lake. There were besides 
 myself, I think, four other persons. Directly opposite .to me, 
 was a young man, a stranger. We sat face to face, and near 
 each other. As soon as we had taken our seats, he began to 
 swear violently, and continued it incessantly. He did not 
 appear to be intoxicated nor angry, and I could see no especial 
 cause for his shocking profanity. He was very rough in his 
 personal appearance and manners. As I heard his horrid 
 oaths I felt sad, and asked myself the question, " Must I ride 
 face to face with this young man, hour after hour, under such 
 dreadful torrents of profanity, which are flowing continually 
 from his mouth?" I thought, "No; I must reprove him." 
 But then the question at once arose, "How shall I do it? If 
 I do not do it in a kind and discreet manner, I shall do more 
 harm than good; shall make a bad matter worse." 
 
 I hope I sincerely looked to God to give me wisdom suita- 
 ble for the occasion. But O! my Heavenly Father seemed 
 to require me to humble myself very low to get into a proper 
 situation to rightly rebuke this erring young man. I must 
 confess that I had been guilty of the same sin that I was now 
 about to reprove him for. 
 
320 SWEARING. 
 
 I then calmly said to him, "My young friend, I want to tell 
 you a short story." (This was the first time I had spoken to 
 him.) He stopped swearing and listened in a respectful man- 
 ner. I then proceeded as follows : 
 
 "When I was about twelve years old, my father sent me 
 into the pasture to get the oxen. It was a hot day. I found 
 the oxen in the woods, and started them out toward home; 
 but the weather was very hot, and the oxen dkl not like to 
 leave the cool shade of the woods; as soon as I had driven 
 them a few rods, they would quickly turn and run back. This 
 they did again and again. I soon became vexed, and lost all 
 my patience, and in my anger took my Maker's name in vain. 
 It was my first oath, and blessed be God it was my last. But 
 whenever I think of my wickedness in taking in vain the 
 name of that great and good Being who created me, and has 
 kept me alive all my life long, I am greatly ashamed of myself, 
 and I hope sincerely sorry for that great sin of my boyhood 
 days." 
 
 He listened attentively to my story; and when I concluded, 
 exclaimed : " Well, you have done well not to swear but once 
 in all your life." 
 
 I am happy to say that the young man swore no more. I 
 have never seen him since, and where he is I know not. 
 
 WARNINGS TO THE WICKED. 
 
 THE following awful account is related of a man whose 
 name shall be concealed, in tenderness to surviving 
 relatives. He waited upon a magistrate near Hitchen, 
 in the county of Hertford, and informed him he had been 
 stopped by a young gentleman of Hitchen, who had knocked 
 him down and searched his pockets; but not finding anything 
 there, he suffered him to depart. The magistrate, astonished 
 at this piece of intelligence, dispatched a messenger to the 
 young gentleman, ordering him to appear immediately, and 
 answer to the charge exhibited against him. The youth 
 
SWEARING. 321 
 
 obeyed the summons, accompanied by his guardian and an 
 intimate friend. Upon their arrival at the seat of justice, the 
 accused and the accuser were confronted, when the magistrate 
 hinted to the man, that he was fearful he had made the charge 
 with no other view than that of extorting money, and bade 
 him take care how he proceeded,- exhorting him in the most 
 earnest and pathetic manner, to beware of the most dreadful 
 consequences attending perjury. The man insisted upon mak- 
 ing oath of what he had advanced. The oath was accord- 
 ingly administered, and the business fully investigated, when 
 the innocence of the young gentleman was established, he 
 having, by the most incontrovertible evidence proved an alibi. 
 The infamous wretch, finding his intention thus frustrated, 
 returned home much chagrined, and meeting soon afterward 
 with one of his neighbors, he declared that he had not sworn 
 to anything but the truth, calling God to witness the same in 
 the most solemn manner, and wished if it was not as he had 
 said, his jaws might be locked, and that his flesh might rot 
 upon his bones, when terrible to relate, his jaws were instantly 
 locked, and the use of his faculties he had so awfully per- 
 verted was denied him forever; and after lingering nearly a 
 fortnight, he expired in the greatest agony, his flesh literally 
 rotting from his bones. 
 
 One day there happened a tremendous storm of lightning 
 and thunder, as Archbishop Leighton was going from Glas- 
 gow to Dunblane. He was descried, when at a distance, by 
 two men of bad character. They had not the courage to rob 
 him; but wishing to fall on some method of extorting money 
 from him, one said, " I will lie down by the way-side, as if I 
 were dead, and you shall inform the Archbishop that I was 
 killed by lightning, and beg money of him to bury me." 
 When the Archbishop arrived at the spot, the wicked wretch 
 told him the fabricated story. He sympathized with him, and 
 gave him money, and proceeded on his journey. But, when 
 the man returned to his companion, he found him really life- 
 
 U 
 
322 SWEARING. 
 
 less. Immediately he began to exclaim aloud, " Oh, sir, he is 
 dead ! Oh, sir, he is dead ! " On this, the Archbishop discov- 
 ering the fraud, left the man with this important reflection, " It 
 is a dangerous thing to trifle with the judgments of God." 
 
 SIGNAL LIGHTS. 
 
 I ONCE knew a sweet little girl called Mary. Her father 
 was the captain of a big ship, and she sometimes went 
 with him to sea; and it was on one of these trips that 
 the following incident happened. 
 
 One day she sat on a coil of rope watching old Jim clean 
 the signal lights. 
 
 "What are you doing?" she asked. 
 
 "I am trimming the signal lamps, Miss," said old Jim. 
 
 "What are they for?" asked Mary. 
 
 "To keep other ships from running into us, Miss; if we do 
 not hang out our lights, we might be wrecked." 
 
 Mary watched him for some time, and then she ran away 
 and seemed to forget all about the signal lights; but she did 
 not, as was afterward shown. 
 
 The next day she came and watched old Jim trim the 
 lamps, and after he had seated her on the coil of rope, he 
 turned to do his work. Just then the wind carried away one 
 of his cloths, and old Jim began to swear awfully. 
 
 Mary slipped from her place and ran into the cabin, but she 
 soon came back and put a folded paper into his hand. 
 
 Old Jim opened it, and there, printed in large letters — for 
 Mary was too young to write — were these words: "Thou 
 shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the 
 Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.* 
 
 The old man looked into her face and asked, " What is this, 
 Miss Mary?" 
 
 " It is a signal light, please. I saw that a bad ship was run- 
 ning against you, because you did not have your signal lights 
 hung out, so I thought you had forgotten it," said Mary. 
 
