THE GIFT OF 
 
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Cornell University Library 
 
 arV17065 
 
 Musings and memories : 
 
 3 1924 031 279 031 
 olin.anx 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31 924031 279031 
 
MUSINGS AND MEMORIES. 
 
 BEING CHIEFLY A COLLECTION OF 
 
 ANECDOTES AND REFLECTIONS 
 
 OF A EELIGIOTJS CHARACTER, 
 
 ON VABIOUS SUBJECTS. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PCBtlSHED BY 
 
 THE TEACT ASSOCIATION OF FEIEND8, 
 
 No. 304 Aech Stkeet. 
 
 1876. 
 
UNIVERSITY 
 <;^,yBRARY /> 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by 
 
 THE TRACT ASSOCIATION OF FRIENDS, 
 
 in the Ofiice of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
 ^ "^ ^, 
 
 '* J. FAQAIf ft sow, *^l 
 
 8TIRS0TYPKRS, FHILAD'A. ^ 
 
 i^n.—, ^D^ 
 
 Sherman & Co. 
 I^nfers. PtiUa. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 ■jl /TOE AL and religious truth can frequently be 
 ■^-*- more clearly illustrated in connection with a 
 simple incident, so as to leave a profitable impres- 
 sion on the mind, than by a more elaborate essay. 
 
 With this view, the narratives and comments 
 contained in the following pages have been com- 
 piled. 
 
 Phtladeiphia, 12th mo., 1874 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 rAOK 
 
 Kindness 9 
 
 Individuai/ Influence 28 
 
 Shoktness and Uncertainty of Life . . .44 
 
 ElCHES 57 
 
 Wak 65 
 
 Religious Duties 101 
 
 Watchfulness over Self 118 
 
 Children 149 
 
 Providential Deliverances 163 
 
 Trials 227 
 
 Faith . , 252 
 
 Infidelity 269 
 
 Intemperance . 283 
 
 Death 297 
 
 Influence of the Holy Spirit 315 
 
 Ministry 337 
 
 vii 
 
MUSINGS AND MEMORIES. 
 
 KINDNESS. 
 
 GENTLENESS AND GRATITUDE. 
 
 GEl^TLEISTESS is enumerated, by the apostle, 
 among the fruits of the Spirit, and yet there 
 are some apparently religious men to be met with 
 in whose characters it does not hold a conspicuous 
 place. How it enhances our esteem for the Chris- 
 tian wh& possesses a large share of it. How it en^ 
 larges his sphere of usefulness,* and adds a grace 
 to his profession of religion. The rough, honest- 
 hearted man may do good in the world, through 
 the self-denial he manifests, and the true and holy 
 faith which is in him ; but of far greater efficacy 
 would his life-labor in the service of his Divine 
 Master be, if in his daily walk he abundantly ex- 
 emplified the gentleness of Christ, and set forth an 
 example of the true love, heavenly meekness, and 
 courtesy of a saint. 
 
 9 
 
10 KINDNESS. 
 
 Do good graciously. Let old and young bear in 
 mind that a kind act done in a rough spirit may 
 hurt more than it heals. A rough manner oblit- 
 erates the obligation conferred, and sometimes 
 leaves unpleasant remembrances concerning those 
 who have labored for our good. 
 
 Almost every heart has within it a store of 
 kindly, affections, and if there was only a more 
 general effort made to manifest the warmth of our 
 love, and the gentleness of true Christian courtesy, 
 a change for the better would appear in most fam- 
 ilies, a great and radical improvement in many. A 
 recent writer says, " I am one of those whose lot in 
 life has been to go out into an unfriendly world at 
 an early age ; and of nearly twenty families in 
 which I have made my home in the course of about 
 nine years, there were only three or four that could 
 be properly desigilated as happy families, and the 
 source of trouble was not so much the lack of love, 
 as the lack of care to manifest it." A writer, in 
 commenting on this passage, says, " The closing 
 words of this sentence give us the fruitful source 
 of family alienations, of heartaches innumerable, 
 of sad faces and gloomy home circles. ' I^Tot so 
 much the lack of love, as lack of care to manifest 
 it.' What a world of misery is suggested by this 
 brief remark ! if ot over three or four happy homes 
 
KINDNESS. 11 
 
 in twenty, and the cause so manifest and so easily 
 remedied ! Ah, in the ' small, sweet courtesies of 
 life,' what power resides ! In a look, a word, a tone, 
 how much of happiness or disquietude may be com- 
 municated. Think of it, reader, and take the les- 
 son home." 
 
 Mercies in rich abundance are showered down 
 upon us from the Giver of all good gifts, and if we 
 are grateful, let us manifest it by the kindness and 
 love we exercise towards his children around us. 
 Let us in our own little circle do our dut}'^ towards 
 spreading an atmosphere of love and Christian gen- 
 tleness. Let us not permit kind acts to be done to 
 us, even if they are done roughly, without showing, 
 by our smiles of love and the gentle acknowledg- 
 ments of aft'ection, that we feel them. Such ac- 
 knowledgments may have the happy eifect of pro- 
 ducing similar conduct from others, and tend to 
 spread a bright and holy influence which may 
 reach eventually every member of the home circle. 
 An influence, which it were greatly to he wished, 
 might enter every cot, and spread through every 
 place wherein a group of immortal beings congre- 
 gate on this earth. Do not receive the kindness 
 of others i n si 1 ent col dness. The expression of love 
 tends to awaken' love. 
 
12 KINDNESS. 
 
 KINDNESS REWARDED. 
 
 Kind acts are often recompensed, even in this 
 life, althougli the Christian is to do good, hoping 
 for nothing again. Doing his works of charity 
 for the dear Master's sake, and out of Christian 
 love for his fellow-creatures, his reward is in hav- 
 ing the Lord's favor, and the feeling that his own 
 heart does not condemn him. He has not turned 
 a deaf ear to the sorrow of those around him, and 
 he knows that the Master, not because he has had 
 compassion on others, but of his own mercy, will 
 show every kindness to him. 
 
 An anecdote of the late George Whiting of New 
 York, a worthy, consistent, tender-hearted Chris- 
 tian, illustrates this. Many years since, he was 
 an agent in this country for the Edinburgh Epcy- 
 clopedia, and had at times large numbers of those 
 costly volumes in an attic over his office. One 
 day a poor man applied to him for work, and 
 looked so distressed, that George was satisfied he 
 was in great destitution. Remembering that he 
 had at that time a large number of the Encyclo- 
 pedias lying loose, he took the poor man into the 
 attic, and told him if he would pile them up neatly 
 he would pay him for his labor. The man gladly 
 undertook it, and George rejoiced that for the 
 
KINDNESS. 13 
 
 work, wliicli really seemed unnecessary, he could 
 pay him that which would send him home co"in- 
 fortable. 
 
 In the course of a few weeks after this, the build- 
 ing was burned, and these volumes were all de- 
 stroyed. There was an insurance on them, but as 
 George was unable to specify the number of the 
 volumes, and the amount consumed, the company 
 refused to pay, and in the prospect of a loss of the 
 whole insurance, he was dispirited and perplexed. 
 
 Still he endeavored to fill up his duty towards 
 others, and whilst engaged in a Christian work of 
 benevolence, he observed a poor man, sick and con- 
 fined to his bed, gazing on him intently. It was 
 the poor man who had piled up his books. The 
 sick man made himself known ; and George then 
 told him of the disastrous fire, and inquired of him 
 if he could remember distinctly the number of 
 books he had handled. As it proved, the man 
 had marked down on a piece of coarse paper the 
 total number, and the number of volumes in each 
 pile, and he still had the paper in his possession. 
 By the aid of the sick man's testimony, and the 
 list he had preserved, George "Wliiting's evidence 
 of his loss was completed, and his insurance was 
 
 paid to him. 
 2 
 
14 KINDNESS. 
 
 THE POWER OF KINDNESS. 
 
 In the winter of 1855-6, an employee in a family 
 living in Odessa, Delaware, found on a snow-drift 
 near the house what appeared to be the dead body 
 of a sparrow. Picking the bird up tenderly, and 
 gently enclosing it in his warm hands, he soon 
 found, from some motion about the heart, that life 
 was not entirely extinct. He took the bird into 
 the house, where animation was restored, and after 
 some days it was able to fly about the warm con- 
 servatory, in which it was left at liberty. "With 
 increasing strength its happiness seemed to increase, 
 as was manifest by quick, pleasant motions and 
 cheerful notes. The members of the household 
 called their bird Bessie, and she seemed completely 
 tamed by the kindness manifested to her, and the 
 loving care which ministered to all her wants. 
 
 When spring returned, little birds were heard 
 outside of the house piping, trilling, or twittering ; 
 but Bessie appeared to pay no heed, until one day 
 a shrill, peculiar note thoroughly aroused hei:. 
 She immediately began flying around the conserva- 
 tory, anxiously endeavoring, for the first time, to 
 get out. The sash was opened, and full of love and 
 happiness she joined her mate, whose note she had 
 so quickly recognized. 
 
KINDNESS. 15 
 
 The happy pair remained in the vicinity of the 
 house all through the summer; and their little ones, 
 when ahle to fly, were daily brought to a table in 
 the yard, where their kind friends had taken 
 care to place a plentiful supply of food. 
 
 "With the very first snow-storm, the little bird 
 again came to the conservatory, with her pleading 
 tap on the window-pane for admittance to her old 
 warm quarters. Her friends, finding she had con- 
 cluded to be their guest for the winter, obtained a 
 bird-cage and hung it up among the flowers for her 
 accommodation, where, during the cold winter, 
 she often warbled out sweet notes of pleasure, while 
 her happy, graceful flights added an additional 
 charm to the floral beauties among which her sober- 
 colored wings were quickly waving. 
 
 Spring came again, and one day was heard the 
 same loud note which had aroused Bessie the pre- 
 vious year ; and now again, after hearing it, there 
 was no rest or happiness for her until the sash was 
 opened, and she had joined her mate. Very pleas- 
 ant it was to mark the positive joy which seemed 
 mutually to animate the reunited pair. Seven 
 winters, including the flrst, Bessie passed in the 
 conservatory, and the reunions of the periodically 
 parted couple were never-failing sources of enjoy- 
 ment to the sympathizing beholders. During all 
 
16 KINDNESS. 
 
 that time, she never left the immediate neighbor- 
 hood of tliis pleasant residence, either in winter 
 or summer. 
 
 The last spring of her life, the reunion was so 
 marked by loud tokens of joy, that passers-by 
 stopped to notice their actions. About ten days 
 after this she suddenly died. She was found in a 
 convulsion in the food basin, and on being picked 
 up by one of her watchful care-takers, she nestled 
 down into the warm hand as if glad to feel it was 
 around her. She looked up to her protector with 
 an evident expression of pleasure. ISo kindness or 
 skill could, however, save her life, — a succession 
 of spasms came on, in one of which she died. 
 
 Her mate, after her death, seemed evidently con- 
 scious that something sorrowful had occurred. He 
 had been one of the most joyful of birds, whose 
 gush of song had often delighted the family and 
 its friends, but he now became a mournful and 
 drooping thing, creeping about through the shrub- 
 bery in apparent distress, uttering a low moaning 
 note which deeply touched the- sympathy of those 
 who heard him. In a few days he disappeared, and 
 was never again seen in his old summer haunts. 
 
 We have seen how kindness tamed this little bird, 
 and some of us know how kindness has tamed wild 
 members of the human family. Many a revolting 
 
KINDNESS. 17 
 
 son and daughter of Adam — a wilful wanderer 
 from the paths of virtue and goodness — has been 
 tamed by the sensible feeling of the mercy of God 
 in Christ Jesus. Dead to appearance in trespasses 
 and sins, and giving no evidence of any spiritual 
 life within them, they have been as it were taken 
 up by Jesus, and warmed by the blessed influence of 
 his Holy Spirit, until there has been a quickening 
 within them and, through saving grace, a new birth 
 unto holiness, the end whereof is everlasting life. 
 Many a poor outcast, who, feeling that he is de- 
 spised of the world, has cast away all hope for him- 
 self and lost all love for others, has had a great and 
 happy change wrought in him by words of kind- 
 ness and deeds of love when he had thought that 
 no man cared for his soul. Wild wanderers, 
 scornful and careless of what others thought of 
 them, have been so tamed by kindness, that the 
 company of the pure, and those they once, in the 
 sinful instinct of an unrenewed nature, turned from 
 with dislike, has become pleasant and very com- 
 forting. Thus have some been in a measure pre- 
 pared to seek the Lord Jesus, the fountain of 
 all purity, for the cleansing operations of his Spirit, 
 which produces in the renewed soul an instinctive 
 love for all that is good, elevated, and holy. 
 
 Kindness and love are powerful levers to operate 
 2* B 
 
18 KINDNESS. 
 
 with in our intercourse with mankind. If we 
 habitually use them, we shall be more and more 
 convinced that the exercise of them is as beneficial 
 to others as it is necessary to our own growth and 
 establishment in the Truth. Try it, dear readers, 
 try it, and see whether it does not add comfort to 
 our own home happiness ; whether it does not in- 
 crease the pleasure we derive from our purest earth- 
 ly enjoyments, the very conservatory where the 
 brightest and richest of the blessings granted us 
 below, bloom even in the wintry season of outward 
 desolation and storm. 
 
 KINDNESS TO CHILDREN. 
 
 To be really kind to children, one must be capa- 
 ble of entering into sympathy with them. If we 
 cannot feel as they feel, we shall be continually in 
 danger of causing them sadness of heart, even when 
 we are doing them substantial kindness. Ah ! if 
 we would minister to their comfort, let us en- 
 deavor to look back to the days of our own child- 
 hood, and remember how our feelings often suffered 
 from the harshness of those who surrounded us. 
 Let us look on them with tenderness and love, 
 endeavoring to feel something of the spirit which 
 dictated the words, " Suffer little children to come 
 unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." 
 
KINDNESS. 19 
 
 Professor James Marsh, of Burlington, Vermont, 
 was one whose mind ever prompted him to acts 
 which would give pleasure to those about him, — 
 the humblest as well as the highest. "When he lay 
 in his last illness, only a few days before his death, 
 a person travelling in a stage-coach, spoke of his 
 situation to an acquaintance. A woman, whose 
 dress bespoke her to be one in humble life, listened 
 earnestly to what was said, and then inquired if 
 they meant Professor Marsh, of Burlington. She 
 was answered, " Yes." She then said, " When he 
 dies, a great man will leave us." She was then 
 asked if she knew him ; to which she answered, 
 " Yes. I was bringing two motherless grand-chil- 
 dren in the stage from St. Albans, in April, and 
 the roads were horrible. The horses walked all 
 the way, and the children were tired, and cried ; 
 and don't you think Dr. Marsh made the driver 
 stop, and got out, took the children out, and 
 walked on with them by the roadside, showing 
 them stones, and plucking little flowers for them, 
 and talking with them by the way. They were 
 refreshed and perfectly delighted, and said he was 
 the kindest and best man in the world. And to 
 think he should have done all this for two poor, 
 strange, orphan children ! Ah ! he was a good man, 
 and so kind ; I shall never forget him," 
 
20 KINDNESS. 
 
 Sir "Williain JSTapier, a man of fine talents and 
 great descriptive powers as an author, although a 
 military man, and of a hasty temper, was ve'ry 
 good-natured, and noted for his kindness to chil- 
 dren. One instance narrated in his biography, 
 illustrates this as well as his scrupulous honesty 
 in fulfilling his promises, even when made to a 
 little child. The account informs us, that as he 
 was one day taking a long walk in the country, 
 near Freshford, he met a little girl, about five 
 years old, sobbing over a broken bowl. She had 
 let it fall in returning home from a field to which 
 she had taken her father's dinner in it, and she 
 said she would be beaten for breaking it ; then, 
 with a sudden gleam of hope, she innocently look- 
 ed up into his face and said, " But yee can mend 
 it, can't ee ? " William explained to her that he 
 could not mend the bowl, but he could mend her 
 trouble by giving her a sixpence to buy another. 
 On opening his purse, he found, to her and his own 
 disappointment, that there was no silver in it ; and 
 to fulfil his promise to his little friend, he told 
 her to come to the same spot at the same hour the 
 next day, and he would be there and have the six- 
 pence with him. To save her from the punishment, 
 he bade her tell her mother that she had seen a 
 gentleman who would bring her money to pay for 
 
KINDNESS. 21 
 
 the bowl the uext day. The child, entirely ti^usting 
 him, went on her way comforted. On his return 
 home he found an invitation awaiting him to dine 
 in Bath the following evening, where he would 
 meet with one whom he specially wished to see. 
 He hesitated for some time, trying to calculate the 
 possibility of meeting his little friend of the broken 
 bowl, and of being in time for the dinner-party in 
 Bath. Finding this could not be done, he wrote 
 declining to accept the invitation to the dinner on 
 the plea of a pre-engagement ; saying to his chil- 
 dren, respecting the child, " I cannot disappoint 
 her ; she trusted me so implicitly ! " 
 
 OUB LITTLE TREASURES. 
 
 "We almost all of us possess some little thing or 
 other to which we attach a value far above its in- 
 trinsic worth. Or perhaps it would be more cor- 
 rect to say, which has a value to us far beyond 
 the value it possesses to others. It may be some 
 little legacy of love, some little memento of a de- 
 parted friend, something closely connected with 
 important, events in our own lives, or with the 
 lives of those we have loved. An authoress 
 mentions that, being in the house of a skilful phy- 
 sician, she saw a poor, withered, shrivelled apple, 
 which, from the care taken to preserve it, she felt 
 
22 KINDNESS. 
 
 convinced had some history connected with it 
 making it precious to the owner. On inquiring 
 respecting it, the physician replied, " That poor 
 apple I shall never part with while it is possible 
 to keep it. It is one of the few offerings of grati- 
 tude, through a great many years of practice, I 
 have ever received. I was attending the death- 
 bed of a dear child, and just as his life was about 
 to close, when his last kiss had been given to all 
 around, he turned to me, and in faltering accents, 
 in the sweet lisping tones of infancy, said, ' Doctor, 
 you have been very kind to me when I was 
 naughty, and would uqt take my medicine, and I 
 have nothing to give you but this beautiful apple 
 dear grandmother sent me, — will you take it ? ' 
 I did take it, and I am not ashamed to say, shed 
 tears as I did so. There are few things in this 
 house that I set such a value on as that dear child's 
 little apple." 
 
 The apple, which to the child seemed so beauti- 
 ful in its fresh condition, when, as a loving token 
 of gratitude, he presented it to his physician, had 
 lost all its outward fulness and fairness to the eye, 
 — yet never did it lose its moral beauty, — the 
 sweetness and loveliness which the dear child's 
 affectionate feelings imparted to it, in the view of 
 the physician. To him it still spoke of the dear, 
 
KINDNESS. 23 
 
 patient sufferer just about to part with all things 
 earthly, and to enter on the joys of that Messed 
 state, where the spirits of the redeemed children, 
 the lambs of Christ's fold, do always behold the 
 face of their heavenly Father, yet gratefully re- 
 membering and acknowledging the kindness shown 
 him by his medical attendant and friend. 
 
 WANT OF PROPER THOUGHT. 
 
 " Time to me this truth hath taught, — 
 'Tis a truth that's worth revealing, — 
 More offend from want of thought 
 Than from any want of feeling." 
 
 " Why, Charles, how many vegetables have gone 
 to waste in thy garden which would have been a 
 great comfort to thy poor neighbors over the 
 road! " "True enough, cousin, and they would 
 have been very welcome to them, but I never 
 thought of making them the offer." " Ah, Charles, 
 if we only had thoughtfulness enough, we might 
 relieve many a one with things which we permit 
 to go to waste. Remember the surplus produce of 
 thy garden next year. A sick neighbor might be 
 benefited by a few of the fine Lawton black- 
 berries, beside being comforted and cheered by 
 thinking' that thou had a kindly feeling for him. 
 A few of the spare bunches from those long trel- 
 lises might, in their season, be messengers of pleas- 
 
24 KINDNBSS. 
 
 ure to others. Thou dost not need to sell it ; let 
 thy surplus produce, then, be for the sick and the 
 poor." 
 
 "What did the little girl give thee, Ann?" 
 " Oh, nothing but this bunch of common^ field 
 flowers ? " " Didst thou tell her thou felt obliged to 
 her for the kind thought which prompted her to 
 gather them for thee ? " " Why, no, to confess the 
 truth, I never thought of it ! " " I supposed it was 
 80, for I saw a tear in her eye, which showed that her 
 feelings had been hurt. The poor little thing felt 
 love for thee ; and, as she loved flowers, she thought 
 that which pleased her must please thee, and there- 
 fore gathered these. She had no hot-house to go 
 to for a fine bouquet. She could but give those 
 her own toil could gather. Remember, my friend, 
 never receive any intended kindness from the young 
 or poor without an acknowledgment. This is often 
 neglected for want of thought, and want of true 
 kindly thought often occasions great sorrow, and 
 is the source of much of the distress with which 
 this world abounds." 
 
 " John, I understand that our old friend and 
 school-mate, after a long illness, has been released 
 from his sufferings. lie was very much 'resigned 
 to his situation, yet he often felt lonely, having no 
 near relatives about him, and he did very much 
 
KIND NESS. 25 
 
 enjoy tlie visits of his friends. Didst thou often 
 call upon him?" "I am sorry to say, I never 
 thought of it. I knew he had sujficient pecuniary 
 means to pay for the necessary nursing ; and 
 although I at times regretted that such a valuable 
 man should be called away from us so early in 
 life, somehow I did not think of visiting him." 
 " "Well, it is a pity. He would have been rejoiced 
 to have seen thee, and thou might have derived 
 both comfort and instruction from his quiet, re- 
 signed state of mind, and the cheerful piety which 
 seemed the constant clothing of his spirit. Ah, 
 John, I sometimes fear this want of Christian 
 thoughtfulness is one of » the greatest causes of 
 hardness of heart. Our friends are sick and in 
 trouble ; we sometimes, amid the bustle of busi- 
 ness, give them a passing thought, but few think 
 of what they can do to alleviate their suffering or 
 sorrow by a visit of love, a letter of friendship, or 
 such other kind act as lies in their power." 
 
 • POLITENESS. 
 On an occasion in which many children were 
 gathered together, there was among them a bash- 
 ful, timid little girl. She was rendered awkward 
 by her bashfulness, and her embarrassment was not 
 diminished to hear herself called silly by some 
 
 8 
 
26 KINDNESS. 
 
 who had never suffered from timidity, or had for 
 gotten how they had felt when enduring the pains 
 of bashfulness. In the company there was one 
 kind-hearted, really polite hoy. He felt for her in 
 her distress, and, without appearing to notice her 
 fright, he took a book to her, showed her the pic- 
 tures, talked to her very pleasantly, and took care' 
 not to ask questions which would render it neces- 
 sary for her to answer. Her fear soon passed 
 away, and the intelligence of her mind was soon 
 manifest on her countenance, showing that the 
 term silly did not rightfully belong to her. When 
 fruit was handed round, he selected a fine apple, 
 and whilst the others were busy in ministering to 
 their own appetites, he carried it to the little girl, 
 called her by an endearing appellation, and told 
 her he had selected it for her. A smile of grati- 
 tude spread over her face, and in a low voice she 
 found courage to thank him for his kindness, 
 whilst she gladly accepted the fruit. 
 
 Some one has said that politeness is " kindness 
 kindly expressed." The boy, though he could not 
 probably have given a good definition of it, had an 
 instinctive perception of what it was, and practised 
 it. A recent writer says some people think polite- 
 ness can only wear fine clothes and live in grand 
 houses, l^ever was there a greater mistake. The 
 
KINDNESS. 27 
 
 test teactier is kindness, and slie is a teacher who 
 keeps a free school. All may come and learn. 
 
 The same writer, in speaking of Christian polite- 
 ness, after quoting the saying of our blessed Sa- 
 viour, " Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of 
 these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name 
 of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no- 
 wise lose his reward," adds these remarks : " Chris- 
 tian politeness ? Yes. Politeness is showing kind- 
 ness for kindness' sake. Christian politeness is 
 showing kindness for Chrisfs sake, doing kind acts 
 from the love you bear your Saviour, and a desire 
 to honor him, whose whole life on earth was a life 
 of love. Such a value does he set upon ' little deeds 
 of kindness,' that the giving of a cup of cold water 
 is nc t overlooked or forgotten by him." 
 
28 INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. 
 
 INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. 
 
 NO ONE WITHOUT INFLUENCE. 
 
 WE all exert an influence for good or ill on 
 those around us, and it behooves us to see 
 that such as we have, is exercised for the benefit, 
 not the injury, of others. Some do not, apparently, 
 understand that their conduct and conversation 
 have any effect on others, and do not perceive the 
 responsibility that attaches to them for the exam- 
 ple they set. An incident is related as having oc- 
 curred a few years since in England, which illus- 
 trates the influence exerted by mere children. At 
 a temperance meeting, a lecturer, in speaking of 
 the influence which might be exerted against 
 intemperance by individual faithfulness, said, 
 " Every one has influence ; even that child in her 
 father's arms has influence." As he said this he 
 pointed to where a man stood with his child. 
 " That is t'-ue ! " said the father, with fervent em- 
 phasis. When the meeting was over, the man 
 came to the lecturer, and apologized for his unsea- 
 sonable speaking, which was occasioned by a sudden 
 outburst of feeling, overpowering his sense of the 
 proprieties of time and place. He then said, " I 
 
INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. 29 
 
 was a drunkard ; but as I did not like to go to a 
 public bouse alone, I used to carry tbis cbild. As 
 I approacbed tbe public bouse one nigbt, bearing 
 a great noise inside, sbe said, ' Don't go, fatber ! ' 
 ' Hold your tongue, cbild ! ' ' Please, fatber, don't 
 go ! ' ' Hold your tongue, I say ! ' Presently, I felt 
 a big tear fall on my cbeek. I could not go a step 
 furtber. I turned round and went borne, and bave 
 never been at a public bouse since ; tbank God for it. 
 I am now a bappy man, and tbis little girl bas 
 done it all ; and wben you said tbat even sbe bad 
 influence, I could not help saying, ' Tbat 's true.' "' 
 
 "Witbout doubt, every one wbo bas mingled in 
 society, bas at times, tbrougb beedless words or in- 
 considerate and improper actions, evilly afiected 
 otbers. Wlio of us but, in looking back over our 
 own lives, can remember cases in wbicb we feel 
 convinced sucb must have been the eflfect of things 
 said or done by ourselves. In some of these we 
 may perhaps bave the consoling reflection tbat 
 Divine grace has preserved those most liable to 
 bave been affected thereby from permanent injury; 
 but in otbers, having lost sight of tbe parties, we 
 cannot tell what their conduct since bas been. 
 
 Sometimes, in after-life, we bave very afflicting 
 evidence given us of sad consequences which have 
 resulted from the actions of our unregenerate days, 
 3* 
 
30 INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. 
 
 and sometimes from the missteps we have made 
 even after a spiritual awakening, and when we 
 were in the main desirous of doing the will of our 
 heavenly Father. A case of the former kind comes 
 to mind. An individual who, in the day of his 
 youth, had lived according to the leadings of the 
 prince of the power of the air, the spirit which 
 rules in the children of disobedience, who had been 
 a frequenter of theatres, and had given free course 
 to his unregeiierate nature, having, through the 
 quickening, heart-changing visitations of Divine 
 grace, witnessed the work of regeneration cleansing 
 his heart, believed himself called to be a minister 
 of the gospel of life and purity. On a certain oc- 
 casion, long after this, he was at the bedside of a 
 dying impenitent sinner, one who had been an ac- 
 quaintance of his in the days of his wicked career, 
 who at that awful moment, when he was about 
 closing his earthly existence, told the terror-struck 
 preacher that his soul was forever lost ; but that it 
 was his evil example which had led him to destruc- 
 tion. It was, it is believed, principally in his 
 going to the theatre, that his example had encour- 
 aged this person, then a youth, in breaking through 
 the hedge of Christian restraint which had before 
 kept him from that place. The attendance there 
 led almost unavoidably to base companionship; 
 
INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. 31 
 
 his course of degradation was rapid, and he now 
 felt heaven was lost to him forever. Despair was 
 his portion even on this side of the grave, and as 
 he passed through the valley of the shadow of death, 
 he could feel no hope, he could see no light. 
 
 Such was the death-bed of this poor misled man, 
 who, in the midst of remorse, knew not even to 
 taste the sweet sorrow of repentance. The agony 
 was not alone on his part. Bitter were the feel- 
 ings of the man whose example had given him an 
 impetus down the pathway of ruin. He clung to 
 his bedside ; he agonized for his poor lost soul ; 
 and when death closed up the last avenue of hope, 
 his own anguish was of a character to be mitigated 
 only by a fresh feeling of that boundless love 
 which, in Christ Jesus, can save the lost ; yea, can 
 make the very unclean white as snow. 
 
 Samuel Fothergill, looking over the crimes of 
 his youth, the injuries his evil course of conduct 
 had produced to others, declared that for this it 
 seemed the sword would not pass from his house 
 forever. He had witnessed, through heartfelt re- 
 pentarice and faith in the Lord Jesus, a free par- 
 don for all his sins ; yet anguish at times came 
 upon him, when he thought of those whom his ex- 
 ample may have contributed to centre where the 
 worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 
 
32 INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. 
 
 No true Christian, however deep the anguish of 
 soul he has already experienced for the evil he 
 has committed, however well assured he has been 
 that, in the unutterable love of God through Christ 
 Jesus, all has been forgiven, could look upon one 
 who, through the influence of his example, had 
 been led into and continues in sin, without ex- 
 periencing renewed sorrow of soul. Some influence 
 for evil may be exerted by us, unless on the watch, 
 even after the main bent of our minds is towards 
 holiness, and when the earnest desire of our hearts 
 is the promotion of purity, and the increase of the 
 Redeemer's kingdom. 
 
 LIGHTS IN TBE WORLD. 
 The apostle exhorts the Philippian converts after 
 this manner : " Do all things without murmurings 
 and disputings: that y€ may be blameless and 
 harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the 
 midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among 
 whom ye shine as lights in the world ; holding 
 forth, the word of life." A true Christian, wher- 
 ever his lot is cast among men, is, and must neces- 
 sarily be, as a light in the world. There must be, 
 if the love of God dwell richly in him, some out- 
 flow of it to others. If he is walking in the light, 
 there will be seen some radiance around his path- 
 
INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. 33 
 
 way which, others beholding, may, through the 
 merciful visitation of Divine grace operating 
 thereby, be quickened to endeavor also to become 
 children of the light and of the day. 
 
 How often has a solitary traveller been encour- 
 aged and animated in his lonely journey at night, 
 by the lights which he observes flashing from the 
 windows of the houses he passes by. It is a silent 
 testimony to his mind of home and happiness ; 
 the quiet industry and social enjoyments of the 
 home circle, its love and peace ; and he is comforted, 
 even although storms and tempests beat upon him. 
 So, when the Christian traveller beholds the light 
 of a consistent life shining forth from those he 
 passes by in his weary worldly journey, he is 
 cheered thereby. It speaks to him of the restrain- 
 ing, directing, illuminating influence of Divine 
 grace in the soul, of the inward work of the Spirit 
 going on, of quietude and comfort, of heavenly 
 love and peace, even though there may be storms 
 and tempest around him. 
 
 Some one narrates his grateful feelings, when, 
 on a journey in a dark night, a lad, not knowing 
 he was near, passed on before him, carrying a 
 lantern which gave forth a bright light. The boy 
 had taken the light for his own guidance on a 
 dreary walk through darkness, and, whilst care- 
 
34 INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. 
 
 fully carrying it, thinking only how thereby he 
 should be able to go safely on his own path of 
 duty, was giving unwittingly great aid and com- 
 fort to another. Every humble, careful. Christian 
 traveller, through the dark paths of this earth, 
 carries with him, more or less conspicuously, a 
 light, which may, in some hour of gloom, illumi- 
 nate and cheer a brother or sister pilgrim, as they 
 are enabled thereby to pass on their way in greater 
 safety. Let all then, by giving close heed to the 
 good Master, and the inward working of his grace, 
 seek for ability to let their lights shine more and 
 more brightly as they move on their heavenly 
 journey. Then others, seeing the good works 
 which, by faithful obedience, they are enabled to 
 bring forth, may be strengthened and incited to 
 glorify their Father who is in heaven. 
 
 BE YE NOT CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD. 
 Ko-san-lone, a convert to Christianity from 
 among the Chinese, some years since visited 
 America. He was much surprised at observing 
 the fashionable style in which many professing 
 Christians lived, and the little difference to be 
 observed between theni and the people of the 
 world, in manners, customs, and mode of life. He 
 was distressed and perplexed at it ; and one day, 
 
INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. 35 
 
 alluding to it, lie made a wide sweep witli his 
 arms, to give greater emphasis to his language, 
 and said, " "When the disciples in my country come 
 out from the world, they come clear out." 
 
 How is it with thee, reader ? Hast thou come 
 clear out of the world, its ways, its fashions, its 
 honors, its compliments ? Dost thou seek for the 
 approbation of thy Divine Master in thy walk 
 among men, not esteeming in comparison there- 
 with the condemnation or praise of the worldly- 
 minded as of any moment ? The inquiry is worthy 
 of thy most serious consideration. 
 
 INFLUENCE OF EXAMPLE. 
 
 The influence of example is much greater than 
 we are willing to believe. In a narrative of a re- 
 ligious iuan, it is related that in conversing with 
 his two brothers, who also were cross-bearing 
 Christians, they acknowledged to each other that 
 the uniformly " consistent and upright conduct " 
 of an uncle with whom they dwelt, had been the 
 means, under Divine Providence, of leading " each 
 of them to think seriously about the salvation 
 of his own soul." What a happy and effective 
 preacher was that uncle. 
 
 "Well, if a good example is often productive of 
 good, t he tendency of an evil one is as great towards 
 
36 INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. 
 
 evil. Kot only are the openly depraved sowing the 
 seeds of sin along the path of life they are treading, 
 but the lukewarm, the indifferent, the inconsistent 
 professors of religion are doing the same thing. 
 Often individuals who have been met with by the 
 visitations of the Lord's Holy Spirit, who have 
 in humility submitted thereto, and have attained 
 to some degree of Christian consistency in their 
 walking, have stumbled at the sight of the actions 
 of those they have esteemed religious, and have 
 been turned aside from their high calling in Christ 
 Jesus. Ah ! how often do we find individuals who, 
 through inward exercise and the powerful baptisms 
 of the Holy Spirit," have had the outward contami- 
 nations of corrupt nature washed away, instead of 
 going onward towards perfection, have settled 
 down into sober, moral men, in whom the living 
 virtue of Truth seems to have died out, or at most 
 to be very far from being in dominion in their 
 hearts. Such men are always weak in the faith ; 
 their conversation, although it may be clear from 
 anything openly corrupt, is yet not such as be- 
 cometh the gospel of Christ Jesus. These are great 
 stumbling-blocks to the newly-awakened, earnest 
 inquirers after Truth. 
 
 Reader, art thou a professing member of the 
 church of Christ ? Then see that thy walking is 
 
INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. 37 
 
 consistent with thy profession. Art thou, by thy 
 personal appearance, thy conduct, thy conversation, 
 placing a stumbling-block in the way of others ? 
 
 It is important for every one to mark his own 
 doings — to consider the influence he is exerting on 
 those around him. In every portion of our earth- 
 travel we are leaving a trace — some impression for 
 good or for evil. One morning, looking from his 
 parlor-window, the writer saw on the brick pave- 
 ment in his yard the plainly visible record of the 
 night wanderings of a snail. Every turn he had 
 made, from a direct onward course, — and they were 
 very many, — ^was there written down in silver slime. 
 Whilst musing on it, he was reminded that we, also, 
 leave a record of our devious wanderings. Our 
 sins and transgressions, unless blotted out through 
 mercy, will stand as an awful record against us ; 
 and some traces of the good or evil influence of our 
 example may perhaps be found written in the 
 faithfulness or unfaithfulness of those among 
 whom we have walked. Oh, how happy will it be 
 at the last for the humble Christian who, having 
 no might nor strength in himself, yet through sub- 
 mission to the sanctifying power of the Lord Jesus 
 and the holy, preserving influence which he has 
 vouchsafed, has been kept a living example of true 
 Christian purity and perfection on his heavenward 
 
38 INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. 
 
 course. Sueli are ministers of the gospel in life and 
 conversation, if not in word, and have a large in- 
 fluence for good wherever their lot is cast. The 
 Lord, who accepts their obedience, will number 
 them among those who, having turned many to 
 righteousness, " shine as the stars forever and ever." 
 
 SETTING GOOD GRAFTS. 
 
 It is narrated that a person, in riding in the 
 country, observed an acquaintance, some distance 
 from his own residence, grafting a thrifty young 
 apple-tree which had sprung up on the public high- 
 way, and which extended some branches quite over 
 the road. On speaking with the person about his 
 employment there, he said that, being engaged in 
 grafting in his own garden, he had remembered 
 this thrifty young tree, which had a situation fa- 
 vorable for good bearing, and he thought he would 
 set some grafts in it. He said, " I thought I would 
 graft some good, early apples, the best kind ; per- 
 haps they will do somebody some good." The 
 grafts grew thriftily*, and the fruit has without 
 doubt, long before this time, administered satis- 
 faction to many a passer-by, and perhaps to none 
 more than to the kin-d grafter himself. 
 
 What a pleasant world, amidst all its necessary 
 trials, sufferings, and bereavements, this would be, 
 
INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. 39 
 
 if every one was not only seeking to put good 
 grafts into the sources of enjoyments for the poor, 
 doing them good in every way he finds open, but, 
 by an ever watchful promptness in the exercise of 
 the Christian graces, be setting, by example, the 
 grafts of better fruit into some of the poor, neg- 
 lected human trees in the highways and hedges, 
 as well as into some who, though in the hot-house, 
 forcing beds of prosperity, yet being still in their 
 natural states, are producing no good fruits. 
 
 Beside the ever active influence for good of a 
 religious life, there are many opportunities, dear 
 reader, for thee to benefit, or at least to impart com- 
 fort to, somebody or other. Just pause and consider, 
 as thou art perusing this. Look around thee ; is 
 there no apple-tree by the way-side to be grafted ? 
 Are there none to whom, by a little exercise of 
 Christian charity, thou canst cause as pleasant a 
 gratification as the gift of sweet fruit ? Remember, a 
 cup of cold water rightly given has its reward, and 
 few men, women, or children walk in so circum- 
 scribed a path that they cannot, if their hearts are 
 in the work, do more than that. A smile bestowed 
 on some humble one, a kindly word spoken, a mite 
 in love handed, may be as good grafts set in their 
 hearts, producing sweet fruits of kindly afl:ection. 
 
 Good grafts of kindness atid Christian love may 
 
40 INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. 
 
 often be readily set, but it is quite as easy to set 
 the grafts which produce bad fruits. How evil 
 disposed should we deem that man who, cutting 
 off the branches of a tree bearing good fruit, should 
 engraft in all of them scions producing fruit bitter, 
 worthless, or injurious. Such, as far as evil exam- 
 ple can go, is the result of a lukewarm, angodly, or 
 wicked condition of spirit manifesting itself in 
 our intercourse with the world. Such is the effect 
 of the influence of those who, by conduct or con- 
 versation, are putting stumbling-blocks in the way 
 of others. It will be well for us all to consider 
 seriously, Am I, in my daily walk, in all my inter- 
 course with my fellow-men, setting such an ex- 
 ample as may, with the Lord's blessing, prove as 
 good grafts, producing fruits to his praise ? Or am I 
 manifesting so much of unsubdued nature — so much 
 of the spirit of the god of this world — so much cold- 
 ness and apathy towards good — that if any one, 
 influenced by me, should, so to speak, take grafts 
 from my tree, no fruit of holiness or Christian 
 dedication can possibly spring therefrom ! 
 
 PROFANITY CHECKED. 
 
 More than six hundred years ago, the porters of 
 the city of Florence were in the habit of taking 
 refuge in times of rain, or in cold and chilly 
 weather, in a cellar which, from having been at 
 
INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. 41 
 
 times flooded by the waters of the Arno, had ceased 
 to be occupied by regular tenants. Here the por- 
 ters found shelter from the sudden summer shower 
 and the winter chill, when not employed during 
 times when business was slack, or whilst waiting 
 for a transient job in more active seasons. Much 
 profanity and corrupt language were uttered among 
 those that congregated there, which caused great 
 distress of mind to one of them, a pious man named 
 Piero di Lucca Borsi. He was advanced in years, 
 and feeling himself religiously restrained from 
 participating in the evil practice, he was anxious 
 to lead away his companions from a habit debasing 
 to the intellect and endangering the future well- 
 being of the soul. To aid him in his labors with 
 his fellows to induce them to abandon this old, de- 
 praved custom, he proposed to them to enter into 
 an agreement that for every curse, blasphemous 
 expression, or wicked word they uttered, they 
 would pay a crazia, a small coin, as a fine, into the 
 funds of the company meeting there. This by 
 kindly importunity he brought them to agree to, 
 and a box was procured to hold the fines which 
 should be paid. The evil habit was not easily 
 broken; and though somewhat abated, yet fines 
 came in fast, and very soon there was quite a con- 
 siderable sum of money in the treasury. Piero, 
 4* 
 
42 INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. 
 
 whose heart was expanded in love to his fellow- 
 creatures, Boon saw a way in which this money 
 might be employed to the lasting benefit of the 
 citizens of Florence. Having matured his plan, he 
 suggested to his companions that a sufficient amount 
 should be appropriated to purchase six. litters, one 
 for each ward of their city, to be constantly ready 
 for the carrying of sick people, and such as might 
 meet with accidents in the streets, to the public 
 hospitals. He induced his companions to embrace 
 his plan, and carry it into effect. Under his per- 
 suasive eloquence, they also agreed to appoint 
 weekly two of their number whose duty it should 
 be, during the period of their appointment, to be 
 always in readiness to attend to the litters as car- 
 riers in time of need. Great good resulted from 
 his thoughtfulness. A sin was publicly condemned 
 and in some degree abated, and a great public ben- 
 efit was brought about in the establishment of an 
 institution which has continued in healthy activ- 
 ity down to the present day. Such have been the 
 results of the faithful occupancy of his one talent 
 by an illiterate laborer who depended on the work 
 of his own hands for his daily support, 
 
 EVIL PREVENTED. 
 A colored barber in Philadelphia relates that, in 
 the fall of the year 1870, he was once strongly 
 
INDIVIDUAL INFLUENCE. 43 
 
 tempted to take the lives of three men, on account 
 of ill treatment received from them. The tempta- 
 tion was presented several times, and at length he 
 actually left his shop intending to commit the foul 
 deed. The pleadings of the inv^ard monitor against 
 the commission of this sin were, however, now 
 heard in the secret of his soul with such power as to 
 induce him to abandon his design ; and having thus 
 yielded to the convictions of Divine grace, he began 
 from this time to experience a change in his feeling 
 towards the men, until it became so difl'erent from 
 what it had been, that he could regard them as 
 brethren instead of enemies. He now looks back 
 with horror to the awful destruction which threat- 
 ened to overwhelm his soul, mingled with feelings 
 of gratitude for the great mercy that had been ex- 
 tended for his preservation. The fruit of his repent- 
 ance is shown by an interesting occurrence that 
 has since taken place. A customer at his shop made 
 a remark which led to the discovery, on the part 
 of the barber, of the man's intention to engage in 
 an act from which he anticipated much satisfactionj 
 although great injury to others as well as himself 
 would result. He reasoned with him for some time. 
 The man departed, and when next seen he stated 
 that he had taken the advice given him, and ab- 
 stained from committing the sin. Truly, "he that 
 is in you is greater than he that is in the world." 
 
44 SHORTNESS AND 
 
 SHOETNESS AND UNCERTAINTY OF 
 LIFE. 
 
 HUMAN LIFE SOON OVER. 
 