SWEARING. 323 
 
 Old Jim bowed his head and wept like a little child. At 
 last he said, "You are right, Missy; I had forgotten it. My 
 mother taught me that very commandment when I was no 
 bigger than you; and for the future I will hang out my signal 
 lights, for I might be quite wrecked by that bad ship, as you 
 call those oaths." 
 
 Old Jim has a large Bible now which Mary gave him, and 
 on the cover he has printed, "Signal Lights for Souls bound 
 to Heaven." 
 
 INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS. 
 
 IT has been observed that every visitation of the Lord to 
 man, leaves him either better or worse than he was before. 
 Those who learn the lessons intended to be taught, are 
 benefitted thereby; but others are hardened and made more 
 insensible to good. The author of "The Sure Mercies of 
 David" records the experience of a friend: 
 
 "When I was a young man it was the custom, and not 
 thought ungentlemanlike, for men, when conversing with each 
 other, to interlard their conversation with oaths and other 
 expletives which would not be tolerated now; for in these 
 days gentlemen, even if not under the power of the Gospel, 
 do not swear. I was not an exception to my associates, and 
 as I grew in years the habit became more confirmed; and 
 when I lost my temper, my anger was expressed in this sense- 
 less and unholy way. 
 
 "I married, and had a farm and a large number of sheep. 
 One beautiful summer evening we were going up the country 
 to keep an engagement. Our boatmen were waiting for us, 
 and we were on our way to embark, when I observed a fine 
 ewe in a field of barley. Of course she had no right there, 
 and was injuring the crop, so I opened the gate behind her, 
 and going along so as to confront her, I sprang over the fence, 
 and approaching her cautiously (for the field was large and I 
 was afraid she might run), I endeavored to turn her out. But 
 there she stood, regardless of all my exclamations and ges- 
 
324 SWEARING. 
 
 tures, occasionally stamping her foot, as if impatient at being 
 disturbed, and threatening to run at me. 
 
 " There stood the sheep, a few yards from me, never having 
 moved from the spot where I first found her, and looking as 
 if she intended to give me some trouble. At last I lost all 
 patience, and gave vent to my irritation in curses on her obsti- 
 nacy. Maddened with rage, at last I exclaimed with an oath, 
 'I wish you were dead T The words had hardly passed my 
 lips when the fore legs of the ewe gave way, and she fell 
 forward. I felt stunned as if struck dumb, and putting my 
 hand to my head in terror and dismay, slowly realized the 
 power of the living God, and thanked Him that His Spirit 
 had withheld me from invoking the curse upon myself, as I 
 had often done before, or it might perhaps have been as 
 quickly answered. I walked forward and touched the poor 
 animal. Her eye was glazed; she was not dying, but dead ! 
 
 "I was struck by the awful solemnity of the immediate 
 granting of a petition. I had no desire it should be so 
 answered; but 'by terrible things in righteousness wilt Thou 
 answer us, O God of our salvation?' 
 
 " Quite unfitted for the entertainment to which we were 
 going, the boat was countermanded, and we returned home 
 sadly and silently. 
 
 "Many years have elapsed since then, but from that day 
 I ceased to be a blasphemer. I will not say that in an 
 unguarded moment of irritation I never afterward used an 
 oath, but I can say that I have often had to acknowledge His 
 deliverance ; and many a day there rose, like a vision of the 
 past, that bright summer evening, with the green upland and 
 the blue sky, and the dead sheep at my feet. 
 
 "As I have said this solemn and awful answer to the cry of 
 the natural heart broke me of swearing. I believed in an 
 ever-present God, and feared to offend Him." 
 
 In the same work, is narrated a somewhat similar case of 
 one whose impetuosity of temper often vented itself in an 
 oath. He was conscious that it was an easily besetting sin, 
 and was endeavoring to obtain the victory over it. He says : 
 
SWEARING. 325 
 
 " I had a very fast little schooner yacht, in which my boys 
 took great delight. We lived at some distance from the town, 
 and our vessel was often in request, not only for pleasure and 
 health-giving exercise, but for utility. One morning I had 
 promised my sons to take them with me for a few days to the 
 neighboring coast; but the weather was boisterous and uncer- 
 tain. Toward the afternoon the wind moderated, so we went 
 on board and sailed. 
 
 "The breeze was still very fresh, and we were going fleetly 
 through the waters. Suddenly the sheet of the foresail slip- 
 ped, and was flapping about with great force. While trying to 
 catch it, the rope struck me violently in the face, nearly knock- 
 ing me down, and causing me great pain. In the irritation of 
 the moment, I exclaimed with an oath, ' I wish the yacht was 
 at the bottom ! ' The words had only escaped my lips, when 
 remorse filled my heart. 
 
 "Oh, what would I not have given to recall that terrible 
 imprecation ! I turned me to the mercy-seat, and confessed 
 my sin, and prayed the Lord to forgive the rash words, and 
 spare me the answer I dreaded. 
 
 "I feared, too, my boys had heard me, though I still cher- 
 ished the hope that in the effort to secure the loosened sail, 
 and the noise it made, and the excitement of the moment, my 
 exclamation might have passed unnoticed. A terrible dread 
 took possession of my whole being. I thought He would not 
 allow us to reach the land, but that in His anger a leak or a 
 sudden squall would send us to the bottom. I looked at my 
 three boys, and my heart sank within me. 
 
 " He was better to me than all ' my fears. By the time we 
 made the anchorage the wind subsided, the sun was setting 
 gloriously, and floods of golden light gleamed on the distant 
 waters, as with a thankful heart I sprang on shore, and every 
 soul that had sailed with me safe beside me. 
 
 "After making the vessel secure, and taking all the usual 
 precautions to ensure her safety, we left her. Before I went to 
 rest I looked out again on the waters that but for the grace 
 a*nd mercy of God would now have been our grave. All was 
 
326 SWEARING. 
 
 calm and beautiful; the stars shone brightly. Everything was 
 quiet but my troubled heart; there lay, like a leaden weight 
 on my spirit, the words I had spoken. 
 
 " Toward morning I fell asleep ; but I was awakened by a 
 violent storm of rain that beat against the windows, while a 
 tremendous wind shook the house, and rattled through every 
 window-frame. Daylight broke, when a servant knocked at 
 my door with the intelligence, 'The yacht is wrecked.' I 
 sprang from my bed, and bade the boys arise and accompany 
 me to see if anything could be done. The first thing I saw, 
 at the end of the wharf, was one of her masts; and going a 
 little further I saw her lying at the bottom. Not a particle of 
 her above water, except the splinters of her deck and spars, 
 which lay scattered in the dock. 
 
 " I had not a word to say. I bowed my head in submission 
 to His will, who, though He had not left me altogether 
 unpunished, had tempered His judgment with so much mercy. 
 Then and there, while looking down on that shapeless mass 
 of wood and iron, we blessed the Lord for His goodness, and 
 besought Him to set a watch upon our lips that we should 
 never again speak fro ward things." 
 
 An incident is related of a merchant, whose heart was sen- 
 sible of religious impressions, but who was too desirous of 
 accumulating wealth. He made a costly venture to aggrand- 
 ize his fortune at once. He built and sent out a ship to a 
 foreign market, with a cargo that promised a rich return ; and 
 with high expectations awaited intelligence of ship and cargo. 
 Time passed on, and no tidings of her fate ever reached him. 
 When he found that she must have perished, and that his 
 hopes of gain were lost, his eyes were opened to see that he 
 had been unduly covetous, and he was led to supplicate the 
 Father of mercies for deliverance from the temptation. 
 
 His petition was heard and answered. Years rolled on' 
 his ready hand was open to relieve others, even beyond his 
 measure. His love of earthly gain was transferred to treas- 
 
SWEARING. 327 
 
 ures in Heaven. His life was a living testimony, which grew 
 brighter and brighter as his day went down. The Lord sud- 
 denly called him to Himself. Without a struggle, without a 
 sigh, he passed away, with a song of praise upon his lips. 
 
 A TRUE INCIDENT. 
 
 WHEN the Boston train came steaming into the depot 
 the crowds rushed for seats. As a band of recruits 
 mounted the platform, they shouted back to their 
 friends who had accompanied them to the train, the various 
 slang phrases they could command, interspersed with an oath 
 now and then. As the train moved off they pushed each 
 other into the car, where many ladies were seated, including a 
 lady and her two boys. 
 
 Then the oaths came out thick and fast, each one evidently 
 trying to outdo the others in profanity. The lady shuddered 
 for herself and for her boys, for she could not bear to have 
 their young minds contaminated by such language. If the 
 train had not been so crowded, she would have looked for 
 seats elsewhere, but under the circumstances she was com- 
 pelled to remain where she was. 
 
 Finally, after this coarse jesting had continued for nearly an 
 hour, a little girl, who with her mother sat in front of the 
 party, stepped out timidly from her seat, and going up to the 
 ringleader of the group, a young man whose countenance 
 indicated considerable intelligence, she presented him with a 
 small Bible. 
 
 She was a little delicate-looking creature, only seven or 
 eight years old, and as she laid the book in his hand she 
 raised her soft eyes appealingly to his, but without a word 
 went back to her seat. 
 
 The party could not have been more completely hushed if 
 an angel had silenced them. Not another oath was heard, 
 and scarcely a word was spoken by any of them during the 
 remainder of the journey. 
 
328 ' SWEARING. 
 
 The young man who had received the book seemed particu- 
 larly impressed. He got out of the car at the next station 
 and purchased a paper of candy for his little friend, which he 
 presented to her. He then stooped down and kissed her, and 
 said he would always k£ep the little Bible for her sake. 
 
 The little girl had been so troubled by the wickedness of 
 those young men, that she could not rest until she had given 
 her little Bible which she valued so highly herself. Every 
 one who witnessed it, seemed to be affected by the little inci- 
 dent, which perhaps by the blessing of God, may have led to 
 the conversion of at least one soul. 
 
 "A little child shall lead them." 
 
 THE SWEARER REPROVED. 
 
 ANECDOTE OF THE LATE ADMIRAL HOPE. 
 
 AN anecdote has been related to us of Admiral Hope's 
 Christian firmness in rebuking swearing and improper 
 language uttered in his presence. Not many years 
 back, a gentleman in a London omnibus was using very 
 violent language — swearing and taking the name of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ in vain — when he was quietly rebuked and 
 requested to desist by an elderly gentleman sitting opposite. 
 The first named having resented the interference, the old 
 officer added, "Well, sir, I am extremely sorry you resent my 
 words, simply requesting you to forbear insulting a very dear 
 and precious name, which I honor and love; and I can only 
 say that, if you are dead to all feeling of consideration of 
 common courtesy, and will persist in using the language you 
 have done, you will compel me to do that which I shall be 
 sorry to be obliged to do." Upon this the angry man broke 
 out afresh, and defied him, when the Admiral stopped the 
 omnibus, and got out, the other watching him, expecting he 
 would call a policeman, &c; but, seeing him walk quietly 
 away, he remarked to another rider about his impertinence, 
 when the person' whom he addressed asked, if he knew who 
 
SWEARING. 329 
 
 it was who had been induced to' remonstrate with him. He 
 replied, " No, nor do I care, except that he was very imperti- 
 nent for threatening me in that way." The other remarked 
 that he was mistaken, for there had been no threat, but a meek 
 and courteous remonstrance; that the gentleman was a most 
 kind and benevolent man, and a gallant officer, who was quite 
 incapable of any mean act. "What right had he to threaten 
 me? Did he not say he would do something if I did not 
 desist?" said the other. "Yes," replied the gentleman, "but 
 that was no idle threat, and he did what he said he would be 
 obliged to do." "And what was that ?" asked the angry man. 
 "Why, get out and walk, which his age and infirmities will 
 hardly allow him to do; and he spends a great part of his 
 income in succoring the afflicted and the destitute, and so 
 would not like to throw away even a sixpence." "You don't 
 mean to say that was what he meant?" asked the angry man. 
 "What is his name?" "I am quite positive it was all he 
 meant," replied the other, " and his name is Admiral Hope— a 
 true-hearted Christian man !" The angry man looked puzzled, 
 then thoughtful, and last called out, "God forgive me ! what a 
 fool I have been ! Give me his address, in case I should miss 
 him." He stopped the omnibus and jumped out to seek his 
 faithful reprover, adding that he hoped it would make a new 
 man of him, for he should never forget the lesson to the last 
 day of his life ! 
 
 This anecdote was related by the gentleman himself, who 
 became a humble follower of the Lord Jesus, but who has 
 since gone to his rest, trusting only in that blessed* name 
 which he had so blasphemed and lightly spoken of. There 
 was another soul to whom this little incident had been so 
 richly blest, that it sunk into his heart and sprung up to ever- 
 lasting life, 
 
LYING. 
 
 THE TRUTH AT ALL HAZARDS. 
 