 HGW soon will tlie hour of death come, even to 
 those who have the longest term of existence 
 granted them in these mortal bodies. A merchant, 
 who had passed his life in the possession of all 
 the comforts which wealth and a loving household 
 could bestow, some years since sank, by a not very 
 painful disease, to the grave before reaching a 
 period much beyond what is called middle age. 
 He was not resigned to death ; and a few minutes 
 before his close, turning to his beloved wife, he 
 ejaculated, " Is life so soon over, — is it so soon over? " 
 He would willingly have given everything he pos- 
 sessed in the world, if, as his young children testi- 
 fied, "he could only get well." But death may 
 not be bribed to depart from us, and neither will 
 medicine protect us from his dart. Life seems 
 brief to all ! Jacob could say, " The days of the years 
 of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years ; 
 few and evil have the days of the years of my life 
 been." How happy will it be for those who, through 
 the mercies of God in Christ Jesus, are permitted, 
 
UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE. 45 
 
 as this brief period of existence terminates, to feel 
 the assurance that a life of glory and happiness, 
 which shall never be over, is opening before them. 
 
 LONQ LIFE UNDESIRABLE. 
 
 It is the duty of a Christian to be contented to 
 remain on earth, toiling in the service allotted 
 him by his heavenly Father, just so long as his all- 
 merciful and all-wise caretaker shall see meet to 
 continue him in the church militant ; yet certainly, 
 to those who have known the washing of regener- 
 ation, the forgiveness of past sins, and the adoption 
 that maketh children of God and heirs of eternal 
 life, a long lingering here in probation cannot be 
 very desirable. It is no wonder that the natural 
 man, who hath not known a preparation for par- 
 ticipating in the glories of the kingdom of perfect 
 purity hereafter, craves the continuance of this 
 life, embodying all the joys that he can under- 
 stand. From this point of view, we can see how 
 that wishing our friends long lives, — a common 
 form of blessing in use among certain classes, — 
 should have had its origin. Yet to the Christian 
 the realization of such a wish might be far from 
 a blessing. 
 
 The following renaark was made by the late 
 William Wilberforce to a friend of his in the year 
 
46 SHORTNESS AND 
 
 1807, at a time in which he was quite unwell, yet 
 not conianed. to his dwelling. "A man in the 
 castle-yard this morning, in the honest ardor of his 
 heart, seized my hand, and with peculiar emphasis 
 wished me a long life. I was obliged to him for 
 his kindness ; but he forced on me the reflection 
 how unchristian are our common feelings and sen- 
 timents — that we should be ready to regard a long 
 life as one of the greatest of blessings. Did we 
 really keep Christian principles and Christian 
 views before us, we should assuredly think that 
 ' to depart and be with Christ' was, for ourselves 
 at least, ' far better.' " 
 
 Many years ago, I was told by a friend, whose 
 benevolent heart often led her into scenes of suffer- 
 ing, that she had just visited a very aged woman, 
 who had forgotten all the events of her past life, 
 and even that she had ever been married. Her 
 friends to her had become as though they were 
 not, and all that was going on around her — the 
 love, the care, the turmoil — reached her not. Yet 
 upon being asked if she knew Jesus Christ, she 
 brightened up as she replied, " Yes ; he is my Sa- 
 viour." Religion is the only effectual comfort of 
 old age. Kind friends may minister to the wants 
 of the body, and may see that everything is done 
 that can be done to alleviate the hours of weariness 
 
UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE. 47 
 
 and suffering ; yet, unless there is a large share of 
 Divine grace afforded in the decline of the powers 
 of mind, fretfulness and impatience may get in. 
 These often render the closing hours of the aged, 
 even of some who have passed reputable and appar- 
 ently religious lives, less pleasant to the witnesses 
 at the time, and less comfortable to reflect upon, 
 than might have been the case if they had been 
 taken away at an earlier period. 
 
 The frailties of flesh and spirit manifested by 
 some, as the mental powers have failed, have been 
 cause at times of great trial to their near friends, 
 and have occasioned some stumbling to the evil 
 judging world. We cannot tell, in the progress 
 of second childhood, when mental accountability 
 ceases, but we know that God is rich in mercy, and 
 that he will judge all things in righteous, loving 
 kindness, through him who hath ever loved his 
 own, and will love them even to the end. 
 
 ITow and then, as though to exemplify the true 
 meaning of the blessing, " "With long life will I 
 satisfy him, and show him my salvation," the Lord 
 sustains some of his servants to a very green old 
 age. Yea, in the weakness of the earthly taber- 
 nacle, he grants them to retain the mental powers 
 in great vigor, whilst the spiritual seem even to 
 strengthen, so that with holy alacrity they con- 
 
48 SHOBTNESS AND 
 
 tinue filling up a blessed sphere of usefulness in 
 the church militant long after the friends of their 
 childhood, the fellow-laborers in the Lord's cause, 
 through the meridian of their days, have been 
 gathered into rest. Such are indeed an ornament 
 to the truth, an exemplification of the sustaining 
 power of Divine grace, and of the love and mercy 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 "Wilberforce spoke of our common feelings and 
 sentiments being unchristian; and although he dwelt 
 particularly on wishing long life, without doubt 
 other things had place in his thoughts. Wishing 
 one's friends uninterrupted temporal blessings a real 
 true-hearted Christian would feel some misgivings 
 about uttering. Afflictions are so often ministers 
 of mercy, and prosperity so often tends to deaden 
 religious sensibility, and to alienate the soul from 
 that humility and dependence upon God, which is 
 the soul's only safety, that if a truly conscientious 
 mind dared to give utterance to such a desire, it 
 must be coupled with the hope that it might be 
 granted only so far as it would tend to the ever- 
 lasting well-being of the beloved one. 
 
 The celebrated religious writer, Cecil, called to 
 see a friend, one day, and told him he heard that 
 he was in a dangerous condition. His friend ex- 
 pressed his unconsciousness of any cause of alarm ; 
 
UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE. 49 
 
 on which Cecil told him that he supposed such was 
 the case, and had therefore called on him. The 
 danger to which he was desirous of awakening the 
 attention of the earnest listener was, that he was 
 attaining wealth, — prospering in the world, — in- 
 creasing that which would necessarily require more 
 and more attention, and which, without a special 
 blessing from above, would be likely seriously to 
 interfere with his eternal well-being. 
 
 SEA YEN— HOME. 
 
 There is much of interest in a remark made by 
 a young daughter of q^rich man. Her father being 
 ill, and likely soon to die, was apportioning his 
 estate among his children by word of mouth, 
 which perhaps he had neglected to do in a proper 
 manner by will. As she heard him saying that he 
 gave this house to one, and that house to another, 
 she inquired of him, if he had any house where he 
 was going ? Perhaps she did not fully herself feel 
 the tremendous importance of the query. But it 
 is one that the rich and the poor of this world are 
 alike interested in asking themselves. Hast thou, 
 dear reader, a sure and certain inheritance in 
 heaven — a mansion of glory which ever endureth, 
 made thine through faith in the Lord Jesus,' and 
 that new birth unto holiness by which thou hast 
 5 D 
 
50 SHORTNESS AND 
 
 become an heir of God, and a joint heir with 
 Christ? 
 
 When Baxter was dying, to an inquiry as to hia 
 condition he could joyfully say, "Almost well! 
 and nearly at homo ! " One who was made a mar- 
 tyr for the word of Grod and the testimony of the 
 Lord Jesus, on being asked, as he approached the 
 stake, how he felt, answered, "Never better; for 
 now I know that I am almost at home." Another 
 religious man, near his close, said, "I am going 
 home as fast as I can ; and I bless God that I have 
 a good home to go to." 
 
 Oh, to feel heaven is our home ! that a mansion 
 has been prepared for us therein ! what happmess, 
 what inexpressible peace and thankful love, it must 
 beget in the soul. The return to our earthly homes, 
 if we are blessed with sociable feelings, and a 
 loving circle of dear ones there await us, is a cause 
 of happiness to the heart. In the life of the late 
 Patrick Tytler, this passage relative to his father 
 is introduced. "In those days when we knew my 
 father was to be detained in town till late in the 
 evening, we always placed a candle in this window. 
 Often did he remark that he never gained sight 
 of this twinkling light through the trees of the 
 avenue, without feeling his heart raised in grati- 
 tude to heaven for the many blessings by which he 
 
UNGEBTAINTT OF LIFE. 51 
 
 was surrounded, and the happy home to which he 
 was returning." Such feelings would be likely to 
 arise spontaneously in the heart of every reli- 
 gious, home-loving traveller as he drew near the 
 termination of his journey ; and how much stronger 
 should the emotions be in the bosom of the Chris- 
 tian who feels himself rapidly drawing near to the 
 blessed home prepared for him in heaven! Ah! 
 he may see with the eye of faith, not indeed the 
 twinkle of a feeble light through a solitary window, 
 welcoming him to the endearments of his house- 
 hold, but the love of Christ giving forth such a 
 brightness to his everlasting home, that it needs no 
 light of the sun to lighten it, whilst, in the depth 
 of his humble heart, he can catch some whispers 
 of the cheering welcome, " Gome, ye blessed of my 
 Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you." 
 
 OUR PAST LIVES. 
 
 The experience of an individual is recorded who, 
 in imminent danger of what appeared a certain 
 death, seemed to see at a glance, spread before his 
 mind as on a map, his whole life from his youth up. 
 He lived to record the fact, which may be regarded 
 as an instance of the extreme rapidity of thought 
 in moments of peril. What a succession of scenes 
 of sin and weakness, dear reader, would some of 
 
52 SHORTNESS AND 
 
 our lives present, were they spread before us in 
 their true character.. If a bright spot appeared, it 
 would be where Divine grace had been manifested 
 for our deliverance from sin, enabling us to take 
 up the cross and to follow the Saviour, in some 
 degree of faithful dedication. 
 
 " A few years ago," says a writer, " I was travel- 
 ling in South America. As I approached the base 
 of a mountain which lay in my route, I found it 
 covered with what I supposed to be an undergrowth 
 of weeds. But I pressed my way onward, and 
 climbed up its sides till I had reached the summit. 
 When I had gained the top, I gazed a'round me 
 with delight, and happened to look back upon the 
 winding way in which I had ascended, and lo ! my 
 whole path was clearly marked out to the very foot 
 of the mountain. I found it was caused by my 
 having walked through a growth of the sensitive 
 plant, as it is familiarly known to us, which grows 
 indigenous there. It had left all my way plain 
 before me, so that I could trace my footsteps in all 
 their curves and deviations, as I had struggled up 
 the sides of that beautiful mountain." 
 
 Our every action has left an enduring impression 
 more tangible to Omniscience than the sensitive 
 plant record to the eye of the traveller of his every 
 turn in his upward path. How many curves have 
 
UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE. 53 
 
 we made, dear reader, through weakness or falter- 
 ing, from the straightforward, upward track. Look 
 back over thy past life ! Was there not often a 
 turning to the left or right ? Time is yet allowed 
 us for amendment of life. The record of our sins 
 may be blotted out, if, through faith in the Lord 
 Jesus, and a patient submission to his purifying 
 baptisms, we are washed and made clean in the 
 laver of regeneration. Blessed are they whose sins 
 go beforehand to judgment. Against such, what- 
 ever the darkness of their past lives, whatever the 
 wandering, serpentine course of their earlier days 
 may have been, there stands no record of guilt, but 
 the words of glad welcome await them, " Come, ye 
 blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom pre- 
 pared for you." 
 
 'No matter how high our profession has been, 
 no matter how pure the doctrine we may have 
 advocated, or the precepts we may have inculcated, 
 if we have not witnessed that real change of heart 
 which our Saviour terms " being born again," we 
 are 'not in a state of acceptance, and our sins of 
 omission and commission stand in terrible distinct- 
 ness against us. If, in this condition, our past lives 
 should be brought before us, through all their 
 courses, great would be our horror and anguish of 
 spirit. We may have led moral lives, we may 
 6* 
 
54 SHORTNESS AND 
 
 have borne excellent characters among men, yet if 
 our path has been trodden in the natural will of 
 man, which is ever opposed to God, and we have 
 not experienced reconciliation through the blood 
 of Christ, which subdues the old enmity, we are 
 aliens from the covenant of promise, and cannot 
 inherit the kingdom of heaven. Let us see to it 
 whilst time is allotted us. Let us look over the 
 paths of our lives, and, whilst in deep sorrow of 
 heart, lamenting our wasted years, let us seek 
 the Lord Jesus for purity, pardon, and peace. 
 These may yet be our portion, if, in unreserved 
 sincerity of heart, we turn to the Lord, and let him 
 rule and work in us that which is well pleasing 
 in his sight. Then will the retrospect of our past 
 lives, whilst humbling us to the dust, cease to 
 bring horror and remorse, for we shall feel that 
 though less than the least of all saints, yet grace 
 has been given us to draw near to him who has 
 said, " He that cometh unto me I will in nowise 
 cast out." 
 
 HE IS DEAD! 
 
 An incident took place some years ago at Bel- 
 fast,, of solemn interest. Two thoughtless, irreli- 
 gious young men met. One invited the other to 
 go with him that night to the theatre. The invi- 
 tation was declined, not from a want of inclination, 
 
UNCERTAINTY OF Lit E. 55 
 
 but because he bad promised his parents to go with 
 them that evening to a religious meeting. They 
 parted, the one to the scene of vicious dissipation, 
 the other to a place where, through the mercy of 
 God, a word spoken in season was blessed to the 
 awakening of his thoughtless soul. A time of sore 
 conflict came on him, and having been brought to 
 6ee that, through the Lord Jesus Christ, a way was 
 opened for his salvation, he felt his mind im- 
 pressed with the desire that his friend, his compan- 
 ion in many a wrong deed, might also be favored 
 to seek and find that mercy which he thankfully 
 believed was oiFered to him. On the second morn- 
 ing he called at the residence of his friend, and 
 when the door was opened, he passed in and was 
 going quickly up to the chamber of his friend, as 
 he was accustomed to do, when a woman with a 
 very serious countenance inquired where he was 
 going. He replied, " To see John." " Stop, stop," 
 she said, "he is dead!" He had been taken ill 
 during the night, and before the morning he was 
 no more. 
 
 How touching to the feelings of the survivor 
 must have been this announcement. Himself not 
 only spared, but called to seek repentance and 
 amendment of life, while his companion was cut 
 off, it was to be feared, in the midst of his sins. 
 
56 UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE. 
 
 What a lesson, to take fast hold of that instruction 
 which is the way of life. 
 
 Reader, canst thou not gain a lesson here also ? 
 Has not the mercy of a long-forbearing God spared 
 thee, when many around thee have been called to 
 give an account of the deeds done in the body ? 
 Suddenly it may have been in some cases. Art 
 thou ready? " for in such an hour as ye think not 
 the Son of man cometh." Happy shall that ser- 
 vant be whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall 
 find watching. 
 
RICHES. 67 
 
 RICHES. 
 
 IT COSTS TOO MUCH. 
 
 OUR blessed Saviour has said, " What shall it 
 profit a man if he gain the whole world and 
 lose his own soul ? " This whole world, with all 
 its riches, its honors, its comforts, its enjoyments, 
 would be a bad bargain to him who should give 
 his immortal soul in exchange for it. Yet all 
 around us we see instances in which this soul, in 
 comparison with which in real value all earthly 
 possessions are as nothing, bartered away for a 
 mere trifle. 
 
 A striking account has been preserved of an 
 individual who had been piously educated and 
 brought up to industrious habits. Whilst in an 
 humble condition in a mercantile establishment, 
 into which he was introduced after his maturity, 
 he was a professor of religion, and his reputation 
 was good. In time, from his faithful attention to 
 business, he was taken as a partner into the firm. 
 After this his mind was occupied more entirely 
 with his worldly concerns, whilst religion, even 
 in the outward form of it, had less and less time 
 and attention given to it. Whilst yet in the 
 
58 BIOBES. 
 
 meridian of his days lie became very wealthy, and 
 with his increasing store his love of riches in- 
 creased. He grew covetous and miserly, and from 
 his conduct and conversation, no one would have 
 . supposed that he had ever been even a professor of 
 religion. The dew of his youth was dried up ; the 
 religious principles received from education were 
 dissipated ; the tendering visitations of the love 
 of God once known, were no longer experienced. 
 He then purchased a large estate, reared a costly 
 edifice upon it, and settled down to enjoy himself, 
 as far as one in his situation could know enjoy- 
 ment, and then came the summons of death. In 
 the prospect of an opening eternity, the folly of 
 his career in life pressed upon him. l^o doubt the 
 days of his innocent childhood came before him, 
 when, with poverty, some degree of religious peace 
 was his portion. The sad change which h^d taken 
 place since in his feelings and in his hopes, wrung 
 from him the exclamation, just before death, " my 
 prosperity has been my ruin." 
 
 His wealth cost too much. His grand house 
 and immense riches all remained this side of the 
 grave, and, without spiritual hope or inheritance, 
 he was about to enter into the everlasting state. 
 Thousands in our country have bartered away 
 their souls for still meaner things than an earthly 
 
RICHES. 59 
 
 estate. For the intoxicating cup ; for the gratifi- 
 cation of sensual indulgence ; for pride, vanity, the 
 love of glory, the applause of men, and the fear of 
 their reproach, countless multitudes have given 
 away their souls, and with them all well-grounded 
 hope of an heavenly inheritance in unfading, un- 
 ending blessedness. 
 
 THE LOVE OF MONEY THE ROOT OF EVIL. 
 
 When Baron Rothschild, on a certain occasion, 
 was dining at the house of Fowell Buxton, his 
 whole discourse was of money, of the art of making 
 or preserving and increasing an estate, and the 
 manner in which he had trained up his children 
 to follow his footsteps in this respect. His hostess 
 ventured to express a hope that ke did not allow 
 them to forget that never-ending life so soon to begin, for 
 which also ■preparation must he made. He replied, 
 that he could not allow them to think of such a 
 thing. It would divert their minds from business. 
 It would be fatal to their success. To get and 
 keep a fortune is a very difficult thing, and requires 
 all one's time and thoughts. 
 
 The fruit of these teachings of the father is 
 shown in the biography of the son. E"athan Roths- 
 child, who was called the high-priest of the ex- 
 change, was so fearful of being assassinated, the 
 
60 RICHES. 
 
 latter part of his life, that he never went out alone 
 after dark, never entered an unlighted room, had 
 servants within call of his bed-chamber, and slept 
 with loaded pistols under his pillow. A Frank 
 forter, dining with him one evening, and observ- 
 ing the luxury of his household, remarked : " You 
 must be happy, baron, with the power to gratify 
 every wish." " Happy, indeed ! " was the response. 
 " Do you think it happiness, to be haunted always 
 with the dread of murder, to have your appetite 
 for breakfast sharpened by a threat to stab you 
 to the heart, unless you enclose a thousand guineas 
 to some unknown villain ? " 
 
 "What a contrast does the condition of mind of 
 this millionnaire present, when compared with 
 that of the late Hannah Carson. As regards the 
 possession of the things of this life, she was in a 
 state of abject poverty, entirely dependent, during 
 the last thirteen years of her life, upon the charity 
 of others. This was in consec^uence of her loss of the 
 use of all her limbs by disease ; and she was even 
 unable to take a mouthful of nourishment with- 
 out being fed. She was, in addition to these depri- 
 vations, a great sufferer from acute bodily pain ; 
 yet such was her faith that her blessed Saviour 
 would provide for all her needs, that, during the 
 whole period of her confinement, she never 
 
MICHES. 61 
 
 doubted he would make provision for her; and 
 she was never disappointed. The streams of Di- 
 vine consolation so abounded that she testified, 
 " I forgot my poor suffering body altogether. 
 Eo matter how afflicted I am ; no ability to eat 
 or sleep; still I have this peace, this comfort that 
 seems to subdue my bodily affliction all to silence. 
 If every hair on my head were a tongue, I would 
 employ them all in praising Almighty Gfod." This 
 poor colored woman had employed herself in 
 laying up treasure in heaven ; l^athan Rothschild 
 employed himself in seeking the riches of this 
 world. Both were successful. 
 
 AN AWAKENING INQUIBT. 
 
 It is narrated that a young man of good natural 
 talents, and very ambitious to become of eminence 
 and distinction in the world, had, after long crav- 
 ing, obtained permission of his parents to study 
 law, by which he hoped and expected to win fame 
 and fortune. Elushed with enthusiasm, and eager 
 to commence the studies which were the necessary 
 stepping stones in the path he had determined to 
 tread, he entered one of the Italian universities, 
 at which, at that time, resided Tilippo Neri, a man 
 noted for his piety and wisdom. The young man 
 had, when a boy, known Filippo, and he now 
 
62 RICHES. 
 
 eagerly sought an opportunity of telling him his 
 hopes and his expectations. He spoke of his in- 
 tentions to spare no pains or labor in his studies, 
 that he might thoroughly qualify himself for be- 
 coming an eminent lawyer. The old man listened 
 with kindly interest, as the young one poured out 
 his thoughts and intentions, and when the fluent, 
 buoyant-hearted harangue was ended, quietly in- 
 quired what he intended to do after his studies 
 were finished. 
 
 " Then I shall take my doctor's degree." 
 
 " And then ? " said his aged friend. 
 
 " Then I shall have a number of difficult and 
 knotty cases to manage ; shall catch people's notice 
 by my eloquence, my zeal, my learning, my acute- 
 ness, and gain a great reputation." 
 
 "And then?" 
 
 " Why, then, there cannot be a question I shall 
 be promoted to some high office or other ; besides, 
 I shall make money and grow rich." 
 
 " And then ? " 
 
 ," Then I shall live comfortably and honorably, 
 in health and dignity, and shall be able to look 
 forward quietly to a happy old age." 
 
 " And then ? " 
 
 " Then," said the young man, " why then, — 
 then, — then I shall die." 
 
RICHES. 63 
 
 Once more the old man uttered the query, " And 
 then?" 
 
 The youthful aspirant after earthly honor and 
 riches cast down his eyes, and made no answer. 
 The question sent home to his heart by the awaken- 
 ing visitations of the Holy Spirit, produced a 
 great change there. The pomp and glories of this 
 fleeting world lost their lustre and attractive force 
 to him. Soon he forsook the study of the law, 
 and sought, by devoting himself to the Lord's ser- 
 vice, to become humble and useful rather than ex- 
 alted and popular. He wished to be a faithful 
 servant of Christ and of his church rather than, 
 through riches, qualifications, and station, to be a 
 ruler, a commander, and controller of mankind. 
 
 How many of us there are, who, if we would 
 follow out the query, " and then ? " to the end, 
 would find, if we allowed the unflattering witness 
 to speak, that our pursuits and intentions are not 
 such as would be desirable in the prospect of a 
 certain and speedy death. 
 
 THE UNDUE PURSUIT OF RICHES. 
 
 A religious man, who deceased in Philadelphia 
 not many years since, was so anxious that his chil- 
 dren should not regard worldly business, and the 
 pecuniary profits thereof, as the most important 
 
64 RICHES. 
 
 object of life, that he studiously avoided in the 
 family circle talking about money transactions. 
 Doubtless his concern on behalf of his children in 
 this, as well as other matters, was blessed. "Were 
 some of the busy toilers after earthly riches, who 
 from morning to night -are seeking to extend their 
 sales and increase their profits, to withdraw for a 
 few minutes occasionally from the bustle, tumult, 
 and strife of business competition, and seek in 
 quiet introversion for the mind of Truth, they 
 would feel the eager spirit of gain in them re- 
 strained. Seek ye first the kingdom of Q-od and his 
 righteousness, and all things needful shall be added 
 unto you. If any are neglecting religious duties 
 under the plea of being too much occupied in 
 worldly business, they have need closely to scruti- 
 nize their actions and their motives. "With them 
 the things of time are getting into undue import- 
 ance. 
 
WAR. 65 
 
 WAR. 
 
 THOU SHALT NOT KILL. 
 
 " What hast thou done ? the voice of thy hrother's blood crieth unto 
 me from the ground." — Gek. iv. 10. 
 
 THE consideration of the state into which an 
 accountable being passes when set free from 
 this earthly existence by the touch of death is that 
 which makes the prospect of the change so awful. 
 An eternity of agony, where " the worm dieth not, 
 and the fire is not quenched," is the portion of 
 those who die in their sins. On this earth is our 
 season of probation, and if, through the mercy of 
 God in Christ Jesus, we have witnessed the wash- 
 ing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy 
 Ghost, and have received a good hope through 
 grace, we shall obtain " life eternal " with the 
 righteous ; otherwise we must take oiTr portion 
 with those who go into " everlasting punishment." 
 How should such considerations influence every 
 one to be faithful in the support of the Christian 
 testimony against war. Every great battle occa- 
 sions the death of many, of whom, judging with 
 the utmost charity, we must believe that a large 
 
 portion have never known what it was to submit 
 6* E • 
 
66 WAR. 
 
 to the regenerating, soul-cleansing operations of 
 the Holy Spirit. To be in any way accessory to 
 cutting off the life of a human being who is in a 
 state of sin and alienation from God, must ever be 
 abhorrent to the feelings of a Christian ; and where 
 he has, through momentary excitement, through 
 what he has deemed a necessary obedience to the 
 laws of the land, or a supposed duty to his country, 
 or through accident, been a participator in that 
 which has occasioned the dea;th of such a one, we 
 can readily feel that the remembrance thereof will 
 prove to him a gnawing worm of bitterness at times 
 to the end of his days. These thoughts have 
 arisen from reading a passage in the life of the late 
 Bird "Wilson. 
 
 Bird "Wilson, son of James "Wilson, (one of the 
 signers of the Declaration of Independence, and one 
 of the Judges of the Supreme Court of the United 
 States,) was born at Carlisle, in Pennsylvania, in 
 1777. He was of a quiet, home-loving disposition 
 from early childhood ; and his reputation for pru- 
 dence and stability of character was so fully estab- 
 lished, that even in childhood his father never 
 deemed it necessary to send him out of his office 
 when he had the great men of the times with him 
 there, or other persons on public or private busi- 
 ness. Bird was brought up to the profession of 
 
WAB. 67 
 
 the law, and was admitted to the bar' at twenty-one. 
 At twenty-five years of age he was appointed Presi- 
 dent Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, in a 
 circuit comprising Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, 
 and Bucks counties, Pennsylvania. He was reli- 
 gious as a man, conscientious as a judge, and well 
 versed in legal as well as general knowledge. 
 Some years after this appointment, through his 
 love for books and his efforts to obtain them, the 
 writer became, though then quite a boy, somewhat 
 acquainted with him, and can remember the 
 wonder excited when, by a letter from himself, we 
 received the information that he intended to leave 
 the Bench and the bar, and to devote himself to 
 the ministry of the gospel. He probably had, 
 during a considerable period, contemplated such a 
 change ; but the exciting cause of his making it at 
 that time appears to have been the distress of mind 
 he experienced in condemning, as a judge, a poor 
 murderer to death. The proof of the prisoner's 
 guilt was complete ; and as the jury returned a ver- 
 dict of " wilful murder," the judge had no escape, 
 if he fulfilled the duties of the station he occupied, 
 but to pronounce the sentence of death upon him. 
 This act he performed. It was soon done, but a 
 life-long penalty of secret suffering for his partici- 
 pation in this young man's death was paid by the 
 judge. 
 
68 WAB. 
 
 He left the 'bar. For years he was actively en- 
 gaged as a clergyman in ministering to his flock ; 
 then for a long period he labored as a Professor in 
 a Theological Seminary, and during the whole time 
 various other occupations of a religious and literary 
 character filled up his chosen sphere of life-work ; 
 but during more than forty years which he lived 
 after passing sentence on that prisoner, no change 
 of occupation, no labor for the good of others, 
 seemed to weaken or efface the painful effect it 
 left on his mind. 
 
 Towards the close of his life, his mind became 
 seriously disordered ; and one night, when no per- 
 son except a beloved niece, and the friend who sub- 
 sequently drew the sketch of his life, were sitting 
 by his bedside, his mind evidently was agonizing 
 over that most awful act of his life. "What fol- 
 lowed, we will give in the words of that biogra- 
 pher. " As we narrowly watched every changing 
 expression of his countenance, and listened, in 
 breathless silence, to catch whatever might escape 
 his lips, he turned his straining eyes heavenward, 
 and the most indescribable expression of intense, 
 fearful agony settled darkly on his features. Then 
 clasping his forehead violently with both hands, he 
 exclaimed, in tones of the deepest bitterness, ' He 
 was launched into eternity unprepared ; but, 
 
WAR. 69 
 
 God! impute it not to me!' The whole scene has 
 made an indelible impression upon the two who 
 witnessed it, and who were at no loss in realizing 
 that he had gone back in imagination to what had 
 been, in all probability, the closing scene in his 
 judicial career. The emotions which then agitated 
 his soul, as he looked down upon the poor, doomed 
 culprit, again wrung his heart with an agony em- 
 bittered by the fearful reflection that he had been 
 hurried into the presence of his God before his 
 sins had been done away by his mercy. 
 
 " Perfectly unmanned by a scene so harrowing to 
 us, and knowing not which way to turn, I can only 
 remember having clasped his trembling hands, 
 entreating him to forget what had transpired so 
 long ago. ' All this, Doctor,' said I, ' occurred years 
 ago, while you were a judge ; but, remember, now 
 you are a clergyman.' Turning upon me with the 
 quickness of thought, he exclaimed, 'What of that? 
 Do you suppose that I am not to answer for what 
 I did as a judge ?' " 
 
 Although his mind was then much shattered, 
 he could still feel his accountability, and despised 
 the sophistry which was kindly intended by allu- 
 sion to the length of time which had elapsed since 
 the deed was done, and the different circumstances 
 in which he had since been placed, to, lessen it in 
 
70 WAB. 
 
 his eyes/ His mind never regained the possession 
 of its faculties, and the last glimpse we have of 
 this really conscientious and worthy man is that 
 of one, sinking into his grave under the burden of 
 a soul-harrowing dread, in a feeling of awful 
 responsibility for having in his official capacity, 
 and whilst enforcing the laws of his country, 
 which he had been sworn to maintain, condemned 
 an impenitent sinner to death, and precluded all 
 hope of his reformation or preparation, through the 
 cleansing mercy of God, for happiness hereafter: 
 for having hurried one into that place of awful 
 punishment, from which, cut off in his sins, there 
 could be no escape forever. 
 
 FBOM WHENCE COME WARS AND FIGHTINGS f 
 
 No one can calculate the effect which an action, 
 or even a word, may produce. This thought should 
 incite us to watchfulness, that our utterance and 
 our actions should be all of a kind to produce good 
 rather than evil results. A work upon Florence 
 shows the origin of one of the innumerable wars 
 for which that commonwealth was so noted. 
 
 At the time of the coronation of the Emperor 
 Frederick II., the Florentines and the Pisans each 
 sent a deputation to Eome to attend that ceremony. 
 Whilst thei-e, the Florentines were invited, one 
 
WAR. 71 
 
 day, to dine with one of the rich men of that city, 
 and being much pleased with a lap-dog belonging 
 to their host, they begged it of him, and he 
 promised that they should have it. The next day 
 the Pisans dining there, made a similar request, 
 and received a similar promise. The Florentines 
 calling first, secured the dog; but the Pisans, 
 finding them conveying the prize to their quarters, 
 with the aid of fifty soldiers fell upon the unpre- 
 pared company, and took it from them by force. 
 The Florentines, in turn, fell upon the Pisans and 
 took full revenge. The Pisans returning to their 
 city, by their representations inflamed the pas- 
 sions of its inhabitants, who confiscated such prop- 
 erty of the Florentines as they could find within 
 that place. As soon as the news of this reached 
 Florence, that commonwealth, ever ready for 
 aught that might weaken a neighbor, or open a 
 prospect of enlarging its own power, declared war 
 against Pisa. The armies met, the battle lasted 
 the whole of a day, and at its close the Pisan 
 army was thoroughly routed, many of its useful 
 and industrious citizens were slaughtered, and 
 thirteen hundred of the members of its principal 
 families were carried captive to Florence. And 
 all about a dog. In considering this awful 
 afiair, may we not ask, with the apostle, " From 
 
72 WAB. 
 
 whence come wars and fightings among you? 
 come they not hence, even of your lusts that war 
 in your members ? " 
 
 TSE MARKS OF THE LORD JESUS. 
 What a blessed thing it is for any one to receive, 
 and to be enabled, through the renewings of pre- 
 serving grace, to retain and to bear about daily 
 before the world the marks of the Lord Jesus. 
 The Apostle Paul, writing to the Galatians, says : 
 "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is 
 crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in 
 Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any- 
 thing, nor Uncircumcision, but a new creature. 
 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace 
 be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of 
 God. From henceforth let no man trouble me: 
 for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord 
 Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ be with your spirit." The marks of the 
 Lord Jesus — blessed are they who bear them! 
 Now, as in the days of Ezekiel, there are marks set 
 upon those who, faithful in their measure to the 
 Lord's requirings as respects themselves, do yet 
 sigh and cry for the abominations that are done 
 by nominal Christians around them. Of these 
 
WAR. 73 
 
 marks, that of a faithful bearing of the cross is 
 a prominent one, and it is surrounded by many 
 others most attractive — gentleness, humility, 
 purity, charity, love! Indeed, all the graces of 
 the Holy Spirit leave their sweet markings there. 
 John "Woolman has very characteristically said, 
 " Some glances of real beauty may be seen in their 
 faces who dwell in true meekness. There is a 
 harmony in the sound of that voice to which 
 Divine love gives utterance, and some appearance 
 of right order in their temper and conduct whose 
 passions are regulated ; yet all these do not fully 
 show forth that inward life to such who have not 
 felt it ; but this white stone and new name are 
 known rightly to such only who have them." 
 
 The evangelical prophet Isaiah very beautifully 
 typifies the peaceable glory, the loving harmony, 
 the heavenly brightness, of the Christian dispen- 
 sation ; and the early writers among the Chris- 
 tians appeal to their heathen neighbors to bear 
 witness, whether it did not plainly appear, from 
 the meek, holy, innocent forbearing and forgiving 
 conduct of the Christians, that these prophecies 
 were fulfilled in them. They felt the necessity 
 of a daily watch over all their actions, that, by 
 their circumspect demeanor, their vigilant enemies 
 should have no cause given them even to harbor a 
 
74 WAB. 
 
 suspicion against the purity and holiness of their 
 lives. Tertullian, who wrote one hundred years 
 after the apostles, says, " It is not enough that a 
 Christian be chaste and modest, but he must appear 
 to be so: a virtue of which he should have so 
 great a store, that it should flow from his mind 
 upon his habit, and break from the retirements of 
 his conscience into the superficies of his life." 
 Truly, here were unmistakably the marks of Christ. 
 Again, arguing that war, with its harsh, proud, 
 vindictive passions, could have no part in the gos- 
 pel dispensation, the same writer says, " Can a 
 soldier's employment be lawful, when Christ has 
 pronounced that he that uses the sword shall 
 perish by the sword ? Can one who professes the 
 peaceable doctrine of the gospel be a warrior ? He 
 who must not so much as strive or contend ? And 
 shall he who is not to revenge his own wrongs, be 
 instrumental to bring others into chains, imprison- 
 ment, torments, and death ? " Tertullian well knew 
 that all the marks of war were those of the Beast. 
 There could be no retaliation for wrong inflicted 
 among the consistent disciples of him who had 
 forbidden his followers even to resist. As to the 
 spirit of patient submission which is one of the 
 marks of a true disciple, he says, " Christ truly 
 teacheth a new patience, even forbidding the re 
 venging of an injury." 
 
WAR. 75 
 
 The marks of Christ are often seen in the 
 humble, the sujffering, the despised among men. 
 In the midst of the scoff and scorn of those around 
 them, such faithful cross-hearing disciples are up- 
 holding a testimony for Truth which the enemies 
 thereof often find too powerful for them to resist. 
 IS&ji it at times is the case, in the good Providence 
 of a long-suffering Saviour, that an arrow of 'con- 
 viction is shot from the bow of their consistency, 
 which, entering in at the joints of the harness of 
 their wicked or thoughtless opposers, inflicts a 
 spiritual wound, which, by its agonizing sharpness, 
 drives them to the Lord Jesus Christ, the true 
 Physician, for cure. Yea! the innocent faithful- 
 ness, the humble, yet firm standing, the unre- 
 sisting submission to the rod of persecution, whilst 
 bearing an unflinching testimony for the Truth, 
 make a powerful appeal to the consciences of op- 
 pressors, and has an efficient tendency to awaken 
 serious and spirit-stirring reflections. In the early 
 days of Christianity, it, was said, " the blood of the 
 martyrs is the seed of the Church," and those who 
 now, through many sufferings, through scorn and 
 reviling, faithfully maintain in life and conversa- 
 tion the testimonies of the gospel, do not suffer 
 in vain. 
 
 The efficacy of an unwavering testimony to the 
 
76 WAB. 
 
 Truth, of an open and unfaltering bearing . the 
 " marks of the Lord Jesus," is strongly set forth 
 in an occurrence of the late war. A sick prisoner, 
 observing a person passing, by him, whose attire he 
 thought proclaimed him a member of the Society 
 of Friends, called him to his side. He told the 
 Friend that in the regiment he belonged to, there 
 were some Quakers, who, because they would 
 neither fight nor perform any military service, 
 sufiered harshness and abuse and much ridicule. 
 The repentant invalid acknowledged that he had 
 joined with others in thus heaping contumely and 
 scorn upon them, and had wondered at the meek- 
 ness and patience with which they bore it all. He 
 knew that he could not have done so, and, on 
 thoughtfully considering the matter, he was con- 
 vinced that they had attained a condition of mind 
 to which he was a stranger. As his memory re- 
 curred to the days of his youth, he felt that he 
 had once known something of such an influence 
 as he supposed strengthened and supported them 
 in their tribulations, and he had been incited by 
 what he beheld in them to seek after a renewed 
 acquaintance therewith. His earnest wrestling 
 after the fresh visitations of Grace appeared to be, 
 through the favor of his dear Saviour, mercifully 
 blessed, and he could add thankfully, " And now, 
 if I die, I shall not die without hope ! " 
 
WAB. 77 
 
 Thus it was apparent that these persecuted, 
 scoffed, and ridiculed confessors of Christ had 
 borne a convincing testimony for the Truth. In 
 simple obedience to the requiring of duty, from 
 day to day they faithfully carried the cross for 
 their Divine Master, without flinching from the 
 suffering, or manifesting ill-will to those who 
 affllieted them. They bore all from love and dedi- 
 cation to their Saviour, for the sake of their own 
 souls' present peace and eternal salvation ; but they 
 knew not that their heavenly Father had a pur- 
 pose of grace towards any one which was to 'be 
 effected through their faithfulness. What bodily 
 suffering ! what mental anxiety ! what scorn 
 and contempt ought not a faithful follower of 
 Christ to be willing to endure, if thereby one soul 
 is so awakened from the sleep of carnal security 
 and sin as to be induced so to seek as to obtain of 
 the blessed Saviour repentance for the past, sanctifi- 
 cation for the present, and an humble hope of ever- 
 lasting salvation for the future. Whilst mention- 
 ing_ this incident, to encourage all to a faithful 
 bearing before the world the " marks of the Lord 
 Jesus," we know that all the praise is due to that 
 grace through which they were instructed in the 
 Lord's will, and enabled to walk in humble obedi- 
 ence thereto. 
 7* 
 
78 WAB. 
 
 EXAMPLE OP THE EARLY CHRISTIANS. 
 In the reign of the Emperor Diocletian, who 
 boasted that he had stamped out the Christian re- 
 ligion, Maximilian, a youth of twenty years of 
 age, suffered death, because, being a Christian, he 
 knew that it was unlawful for him to fight. He 
 had, through the new birth unto h^oliness, received 
 therewith the "marks of the Lord Jesus," — the 
 spirit to forgive injuries ; to love enemies ; to do 
 good to those who hated, and to pray for those 
 who despitefuUy used and persecuted him ; and he 
 wotild not suffer himself to be enrolled in the army, 
 to wear the outward mark of a warrior, which was 
 typical of the inward marks of the Beast, — anger, 
 wrath, revenge, and a spirit not only to return 
 injury for injury, but to render merciless slaughter 
 and destruction to those who, although they had 
 never offended, were yet citizens of another gov- 
 ernment, and politically enemies. On the inquiry 
 of Dion, the proconsul, as to his name, he came at 
 once to his conscientious testimony against war : 
 "I must not fight, for I am a Christian." ^n 
 officer being commanded to mark him, he earnestly 
 exclaimed, " I cannot fight." " Bear arms, or thou 
 shalt die," said the proconsul. "I cannot fight, 
 if I die! I fight not for this world." Being 
 questioned as to who had persuaded him not to 
 
WAB. 79 
 
 fight, he answered, " My own mind, and he who 
 called me." Yes, Christ, the Prince of Peace, who 
 had called him out of darkness into his marvellous 
 light, through his Holy Spirit, had begotten in him 
 a new heart, which felt and could breathe the 
 language, " Glory to God in the highest ! peace on 
 earth, good-will to men ! " The Spirit within him 
 bore testimony against all war, all ill will to others, 
 and it was in accordance with the New Testament 
 record of the heavenly doctrines, the pure, loving, 
 meek, forgiving utterances of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. Dion, finding that he could not intimi- 
 date the young Christian, turned to Victor, the 
 boy's father, and urged him to prevail on his son to 
 bear arms. The father had not so learned Christ. 
 Although deeply feeling, no doubt, because of the 
 sufierings his son must endure, if faithful ; yet he 
 would not do -anything, or say anything, to weaken 
 his confession of the Truth, but would rather 
 incite him to faithfulness to the inward manifes- 
 tations of duty, and to the outward testimony of 
 Scripture to the peaceable nature of the gospel dis- 
 pensation. " He knows his own mind, and what 
 is best for him to do," he said. He knew the mind 
 of his child. He knew what that faithful disciple 
 of a crucified Saviour thought it best to do, and 
 he felt no wish to see his beloved son escape death, 
 
80 WAB. 
 
 if it must be by sacrificing principle. Dion, fail 
 ing to influence the father, once more addressed 
 the son : " Take thy arms, and receive the mark." 
 One portion of the mark was a ring of lead, which, 
 as a yisible military badge, was placed around the 
 neck. To the command, the undaunted youth 
 answered, " I can receive no such mark. I have 
 already the mark of Christ." Dion threatened 
 that he would quickly send him to his Christ, and 
 then again directed an officer to mark him. This 
 occasioned Maximilian to say,, " I cannot receive 
 the mark of this world ; and if thou shouldst mark 
 me, I shall break it, for it will avail nothing. I 
 am a Christian ; and it is not lawful for me to 
 wear such a mark about my neck, when I have re- 
 ceived the saving mark of my Lord Jesus Christ, 
 the Son of the living God, — whom thou art 
 ignorant of, — who died to give us life, and whom 
 God gave for our sins. Him we Christians obey. 
 Him we follow as the Restorer of our life and the 
 Author of our salvation." Being told to take the 
 mark, or he would perish miserably, he said, " I 
 shall not perish : my name is already enrolled with 
 my Lord. I cannot fight." On the proconsul 
 asserting that to bear arms was becoming to a 
 young man, he observed, " My arms are with my 
 Lord. I cannot fight for this world. I am now 
 
WAR. 81 
 
 a Christian." Being told that some professors of 
 Christianity were in the array, he declined answer- 
 ing for their acts, but said, " I am a Christian, and 
 cannot do evil." The proconsul then said, " Take 
 thy arms ; despise not the business of a soldier, lest 
 thou perish miserably." With holy confidence in 
 the mercy of God, through his blessed Son, the 
 young man answered, " I shall hot perish ; and if 
 I leave this world, my soul shall live with Christ, 
 my Lord." 
 