 SOME time after the beginning of the present century, 
 there were living in a busy country town in the North, 
 a pious couple who had an only son. For the son they 
 daily prayed to God; and what they asked in their prayers 
 was that God would enable him to lay in his young heart, 
 among the first lessons he should learn, the love of all things 
 honest and good. So the foundations of an upright life were 
 laid in the boy's heart, and among these very especially a 
 regard for uprightness and truth. 
 
 In the course of years the boy's schooldays were ended, 
 and also his apprenticeship to a business life in a country 
 town; and, as there was no prospect for him there, he came 
 up to England, to one of the great seaports, and by and by 
 he got a good position in a merchant's office. He was greatly 
 pleased with his new office, and wrote to his father and mother 
 that Providence had been very kind to him, and had opened 
 up to him an excellent place. 
 
 But he was not long in this excellent place before he was 
 put to the test in a very painful way with respect to the les- 
 sons he had received about truth. It was part of the business 
 of that office to have ships coming and going. And it was 
 the rule, when a ship came into port, that its captain sent 
 word to the office that he had arrived, and was now waiting 
 instructions where to discharge the cargo; and it was the 
 
332 L YING. 
 
 duty of the manager of the office to send back instructions to 
 the captain where and when this was to be done. A few 
 months after this little lad from the North came to the office, 
 a ship laden with coal came in, and the usual message from 
 the captain came; but, somehow or other, no answer was sent 
 to him. The captain waited a week, and still no word came 
 back. Now, that was very hard on the captain. Until his 
 ship got free of cargo, it had to lie idle in the dock; and all 
 who belonged to the ship were kept idle too. So, at the end 
 of a week, the captain sent word to the office, that his ship 
 had been kept so long waiting for instructions where to dis- 
 charge its cargo, that it had missed a good offer of a new 
 cargo, and the office would have to pay him for the loss. 
 This payment is called " demurrage." 
 
 When the manager of the office got this message from the 
 captain, he was very angry. He thought he had sent instruc- 
 tions where to discharge the cargo, or he made himself believe 
 he had sent them. At any rate he sent for the little lad from 
 the North, and said to him, " Didn't I send you down to Cap- 
 tain Smith with instructions to discharge his coal ? " 
 
 The little lad said, "No, sir; I do not remember being sent 
 down." "Oh, but I did," answered the manager. "You have 
 forgotten." And there for a time, so far as the office was 
 concerned, the matter was allowed to rest 
 
 But the captain did not intend to let it rest there. He 
 applied for his demurrage. And when that was refused, and 
 his word that he had received no instructions was disbelieved, 
 he took the master of the office to law. And, by and by, his 
 complaint came before the judges in the court of law. 
 
 The day before the trial the manager came to the little lad 
 from the North, and said to him, " Mind, I sent you to the 
 dock with those instructions to discharge the coal." 
 
 " But, I assure you, I cannot remember your doing so," said 
 the lad 
 
 "Oh, yes, but I did. You have forgotten." It was a great 
 trouble to the lad. He had never been sent to the dock. He 
 could not say he had been sent; and he foresaw that he would 
 
L YING. 333 
 
 have to say before the judges what would certainly offend the 
 manager and lead to the loss of his excellent place. 
 
 On the morning of the trial he went to the court The 
 manager came up to him and said, " Now our case depends on 
 you. Remember, I sent you to the dock with the instructions 
 to discharge the coal." 
 
 The poor lad tried once more to assure the manager that he 
 was mistaken, but he would not listen. 
 
 " It is all right," he said hastily. I sent you on such a day, 
 and you have got to bear witness that I did — and see you say 
 it clearly." 
 
 In a little while he was called into the witness-box, and 
 almost the first question put to him was whether he remem- 
 bered the day when Captain Smith's ship came in. And then 
 this : " You remember during that day being sent by the man- 
 ager of the office to the dock with a letter for the captain ?" 
 
 " No, sir." 
 
 "Don't -you remember taking instructions to Captain Smith 
 to discharge his coal ? " 
 
 " No, sir." 
 
 " Were you not sent by the manager of your office to the 
 coal-ship on that day?" 
 
 " I was not, sir." 
 
 "Nor next day?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 ' Nor any other day ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 The gentleman who put the questions was a barrister. He 
 had been engaged by the manager to win the case for them. 
 But, when he heard the little lad's replies, he saw that the 
 manager was in the wrong; and he turned to the judge, and 
 said, "My lord, I give up this case. My instructions were 
 that this witness would prove that a message to discharge had 
 been sent to Captain Smith, and it is plain that no such proof 
 is to Be got from him." 
 
 So the case ended in the captain's favor, and against the 
 office in which the little lad had found so excellent a place. 
 
334 L YING. 
 
 He went to his lodgings with a sorrowful heart, and wrote 
 to his father and mother that he was sure to be dismissed. 
 Then he packed his Jrunk to be ready to go home the next 
 day; and in the morning, expecting nothing but his dismissal, 
 he went early to the office. The first to come in after him 
 was the master. He stopped for a moment at the little lad's 
 desk, and said, "We lost our case yesterday." 
 
 "Yes, sir," answered the lad; and I am very sorry I had to 
 say what I did." 
 
 By and by the manager came in ; and, after a little time, he 
 was sent for to the master's room. It was a long while before 
 he came out. The little lad was sent for. " I am going to be 
 dismissed," he thought to himself. But he was not dismissed. 
 The master said to him, naming him, " I was angry yesterday, 
 but not with you. You did right to speak the truth; and, to 
 mark my approval of what you did, I am going to put you in 
 charge of all the workings and sales of our Glenfardle mine." 
 Then he sent for the manager, and told him what he had said, 
 and added, "And the young man will make his reports direct 
 to me." 
 
 In six months after the manager left the office; and, young 
 though he was, the little lad was appointed to his place. And, 
 before many years had past, he was admitted as junior partner 
 in the firm; and he is now at the head of the entire business 
 — the managing partner. 
 
 In this case the truth was the best. But I want to say that, 
 if things had turned out other than they did, and he had been 
 dismissed, it would still have been the best for him to speak 
 the truth. 
 
 LIE NEVER. 
 
 NOT long ago, on an English steamer, four days out from 
 Liverpool, a small boy was found hid away behind the 
 cargo. He had neither father nor mother, brother nor 
 sister, friend nor protector, among either passengers or crew. 
 Who was he? Where did he come from? Where going? 
 
LYING. 335 
 
 Only nine years old; the poor little stranger, with ragged 
 clothes but a beautiful face, full of innocence and truth ! Of 
 course he was carried before the first mate. 
 
 "How came you to steal a passage on board this ship?" 
 asked the mate sharply. 
 
 "My stepfather put me in," answered the boy; "he said he 
 could not afford to keep me nor to pay my passage to Halifax, 
 where my aunt lives. I want to go to my aunt." 
 
 The mate did not believe the story. He had often been 
 deceived by stowaways. Almost every ship finds, one or two 
 days out at sea, men or boys concealed among the cargo, who 
 try to get a passage across the water without paying for it. 
 And this is often troublesome and expensive. The mate sus- 
 pected some of the sailors had a hand in the boy's escape, and 
 treated him pretty roughly. Day after day he was questioned 
 about his coming, and it was always the same story — nothing 
 less, nothing more. At last the mate got out of patience, as 
 mates will, and seizing him by the collar, told him unless he 
 confessed the truth, in ten minutes, he would hang him on the 
 yard arm — a frightful threat indeed. 
 
 Poor child, without a friend to stand by him ! Around him 
 were passengers and sailors of the mid-day watch, and before 
 him the stern first officer, with his watch in hand, counting 
 the tick, tick, tick of the minutes as they swiftly went. There 
 he stood, pale and sorrowful, his head erect, and tears in his 
 eyes ; but afraid ? — no, not a bit ! 
 
 Eight minutes were already gone. 
 
 " Only two minutes more to live," cried the mate. " Speak 
 the truth and save your life, boy." 
 
 "May I pray?" asked the child, looking into the hard 
 man's face. 
 
 The officer nodded his head, but said nothing. The brave 
 boy knelt down on deck, and, with hands clasped and eyes 
 raised to heaven, repeated the Lord's prayer, and then prayed 
 the dear Lord Jesus to take him home to heaven. He could 
 die ; but lie — never ! All eyes were turned toward him, and 
 sobs broke from stern hearts. 
 
336 L YING. 
 
 The mate could hold out no longer. He sprang to the boy, 
 told him he believed* his story, every word of it. A nobler 
 sight never took place on a ship's deck than this — a poor 
 unfriended child, willing to face death for truth's sake. 
 
 He could die; but lie — never! God bless him! And the 
 rest of the voyage, you may well think, he had friends 
 enough. Nobody owned him before; everybody was now 
 ready to do him a kindness. And everybody who reads this 
 will be strengthened to do right, come what will, by the noble 
 conduct of this dear child. 
 
STEALING. 
 
 A THIEF CAUGHT IN HIS OWN SNARE. 
 
 ONCE when engaged in religious service among strangers, 
 in one of our Eastern States, I was taken to a family 
 about whom there had been nothing said, and on enter- 
 ing the house I had a clear presentiment by the Holy Spirit 
 that the husband was given to stealing. I was startled at this 
 revelation and clear insight into his condition and danger, and 
 felt it to be a trial to speak to him. But it was for this very 
 end that my Heavenly Father had called me, and how could I 
 be true to the manifestation of His will and that unerring 
 guide that never misleads His children. It was a great strug- 
 gle, for while "the spirit is willing the flesh is weak." But 
 the same blessed Holy Spirit that had shown me his guilt, 
 helped me to speak plainly to him respecting the character 
 and consequence of his sin, and that he could not escape the 
 condemnation of men nor the judgment of the Almighty. 
 And I urged him to repent and seek forgiveness, and be 
 reconciled unto God and make amends with the church and 
 those whom he might have injured. The occasion was most 
 solemn and impressive as I spoke, and prayed God to deliver 
 him from the power of temptation and the snare of the devil. 
 After leaving the house, we went to another family a mile or 
 more distant; the friend who accompanied me stated that he 
 was then under dealing of the church for that very thing. 
 
338 STEALING. 
 
 On arriving at the house to which we were going, and after 
 getting through, as I* thought, with the thief, I had a similar 
 presentiment at this last mentioned place, so clear and unex- 
 pected, that I trembled like a leaf with the thought of a repe- 
 tition of that service on the sin of stealing. I was strongly 
 tempted to believe that this was only the impression of my 
 former exercise still on my mind. There were none present 
 but the husband and his wife, and they nice appearing Friends, 
 and for a little while I felt like the apostle, to be in a strait. 
 But as I waited on God for a stronger confirmation that it was 
 the leading of the Spirit, the presentiment grew clearer until I 
 was compelled to speak. And I addressed them plainly on 
 the character and guilt of stealing, and it was almost a repeti- 
 tion of my service at the other house, and I stated that there 
 was some one in their house or family guilty before God con- 
 cerning this matter and warned them of the consequence, and 
 exhorted them to turn unto the Lord and repent and live. 
 After leaving the house, the friend with me stepped one side 
 with the husband to inquire what this meant, thinking that I 
 had been misled in speaking to them, as they were well- 
 esteemed in the church and none such in their family. But 
 he assured my friend that it was all right, and that I had been 
 led by the Spirit to speak in a remarkable manner. That his 
 brother-in-law, from whose house we had but just come, the 
 man whom I first addressed on stealing, had hurried across 
 the field and got in ahead of us, and requested the privilege 
 of sitting in an adjacent room with the door ajar and hear 
 what I had to say, and that my message was for him and most 
 appropriate to his condition, and that he must have heard 
 every word that was said. And so the poor man was caught 
 in his own snare and got a double portion. 
 
 Now I wish to impress upon the mind of the reader of this 
 narrative, the great benefit and blessed privilege of being led 
 and comforted by the Holy Spirit. For our Saviour taught 
 us, saying: "I am the light of the world; he that followeth 
 Me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life." 
 "And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before 
 
STEALING. 339 
 
 them and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice." 
 And He will guide us in all service to the glory of God, and 
 bless our efforts in the spread of our Redeemer's kingdom. 
 
 "With purpose strong and steady in the Great Jehovah's name, 
 We rise to snatch our kindred from the depths of woe and shame; 
 With Almighty hands to help us we have faith to do and dare, 
 While confiding in the promise that the Lord will answer prayer." 
 
 JOHN KANE AND THE ROBBERS. 
 
 JOHN KANE was the name of a good man who once 
 lived in Poland, where he taught and preached. It was 
 his rule always to suffer wrong rather than to do wrong 
 to others. One night as he was riding through a dark wood, 
 he all at once found himself at the mercy of a band of rob- 
 bers. He got down from his horse, and said to the gang that 
 he would give up to them all he had about him. He then 
 gave them a purse filled with silver coins, a gold chain from 
 his neck, a ring from his finger, and from his pocket a book 
 of prayer with silver clasps. 
 