 His name was stricken off the roll, and his sen- 
 tence was read, that, because he had refused to 
 bear arms, he was to die by the sword. As he 
 was led to the place of execution, he endeavored 
 to encourage his Christian brethren to be faithful 
 unto death, that they also might receive the crown 
 of life. Thus bearing openly, in the sight of 
 others, the marks of the Lord Jesus, he passed 
 along with a pleasant countenance. After request- 
 ing his father to give a coat, prepared for his own 
 use, to the executioner, he cheerfully submitted to 
 death. The whole family appear to have received, 
 and to have openly borne, plain "marks of the 
 Lord Jesus." In an ancient narrative of this re- 
 markable transaction, it is said, " Victor, his father, 
 returned to his habitation rejoicing and praising 
 Qod that he had sent before such a gift unto the 
 
82 WAR. 
 
 Lord, himself expecting to follow after." His 
 mother obtaining the dead body, had it conveyed 
 to Carthage for burial, and in thirteen days after 
 the martyrdom of her son, she was herself released 
 by death from bearing the cross for her Lord on 
 earth, and was taken to receive the crown in 
 heaven. 
 
 The marks of the Lord Jesus ! How desirable 
 it is that we should all bear them openly and fully. 
 When the apostles were brought before the council, 
 the rulers took notice " that they had been with 
 Jesus." Acts iv. 14. They bore marks which even 
 the heathen could recognize. 
 
 THE SEABT OF MAN IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL 
 THINOS, AND DESPERATELY WICKED; WHO CAN 
 KNOW IT t 
 
 When Timour Beg, often called Tamerlane, or 
 Timour the Tartar, was about eighteen years of 
 age, it is recorded that he went through some 
 severe struggles of mind on account of the sins of 
 his earlier youth. It is probable that the convic- 
 tions which then came upon him were dispensed, 
 by Infinite mercy, for his everlasting good, and 
 that, if he had continued obedient to the light then 
 unfolded, he might have been a benefactor instead 
 of a scourge of the human family. As it was, a 
 great change for the better came over him. His 
 
WAR. 83 
 
 habits of thought and of action were^ altered. He 
 made profession of repentance for the follies and 
 the wickedness of his past life. As an act of duty, 
 he abstained from playing at chess, to which he 
 had been greatly addicted ; and, in view of the 
 kindness which he deemed the due of every living 
 creature from man, he made a vow that he would 
 never wilfully injure any one of them. So tender, 
 indeed, at that time were his feelings for the com- 
 fort of the smallest created object endued with life 
 and sensation, that he was greatly grieved on find- 
 ing that he had-inadvertently set his foot upon an 
 emmet, extinguishing life ; causing at least momen- 
 tary suffering, and preventing whatever future 
 amount of pleasure that insect might otherwise 
 have enjoyed. It is recorded that, through the 
 shock his mind endured from having been the 
 occasion of this accidental destruction of life, a 
 nervous debility affected the foot which had 
 crushed the animal, and he felt for a time as 
 though it had lost all muscular power. Such was 
 Timour under the influence, without doubt, of 
 some holy impressions, yet filled with fanaticism, 
 engendered by a false religious faith, tending to 
 exaggeration in feeling and hypocrisy in profes- 
 sion. Time passed on. This man, so deeply affected 
 at the destruction of an ant, under the teachings 
 
84 WAB. 
 
 of ambition, learned to turn a deaf ear to the cry 
 of suffering humanity ; to gaze unmoved at the 
 massacre of thousands, and, in his march of des- 
 olation, to leave as famous a name as a de- 
 stroyer of his fellow-creatures, as any one with 
 whose career as a conqueror history has made us 
 acquainted. Ambition prompted him to the 
 destruction of kindred, and led him on to aggres- 
 sive war ; success increased his delight in the 
 fierce carnage of the battle-field, whilst he con- 
 jured up pretended principles of justice to soothe 
 his own conscience, to enable him- to stifle its con- 
 victions, and to offer some sort of a plea by which 
 he hoped to obtain a favorable verdict from those 
 who should undertake to judge of his actions. ~ 
 The principles he avowed, and under which he 
 sought to screen his own course of rapine and 
 blood, were to this effect. First, " from regard to 
 justice, a prince should assault every kingdom 
 wherein tyranny, oppression, and iniquity predomi- 
 nated, and extirpate the authors of these national 
 calamities;" and again, "It is the duty of a 
 victorious king to bring under his authority every 
 kingdom where the people are oppressed by their 
 rulers." 
 
 Had any one told Timour, in the period of his 
 tender-hearted feeling for the lower animals, that 
 
WAR. 85 
 
 he would one day, without hesitation, in cold Blood, 
 order the destruction of myriads of his fellow-men, 
 with multitudes of helpless women and children, 
 slaying some with the sword, burning others in 
 the dwellings wherein they had witnessed the 
 pleasures and comforts of domestic life, he would 
 have felt, probably, as Hazael did, when, on being 
 told of the enormities he should commit as a con- 
 quering prince, he exclaimed, " Is thy servant a 
 dog, that he should do this great thing ? " 'No one 
 knows, when he departs from the convictions of 
 truth, to what degree of wickedness he may de- 
 base himself. No one can tell, when he stifles the 
 pleadings of mercy in his bosom in ever so small a 
 degree, be it under whatever plea it may, how far 
 the one act of inhumanity may open the way for 
 others. , Little by little does the heart become 
 hardened^ little by little do mankind in a general 
 way lose the tenderness and innocency of youth, 
 "We should turn from sin in every shape ; nay, the 
 apostle exhorts to avoid even the appearance of 
 evil. Thus only shall we, can we, be preserved 
 from participating in wickedness. 
 
 Leslie, the noted English artist, would not look 
 at pictures painted with bad taste, lest inadver- 
 tently his pencil should, as he expressed it, take a 
 hint from them, or, in other words, lest his own 
 
86 WAB. 
 
 style T)f painting should be debased. It is well for 
 Christians to feel a great jealousy over themselves, 
 lest, dwelling on the evil actions going on around 
 them, they become more or less leavened into the 
 prevailing spirit actuating the many to wrong ; 
 lest, in other words, they in their actions show 
 that they have " taken a hint " from sin, instead 
 of keeping to the soul-preserving instructions of 
 grace. At a time when the spirit of war strongly 
 actuates the community around us, if we do not 
 watch over our spirits with great care, if we do 
 not seek for preserving grace from the only Foun- 
 tain thereof, we shall be almost certain to " take 
 a hint" from the actions, the conversation, the 
 prevailing war-tone of our neighbors, and shall 
 find ourselves losing ground as respects a faithful 
 support in our thoughts and feelings of the spirit 
 of the gospel, the spirit that breathes and craves 
 nothing but peace on earth and good-will to all 
 men. 
 
 LOVE YOUR ENEMIES. 
 
 Basil Patras Zulu was born in Greece, in the 
 year 1804. He was a chief by birth, and when 
 only eleven years old, his father being deceased, he 
 was taken from under the care of his mother, by 
 the chiefs of his tribe, and placed at their head. 
 The Greeks were then in active rebellion against 
 
WAS. 87 
 
 their old masters, the Turks ; and Basil was not 
 only educated as a warrior, but with the most in- 
 tense hatred of those who were then oppressing, and 
 had for centuries tyrannized over, his nation. The 
 boy-warrior was active, bold, and energetic; and, 
 being beloved by his tribe, whom he led to bloody 
 victories, he was as cordially hated by the Turks, 
 who offered a reward for his head before he was 
 sixteen years of age. He was one of that band 
 who, having defended Missolonghi against the army 
 of Turkey and the Egyptian fleet until it was no 
 longer defensible, cut its way through the Turkish 
 camp, leaving the pathway covered with fallen 
 enemies and stricken friends. One-half the band 
 fell in the attempt, and Basil was himself severely 
 wounded. He, however, was one that effected the 
 passage. He was sick of the horrible scenes he 
 beheld ; for although he had a passion for war and 
 victory, and on the battle-field showed no compunc- 
 tion for the slaughter of multitudes, yet he loathed 
 the terrible acts of revenge and retaliation which 
 he witnessed. At last, having in vain remon- 
 strated with his countrymen against the cold- 
 blooded murder of a band of captive Turks, he 
 retired from the Greek army with disgust. 
 
 His character and actions had won him the 
 respect and admiration of many, and he found 
 
88 WAB. 
 
 active and faithful friends, under whose auspices 
 he continued until the year 1828, when he was 
 awakened to a serious consideration of the condi- 
 tion of his own soul, under the ministry of the 
 Moravians. In a hotel in Dublin, a Moravian 
 woman in his presence offered up a prayer so dif- 
 ferent from anything he had ever heard, that it 
 immediately drew his attention. As a Greek, he 
 had in times of danger called upon the Virgin for 
 aid; but he knew nothing of a heart-cleansing, 
 heart-changing religion, and of that faith and love 
 which animated the utterances of this woman. He 
 inquired to what community of Christians the 
 woman belonged ; he read the history of the 
 Moravians ; he attended at their place of worship, 
 and having, through submission to the inward 
 work of the Spirit, been thoroughly roused, he very 
 naturally entered into communion with that body 
 of Christians through whom, or with whom, he 
 had been spiritually blessed. The chief, proud of 
 his birth and station ; the accomplished man, whose 
 society had been courted by the best circles where 
 he hacj travelled ; the fierce soldier, was soon 
 found mingling in Christian union among the 
 simple-hearted Moravians. He had deemed that to 
 fight for one's country was a glorious privilege, 
 and, whilst ever gentle and courteous to his friends. 
 
WAB. 89 
 
 he had thought himself bound, as a good citizen, 
 to hate the enemies of Greece. He had often 
 declared his belief that the Lord Jesus Christ and 
 his apostles would have had no mercy on the Turks, 
 the bloody tyrants, the insatiable plunderers of 
 Greece ; but he now soon found that the gospel of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ laid the axe to the evil root 
 in man's nature, from which alone war, revenge, 
 and angry feelings can spring. One of the Mora- 
 vians who had been specially delegated to answer 
 his inquiries, and to instruct him in needful things, 
 was surprised, one day, by Basil's entering into his 
 room, and in great agitation exclaiming : " Come, 
 now ! come ! I see it now ! "' Hastily leading his 
 instructor to his own apartment, the late soldier 
 pointed to the text, Matthew v. 44, " Love your 
 enemies ! Love your enemies ! " " I see it now ! — 
 even the Turks ! It bids us love our enemies, even 
 the Turks ! even the Turks ! " ' 
 
 The spirit of the gospel was more and more 
 opened to him, and, through the grace of our Lord 
 Jesus, it more and more ruled in him. He became 
 a devoted Christian, a lover of peace, desiring the 
 good of all men, even of the Turks, The tumults, 
 the fears, the bloody strifes which had been 
 abundantly his portion during his childhood and 
 
 youth, had given place to a quiet retirement in 
 8* 
 
90 WAS. 
 
 Ireland ; to the humble yet heart-cheering comforts 
 •of domestic life ; to loving labors for the good of 
 others, and for the spreading of the dear Redeemer's 
 kingdom of righteousness and peace. In a few- 
 years he married that sister whose earnest prayer 
 first led him to feel what true communion and 
 worship was. They were prepared, by supreme 
 love to the Saviour, for abounding love to each 
 other, and they trod this world of much sorrow 
 and comfort in sweet union until the year 1844, 
 when death, coming at a few days' warning, found 
 him ready with joy to render up his stewardship. 
 "With grateful resignation he exclaimed, "0 Lord, 
 my trust is in thee. I am thine, do with me as 
 seemeth right in thy sight." His time was come, 
 and the Prince of Peace, his blessed Saviour, 
 gathered him to that city of love where all is har- 
 mony, and not a discordant thought can enter. 
 
 The proud Greek chief, the fierce enemy-hating 
 warrior, had, through the grace of the Lord Jesus, 
 been transformed into a loving, peacieable, forgiving 
 Christian, even into an humble cross-bearing dis- 
 ciple of Him who prayed for his murderers, and 
 who has left as a standing injunction on his faith- 
 ful followers to do good to those who hate, and to 
 pray for those who despitefully use and persecute, 
 l^ear his humble home in Ireland his mortal 
 
WAS. 91 
 
 remaina were interred, his loss lamented by a 
 bereaved family and a sorrowing church. The 
 world took little note of his death ; but a far 
 higher, far more heavenly glory attends his mem- 
 ory than if he had been stricken down in some of 
 his scenes of mortal conflict, and had been chroni- 
 cled in stirring poesy with the Marco Bozzaris of 
 his fatherland. 
 
 ROBERT BARCLAY AND THE HIGHWAYMEN. 
 
 When Robert Barclay's principles were put to 
 the test, he did not forsake them to avoid persecu- 
 tion or imprisonment, which was often his~ lot ; 
 nor did he let them fall to the ground, as is the 
 policy of some, in cases of imminent danger. 
 
 In one of his journeys from London, a circum- 
 stance occurred which strongly manifested his 
 adherence to the principle of Christians being 
 precluded from retaliating violence, even in self- 
 defence. He was attacked by highwaymen on the 
 road, one of whom levelled a pistol at him, and 
 made a determined demand for his purse. Calm 
 and self-possessed, Robert Barclay looked the rob- 
 ber in the face with a firm, but meek benignity ; 
 assured him he was his and every man's friend ; 
 that he was willing and ready to relieve his wants ; 
 that he was free from the fear of death through a 
 
92 WAR. 
 
 Divine hope in immortality, and therefore was not 
 to he intimidated by a deadly weapon. He then 
 appealed to him whether he could find it in his 
 heart to shed the blood of one who haJ no other 
 feeling or purpose but to do him good. 
 
 The robber was confounded : his eye quailed ; 
 his brawny arm trembled ; his pistol dropped out 
 of his hand to the ground, and he fled from the 
 presence of the non-resistant hero, whom he could 
 no longer confront. 
 
 It was observed the morning before he was 
 attacked, Robert Barclay was more pensive than 
 usual, and he expressed an opinion that some un- 
 usual trial or exercise would occur that day ; but 
 when it occurred, he enjoyed a remarkable serenity. 
 
 RETRIBUTION. 
 The underhanded way in which a few Cherokee 
 Indians were induced to sign a pretended treaty, 
 fraudulently conveying away the lands of the 
 nation, which had never committed any power to 
 them so to do, and the high-handed manner in 
 which the provisions of that illegal and unjust 
 agreement were carried into effect, are doubtless 
 in the recollection of many. Before the Indians 
 were removed, Georgia had sold portions of the 
 land by lottery, and those who by these wicked 
 
WAR. 93 
 
 means became claimants of such a title as that 
 State ijould give, entered into possession of some 
 parts of the lands, and turned the poor Indian out 
 of his own house. 
 
 As an example of the manner in which many 
 of them were used, we will give an extract from 
 a " Memorial and Protest of the Cherokee Nation." 
 It describes the process used in the case of John 
 Ross, principal chief of the Oherokces. " He was 
 at "Washington city, on the business of his nation. 
 "When he returned, he travelled till about ten o'clock 
 at night, to reach his family ; rode up to the gate ; 
 saw a servant believed to be his own ; dismounted, 
 ordered his horse taken ; went in, and, to his utter 
 astonishment, found himself a stranger in his own 
 house, his family having been, some days before, 
 driven out to seek a new home. A thought then 
 flitted across his mind that he could not, under all 
 the circumstances of his situation, reconcile it to 
 himself to tarry all night under the roof of his 
 own house as a stranger, the new host of that 
 house being the tenant of that mercenary band of 
 Georgia speculators at whose instance his helpless 
 family had been turned out and made homeless. 
 Upon reflecting, however, that ' man is born unto 
 trouble,' John Ross at once concluded to take up 
 lodgings there for the night, and to console him- 
 
94 WAM. 
 
 self under the conviction of having met his afflic- 
 tions and trials in a manner consistent with everj 
 principle of moral obligation towards himself and 
 family, his country and his God. On the next 
 morning he arose early, and went out into the 
 yard, and saw some straggling herds of his cattle 
 and sheep browsing about the place : his crop of 
 corn undisposed of. In casting a look up into the 
 wide-spreading branches of a majestic oak stand- 
 ing within the enclosure of the garden, and which 
 overshadows the spot where lie the remains of his 
 dear babe, and most beloved and affectionate father, 
 he there saw, perched upon its boughs, that flock 
 of beautiful peafowls once the matron's care and 
 delight, but now left to destruction, and never 
 more to be seen. He ordered his horse, paid 
 his bill, and departed in search of his family ; 
 after travelling amid heavy rains, he had the hap- 
 piness of overtaking them on the road, bound for 
 some place of refuge within the State of Tennessee. 
 Thus have his houses, farm, public ferries, and 
 other property been seized and wrested from him." 
 It will be useless to our present purpose to nar- 
 rate the manner in which the Cherokees and 
 Creeks were removed west of the Mississippi, and 
 there settled on wild lands. We will here, there- 
 fore, introduce a portion of a letter from John 
 
WAR. 95 
 
 Ross, dated "May 6th, 1837," relative to their 
 great wrongs, and then show how desolating 
 judgments have fallen on those who occupy the 
 Cherokee and Creek's rightful homes. 
 
 " We distinctly disavow all thought, all desire, 
 to gratify any feelings of resentment. That pos- 
 sessions acquired and objects attained by unjust 
 and unrighteous means will, sooner or later, prove 
 a curse to those who have thus sought them, is a 
 truth we have been taught by that holy religion 
 which was brought to us by our white brethren. 
 Years, nay centuries, may elapse before the punish- 
 ment may follow the offence, but the volume of 
 history and the sacred Bible assure us that the 
 period will certainly arrive. We would with 
 Christian sympathy labor to avert the wrath of 
 Heaven from the United States, ,by imploring 
 your government to be just. The first of your 
 ancestors who visited as strangers the land of the 
 Indian professed to be apostles of Christ, and to 
 be attracted by a desire to extend the blessings of 
 His religion to the ignorant native. Thousands 
 among you still proclaim the same noble and 
 generous interest in our welfare ; but will the un- 
 tutored savage believe the white man's professiovs, 
 when he feels that by his practices he has become 
 an outcast and an exile ? Can he repose with con- 
 
96 WAB. 
 
 fidence in the declarations of philanthropy and 
 universal charity, when he sees the professors of 
 the religion which he is invited to embrace, the 
 foremost in acts of oppression and of outrage? 
 Most sincerely and ardently do we pray that the 
 noble example of William Penn may be more gen- 
 erally followed, and that the rich rewards which 
 attended his exertions may be showered upon the 
 heads of those who, like him, never outraged the 
 rights nor despoiled the property of the Indian. 
 To such, among their highest earthly comforts, 
 and among the assurances of still higher enjoyr 
 ments hereafter, will be the blessing and prayer 
 of the friendless native." 
 
 About twenty-five years after the poor Indians 
 had been forced beyond the Mississippi, came the 
 time of retribution. When the great conflicting 
 armies were at Chattanooga, in the State of Ten- 
 nessee, they were contending on old Cherokee 
 ground, and the destruction of the property of the 
 inhabitants was immense. When, from Chatta- 
 nooga, Sherman commenced his pursuit of John- 
 ston, every battle , fought, and every farm-house 
 plundered for the wants of either army, until the 
 victor reached Atlanta, stood on ground from 
 which that tribe had been driven. So perfect was 
 the destruction, that the inhabitants had to seek 
 
WAB. 97 
 
 of the Union army that nourishment which 
 would keep them from perishing with hunger. 
 Very beautiful and luxuriant the appearance of 
 the country around Atlanta is reported to have 
 been when the desolating plague of the contend- 
 ing armies came upon it. The inhabitants of that 
 flourishing place were driven from their homes as 
 the poor Cherokees had been. Their houses were 
 burned, their mills, factories, bridges, railroads, 
 were all destroyed, and a retribution most terrible 
 came upon them. "When the rebel authorities 
 appealed to General Sherman against, his driving 
 the inhabitants from their homes, after giving 
 the reason why he thought it was needful, he adds 
 this honest confession, " "War is cruelty, and you 
 cannot refine it." 
 
 On the first start from Atlanta to the coast, 
 Sherman was on land from which the Creek In- 
 dians had been driven, and the destruction of prop- 
 erty continued; mills and cotton-gins, etc., were 
 everywhere destroyed, and the horses, mules, and 
 provisions of the inhabitants taken without stint. 
 The whole State of Georgia had been engaged in 
 the wicked act towards the Indians, and in oppres- 
 sing the negroes, and the whole State suffered 
 terribly on Sherman's way to Milledgeville, and 
 
 on to Savannah. 
 
 9 
 
98 WAB. 
 
 Does it not seem as though the hand of Divine 
 Providence had allowed the late wicked rehellion 
 to he entered into by cruel men, that the punish- 
 ment for national crime might be openly and in- 
 telligibly inflicted ? 
 
 PREVMNTION OF WAB. 
 
 A recent writer remarks, that if a nation could 
 but attain to such high wisdom as to abjure war, 
 and proclaim to all the earth, " we will not fight 
 under any provocation ; if other nations have aught 
 against us, we will settle the question by umpires 
 mutually chosen ; " think you that any nation 
 would dare to make war upon such a people? Nay, 
 verily, they would be instinctively ashamed of 
 such an act, as men are now ashamed to attack a 
 woman or a child. Even if any were found mean 
 enough to pursue such a course, the civilized world 
 would cry " fie upon them ! " and by universal con- 
 sent brand them as poltroons and assassins ; and 
 assassins they would be, even in the common ac- 
 ceptation of the term. It is related that a regiment 
 was once ordered to march into a small town 
 (it is believed in the Tyrol) and take it. • The place 
 was settled by a colony who believed the gospel of 
 Christ, and proved their faith by their works. A 
 30urier from a neighboring village informed them 
 
WAB. 99 
 
 tliat troops were advancing to take tlie town. 
 They quietly answered, " If they will take it, they 
 must." Soldiers soon came riding in with colors 
 flying, fifes piping their shrill defiance. They 
 looked round for an enemy, and saw the farmer at 
 his plough, the blacksmith at his anvil, and the 
 women at their churns and spinning-wheels. 
 Babies crowed to hear the music, and boys ran 
 out to see the pretty trainers, with feathers and 
 bright buttons. Of course, none of these were in a 
 proper position to be shot at. " Where are your 
 soldiers ? " they asked. " "We have none," was the 
 brief reply. " But we have come to take the town." 
 "Well, friends, it lies before you." "But is there 
 nobody here to fight ? " " No ; we are all Chris- 
 tians." Here was an emergency altogether unpro- 
 vided for by the military schools. This was a sort 
 of resistance which no bullet could hit — a fortress 
 perfectly bomb-proof. The commander was per- 
 plexed. "If there is nobody to fight with, of 
 course we cannot fight," said he ; " it is impos- 
 sible to take such a town as this." So he ordered 
 his horses' heads to be turned about, and they 
 carried their riders out of the village as guiltless 
 as they entered, and perhaps somewhat wiser. 
 
 This experiment, on a small scale, indicates how 
 easy it would be to dispense with armies and navies. 
 
100 WAB. 
 
 if men only had faith in the religion they profess 
 to believe. When France reduced her army, 
 England immediately did the same ; for the exist- 
 ence of one army creates the supposed necessity 
 of another, unless men are safely ensconced in the 
 bomb-proof fortress above mentioned. 
 
BELiaiO us D UTIES. 101 
 
 RELIGIOUS DUTIES. 
 
 RETIREMENT ESSENTIAL TO THE CHRISTIAN. 
 
 A MEMBER of the writer's family, on one occa- 
 sion, brought home a cactus ; a poor, eccentric- 
 looking little thing, with no beauty to recommend 
 it. It was one of a small species, which appear like 
 a collection of leaves joined together, each new one 
 springing from the extremity of the one of a pre- 
 vious growth. There was little grace or symmetry 
 about it, and yet, in despite of its want of beauty, 
 it drew attention more than some lovelier plants, 
 from the very peculiarity of its ugliness. It seemed 
 like one of those stubborn cases of the human 
 species we sometimes meet with, — rough, jagged, 
 and ungainly in individual and self-reliant charac- 
 teristics, to whom we are apt to manifest greater 
 deference and respect, if less love, than to those of 
 gentle amiability and soft, yielding manners. 
 
 This awkward-looking plant was placed up-stairs, 
 out of sight of visitors, for its interesting ugliness 
 was not thought a sufficient qualification to entitle 
 it to a prominent position. Time rolled on ; and 
 one day, by a passing glance, little points were 
 observed, of real rose-hued beauty, projecting from 
 
 9* 
 
102 RELIGIOUS DUTIES. 
 
 the edges of the leaves. From day to day those 
 points enlarged and unfolded, increasing in depth 
 of color and elegance of form, until they drew forth 
 exclamations of admiration from all who saw them. 
 Soon the plant, rendered, by its large, splendidly 
 hued flowers, " a thing of beauty," was drawn from 
 its position of obscurity, and transferred as an orna- 
 ment to the parlor, where it was examined and 
 praised by every one who beheld it. It had been 
 as a diamond hidden in the deformity of its matrix, 
 — now, by the kindly operations of nature, its in- 
 ternal beauty and brilliancy were opened out to 
 view. It had been as a poor, unknown man of 
 genius encrusted with awkward habits, but who, 
 by the force of innate character, had risen from 
 obscurity, and, throwing off the deformity apper- 
 taining to his early position in life, had shone 
 forth, adding lustre to the polished, elevated society 
 to which he had raised himself. 
 
 Often, in the annals of religious society, have 
 instances occurred of persons uncouth in manners, 
 and depraved in practice, who, by giving way to 
 the visitations of Divine grace, have been made to 
 experience an inward flow of heavenly instruction 
 which has given purity to the thought, polish to the 
 manners, and occasioned a rich bloom of heavenly 
 graces, which none who came near them could wit ■ 
 ness without admiration. 
 
RELIGIOUS DUTIES. 103 
 
 The dry warmth of the furnace-heated parlor 
 was too great, and, exposed to its atmosphere, the 
 exquisite heauty of the cactus flowers could not 
 long continue in their original freshness. The 
 blossoms, already fully blown when introduced to 
 the increased temperature, soon manifested symp- ' 
 toms of decay — those nearly out, hurried rapidly 
 to a brief perfection, and a few of the more feeble 
 buds, just starting in the career of beauty, withered 
 without fully expanding. It is thus, at times, we 
 see that individuals, who in obscurity have begun 
 to bloom, through grace, and to give hopeful 
 promise of future excellency, when elevated in 
 position, or brought to obtain the hot, dry breath 
 of popular applause or injudicious praise, have 
 sadly withered as to present attainments, and dis- 
 appointed our reasonable expectations of the future. 
 
 After the flowers on the cactus had generally 
 manifested some tokens of decay, it was banished 
 again to the cooler, more healthful obscurity of its 
 first position. There it will without doubt re- 
 main, receiving no admiration, and no more atten- 
 tion than is requisite to furnish it with the neces- 
 sary portion of warmth and moisture. "With this 
 care, it will in time, probably, be prepared once 
 more to minister to the pleasure of beholders, and 
 to cover its deformity with a fresh and abundant 
 bloom. 
 
104 BELIQIOUS DUTIES. 
 
 How strange it seems that in that rough, un- 
 gainly plant there should be shut up powers which, 
 at the season of their appropriate exercise, are 
 able to produce such beautiful results. In the 
 works of the Creator, we often see great results 
 ' springing out of the comparatively insignificant, 
 unsightly, and unpromising. Look at yon peach- 
 tree; the branches already begin to grow ruddy 
 with the returning sap, whilst as yet there is no 
 putting forth of green leaves. Mark those buds ! 
 Their dark-brown wrappers fold up from sight all 
 beauty. "Eo one, who had not for himself watched 
 the process of vegetation in similar plants, or 
 profited by the observations of others, would sup- 
 pose that contained in those buds were blossoms 
 preparing to expand into exquisite loveliness, and 
 germs which should grow and ripen into luscious 
 fruit. Almost everything of value in this world 
 seems nourished in quiet insignificance, and out 
 of sight. It is so in the world of matter ; it is 
 so in mental, moral, and religious things. Luther 
 declared " that for the most part, when God set 
 him upon any special service for the good of the 
 church, he was brought low by some fit of sick- 
 ness or other." God saw fit to separate him from 
 dependence on others, — to loosen him from all 
 trust in himselfl Thus in quiet nothingness of 
 
RELIGIOUS DUTIES. 105 
 
 self, and withdrawn from self-working, he was pre- 
 pared, as is the peach-bud in the silent repose of 
 winter, for the bringing forth blossoms of beauty 
 and fruits of excellence in due season. 
 
 It requires time and changing seasons to prepare 
 a plant to bloom, and it requires time and baptisms 
 of various kinds to qualify Christian laborers to 
 bring forth fruit to the praise of the Great Hus- 
 bandman. 
 
 TRUST IN THE LORD. 
 
 Paul Gerhardt, a religious man and poet, was 
 born in Saxony, in the year 1606. He occupied a 
 station in Berlin ; but, being honest in the expres- 
 sion of his religious opinion, he was deprived of 
 his appointment, and was ordered to quit the 
 country. He had not accumulated property, and, 
 when obliged to leave the home wherein peace and 
 happiness had been his portion, it was with a 
 helpless family, and destitute of the means of 
 subsistence. His faith, however, in his Divine 
 Master was unshaken, and in full confidence that 
 all his afflictions had been meted to him in wis- 
 dom and mercy, he determined to take refuge in 
 Saxony,, where he hoped he might find friends and 
 some means of subsistence. The family had no 
 means of performing the journey save on foot, and 
 when night came, Gerhardt felt his heart almost 
 
106 BELIOIOUS DUTIES. 
 
 fail, as lie looked on his weary, worn-out wife and 
 children. They entered a little village inn ; and 
 then his wife, unable any longer to restrain her 
 sorrowful emotions, gave vent to a flood of tears. 
 Concealing his own feelings, he endeavored to 
 comfort her with the passage from the Scriptures, 
 " Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean 
 not to thine own understanding ; in all thy ways 
 acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." 
 These words, spoken by him for the comfort of his 
 wife, took hold of his own feelings powerfully, 
 and retiring to a little garden belonging to the 
 inn, he composed some lines expressive of faith 
 similar to that exhibited in the passage quoted. 
 A part of this composition has been thus trans- 
 lated. 
 
 " Commend thy ways, O mortal ! 
 And humbly raise, thy sighs 
 To Him who, in his wisdom. 
 Rules earth, and sea, and skies. 
 
 All means and ways possessing, 
 
 Whate'er He does is right : 
 His every deed a blessing, 
 
 His steps one path of light 1 
 
 To thee it is not given 
 
 The tempest's rage to qnell ; 
 God reigns supreme in heaven, 
 
 And all He does is well. 
 
 True, it may seem a moment. 
 
 As though thou wert forgot, 
 As though He were unmindful 
 
 Of thine unhappy lot ; 
 
BELIOIOUS DUTIES. 107 
 
 As though thy grief and anguish 
 Beached not his' glorious throne, 
 
 And thou wert left to languish 
 In sorrow and alone. 
 
 Yet if, though much should grieve thee, 
 Thy faith shall ne'er have ceased, 
 
 Be sure He will relieve thee, 
 When thou expects it least." 
 
 This little poetic effusion en la with the ascrip- 
 tion of heart-felt praise to his heavenly Father. 
 Returning to the parlor of the inn, he was sitting 
 there with his sorrowful wife, when two men 
 entered, and soon commenced conversation with 
 him. One of them said they were on their 
 way to Berlin, to seek Paul Gerhardt, a deposed 
 clergyman, hy order of Duke Christian, of Merse- 
 burg. The poor wife, hearing this, was more over- 
 whelmed than ever, expecting some greater ca- 
 lamity was about to befall them. Paul, however, 
 was calm ; and full of confidence in the preserving 
 power of his God and Father, although he knew 
 not for what cause he was sought, told them he 
 was the person they were in search of. The 
 strangers then presented a letter from the Duke to 
 Gerhardt, informing him that, in consideration of 
 the injustice which had been shown him, he had 
 settled a considerable pension upon him. Great 
 was the thankfulness of the pious couple. Paul, 
 
108 RELIGIOUS DUTIES. 
 
 turning to his wife, handed her the little poem he 
 had just composed in the garden, and said, " See 
 how God provides ! Did I not bid thee confide in 
 him, and all would be well ? " 
 
 DUE ATTENDANCE OF RELIGIOUS MEETINGS. 
 
 The late Robert Scotton being asked, on a cer- 
 tain occasion, if he remembered James Simpson, 
 replied that he had cause to remember him. He 
 then stated that when he was young, he was not 
 diligent in the attendance of religious meetings, 
 but that one day being at the one he belonged 
 to, James Simpson and Peter Andrews came in. 
 The meeting held for a long time in silence ; but 
 at last James arose, saying, he thought there was 
 some one present who did not attend meetings as 
 frequently as he should, and who was trying to 
 make excuses for himself to satisfy his conscience, 
 by pleading the necessity of being diligent in his 
 Work. " Here," Robert said, " he looked right at 
 me, and went on telling just how I had been making 
 excuses, so that I had to put my hands over my 
 face. Every now and then I looked between my 
 fingers, and found he was still gazing right at me. 
 When he had done, I concluded, ' "Well, I will 
 come regularly to First-day meetings, and when I 
 can, to those held on week-days ; but I must attend 
 
MELIOIOUS DUTIES. 109 
 
 to my work.' Then Peter arose, and began to tell 
 of a man he knew, who made no reserves, but went 
 to all meetings, and found he lost nothing by it. 
 So, between them, I was knocked out of all my 
 hiding-places. After meeting, James came right 
 up to me, asked who I was, and had something to 
 say to me. Yes, I think I do remember James 
 Simpson, for I have cause." 
 
 It is probable that the labor of those two minis- 
 ters that day were of essential benefit to Robert 
 Seotton, and that from that period he was strength- 
 ened to consider his duty to his heavenly Father 
 as of paramount importance, and to be attended to, 
 let his earthly prospects suffer or not therefrom. 
 
 James Thornton, of Byberry, Pa., during his 
 last illness, which was in 1794, was drawn to 
 dwell much on the peace afforded at that time, 
 by his persevering attendance of religious meet- 
 ings throughout a long life. He was early afilicted 
 with bodily infirmities, and remarked that many 
 times in his youth, while walking to them, he had 
 been forced to stop and lean his head against a tree 
 to rest ; and that since he had arrived at years of 
 maturity, storms, nor tempests, nor any other con- 
 sideration, had hindered him from going his Mas- 
 ter's errands when able ; nor did he remember ever 
 
 attending meeting without receiving some satisfac- 
 10 
 
110 RELIOIOUS DUTIES. 
 
 tion, believing, when people complained of poor 
 meetings, the fault was mostly with themselves ; 
 that if we did our part towards attaining a right 
 state of mind, nothing was to be doubted of. He 
 also remarked, that overrating others, and under- 
 rating ourselves, should be avoided, as our con- 
 ditions are best known to the Lord. 
 
 FORGIVENESS OF INJURIES. 
 
 A recent writer says that under his window 
 there were, one day, two little girls talking, whose 
 conversation he overheard. One had evidently 
 received an injury or insult from a companion, 
 and the other was inciting her to be very much 
 offended about it. She said, " I would never speak 
 to her again. I would be angry with her as long 
 as I lived." The little sufferer was, however, of a 
 different mind ; and although the tone of her voice 
 showed that sjbe was grieved at what had occurred, 
 yet promptly- and heartily she answered, " No ; I 
 would not do so for anything. I shall ' forgive and 
 forget' just as soon as I can." Ah, "forgiving and 
 forgetting " is the proper way for the Christian 
 who has been hardly dealt with ; and, indeed, it is 
 the only way to get rid of an insult or wrong 
 without suffering any injury from it. This is the 
 right way for the injured. The injurer has, how- 
 
RELIGIOUS DUTIES. Ill 
 
 ever, no right to forget until, by a hearty acr 
 knowledgment of the wrong done, he has obtained 
 forgiveness therefor. Reader, hast thou a quarrel, 
 or, if thou wouldst rather call it so, a misunder- 
 standing with any one ; or dost thou think any one 
 has, in his or her intercourse with thee, done thee 
 wrong? If the quarrel, or whatever thou mayst 
 call it, has taken much hold of thy feelings, re- 
 member, it is almost a certainty that there is some 
 fault on thy part ; and if, with true Christian mag- 
 nanimity, thou art prepared openly to acknowl- 
 edge that, and then, as thou art in duty bound as 
 a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, to forgive and 
 forget all that thou thinks mayst have been done 
 or said against thee, it is probable that thy faith- 
 fulness in taking up the cross to thy own self-suffi- 
 ciency, in asking forgiveness, may prove a life-long 
 benefit to others. It is recorded in the biography 
 of a certain pious man, that he was always willing 
 to acknowledge when he had been wrong. He 
 remarked on one occasion, " He is a poor man who 
 cannot afford to give away a sixpence ; and he is a 
 poor soul, a very poor soul, who cannot afford to 
 acknowledge an error, lest perchance some one 
 should charge him with inconsistency." Have we 
 not been wrong in some of our actions or sayings ? 
 If 80, a prompt and full acknowledgment is due 
 
112 BELIGIOUS DUTIES. 
 
 from us, wlietlier we conscientiously believe that 
 our antagonist has been as much or more to blame. 
 Wo must make amends, unless, indeed, we intend 
 to give up all claim to Christian consistency, and 
 hold that we are not bound to manifest the gospel 
 order and spirit towards those who have offended 
 us. If such is our conclusion, we are not Christians 
 in conduct, whatever we may be in profession. 
 
 It is recorded that two individuals, one of whom 
 was a pious man and the other was not, having 
 married sisters, met at the house of their father- 
 in-law. During an evening conversation there, 
 they fell into a dispute ; and the contest waxing 
 warm, some sharp and severe things were uttered 
 by each. The. man who made no claim to religion 
 was of a very fierce and determined spirit, and 
 his peculiar harshness no doubt had excited his 
 brother, until he was induced to give utterance to 
 language which he bitterly lamented over after 
 he had retired to rest. In the morning when he 
 arose, he was in his right mind, for in his sorrowful 
 communings in the night, he had been with his 
 blessed Master, who had cooled the fever of his 
 spirit, but showed him his duty, and gave him the 
 needful grace to perform it. He called the whole 
 family together, and before them all he acknowl- 
 edged his sin in suffering himself to be heated up 
 
BELIGIOUS DUTIES. 113 
 
 in Ms controversy with his brother, and speaking 
 so harshly to him, and he begged his brother 
 to forgive him. The effect was powerful. His 
 brother, who became a religious man, in after 
 years, writing of this occurrence, says, " Then I 
 felt that he had got his foot upon my neck, and 
 that taught me thejirst decisive lesson of the supe- 
 rior excellence of Christianity." This occurrence 
 probably did more than anything earthly, in pre- 
 paring the way for this fierce unbeliever's recep- 
 tion of the Truth. He could see the beautiful 
 propriety of his brother's conduct, and being led 
 into a submissive acquaintance with the Holy 
 Spirit, he came to experience in himself a measure 
 of that power which subdues the proud spirit of 
 man, and brings it into a willingness to confess as 
 well as forsake errors and sins. 
 
 Two brothers, residents of Westport, Conn., 
 who had lived on bad terms with each other 
 several years, finally came to blows. Both made 
 complaint before a trial justice, and both were con- 
 victed of breach of the peace. Dissatisfied with 
 this, they appealed ; and at the next session of the 
 Supreme Court the jury failed to agree in the case 
 of one, but found the other guilty. The judge', 
 grieved at the spectacle of two warring brothers, 
 
 and humanely anxious to stop further litigation 
 10* H 
 
114 RELIGIOUS DtfTIES. 
 
 between them in the future, called the men before 
 him, and talked to them in a strain of serious but 
 kind reproof. He briefly reviewed their difficulty ; 
 showed the absurdity of their quarrel, and then 
 appealed to their self-respect, their relationship, 
 and their sense of moral responsibility, not to let 
 this unnatural enmity go on longer; solemnly 
 charging them never to go to law in any difference 
 again, and urged them then and there to pledge 
 friendship and brotherly kindness for the future. 
 His efforts were not without effect, and in reply 
 to the question of the judge, each promised hence- 
 forth to be friendly to his brother. 
 
 " Then shake hands ! " said the judge ; and as 
 the softened brothers grasped each other's hand, 
 the spectators and members of the bar felt their 
 eyes moisten and their hearts swell. 
 
 The judge himself was deeply affected when the 
 offenders both audibly invoked a blessing on their 
 reconciliation, and his voice trembled as he im- 
 posed on them a small fine as the lightest sentence' 
 of the law. Of all present at this unusual scene, 
 it is probable that none went away without some 
 sense of the sweetness of forgiveness and the beauty 
 of harmony and peace. 
 
RELIGIOUS DUTIES. 115 
 
 BE NOT ASHAMED OF THE CROSS. 
 
 How many who desire to be true lovers and 
 faithful followers of the Lord Jesus Christ are yet 
 manifesting by their actions in some things that 
 they are ashamed of the cross, or unwilling to en- 
 dure the odium which a consistent bearing of it 
 brings upon them. Sometimes these feeble-minded 
 Christians receive rebukes for their weakness and 
 inconsistencies from quarters where they least ex- 
 pected it. We have an anecdote narrated of John 
 Berridge, one of the indefatigable laborers for the 
 good of others during the last century in England, 
 which is in point. His honest zeal and open re- 
 proofs of evil brought upon him many scoffs and 
 taunts from the ungodly and profane, in his tra- 
 vels to promulgate Christian principles and Chris- 
 tian practices. One day, in approaching a town in 
 which, on former occasions, he had received much 
 abuse, he felt a spirit of weakness come over him, 
 and instead of passing along the main street, he 
 turned into a by-way to escape the obloquy which, 
 if he were observed by the inhabitants, would, 
 without fail, come upon him. As he passed along 
 the less frequented way in which he hoped to 
 escape detection, he met a pig driver, who im- 
 mediately recognized him, and fathoming the rea- 
 son of his being in such an unusual place, cried out, 
 
116 RELIGIOUS DUTIES. 
 
 " Tou cowardly John Berridge ; you are ashamed 
 of your Master, and therefore you skulk along 
 here to avoid the cross." The pig driver's rebuke 
 did him, as he often afterwards said, incalculable 
 benefit, being stirred up and incited thereby to a 
 willingness more faithfully, under all circum- 
 stances, to stand boldly as a confessor of Christ ; 
 and which, through the grace of Grod, he never 
 afterwards flinched from. Having, during life, 
 borne a faithful testimony to his Divine Master, 
 and having been taught and strengthened unflinch- 
 ingly to bear his cross, he was enabled in a good 
 old age to put off the shackles of mortality, bless- 
 ing the Holy One that he had been enabled to 
 fight the good fight, and to finish his course 
 with joy. 
 
 FAITHFULNESS TO CONVICTIONS. 
 
 The late Christopher Healy narrated the follow-,," 
 ing incident. Shortly after he had been received 
 into membership among Friends, his brother re- 
 quested that he would introduce him to Elias Pot- 
 ter, with whom he had some business to transact, 
 connected with a public station the latter held. 
 Elias Potter was a man standing high in the politi- 
 cal world, and, from the civil position he occupied, 
 was frequently addressed with titles of honor. 
 
RELIGIOUS DUTIES. 117 
 
 As the two brothers rode to his dwelling, a deep 
 concern came upon Christoplier that he might not, 
 in the interview about to take place, shrink in any- 
 wise from bearing a faithful testimony for the 
 Truth. This language was powerfully impressed 
 on his mind, " "Whosoever shall deny me before 
 men, him will I also deny before my Father who 
 is in heaven." He had been convinced of the im- 
 propriety of hat-honor, as offered to men ; of all 
 titles of mere compliment ; and he had seen the 
 necessity of plainness of speech and honest truth- 
 fulness in all his intercourse with others. When 
 he entered the presence of this " great man," he 
 approached' him with the salutation, " Elias, how 
 art thou ? " The brothers were courteously, nay, 
 kindly received, and the business which occasioned 
 their calling promptly attended to. Some time 
 after this, Christopher's brother being with Elias, 
 he said to him, " Some of the Quakers baulk their 
 testimonies respecting giving titles of honor, but 
 your brother is not one of these." 
 
 Years afterwards, when Christopher was on a 
 religious visit in the neighborhood where Elias 
 lived, he appointed a meeting for worship to be 
 held there, which Elias Potter was active in 
 furthering, attended it himself, and whilst in it 
 behaved with great solidity. 
 
118 WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 
 
 •WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 
 
 " out OF SORTS." 
 
 IIS a company of children met on one occasion, 
 all seemed happy, and were pleasantly employed, 
 except one, who sat by herself, neither partaking 
 of the labor nor joyfulness of the busy group. 
 One of the company remarked she was " out of 
 sorts," rendering this as the reason why she was 
 sullenly sitting alone, instead of participating 
 with them in their employment. After doing an 
 act which forced the other children to seek else- 
 where for the pleasure she had interrupted, and 
 refusing to accompany them, she was left to mope 
 and distress herself as much as she pleased. After 
 a time she grew tired of being out of humor, and 
 seeking an aunt of hers, she sat down by her, 
 crying, and acknowledged, to an inquiry from her 
 kind relative, " I am all out of sorts." Conscience 
 began to stir in the little girl, and at last she said, 
 " Is out of sorts one of the sins mentioned in the 
 Bible, aunty ? " " Ifot by that name," was the 
 reply. The work of self-examination and condem- 
 nation was going on in the heart of the child, and 
 at last she spoke out, " I know what it is ; it is 
 
WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 119 
 
 getting on the side of the heart that is turned 
 from God." The aunt was much struck with the 
 child's definition, and thought it the best one for 
 the sad distemper she had ever heard. For if the 
 heart is turned from our heavenly Father, who is 
 the fountain of love and the God of all consolar 
 tion, the spirit of contradiction, malicious mis- 
 chief, dislike, and gloom, which is so apt to govern 
 those " out of sorts," may readily enter. Her aunt 
 accordingly told the little girl she did not know 
 but she was right in her view of it, and that the 
 only thing for her to do was to leave the wrong 
 side, and jump over to the right, as soon as she 
 could. The advice was followed ; the child joined 
 the other children in the spirit of love, and a happy 
 time they had of it. 
 
 "We may all have had to do with people who 
 were " out of sorts," disposed to complain of those 
 around them, and making themselves and others 
 unhappy by their unreasonable conduct. If we 
 were strictly to scrutinize our own conduct, many 
 of us might remember times when we were, at 
 least to a certain extent, " out of sorts," — times 
 when we have been improperly exacting in our 
 demands upon the attention and submission to our 
 views of others, and have been wrong in showing 
 our resentment for not receiving what we claimed. 
 
120 WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 
 
 "Whenever we allow ourselves to show temper be- 
 cause our own views do not obtain place with 
 othersj we are getting " out of sorts," and the only 
 remedy is to get back into a spirit of submission 
 and love as soon as we can. Grown persons have 
 been known very much " out of sorts," who were 
 too wise to show it forth, as the little girl did, and 
 not honest enough to confess it, who would yet 
 manifest a wrong feeling to a careful observer by a 
 stinging word, a remark which carried bitterness 
 with it, incidentally dropped. These, too, in the 
 sight of Him who looketh at the heart, must have 
 been seen to have got all on the wrong side there. 
 
 LITTLE WON'TS. 
 
 We sometimes meet, in our social intercourse, 
 individuals with whom we find great difficulty in 
 getting on harmoniously. They seem constitu- 
 tionally, or at least habitually, to act in a manner 
 contrary to the wishes and desires of those they 
 mingle with. Such are very serious obstacles to 
 the comfort of their friends. They seem to see so 
 many causes of fault-finding with the actions and 
 remarks of those around them, and are so bent on 
 having their own way, that it is often quite a 
 relief to a company when such retire from it. This 
 disposition is frequently met with in children, and 
 
WATCHFULNESS VER SELF. 121 
 
 a simple narrative fully exhibits it, as acting in a 
 little boy. 
 
 A little girl named Jessy, who expected two of 
 her young friends to pay her a visit, had put her 
 baby-house in nice order for their entertainment, 
 and had swept the barn-floor clean, where a swing 
 had been put up ; and, in short, had exerted herself 
 to prepare everything so that they might have a 
 very pleasant time together. She had a little 
 brother, Harry, who sometimes was very pleasant, 
 but at other times was hard to manage. The two 
 visitors came at last, and Jessy asked them which 
 they would see first, her baby-house or the barn. 
 " The baby-house," said the strangers ; but that did 
 not please Harry, who shouted out "barn." His 
 sister told him they must do as the company wished. 
 They went out together, and probably the good- 
 natured visitors submitted to Harry. After a time, 
 however, Jessy came dragging Harry in to their 
 mother, and requesting she would keep him, saying 
 they could not have a good time where he was. 
 
 The mother, of course, was sorry ; but Jessy said 
 she could not help it, and added, " I tried to love 
 him, and coax him, and please him, and we all did, 
 but it is of no use ; he does not fall in with us, and 
 he spoils all our comfort." To the mother's in- 
 quiry as to the difficulty he made, Jessy said, 
 11 
 
122 WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 
 
 " He is so full of littk won'ts. He won't swing or 
 let Tis swing. He won't play school. Then we play 
 horse to please him, but he won't let us be three 
 horses ; and he won't drive us on the gravel, but into 
 the thorn-bushes, and is so all the time. "We are 
 pleased with him, but he will not be with any^ 
 thing we do." 
 
 Many people have little won'ts about them who do 
 ■not know how uncomfortable some of their dis- 
 agreeable ways render them to those among whom 
 they mingle. In our intercourse with others. 
 Christian politeness does not by any means con- 
 strain us to unite with all the sentiments expressed, 
 but we should offer our dissent with a mild tone 
 and a courteous manner. Let there be nothing 
 manifest of the disposition which prompts little 
 won'ts, in what we say in opposition to the senti- 
 ments of others. 
 
 Those who only manifest this disposition to- 
 wards particular individuals, are far from having 
 attained Christian perfection. There have been 
 cases where a mutual feeling of this kind existed 
 between individuals, which led to public rebukes 
 from either side in respect to matters not in them- 
 selves of much consequence; increased mutual jeal- 
 ousy and dislike, until it spread almost to the 
 destroying of the Christian usefulness of indiyid- 
 
WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 123 
 
 uals. Some have let it go so far as to cause them 
 to condemn all who felt and expressed a friendly 
 interest in those against whom they have let in 
 this dislike. Some have nourished it until it is to 
 be feared that their own spiritual condition has 
 been sadly injured, until they could hardly, from 
 the great growth of prejudice, give an impartial 
 judgment in regard to any one. 
 
 Men and women who feel themselves disposed 
 to act and to speak crossly, and contrary to the 
 judgment of those among whom they move, if they 
 have not sufficient self-control to enable them to 
 restrain the public exhibition of this disposition, 
 had better retire. The universal fault-finders — 
 the persons determined to have their own way in 
 everything — have no right to mingle in social 
 society, the comfort and enjoyment of which they 
 seriously disturb, even when they do not wholly 
 destroy it. The disposition they manifest is con- 
 trary to Christianity, and, however great their pro- 
 fession may be, they are not living in the spirit it 
 
 inculcates. 
 
 HUMILITY. 
 
 How often do we meet with professedly religious 
 characters who can talk very beautifully on the 
 necessity of meekness of temper and humility of 
 mind, as never-failing marks and characteri8ti<js 
 
124 WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 
 
 of the Christian, but who yet are evidently far 
 from maintaining, in their daily intercourse among 
 men, the gentleness of Christ, and the humility 
 which recognizes no good in themselves. True 
 humility is hard to attain, and it is harder to 
 retain. Especially is it difficult to one who has 
 been much favored in religious labors, and has 
 thereby won the confidence of the wise, and has 
 obtained popularity as an eloquent speaker among 
 the hearers generally. The following anecdote is 
 fraught with instruction, and has a point calculated 
 to make itself felt. A young minister had been 
 engaged in certain services in which he had been 
 most remarkably favored, so much so that some of 
 his religious friends felt a fear lest, being lifted up 
 thereby, he should fall into the snare of the wicked 
 one. They therefore took an opportunity to press 
 upon him the necessity of cherishing a' spirit of 
 humility. In reply, he said, " He constantly 
 prayed to be kepi humble." One of his friends, a 
 minister of greater age and experience, wishing to 
 deepen the hint which others had given the young 
 man, and perhaps fearing his prayer did not go 
 deep enough, told him of a circumstance he had 
 recently been a witness to. He had attended a 
 meeting which had been held by some pious poor 
 persons, and one John, a thresher by occupation, 
 
WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 125 
 
 appeared in it in prayer. At the close of the 
 meeting, the old minister said he heard " Mary," a 
 washerwoman, say to the thresher, "John, you 
 made a sad mistake in your prayer to-night." 
 " Did I ? " he replied. " In what way ? " " Why, 
 you prayed that the Lord would keep you humble. 
 Now I thought it would have been better if you 
 had prayed that God would make you so." The 
 hint intended by the- old minister was properly 
 received by the young one, who acknowledged long 
 afterwards that it had been of singular service to 
 him, placed as he was in the dangerous position 
 of a popular preacher. 
 
 Whatever our station in society or in the 
 church may be, we are always in danger from the 
 soaring, cross-shunning influence of self. If we 
 have done that which was right in the circum- 
 stances under which we were placed, under the 
 promptings of the Lord's Holy Spirit, the praise 
 belongs solely to him. If we did it to gain the 
 applause of men, no credit is due to us. Ye.s, the 
 experience of every day confirms us in this truth. 
 Humility is a difficult attainment. Is not our self- 
 sufficiency, our want of true humility, proven by 
 our sensitiveness when we are blamed by others 
 for what they deem some improper action or un- 
 guarded word? Axe we not far readier warmly to 
 11* 
 
126 WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 
 
 justify ourselves, than meekly to hear what others 
 think, and then, in the depth of true humility, to 
 seek to the Lord for instruction, being as ready 
 to receive it, if it comes condemning, as if it brings 
 our acquittal ? 
 
 Humility is the Christian's best condition in 
 living and in dying. "When the eminent Du 
 Plessis was near the close of his earthly career, one 
 who was with him at that solemn time, spoke to 
 him of the great service he had done the church 
 by his writings. Feeling the inconsistency of such 
 consolation offered the dying believer in Christ 
 Jesus, and unwilling to have it thought that at 
 that awful moment he was trusting to aught of 
 his own righteousness, or on any works which, 
 through the grace of Grod, he had done, he ex- 
 claimed, " Alas ! what was there of mine in that 
 work ? Say not it was I, but God by me." Then 
 raising his hands and looking upward, as if anx- 
 ious to forget the untimely suggestion, he ex- 
 claimed, "Mercy, mercy, mercy!" He then 
 declared that it was the mercy of Grod to which 
 only he had recourse. His faith and hope rested 
 altogether on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, 
 who had been made to him, he said, as to all other 
 sincere believers, " Wisdom, righteousness, sanctifi- 
 eation, and redemption." " Away," he exclaimed, 
 
WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 127 
 
 " away witli all merit: I call for nothing but 
 mercy, free mercy ! " One standing by expressing 
 his thanks that God had given his servant such 
 peace and comfort, he said, " I feel, I feel what I 
 speak." As to the truths of Christianity, he de- 
 clared, "He was entirely persuaded thereof by 
 the demonstrations of God's Holy Spirit, which 
 was more powerful, more clear, and more certain 
 than all the demonstrations of Euclid." So, in 
 humility of soul, feeling the nothingness of self, 
 yet in holy dependence on the grace of God in 
 Christ Jesus, which had wrought mightily in him 
 in the work of regeneration, he departed in great 
 peace, his spirit longing to be set free and to be 
 with his blessed Saviour. 
 
 How deep was the humility of Augustine, who, 
 when near his close, feeling that the Lord alone 
 could preserve him, cried out, " Lord, perfect that- 
 which thou hast begun, that I suffer not shipwreck 
 in the haven." A worthy, favored minister being 
 near his close, was told of his eminent gifts and 
 faithful services in the ministry, to which he 
 replied, " I dare not think of any such thing for 
 comfort ; only Jesus Christ, and what he hath 
 done and endured, is the ground of my comfort." 
 "When one told Knox, on his death-bed, that he was 
 going to receive the reward of all his labors, he 
 
128 WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 
 
 replied with this gentle rebuke, " Brother, I am 
 going to receive mercy." "When Rutherford, 
 whose dying hours were wonderfully favored with 
 comfort and enjoyment, heard one speak of his 
 former painful ness and faithfulness in the work 
 of God, he said, " I disclaim all that ; the port I 
 would be in at is redemption, and forgiveness of 
 sins through his blood." 
 
 THE LEAKY ROOF. 
 
 Some years since, in a house newly finished, a 
 large spot was observed on the ceiling of part of 
 the upper entry, where the plaster was moistened, 
 evidently from a leak ; on examination, it was dis- 
 covered that through carelessness, probably from 
 dropping an edged tool by one of the workmen on 
 the roof, a small hole, not more than one-quarter 
 of an inch in diameter, had been made in the tin 
 gutter, just at a point where the water descended 
 from the upper part of the roof ; the consequence 
 was, that during every shower a stream of water 
 entered the building at that point, wetting the 
 timbers, rotting the lath, destroying the tenacity 
 of the mortar, loosening it from the ceiling, and 
 producing an unsightly stain. A few drops of 
 solder promptly applied by the tinman, put a stop 
 to the train of evil consequences that had com 
 
WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 129 
 
 menced to flow from this tiny leak. If the remedy 
 had not heen applied, the injury to the building 
 would have gone on increasing in extent ; the edge 
 of the tin exposed to the weather would have 
 rusted away, and thus enlarged the aperture ; the 
 alternate wetting and drying of the timbers would 
 have caused them to decay, and the ultimate dam- 
 age to the building, resulting from this apparently 
 trifling cause, would have been serious. 
 
 How small an opening in our defensive protec- 
 tion is sometimes sufficient to introduce fatal decay 
 in our spiritual buildings. In the relaxed and de- 
 bilitated state of the physical system, which is a 
 frequent attendant upon the sultry weather of the 
 latter part of summer, we may pass the closet 
 where the wine-decanter stands, and find a refresh- 
 ing stimulant in a glass of its contents : in a day 
 or two we may pass the same spot, and, remember- 
 ing the comfort we derived from its previous use, 
 may repeat the potion : in a little while we may, 
 from day to day, find a recurrence of the desire ; 
 and as it continues to be gratified, the tendency to 
 the use of the stimulant becomes stronger and 
 stronger, and the apparent need of our system for 
 it becomes greater and greater. The rust is rapidly 
 enlarging the opening through which the element 
 destructive to our spiritual edifice is entering ; and 
 
130 WATCHFULNESS OVEJR SELF. 
 
 if we do not soon apply the remedy, the unsightly 
 evidences of decay will become apparent. Our 
 heavenly Father, who is ever watching over us for 
 good, does not suffer us to fall into evil, without 
 giving us due warning. There will be impressed 
 on the mind a feeling of caution — an impression 
 to abstain from that which may injure us ; but this 
 gentle warning may be easily set aside and disre- 
 garded, especially when the cry of appetite is loud 
 and imperative ; and when, in other things, we 
 have not been careful reverently to listen for and 
 honestly to obey the teachings of the Holy Spirit 
 within us. 
 
 It is related that a minister, in the course of a 
 religious visit, advised his hearers to beware of 
 closet tipplings. A valuable woman who was 
 present, felt uneasy with the communication, as 
 she did not see that it was applicable to any who 
 were present. Sometime after, feeling exhausted 
 with her household labors, and perhaps with the 
 heat of the weather, she thought a glass of wine 
 would be helpful, and accordingly drank one. In 
 a day or two she again thought she felt the like 
 need, and again partook of it. A third time she 
 approached the closet where the wine was kept, 
 with the same intention, when the language of the 
 preacher flashed across her mind : Beware of closet 
 
WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 131 
 
 tippling. Convinced now that his arrows had not 
 been shot at random, she turned away, leaving the 
 tempting liquid untouched. 
 
 The late Samuel Cope was riding one day in 
 company with one who was an eminently gifted 
 minister. Possessed of remarkable powers of elo- 
 quence, and the faculty of controlling large bodies 
 of people, he was greatly admired and followed ; but 
 he had probably at that time begun to give way 
 to a taste for spirituous liquors, which afterwards 
 increased to a mournful extent. The leak had been' 
 made in his roof, and he had not the moral resolu- 
 tion and self-denial to close it. In the course of 
 their ride, he said to Samuel, that a report had 
 been raised affecting his reputation for temperance. 
 Samuel replied, in substance, Thou knowest whether 
 it is true or not. If it is true, and thou dost not 
 quit the practice, there is no help for thee but to 
 go down. The individual referred to ultimately 
 fell away, and became impoverished. This narra- 
 tive is a striking proof of the truth, that however 
 spacious and splendid in the eyes of others may be 
 our spiritual building, it is liable to decay and ruin 
 if we do not carefully watch over it to keep it in 
 order, and apply to the great Master Mechanic for 
 his help to repair the injuries which it may meet 
 with. 
 
132 WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 
 
 Wlien the late Amos Lawrence, so widely and 
 favorably known as a merchant and citizen, was a 
 lad, he was placed in a store, in one of the interior 
 towns. of Massachusetts, to receive his' business 
 training. It was the custom of the store, for one 
 of the young men about eleven o'clock in every fore- 
 noon, to prepare a beverage in which whiskey or 
 brandy was mixed with water, sugar, and other 
 ingredients, to give it a palatable taste ; of this the 
 employees and customers of the store were at liberty 
 to partake. Amos shared with his companions in 
 the pleasant draught ; but as time passed on, he 
 became conscious of a longing for his accustomed 
 stimulant when the usual hour arrived. Aroused 
 to reflection by this feeling, he at once resolved to 
 repair, the leak in his roof, and never again drank of 
 the tempting liquid. His own success in life was, 
 no doubt, to a large extent, due to the moral firm- 
 ness and self-denial which he practised, .of which 
 the above incident is an illustration. The peril to 
 which he was exposed may be estimated from the 
 fact which he relates, that every one of the young 
 men employed with him in the store, contracted a 
 fondness for strong drink, and became habitual 
 drunkards. 
 
 It is not in the indulgence of the appetites alone, 
 that small beginnings often lead to great results. 
 
WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 133 
 
 The first deviations from the right path in any- 
 thing are often so small that the mind is not fully 
 awakened to the danger of the departure. Almost 
 insensibly the path diverges, turning more and 
 more rapidly in the wrong direction, till the poor 
 wanderer at last finds himself plunging into ruin, 
 and in such a state that nothing but the powerful 
 interposition of the Divine arm can rescue him 
 from destruction. Recent occurrences in business 
 communities have disclosed several cases where 
 persons of hitherto unblemished reputation, highly 
 esteemed in the circles where they were known, 
 holding official positions in the religious bodies to 
 which they belonged, and occupying places of trust, 
 have been found to have made use of the funds of 
 institutions under their control for their own pur- 
 poses, in an unwarrantable manner, and thus to 
 have caused serious loss to innocent parties. 
 
 In well meaning persons, such things generally 
 commence in a very small way. Feeling the need 
 of a little money, a man may anticipate his salary, 
 and draw a few hundred dollars some weeks before 
 it becomes due. As a matter of convenience, he 
 may keep a private debtor and creditor account 
 with the institution over which he presides, borrow- 
 ing occasionally small sums for his personal use, 
 which he returns at his own convenience, and of 
 12 
 
134 WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 
 
 whicli no entry is made in the official books. 
 These things seem to him harmless in themselves. 
 "When he has become accustomed to this, an oppor- 
 tunity may present of making a purchase which 
 he thinks will be largely to his pecuniary advan- 
 tage, and which will require more funds than he 
 has of his own. It is but a slight extension of his 
 debtor and creditor account to borrow a few thou- 
 sand dollars of the company he is connected with, 
 and to do this without notice to the directors, or 
 giving that kind of security which the rules of the 
 institution require. One speculation often leads to 
 another ; the amounts required become larger and 
 larger, till finally the transactions grow to such an 
 amount that they can no longer be concealed, and 
 the poor man finds himself the victim of public 
 censure and private self-reproach, and that he has 
 become a ruined man. 
 
 May we all learn to avoid the beginnings of 
 evil, and if we discover an opening, however small, 
 in the roof of our house, figuratively speaking, 
 may we lose no time in having it repaired. We 
 will undoubtedly find it a task too great for our 
 own skill and ability, to repair the injuries which 
 our spiritual edifices have received ; but if we be- 
 come thoroughly humbled under a sense of our 
 transgressions, and in sincerity and earnestness 
 
WATCHFULNESS OVEB SELF. 135 
 
 beg for help of our compassionate heavenly Father, 
 he will, in his own time and way, extend such re- 
 lief as he sees to be best for us. For as one who 
 had large experience of his goodness says: "He 
 is a God of mercies, and delighteth in pardoning 
 and forgiving much, and very often. What tender 
 mother can be more ready to forgive and embrace 
 the child that appears broken and afflicted with 
 her sore displeasure ! Yea, he gives hrokenness, 
 he melteth the heart, that he may be tender 
 towards it, and embrace it in his arms of recon- 
 ciliation, and in the peace of his Spirit." 
 
 SE FAITHFUL TO THE IMPRESSIONS OF DUTY. 
 
 Kichard Williams the surgeon, who is noted as 
 a devoted missionary in Patagonia, had a very 
 severe struggle to encounter in giving up the use 
 of tobacco, which sacrifice he believed was required 
 of him. He knew that a profession of religion, 
 without so dwelling under its power as to be will- 
 ing to give up, for the sake of peace of mind, all 
 gratifications which he felt to be wrong for him to 
 indulge in, would be unavailing. Yet he found it 
 no easy thing to give up one practice which had 
 enslaved him; and he describes in his journal his 
 struggles in the conflict, and the final breaking of 
 the fetters. He says, " For more than a month 
 
136 WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 
 
 before leaving England, I had given up the prac- 
 tice of smoking. At various times I have been 
 under strong impressions that I ought to leave it 
 off, and have felt dissatisfied with myself for the 
 self-indulgence. But the cravings after it had 
 become so strong, and the will of the flesh so ur- 
 gently demanded it, that it was no easy task to 
 overcome the propensity. 
 
 " At length I resolved to leave it off, and happily 
 succeeded, without experiencing any uncomfortable 
 effects. This was six weeks before leaving England. 
 Daring that time I kept my firm resolution, 
 though, in lieu of smoking, I had recourse to 
 snuft". Some of my friends, who thought I was 
 going to unnecessary lengths of self-denial, would 
 put up for me, among the equipments for my voy- 
 age, tobacco, cigars, and a canister of snuft", and 
 they made me promise to purchase a meerschaum. 
 ' "Well,' I thought, ' circumstances may possibly be 
 such as to render it desirable to have them ; ' so I 
 yielded to their wish. On board, I could not resist 
 the temptation of taking a cigar, such was my 
 weakness. Giving them freely away, and smoking 
 them daily, my stock was soon exhausted ; but all 
 the cravings for tobacco were reacquired. I took 
 to the meerschaum, but with the indulgence came 
 the condemnation.; My conscience would not allow 
 
WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 137 
 
 me to continue ; so I gave the canister of snufF to 
 the captain of the ship, and reserved only a small 
 q;Uantity. Captain Cooper, likewise, had my meer- 
 schaum, on condition of my not requiring it again. 
 Three or four days passed without having recourse 
 to him for it, hut never did I suffer such cravings 
 after it; my stomach became affected, and my 
 spirits so depressed, that I was compelled to ask 
 for it again. With a sense of bodily relief and 
 comfort, I smoked it ; but, alas ! my condemnation 
 was great. Hurriedly opening a book in my hand, 
 the question of the Psalmist was presented to my 
 eye, ' Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle ? who 
 shall dwell in thy holy hill ? He that sweareth to 
 his own hurt, and changeth not.' These words 
 were applied to my mind most forcibly. I was 
 condemned. But now I knew my duty, and, suf- 
 fer what I might, I resolved to give up the practice 
 in all its forms. Having sought mercy and for- 
 giveness with the Lord, and his grace to help me, 
 I gave away, in good earnest, all my tobacco, my 
 pipe, and my snuff-box, and I threw overboard the 
 small quantity of snuff I had reserved. Thus a 
 clear riddance was effected." 
 
 Richard Williams was comforted in thus giving 
 up to what he believed was required of him ; and 
 
 well will it be for all who, whenever they are 
 12* 
 
138 WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 
 
 conscious that any of their ways are not well 
 pleasing in the Divine sight, do turn therefrom, 
 and stand firmly in their duty, humbly relying 
 on the Lord's sustaining strength. 
 
 TEABTNO DOWN A WALL. 
 
 In watching the proceedings of a workman who 
 was engaged in cutting a doorway through a stone 
 wall, it was observed that when he had by blows 
 of his pick on the softer mortar effected a slight 
 entrance, so as to obtain a foothold for his imple- 
 ment, he endeavored to pry out one of the stones, 
 using all the force the implement would bear." But 
 his effort was unsuccessful ; the stone was too mas- 
 sive and too firmly fixed into its place to be moved. 
 Finding this to be the case, he soon desisted from 
 the attempt, and proceeded to pick at the mortar, 
 gradually detaching pieces of it, and loosening the 
 smaller pieces of stone that had been wedged in the 
 crevices between the larger ones. In this way, he 
 soon removed the supports from the large stone, 
 so that it readily yielded to the blows and prying 
 of the pick, and fell to the ground. An opening 
 having once been made in the wall, the work of 
 destruction proceeded more rapidly. The other 
 stones, thus left with only a partial support, were 
 easilj"^ displaced, and the whole process was soon 
 accomplished. 
 
WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 139 
 
 How apt an emblem is this workman, with his 
 pick, of Satan assaulting with his temptations those 
 whom he is seeking to delude and destroy. He 
 does not begin by persuading his intended victim 
 to do some gross or outrageous action, the mere 
 mention of which would alarm and put him on his 
 guard. He attacks the weak points, and attempts 
 to get a foothold there first. Are we naturally 
 persons of strong appetites ? He leads us to an un- 
 due indulgence of these ; an indulgence which leads 
 us beyond the limits which a proper attention to 
 the checks and restraints of the Spirit of Christ 
 in the heart would impose. The advantage thus 
 gained over us, he follows up by stimulating us to 
 take greater liberties, and indulge in more lavish 
 expenditures in gratifying the corrupted wishes of 
 the heart. The further steps by which he leads us 
 to ruin may accord with our physical and mental 
 constitution, and with the outward position in 
 which we are placed. Many a young maj^, who 
 has thus entered on the downward course, has been 
 led to appropriate to his own use the funds of 
 others without their knowledge and consent. The 
 principles of his education, and the convictions of 
 Grace, show him the wickedness of dishonesty, 
 and at first he attempts to quiet the pleadings of 
 these by resolving to return the money to its 
 
140 WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 
 
 rightful owner at a convenient time. But that 
 convenient time too often never comes ; the devil, 
 to whose service he is submitting, leads him on 
 from one step to another, until disgrace and ruin 
 are his portion. 
 
 Some who have thus entered the broad way that 
 leads to destruction, have been aroused to a sense 
 of their lapsed condition, and of the danger that 
 overhung them, by the renewed and merciful vis- 
 itations of the Spirit of Christ ; and by submitting 
 their hearts to its awakening call, and suffering 
 the Divine judgments to have their full effect, have 
 been brought into true repentance, and enabled, 
 with the poor publican of old, to cry out from the 
 bottom of their hearts, " God be merciful to me a 
 sinner." Such have been so humbled, that they 
 have felt that they could not obtain that peace of 
 mind they longed for, without making confession 
 of their guilt to those they had wronged. When 
 the poor sinner has been brought to the situation 
 in which he makes no reserves, but is willing in 
 all things to obey the Divine reqiiiring, if he may 
 but know the return of peace to his soul, surely 
 then is verified the language, "He that covereth 
 his sins shall not prosper ; but whoso confesseth 
 and forsaketh them shall have mercy." 
 
WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 141 
 
 THE LOST CHILD. 
 
 A. person passing along- the streets of our city 
 was startled by the sudden outcry of a little child. 
 The tones indicated that the heart was filled with 
 terror. Instinctively turning to see who it was, 
 and what was the cause of its alarm, it was found 
 that its older care-taker had turned the corner of a 
 street, so as to be out of sight of the infant ; and 
 the sense of desertion and the feeling of being 
 without a protector, had nearly overpowered the 
 feelings of the little one, and brought forth the 
 passionate cry which was at once the expression of 
 its fright and the appeal for relief. 
 
 How vividly does the course of this little one 
 recall our own spiritual steps. Like it we are sent 
 out into the world with a Guide and Companion 
 ever near to help and direct us. That Holy Spirit, 
 which our Saviour promised to send to his disciples, 
 and which should lead them into all truth, is in- 
 deed, as Wm. Penn describes it, " God's gift for 
 man's salvation." It raises the warning voice 
 when we are in danger of being led astray by any 
 temptation, exciting a feeling of uneasiness in the 
 mind, which, if heeded, would preserve us from 
 evil. The more watchfully we observe its moni- 
 tions, and the more faithfully we heed them, the 
 more fully will our lives be under its influence, and 
 
142 WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 
 
 the more safely will we move through the varied 
 snares and dangers that may await us. But it too 
 often happens that, like a child following its care- 
 taker, we are diverted by some of the pleasing 
 things that life presents ; our eye is withdrawn 
 from our Leader ; the gentle warnings given us are 
 unheeded amid the loud calls of the world that 
 surrounds us ; we stop in our onward path to par- 
 take of the amusements and excitements that 
 abound, until we seem entirely to have lost sight 
 of our heavenly Guide, and our thoughts are ab- 
 sorbed in our temporal matters, and we come to 
 live almost as if there was nothing beyond this 
 present world. "We recognize in words the claims 
 of religion, but it has no ruling power in our hearts. 
 We do not daily and hourly bring our thoughts, 
 words, and actions to be tried by the test : " Is it 
 well-pleasing to my heavenly Father?" That most 
 precious > language of the Psalmist, " May the 
 words of my mouth, and the meditations of my 
 heart, be acceptable in thy sight, Lord, my 
 strength and my Redeemer," is no longer the 
 breathing of our spirits. Thus we sometimes go 
 on for a long time, really walking in the " Broad 
 "Way " that leads to destruction, though we may 
 be unwilling to admit it even to ourselves, and 
 ff^andering far from, that path which leads Zioii» 
 
WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 143 
 
 ward. It is in the infinite mercy of God who 
 willeth not the death of the sinner, but that all 
 men should return, repent, and live, that his love 
 reaches to us even in this state of wandering and 
 forgetfulness of him. Sometimes he permits 
 heavy outward calamities to assail us ; our busi- 
 ness prospects may be blasted ; disease may invade 
 our powers, or the dearest of our earthly compan- 
 ions may be taken away. At other times his judg- 
 ments may be more in the secret of our own hearts. 
 Our sins may be set in order before us, and the 
 awful consciousness that we have been rejecting 
 the proffered mercies of our Grod, may press heavily 
 upon us. We are awakened to a sense of our con- 
 dition ; we feel that we have lost our Guide, and 
 that there is no other who can help us or save us 
 from the consequences of our own foolish ways. 
 What then is left for us but, like the lost child, to 
 cry out from the depth of the heart for' the return 
 of our Guide, and to say, " God be merciful to 
 me a sinner " ? 
 
 So great is the Divine goodness, that such a cry, 
 uttered in sincerity, is never unheard ; but he who 
 puts the prayer into the heart, is ready to answer 
 it in his own way and time. For "joy shall be in 
 heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than 
 over nii^ety and nii^e just persons which, need no 
 repentai^cG," 
 
144 WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 
 
 A STBAWBEBBY-BED. 
 A strawberry-bed which yields a bountiful 
 supply of fruit has furnished a full illustration 
 of the truth of the common remark, that noth- 
 ing valuable is to be obtained without correspond- 
 ing labor and pains. The proper preparation of 
 the. ground, the selection and setting out of the 
 plants, and their subsequent cultivation, till they 
 had overspread the plot assigned them, and had 
 obtained the age and vigor requisite to enable them 
 to produce a large amount of luscious berries, are 
 not the only things that experience has shown to 
 be needful. After the first full crop was borne, 
 and the plants were left to throw out their run- 
 ners, and renew their strength for the production 
 of fruit in the following year, it soon became ap- 
 parent that various unwelcome intruders had 
 established themselves in the bed, and, if not re- 
 moved, would overshadow the rightful occupants 
 of the soil, hinder their growth, and rob them of 
 their proper nourishment. The slender spears of 
 grass of several varieties, the heads of clover, and 
 the stems of weeds of many kinds, were to be seen 
 thickly projecting above the leaves of the straw- 
 berry plants. Some of these were easily removed ; 
 others clung so tenaciously to the earth, and were 
 80 deeply rooted, that unskilful force merely de- 
 
WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 145 
 
 tached the part above ground, and left the subter- 
 ranean portions still alive. One of the most 
 troublesome was the common sheep-sorrel, which 
 throws out, just under the surface of the earth, 
 long roots, which wander over the bed, and send 
 up at intervals leaves and stems. 
 
 The sacred writings often compare the church 
 and its members to outward and visible things. 
 " A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse." 
 " The daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a 
 vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers." 
 "Thou shalt be like a watered garden." The 
 Prophet Isaiah, in figurative language, speaks of 
 the church as a vineyard, of which he says, " I the 
 Lord do keep it ; I will water it every moment : 
 lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day," and 
 continuing the same metaphor, he adds, " He shall 
 cause them that come of Jacob to take root : Israel 
 shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world 
 with fruit." 
 
 This strawberry-bed might be compared to an 
 individual who had experienced the operations of 
 the Lord's hand. The fallow ground has been 
 broken up ; the rampant growth of evil propensi- 
 ties, words, and actions has been cut down ; and 
 good seed has been sown in the heart, which, under 
 
 the fostering care of the heavenly Gardener, has 
 13 K 
 
146 WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 
 
 taken root and grown. Through the aid of his 
 Holy Spirit, and the renewed visitations thereof, 
 which descend on the soul as the dew and the rain, 
 the plant of heavenly origin has borne fruit, — it 
 may be of humility as shown in a meek and humble 
 behavior, of kindness to all, of quiet submission 
 to severe trials, or of more conspicuous, because 
 public, labor for the religious welfare of others. 
 
 Those who are thus exercised, especially those 
 engaged in the great work of proclaiming the 
 gospel of light and salvation, are exposed to some 
 trials of a peculiar nature ; and it is wise for such 
 to prize and improve the intervals of rest from 
 active service which are granted by the Lord of 
 the vineyard. Let them, as well as all others, 
 examine the gardens of their own hearts. They 
 will find young weeds coming into view here and 
 there among the good plants which must be re- 
 moved, or they will soon grow, and destroy the 
 beauty and lessen the fruitfulness of their fruit- 
 beds. They may discover that the kindness and 
 sympathy of their friends, and the favor with 
 which their ministrations have been received, have 
 nourished a disposition to appropriate to them- 
 selves the honor which belongs only to the Griver 
 of all our gifts ; and that, like the sorrel, this 
 hurtful weed has been secretly insinuating its 
 
WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 147 
 
 fibres into their hearts, until it has so developed 
 that its acid leaves are being shot up into sight. 
 They may find that they have relaxed in that ten- 
 derness of conscience and watchful care to avoid 
 the first approach to evil, into which they were led 
 in the day of their espousals ; when, yielding them- 
 selves fully into the Divine hand, they followed 
 him into the wilderness, and " Israel was holiness 
 unto the Lord, and the first-fruits of his increase." 
 From this neglect may have followed too much in- 
 dulgence to the appetites of the body, too much 
 latitude in the range of the thoughts, and too little 
 restraint on the expressions of the tongue. The 
 danger of this is especially great, if in earlier 
 years they have yielded to corrupting influences. 
 Through submission to Grace, they may have been 
 enabled to remove all visible signs, and faithfully 
 to reject all temptations to indulge in the sins 
 which, at one time, so easily beset them. But 
 • these roots remain long in the ground, and in an 
 unguarded hour often manifest their presence. 
 What sad examples have we seen of persons who, 
 for a series of years, had maintained an unblem- 
 ished reputation, and yet have afterwards yielded 
 to temptations which at one time they probably 
 thought they had fully mastered ! Let him that 
 thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall ; and 
 
148 WATCHFULNESS OVER SELF. 
 
 let IS all feel the importance of the apostolic in- 
 junction, to work out our salvation with fear and 
 trembling — a fear lest by any means we should 
 come short of that heavenly rest which has been 
 set before us. 
 
 The evil seeds which grow in the heart of man 
 are as multifold in number and form as the weeds 
 which spring up in our gardens. Some make their 
 appearance in the early spring-time of life ; others 
 flourish more luxuriantly in the meridian of our 
 strength and vigor; and others again find a con- 
 genial climate in the autumnal period. There is 
 no way in which our gardens can be kept clean, 
 but by heeding the injunction which our Saviour 
 has so emphatically given as of universal applica- 
 tion, " What I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch;" 
 As this holy watch is maintained, our eyes will be 
 anointed to see, and strength will be given to re- 
 move those things which are of evil tendency. 
 
CHILDREN. 149 
 
 CHILDEEN. 
 
 PROMPT OBEDIENCE. 
 
 OH the value, the inestimable value to youth, 
 of a habit of prompt obedience to parental 
 commands ! An anecdote strikingly illustrating 
 this, as well as* setting forth Christian heroism of 
 an exalted character, some years ago occurred in 
 Prussia. On one of the railroads in that country, 
 a switch-tender was once taking his place in order 
 to turn a coming train, then in sight, upon a differ- 
 ent track, in order to prevent a collision with a train 
 approaching in a contrary direction. Just at this 
 moment, on turning his head, he discerned his 
 little son playing on the track of the advancing 
 engine. What could he do? Thought was quick 
 at such a moment of peril ! He might spring to 
 his child and rescue him, but he could not do this 
 in time to turn the switch, and for want of that, 
 hundreds of lives might be lost. Although in 
 sore trouble, he could not neglect his greater duty, 
 but exclaiming with a loud voice to his son, " Lie 
 down !" he laid hold of the switch, and saw the 
 train safely turned upon its proper track. His 
 
 boy, accustomed to obedience, did as his father 
 
 13* 
 
150 CHILDREN. 
 
 commanded him, and the fearful heavy train thun- 
 dered over him. Little did the passengers think, 
 as they found themselves quietly resting on that 
 turnout, what terrible anguish their approach had 
 that day caused to one noble heart. The father 
 rushed forward to where his boy lay, fearful lest 
 he should find only a mangled corpse, but to his 
 great joy and thankful gratitude, he found him 
 alive and unharmed. Prompt obedience had saved 
 him. Had he paused to argue, to reason whether 
 it were best, death and fearful mutilation of body 
 would in all probability have resulted. The cir- 
 cumstances connected with this event were made 
 known to the king of Prussia, who the next day 
 sent for the man, and presented him with a medal 
 of honor for his heroism. 
 
 This is a striking case of highest duty triumph- 
 ing over warm, parental feelings. Dear reader, 
 couldst thou have done as this switch-tender did ? 
 Consider. Thy darling — the delight of thy eyes, 
 the joy of thy heart — about to be crushed and 
 mangled by that coming train, and thou couldst 
 save him by neglecting the switch ! The momen- 
 tary contest in the bosom of this noble man must 
 have been intensely agonizing. "We can all rejoice 
 with him when he found his obedient child unin- 
 jured by the mighty hurricane of power that had 
 
CHILDREN. 151 
 
 whirled over his head ; but let us pause and con- 
 sider, Could we have done as he did? And then 
 another question may well claim the serious 
 thoughtfulness of parents : Have we brought up 
 our children in such habits of prompt, unhesitat- 
 ing obedience as characterized his little boy ? 
 
 Prompt obedience to the commands of our 
 Christian parents is a duty, and tends to our 
 safety. "We may not be in danger of being 
 crushed by engines of power if we hesitate, but we 
 are always liable, if we wilfully pause, of falling 
 into temptation and the snares of the evil one, 
 and of being more and more leavened into the 
 spirit of disobedience, which ever tends to our 
 spiritual destruction. 
 
 " Prompt obedience to parents in the Lord's lead- 
 ings, seems to pave the way for obedience unto 
 him. His commands come to us by day and by 
 night, and there is always soul-saving efficacy in 
 obedience thereto. Are we running on in a course 
 of vanity and folly ? hearken to his inward voice 
 bidding us touch not, taste not, handle not. Seek 
 to become more and more acquainted with his 
 voice ; and the easiest way to that knowledge is 
 by rendering prompt obedience to all its commands 
 which we do know. "He that doeth the will 
 shall know of the doctrine," said our blessed Sa- 
 
152 CHILDREN. 
 
 viour, and this certainly implies that all his 
 obedient children shall be more and more taught of 
 him. " Thy children shall be all taught of the Lord, 
 and great shall be the peace of thy children." 
 
 " OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES AND SUCKLINGS 
 THOU HAST PERFECTED PRAISE." 
 
 In the year 1819, Stephen Grellet and "William 
 Allen were in St. Petersburg, the capital of the 
 Russian empire, engaged in the prosecution of re- 
 ligious service. In his journal, S. Gr. says, " At one 
 of our late visits to the Prince Alexander Galitzin, 
 he stated to us an interesting circumstance that 
 occurred lately in Pinland. Some children, from 
 seven to nine years of age, were so brought under 
 the sensible influences of the Spirit of God, convinc- 
 ing them of their sins, that, on their going to or 
 from school, they retired into the woods, and there 
 put up their prayers to the Lord with many tears. 
 By degrees their number increased. The parents of 
 some of them found them thus engaged, and with 
 rebukes and stripes dispersed them ; but the parents 
 of others, who had noticed the increased sobriety 
 and good behavior of their children, encouraged 
 them to meet together in their houses, and not to 
 go out into the woods. The children did so ; and 
 some of their parents, observing their religious ten- 
 
CHILDREN. 153 
 
 derness, and hearing their solemn prayers to the 
 Lord, the Redeemer and Saviour of sinners, felt in 
 themselves strong convictions of sin. They joined 
 their children in their devotions, and a great re- 
 form took place in that part of the country. This 
 excited the angry feelings of the priest, who was a 
 bad man and a drunkard. He went to the magis- 
 trates to enter his complaints against both children 
 and parents. 
 
 " The prosecution ended in their all being sent 
 to prison. They had been some months in con- 
 finement, when Frince Alexander Galitzin heard 
 that children were in prison on account of religion. 
 He thought it so strange an occurrence, that he 
 sent confidential persons to inquire into it. They 
 found so much religious sensibility and tenderness 
 in the children, that they were greatly surprised, 
 especially at the simplicity with which they re- 
 lated how they had been brought into trouble 
 because of their sinful hearts, and how they felt 
 they must pray to the Lord J6sus Christ, who 
 alone could forgive them, and enable them to live 
 in a state of acceptance before God. 
 
 " Being inquired of, if their parents or others had 
 not put them on doing this, they said that, so far 
 from that, they were afraid their parents or any 
 one else should know how it was with them ; that 
 
154 CHILDREN. 
 
 they retired privately in the woods to pray and 
 cry with tears unto the Lord. The parents also 
 stated that the children had been the instruments 
 of bringing them to a sense of their sinful lives, 
 and to seek to the Lord that he might give them 
 a new heart, and pour forth his Spirit upon them. 
 Moreover, it was found that the conduct of these 
 people and children had been such, during their 
 imprisonment, as to comport with their Christian 
 profession. The Prince ordered them released, 
 and had the priest and magistrates severely repri- 
 manded, and removed from their offices. The 
 Emperor having heard of all this, and the great 
 suffering to which these families were reduced in 
 consequence of their long confinement, which took 
 place last year before harvest, ordered that all 
 their losses should be liberally made up to them, 
 making ample provision also for their present sup- 
 port." 
 
 CBILDBEN ARE AN HERITAGE OF THE LORD. 
 
 A pious mother related to Ann Mifflin, wife of 
 "Warner Mifflin, that on one occasion, when in com- 
 pany with two of her children, — a son of seven 
 years and a daughter four years old, — she re- 
 quested them to remain silent while she was en- 
 gaged in reading a religious book, and, as an 
 
CHILDREN. 155 
 
 inducement to them, proposed that they should 
 think for half an hour, and then tell her their 
 thoughts. 
 