 " Have you given us all ? " cried the robber chief in a stern 
 voice ; " have you no more money ? " 
 
 The old man in his confusion said he had given them all 
 the money he had, and when he said this they let him go. 
 Glad to get off so well, he went quickly on and was soon out 
 of sight. But all at once the thought came to him that he 
 had some gold pieces stitched into the hem of his robe. 
 These he had quite forgotten when the robbers had asked him 
 if he had any more money. 
 
 "This is lucky," thought John Kane; for he saw that the 
 money would bear him home to his friends, and that he would 
 not have to beg his way, or suffer for want of food and shelter. 
 But John's conscience was a tender one, and he stopped to 
 listen to its voice. It seemed to cry to him in earnest tones : 
 
 "Tell not a lie! tell not a lie!" 
 
 These words would not let him rest. 
 
340 STEALING. 
 
 Some men would say that such a promise made to thieves 
 need not be kept, and few men would have been troubled after 
 such an escape. But John did not stop to reason. He went 
 back to the place where the robbers stood, and walking up to 
 them, meekly said: 
 
 " I have told you what is not true. I did not mean to do 
 so, but fear confused me — so pardon me." 
 
 With these words he held forth the pieces of gold; but, to 
 his surprise, not one of the robbers would take them. A 
 very strange feeling was at work in their hearts. These men, 
 bad as they were, could not laugh at the pious old man. 
 
 "Thou shalt not steal," said a voice within them. 
 
 All were deeply moved. Then, as if touched by a common 
 feeling, one of the robbers gave back the old man's purse; 
 another his gold chain; another his ring; another his book of 
 prayer; and still another led up his horse, and assisted the old 
 man to remount. 
 
 Then all the robbers, as if quite ashamed of having thought 
 of harming so good an old man, went up and asked his bless- 
 ing. John Kane gave it with a devout feeling, and then rode 
 on his way, thanking God for so strange an escape. 
 
 THE CLERGYMAN AND THE BURGLAR. 
 
 THE world of fiction hardly contains a more thrilling 
 chapter than an incident which marked the life of Mr. 
 Lee, who was recently cut down in his 'prime while 
 pastor of the Presbyterian Church in the village of Waterford, 
 New York. The adventure, says The Troy Times, occurred 
 on the night before Thanksgiving, a few weeks previous to 
 the commencement of the sudden illness which resulted sadly 
 and fatally. Mr. Lee was sitting in his study about one 
 o'clock in the morning, preparing a discourse to be delivered 
 to his congregation when assembled for Thanksgiving wor- 
 ship, when he heard a noise behind him, and became conscious 
 that somebody was in the room. Supposing a neighbor had 
 
STEALING. 341 
 
 dropped in on some unforeseen errand, Mr. Lee said, "What 
 is the matter?" and turned around in his chair. He beheld 
 the grim face of a burglar, who was pointing a pistol at his 
 breast. The ruffian had entered the house by a side window, 
 supposing that all the occupants were wrapped in slumber, 
 and burst upon the presence of Mr. Lee before he was aware 
 that the study contained an occupant. " Give me your watch 
 and money," said he, "and make no noise, or I will fire." 
 
 Mr. Lee said, "You may as well put down your weapon, 
 for I shall make no resistance, and you are at liberty to take 
 all the valuables I possess." 
 
 The burglar withdrew his menacing pistol, and Mr. Lee 
 said, " I will conduct you to the place where my most precious 
 treasures are placed." He opened a door and pointed to a 
 cot, where his two children lay slumbering in the sweet sleep 
 of innocence and peace. "These," said he, "are my choicest 
 jewels. Will you take them ? " He proceeded to say that, 
 as a minister of the Gospel, he had few earthly possessions, 
 and that all his means were devoted to one object — the educa- 
 tion of the two children who were reposing in the adjoining 
 room. The burglar was deeply and visibly affected by these 
 remarks. Tears filled his eyes, and he expressed the utmost 
 sorrow at the act he had been about to commit. After a few 
 remarks from Mr. Lee, the would-be criminal consented to 
 kneel and join with him in prayer; and there, in that lonely 
 house, amid the silence of midnight, the offender poured forth 
 his penitence and remorse, while the representative of a 
 religion of peace and good-will told him to "go and sin no 
 more." Such a scene has few parallels. 
 
 On the conclusion of the prayer, the burglar attempted to 
 take his departure by the broken window through which he 
 had entered. "Why not go by the front door?" said Mr. Lee. 
 
 The man replied, " There are confederates there who would 
 shoot either you or me." 
 
 He desired Mr. Lee to take an oath on the Holy Scriptures 
 never to reveal the particulars of this single interview. Mr. 
 Lee said it was unnecessary, as he had the kindest feelings 
 
342 STEALING. 
 
 toward him, and should never divulge aught he had seen or 
 heard. The next day, Mr. Lee, while walking with his wife, 
 met the man in the street of Waterford, and on subsequent 
 occasions saw him from time to time. 
 
 One of the actors in this singular episode fills an early 
 grave; but by means that we are not at liberty to disclose, 
 the event did not die with him. What must be the feeling of 
 the other party to this mysterious meeting, whenever he 
 reflects upon the lonely parsonage, and the memorable scene 
 that it witnessed on the night before Thanksgiving, 1 862. 
 
 THE LADY AND THE ROBBER. 
 
 IN a large, lone house, situated in the south of England, 
 there once lived a lady and her two maid-servants. They 
 were away from any human habitation, but they seemed 
 to have felt no fear, and to have dwelt there peacefully and 
 happily. It was the lady's custom to go round the house 
 with her maids every evening, to see that all the windows and 
 doors were properly secured. 
 
 One night she had accompanied them as usual, and ascer- 
 tained that all was safe. They left her in the passage, close to 
 her room, and then went to their own, which was quite at the 
 other side of the house. As the lady opened her door, she 
 distinctly saw a man underneath her bed. What could she 
 do ? Her servants were far away, and could not hear her if 
 she screamed for help; and even if they had come to her 
 assistance, those three weak women were no match for a des- 
 perate house-breaker. How, then, did she act? She trusted 
 in God. Quietly she closed the door, and locked it on the 
 inside, which she was always in the habit of doing. She then 
 leisurely brushed her hair, and putting on her gown, she took 
 her Bible and sat down to read. She read aloud, and chose a 
 chapter which had special reference to God's watchfulness 
 over us, and constant care of us by day and night, (probably 
 the ninety-first Psalm). When it was finished, she knelt and 
 
STEALING. 343 
 
 prayed at great length, still uttering her words aloud, particu- 
 larly commending herself and servants to God's protection, 
 and dwelling upon their utter helplessness and dependence 
 upon Him to preserve them from all dangers. 
 
 At last she rose from her knees, put out her candle, and 
 went to bed ; but she did not sleep. After a few minutes she 
 was conscious the man was standing by her bedside. He 
 addressed her and told her not to be alarmed. 
 
 "I came here," said he, "to rob you; but after the words 
 you have read, and the prayer you have uttered, no power on 
 earth could induce me to hurt you, or touch a thing in your 
 house. But you must remain perfectly quiet and not attempt 
 to interfere with me. I shall now give a signal to my com- 
 panions, which they will understand, and then will go away, 
 and you may sleep in peace, for I give you my solemn word 
 that no one shall harm you, and not the smallest thing belong- 
 ing to you shall be disturbed." 
 
 He then went to the window, opened it, and whistled softly. 
 Returning to the lady's bedside, who had not spoken or 
 moved, he said: 
 
 "Now I am going. Your prayer has been heard, and no 
 harm will befall you." 
 
 He left the room, and soon all was quiet, and the lady fell 
 asleep, still upheld by that calm and beautiful faith and trust. 
 
 When the morning dawned, and she awoke, we may feel 
 sure that she poured out her thanksgiving and praise to Him 
 who had "defended" her under "his wings," and "kept" her 
 "safe under his feathers," so that she was not afraid of any 
 terror by night. 
 
 The man proved true to his word, and not a thing in her 
 house was taken. Oh, shall we not hope that his heart was 
 changed from that day forth, and that he forsook his evil 
 courses, and cried to that Saviour "who came to seek and to 
 save that which was lost," and, even on the cross, did not 
 reject the penitent thief! 
 
 From this true story let us learn to put our whole trust and 
 confidence in God. This lady's courage was indeed most 
 
344 STEALING. 
 
 wonderful, but "the Lord was her defense upon her right 
 hand," and with him all things were possible. — Monthly Packet 
 for October. 
 
 We have received an extract from a letter fully corrobora- 
 ting the remarkable anecdote of " The Lady and the Robber," 
 in our October number, and adding some facts that enhance 
 the wonder and mercy of her escape. We quote the words 
 of the letter: 
 
 " In the first place, the robber told her if she had given the 
 slightest alarm and token of resistance, he was fully deter- 
 mined to murder her; so that it was really God's guidance 
 that told her to follow the course she did. Then, before he 
 went away, he said, 'I never heard such words before; I must 
 have the book you read out of;' and carried off the Bible, 
 willingly enough given, you may be sure. This happened 
 many years ago, and only comparatively recently did the lady 
 hear any more of him. She was attending a religious meet- 
 ing in Yorkshire, where, after several noted clergymen and 
 others had spoken, a man arose, stating that he was one of 
 the book-hawkers of the Society, and told the story of the 
 midnight adventure, as a testimony to the wonderful power 
 of the Word of God. He concluded with, ' I am that man.' 
 The lady arose from her seat in the hall, and quietly said, 
 'It is all quite true; I am the lady,' and sat down again." — 
 Monthly Packet for December. 
 
TOBACCO 
 
 EFFECTS OF THE USE OF TOBACCO. 
 
 DOCTOR HIGGINBOTTOM, of Nottingham, England, 
 says: "After fifty years of most extensive and varied 
 practice in my profession, I have come to the decision 
 that smoking is a main cause of ruining our young men, 
 pauperizing the working men, and rendering comparatively 
 useless the best efforts of ministers of the Gospel." 
 
 "Smoking," says Dr. Copeland, "weakens the digestive 
 function; impairs the due elaboration of the chyle, and of the 
 blood, and prevents a healthy nutrition of the structure of the 
 body; generates thirst and vital depression. To remove these, 
 the use of stimulating liquors is resorted to, and often carried 
 to a most injurious extent Thus, two of the most debasing 
 habits and vices to which human nature can be degraded, are 
 indulged in to the shortening of life, and to the injury and 
 ruin of posterity." 
 
 Dr. Budget says, "Tobacco is a poison, and a poison of a 
 most virulent and terrible character. I do not know of a 
 more certain and destructive poison in the vegetable king- 
 dom." This poisonous principle contained in tobacco is called 
 nicotine, and as one hundred pounds of tobacco contains 
 about five pounds of this virulent poison, a few drops of 
 which will destroy life, it has been estimated that there is 
 enough nicotine contained in one year's crop of tobacco to 
 destroy every living creature on the face of the Globe. 
 
346 TOBACCO. 
 
 * 
 
 There is another view that very few young persons take 
 who are in the daily use of this injurious article, and that is, 
 if they spend only three cents per day for cigars and tobacco, 
 commencing when ten years of age, and continue the practice 
 until they are sixty years old, the money so spent, if put out 
 at interest, would amount to three thousand, one hundred and 
 eighty-nine dollars; and if three cents per day be added to 
 quench the thirst occasioned by the use of tobacco, the 
 amount then lost would be six thousand, three hundred and 
 seventy-eight dollars. A clever little sum to lean on in old 
 age had it been saved and put out at interest. 
 
 AN ORIGINAL ANECDOTE FOR STUDENTS. 
 
 MY father, whose name was Donald Fraser, and his neigh- 
 bor, William Fraser, were very intimate, and as much 
 together as was consistent with their occupation, they 
 being both industrious farmers. My father was nearly seventy 
 years of age, and his friend William was several years his 
 senior. Both were Highland Scotchmen from Inverness-shire, 
 and, as is the case with so many of their countrymen, both 
 were devotees of the pipe and the tobacco-quid from their 
 youth up. A quarter of a century before, they had both from 
 conscientious motives, given up their dram, as they called it, 
 my father leading in that movement, and persuading his friend 
 to follow. They never were what would be called intemperate ; 
 but from that time forth they were total abstainers from all 
 intoxicants. They were both godly men, and most of their 
 conversation was on topics of religious experience. 
 
 One night, at my father's house, during their chatting they 
 commenced filling their pipes, and William Fraser, turning 
 thoughtfully to my father and tapping the bowl of his pipe 
 with the handle of his tobacco knife, exclaimed, "Donald, 
 what do you think of this smoking and chewing business ? " 
 
 My father shrewdly answered by asking another question, 
 and said, "What do you think of it yourself, William?" 
 
TOBACCO. 347 
 
 William replied, " Donald, we say we are Christians ; and if 
 we are Christians, we are 'free men in Christ Jesus.' Now, 
 Donald, when we are doing this thing, and we can nae quit it, 
 are we free ? " 
 
 " Do you think yourself we are ? " replied my father. 
 