 After a pause, the little boy replied that " It 
 was impossible to tell his thoughts ; they were the 
 same that had been in his mind more than one 
 year ; and that they were so delightful the more 
 he thought, the more he wished to continue in 
 that sweet meditation ; and if all the world would 
 get into the-same feeling, it would be impossible 
 for any to be damned." 
 
 The mother, startled at such an unexpected 
 reply from so young a child, inquired of him if he 
 could recollect the first time he felt these serious 
 impressions. He said, " They came on by degrees 
 from a desire to be good and serve God." He 
 was then asked if he was willing to die and go to 
 heaven. He said, " He had heaven already in his 
 own heart ; therefore he believed, if he should be 
 called from this world, his spirit would unite 
 with God his Father ; but he wanted to live to 
 pray for those who were wicked ; and that many 
 times he burst into tears for the sins of the world, 
 and wished it was in his power to bring them into 
 the same feeling with himself." He also said to 
 his mother, " He could not speak of these things to 
 his companions at school, knowing he should be 
 
156 CHILDREN. 
 
 ridiculed ; and if she knew all lie suffered in mind 
 among such a set of wicked boys, she would weep 
 for him continually." He further said that he 
 grieved for them, " lest they should continue hard- 
 ened in wickedness, — sorry that they should of- 
 fend so good a God ; and distressed for himself 
 in struggling against the temptations before him, 
 and afraid he should do something wrong; but 
 that these thoughts, which were continually before 
 him, were his comfort." On inquiry from his 
 mother if he knew whence, these thoughts pro- 
 ceeded, he answered, " Yes ; from Grod ; and that 
 it was God's Spirit in him, and that he sometimes 
 enjoyed heaven without waiting for death." 
 
 After the child had left the room, the eldest 
 daughter, aged twelve years, who was present, 
 burst into tears, and said, " "What but the Spirit 
 of God could make a child like this speak in this 
 manner ? " 
 
 HONOR THY FATHER AND MOTHER. 
 
 It is the duty of parents to bestow a religiously 
 guarded education upon their children, — to .en- 
 deavor, as ability may be afforded, to bring them 
 up in the nurture and admonition of the Lotd ; 
 seeking daily, by prayer and reverent waiting upon 
 the alone Helper of his people, for wisdom to ad- 
 
CHILDREN. 157 
 
 vise, encourage, and restrain. "Where true heart- 
 changing religion rules in the parents, the family 
 circle must necessarily be a privileged place. 
 Parents cannot bestow grace upon their children ; 
 but if they are guided by wisdom from above, — if 
 fervent earnestness for their spiritual welfare is 
 mellowed by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, 
 — if their natural affection for their offspring is 
 tempered by a holy zeal for their best welfare, it 
 can scarcely be but that some spiritual benefit will 
 be gathered by the children. -How often have we 
 seen the earnest concern, the living exercise and 
 travail of the parents for the eternal well-being 
 of the children eminently blessed. Sometimes 
 spiritual graces seem to rest, through the Divine 
 blessing, on whole families of such dedicated ones, 
 and in children and grand-children we find repro- 
 duced preachers of righteousness and standard- 
 bearers in life and conversation. 
 
 The temptations of the evil one are many, and 
 at times even the children of really concerned 
 Christians are caught in his snares. How sorrow- 
 ful is it to observe those who have been educated 
 under Christian discipline, — who have been con- 
 scious of the religious concern of pious parents 
 for their eternal happiness, — who have known the 
 prayers and tears which have been poured forth in 
 14 
 
158 CHILDBEN. 
 
 secret and in public on their account, break out 
 into open immoralities, or throw off all appearance 
 of being under the cross of Christ. What greater 
 anguish of mind can we conceive pious parents 
 could suffer, than to see one of the lambs com- 
 mitted to their charge, thus rushing into the spirit 
 of the world," and into its fashions and wicked- 
 ness. 
 
 Can there be anything more touching than the 
 parting of John Fothergill, that eminent minister 
 of the GTospel of Christ, with his reprobate son 
 Samuel, when, after years of painful labor with 
 him, — all hope of his restoration seeming closed 
 up, — he took leave of him, for an absence of some 
 years on a religious visit to America, with these 
 words: "And now, son Samuel, farewell! fare- 
 well ! and unless it be as a changed man, I can- 
 not say that I have any wish ever to see thee again." 
 What a farewell ! The son was of bright talents ; 
 he could appreciate the anguish his conduct had 
 given to a tenderly concerned father; he could 
 see what a stumbling-block his evil course was to 
 others ; he knew how it stood in the way of his 
 father's usefulness as a minister of Christ ; all these 
 thoughts were doubtless, at that moment of part- 
 ing, struggling within him. His father left him ; 
 soon the Atlantic Ocean rolled between them; 
 
CHILDREN. 169 
 
 but his heavenly Father was still watching over 
 him for good, and still granting the reproofs of his 
 Holy Spirit, which awakened in him repentance 
 unto life. Yes, even to this son of revolt, who 
 had rushed into great wickedness, who had strayed 
 until he had no hope of obtaining peace, who 
 wandered until life became a burden, and he wished 
 he had never been born, even to him there was 
 granted repentance unto life. On returning to 
 England, his father rejoiced to find that in him a 
 thorough change had taken place, and he after- 
 wards became an eminent minister of the gospel. 
 
 Many individuals who have not fallen into such 
 open immorality as Samuel Fothergill did, are yet 
 as far estranged from a willingness to take up the 
 cross. Children, whose parents are constrained 
 openly to uphold the testimonies of Truth, are 
 sometimes found running with the world in its 
 customs, its manners, and its language, and yet do 
 not seem to consider that they are thus laying 
 waste the religious exercises of their dear parents. 
 
 The late William Evans related that on one 
 occasion, in his youth, being about to engage in 
 something that his godly father would have con- 
 demned as evil, he seemed to see the face of that 
 father between him and the accomplishment of his 
 purpose. He dared not pass on. His honest love 
 
160 CHILDREN. 
 
 and regard for his father, and the secret conviction 
 of his mind that his intended action was wrong, 
 might have had something to do with producing 
 the vision ; but doubtless it was in the permission 
 of Divine Providence, and to save him from sin. 
 
 The remembrance of family gatherings for re- 
 ligious retirement, and if it should so prove for 
 Divine worship, has sometimes been blessed. An 
 incident is related of a religious man who had 
 been favored with many such opportunities in his 
 father's family, who was in the habit of gather- 
 ing all the members of his household at a stated 
 hour every evening. The young man had left his 
 father's house, and engaged in business in another 
 place ; was tempted to go to a place, perhaps it was 
 to the theatre, which he knew was wrong. He 
 had put down the pleadings of conscience against 
 the act, and was drawing near the place when the 
 clock struck. In a moment he rernembered that 
 at that hour his honored parents, his beloved 
 brothers and sisters, had sat down with the in- 
 tention of drawing near to the Holy One, and 
 to offer, if enabled, supplication, adoration, and 
 praise. The striking difference between their 
 engagement and that he was about entering on, so 
 forcibly took hold of his mind, that he turned 
 away from the scene of sin. He could not at that 
 
CHILDBEN. 161 
 
 hour so dishonor his father. As he waited on the 
 Lord Jesus, who by this powerful remembrance 
 had enabled him to resist the temptation, he 
 gained strength, and through the washing of 
 regeneration and the renewings of the Holy Ghost, 
 became a consistent Christian. 
 
 It is sometimes the case that apparently relig- 
 ious parents, whose children have grown out of 
 their control, and have refused to submit to their 
 authority, attempt to buy, as it were, the love they 
 have lost in order to prevent a still greater alien- 
 ation, and allow the introduction of things in the 
 furniture and embellishments of their houses, and 
 in the company invited there, which are incon- 
 sistent with their profession, and which occasion, 
 or should occasion, much uneasiness to their minds. 
 They do not attempt to justify themselves save on 
 the one ground of retaining an affectionate hold 
 on their ungoverned children. Doubtless they 
 are under a mistake. No parent who, in the 
 meekness of true Christian love, and in the firm- 
 ness of Christian duty, lives up to the require- 
 ments of what he knows to be right, ever destroys 
 thereby respect and affection. On the contrary, 
 where he easily gives up his principles, he forfeits 
 the respect, and often loses the affection of the 
 
 child ; whilst the evil example which he tolerates 
 14* L 
 
162 CBILDBEN. 
 
 in his family is felt with pernicious consequence 
 by his honest-hearted neighbors. Such yielding 
 parents soon lose the nice appreciation of error 
 which they may once have possessed, and having 
 given way to admit some wrong things, others 
 more manifestly evil easily find entrance. 
 
M 
 
 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 163 
 
 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 PROVIDENCE DIRECTING. 
 ANY anecdotes are recorded whicli illustrate 
 
 the exercise of providential direction, in 
 human affairs, and incidents showing the same 
 overruling influence are not unfrequently brought 
 to our notice. These are always interesting. To 
 feel that, though we are feeble in strength and 
 deficient in understanding, there is an Omnipres- 
 ent, Omnipotent Being, infinite in wisdom, who 
 is caring for us, preparing the paths for us to walk 
 in, modifying the very dangers which threaten 
 us, and shaping the afflictions which assail us, is 
 indeed comforting and sustaining to the humble 
 Christian. 
 
 An instructive incident occurred in the experi- 
 ence of Thomas Lee, formerly of Exeter, Berks 
 County, Pa., who was taken several years ago, after 
 an exemplary life, to receive the recompense of re- 
 ward for his faithful walking among men. One 
 day, Thomas was suddenly impressed with a belief 
 that he must go quickly to the house of a German 
 neighbor ; and though he hesitated at so unexpected 
 and, so far as human reason could fathom, so use- 
 
164 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVER ANCMS. 
 
 less a requiring, he could not with peace of mind 
 refuse to obey the call. As he was hastening in 
 ohedience to the inward direction, he perceived 
 that his neighbor and several laborers were at work 
 in a quarry near by, and that the bank above them, 
 heavily laden with rock, was about to fall, and 
 must, if they remained where they were, inevitably 
 crush them. Exerting his voice to the utmost, he 
 succeeded in drawing their attention to the crum- 
 bling bank, and they fled from it for their lives. 
 All of them escaped the falling mass but one, who, 
 though he was not caught under the stones, was 
 buried several feet deep in the looser soil from 
 above. His companions being at hand with their 
 tools, he was soon liberated from his premature 
 burial, and though at first insensible, he was not 
 found, on after examination, to be seriously injured. 
 Thomas Lee, to the end of his days, recurred to 
 this event with grateful emotions, and, indeed, he 
 could not speak of it without tears. His faithful- 
 ness, in this instance, was without doubt blessed to 
 his own furtherance in righteousness. For his own 
 spiritual benefit, we may reverently believe this 
 exercise was meted to him by his heavenly Father, 
 as well as for a powerful lesson and an awakening 
 call to those whose lives were saved. Infinite 
 power could have warned them of their danger by 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVEBANOES. 165 
 
 other means, or it could have stayed the parting 
 rock until they had voluntarily left the quarry to 
 obtain their meals or needful rest. But a lesson 
 of instruction was to be given, the reward of obedi- 
 ence was to be obtained, and infinite wisdom ap- 
 pointed the way from which those results should 
 certainly follow. 
 
 The following incident, which occurred a few 
 years since, a,lso illustrates the necessity of giving 
 heed to the intimations of the heavenly Monitor. 
 An aged farmer asked his son if he would drive 
 him to a neighbor's. " Yes, father," he replied. 
 Instantly, as he said this, an impression was made 
 on the son's mind as though one had said, " Don't 
 go ! " He was perplexed at the unusual impres- 
 sion, and as he did not immediately make ready, 
 his father inquired if he did not intend to take 
 him. " Yes, father ! " he again said, and then 
 immediately came the inward response, "Don't 
 go ! " His evident hesitation induced the father 
 to ask him the third time, and his reply, " Yes, 
 father ! " was followed by the " Don't go," as be- 
 fore. He felt ashamed of giving way to these feel- 
 ings, and so bestirring himself, he prepared his 
 vehicle and drove his father whither he desired to 
 go. They found their neighbor engaged killing a 
 bullock, and the beast, infuriated by a stroke which 
 
166 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 had but wounded him, ran at the new-comers, and 
 gored the old farmer so dangerously, that he was 
 for years a cripple and sufferer therefrom. Had 
 the young man been faithful to the impression, it 
 might have opened the way, as an act of obedience 
 to the inward guide, to a further acquaintance with 
 that blessed Spirit, which, when faithfully followed, 
 will lead onward to earthly purity and to heavenly 
 blessedness and peace. 
 
 THOMAS STORY. 
 
 Many Christians of the present day suffer loss, 
 from want of sufficient faith to enjoy some of the 
 privileges partaken of by the saints of old, prom- 
 ised in the Holy Scriptures, and experienced in 
 measure by some of modern times. The skeptical 
 atmosphere in which we live, with its blinding 
 mists, appears to affect them in degree, and pre- 
 vent them from seeing with. clearness, and receiv- 
 ing some of the blessings which are bestowed 
 upon others who have more simple-minded faith. 
 
 The efB.cacy of prayer to procure both spiritual 
 and temporal blessings, the indwelling of the 
 Spirit of Christ and its sensible operations on the 
 heart, the gift of prophecy and of healing the sick, 
 and the extension of Divine Power in a manner 
 out of the ordinary course of nature, are all reali 
 
PROVIBENTIAL DELIVEBANQES. 167 
 
 ties confirmed by the records of the past, and 
 which we have Scripture authority for expecting 
 to find in the experience of the present day. 
 
 Thomas Story was an intimate friend of William 
 Penn, and held several important offices under 
 him. He was a member of the Council of State, 
 Master of the Rolls, and Commissioner of Property 
 for Pennsylvania. He had received a classical 
 education, and possessed an unusually clear and 
 logical mind ; and having early in life yielded his 
 heart to the operations of Divine Grace, he pos- 
 sessed both the intellectual and spiritual qualities 
 which give value to his testimony on religious 
 matters. He left behind him an autobiography in 
 which are recorded the following interesting cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 In 1692, having been absent from home travel- 
 ling on a religious account, he says : " This jour- 
 ney being finished, I went home to my father's 
 house in the evening, and having taken much cold, 
 so that I was hoarse, I spoke with difficulty when 
 I went into the house ; yet, through a very sen- 
 sible operation of the Divine Truth, and the heal- 
 ing virtue thereof, under which I sat in silence 
 for about half an hour, I was perfectly healed ; by 
 which I was forever confirmed in the belief of the 
 miracles of Christ recorded in the Holy Scrip- 
 tures." 
 
168 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVER ANQES. 
 
 In 1698, on a voyage from England to America, 
 the ship in which he sailed encountered a violent 
 storm, so that, as his narrative relates, " all the 
 yards were brought down on the gunnels, and the 
 helm lashed and made fast, and the ship let drive 
 before the wind : and we being met together in 
 the great cabin and steerage to wait upon the 
 Lord, as at other times, he was pleased to appear 
 in the needful time ; for the tempest increased- 
 with thunder and lightning and rain to that de- 
 gree that few there, if any, had ever seen the 
 like. 
 
 " And in waiting upon the Lord, I became con- 
 cerned in prayer ; and being in a mighty agony, 
 and wrestling in spirit with the Lord, I received 
 hope that we should not perish ; and having con- 
 cluded for that time, and my concern returning, I 
 prayed again ; and then some stout hearts were 
 broken, and the Lord's power was glorified, and 
 we greatly comforted: for I prayed unto the 
 Lord, who is God of the seas as well as of the 
 earth, and of the winds, the Creator of all things 
 visible and invisible, that he would be pleased to 
 send forth his word, and command the winds as 
 of old ; and that if there was any opposing spirit 
 that stood in our way to hinder our progress, the 
 Lord would please to drive him away : and then I 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVEBANGES. 169 
 
 was easy, having fully overcome ; and my com- 
 panion, and some others, were also greatly tendered ; 
 and as soon as I arose I took the Friends by the 
 hands, and some others also, and, in full assurance, 
 told them the worst was over for that time ; and 
 the words were scarcely out of my mouth, and I 
 set down in the cabin, till the storm abated, and 
 the weather became moderate for some time after ; 
 and we had no more great storms after it to that 
 degree." 
 
 In 1698, when in Ireland, at the castle of Shan- 
 nigary, which was on the estate of William Penn, 
 he met with " a gentlewoman of good sense and 
 character," who gave him the following relation : 
 
 " That she, being in the city of Cork, when it 
 was invested by King William's army, and having 
 a little daughter of her's with her, they were sit- 
 ting together on a squab ; and being much con- 
 cerned in mind about the' danger and circum- 
 stances they were under, she was seized with sud- 
 den fear, and a strong impulse to arise from that 
 seat, which she did in a precipitant manner, and 
 hastened to another part of the room ; and then 
 was in the like concern for her child, to whom 
 she called with uncommon earnestness to come to 
 her, which she did ; immediately after which 
 
 came a cannon-ball and struck the seat all in 
 15 
 
170 PROVIDENTIAL DELI VERA NOES. 
 
 pieces, and drove the parts of it about the room, 
 without any hurt to either of them. 
 
 " From this relation, I took occasion to reason 
 with her thus : that Intelligencer which gave her 
 notice, by fear, of the danger they were in, must 
 be a spiritual being, having access to her mind 
 (which is likewise of a spiritual nature) when in 
 that state of humiliation, under those circum- 
 stances ; and must also be a good and beneficent 
 Intelligencer, willing to preserve them, and fur- 
 nished also with knowledge and foresight more 
 than human. He must have known that such a 
 piece would be fired at that time, and that the ball 
 would hit that seat, and infallibly destroy you 
 both, if not prevented in due time, by a suitable 
 admonition ; which he suggested by the passion 
 fear (the passions being useful when duly subjected), 
 and by that means saved your lives. And seeing 
 that the passions of the mind can be wrought 
 upon for our good by an invisible, beneficent 
 Intelligencer in the mind, in a state of humiliation 
 and stillness, without any exterior medium, is it 
 not reasonable to conclude that an evil intelli- 
 gencer may have access likewise to the mind, in a 
 state of unwatchfulness, when the passions are 
 moving, and the imagination at liberty to form 
 ideas destructive to the mind, being thereby 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVER ANC ES. 171 
 
 depraved and wounded ? And when so, is it not 
 likewise reasonable to think that the Almighty 
 himself, who is the most pure, merciful, and benefi- 
 cent Spirit, knowing all events and things, doth 
 sometimes, at his pleasure, visit the minds of man- 
 kind through Christ, as through or under a veil, 
 so as to communicate of his goodness and virtue 
 to a humble and silent mind, to heal and instruct 
 him in things pleasing to himself, and proper for 
 the conduct of man in his pilgrimage through 
 this present world, and lead him to the next in 
 safety?" 
 
 BELIEF FROM STARVING. 
 
 About the commencement of the present century, 
 a number of families removed from the eastern 
 part of Pennsylvania, to form a new settlement in 
 Canada. During their first winter, which was a 
 very severe one, the crops raised the preceding 
 summer became exhausted, and the great depth of 
 snow rendered travelling in search of provisions 
 impracticable. In one household, consisting of a 
 man, his wife, and eight children, great sufiering 
 ensued. Their only resource was the bark of the 
 slippery-elm and bass-wood, from which they made 
 a kind of jelly, which sufficed to support life. 
 They earnestly looked for spring, — but the ap- 
 proach of it, at first, increased their affliction. 
 
172 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVEBANCES. 
 
 As soon as the sap began to ran in the slippery- 
 elm and bass, the jelly made therefrom caused sick- 
 ness, and ceased to afford sustenance. In the 
 prospect of death from famine, the family collected 
 together, endeavoring to look to Him who careth 
 for the sparrows, and who much more careth for 
 those of his dear children who put their trust in 
 him. Whilst they were sitting thus gathered, 
 one of the family observed a pigeon alight on a 
 tree by the door. It was taken, and, being cooked 
 by the mother, furnished a scant supply for that 
 day. The next day another pigeon was taken in 
 the same manner, and so for fourteen days in suc- 
 cession. On the fifteenth day, they watched as 
 usual for another, but it did not come. One of the 
 little boys, who, weakened by the want of suflicient 
 nutriment, was lying on the bed, asked his mother, 
 "Is the Great Spirit offended, that he does not 
 send another pigeon ? " Death seemed again to 
 threaten the family ; but on going out of the house, 
 the father found that the ice had given way on a 
 neighboring stream. This enabled him to catch 
 fish, which, with the sap of the maple-tree, that 
 soon afterwards commenced its annual flow, fur- 
 nished an adequate supply of nutriment. This ac- 
 count was given in 1830, by one of the members 
 of the family thus preserved. 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVEBANCES 173 
 
 RELIEF IN EXTREMITY. 
 An individual who owned some land in the 
 southern part of the city of Philadelphia many- 
 years ago, borrowed five thousand dollars to im- 
 prove it with ; of this amount three thousand dol- 
 lars were loaned him by a rich acquaintance, and 
 two thousand dollars by an Insurance Company. 
 Before his meditated improvement had produced 
 any profitable returns, the financial crisis came on, 
 which closed the war carried on against the Bank 
 of the United States. It was a time of pecuniary 
 losses and bankruptcies, in which many compara- 
 tively wealthy firms paid one per cent, a day for 
 money, to redeem notes due, in order that their 
 names should not, in mercantile language, be dis- 
 honored. During this season of commercial dis- 
 tress and panic, as this debtor was walking in the 
 streetj he saw his principal- creditor on the other 
 side of the way, who beckoned him over, and' 
 informed him that he should want the three thou- 
 sand dollars by noon the next day. The poor man 
 was so panic-struck by the sudden announce- 
 ment, that he scarcely attempted to say anything, 
 although he could perceive no way by which he 
 could possibly raise the money. His real estate, 
 at such a time as that, could scarcely be sold, or if 
 
 sold, it would not be likely to produce half as 
 15* 
 
174 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 much as the borrowed money lie had expended 
 on it, and he could see nothing- but distress and 
 ruin before him. He went home in distress, and 
 there found an agent from the Insurance Com- 
 pany, requiring the immediate return of the two 
 thousand dollars. This seemed to fill up his cup 
 of aflELiction. His case seemed hard ; he had not 
 entered into extravagant speculations to the hazard 
 of other people's property ; he had endeavored to 
 act with caution; but a time had come on the com- 
 mercial world which could not readily have been 
 foreseen. He passed a sorrowful night, and in his 
 sleepless musings endeavored to think of some 
 plan to suggest to his larger creditor to induce 
 him to give him more time. He drew up a series 
 of notes falling due at short intervals, covering the 
 principal and interest which had and would accrue 
 on them. He felt a hope that, if his creditor would 
 agree to his proposal^ he might find some means for 
 raising the varied sums as they would be required 
 to take up each note. He had little expectation 
 that his proposition would be accepted, yet he 
 could see no way by which he could ofter one more 
 acceptable to his creditor. 
 
 It was now Fifth-day morning, and as noon was 
 the hour fixed on to meet the creditor, he con- 
 cluded to attend a Friends' Meeting at Fourth and 
 Arch Streets, for he well knew that in seasons of 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 175 
 
 affliction there is no consolation like that derived 
 from the comforting presence of our dear Saviour, 
 who has promised to be with those gathered in his 
 name, as well as to be with his own even to the 
 end of the world. As he sat in silence, his heart 
 heavy with the oppressive weight of his out- 
 ward troubles, John Letchworth, a valued minis- 
 ter of the Society, arose, and addressing one in 
 peculiar pecuniary difficulties, briefly held forth 
 the language of encouragement, saying : " The 
 money will come before thou needs it." The 
 afflicted man felt the discourse must be intended 
 for him, and he was in measure comforted ; yet he 
 hardly dared so in faith to lay hold of it as to 
 derive perfect settlement of mind. After meeting 
 he went to his home, and then taking the notes he 
 had prepared, he went to the house of the rich 
 creditor. On inquiring for him, great was his 
 astonishment to receive the information that he 
 had that morning started for Europe. On being 
 informed who the persons were who had charge 
 of his affairs during his absence, he went imme- 
 diately to their place of business, where he received 
 a confirmation of his departure. To his inquiry 
 whether he had left any message about him, ho 
 was told he had not, but his informant added: 
 " AVe know you owe him money, but you may 
 take your own time in paying it." 
 
176 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVER ANGES. 
 
 Faith and hope grew stronger within the poor 
 debtor as, with grateful emotions and thankful- 
 ness of heart to his Almighty Creator, he turned 
 and retraced his steps to his own residence. Still, 
 he felt some fearful forebodings as he thought of 
 the two thousand dollars called for by the Insur- 
 ance Company. No doubt he pondered over expe- 
 dients for raising that amount, but he could find 
 no satisfaction in any that presented themselves 
 to his mind, until during that afternoon the late 
 Thomas Stewardson called on him, and in his 
 brief, plain way said, " Dost thou want to borrow 
 two thousand dollars ? " On receiving an affirma- 
 tive answer, Thomas handed him that amount. 
 "Whether this kind friend had learned that the 
 Insurance Company had demanded the return of its 
 loan, and knew that, in the condition of the money 
 market, the poor debtor would be unable to obtain it, 
 we know not ; but the thankful receiver could look 
 up gratefully to his heavenly Father and return 
 the praise to him who had thus providentially 
 cared for him, and in his season of distress minis- 
 tered through another the needed relief. Ah ! 
 the true Christian, whilst ever thankful to earthly 
 benefactors, looks over them all to return the chief 
 praise unto him who prompts every kind act and 
 loving-kindness of his children. 
 
PUOyiDENTIAL DELIVERAMCES. 177 
 
 GO TO LAUNCESTON. 
 
 The following remarkable instance of Divine 
 interposition on behalf of an individual in very- 
 humble life, and under circumstances of peculiar 
 trial and difficulty, strikingly illustrates the care 
 of our heavenly Father over his creatures, and the 
 safety and excellence of trust in him. It was 
 related by an esteemed minister in the Society of 
 Friends resident in Cornwall. We are not to ex- 
 pect miracles to be wrought in our behalf, though 
 we sometimes see, as in the present instance, what 
 seems to partake of their character ; but in what- 
 ever circumstances we may be placed, or however 
 unfavorable and discouraging our situation may 
 appear, we should not despair, but seek for ability 
 calmly to rely upon him who careth for the spar- 
 rows, and who said to his disciples, " Even the 
 hairs of your head are all numbered." 
 
 A person of respectability and good standing in 
 society, residing in the town of Plymouth, Eng- 
 land, was awakened out of sleep, one night, under 
 strong emotions of mind by a voice, sounding in 
 his ear, as he thought, and calling him to "Arisen 
 and go to Launceston." Launceston is an ancient 
 town in Cornwall, about twenty-two miles from 
 Plymouth. 
 
 Having no acquaintance in the place, nor any 
 
178 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 known business that would take him there, he 
 treated the occurrence as the effect of a dream, and 
 again composed himself to sleep. In a very short 
 time he was awakened under stronger feelings by 
 a similar command, which he still treated with 
 neglect, though more reluctantly than before ; and 
 after falling asleep, was a third time aroused under 
 sensations which admitted of no further postpone- 
 ment. He therefore arose and mentioned the 
 singular occurrence to his wife, who endeavored to 
 discourage him from attempting so long a journey' 
 at such an hour of the night, and especially as he 
 had no apparent object in going. But his uneasi- 
 ness was so great, that he was not to be turned 
 aside from his purpose, and saddling his riding 
 horse, he set out. After proceeding some miles in 
 the chilly darkness, groping his way as best he 
 could, his resolution began to waver, and he 
 reasoned with himself on the folly of his under- 
 taking. " Surely," said he, " I am going on a fool's 
 errand. I am an entire stranger in Launceston ; I 
 have no business there, nor any one on whom I 
 can call." Under the influence of these cogitations 
 he turned his horse towards home and thought of 
 returning, but had retraced only a few steps when 
 his mind became exceedingly distressed, and the 
 words seemed to sound in his ear, with command- 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVER ANCES. 179 
 
 ing authority, "Go to Launceston — go to Laun- 
 ceston." Yielding to this renewed requisition, he 
 resumed his journey, and reached an inn in the 
 town soon after breakfast-time. 
 
 "While eating his breakfast, he inquired of the 
 waiter what objects of interest there were in the 
 place. " Oh," said the waiter, " not many : there 
 is the old castle — people sometimes go to look at 
 that. But now everybody is going to the Court 
 of Assizes which is sitting here. The bell is ring- 
 ing now, and the court assembling." After finish- 
 ing his meal, he inclined to go to the court-house, 
 and found they were trying a man for his life on a 
 charge of burglary. Two witnesses deposed posi- 
 tively that they saw the prisoner in the house at 
 the time of the robbery ; and the evidence being 
 conclusive, the judge asked him if he had any de- 
 fence to make. The poor man was evidently much 
 distressed, and firmly but earnestly asserted his 
 innocence — declared that he was in Plymouth at 
 the time specified by the witnesses against him, 
 and that there was a gentleman in that town who 
 could prove it if he were here. The judge told 
 him he had heard the evidence against him — that 
 it was full and positive, and that the court could 
 not receive his assertion in the face of such testi- 
 mony. That if there was any one in Plymouth 
 
180 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 who could prove him to have been there at the 
 time specified, he ought to have procured his 
 attendance on the trial. The prisoner said he was 
 poor ; had been shut up in jail, and had neither 
 the means nor the opportunity to obtain the attend- 
 ance of witnesses. That he was an innocent man ; 
 that it was hard to die for a crime which he had 
 not committed, and that he had no refuge but to 
 trust in that Being who knew his innocence. His 
 bearing and manner of speaking made an impres- 
 sion on the audience, and attracted more than 
 ordinary attention. The judge said he pitied him, 
 but if he had no testimony to adduce, he must in- 
 struct the jury to find a verdict of guilty. The 
 poor man again asserted his innocence ; spoke of 
 the gentleman in Plymouth who could exculpate 
 him, and closed by again committing his cause into 
 the Divine hand. The judge made some further 
 remarks about the person of Plymouth, and the 
 desirableness of having him produced, when, as 
 the prisoner glanced his anxious eye around the 
 crowd of gazing spectators, he suddenly descried 
 the face of the Plymouth gentleman ; and calling, 
 to the judge, said, " My lord, there he is now ! " 
 
 The court requested the prisoner to point him out ; 
 
 • 
 the traveller appearing to have no idea that he was 
 
 the individual alluded to. On facing the bench, 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 181 
 
 he was desired to look on the prisoner at the bar, 
 and say whether he knew him. " JS"©, my lord," ' 
 answered the man, "I never saw him before." 
 This seemed discouraging ; but leave being given 
 to the prisoner to ask him some questions, the folr 
 lowing interrogatories and replies, in substance, 
 ensued : 
 
 Prisoner. Do you not remember a person calling 
 at your office on the day specified, and asking you 
 to give him employment ? 
 
 Ans. I do not remember such a circumstance. 
 
 Prisoner. Do you not recollect his telling you 
 that he had a large family, and was destitute and 
 in great distress ? 
 
 Ans. ISo ; I have no such recollection. 
 
 Prisoner. Do you not remember that you gave 
 him some encouragement to hope you might soon 
 be able to employ him, and gave him permission 
 to call on you again ? 
 
 Ans. I do not. 
 
 Prisoner.- Do you not remember expressing sym- 
 pathy for his distressed situation, and a desire to 
 help him, and, that you might not overlook his 
 case, making a memorandum of his name, and the 
 date, etc., on a note-book with a red morocco 
 cover. 
 
 Ans. I cannot recall any such circumstance. 
 16 
 
182 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 The prisoner seemed distressed at the want of 
 recollection in the witness, and ceased to question 
 him. After a few moments' silence, the witness 
 remarked, " But I believe I have my note-book in 
 my pocket, and will refer to it, and see if there is 
 any such entry." On this, he drew from his pocket 
 the little book with th6 red moroccOt cover, and 
 turning over the leaves, suddenly paused, and look- 
 ing towards the bench with a countenance expres- 
 sive of strong emotion, said, " Why, here it is, — 
 the name, the date, and all about it. It had all en- 
 tirely passed from my memory." The excitement 
 throughout the court-room had been increasing in 
 intensity during the questioning, and now seemed 
 at its height. The judge examined the memoran- 
 dum-book, and by comparing the date with the 
 time at which it was proved that the burglary had 
 been committed, it was obvious the prisoner could 
 not have been there, and consequently could not 
 have been the robber. The judge was so fully 
 satisfied of his innocence, that he directed the jury 
 to find a verdict of acquittal, and thus the life of 
 an innocent man was spared to his needy family. 
 
 It is incumbent upon us, whatever may be our 
 privations, to cast our eyes around, and endeavor 
 to discover whether there are not some means yet 
 left us of doing good to ourselves and to others ; 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 183 
 
 that our lights may, in some degree, shine in every 
 situation, and, if possible, be extinguished only 
 with our lives. The amount of good which, under 
 uch circumstances, we do ought not to disturb or 
 affect us. If we perform what we are able to per- 
 form, how little soever it may be, it is enough ; it 
 will be acceptable in the sight of him who knows 
 how to estimate exactly all our actions, by com- 
 paring them with our disposition and ability. 
 
 LARKS SENT TO THE STARVING. 
 
 Thomas Fuller, that quaint, 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 nar- 
 rative in his own words : 
 
 " When the city of Exeter was besieged by the 
 Parliamentary forces, so that only the south side 
 thereof towards the sea was open unto it, incredi- 
 ble numbers of larks were found in that open 
 quarter, for multitudes like quails in the wilder- 
 ness, though, blessed be God, unlike them both in 
 cause and effect, as not desired with man's destruc- 
 tion, 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 
 
184 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 save my credit in not conjecturing any number j 
 knowing that therein, though I should stoop be- 
 neath 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, and many persons who, in a 
 spiritual sense, could hardly " discern between 
 their right hand and their left," and he who 
 spared l^ineveh of old, — who caused quails and 
 manna to fall around the camp of his hungry Is- 
 rael in the wilderness, — who bade even ravens 
 minister to the necessity of his prophet Elijah, saw 
 meet, in preserving providence, to cause the famine 
 in Exeter to be stayed by the larks. 
 
 DELIVERANCE FROM SHIPWRECK. 
 
 Richard Jordan, a minister of the Society of 
 Friends, from America, after having visited those 
 in profession with him who resided in Germany 
 and France, and had religious service in several 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVEBANG ES. 185 
 
 other places, came to Bordeaux to take shipping 
 for England. The voyage across the Bay of Bis- 
 cay is often performed in less than a week, but 
 owing to a violent storm which they encountered, 
 and a succession of boisterous weather, they were 
 forty-five days on the passage. The crew of the 
 vessel in which he embarked were principally 
 Danes, and during the first few days of the voyage 
 seemed to vie with each other in wickedness and 
 profanity, neglecting the proper care of the ship, 
 and spending their time in drunkenness or gam- 
 bling. They treated Richard Jordan with great 
 contumely and contempt, scoffed at his religious 
 life and serious demeanor, and even abused his 
 person. They had not been long at sea, when the 
 sky was overcast with clouds ; the atmosphere 
 became dark and hazy, and a tempest arose, 
 during w:hich the fury of contending elements 
 seemed let loose upon them. 
 
 Their situation soon became apparently hopeless, 
 and the officers gave their wicked crew the dread 
 warning, " To ^eparefor a watery grave." Oh ! then 
 what a change was seen in their conduct. Terri- 
 fied at the prospect of the awful fate which 
 awaited them, smitten with remorse for their past 
 wickedness and contempt of God, they gave way 
 
 to despair, and became almost incapable of manag- 
 16* 
 
186 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 ing the ship. The helm was ordered to he lashed, 
 and giving up all hope of safety, they let her drive 
 at the mercy of the winds and waves. Amidst 
 this general consternation, when all around him 
 bespoke distress and terror, Richard Jordan sat 
 peacefully in the cabin, waiting in humble confi- 
 dence upon the Lord. His mind was calm and 
 collected,- securely anchored on that E.ock of Ages 
 which no storms can move, no tempests overturn. 
 
 The captain, awakened from his sensuality and 
 wickedness, and tremblingly alive to the doom 
 which seemed to be impending, betook himself 
 to the cabin, and, seconded by his anxious crew, 
 besought Richard Jordan to implore for them the 
 mercy and protection of that Being whose power 
 they had so lately contemned, nay, whose very ex- 
 istence they had impiously denied. He informed 
 them in a few words that the spirit of availing 
 prayer was not at his command : but after waiting 
 for a considerable time in solemn silence, he was 
 permitted to approach the throne of grace in rev- 
 erent vocal supplication. 
 
 This religious service seemed to be in some 
 degree blessed to them ; they were humbled into 
 contrition, and became more composed ; their 
 conduct towards him was now reversed ; every one 
 seemed desirous of doing him some kindness ; and 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVEBANCES. 187 
 
 SO sensible were they that the Divine presence was 
 near to preserve and support him, that all were 
 anxious to get as close to him as possible. Their 
 exertions in managing the vessel were renewed ; 
 but they had lost their reckoning, and provisions 
 running short, they were put on allowance. The 
 violence of the storm soon after abated ; yet the 
 probability of reaching land before their stores 
 were exhausted became very doubtful. The vessel 
 was so much injured that she began to take in 
 water very fast, and the pumps had to be con- 
 stantly worked to keep her free. Discouraging as 
 the prospect before them appeared, such was the 
 confidence and faith with which Richard Jordan's 
 mind was replenished, that he told the captain it 
 was his full belief they should yet be brought 
 safely into port, without the loss of a life. In a few 
 days after this, when almost the last portions of 
 bread and water were served out, they descried land, 
 and soon after entered the harbor of Dartmouth. 
 His gratitude for this happy deliverance from im- 
 minent danger, and his release from long confine- 
 ment in a vessel which a variety of circumstances 
 rendered extremely unpleasant, may readily be 
 conceived. He appointed a public meeting for 
 Divine worship in the town, to which the captain 
 and some of the crew came,- and it proved a memo- 
 rable and humbling opportunity to many present. 
 
188 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 DAILY MERCIES. 
 
 "The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coining in." — 
 Ps. cxxi. 8. 
 
 John Campbell, the noted traveller in Africa, 
 when a young man, lived in Edinburgh. He was 
 warmly interested in the religious welfare of others, 
 and understanding that in a village five miles south 
 of the city in which he resided, the young people 
 were very ignorant, he exerted himself in endeav- 
 oring to establish a school there. He soon had 
 nearly two hundred scholars, and as it was held in 
 the evening, he used to hire a horse to ride to it. 
 He was an unskilful rider, and often encountered 
 difficulties occasioned by the badness of the roads. 
 The following brief abstract of one winter night's 
 ride, and the preservations he on that occasion 
 experienced, is interesting. 
 
 The darkness was so great that he could not see 
 how his horse stood, and was obliged to feel for his 
 head before he attempted to mount. "When start-: 
 ing, he remembered a heap of large stones in the 
 middle of the road near by, and feared that his 
 horse must stumble over them. As he drew to- 
 wards them, he, with thankfulness, perceived a 
 person with a candle in his hands, looking among 
 them for somiething which had been dropped. 
 
 He then recollected that in a short time he would 
 
PBCVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 189 
 
 come to a sharp turn in the road, whilst straight 
 before, with nothing to guard the traveller from a 
 dangerous fall, the bank fell off precipitously eight 
 to ten feet. The thought of this place gave him 
 considerable uneasiness, from his inability in the 
 darkness to see where he was going. When he 
 reached the spot, he found a woman and a girl 
 there with a lantern. They were on their way 
 home from school, and their light enabled him 
 safely to turn this dangerous corner. 
 
 Although, in view of the two helps he had 
 already received in difficult places, he was induced, 
 with the apostle, to thank Grod and take courage ; 
 yet he could not help remembering that a little be- 
 fore him there was an old bridge, which was a very 
 difficult one to pass in the dark. Some cottages 
 were near it ; and as he approached, to his great sur- 
 prise, the door of one of them opened, and a woman 
 stood in it, holding a light so as to shine on the 
 bridge until he had crossed it. He supposed that, 
 hearing the tramp of his horse's feet, she had 
 thought some relative might be returning for 
 whose safety she was concerned; whatever her 
 motive, he felt thankful foi the aid afforded him; 
 
 There was still one dangerous spot before him, 
 and that was where the road crossed a very narrow 
 bridge, with scarcely any protection at the sides to 
 
190 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 keep a traveller in the dark from falling off. " It 
 ■will be most extraordinary," he thought, "if I 
 find a light there too ! " But, extraordinary as 
 it seemed to him, it turned out so. A man was 
 crossing the bridge with a lantern, and hearing a 
 horse approaching, he very kindly stood still till 
 John Campbell had passed over. 
 
 There is nothing wonderful in any one of these 
 occurrences, yet those who feel that a superintend- 
 ing Providence is indeed about the Lord's devoted 
 children in all their ways, will sympathize with 
 John Campbell in his desire not to forget the pre- 
 servations of that evening. How many mercies 
 of this kind are received by all of us which we 
 either never note at all, or quickly forget. 
 
 A PARTICULAR PROVIDENCE. 
 
 George Dillwyn, of Burlington, Ifew Jersey, an 
 eminent minister of the Society of Friends in the 
 early part of the present century, was remarkable 
 for spiritual discernment. Among other anecdotes 
 related of him illustrating his quick perception of 
 the pointing of duty, and his faithful obedience 
 thereto, is the following. On one occasion, when 
 sitting in his parlor with his wife, he suddenly 
 rose from his seat, took his hat, and seemed about 
 to go out for a walk. His wife attempted to de- 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 191 
 
 tain him, informing him that it was raining,, of 
 which he seemed to be unaware, and that it was 
 nearly dinner-time. He replied that he must go ; 
 his wife accordingly brought him an umbrella, and 
 he left his home without apparently knowing his 
 destination. After walking the street for a time, 
 he came opposite a house into which he felt it right 
 to enter. He opened the door and walked into 
 the front parlor, in which he found two men, who 
 appeared greatly astonished to see him. He sat 
 down by them in silence, and after a time said that 
 he had felt impelled to enter that house, though 
 for what purpose he could not tell, but perhaps 
 they could inform him. They then told him that 
 they had had an earnest discussion on the doctrine 
 of a particular Providence, which one of them had 
 stoutly maintained, and the other as strenuously 
 opposed. At length the latter had said, that if 
 George Dillwyn were to walk into the room at 
 that instant, he would believe the doctrine. He 
 had no sooner said the words, " than," remarked 
 the narrator " you came in." After this remark- 
 able incident, George Dillwyn addressed them in an 
 impressive manner, and took his leave. 
 
:i92 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 T3E LORD OUR DEFENCE. 
 
 C. Gr. Steinhofer, formerly of Germany, was a 
 Christian firm in faith, consistent in principle and 
 practice, and, as a clergyman of the Lutheran com- 
 munity, very earnest and zealous in fulfilling what 
 he considered to be the duties of his calling. These 
 were often arduous and unpleasant, but he did not 
 shrink from their performance. On one occasion 
 he was informed that the chief man, the highest 
 public officer in his district, was living in sin, to 
 his own disgrace, to the inexpressible grief of his 
 wife, to the sorrow of every really Christian citi- 
 zen, and to the great scandal of the Lutheran 
 Church there, of which he was a member. On re- 
 ceiving this information, this faithful guardian of 
 the flock went at once to the oflEender. After 
 mentioning the occasion of his visit, he said he 
 had come, in the authority of his office, to bid him 
 remove the public scandal he had given rise to, 
 adding, " My Lord will require clean sheep of his 
 shepherds, and as I am engaged in keeping this 
 flock, I dare not suffer such doings as this in it." 
 The man was irritated at this honest reproof, and 
 unconditional condemnation of his wickedness, 
 and told him, if he meddled much more with him 
 or his affairs, he would have him removed from 
 the ministerial office. Steinhofer let him know 
 
PMOVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 193 
 
 that the fear of such a result would not deter him 
 from the performance of the duty devolving on 
 him from his station. A week passed by, and as 
 the offender had not abated the scandal, Steinhofer 
 called upon him again. After expostulating with 
 him, he plainly told him, that if he did not mani- 
 fest that he intended to amend his evil ways, he 
 should on the morrow publicly bring the matter 
 before the congregation, when assembled for 
 worship. This would clear him before the people 
 of having any active or passive complicity in this 
 wickedness, and he added, he should then " leave 
 it with the Lord, who would prove that he would 
 not be mocked." 
 
 This honest rebuke, and even the prospect of a 
 public exposure, did not induce the man to change 
 his course. But to try to prevent Steinhofer from 
 spreading th^ case before the congregation, he 
 called upon him, before the meeting, with many 
 threats, seeking to frighten him into silence. The 
 pastor had counted the cost ; no fear of pecuniary 
 loss or personal suffering could induce him to draw 
 back from the performance of what he esteemed his 
 duty. He did, as he had proinised, spread the case 
 before the congregation, and requested their prayers, 
 that this iniquity should be removed from among 
 them, and that it might not be laid to their charge. 
 17 N- 
 
194 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 The rage of the public officer was so great that, 
 in the insanity of passion, he determined to kill 
 his faithful reprover. Knowing that on that after- 
 noon Steinhofer would visit a sick member of his 
 congregation, he determined to waylay him and 
 execute his wicked design. The road, from the 
 parsonage to the residence of the sick man, passed 
 through a small wood, in the recesses of which, 
 behind a tree, the intended murderer placed him- 
 self with a loaded gun. In due time the clergy- 
 man came in sight, but, to the dismay of the 
 watcher, two men appeared to him to be with him, 
 one on either side. This for that time baffled his 
 intention ; but being determined to effect it, he con- 
 cluded to do it when the visit was over, and there- 
 fore remained waiting in the wood. Steinhofer 
 after a short period returned, but, to the surprise 
 of his enemy, the two men who had appeared to 
 accompany him as he went, were still apparently 
 beside him ; and thus he again passed safely through 
 the wood, not knowing that it concealed an enemy. 
 Perplexed in mind and uneasy in conscience, 
 the officer felt an earnest desire to know who the 
 men were whose presence had protected his in- 
 tended victim. To obtain that knowledge, he sent 
 a servant-maid on some trivial errand to the house 
 of the minister, telling her to find out who the 
 strangers were who accompanied him on his after- 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 195 
 
 uoon visit. She made the inquiry, and was told 
 that he went out alone, and took nothing with 
 him but his Bible, which he carried under his arm. 
 This return to his question startled the inquirer 
 more than ever. He immediately despatched a 
 messenger to the clergyman, demanding who those 
 two men were who, one on his right and the other 
 on his left side, accompanied him to visit the sick 
 man. The -messenger was also instructed to say 
 that his master had seen them with his own eyes. 
 C. G. Steinhofer, although he knew not what 
 peril he had escaped, yet felt convinced that the 
 Lord's hand was in the thing, and also that he 
 had, by his preserving Providence, been round about 
 him that day. He bade the servant tell his master 
 that he knew of no man having accompanied him ; 
 but, he! added, " I am never alone ; the Lord whom 
 I serve is always with me." This message, faith- 
 fully delivered by the servant, produced a power- 
 ful effect on the master. His conscience was alarm- 
 ingly awakened. He immediately complied with 
 the requisitions of duty, and the next morning, as 
 an humble penitent, he called on his faithful re- 
 prover, with tears confessed his past crime, and 
 also his wicked intention so providentially frus- 
 trated. The work of repentance did not stop here, 
 but through the Lord's assisting grace this evil 
 man amended his ways. 
 
196 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 ANN YOUNG'S TEXT. 
 
 More than a century ago, a worthy and hard- 
 working couple were struggling through life in a 
 secluded part of Scotland. The country was thinly 
 peopled, employment precarious, and they were 
 sometimes reduced to great necessity for want of 
 food. On some of these occasions, hy unexpected 
 interpositions of Providence, help was sent to them 
 in an unlocked for manner. 
 
 An excellent woman, called the Lady Kilmar- 
 nock, in whose family Ann Young, the cottager's 
 wife, had formerly lived as a servant, resided some, 
 miles distant from this humble home, through 
 whose hounty the worthy cottagers had frequently 
 been relieved. But such was the repugnance of 
 Ann Young to appear burdensome to her bene- 
 factress, that she seldom, when in want, made her 
 distress known to her. 
 
 On one occasion the resources of this poor family 
 entirely failed, and they were reduced to the great- 
 est extremity. Their little store of provisions had 
 gradually diminished, and the children had re- 
 ceived the last morsel the mother could furnish. 
 Yet Ann was not cast down, for she was a Chris- 
 tian indeed, and, knowing in vhom she had be- 
 lieved, she had learned to trust in the loving-kind- 
 ness of her God when apparently cut ofi" from 
 human aid. 
 
PBOVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 197 
 
 This day of distress passed, and no prospect of 
 relief appeared ; the children were put supperless 
 to bed, where they soon cried themselves to sleep ; 
 and the father, much dejected, likewise went to 
 bed, leaving his wife in solitary possession of the 
 room ; yet she felt she was not alone. Many precious 
 hours had she spent in that cottage in pouring out 
 her soul to God, and in spreading her trials and 
 her sorrows before him, apart from the world. ' 
 
 Having seen her children safely at rest, she made 
 up the peat fire on the heai-th, that she might not 
 be disturbed for the night. She then trimmed 
 and lit the cruisy (a small iron vessel which served 
 as a lamp), and -took down a large family Bible 
 from among the six or eight well-worn volumes on 
 the book-shelf. She paused before opening it, when 
 the following text came involuntarily into her 
 mind, " For every beast of the forest is mine, and 
 the cattle upon a thousand hills." 
 
 This text she thought was not very applicable 
 
 to her present condition, and opening the volume, 
 
 she proceeded to look for some of her favorite 
 
 passages. Yet " For every beast of the forest is 
 
 mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills," was 
 
 uppermost in her thoughts. She endeavored to 
 
 commit her case to the hearer and answerer of 
 
 prayer ; then to recall former experiences, and to 
 17« 
 
198 PROVIDENTIAL BELIVEBANCE8. 
 
 bring to remembrance those portions of Scripture 
 which used to come home with power to her heart, 
 but without feeling that lively pleasure and com- 
 fort she had heretofore found in them. The text, 
 "For every beast of the forest is mine, and the 
 cattle upon a thousand hills," seemed fastened in 
 her memory, and despite every effort she could not 
 banish it from her mind. It was, she reflected, a 
 Divine declaration, and she turned to the fiftieth 
 Psalm, in which it is contained, but on reading the 
 Psalm, thought there were other verses in it more 
 suited to her condition. Several hours were thus 
 passed in reading, meditation, and prayer. Day- 
 light at length appeared through the 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," said he. " 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 with all speed, for one of my cattle 
 has fallen down a precipice and broken its leg, and 
 is lying at your door." 
 
 On opening the door, a large drove of cattle from 
 the highlands of Scotland met her astonished gaze. 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 199 
 
 As far as the eye could reach in either direction, 
 the road was black with the moving mass, which 
 were being driven on to the market in the 
 south. And there lay a disabled beast with its leg 
 broken, and the drover standing by, looking rue- 
 fully over it, with his faithful colley dog by his 
 side, gazing up as if in sympathy with his master; 
 The worthy couple were concerned for the 
 drover, and evinced entire willingness to assist 
 him, had it been in their power. He, in turn, was 
 at a loss to know what to do with the animal, and 
 paused to consider what course to pursue. To 
 drive the maimed beast on was obviously impossi- 
 ble ; to sell it there seemed equally so ; for by re- 
 maining long enough in that place to find a pur- 
 chaser, he must detain the whole herd of cattle, and 
 incur more expense than the animal was worth. 
 At length he exclaimed, " I never was more com- 
 pletely brought to my wits' end in my life ; " and 
 then turning to Ann, he added, " I must just make 
 you a present of it, for in truth I don't know what 
 else I can do with it ; so kill it, and take care of 
 it, for it is a principal beast. I '11 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 
 moving slowly on its weary journey. 
 
200 PROVIDENTIAL DEL IVEBANGMS. 
 
 The poor cottagers were lost in wonder at this 
 unexpected deliverance from famine by so signal 
 an interposition of Providence. And after they had 
 in some measure recovered from their surprise, the 
 father assembled his little family to give thanks 
 for this new proof of the Lord's condescending 
 kindness towards them. He then proceeded to 
 follow the advice of the drover, and found his 
 gift, as he had told them, to be a " principal " beast. 
 
 They now had meat sufficient to serve them for 
 many months, but they had no bread. About six 
 o'clock in the morning, however, another knock 
 was heard at the door, when the " grieve," or bail- 
 iff of the benevolent woman in whose family Ann 
 had formerly lived as a servant, presented himself 
 with a load on his back. 
 
 He then proceeded to relate that he had been sent 
 for by her the previous morning, who inquired, 
 "If anything had happened to Ann Young." To 
 which he replied, that he was not aware that they 
 had met with any calamity, and when he last 
 heard of her family they were all well. Then re- 
 plied she, " She must be in want ; for these few 
 days she has been incessantly in my thoughts, and 
 I am sure she is in distress," further directing him 
 to take her a large sack of meal, and bring back 
 word how she was, adding, " I know she would 
 almost starve before she applied for relief." 
 
PROVIBENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 201 
 
 Thus these pious cottagers were amply provided 
 for, and Ann Young found the reason that this 
 passage of Scripture had been so impressed upon 
 her mind, and learned to understand more fully 
 the meaning of that old and yet new and true dec- 
 laration, " For every beast of the forest is mine, 
 and the cattle upon a thousand hills." 
 
 GUIDANCE IN OWING. 
 
 The Lord makes use of various means to relieve 
 his suffering children who, in living faith, cry unto 
 him for help. Many are the interesting incidents 
 recorded showing how, in the very moment of ex- 
 tremity, succor has come from unexpected sources, 
 which the Lord, by his controlling providence, has 
 commanded to relieve his faithful ones. Manna 
 may not fall from heaven, ravens may not minister 
 to their necessities ; but if the Lord leads one of 
 his children to them with the needful help, by the 
 motion of his Spirit, or if he opens the heart of 
 any to send it, it is as truly from him. John 
 Thorp relates, that meeting a poor beggar, he felt 
 the expression raised "in his heart, " The Lord help 
 thee ; " and he was passing on, when the query 
 arose. How shall the Lord help but by putting it 
 into the heart of his children to administer the 
 help ? on which he felt constrained to return and 
 
202 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 bestow something. It is often thus that the Lord 
 works. The following, related in " The Christian," 
 is an interesting instance of providential guidance 
 in giving alms. One winter morning, a few years 
 ago, a merchant of Boston, while attending a place 
 of worship, became interested in a middle-aged 
 man, a stranger to him, who took part in the pro- 
 ceedings of the meeting, and felt strongly inclined 
 to go to him and give him some money. He 
 wondered at the strangeness of the impression ; 
 the man was better dressed than himself; there 
 were no evidences of want or poverty about him ; 
 the gift might be uncalled for, abrupt, and un- 
 welcome ; and the query arose whether it was not 
 a temptation of Satan, rather than an admonition 
 of the Lord. The conviction, however, deepened, 
 and the command, " Grive him five dollars," was 
 repeated and impressed with such urgency upon 
 his mind that he could not resist the inward call. 
 
 He accordingly took out a five-dollar bill, and 
 when the meeting was over, with an embarrassed 
 feeling placed it in the hand of the stranger, to be 
 used as he saw fit, and hastened away without 
 waiting for thanks, but feeling the inwai'd ap- 
 proval known only to those who have " the wit- 
 ness " in themselves. 
 
 The next morning the merchant was again at 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 203 
 
 the meeting, when the stranger arose and spoke 
 substantially as follows : " In days past, I possessed 
 means, and in those days I delighted to do good. 
 Many a five-dollar bill I have given to the poor 
 and distressed ; but reverses have overtaken me ; 
 and though I am provided with food and raiment, 
 yet it is a great grief to me that I am unable to do 
 for the poor and needy as I formerly could. 
 
 " Yesterday morning, on my way to this meet- 
 ing, I saw a Christian sister in a neighboring town. 
 She was sick, and poor, and friendless, and had 
 neither food nor fire in this cold weather ; and I 
 felt in my heart. Oh, if I only had five dollars to 
 give her, how glad I should be ; but I did not 
 have it. But I came here yesterday morning, and 
 at the close of the meeting a brother came and put 
 five dollars into my hand, to use as I saw fit, and 
 went away. I went from this meeting to that poor 
 woman's house, gave her the money, and told her 
 the Lord had sent it to her, and she believed he 
 did send it." He further expressed a desire to 
 meet with the person who had given the money. 
 After the meeting the merchant made himself 
 known to him, and they rejoiced together in 
 having been made the instruments of blessing to 
 one of the Lord's little ones in a time of sore 
 distress. 
 
204 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 CAPTAIN YONNT'S DREAM. 
 A striking instance of providential deliverance 
 is narrated by Horace Bushnell in his work on 
 "Nature and the Supernatural, as together consti- 
 tuting the one system of God." " As I sat by the 
 fire," says this writer, " one stormy night, in a 
 hotel parlor in the l^apa Valley, California, there 
 came in a most venerable and benignant looking per- 
 son, with his wife, taking their seats in the circle. 
 The stranger, as I afterwards learned, was Captain 
 Yonnt, a man who came over into California, 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 acknowledged patriarch in the country. 
 
 " In the course of conversation, he related the fol- 
 lowing 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 by cold and 
 hunger. He noted the very cast of the scenery, 
 marked by a huge perpendicular front of white 
 rock cliff; he saw the men cutting off what ap- 
 peared 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. 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 205 
 
 He awoke profoundly impressed with the distinct- 
 ness and apparent reality of his dream. At length 
 he fell asleep, and dreamed exactly the same dream 
 again. In the morning he could not expel it from 
 his mind. Ealling 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 Car- 
 son Valley Pass, and declared that a spot in the pass 
 answered exactly to his description. By this the 
 unsophisticated patriarch was decided. He im- 
 mediately collected a company of men, with mules, 
 and blankets, and all necessary provisions. The 
 neighbors were laughing, meantime, at his credu- 
 lity. ' No matter,' said he ; ' I am able to do this, 
 and I will, for I verily believe that the fact is ac- 
 cording 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 company 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 
 18 
 
206 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 where they reside, and I found afterwards that the 
 California people were ready everywhere to second 
 his testimony." 
 
 REMARKABLE PRESERVATION OF LIFE. 
 
 A young Cornish miner, who had heen seriously 
 awakened by Divine grace, was on his knees in 
 prayer, in the mine in which he worked, when 
 three large stones fell out of the roof above, 
 striking the floor around him, without touching 
 him. Immediately after, before he had time to 
 rise, a large mass of the rock settled down on the 
 stones which had previously fallen, and which alone 
 prevented his immediate death. The large mass 
 was only about four inches above his head as he 
 knelt, and had he been standing up, he must inevi- 
 tably have been crushed. He was so closely 
 hemmed in as to be unable to rise from his kneel- 
 ing position until the mass of rock which rested 
 above him had been removed. This young miner 
 was afterwards, for many years, one of the most 
 effectual laborers among John "Wesley's coadjutors 
 throughout Cornwall, Wales, and Oxfordshire, 
 working, through the blessing which attended his 
 labors, a great moral reformation throughout a very 
 benighted region. Labor for the good of others 
 was in store for him, and the Providence which had 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 207 
 
 assigned him further work in his cause, preserved 
 him as effectually and easily amidst the falling of 
 rocks as it would have done had he been threat- 
 ened by nothing more ponderous than flakes of 
 fleecy snow, or the settling of dew upon him. 
 
 Our late friend, Samuel Bettle, during the prevar 
 lence of yellow fever in this city in 1793, was taken 
 down with the prevailing disease. His illness was 
 great, and at last, to all appearance, he sank to his 
 last repose. His nurses and physician considered 
 him dead, and the coffin was prepared for his burial. 
 During a few hours in which he lay in apparent 
 death, although incapable of voluntary motion, and 
 all perceptible respiration and circulation had 
 ceased, he was yet perfectly conscious. At last he 
 found ability to speak, which he exercised to the 
 great fright of his attendants, and soon after 
 strength began to return. The coffin which had 
 been brought to the house for him, was needed to 
 contain the body of his father, who died at this 
 time. About twenty years after this event, Samuel 
 Bettle was called to the ministry, in which he was 
 exercised about forty-seven years. He told the 
 writer that many years after the strange event 
 above related had occurred, a hand was laid on his 
 shoulder in passing through a crowded market, and 
 a voice whispered, " I once made your coffin. I 
 thought you were preserved for some good purpose." 
 
208 PJROVJBENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 We all, dear readers, have been preserved through 
 many dangers to this day. , iN'ot of such a striking 
 nature perhaps ; yet if we are possessed of sound 
 minds and thankful hearts, we must feel that a 
 preserving hand of Providence has been about us. 
 Well, let us then inquire and consider, Tor what 
 have I been preserved ? For what good purpose have 
 I lived in safety to this day ? Am I fulfilling the 
 end of my being for which the merciful protection 
 of the God and Father of all goodness has been 
 powerfully and efficiently around me ? The query 
 is an important one, and deserves serious and fre- 
 quent consideration. 
 
 LEONARD FELL. 
 
 Leonard Fell was attacked, whilst travelling 
 alone, by a highwayman, and gave up without re- 
 sistance, at his demand, his money and his horse. 
 But his Master laying a concern upon him for the 
 good of the poor thief s soul, he warned him to 
 cease from his evil way. The robber in his rage 
 threatened to blow his brains out if he offered to 
 preach to him. But Leonard, nothing daunted, 
 replied, " Though I would not give my life for my 
 money or my horse, I would give it to save thy 
 soul." Struck with the nobility of this sentiment, 
 the anger of the highwayman departed, and he de- 
 clared that from such a man he would take neither 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 209 
 
 money nor horse. So he returned all to Leonard, 
 who pursued his way with a thankful heart, and 
 a portion of peace from his Master as a reward for 
 his faithful dedication. 
 
 HENRY ERSKINE. 
 
 There are many instances recorded in the life 
 of Henry Erskine, of Cornhill, ]^orthumberland, 
 wherein the providence of the Most High, in the 
 time of great extremity, interfered in a remarka- 
 ble manner for his relief. One evening, when 
 residing at Dryburgh, in Scotland, with his large 
 family, they had eaten the last morsel of food, and 
 he was without a penny to purchase more. Morn- 
 ing came ; his children were clamorous for some- 
 thing to eat, but there was none. After a time a 
 knock was heard at the house-door, and a man re- 
 quested assistance to take from a horse a very 
 heavily loaded sack, which he was to leave there. 
 On a doubt being expressed as to its being intended 
 for them, and that it might be for another of that 
 name, the man very gruffly said, he knew it was to 
 be left there ; and if they did not help, he should 
 throw it on the ground and leave it. In the sack 
 was a large supply of provisions. On another oc- 
 casion, being in Edinburgh without the means 
 
 of buying food, he was stopped in the streets by 
 18* O 
 
210 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 an individual, who inquired if he was not Henry 
 Erskine, and being satisfied of his identity, gave 
 him a letter and left him. The letter contained a 
 considerable amount of money, with the words, 
 " From a sympathizing friend." There were but 
 eight words in the letter, and no clew as to the 
 donor. The Lord ministers, when it seemeth him 
 good, to the necessities of his children. 
 
 WOMAN THE MESSENGER OF MERCY. 
 
 The following incident, illustrating the working 
 of Providence for the salvation of individuals, was 
 narrated by an interesting woman, under whose 
 notice it occurred. Her husband, a clergyman, had 
 employed a laboring man to mow the yard around 
 his dwelling, and in order that her plants and 
 flowers should not be injured, she went out to 
 caution him to be careful. She was thus led to 
 take notice of the stranger. Some months after- 
 wards, a message came for her husband to visit a 
 person who was very ill. He himself was quite 
 unwell ; and his wife told him that she would visit 
 the sick man, and, if it was needful, send one of 
 the elders to see him. This was agreed to by her 
 husband, and on visiting the sick man, she found 
 he was the same person who had mown their yard. 
 He was in deep distress, very sensible that death 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 211 
 
 was approaching, and very anxious to witness the 
 great work of preparation for another state of ex- 
 istence to be going on. As she received ability, 
 she directed him to Christ Jesus, the "Way the 
 Truth and the Life, — ^the sinner's only hope. 
 After which one of the elders, at her request, made 
 the sick man a visit. 
 
 The next day, on receiving a message from the 
 sick man, she went again. He was still in great 
 anxiety of mind respecting his future condition, and 
 she was once more prepared to speak to him of the 
 Saviour, through whom alone cometh purification 
 and salvation. He seemed to receive the Truth ; 
 and when his close came she had a consoling hope 
 that, through the merciful offering upon Calvary, 
 and the inward cleansing of the Holy Spirit, this 
 poor penitent had been permitted to enter into eter- 
 nal rest. 
 
 After his death, the widow told her that her 
 husband had some time previously dreamed that 
 he was very ill, and that a woman had led him in 
 his last extremity to the Saviour. On awaking, 
 he related his dream to his wife. On returning 
 from his labpr on the day in which he had mowed 
 the yard, he told her that he had found, in the 
 clergyman's wife, the very woman who had led him 
 in his dream to Christ. This was the reason that 
 
212 PROVIDENTIAL DELTVEBANOES. 
 
 he had sent to the clergyman's house when he 
 found himself ill, and likely to die. 
 
 It seemed, in this case, that the Saviour, who had 
 a purpose of mercy towards this poor man, had 
 given him this dream to open the way in his dark 
 heart to receive instruction by the mouth of this 
 woman. The Lord's ways are not as our ways, 
 but are perfect in wisdom no less than in mercy 
 and truth. 
 
 A SUPERINTENDING PROVIDENCE. 
 
 Our heavenly Father sometimes restrains his 
 children from running into dangers to them un- 
 foreseen ; sometimes he preserves them in the midst 
 of and through dangers. At others he permits acci- 
 dents, 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 con- 
 stantly waiting on him for his counsel, he more 
 frequently manifests a restraining, directing guid- 
 ance. 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 
 other cases the parties have been, as it were, con- 
 strained to be prepared to escape unseen dangers. 
 Several years ago, a Friend, now living in Phila- 
 delphia, took his seat in' a railroad-car at the depot 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVER ANGES. 213 
 
 in Kensington, on his way to Centre Bridge Station, 
 in Bucks County. He had heard of the very low 
 and precarious condition of a cousin, living about 
 a mile and a half from the latter place, who had 
 been ill for some time ; and without giving notice 
 of his intentions, he had provided himself with 
 several articles, with which to pay her a visit, in 
 the hope that they would contribute to her relief 
 and conifort. Shortly after sitting down in the 
 car, he felt an impression that he must at once 
 change his seat. "Without reasoning, he obeyed at 
 once the intimation of the inward monitor, and 
 moved to another seat, which proved to be less 
 comfortable. The train immediately started, and 
 just as it was leaving the depot, a stone, with 
 ragged edges, about the size of his fist, was hurled 
 through the window near which he had first seated 
 himself, breaking the glass to pieces, and shivering 
 the panel on the opposite side of the ear. A fellow- 
 passenger was so impressed with the occurrence, 
 that he asked him the reason why he had moved 
 his seat, adding that he would certainly have been 
 killed had he remained in his former position, as 
 he would have been struck on the temple. The 
 train wd,s stopped, and the man, who, under the 
 influence of passion, had thrown the stone, was 
 arrested. 
 
214 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 On arriving at the station in Bucks County, 
 he was surprised to find a brother of his sick 
 relative in waiting with his carriage to take him 
 home. As no intimation of his coming had been 
 sent, he inquired why it was that he had met the 
 train. The man replied, that about four o'clock 
 in the afternoon, his sister had insisted that the 
 Friend was coming, through great peril and with 
 his life in his hand, to see her. She was so fully 
 persuaded that such was the case, that she could 
 not rest satisfied until he started with the con- 
 veyance for the station. On conversing with the 
 invalid, relative to her weak condition, he found 
 that she was then prepared to accede to his request 
 to use certain remedies, to which she had previously 
 felt a strong aversion, that he had brought with 
 him, and which, under the Divine blessing, were in- 
 strumental in raising her from her low state and 
 prolonging her life. 
 
 A MISTAKE PROVIDENTIALLY DIRECTED. 
 
 Various are the ways by which an all-wise, all- 
 directing Providence ministers to the necessities 
 of his poor. A recent female writer gives a narra- 
 tive which strikingly exemplifies one way in which 
 the Lord accomplishes his purposes of mercy and 
 love. She had been attracted by the appearance 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVEBANCES. 215 
 
 of an interesting little lame girl who sold candy, 
 and had sometimes bought it of her. The child 
 appeared poor, and her stock was small. One day, 
 the writer, passing along, met the little girl, who 
 was accompanied by her mother, a person of a very 
 sad, anxious countenance, and a bright little baby 
 brother, who could just walk along. Pleased with 
 the appearance of the little one, she took out her 
 purse, and taking out a penny, she gave it to the 
 child, p,nd passed on her way. On reaching her 
 own residence, she found that half a crown which 
 she had in her purse when she started, and which 
 she had not spent, was missing, and with all her 
 thinking, she could not imagine what had become 
 of it. Finally she dismissed the conjecture, where 
 she could have dropped it, from her mind, hoping 
 that whoever found it, it might do him some 
 good. 
 
 Two months after her loss, in passing the place 
 where she had seen the little girl, her mother, and 
 little brother, she found the two former standing 
 by a small table, nicely spread with candy, apples, 
 and other eatables. The girl beheld her coming, 
 and recognizing her, ran to welcome her; and the 
 mother warmly expressed her gratitude to her for 
 the help given in " that day of my great trouble." 
 The writer was astonished at the warmth of feel- 
 
216 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 ing manifested, until she found that, in taking out 
 the penny, she had, without noticing it, taken out 
 the half-crown, and placed both in the child's 
 hand. The grateful mother, in explaining her 
 condition on the day in which her child had re- 
 ceived the gift, said her children had had nothing 
 to eat ; that she had left her eldest child at home 
 lying on the floor, and crying with hunger. It 
 was the day of the family's very great want. The 
 half-crown had kept her children from starving, 
 and they had been enabled to procure the little 
 table ; and although they did not sell much, yet 
 they had supported themselves, and had been better 
 off since. On hearing these particulars, the unin- 
 tentional donor said to herself, " This is the way 
 my half-crown went : God needed it to supply the 
 wants of his poor suffering ones." "It was one 
 of these beautiful providences, often unseen and 
 unnoticed by us, of which the world is so full." 
 " The cries of that suffering family had reached 
 his ear, and in Infinite "Wisdom he came to their 
 
 relief." 
 
 WARNING BY A DREAM. 
 
 Ralph "W". Wood, a young English resident in In 
 dia, 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 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 217 
 
 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 an- 
 nounced to sail in the Sixth month, 1782. The 
 children remaining with her, — ^the oldest being but 
 five years of age, — were an anxious care to 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 in- 
 fluenced by it, until its repetition so impressed 
 her mind, she had resolved that he must sail 
 without her. The friends who were to have accom- 
 panied her on the voyage, endeavored by reasoning 
 and ridicule to induce her to change her mind. The 
 women especially were urgent, but her resolution 
 was not to be changed, and she was left behind. 
 
 The " G-rosvenor " sailed on the tliirteenth 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 G-ood Hope. In the 
 attempt to land the crew and passengers, nineteen 
 19 
 
218 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 men lost their lives ; the remainder reached the 
 inhospitable coast. The next morning the natives 
 came upon them, and carried oif 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 fol- 
 lowed 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 
 kindling fires at night. The distressed party after- 
 wards divided into two bands, half of them travel- 
 ling 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 were their principal 
 articles of food. After enduring these dreadful 
 privations, at the expiration of one hundred and 
 seventeen days only a small portion of their num- 
 ber succeeded in reaching a settlement near the 
 Capo, where they were kindly cared for by the 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 219 
 
 Dutch government, although it was then engaged 
 in a 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 carriage drove to the 
 door. It contained his wife and their three chil- 
 dren. His joy at thus again beholding them was 
 almost overpowering. The faithful wife, with her 
 usual energy and decision of character, had hast- 
 ened from the vessel which had brought her safely 
 to her native land, to be the first to communicate 
 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 impending dangers. 
 
 A WIDOW PROTECTED. 
 
 In the "Journal of a Missionary in Canada," 
 the following interesting incident is related. " A 
 respectable farmer who had died, had left a widow, 
 a very amiable and pious woman, and three chil- 
 dren. She thought herself unequal to the manage- 
 ment of the large farm which her husband had 
 occupied, and therefore took a cottage in the vil- 
 
220 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 lage where I lived, and was now selling everything 
 off except a little furniture. 
 
 " After the sale was over, I went into the house 
 to see her. I congratulated her upon the plan she 
 had adopted, and remarked that she would be 
 much more comfortable, not only in being relieved 
 from the cares of a business she could not be sup- 
 posed to understand, but in a feeling of security, 
 which in her unprotected state in that lonely house 
 she could hardly enjoy. 
 
 '" Oh, no,' she said ; ' not unprotected — far from 
 it ! You forget,' she continued, with a mournful 
 smile, ' that lam now under the special protection of 
 Him who careth for the fatherless and the widow ; 
 and I feel quite confident that he will protect us.' 
 
 " And he did protect them, and that very night, 
 too, in a most extraordinary and wonderful man- 
 ner. The farm-house was a solitary one -^ there 
 was not another within half a mile of it. That 
 night there was a good deal of money in the house, 
 tke proceeds of the sale. The mother and her 
 three j'oung children, and a maid-servant, were 
 the sole inmates. They had retired to rest some 
 time. The wind was howling fearfully, and shook 
 the wooden house at every blast. This kept the. 
 poor mother awake, and she thought she heard, in 
 the pauses of the tempest, some strange and un- 
 
FBOVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 221 
 
 usual noise, seemingly at the back of the house. 
 While eagerly listening to catch the sound again, 
 she was startled by the violent barking of a dog, 
 apparently in the front of the house, immediately 
 beneath the bed-chamber. This alarmed her still 
 more, as they had no dog of their own. 
 
 " She immediately arose, and going to the maid's 
 room, awoke her, and they went down together. 
 They first peeped into the room where they had 
 heard the dog. It was moonlight, at least partially 
 so, for the night was cloudy ; still it was light 
 enough to distinguish objects, although but faintly. 
 They saw a large black dog scratching and gnaw- 
 ing furiously at the door leading into the kitchen, 
 whence she thought that the noise she first heard 
 had proceeded. 
 
 " She requested the servant to open the door 
 which the dog was attacking so violently. The 
 girl was a resolute creature, and she did so with- 
 out hesitation, when the dog rushed out, and the 
 widow saw through the door two men at the 
 kitchen-window, which was open. The men in- 
 stantly retreated, and the dog leaped through the 
 window after them. A violent scuffle ensued, and 
 it was evident, from the occasional yelping of the 
 noble animal, that he sometimes had the worst 
 
 of it. 
 
 19* 
 
222 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 " The noise of the contest, however, gradually re- 
 ceded, till the mistress could hear only now and 
 then a faint and distant bark. The would-be rob- 
 bers, or perhaps murderers, had taken out a pane 
 of glass, which had enabled them to undo the 
 fastenings of the window, when, but for the 
 dog, they would doubtless have accomplished their 
 purpose. The mistress and maid got a light, and 
 secured the window as well as they could. 
 
 " They then dressed themselves, for to think of 
 sleeping any more that night was out of the ques- 
 tion. They had not, however, got down stairs the 
 second time, before they heard their protector 
 scratching at the outer door for admittance. They 
 immediately opened it, when he came in wagging 
 his bristly tail, and fawning upon each of them 
 in turn to be patted and praised for his prowess. 
 
 " He then stretched his huge bulk at full length 
 beside the warm stove, closed his eyes, and went 
 to sleep. The . next morning they gave him a 
 breakfast any dog might have envied, after which 
 nothing could induce him to prolong his visit. 
 He stood whining impatiently at the door till it 
 was opened, when he galloped off in a great hurry, 
 and they never saw him afterwards, 
 
 " They had never seen the dog before, nor did 
 they ever know to whom he belonged. It was a 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 223 
 
 very singular circumstance, and they could only 
 suppose tliat he came with some stranger to the 
 sale. The family moved the following day to 
 their new cottage in the village ; and when mj' 
 wife and I called upon them, the widow reminded 
 me that, when I last saw her, she had told me they 
 were not unprotected." 
 
 GOOD OUT OF EVIL. 
 
 A recent author gives an interesting narrative, 
 in which an intended act of wickedness led, in the 
 overruling Providence of our heavenly Father, to 
 effect his gracious purpose of mercj'^ towards one 
 of his erring and depressed human beings. A 
 young woman being at some distance from her 
 own residence one evening, was stopped by two 
 ruffians with great clubs, who evidently had a 
 murderous intent towards her ; seeing this, she 
 turned and fled. They pursued her, but were not 
 able to overtake her, as she had not far to go to 
 the next gate on a turnpike near Sandgate, Eng- 
 land. "When she entered the gate-house, she was so 
 completely exhausted that she sank down through 
 weakness. After she had somewhat recovered 
 from the fright and the effect of her violent exer- 
 cise in running, she began to consider what she 
 should do. She dared not attempt that night to 
 
224 PBOVIDE.NTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 travel the road whereon she had heen so recently 
 assaulted, and remembering that an old female 
 friend of her family had charge of the mansion of 
 a baronet, which was near by, she concluded to 
 apply to her for accommodation for the night. 
 She knew the owner and his household were 
 absent. 
 
 She reached the house safely, knocked at the 
 front door, and then at all the side doors of the 
 house successively, without receiving any intima- 
 tion that any one was within. At last her old 
 friend appeared at a small door among the stables, 
 and inquired who was there. The young woman 
 was hospitably received, and retired to rest with 
 a thankful heart for her preservation that even- 
 ing. In the morning she related to her old friend 
 the circumstances of her escape, and also gave 
 utterance to the fervent gratitude stirring within 
 her to her Almighty Care-taker. From that even- 
 ing, the aged woman treated her young friend with 
 most extraordinary respect and kindness whenever 
 they met, and was so intent on ministering to her 
 comfort, that the recipient of her attentions was 
 often tried that one so much older should take so 
 much trouble for her. The cause of this was not 
 explained for several years. At last, the aged 
 woman, being about to remove from the neighbor- 
 
PROVIDENTIAL DELIVER AN0E8. 225 
 
 hood of Sandgate to London, took an opportunity 
 of speaking of this matter to her young friend. 
 At their parting interview, she asked her if she 
 rememhered coming to the house of the baronet 
 on such an evening. " Certainly I do ; nor can I 
 ever forget the deliverance I was then blessed 
 with." She then asked her " if she remembered 
 finding all the doors bolted and barred, and that 
 she came to her at a door among the stables ? " 
 " Oh, yes ; I remember it all." The old woman at 
 this point became greatly agitated, but having ob- 
 tained some relief by giving vent to tears, she 
 went on to say, that previously to the evening re- 
 ferred to, she had been much depressed in spirit, 
 and had been tempted by the evil one to destroy 
 her own life. That evening, there being no one 
 in the house with her, she had given way in spirit 
 to the temptation, and had made preparation for 
 accomplishing her wicked design. She had first 
 carefully fastened all the doors of the dwelling, 
 and was passing down the backyard, intending to 
 throw herself into the sea, when the knocking at 
 the doors, one after another, arrested her steps, and 
 prevented her carrying her intention into effect. 
 The young woman's gratitude for her own deliver- 
 ance had probably a good effect upon the old one's 
 mind ; and she ever after felt thankfulness to her 
 
226 PROVIDENTIAL DELIVERANCES. 
 
 Almighty Saviour, who, by sending the affrighted 
 girl there for refuge, had prevented the accomplish- 
 ment of the meditated crime, and saved her soul 
 from endless misery. This was the reason she had 
 felt bound to show so much kindness ani respect 
 to her young friend. Through the Lord's merciful 
 regard, and the quickening operations of his Holy 
 Spirit, her despair of mind had long since subsided ; 
 although she still, at seasons, felt much distress in 
 the remembrance of her wicked intention. 
 
 As she was now leaving the neighborhood, she 
 felt it a duty to inform her young friend of the 
 circumstance, requesting her not to mention it 
 during her lifetime. The request was faithfully 
 observed ; and the aged woman, who lived several 
 years after this conversation, was favored with a 
 good degree of inward peace and quietness of spirit 
 ;o the end, and her close was happy. 
 
TRIALS. 227 
 
 TEIALS. 
 
 FAITH IN TRIALS. 
 
 THE Lord sometimes takes away our comforts 
 to teacli us humility and dependence upon him- 
 self, and to fit and qualify us for usefulness in his 
 church and family. An instructive account is re- 
 corded of an affectionate,religiously-minded woman, 
 of an active, useful turn of mind, who had been 
 engrossed by many outward blessings to the endan- 
 gering the better part. Her heart was much upon 
 her family and friends, and she delighted in some 
 of the elegancies of life, which an ample fortune 
 enabled her to indulge in. At last she was sensible 
 that her afifections were becoming too much set on 
 worldly things, and she was enabled heartily to 
 seek for aid in counteracting their evil tendency. 
 She wished to retain all her blessings, and enjoy 
 them to the full, and yet not to be injured thereby. 
 The Lord saw meet to order it otherwise ; an affec- 
 tionate husband, her two children, and other near 
 relatives were taken from her, and some pecuniary 
 losses reduced her estate. These trials made the 
 defects of her Christian character more apparent. 
 She became melancholy at her bereavements, and 
 
228 TRIALS. 
 
 her gloom increased as months rolled by. She did 
 not flinch from performing the duties of life, but 
 she entered into them without pleasure ; and nurs- 
 ing her sorrow, her health appeared to be giving 
 way. The Lord, however, whom she continued 
 to love under all, gave her a visitation in mercy, 
 which, through his help, aroused her from her 
 gloom. She visited, during the winter season, 
 a friend who resided in the country, whose house 
 was surrounded with many rare and beautiful 
 flowers and shrubs, of which she was very careful. 
 The visitor, who much admired the grounds and 
 the plants, one morning, on looking out of the win- 
 dow, was very much astonished to see many of the 
 most ornamental branches cut from the fairest 
 flowers and richest shrubbery, and scattered care- 
 lessly on the ground. Much had been done, and 
 still the work of apparent desolation was going on. 
 There was a gardener still ruthlessly cutting and 
 hewing, and not knowing where he would stop, 
 she asked her friend how she could bear to see her 
 favorites so cruelly mangled, adding, " They will be 
 totally ruined. Do stop him." Her friend replied 
 in nearly these words : " I could not let any one else 
 do it, but he knows what he is doing. They will be 
 the more beautiful for all this." Whilst looking 
 on this scene of devastation, the mournful visitor 
 
TRIALS. 229 
 
 found her thouglits dwelling on the words of her 
 friend, " He knows what he is doing." Her mind re- 
 verted to her trials ; to the stripping and pruning 
 dispensation which her heavenly Father had meted 
 out to her. She felt she had not exercised a simi- 
 lar faith in the discipline of her dear Saviour ; she 
 felt that he knew what he was doing. She appre- 
 ciated the impressions made at that moment hy the 
 Holy Spirit, that everything had been apportioned 
 to her in love. These simple words of her friend, 
 through the blessing of her Saviour, were made 
 instrumental in changing the whole current of her 
 thoughts. She found she had many things left to 
 be thankful for; and although never forgetting 
 the loved ones she had lost, yet, with cheerful 
 resignation, renewed health and spirits, she en- 
 deavored faithfully to pursue the path of duty. 
 Ah I Christian, how much of thy trouble would 
 be removed, how many of thy afflictions would be 
 lightened, if thou couldst only refer all to thy Sa- 
 viour, and say in meekness, " Thou knowest what 
 thou art doing. Do with me as seemeth unto 
 thee good." 
 
 THE OLD ROSE BUSH REVIVED. 
 There is in the possession of the writer a rose- 
 bush that had been robbed of its strength and 
 '20 
 
230 TRIALS. 
 
 beauty by shoots from its wild root, which hore no 
 flowers. The pruning-knife had been freely ap- 
 plied, a year ago, to the barren growth ; and indeed 
 the whole top of the decaying shoot from the true 
 graft, which had borne, in its vigor, beautiful flow- 
 ers, was also cut away. This was done as the only 
 method of saving it ; yet we had little hope that 
 any permanent good would be effected, as it ap- 
 peared as though all that was of any value in the 
 bush was fast dying. Two or three shoots started 
 before winter, and grew with some rapidity ; yet, 
 as we believed they were from the natural wild 
 root, little attention was given to them; and it 
 was not until the time when other roses were 
 blooming, that it was apparent that some were 
 from the graft ; for on one of them, rapidly open- 
 ing its green mantle, was a promising rose-bud. 
 On this discovery, the pruning-knife was freely ap- 
 plied to the fresh shoots of the wild root, which 
 were absorbing the sap and weakening that growth 
 which was doing its best to bloom. Strengthened 
 by this pruning, the plant has perfected roses, 
 beautiful in color as ever, although somewhat less 
 in size and fewer in number than those it put 
 forth before its strength had been given to the 
 nourishment of the barren suckers; and it is evi- 
 dent that with careful attention, and a constant 
 
TBIALS. 231 
 
 pruning down of all wrong growth, we may once 
 more have the plant blooming in vigor, and hear- 
 ing more abundantly than ever the sweet, beauti- 
 ful roses of the true graft. 
 
 Whilst musing over this rose-bush, its threatened 
 decay, and happy recovery, my mind seemed a 
 little animated with spiritual good. I was led 
 into a train of thought on the benefit often ex- 
 perienced by the Christian from right pruning, 
 administered by the heavenly Husbandman ; even 
 from the frequent application of the sharp knife 
 of affliction, not merely trimming off wrong 
 branches, but cutting down, as it were, to the root 
 all growth not from the grafting of grace. Memory 
 recalled the records of many persons, — the good, 
 the wise, the useful in their generation, — who, in 
 early life, and some of them until far past the 
 meridian of their day, had given the sap of their 
 strength to the natural shoots, which bore no good 
 fruit, and nothing to admire at best but showy, 
 useless leaves. A graft had, by Divine visitation, 
 been set in some of them, but in the profusion of 
 the natural growth, it had been dwarfed, and 
 seemed dying or dead, whilst only fruits of evil 
 hung round in abundance. These men and women 
 exerted an influence in the world for evil ; their 
 fruit -was bitter; they brought forth nothing to 
 
232 TRIALS. 
 
 the praise of him, who, by the visitation of his 
 Spirit, called them to grace and to glory ; until, 
 through his merciful chastisements and regenerat- 
 ing baptisms acting as a sharp pruning-knife, the 
 evil growth within was little by little cut off. 
 Then, indeed, the heavenly graft of early or later 
 visitation found room to grow, obtained strength 
 and nourishment to bloom and bear fruit. As the 
 keen strokes of affliction, wielded by the skilful 
 hand of him who doeth all. things well, cut off and 
 destroyed shoot after shoot of the old wild stock, the 
 new growth waxed stronger and stronger, until its 
 blossoms and fruitage were truly to the honor of 
 the great Husbandman, and to the praise of his re- 
 deeming grace. I thought of Samuel Pothergill, 
 rioting in all wickedness, — of Daniel Wheeler, 
 degraded and sunk in sin, — of Peter Yarnall, 
 making a sport of religion, and everything excel- 
 lent; and as I saw how, through the severity 
 of Divine dispensations, their evil growth was 
 removed, and in how large a measure, in after-life, 
 they were enabled to bring forth the fruits of holi- 
 ness, for their own good and the good of the church, 
 I felt how merciful was the great Husbandman, 
 that every branch bearing no fruit unto holiness 
 should be taken away from us, and that every 
 plant bearing fruit should have all evil growth 
 
TRIALS. 233 
 
 purged from it, that it might " hring forth more 
 fruit." 
 