 "I am nae sure o' it," said William, who retained much 
 more of the Scoth dialect than did my father. 
 
 "And see here," said my father : " What we spit around and 
 burn into smoke, of this nasty stuff, costs us nearly as much 
 money as we give to the Master's cause. Is this right?" 
 
 "Do you think, Donald," says William, "that if we could 
 quit it, we could do more for Christ?" 
 
 Both then with one impulse, suiting the action to the words, 
 said, "Let us put the things up, then;" and both, rising to 
 their feet, laid the pipes and the tobacco on the mantel-piece, 
 where they lay for many a long day. 
 
 These two men of God never smoked nor chewed again. 
 
 A BAD FIRE. 
 
 a 
 
 TONES, have you heard of the fire that burned up the 
 man's house and lot?" 
 
 J 
 
 "No, Smith, where was it?" 
 
 " Here, in the city." 
 
 "What a misfortune to him ! Was it a good house?" 
 
 "Yes, a nice house and lot — a good home for any family." 
 
 "What a pity ! How did the fire take ?" 
 
 "The man played with the fire and thoughtlessly set it 
 himself." 
 
 "How silly! Did you say the lot was burned, too?" 
 
 " Yes, lot and all ; all gone, slick and clean." 
 
 "That is singular. It must have been a terrible hot fire — 
 and then I don't see how it could have burned the lot." 
 
 "No, it was not a very hot fire. Indeed, it was so small 
 that it attracted but little attention, and did not alarm any- 
 body." 
 
348 TOBACCO. 
 
 * 
 
 "But how could such a little fire burn up a house and lot? 
 You haven't told me." 
 
 "It burned a long time — more than twenty years. And 
 though it seemed to consume very slowly, yet it wore away 
 about one hundred and fifty dollars' worth every year, till it 
 was all gone." 
 
 "I can't understand you yet. Tell me where the fire was 
 kindled and all about it." 
 
 "Well, then, it was kindled in the end of a cigar. The 
 cigar cost him, he, himself, told me, twelve and a half dollars 
 per month, or one hundred and fifty dollars a year, and that in 
 twenty-one years would amount to $3,150, besides all the 
 interest. Now the money was worth at least ten per cent, 
 and at that rate it would double once in about every seven 
 years. So that the whole sum would be more than $20,000. 
 That would buy a fine house and lot in any city. It would 
 pay for a large farm in the country. Don't you pity the 
 family of a man who has slowly burned up their home?" 
 
 The boys had better never set a fire which costs so much, 
 and which, though so easily put out, is yet so likely, if once 
 kindled, to keep burning all their lives. 
 
 TOBACCO. 
 
 WILLIAM BRAY thus relates his own experience as to 
 the use of tobacco : " I had been a smoker as well as 
 a drunkard, and I used to love my tobacco as much 
 as I loved my meat, and I would rather go down into the 
 mine without my dinner than without my pipe. In the days 
 of old, the Lord spoke by the mouths of His servants, the 
 prophets; now He speaks to us by the Spirit of His Son. I 
 had not only the feeling part of religion, but I could hear the 
 small, still voice within speaking to me. When I took the 
 pipe to smoke, it would be applied within, ' It is an idol, a lust, 
 worship the Lord with clean lips! So I felt it was not right 
 to smoke. The Lord also sent a woman to convince me. I 
 
TOBACCO. 349 
 
 was one day in a house, and I took out my pipe to light it at 
 the fire, and Mary Hawke — for that was the woman's name — 
 said, ' Do you not feel it is wrong to smoke ? ' I said I felt 
 something inside me telling me it is an idol, a lust; and she 
 said that was the Lord. Then I said, ' Now I must give it up, 
 for the Lord is telling me of it inside, and the woman outside.' 
 There and then, I took the tobacco out of my pocket and 
 threw it into the fire, and put the pipe under my foot, ' ashes 
 to ashes, dust to dust.' And I have not smoked since. I 
 found it hard to break off old habits; but I cried to the Lord 
 for help, and He gave me strength, for He has said, ' Call upon 
 me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee.' The day 
 after I gave up smoking, I had the toothache so bad I did not 
 know what to do. I thought this was owing to giving up the 
 pipe, but I said I would never smoke again if I lost every 
 tooth in my head. I said, 'Lord, Thou hast told us, 'My 
 yoke is easy, and my burden is light,' and when I said that, 
 all the pain left me. Sometimes the thought of the pipe 
 would come back to me very strong; but the Lord strength- 
 ened me against the habit; and, bless His name, I have not 
 smoked since." 
 
 More than twenty years after he had abandoned smoking, 
 he said, "God has just given me enough to pay my way 
 through life, and nothing for the pipe. If I had spent only 
 sixpence a week on the pipe, I should have been about thirty 
 pounds in debt." 
 
 TOBACCO CURE. 
 
 I INHERITED the appetite for tobacco and rum. I do not 
 remember when I first began the use of the former, but 
 it was at a very early age, and I continued it until I was 
 twenty-nine years of age, at which time the habit had grown 
 upon me so, that I verily thought it would kill me to abandon 
 it. I chewed, smoked and snuffed. I used one pound of the 
 strongest tobacco that I could find every week, and I often 
 
350 , TOBACCO. 
 
 remarked that I would rather live on one meal a day than 
 give up my tobacco. Five years ago I was convicted of sin 
 and brought to the foot of the cross, and although I was in 
 equal bondage to rum (I don't wish to tell experience on that 
 line now) that I was to tobacco, and was otherwise depraved 
 and in great moral darkness, the blessed Lord flashed light 
 in on my benighted soul, and, while pleading for mercy, it 
 was shown that I must part with my idol tobacco with the 
 rest of my sins. The enemy was right on hand to tell me 
 that I could not quit, and if I did, it would either kill me 
 or run me crazy; but I said, "I am after eternal life, and I 
 am ready to lay down my life here, if needs be, to find it." 
 This tobacco habit stood right betwixt me and my God, 
 for I knew that he wanted a clean people.. I remembered 
 that somewhere the apostle said, "Cleanse yourself from all 
 filthiness of the flesh," and I believe he meant what he said. 
 But I knew nothing about exercising faith for immediate 
 cleansing, but I said, "By the grace of God I will quit this 
 filthy habit, and I put it from me and said, " Now, if I die, I 
 will die striving to do right." But I did not die, but to my 
 joy in three or four days I began to feel the bands break and 
 I became free. Words fail to express the joy, gladness and 
 thankfulness my heart has experienced since then, and now I 
 can appreciate the text, "Whosoever the Son makes free is 
 free indeed." 
 
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