 Whilst musing, without seeking for illustra- 
 tions, there was suddenly brought to my remem- 
 brance one whom I had known many years ago, 
 and of whom I had seen but little since. "When I 
 first knew him, he was just entering manhood, of 
 fair ahilities, and an excellent character in civil 
 society ; and who, by his consistent walking, gave 
 cheering evidence that the great Husbandman had 
 indeed engrafted in him a heavenly bud, which 
 through assisting grace was growing vigorously, 
 —hearing already some fruit, and giving large 
 promise of more. 
 
 Time in its ever ceaseless movement carried us 
 forward. Years passed. He was married, and his 
 wife, in addition to earthly graces, had the adorn- 
 ings of the Spirit. The graft, of grace given her 
 had grown and produced good fruit. He had chil- 
 dren born to him ; and these outward blessings, a 
 religious wife and healthy children, whilst adding 
 to his earthly cares and comforts, should have in- 
 creased his thankfulness to God and dedication to 
 his service. 
 
 After a long time, being in the neighborhood 
 in which I knew he had formerly resided, I found 
 him in bodily health, but his very appearance pro- 
 20* 
 
234 TRIALS. 
 
 claimed a changed man. His religious duties, even 
 near home, were neglected ; and I could but remind 
 him of the dew of his youth, and the love of his 
 espousals, now, alas ! apparently forgotten. I found 
 that the cares of the world, and probably the un- 
 subdued love of it, had caused shoots to spring 
 up from the old nature, which had very much 
 weakened the graft from Divine grace. Many 
 afflictions had been mercifully granted him to cut 
 down the wild growth ; near and dear ones had 
 been taken away ; but, however, after such a dis- 
 cipline, wrong things might appear momentarily 
 to wither, yet for want of yielding all up to the 
 great Pruner, with earnest desire for thorough re- 
 pentance, and the perfect reduction of self, the evil 
 shoots but grew more luxuriantly. He had a fresh 
 sense given him how it was and had been with 
 him, acknowledged his error, and thought he 
 would improve. Alas ! a mere sense of our error 
 produces no improvement. He had not yet ex- 
 perienced a longing desire to feel the pruning-knife, 
 — an earnest, beseeching love to him who wieldeth 
 it, and a daily, hourly, craving for the removal of 
 every budding of evil ! 
 
 Fresh visitations of trial for his good are still 
 
 mercifully granted him. Immediately, and in- 
 
 . strumentally, he has evidently been sought after. 
 
TRIALS. 235 
 
 Stroke upon stroke has been given him to cut off 
 the evil growth, to bring him back, if not as a 
 branch to bear much fruit to the Lord's glory, at 
 least as one of which the fruit, though scant and 
 feeble, might be unto holiness, and through the 
 mercy of him who seeketh to save, might in the 
 end be unto everlasting life. 
 
 In my present musing, these things came into 
 my mind, and whilst sorrowing over the present 
 condition of this once promising plant, I could but 
 feel tbe petition raised that still sharper strokes 
 of the pruning-knife might be given him, even 
 until driven to the Lord Jesus for comfort in his 
 distress, he might be rightly enabled to kiss the 
 rod, and him who hath appointed it. Oh, there is 
 no time to delay ! When the discipline of afflic- 
 tion and merciful chastisement is continually re- 
 jected, may we not fear that the time will soon 
 come when the growth of grace being smothered, 
 the growth of evil fruit will be so openly apparent, 
 as to bring shame and reproach ? 
 
 CHEERFUL BESIONATION A CHRISTIAN DUTY. 
 
 Whatever our trials may be, whatever bereave- 
 ments we may have experienced, a Christian has 
 no right to murmur at them, or to noui'ish a gloomy 
 disposition — dwelling continually and repiningly 
 
236 T-RIALS. 
 
 over his losses or his crosses. He has no right, by 
 anything he says or does, to give his neighbors 
 cause to believe that he thinks he has been hardly 
 dealt with by his heavenly Father. 
 
 It is narrated that a minister of the Society of 
 Friends called one day to see a female acquaint- 
 ance who had during the previous year lost her 
 husband. He found the window-shutters of the 
 house closed, as if for a recent death, whilst every- 
 thing in it wore a sable hue ; and the widow her- 
 self, attired in deep mourning, gave evidence, by 
 her sad, disconsolate countenance, that she was 
 unprofitably, nay, sinfully dwelling on her great 
 loss, to the neglect of present duty, and in forget- 
 fulness that submission to the will of Divine Provi- 
 dence is a universal Christian requirement. Ob- 
 serving that she was nourishing such a rebellious 
 spirit against the holy will of her Saviour, he ad- 
 dressed her in these ' words of solemn rebuke : " I 
 perceive thou hast not yet forgiven the Almighty." 
 This short sentence probably gave her a clearer 
 insight into her own motives and feelings than she 
 had before attained ; and led her to seek, through 
 the aid of the Holy Spirit, genuine repentance for 
 the past, and strength to bear her burden with 
 cheerful submission for the future. She was en- 
 abled to shake off her complaining gloom, to 
 
TRIALS. 237 
 
 remember fhe many mercies bestowed upon her, and 
 to seek for peace in a daily surrender of her will 
 to that of the all-wise, all-merciful Controller of 
 the allotments and vicissitudes of his children. 
 
 A writer has said : " To be good and to be dis- 
 agreeable, is high treason against virtue." If this 
 be true, and he must be hardy who, after serious 
 reflection, will dare to gainsay it, then also must it 
 be treasonable for one professing himself a Chris- 
 tian, to show by his continual gloom that he is 
 rebellino; in heart against the allotment of trial 
 and suffering apportioned him. The Christian 
 feels his earthly trials, but there is One who can 
 and will, if he is sought unto in living faith, grant 
 him consolation. The believer must mourn ; yea, 
 cold and dead, and unworthy of the name of Chris- 
 tian were he, who, when the ties of affection are 
 severed by the removal of beloved ones to their 
 heavenly home, does not deeply feel the bereave- 
 ment. But he, who when in an earthly body shed 
 tears over a dead Lazarus, is near, if they will seek 
 for him, to soothe their sorrows, to grant to the 
 resigned soul some sweet streams of inward refresh- 
 ment, and the ability to say in tearful yet reverent 
 acq[uiescence, " Thy will be done!" 
 
 In the midst of his trials, of whatever kind they 
 be, the true Christian has much comfort, and. real, 
 
238 TRIALS. 
 
 if it be a subdued, and bumble happiness. How 
 is it witb the man of the world, even amidst all 
 his gayeties, and, it may be, his almost unbroken 
 prosperity. Let the idol of the German literati, 
 Goethe, answer for himself. When seventy-five 
 years of age, he writes : " I have often been praised 
 as an especial favorite of fortune; and I will not 
 myself complain. But at the bottom there has 
 been nothing but trouble and labour; and I can 
 well say, that in my whole five and seventy years 
 I have not had four weeks of real pleasure. It 
 was the eternal rolling of a stone, that had always 
 to be lifted up again for a new start." How 
 could such a man have real pleasure ? He did not 
 know in what it consisted ! he sought it not of him 
 who can alone bestow it. How often do we find 
 the Christian, even amidst all the pain of a dis- 
 eased body, enjoying true happiness of mind. A 
 Friend well known to the writer, who when 
 visited during the paroxysms of extreme agony, 
 which were rapidly breaking down a strong con- 
 stitution, said with a sweet smile, in allusion to 
 his suffering, " It is all of the body, within all is 
 peace.'' What an excellent thing to be able to 
 feel in the hours of suffering as John Camm did, 
 who, having to endure a long season of 'agony 
 whilst the bodily powers were gradually giving 
 
TRIALS. 239 
 
 way, was yet able with thankfulness of heart to 
 exclaim, " How great a benefit do I enjoy beyond 
 many ; I have such a large time of preparation for 
 death; — dying daily, that I may live forever 
 with my God in that kingdom that is unspeak- 
 ably full of glory. ^ My outward man daily wastes 
 and moulders down, and draws towards its place 
 and centre ; but my inward man revives and 
 mounts upwards towards its place and habitation 
 in the heavens." So, although full of pain, and 
 often terribly shaken with a racking cough, he yet 
 could rejoice in a full assurance of faith, feeling in 
 and over all his afflictions, as George Fox express- 
 ed himself when he too was passing through the 
 last pangs of parting mortality, " All is well ! The 
 Seed of God reigns over all ! " 
 
 MISTAKEN COMFORT. 
 
 Christian, if God is smiting thee with the rod 
 of suffering or bereavement, be assured it is for 
 thy good. Attempt not, I beseech thee, to flee 
 from, but, on the contrary, draw nearer and nearer 
 to, him, seeking for a spirit of humble acquiescence 
 in his dispensations to thee. It has been said by 
 some one, that if we would lighten the stroke of 
 our punishment, we should draw near to the hand 
 inflicting it. This is sound philosophy outwardly 
 
240 TRIALS. 
 
 and inwardly. By drawing near to the Lord, our 
 chastiser, we shall see the mercy which directs the 
 stroke, and it will fall with much less of that con- 
 demning force, the fear of which increases our 
 suffering. The Christian, therefore, for the honor 
 of Truth, for the sake of others, for the good of 
 his own soul, should seek to his Grod for ability to 
 walk before men with a cheerful countenance, with 
 a cover of humble resignation over his spirit, even 
 when a song of rejoicing has not been given to his 
 tongue. But let him not seek for comfort and 
 consolation in outward things, especially those 
 which, dissipating serious impressions,' and re- 
 storing apparent cheerfulness to the countenance, 
 tend to alienate the mind from God, the alone 
 efficient comforter of his children. 
 
 An aged, religiously-minded woman told the 
 writer, a few years since, that, being much cast 
 down, and nervously distressed at the awful con- 
 dition of things in our beloved country, aiid the 
 uncertainty where and what further calamities 
 would yet come, she had been persuaded by her 
 children to retire to a quiet retreat, far from the 
 turmoil of cities, and advised, nay, almost enjoined, 
 to indulge herself in novel reading, to lighten her 
 trouble of mind and quiet her nerves. Certainly, 
 those who thus persuaded, and at last induced, her, 
 
TRIALS. 241 
 
 as an experiment, to read one such work of fiction, 
 were not themselves acquainted with the true 
 remedy for their much-loved and honored parent. 
 A permanent and abiding sense of the omnipotence 
 and all-directing wisdom of God in the dispensa- 
 tions he directs or permits to come upon individ- 
 uals or nations, and of his superintending providence 
 and fatherly care over all who trust in him, was 
 what she needed. No doubt she acknowledged all 
 this in words ; but a bare acknowledgment is often 
 made where a real, supporting faith is not felt. 
 Novel reading might change the tone of her mind ; 
 it might, for a brief period, drive from her thoughts 
 the fearful images that oppressed it, but it could 
 prove at best a temporary remedy, which would 
 alienate from God, and thereby produce a condition 
 far worse than the original disease. Her troubles, 
 if they only had had the effect of driving her to 
 cleave more closely and abidingly to her Saviour 
 for comfort, would have brought her peace in him. 
 Novel reading, whilst soothing, debases, and of 
 necessity has in it and draws after it a curse. 
 
 INFLUENCE OF THE OUTWARD UPON THE 
 INWARD. 
 
 It is recorded that an officer in one of the Eng- 
 lish expeditions in search of Eranklin, the Arctic 
 21 Q 
 
242 TRIALS. 
 
 explorer, was of a frank and open disposition, fond 
 of gayety, and very thoughtless as respected his 
 future state. During his journey as leader of one 
 of the sledge parties, his mind was awakened to 
 serious considerations. He saw the utter worth- 
 lessness of many things highly prized, and eagerly- 
 sought after, in the world of civilized life. He 
 thought, what would all the wealth of Europe 
 avail him, if he should lose the judgment and self- 
 possession which would enable him to conduct his 
 party back to the ship ? Then came the thought 
 how would it be with him, if they should be stricken 
 down by disease amid the snowy wastes ? 
 
 The difficulty of directing their course, from the 
 variation of the compass, was great, and much care 
 was required to keep -the chronometer from stop- 
 ping; and feeling the responsibility heavy upon 
 him, he walked much alone. After a time one 
 of the party was struck with the snow-blindness, 
 and soon afterwards another. These events added 
 much to the weight of his care and anxiety. The 
 next day, after the malady attacked them, before 
 starting in the morning, the twenty-third Psalm 
 was read, beginning, " The Lord is my shepherd." 
 As they journeyed on that day, amidst all the fears 
 which beset his mind relative to the safety of his 
 party, this passage from that Psalm kept sounding 
 
TRIALS. 243 
 
 througli his mind, " Yea, though I walk through 
 the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no 
 evil." At night, as he lay, kept awake by his 
 anxiety, through the merciful visitations of the 
 grace of God, he was brought to look back with 
 contrition on his past life of folly, and to covenant 
 in secret, that if spared to return to his native 
 country, he would never forget how the Psalmist " 
 had been enabled to rejoice in communion with 
 God. Lessons of instruction he had received in 
 childhoQd came back to his memory, and a com- 
 fort he had not felt for years stole into his mind. 
 
 Greater trials came upon them than they had 
 yet experienced ; at one time they encountered a 
 violent snow-storm, and were buried in the drift 
 so deeply, that it was thirty-six hours before the}' 
 could proceed. Provisions were growing scarce, 
 and the weather was so thick that it was doubtful 
 if they could find the ship. During this time of 
 distress, his mind was consoled as the text, " The 
 Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want," was again 
 and again presented to it. 
 
 The company reached their vessel in safety, and 
 the officer, it is testified, became, through the power 
 of Divine grace, a wiser and better man. The visi- 
 tations of mercy to his soul, in the hours of his 
 lonely, anxious, Arctic travel, and in the wakeful 
 
244 TRIALS. 
 
 watches, whilst his worn-out men were sleeping 
 soundly around him, had been blessed to him. 
 
 Many of those who have been faithful laborers 
 in the Lord's vineyard, have received sensible visita- 
 tions and precious awakenings apparently spring- 
 ing from outward things ; some, during seasons 
 of quiet retirement, and when walking in solitary 
 places ; some, whilst musing amid rural scenery ; 
 others in feeling the fury of a storm, threatening 
 to destroy them. When the Lord has prepared the 
 heart for his service, there lacketh not outward 
 events through which the sensible operations of 
 his Holy Spirit take hold of the awakened mind. 
 Sickness and the fear of death have driven many, 
 with strong cries and earnestness of spirit, to seek 
 to the great Physician of value, who, in his own 
 time, as they continued depending upon him, healed 
 all their maladies. Some have been driven by 
 terrible, some drawn by gentle means into the 
 paths of peace. Daniel Wheeler could trace deep 
 and abiding effects on his mind received during a 
 hurricane at sea ; whilst Mary Haggar could re- 
 member visitations of Divine love granted her 
 amid the flowers of a garden. 
 
TRIALS. 245 
 
 PRAY IN FAIR WEATHER. 
 
 In a recent number of a religious paper, an anec- 
 dote to this import is told. A number of years 
 ago, a ship bound to New York, whilst far out in 
 the ocean, suddenly encountered a dreadful storm. 
 All hands were called to take in sail and put the 
 ship in the best trim to stand such a hurricane, 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 
 skilful mariners, and the blessing of a merciful 
 God, was saved, and in a few days reached her 
 port. The raan who prayed in the storm was at 
 once discharged, having been through his wicked- 
 ness 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 sounding in his ears, 
 and deep distress for his past sins and present 
 state came upon him. Through the mercy of God. 
 21* 
 
246 TRIALS. 
 
 and the cleansing baptisms of liis 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 perceiving 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 mea- 
 sure his composure, he proceeded 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 right- 
 eousness, was much affected. His mind was awa- 
 kened, and Divine grace operating therein, led him 
 also forward in the path of purity and peace, until, 
 through the baptisms of repentance and the renew- 
 ings of the Holy Ghost, he too was made a partaker 
 of the blessed hope of the gospel of life and sal- 
 vation. 
 
 These words, " Pray in fair weather," so emi- 
 nently blessed in these two instances, may well 
 
TRIALS. 247 
 
 claim the serious consideration 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 blessings, 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 sanc- 
 tifying mercy will prepare thee to bear the afflic- 
 tions of time without terror, and the blessings of 
 prosperity without injury to thy immortal soul. 
 
 AGITATION THAT PURIFIES. 
 
 The trials, the tossings, the varied afflictions of 
 the Christian tend to his purification. If a man 
 or a woman gives more than usual evidence of 
 heavenly-mindedness, it will frequently be found 
 that the path in which he or she has been led, 
 has been, either from inward or outward conflicts, 
 a peculiarly trying one. It has been stated, that 
 if water,' in a perfectly calm condition, was foul 
 
248 TRIALS. 
 
 with mud, it would, for a long period, hold the 
 impurity in suspension ; but that if it was much 
 agitated, or set in lively onward motion, the sedi- 
 ment quickly deposited, leaving the fluid pure and 
 transparent. The soul that is passing from a state 
 of nature to a state of grace, cannot fail to be 
 agitated. The immense importance of the object 
 at stake awakens intense anxiety, and fears and 
 doubtings assail it. The white-robed, rejoicing 
 company in heaven are those who have come out 
 of great tribulation; yet this tribulation has no 
 doubt been often much confined to inward spiritual 
 conflicts. Some of those who have attained con- 
 siderable Christian growth, who have exhibited in 
 beautiful perfection the Christian graces, may have 
 had small share of outward trials. JSTevertheless, 
 their cup has had its bitterness in it. They have 
 tasted the wormwood and the gall ; they have been 
 tossed with inward conflicts, and have known 
 seasons when there seemed to be none to comfort 
 them, none that cared for their soals. 
 
 If the soul has been really awakened to a sense 
 of its inward corruption; if it feel the necessity 
 of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ for itself, and of 
 attaining to a state of obedience unto him in his 
 iiiward requirings, it will, it must, be shaken with 
 inward conflicts. - The fear of running too fast, the 
 
TRIALS. 249 
 
 dread of lagging behind the. heavenly guide, will 
 agitate the mind. The old corruptions of nature 
 often retard, the impatience of an unsettled state 
 sometimes hurry it forward in zeal without true 
 knowledge. If, however, the heart is really 
 touched by Divine grace ; if it is really longing for 
 a perfect salvation through the one offering of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and the sanctifying power of 
 his inward baptism, it will, amid all the vibrations 
 of its weakness, turn back to him. 
 
 THE WAY HEDGED UP. 
 
 Keader, is thy way hedged up ? Are the inward 
 trials and afflictions dispensed to thee of so trying 
 and peculiar a character that thou canst not see 
 how thou art to hold on thy way in patience and 
 resignation any longer ? Or, is thy pecuniary con- 
 dition such that it appears to thee that the way is 
 completely hedged up ? "Whatever thy situation, 
 whatever the peculiar trials which beset thee, and 
 appear to hedge thy way, remember, if thou art a 
 believer in and a true-hearted lover and follower 
 . of the Lord Jesus Christ, all thy trials, all thy 
 difficulties, nay, all thy bereavements, are in mercy, 
 according to the declaration, " All things work 
 together for good to them that love God." 
 
 A Christian narrates that on a certain occasion, 
 
250 TRIALS. 
 
 when his trials and afflictions were so great that 
 he thought it almost in vain to endeavor to bear up 
 under them, he was returning towards his house in 
 the evening, and found a mass of thorns laid in 
 his way. As in the dark he could not see to 
 penetrate them, he tried to walk round them, but 
 found thorns had been placed all across the road. 
 He concluded some enemy had placed them there ; 
 but as he found it impracticable to pass, he turned 
 backward, and, trying another way, was soon safely 
 in his own house. In the morning he went to the 
 place, that he might understand why the path had 
 been hedged against him. Great was his thank- 
 fulness, when he reached the spot, to those whose 
 kindness had induced them to place so thick a 
 fence of briars as to baffle his attempt to pass it. 
 From a quarry by the road-side the top had 
 recently fallen in, so that had he passed on, broken 
 limbs, or even loss of life, might have ensued. 
 With gratitude he could lift up. an ojSfering of 
 praise to his heavenly Father, whilst he acknowl- 
 edged it had been a friend, and not an enemy, who 
 had hedged up his way. 
 
 This occurrence led him to a consideration of 
 the manifold trials which beset his path through 
 life, and he felt an inward assurance that in these, 
 also, the hand of a Friend had been at work. He 
 
TRIALS. 251 
 
 was led closely to inquire, Am I in my proper 
 path ? Does my heavenly Father, by hedging my 
 way with thorns, seek to turn my feet from cer- 
 tain danger, from probable or positive destruction ? 
 This is a question which may profitably engage all 
 of us when our way is hedged up. Is my being 
 here in my heavenly Father's direction? Have 
 my stoppings, which have brought me here, been 
 taken in his fear ? 
 
252 FAITH. 
 
 FAITH. 
 
 WALKING BY FAITH. 
 
 THE natural man cannot appreciate the feelings 
 which, operating in the heart of the humhle 
 Christian, enable him to walk by faith in the 
 openings and leadings of the spirit of Truth. He 
 has no faculty by which to take hold of, or to under- 
 stand, such an intercourse between the soul of man 
 and G-od his creator. He is like those individuals 
 who, having no appreciation of certain colors, won- 
 der at the remarks of those around them. Dugald 
 Stewart had a natural defect in his sight, so that, 
 we are told, " to him the cherries and the leaves 
 on a tree were the same color ; and there was 
 no distinction of hue between the red coats of 
 the soldiers, marching through a wood, and the 
 green .trees themselves." The fact that those who 
 have not submitted to the visitations of Divine 
 grace, and been happily made acquainted with the 
 still small voice which reproves and instructs in 
 the soul, may not understand the actions of the 
 man who, endeavoring to perform his religious 
 duty, walks by faith and not by sight, furnishes 
 no more reason to doubt the reality of that which 
 
FAITH. 253 
 
 directs him, than the inability of Professor Stew- 
 art to distinguish colours does to prove that no 
 such difference exists. These reflections have arisen 
 while recording the following anecdote strongly 
 exemplifying the walking by faith. 
 
 A member of the Society of jFriends, who re- 
 sided many miles from Philadelphia, several years 
 ago, felt a strong religious concern to attend a 
 meeting of which he was a member in that city. 
 He was a worthy, exemplary man, and it was right 
 for him to endeavor to be in attendance there, even 
 if he had not felt it to be at that time particularly 
 his religious duty. But he was one who, although 
 rich, in faith, was poor as respects worldly sub- 
 stance, and had no means of raising the small sum 
 of ready money necessary to meet his expenses by 
 the way. The impression of duty continued, and 
 doubtless with many heart-sinkings and fears he 
 set off on the journey. On crossing a strgam he 
 saw something shining in the water, which proved 
 to be a silver coin. Taking it, he passed on his 
 way, thankful to his heavenly Father for this 
 merciful provision, and paying therewith all una- 
 voidable expenses, until he arrived at a neighbor- 
 hood of Friends, where he was freely entertained, 
 and from whence he was enabled to reach the city 
 
 without further outlay. 
 22 
 
254 FAITH. 
 
 THE MYSTERIES OF PROVIDENCE. 
 
 The attributes of the Almighty, his creating 
 power in nature, and in the sanctifying and justi- 
 fying operations of his grace, can never be under- 
 stood and comprehended by the weak, circumscribed 
 faculties of man. His dealings with the children 
 of grace, the peculiar tribulations meted out to 
 some, the comparatively sunny paths through 
 which he leads others, are doubtless in true wis- 
 dom, and tend to the perfecting of his glorious 
 purposes. "We may not be able to perceive any 
 fitness in the dispensations of his Providence, 
 through which we or our friends are, through his 
 assistance, slowly working our way to the king- 
 dom of purity and peace, whither he calls us ; 
 yet through faith in him, and in his unbounded 
 wisdom and mercy, we knov) that the path in which 
 he leads all his spiritual children is the very path 
 most conducive to individual holiness and the good 
 of the church militant. 
 
 It is useless to perplex ourselves by an attempt 
 to sound unfathomable depths with the short line 
 of our limited understanding. An illustration in 
 point is told relative to Augustine, who, says the 
 story, had been perplexing himself respecting the 
 nature of the deity, the mysteries of the Godhead. 
 The more he mused, the more difficult did the sub- 
 
FAITH. 255 
 
 ject appear to him. "With his mind agitated by 
 the failure ( f his intellect to grasp the subject, he 
 walked out on the sea-shore, that at least his body 
 might be invigorated by the cool, bracing wind. 
 As he paced along, still straining his intellect to 
 compass things beyond human comprehension, he 
 perceived, as he thought, a child busily engaged 
 bringing water from the sea in the hollow of his 
 hands, and pouring it into a small hole he had 
 scraped in the sand. Augustine felt interested in 
 the little laborer, and ceasing from the vain and 
 fruitless exertion of thought he had been engaged 
 in, he paused to consider and question. " My child, 
 what art thou doing ? " he asked. " Mine is an 
 easy task," said the boy ; " it is only to sweep the 
 wide ocean into this narrow hole." " Foolish boy ! 
 to expect those vast waters could be held in that 
 small pit," said the learned man, astonished that 
 even a child should have been so unreasonable as 
 to deem it a possibility. As he so spake, the little 
 child appeared to change into the form of an angel 
 of light, and with answering reproof thus addressed 
 him : " Child of dust, thy object is still more hope- 
 less. Dost thou conceive that thou art able to 
 comprehend the nature of the most High within 
 the compass of thy own shallow understanding ? 
 Far sooner, Augustine, far sooner could I accom- 
 
256 FAITH. 
 
 plish this work, than any finite mind understand 
 his nature who is infinite." 
 
 Whether Augustine narrated this as a vision, or 
 as a parable, we know not. In either case the 
 moral is so plain that we may profit by it. 
 
 "We cannot comprehend Grod, neither can we 
 always see the design of the operations of his provi- 
 dence. Yet it is often the case that apparent mys- 
 teries are made plain to us, even on this earth. 
 If he leads some of his children through bloody 
 or fiery martyrdom into his kingdom of glory, it 
 has often been his good pleasure thereby to awaken 
 hardened spectators to turn to and embrace the 
 truth, and to quicken lukewarm believers to seek 
 for a greater portion of that grace which had en- 
 abled a brother or sister to thank God whilst ex- 
 ulting in the fires, or in the jaws of wild beasts, 
 or whilst yielding their lives under the gallows. 
 Some children of grace have had lifelong conflicts 
 with pain, and afflictions of various kinds ; and al- 
 though the workings of Providence may at times 
 appear very mysterious to them, yet we have evi- 
 dence that, from the holy, heavenly example of 
 meek, unrepining patience manifested by them, 
 there have at seasons been merciful extendings of 
 saving visitations to others. Yea, others, seeing 
 their, good works of cheerful submission, have 
 
FAITH. 257 
 
 thl-ough Divine grace been enabled to glorify God 
 in this their day of visitation. . 
 
 The removal of valuable laborers from the church 
 militant in the maturity and vigor of their days, 
 before the spiritual eye has become dim, or the 
 strength and alacrity of spirit for doing the Lord's 
 work has abated, is often a mystery, as well as an 
 affliction to the flock and family. Yet, at times, 
 a benefit to others may spring out of such afflictive 
 (dispensations. 
 
 It has' been noticed that when large, full-grown 
 trees which had cast a goodly shadow have been 
 removed, it is often the case that plants which had 
 been sheltered by them, but shaded also, and 
 thereby stunted in growth, have become more 
 thrifty and vigorous ; and thus it is with some of 
 the members of the church, who have depended too 
 much on the leading and labors of such honorable 
 members, who have been taken to their everlasting 
 rewards. Those who have lived too much under 
 this shadow of such, are now required to come for- 
 ward and take a more active part in religious con- 
 cerns, to their own growth and establishment in 
 the truth, 
 
 HOW LITTLE WE UNDERSTAND. 
 
 We drop a hard peach-stone in the ground, and 
 covering it with earth, leave it. We know that 
 22* K 
 
258 FAITH. 
 
 if we crack it open we shall find nothing within 
 but a kernel, with a reddish skin ; yet, we confi- 
 dently expect to see the following spring a green 
 shoot piercing the ground where we have deposited 
 the stone, which, if left unmolested, will soon grow 
 into a tree. We cannot understand the process, 
 yet we have an undoubted faith that it will take 
 place, and nature does not disappoint us. The 
 stone and the kernel were red ; the soil, whose 
 juices furnish much of the nourishment to the 
 young growth, is a dingy brown, or it may be dull 
 yellow, yet the young stem comes forth of a bright, 
 lively green. The most acute chemist cannot un- 
 derstand the operations of nature by which these 
 changes are effected ; like the ignorant and the 
 simple, he sees and believes without comprehend- 
 ing. The plant grows on. A fresh crop of leaves 
 is thrown forth from the stem every year, and in 
 the third and fourth spring, beside the green leaves, 
 there shoot out crimson blossoms, rich and sweet. 
 The naturalist knows that this varied growth of 
 leaves and flowers is fed by the same sap; and 
 whilst watching their beautj' and variety, he feels 
 that the subtle chemistry at work is beyond his 
 comprehension. Before him are the scentless 
 green leaves and the fragrant rose-tinted blossoms, 
 from whose cups the bees draw forth the clear 
 honey to store their comb with sweetness. No 
 
FAITH. 259 
 
 oue can tell the reason why, though experience 
 daily proves the truth of it, that buds from many 
 different peach-trees, inoculated into one, will 
 always bear fruit of the kind borne by the tree from 
 which the bud was taken. Many varieties — some 
 sweet, some more lively, some even tart — have been 
 seen all growing from one trunk, all fed from one 
 fountain of sap. How much is there to admire in 
 nature ? How much which we must believe, but' 
 cannot comprehend. 
 
 A little child can tell that the peaches grew on 
 the tree, — he can eat them and be satisfied, — and 
 a philosopher can do no more. So, in a religious 
 sense, we often find that very children can feel 
 and feed on spiritual truths, when the wisest 
 father and mother in the church cannot do more. 
 Saving faith does not require great intellect in its 
 possessor. A man of wisdom is often compelled to 
 believe in spiritual operations which he cannot 
 understand, and well may it be so with the babes 
 in Christ. 
 
 "When the blind beggar, as narrated in the New 
 Testament, called upon the Saviour to have mercy 
 on him, he was healed. His faith saved him ; yet 
 he knew not, even after the cure had been effected, 
 how the all-healing word and will had reached his 
 malady ; yet he could say, " One thing I know, that 
 
260 FAITH. 
 
 whereas I was blind, now I see !" "Would that we 
 all, wise men and children, old and young, might 
 come to the same blessed experience. 
 
 RICH IN FAITH. 
 
 It is often the case that the poor in this world's 
 goods are rich in faith, and those without earthly 
 inheritance are heirs of the kingdom of grace and 
 of glory. The illiterate, as to human knowledge,- 
 are sometimes learned in the school of Christ ; and 
 those very poorly clad, as to outward attire, are 
 found inwardly adorned with spiritual graces, with 
 jewels far more precious than ever shone in earthly 
 diadems. 
 
 Heber tells us that, on a certain occasion, he paid 
 a visit, with a friend, to the inmates of a country 
 almshouse. Among the tenants they found an 
 aged man, very deaf, one of whose legs was so 
 shaken with the palsy that the wooden shoe on its 
 foot kept a constant pattering on the brick floor. 
 Although rendered nearly helpless by various in- 
 firmities of the body, they found him sound in 
 mind, cheerful in disposition, and, in the present 
 feeling of the Saviour's love and heartfelt faith 
 in its eternal endurance, very happy under all his 
 privations. His name was Wisby. "When the 
 visitors inquired of him what he was doing, he 
 
FA ITH. 261 
 
 sweetly answered, "Waiting." To the question, 
 what he waited for. He replied, "For the ap- 
 pearing of my Lord ; " adding, " I expect great 
 things. He has promised a crown of righteous- 
 ness to all that love his appearing." "Wlien asl^ed 
 the foundation of his hope, he pointed to the 
 text, " Therefore, being justified by faith, we have 
 peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by 
 whom also we have access by faith into this grace 
 wherein we stand, and rejoice in the hope of the 
 glory of God." 
 
 Heber, in moralizing on the condition of mind in 
 which they found this poor invalid, says, "Although 
 we may possess untold wealth, yet, if we are not 
 the possessors of the faith which made Wisby 
 happy, we are poor. With that faith, being rich 
 towards God, we would count it all joy, even though 
 we were as poor as Lazarus or Wisby in worldly 
 possessions. Our heavenly inheritance is as sure 
 as the promise of him who cannot lie, yea, as tran- 
 scendently glorious as a throne, a crown, and eternal 
 happiness can make it." He concludes, " Better 
 have Wisby's hope than Victoria's sceptre, Laza- 
 rus' rags than Dives' purple. Better is poverty 
 with piety,- than riches with perdition." 
 
 Another religious writer relates that on one oc- 
 casion, more than twenty years since, he received a 
 
262 FAITH. 
 
 lesson from a poor man, a suffering invalid, yet 
 one rich in faith and patience, and abundantly' sup- 
 ported by the love of God, which had been a lesson 
 to him ever since. The man had been a common 
 laborer, and now in his age was so afflicted with 
 peculiar infirmities, that he was confined to his 
 chair, being unable to lie down night or day. He 
 had, through great mercy, in the days of his health, 
 been favored to witness the washing of regenera- 
 tion, and the renewing of the Holy G-host, and 
 being thereby an heir of the kingdom of God, he 
 now felt him as a loving Father dealing with him 
 as with a beloved child, and administering to him 
 the consolations of his grace. On the occasion re- 
 ferred to, to the inquiry as to how he was, he re- 
 plied, with a cheerful smile and a strong provincial 
 pronunciation, giving greater emphasis to the Chris- 
 tian pleasantry with which 'he spoke, " I am pro- 
 moted noo. I was lang the Lord's workin ser- 
 vant, and noo he has promoted me to be his waiUn 
 servant." 
 
 The writer who gives the anecdote says that at 
 times, when he has felt weary on his heavenly 
 journey, and been disposed to complain at his lot, 
 he has recalled this old suffering Christian's words 
 of cheer, and has thereby silenced his murmuring 
 thoughts. He tells us he has found it far easier to 
 
FAITH. 263 
 
 do the Lord's will in active service, than to bear 
 it in silent, submissive, quiet endurance. Greater 
 grace is requisite cheerfully to waii the Lord's time 
 in suffering long continued, with few to sympa- 
 thize in our affliction, than to work hard in what 
 appears to be active benevolence and public labor, 
 when we feel that the hearts of our Christian 
 brethren and sisters are with us in our work, and 
 bidding us heartily G-od speed. " The silent, secret 
 bearing of his will, in faith and hope, is as pleas- 
 ing to God as the most faithful public witnessing." 
 The true Christian who has been enabled, through 
 the strengthening influence of Divine grace, to 
 work according to the Lord's will, should be; if he 
 has been made conformable to the example of his 
 Divine Saviour, he will be, as ready to serve him 
 by waiting. This condition is hard for flesh and 
 blood to attain ; yet it may be, it must be, known 
 by the perfected Christian. He cannot reach it 
 through his own exertions, but the message to 
 Paul, " My grace is sufficient for thee" is intended 
 for the support of all the true-hearted children of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ in every exigency and close 
 trial. 
 
 An English woman, who spent some time in a 
 small village in Germany, gives the following 
 interesting account, of an old peasant she met 
 
264 FA ITH. 
 
 with there. His name was Gottlieb, which means, 
 " G-od's love," or " the love of God." Although 
 the name gave no heavenly help to the peasant, 
 yet, through the Lord's assisting power, he had 
 been created anew in Christ Jesus, and richly 
 adorned with the grace of the Spirit. Love to 
 God was the pre-eminent feeling of his soul, love 
 to his fellow-creatures a mainspring of his actions. 
 During the winter season he was confined to a 
 little room in his small tenement, being unable to 
 bear the cold winds, but when the warm days of 
 summer came, he spent much of his time in the 
 fresh air, moving about with a kind word of com- 
 fort, or it may be of exhortation, to those he met 
 with. Although poor, he had a small spot of 
 ground just out of the village, on which grew two 
 or three large apple- and pear-trees. There was a 
 little shed near the trees, and in that he sometimes 
 lay and rested after having been employing him- 
 self in gathering the fruit which had fallen. Once, 
 whilst walking, the English visitor came up to 
 him as he was stooping to pick up an apple, and 
 asked him if he did not weary of the work of 
 stooping so often after the fruit, and also of lying 
 there so much alone. He smiled kindly, and offer- 
 ing her a handful of fine ripe pears, said, " No, no, 
 I don't. weary ; I am just waiting t— waiting. I 
 
FAITH. 265 
 
 think I am about ripe now, and I must soon fall ; 
 and then, just think, the Lord will pick me up ! 
 Oh ! thou art young yet, and perhaps just in blos- 
 som ; turn well round to the Sun of righteousness, 
 that he may ripen thee for his service." On 
 another occasion he addressed her, pointing along 
 the public road, " That seems a straight road, but 
 I can't see the end of it ; but the road to heaven is 
 a straighter road than that ; and, blessed be God, I 
 can see the end of it clearly. Perhaps God is 
 letting thee see a little bit of the way at a time. 
 Oh, then, walk straight in that little bit with his 
 help, and as thou goest along, thou wilt see it better 
 and better, till the bright end comes in view." 
 
 She says that not long after this last conversa- 
 tion, the end to him came. In holy confidence, 
 and a most loving faith, he entered cheerfully into 
 that blessed country on which he had for so long 
 a period fixed the earnest and desiring gaze of his 
 spiritual eye. His season of waiting was over, 
 and now the fulness of perfect peace was his for- 
 ever. 
 
 BENJAMTN TROTTER. 
 
 Benjamin Trotter, a beloved minister of the gos- 
 pel in this city, having retired from business with 
 but- a small amount of property, his friends, as ho 
 
 grew aged, felt many fears whether he had a 
 23 
 
266 FA ITH. 
 
 sufficiency to make liim eomfurtable, and various 
 proffers of pecuniary assistance were made him ; 
 all these lie quietly yet gratefully refused, because 
 his Master had promised to the effect that his little 
 store, the meal in his barrel, and the oil in his 
 cruse, should last him to the end of his life. He 
 lived very frugally, from day to day waiting for 
 the coming of his Lord, yet day by day perform- 
 ing the duties laid upon him by his Divine Master, 
 with cheerful alacrity. At last the end came. As 
 a shock of corn fully ripe, he was gathered to the 
 heavenly garner; as a waiting pilgrim, thankful 
 for the preservation vouchsafed through a long life, 
 and for the holy comfort and heavenly enjoyment 
 granted him whilst waiting for his admittance into 
 the heavenly Jerusalem, he gladly laid down, with 
 his feeble frame, the staff of faith, which had sup- 
 ported him, passing into the certainty of his eter- 
 nal rest and peace. Just enough of his property 
 was left to pay all funeral expenses, and thus he 
 and his anxious friends realized the faithfulness 
 of the promise of his Lord and Saviour. . Poor in 
 earthly treasure, yet rich in faith, he waited in 
 love, in hope, in assurance, until death led him 
 into his inheritance of glory, to spiritual riches far 
 transcending in value aught which this world pos- 
 sesseth, or than man can conceive. 
 
FA ITH. 267 
 
 Rich in faith was our friend John Letchworth, 
 who, though poor as to this world's goods, in the 
 closing hours of his life looked sweetly forward 
 to the mansion prepared for him in heaven, and to 
 the treasures there laid up for him. •' I am poor," 
 he said ; " but I serve a rich Master, who loves his 
 own." 
 
 SUPPORT IN THE TIME OF TRIAL. 
 
 The true Christian depends upon his Saviour, 
 and in that dependence finds strength to enable 
 him to bear every trial, every calamity, which 
 may be apportioned him in his earthly pilgrimage. 
 Yet he sometimes finds it hard to realize the pres-. 
 ence of his Divine Master, which is to support 
 him in safety over the threatening billows. It is 
 narrated of one of the Protestant martyrs that 
 whilst being led to the stake, finding the sensible 
 presence of his Saviour withdrawn from him, he 
 exclaimed in anguish, " I cannot burn ! I cannot 
 burn ! " Some of the priests standing by, deeming 
 that through terror he was willing to recant, ap- 
 proached him to witness his confession. They 
 mistook their man. His confidence in the truth 
 of the principles he was to sufler for was un- 
 changed, but he wished to feel the consoling pres- 
 ence of his dear Saviour with him to enable him 
 to witness a good confession to his glory in the 
 
^68 FAITH. 
 
 flames. In great earnestness of spirit lie sought 
 the Lord, and being favored to feel the manifesta- 
 tion of the love of God sweetly strengthening his 
 soul, he clapped his hands, ^nd with a loud voice 
 he exclaimed, "Now I can burn ! now I can burn ! " 
 By faith his hold was firm on the support which 
 would bear, and he little heeded the fiery waves 
 of bodily suffering he had to pass through before 
 entering the haven of eternal rest and glory. 
 
 OBEDIENCE NECESSABT. 
 ' Esther Tuke remarks, " All who are called to 
 service in the church, have not every evil root 
 wholly plucked up — but these, in obedient minds, 
 wither and die ; and their infirmities are healed in 
 the way, like the lepers who went as, they were 
 bidden." 
 
INFIDELITY. 26.9 
 
 INFIDELITY. 
 
 HENRY HOWARD. 
 
 HENRY HOWARD, a resident of the State of 
 Georgia, was an infidel ; at least he professed 
 to be one, and his evil course of life, and wicked 
 principles, gave great sorrow of heart to his wife, 
 who longed for his present happiness and eternal 
 well-being. They had a slave named Peter, who 
 was a Christian indeed, and who, loving and be- 
 loved, passed quietly on his way, showing charity 
 and kind feeling to every one, and having the 
 respect, yea, kind wishes and love of all, and per- 
 haps of none more sincerely than his unbelieving 
 master. One night, Peter retired as usual to his 
 cabin for needful repose, but knew not that his 
 earthly labor was over. His heavenly Master 
 during that night quietly released his purified 
 spirit from its worn-out tenement of clay, and 
 gathered him into his heavenly rest. In the 
 morning the body was found cold and stiff. There 
 was great grief manifested in the household when 
 the death became known, and his late master 
 seemed especially affected by it. He pondered 
 much during, that day over the many marks of 
 23* 
 
270 INFIDELITY. 
 
 piety which had distinguished the deceased, and 
 he could not but feel what an awful difference 
 there was between his own spiritual condition 
 and that of his late servant. Serious thoughtful- 
 ness accompanied him to bed the following night, 
 and the conclusion he had come to was made mani- 
 fest by the words he spoke to his wife after they 
 had retired, " Old Peter 's gone to heaven." His 
 wife, deeply stirred at the thought of the unsanc- 
 tified condition of her husband's heart, added, with 
 sorrowful emotion, "and his master is going to 
 hell." Startled by the idea which his wife's few 
 words had brought forcibly before his mind, he 
 became thoroughly aroused to a sense of his con- 
 dition, and after a season of great inward conflict 
 and distress was, through the Lord's saving grace, 
 brought forth purified in heart, and with a living 
 faith in the Lord Jesus as the Saviour and sancti- 
 fier of his people, and was enabled to prove the 
 genuineness of his faith by the constancy of his 
 obedience. He felt that his late slave was a rich 
 inheritor in the kingdom of God, and that he, the 
 rich owner of a large earthly estate, was now a 
 poor forgiven servant of Jesus Christ, called to 
 walk in humility and dedication of heart until the 
 end of his earthly labors should come. The words 
 of his wife had proved words spoken in season, and 
 
INFIDELITY. 271 
 
 he felt grateful to her for uttering them, and thank- 
 ful to the Lord who had given them such effective 
 power. He was afterwards, according to his meas- 
 ure, a laborer in the gospel of life and salvation. 
 
 BEMABKABLE VISIT OF SABAH TATLOB. 
 
 About the middle of the last century, Sarah Tay- 
 lor, of Manchester, Eng., a humble-minded minister 
 of the Society of Friends, engaged in a family 
 visit to the members of her own religious society 
 in the city of Norwich. She was generally kindly 
 received ; but two brother^, Edmund and John 
 Gurney, who had joined a club of infidels, refused 
 to receive a visit from her. This honest-hearted 
 lover of the souls of men was much distressed at 
 their conduct, and one night retired to bed not a 
 little depressed about this matter, no doubt en- 
 deavoring, before giving herself to sleep, in humil- 
 ity to cast her burden upon her Lord and Saviour. 
 At last she slept, and when the sound sleep of the 
 early part of the night was past, she dreamed. In 
 her dream, she thought that she awoke, and find- 
 ing that day had broken, arose, dressed herself, 
 and went down stairs. She opened the front door, 
 and walked out into the street. The public lights 
 were not all extinguished, and this, with the day- 
 light, which was increasing, enabled her to see the 
 
272 INFIDELITY. 
 
 names of the residents of the diflerent houses on 
 their door-plates. She thought she passed through 
 several streets, making several turns, until at last 
 she came to a house on which she saw the name 
 of Edmund Gurney. Stepping up and ringing the 
 bell, a porter quickly opened the door. She asked 
 if Edmund Gurney was in. The man replied that 
 he was in the garden, but he had ordered him not 
 to admit any of the Quakers into the house. 
 Sarah dreamed that she passed right by the as- 
 tonished man, and seeing a side door, she opened 
 it, and finding it was the way to the garden, she 
 followed one of the walks until she came to a 
 summerJiouse. A man was sitting therein, who, 
 as she stepped within the door, said, "I believe 
 the devil could not keep the Quakers out." Sarah 
 dreamed she sat down on a bench, and he, who had' 
 risen on her entrance, sat down beside her, when 
 she thought she was favored so to speak to him 
 that the witness for the Truth in him was reached, 
 and he was much affected and tendered. "When 
 her service seemed over, she left him, and then she 
 awoke, and behold it was a dream. Looking out 
 of the window of her room, she saw that day was 
 breaking, and solemnly affected by the vision she 
 had been favored with, she arose, and dressed her- 
 self for going out, just as she had done in her. 
 
INFIDELITY. 273 
 
 dream. On opening the door looking into the 
 street, everything seemed so entirely as she had 
 seen it, that without hesitation, or speaking to any 
 one in the house, she started onward, taking her 
 dream for direction. As she passed along, the 
 same houses, with the same names on the door- 
 plates, appeared as in her dream, and she followed, 
 tracing them from street to street, until the house 
 with Edmund Gurney's name on it stood before 
 her. She rang the bell; the porter opened the 
 door, and to her inquiry if Edmund Gurney was 
 in, he said, " Yes ; " but added, " He has commanded 
 me not to admit any of the Quakers." This would 
 probably have discouraged Sarah, if it had not 
 been for the dream ; but as all things had as yet 
 turned out as she had seen in her vision, she de- 
 termined to trust it further, and so pushing by 
 the man, she opened a side door, and let herself 
 into the yard. The garden appeared exactly as 
 seen in her dream, and she soon found the summer- 
 house, where Edmund Gurney was sitting with a 
 book in his hand. As she entered, he arose, and 
 approaching her, said, "I believe the devil could 
 not keep the Quakers out." 
 
 Sarah sat down, and he took a seat beside her. 
 She soon found her heart tenderly concerned for 
 him, and her mouth was opened to address him 
 
274 INFIDELITY. 
 
 in the persuasive utterance of gospel love. Slie 
 told, him he had professedly adopted sentiments 
 which his heart refused to own, and that he was 
 reading infidel books to strengthen him in infi- 
 delity. Edmund was affected under her ministry, 
 and he knew her message to him was the truth. 
 When she arose to leave him, he pressed her to 
 stay and breakfast with him, but this she declined, 
 saying she had nothing further to do there. 
 Bidding him farewell, she returned to her lodg- 
 ings, her heart warmed in grateful admiration of 
 the Lord's wonderful leadings and marvellous 
 loving-kindness. 
 
 Edmund Gurney, through the Lord's renewed 
 and strengthening grace, was thoroughly aroused 
 from the slumber in which the evil one had sought 
 to keep him to his utter ruin. He never again 
 attended the infidel club, and as in deep abasement 
 and sorrow of heart he repented for the past, sub- 
 mitted to the baptisms of the Holy Spirit, and 
 bowed in reverent obedience to the Lord's teach- 
 ings, he grew in religious experience, and in time 
 came forth in the ministry. The effect of the 
 blessed change wrought in Edmund was, through 
 the Lord's mercy, made of heart-cleansing efficacy 
 to his brother John. He also came to see that the 
 root of infidelity is wickedness, and publicly re- 
 
INFIDELITY. 275 
 
 nouncing all connection therewith, he witnessed, 
 like his brother, true repentance towards God and 
 soul-saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 PROFESSED INFIDELS OFTEN INSINCERE. 
 
 Many professed infidels are not such in reality. 
 They feel that the whole tenor of their lives is 
 contrary to Christianity, to the pure, holy requir- 
 ings of the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ ; and they know without a change of heart 
 and a love for him who died for them, which they 
 have not, they cannot, if the doctrines of Chris- 
 tianity be true, be saved. The natural man is 
 enmity against God, and in the condition in which 
 they are, they wish that salvation by Christ, 
 through his precious offering, and the sanctifying 
 influences of his grace and good spirit, with the 
 attendant consequences of damnation to the un- 
 believing and unholy, were not true, and in despe- 
 ration they declare they do 'not believe in him. 
 This is often all in self-defence, and however much 
 they may desire their assertions were true, they, 
 in the secret of their hearts, do not believe them. 
 
 "GALL UPON ME IN TBE DAY OF TROUBLE." 
 About the beginning of the present century, a 
 native of Sweden named A. E. Kothen, having occa- 
 
276 INFIDELITY. 
 
 sion to go from Stockholm to Copenhagen, by sea, 
 found, when he came to the place from which he 
 expected to embark, that the regular vessel between 
 the ports had sailed. On inquiry, he discovered a 
 fishing-boat going that way, in which he took pas- 
 sage. The boatmen observing he had several 
 trunks, concluded he must be rich, and consulted 
 together in the Finnish language, which they sup- 
 posed he did not understand, to throw him into 
 the sea, and keep his property. This he over- 
 heard, and it gave him great uneasiness. To show 
 them he was not laden with money, he took occa- 
 sion to open one of his trunks containing books. 
 On seeing this, they said one to another: "'Tis 
 not worth while to throw him overboard, as we do 
 not want books." They then asked him whether 
 he was a priest ? Fears for his life induced him to 
 deceive them, and he told them he was one. At this 
 they appeared pleased, saying they would have a 
 sermon the next day,- it being the Sabbath, as they 
 called it. This, however, had a tendency to in- 
 crease the anxiety and distress of his mind, believ- 
 ing himself to be as incapable of such an undertak- 
 ing, as it was possible for any man to be ; for he 
 knew but little about the Scriptures, neither did 
 he believe in them, nor in any Divine revelation 
 whatever manifested to man. 
 
INFIDELITY. 277 
 
 ■ They came to a small island of rocks in the sea, 
 about a quarter of a mile in circumference, -where 
 were a number more such like men. By this time 
 he found he had fallen into the hands of a com- 
 pany of pirates, who had chosen that little spot to 
 deposit their treasure. He was taken to a cave, 
 and introduced to an old woman ; the men telling 
 her they had got a priest, and should have a ser- 
 mon the next day. She said she was glad, for she 
 had not heard one for a long while. His case ap- 
 peared desperate indeed. Preach he must, and he 
 knew nothing about it. If he refused, he expected 
 death would be his portion ; and, if he undertook 
 it, and did not succeed, it might be the same. In 
 this deplorable situation he passed the night, not 
 having power to settle his mind upon iany thing to 
 offer to the people ; and to call upon God, whom 
 he had believed to be inaccessible, appeared alto- 
 gether vain, and he could not devise any way 
 whereby he might be saved. When morning 
 came, he arose and walked to and fro, still shut up 
 in darkness and distress, striving with all his 
 might to command his thoughts. The time for 
 the meeting to begin came, and he returned to the 
 cave, where he found them assembled, a table with 
 a Bible on it, and a seat provided for him. 
 Upon sitting down they all continued, he be] ieved 
 24 
 
278 INFIDELITY. 
 
 the space of half an hour in profound silence, when 
 the exercise and anguish of his soul were as great 
 as was possible for human nature to bear, without 
 any way opening to address the people. At length 
 these words came before him : " Verily there is a 
 reward for the righteous ; verily He is a God 
 that judgeth in the earth." With these words he 
 arose, and having delivered them, some other per- 
 tinent matter presented, and so on from less to 
 more, until his understanding became opened, and 
 his heart enlarged, in a manner wonderful to him- 
 self, to treat on subjects suiting their condition ; 
 such as the excellent rewards for the righteous ; 
 the just judgments of God awaiting the wicked ; 
 the necessity of repentance and amendment of 
 life ; the universality of the love of God to the 
 children of men. This had such a powerful effect 
 on the minds of these poor wicked wretches, thg,t 
 they were exceedingly broken into tenderness, 
 weeping to such a degree that the floor was wet 
 with their tears ; and he no less astonished at the 
 unbounded goodness, power, and love of an Al- 
 mighty Creator, in thus interfering for the saving 
 of both his natural and spiritual life: and well 
 might he exclaim, " It was the Lord's doings, and 
 marvellous in his eyes." Under an awful sense of 
 the favor, his heart became filled with such thank- 
 
INFIDELITY. 279 
 
 ful acknowledgments as were beyond the power of 
 language to convey. 
 
 After the meeting ended, the poor creatures 
 were very loving and affectionate, willing to show 
 him all the kindness in their power. The next 
 day they fitted out one of their vessels, and carried 
 him whither he wished to go. From that time, 
 he became an entirely changed man, and a sincere 
 believer in the efficacy and power of the unchange- 
 able Truth, as it is in Jesus Christ, the Saviour 
 of the world. 
 
 The foregoing narrative was related by Stephen 
 Grellet, an eminent minister of the Gospel, who 
 in the course of a religious visit to the South of 
 France, where this individual was then residing, 
 became personally acquainted with him. 
 
 INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE. 
 
 Among certain scientific men, sentiments are 
 from time to time advanced which have a subtle 
 tendency to destroy a belief in the direct and mer- 
 ciful superintendence of Divine Providence in the 
 affairs of men. Those who hold these views may 
 not directly deny the existence of the Supreme 
 Being, but by professing to discern in mere matter, 
 and the forces inherent therein, as expressed by a 
 late writer of this class, "The promise and potency 
 
280 JNFIDELITY. 
 
 of every form and quality of life," they practically 
 ignore and disregard the need of, and the direct 
 control of, the Ruler of the universe in the events 
 and operations of our daily lives. 
 
 These " materialistic " doctrines are by no means 
 new, having been held by some of the ancient 
 heathen philosophers, and though repeated in the 
 experience of the present day of greater enlighten- 
 ment, they but illustrate anew the truth of the 
 ancient scripture declaration, " The world by wisdom 
 knew not God." Obedience to Christ, as he is re- 
 vealed in our hearts, as the Light of life, is the one 
 safe abiding place of the Christian. If we are 
 founded on that Rock, all the floods of infidelity, 
 and the storms of temptation of whatever kind, 
 will beat upon us in vain. The Spirit of the Lord 
 will lift up a standard against them. On the other 
 hand, if we depart from that sure foundation, we 
 know not how far and how fatally we may fall. 
 " This is the condemnation, that light is come into 
 the world, and men loved darkness rather than 
 light, because their deeds were evil." If we indulge 
 in anything which we feel to be at variance with 
 the pure leadings of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, 
 we so far turn our backs to the light, and open the 
 way for further degrees of darkness and death to 
 come oyer us. Thousands who once knew better, 
 
INFIDELITY, 281- 
 
 have in this way become blinded, so as evon to 
 deny the Lord that bought them. 
 
 The case of a young man, blessed with pious 
 parents, who had endeavored both by precept 
 and example to train him up as a consistent 
 member of religious society, furnishes a striking 
 illustration of these truths. Becoming actively 
 engaged in business, he too much neglected that 
 inwardness of mind and habitual sense of the 
 Divine presence which would have preserved him 
 from the snares of the evil one ; he gradually laid 
 aside some of that simplicity in language, dress, and 
 manners in which he had been educated. As he 
 advanced in this downward course, he felt darkness 
 and doubt increasing in his mind. He no longer 
 experienced those seasons of heavenly tenderness 
 and sweet consolation, with which he had been 
 favored in his more innocent days ; and was 
 tempted to doubt the genuineness of those impres- 
 sions made directly on the heart of man by the 
 agency of the Holy Spirit, and the kind care of a. 
 superintending Providence, in the affairs of life.. 
 In this blinded and dangerous state a renewed visi- 
 tation of Heavenly Love was remarkably extended 
 to him, in the silent part of a religious meeting ; 
 and a convincing evidence was thus afforded that. 
 
 a compassionate Redeemer was in love and pity for 
 24* 
 
282 INFIDELITY. 
 
 his benighted condition, operating in his soul ; his 
 eyes were opened to see his dark state, and he was 
 enabled to say with the patriarch of old, "IsTow 
 mine eye seeth thee, wherefore I abhor myself, and 
 repent in dust and ashes." Living faith was again 
 raised in his heart, and gratitude for his escape 
 from that evil spirit which ever seeketh to blind 
 the minds of them which believe not. 
 
 He who has submitted his heart to the gracious 
 visitations of his Saviour and has known the feel- 
 ing of condemnation for sin ; the godly sorrow 
 and repentance which follow ; the sweet, tendering 
 influence which often, at an unexpected moment, 
 is spread over the heart, causing it to rejoice in the 
 feeling of Divine love; the solemn quiet which 
 settles over the mind, hushing everything into 
 stillness as in the prijsence of the Holy One ; and 
 the whole train of blessed experiences, which at- 
 tend the sincere follower of Christ, — he has within 
 him, in these things, an answer to every infidel 
 suggestion. He knows that these feelings are not 
 at his own control, that they come and go at the 
 bidding of a higher power than his own ; and he 
 regards as simply absurd the doctrine that they 
 have no other source or meaning than the mutual 
 action of particles of matter among themselves. 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 283 
 
 INTEMPEEANCE. 
 
 "NEVER TEMPT A MAN TO BREAK A GOOD RESO- 
 LUTION." 
 
 IN the autobiography of John Trumbull, the 
 celebrated painter, a circumstance occurred, 
 which is well worthy of preservation. In the 
 wars of New England with the Aborigines, the 
 Mohegan tribe of Indians early became friends of 
 the English. Their favorite grounds were on the 
 banks of the Thames, between New London and 
 Norwich, and in the year 1776, about which time 
 the incident occurred, a small remnant of them 
 still existed on a part of their ancient domain. 
 He says, " The government of this tribe became 
 hereditary in the family of the celebrated chief, 
 Uncas. During the time of my father's mercan- 
 tile prosperity, he had employed several ludians 
 of this tribe in hunting animals, whose skins were 
 valuable for their fur." Among these huntei-s 
 was one, named Zachary, of the ruling race — an 
 excellent hunter, but "a drunken and worthless 
 Indian." When he had somewhat passed the age 
 ef fifty, several members of the ruling family, who 
 stood between him and the chieftainship, died, and 
 
284: INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 he found himself with only one life between him 
 and that office. At this he reflected seriously: 
 " How can such a drunken wretch as I am aspire 
 to be a chief of this honorable race? What will 
 my people say? and how will the shades of my 
 noble ancestors look down indignant upon such a 
 base successor ? Can I succeed to the great Uncas ? 
 Iwill drink no more." He solemnly resolved never 
 again to taste any drink but water, and he kept 
 his resolution. 
 
 ■ John Trumbull says, " I had heard of this story, 
 and did not entirely believe it ; for, young as I was, 
 I already partook of the prevailing contempt for 
 Indians. The annual election of the principal 
 officers of the (then) colony was held at Hartford, 
 the capital. My father attended officially, and it 
 was customary for the chief of the Mohegans also 
 to attend. Zachary had succeeded to the rule of • 
 his tribe. My father's house was situated about 
 mid-way on the road between Mohegan and Hart- 
 ford, and the old chief was in the habit of coming 
 a few days before the election, and dining with 
 his brother Governor. One day the mischievous- 
 thought struck me to try the old man's temper- 
 ance. The family were seated at dinner, and there 
 was excellent home-bTcwed beer on the table. I 
 addressed the old chief: 
 
JNTEMPERANGE. 285 
 
 " ' Zachary, this beer is exc€illent — will you 
 taste it ? ' 
 
 '^ The old man dropped his knife and fork, leaned 
 forward with a stern intensity of expression — ^his 
 black eye, sparkling with indignation, was fixed 
 on me. 
 
 "John,' said he, 'you do not know what you 
 are doing. You are serving the devil, boy ! Do 
 you not know that I am an Indian ? I tell you 
 that I am, and that if I should but taste your beer, 
 I could not stop till I got to rum, and again be- 
 come the contemptible drunken wretch your father 
 remembers me to have been. John, while you live, 
 never again tempt a man to break a good resolution.' 
 
 " Socrates never uttered a more valuable precept. 
 Demosthenes could not have given it in more 
 solemn tones of eloquence. I was thunderstruck. 
 My parents were deeply affected ; they looked at 
 me, and at the venerable Indian, with deep feel- 
 ings of awe and respect. They afterwards fre- 
 quently reminded me of the scene, and charged 
 me never to forget it. Zachary lived to pass the 
 age of eighty, and sacredly kept his resolution. 
 
 "He lies buried in the royal burial-place of his 
 tribe, near the beautiful falls of the Yantic, the 
 western branch of the, Thames, in 2^orwich. I, 
 visited the grave of the old chief lately, and re^ 
 peated to myself his inestiniable lesson." 
 
286 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 A FATHER SAVED. 
 
 James Stirling, the temperance lecturer of Sec t- 
 land, was a remarkable man, and his life was a re- 
 markable life. "With a very limited education, he 
 had improved his mind by considerable reading, 
 whilst tending his flocks as a shepherd lad. At 
 that time he appeared to be a religious character, 
 and very favorably impressed those acquainted 
 with him as respected his piety. Having after- 
 wards removed to Paisley to learn the shoemaker's 
 trade, he fell amongst profligate companions, who 
 shamed him out of his religion, and induced him 
 to become a drunkard. This he was for forty 
 years, except during a few intervals, the longest 
 of which, perhaps, was about the period of his 
 marriage. The condition to which he was reduced 
 by his cravings for and indulgence in intoxicating 
 liquors, was that of the very lowest, most de- 
 graded of drunkards. "We need not give any ex 
 tensive outlines of the sad, disgusting picture 
 which he and his biographer have drawn, but we 
 shall quote his description of his cure, first pre- 
 mising that his wife appears to have been a reli- 
 gious woman. " I had been all day in the public- 
 house ; and at night, when I came home, my wife, 
 as usual, was reading a chapter to the children. 
 "When she was so engaged I went in, slipping like 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 287 
 
 a condemned criminal. The portion of Scripture 
 read was the twenty-j&fth chapter of Matthew, in 
 which these words occur: ' When the Son of Man 
 shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels 
 with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his 
 glory: and before him shall be gathered all na- 
 tions ; and he shall separate them one from another, 
 as the shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats : 
 and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but 
 the goats on the left.' Our youngest boy, then 
 about four years old, was lying with his head on 
 his mother's lap, and just when she had read these 
 awful words, he looked up earnestly in her face 
 and asked, ' "Will father be a goat then, mother ? ' 
 This was too strong to be resisted. The earnest, 
 innocent look of the child, the bewilderment of 
 the poor mother, and above all the question itself, 
 smote me to the heart's core. I spent a sleepless, 
 awfully miserable night, wishing rather to die 
 than to live such a life.' " 
 
 Prom this time James Stirling became a changed 
 man. Through the blessing of the Most High 
 resting on the question of his child, a great and 
 permanent effect was produced upon him. He 
 ceased attendance at the public-houses, he avoided 
 all intoxicating drinks, and he soon gave, in his 
 i3onsi stent Christian conduct, evidence that he had 
 
288 INTEMPEB A NOE. 
 
 witnessed the washing of regeneration, and the re- 
 newing of the Holy Ghost. One writing of him 
 says : " He began to rise immensely in character, 
 and usefulness, and honor, and, with the exception 
 of the spirit dealers, was treated with wonderful 
 deference by all classes — the rich and the poor. 
 He felt he was no longer the poor, self-degraded 
 and despised thing he had been ; a new impulse had 
 been given him, and henceforth he devoted all the 
 energies of his naturally vigorous and powerful 
 mind to the promotion of everything that was 
 good." He says of himself: " All things put on a 
 new appearance — my wife, my family, my tradej 
 my countenance, my clothing. I saw all nature 
 happy around me. My heart was happy witbin 
 me — happy at having overcome my besetting sin — 
 happy in the inward beaming sunshine of content. 
 Those sights and sounds that delighted my youth- 
 ful fancy became delightful again." He was re- 
 newing his youth, — his heart became as the heart 
 of a little child. 
 
 "We shall not further follow the life of this re- 
 newed man, except to say that as a temperance 
 lecturer he was remarkably eloquent, attractive, and 
 convincing. For the twenty years he lived after 
 his recovery, he proved that the change had been 
 thorough. Hia Christian life was evidently increaa- 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 289 
 
 ing in spirituality and grace. Yet he frequently 
 passed along under mucli depression of spirit when, 
 in the remembrance of what he had been, he was 
 made, as it were, to possess the sins of his youth. 
 At such seasons he was sometimes in the very 
 depths^ and felt as though he could not even cry 
 for deliverance. No doubt but these fiery trials 
 were for his further refinement, and all adminis- 
 tered in mercy by his blessed Saviour, who, in his 
 own good time, scattered the clouds and gave him 
 to see his face with comfort. On the twenty-sixth 
 day of the Eighth month, 1856, he was in loving 
 mercy relieved from further earthly conflict, being 
 then eighty-two years old. 
 
 EVIL OVERCOME OF GOOD. 
 
 A recent writer relates the following incident : 
 A little boy in Connecticut of remarkably serious 
 mind and habits, was ordinarily employed about 
 a mechanic's shop, where nearly all the hands were 
 addicted to the common use of intoxicating liquors. 
 The lad had imbibed temperance principles, and 
 though often invited could never be induced to 
 partake with any one in this habit. On one occa- 
 sion, three or four of the " harder " drinkers in the 
 shop resolved to force a dram of rum down his 
 
 throat. Seizing an opportunity when he was left 
 35 T 
 
290 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 alone in the shoij by themselves, they invited hini 
 to drink. He refused. They then told him they 
 should compel him. He remained calm and un- 
 moved. They threatened him with violence. Still 
 he neither seemed angry nor attempted to escape, 
 nor evinced the least disposition to yield ; but in- 
 sisted that it was wicked, aind he could not do it. 
 They then laid hold of him, — a man at each arm, 
 while the third held the bottle ready to force it 
 into his mouth. Still their victim remained meek 
 and firm, declaring that he had never injured them, 
 and never should, but that God would be his friend 
 and protector, however they might abuse him. 
 The man who had held the bottle, resolute to that 
 moment in his evil purpose, was so struck by the 
 non-resisting dignity and innocence of the lad, 
 that, as he afterwards confessed almost with tears, 
 he actually felt unable to raise his hand. Twice 
 he essayed to lift the bottle, as he placed the mouth 
 of it in the child's mouth, but his arm refused to 
 serve him. IJiTot the least resistance was made at 
 this stage of the proceeding otherwise than by a 
 meek, protesting look ; yet the ring-leader himself 
 was overcome in his feelings, and gave over the 
 attempt, declaring that he could not, would not, 
 injure such an innocent, conscientious, good-hearted 
 boy. Thus doth the Lord deliver those that trust 
 in him. Thus may evil be overcome with good. 
 
INTEMPESANGK 291 
 
 A REPROOF BLESSED. 
 
 An aged man related the following incident : " I 
 was once travelling," said he, " in the State of ISew 
 York, and night coming on, I put up at a rum- 
 tavern. Soon after several of the neighboring men . 
 called in to tell stories and patronize the bar. 
 They all seemed given to profaneness ; but one of 
 them excelled the others in profanity. Their oaths 
 were so horrid it almost made my blood run cold. 
 It seemed like blasphemy. I groaned in spirit, 
 and, after one of these terrible oaths, I cried out : 
 ' Oh, dear ! ' The chief swearer immediately came 
 to me, and acknowledged the wickedness of his 
 habit and said : ' Will you pardon me ? ' ' No,' said 
 I, ' none but God can pardon you ; but if you will 
 s^ear no more, I will overlook the past.' He made 
 a fair promise. After this, there was no more 
 swearing for some time. Towards bed-time these 
 villagers must have another drink. They then 
 commenced swearing again. Again I sighed 'Oh, 
 dear! ' Again my pardon was asked. I told them 
 it was rum that made them swear. We parted, 
 never expecting to see or hear from each other 
 again. 
 
 " After two and a half years, I had occasion to 
 pass that way again, and stopped to bait my horse 
 at the same tavern. The landlord was not in, but 
 
292 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 his wife eyed me closely, and said : ' Did you not 
 
 spend a night here two or three years ago ? ' Yes. 
 
 ' Do you remember reproving a man for swearing ? ' 
 
 Yes. ' Well, that man, and all his convpanions 
 
 . were led, by that reproof, to give up swearing and 
 
 drinking ; and what is better still, they have all 
 
 become Christians. So have I and my husband, 
 
 and we now find we can keep a tavern without 
 
 selling rum." 
 
 MEMARKABLE WARNING. 
 
 On board of the vessel in which Thomas Chalkley 
 was returning to England, from a religious visit 
 to this country, in the year 1698-9, was a doctor, 
 an intemperate man, who, as they were approach- 
 ing land, had a remarkable dream, which he 
 related to Thomas Chalkley, as follows : " He 
 dreamed that he went on shore at a great and 
 spacious town, the buildings whereof were high, 
 and the streets broad ; and as he went up the street 
 he saw a large sign, on which was written in great 
 golden letters, shame. At the door of the house 
 to which the sign belonged, stood a woman with 
 a can in her hand, who said to him. Doctor, will 
 you drink ? He replied, with all my heart ; for I 
 have not drank anything but water a great while 
 (our wine and cider being all spent, having had a 
 ^png passage), and he drank a hearty draught, 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 293 
 
 whict he said made him merry. He went up 
 the street reeling to and fro, when a grim fellow 
 coming behind him, clapped him on the shoulder, 
 and told him that he arrested him in the name of 
 the governor of the place. He asked him for what, 
 and said : What have I done ? He answered. For 
 stealing the woman's can. The can he had indeed ; 
 and so he was had before the governor, which was 
 a mighty black dog, the biggest and grimmest 
 that ever he saw in his life ; a witness was 
 brought in against him by an old companion of 
 his, and he' was found guilty, and his sentence was 
 to go to prison, and there lay for ever." 
 
 Thomas Chalkley remarks in his Journal : " He 
 told me this dream so punctually, and with such 
 an emphasis, that it affected me with serious sad- 
 ness, and caused my heart to move within me ; for 
 to me the dream seemed true, and the interpreta- 
 tion sure. I then told him he was an ingenious 
 man, and might clearly see the interpretation of 
 that dream, which exactly answered to his state 
 and condition, which I thus interpreted to him : 
 ' This great and spacious place, wherein the build- 
 ings were high, and the streets broad, is thy great 
 and high profession. The sign, ou which was 
 written shame, which thou sawest, and the woman 
 
 at the door, with the can in her hand, truly re- 
 25* 
 
294 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 present that great, crying, and shameful sin of 
 drunkenness, which thou knowest to be thy great 
 weakness, which the woman with the can did truly 
 represent to thee. The grim fellow who arrested 
 thee in the devil's territories, is death, who will 
 assuredly arrest all mortals : the governor whom 
 thou sawest, representing a great black dog, is 
 certainly the devil, who, after his servants have 
 served him to the full, will torment them eternally 
 in hell.' So he got up, as it were in haste, and 
 said, Grod forbid ! it is nothing but a dream. But 
 I told him it was a very significant one, and a 
 warning to him from the Almighty, who some- 
 times speaks to men by dreams." 
 
 A few days after this occurrence they met in the 
 English channel, with a Dutch vessel loaded with 
 wine, brandy, fruit, and other such commodities 
 from Lisbon ; and sent a boat to her to buy a little 
 wine to drink with their water. Thomas says, 
 " Our doctor, and a merchant who was a passenger, 
 and one sailor, went on board, where they stayed 
 until some of them were overcome with wine, 
 although they were desired to beware thereof. 
 When they came back, a rope was handed to them, 
 but they, being filled with wine to excess, were not 
 capable of using it dexterously, insomuch that 
 they overset the boat, and she turned bottom up- 
 
INTEMPERANCE. 295 
 
 wards, having tlie doctor under her. The merchant 
 caught hold of a rope called the main-sheet, whereby 
 his life was saved. The sailor not getting so much 
 drink as the other two, got nimbly on the bottom 
 of the boat, and floated on the water till our other 
 boat was hoisted out, which was done with great 
 speed, and we took him in ; but the doctor was 
 drowned before the boat came. The seaman who 
 sat upon the boat saw him sink, but could not help 
 him. This was the greatest exercise that we met 
 with in all our voyage ; and the more so, because 
 the doctor was of an evil life and conversation, 
 and much given to excess in drinking. "When he 
 got on board the aforesaid ship, the master sent 
 for a can of wine, and said, Doctor, will you drink? 
 He replied, yes, with all my heart, for I have drank 
 no wine a great while. Upon which he drank a 
 hearty draught, that made him merry, as he said 
 in his dream ; and notwithstanding the admonition 
 which was so clearly manifested to him but three 
 days before, and the many promises he had made 
 to Almighty God, some of which I was a witness 
 of, when strong convictions were upon him, yet 
 now he was unhappily overcome, and in drink 
 when he was drowned. This is, I think, a lively 
 representation of the tender mercy and just judg- 
 ment of the Almighty to poor mortals ; and I 
 
296 INTEMPERANCE. 
 
 thought it worthy to he recorded for posterity, as 
 a warning to all great lovers of wine and strong 
 liquors. This exercise was so great to me, that I 
 could not for several days get over it ; and one day 
 while I was musing in my mind on those things 
 relating to the doctor, it was opened to me that 
 God and his servants were clear, and his hlood was 
 on his own head ; for he had been faithfully warned 
 of his evil ways." 
 
DBA TB. 297 
 
 DEATH. 
 
 SUSTAINING GBAOE. 
 
 THE following incident related by Dr. Eobin- 
 son, affords matter for serious reflection. He 
 stated that at one time his father, awaking in the 
 night, saw or appeared to see a sea-captain, a near 
 neighbor of his walking backward and forward 
 across his apartment. Surprised at his appearance 
 there, he inquired why he visited him at such an 
 unseasonable time. He replied, " The grace of 
 God in the soul, at such an hour as this, is worth 
 millions of worlds," and immediately vanished 
 from sight. It then occurred to Robinson, that 
 his neighbor was at sea, and feeling much im- 
 pressed with the occurrence, he .rose and noted 
 down the time. He afterwards learned that, at 
 the very hour this appearance took place, his friend 
 was knocked overboard from his vessel and was 
 drowned. 
 
 Ah ! when death stares the Christian in the face, 
 when he sees there is no esca,pe, — that for him 
 a few more swiftly passing moments only are al- 
 lotted in this world, how sweetly comforting to 
 feel the grace of God sustaining the soul. To him, 
 
298 DEA TH. 
 
 it is worth indeed millions of worlds. The death- 
 bed of that ancient laborer in the gospel of Christ, 
 Eichard Hubberthorn, is a fitting illustration. 
 His natural disposition was meek and lowly, and 
 he loved peace amongst men ; but when, through 
 the tender mercy of the Lord, he experienced the 
 converting visitations of heavenly love, we are told, 
 *' He went through great afflictions, through the 
 dispensation of the grace and spirit of Christ 
 Jesus, until such time as the same power that 
 killed did make alive, that wounded, also healed." 
 Being raised up by the holy spirit of the Lord, he 
 was made a minister of the everlasting gospel, and 
 accordingly went forth in the name and power of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, and travelled to and fro in 
 England for the space of nine years, and many were 
 the seals to the power and verity of his ministry, 
 and of his faithfulness among the Churches of 
 Christ. " He was very wise, and knew the season 
 when to speak and when to be silent. When he 
 spoke, it was with such discretion and plainness 
 of words, that reached perfectly the matter in- 
 tended ; and his speech being with grace, and his 
 ministry savory, God made him and his service a 
 blessing to many. He was not easily moved into 
 grief by adversity, or into joy by prosperity ; a 
 faithful contender for the living faith once delivered 
 
DEATH. 299 
 
 to the saints, which stands in the power of God, 
 and worketh by love." 
 
 So he lived faithful to God ; and being impris- 
 oned for attending a religious meeting, he sealed 
 his testimony with his blood, dying in the 
 thronged and foul prison-house of ITewgate. He, 
 whom he had served, was with hira through the 
 valley of the shadow of death ; and that grace 
 which he had preached unto others, gave great 
 comfort and sweet support as the end of his earthly 
 course drew near. He told his friends, " There is 
 no need to dispute matters. I know the ground, 
 of my salvation, and am satisfied forever in peace 
 with the Lord." His longing after immortality 
 seemed to increase, and on the day of his departure 
 he said to a Friend, " Do not seek to hold me. It 
 is too straight for me ! Out of this straightness I 
 must go." And so trusting in and supported by 
 Divine Grace, he went to his heavenly home re- 
 joicing in a sense of acceptance. 
 
 How does the power of Divine Grace pour into 
 the souls of some rich streams of consolation when 
 the hour of death and the pains of a dissolving 
 tabernacle are upon them. Thomas Loe, an able 
 gospel minister in his day, very powerful in con- 
 founding opposers of the truth, and yet remarkably 
 pleasant and sweetly agreeable in conversation, fuU 
 
300 DEATH. 
 
 of kind sympathy for those in affliction, to whom 
 he was qualified to speak encouragingly from ex- 
 perience, closed a life of dedication to the Truth, 
 and sufferings for its support, by a death of unusual 
 comfort, yea, glory ! In an outburst of heartfelt 
 adoration and praise he exclaimed : " Glory to thee, 
 God, for thy power is known. God is the Lord." 
 Then addressing "William Penn, who had been 
 convinced of the Truth through his ministry, he 
 said, " Dear heart, bear thy cross ! Stand faithful 
 for God, and bear thy testimony in thy day and 
 generation, and God will give thee an eternal crown 
 of glory, that shall not be taken from thee. There 
 is not another way than that the holy men of old 
 walked in, and it shall prosper. God has brought 
 immortality to light, and immortal life is felt; 
 glory, glory, for he is worthy. My heart is full, 
 what shall I say ? His love overcomes my heart ; 
 my cup runs over, my cup runs over ! Glory, glory 
 to his name forever ! He is come. He has appeared, 
 and will appear. Friends, keep you testimony for 
 God ! Live with him, and he will live with you." 
 So expressing his gladness to see his friends, and 
 his sense of the Lord's mercy, and declaring the 
 glory of the Holy One, of which he had been per- 
 mitted to see the day, he closed with ascriptions of 
 praise to the Lord, saying : " Glory, glory to thee. 
 
BE A TH. 301 
 
 forever." Thus, wanned with love and devotion 
 to the very close, participating even here in the 
 blessed employ of redeemed souls in glory, he was 
 permitted in great joy to pass the gates of death, 
 to praise the Lord God and the Lamb, in that 
 city where there is no more death, neither sorrow 
 nor sighing. 
 
 "BEADY TO BE OFFEBED."—PAUL. 
 
 "WTiat a blessed condition the apostle had at- 
 tained to. He felt that his sins had gone before- 
 hand to judgment, and that through the mercy of 
 God in Christ Jesus, they had all been blotted out 
 and a free pardon granted him. In this assurance, 
 he knew that there was laid up for him a crown 
 of righteousness. Yea, he already felt in the in- 
 ward comfort of the Holy Ghost, a foretaste of the 
 joy which should afterwards be revealed in its ful- 
 ness. To him, to depart and to be with Christ, 
 was far better than to remain toiling upon earth, 
 yet for the love which he bore his Divine Master, 
 he was willing to continue in his prison-house of 
 flesh just so long as that All-wise, and All-loving 
 One should see it was best. Yet he was ready to 
 be offered. He had nothing further to do, but in 
 holy trust and confidence, whilst performing present 
 duty, to wait the moment of his dismissal from 
 26 
 
302 DEATH. 
 
 time. How different his condition from that of 
 the fearful, doubting ones, who know not whether 
 they are accepted of God, yea or nay ! How still 
 more widely different from those who feel they 
 have not the love of G-od in them, that it is not, 
 and has not been as their meat and drink, to 
 do His will ? Such oftentimes have a vague hope, 
 that they shall, somehow or other, find a rest with 
 the righteous, although they have not whilst on 
 earth followed the dear Saviour as cross-hearing 
 disciples. 
 
 An anecdote is related by an attorney, to this 
 import. He had a case, in which the whole estate 
 of a client was at stake ; on the result of which his 
 future affluence or poverty depended. On the 
 morning of the day in which the lord-chancellor 
 was to deliver the judgment, he called on his at- 
 torney in a state of great excitement. His case 
 was to come up — was everything ready ! The deep 
 feeling evident in the client, struck the attorney 
 with fear for the result. Learned counsel had 
 given a favorable opinion of his cause, but the 
 attorney it appears had doubts, and the chancellor 
 decided adversely. Of the poor client, the attorney 
 writes, " never shall I forget the agony of despair 
 depicted in his countenance at that moment, as, 
 rushing from the court, he hissed into my ear the 
 fearful words, ' Oh ! I am undone.' " 
 
DEATB. 303 
 
 The attorney himself moralizes on the case, com- 
 paring it to that of those who are ahout closing 
 their earthly accounts, and know that their case is 
 to be called up that day, or at least in a very short 
 period. As death leaves us, judgment will find 
 us. There is no place for pardon, or repentance, to 
 those whose day of life has closed. Their case is 
 then forever fixed. If they have gone down to the 
 gra^^e in their sins, their doom is fixed forever, 
 where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not 
 quenched. In vain may friends — like the learned 
 counsel in the poor man's case referred to — give 
 favorable opinions. Grod, who seeth the heart, 
 giveth a final decree, according to the blessed 
 counsel of his immutable justice, in accordance 
 with the precepts and declarations He has given 
 unto men, through the Gospel revelations of his 
 dear Son. Sympathizing and loving ones may bid 
 them confide in the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, 
 priests may undertake to make good any defect in 
 their heavenly title, but the fond wishes of the one 
 sort, and the pretended absolution of the other, are 
 equally unavailing. To the unregenerated soul, 
 the issue of the case will be : " Depart from me ye 
 that work iniquity." 
 
 How soon death may call our case up for final 
 decision, we none of us know ; but it must be in a 
 
304 DEATH. 
 
 little while, to the longest liver ; it may be very 
 soon to some of us. "We cannot tell but our case 
 w.ay come on this day ; nay, we know not but that 
 before the hour we have now entered on shall be 
 finished, our eternal condition shall have been for- 
 ever fixed. It behooves us, dear reader, to be in 
 earnest in our inward aspirations after a clean 
 heart and a right spirit. Our God, though he be 
 rich in mercy, and ready to forgive the contrite in 
 spirit, will surely punish the rebellious and back- 
 sliding, and every son or daughter of Adam who 
 does not come unto him, through Jesus Christ, out 
 of whom there is no salvation, must expect no 
 mercy. 
 
 " But if we walk in the light, as he is in the 
 light, we have fellowship one with another, and 
 the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from 
 all sin." As we daily strive to be found walking 
 in this holy light, all our life long, it will be of 
 secondary consequence when or how our dismissal 
 out of this " earthly house " shall take place, for 
 we know that the immortal part will then have 
 " an house not made with hands, eternal in the 
 heavens." 
 
DEATH. 305 
 
 BE NOT DECEIVED. 
 
 There is no doubt that many trembling, faint- 
 ing Christians, who, under an awful sense of the 
 purity of the immaculate One, and the holiness 
 that becometh his worshippers, look backwards, 
 as they approach the grave, with fearfulness on 
 their earthly pilgrimage, and their want of thor- 
 ough dedication of heart, shall yet, through the 
 mercy of God in Christ Jesus, receive the glori- 
 ous welcome : " Come ye blessed of my Father." 
 The inward work of sanctification has been going 
 on in them in the midst of their fears and faint- 
 ings ; and whilst it may be acknowledged their 
 salvation is all of free mercy, yet it is " by the 
 washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the 
 Holy Ghost." Happy will it be for those whose 
 terrors are all witnessed on this side of the grave ; 
 to whom death is swallowed up in victory, — for 
 whom the pains and sorrows of the parting mo- 
 ment of the earthly struggle, give place to the 
 peace of God, and those good things which eye 
 hath not seen nor ear heard, which are in store for 
 those who love him. 
 
 But how awful will it be for those who go down 
 
 to the grave in a condition of unconoernedness, a 
 
 kind of dreamy hoping for heaven, if they waken 
 
 up to a sense of condemnation, and hear the lan- 
 26* U 
 
306 DEATH. 
 
 guage uttered: "Verilj, I say unto you, I know 
 you not." 
 
 A captain of Holland, wlio was wrecked at sea, 
 and with his crew tossed about in an open boat for 
 eight days, gives an interesting account of their 
 feelings and condition. Hunger occasioned them 
 intense suffering, they felt little sleepiness towards 
 the last part of their voyage, but when it did over- 
 take them, they all had similar dreams. " Each 
 tiine it was a well-laden table, a substantial dinner, 
 that stood before us, and to which we set our- 
 selves with lively- shouts of joy. Every one of us 
 dreamed this at least ten times. The waking up 
 to the truth of our situation was horrible." 
 
 Far more horrible will it be, to waken up from 
 our dream of carnal security, and find that our 
 portion is forever fixed in the unutterable agony 
 of that condition where the worm dieth not, and 
 the fire is not quenched. 
 
 SET UP BEACON MAMKS. 
 
 It is related of an Indian that when passing 
 through a swamp, if he found any spot particularly 
 difficult to cross, he invariably set up a stake in it 
 as a Beacon Mark, to warn others of the danger, as 
 well as to enable himself to recognize and avoid 
 the place. It was a wise as well as kind act in 
 
DEATH. 307 
 
 tills man, and it would be well if, in our every day 
 walk, we were concerned to set up Beacon Marks to 
 enable others to see where we had met with diffi- 
 culties and dangers, spiritual as well as temporal. 
 If we are really and truly actuated by the spirit 
 of the petition " Lead us not into temptation," it 
 is certain that we shall feel bound, as far as we can, 
 not only to avoid placing incitement to evil in the 
 way of others, but that we shall desire that they 
 may be preserved from the sins into which we have 
 been led. 
 
 After G-eneral Lee, of the rebel army, had forti- 
 fied Richmond by forts and batteries of various 
 kinds, he buried, all around its approaches, torpe- 
 does which would explode if a heavy man or a 
 horse trod over them, and scatter death and terror 
 around. To prevent their own army, and those 
 who came with provision for his needs, from fall- 
 ing victims to the murderous power of these hid- 
 den instruments of destruction, marks were placed 
 over them to designate the places : which marks 
 were to have been removed should General G-rant's 
 army approach. On the morning of that day, 
 when General Lee fled from Richmond, too many 
 other things claimed attention, and the little 
 Beacon Marks were left unmoved, and thus many 
 hundred lives were probably saved. 
 
 Sometimes individuals moving along in the 
 
308 DEATH. 
 
 paths of vanity and frivolity, are suddenly arrested 
 by severe illness, and in mercy brought to a sense 
 of their sad fallen state, and the need they have of 
 the washing of regeneration, and the saving, soul- 
 cleansing baptisms of the Holy Spirit, and are then 
 introduced into much mental agony, and taught to 
 cry mightily to the Lord Jesus for help. His mer- 
 cies are over all his works, and it pleases him, 
 graciously to regard the supplications of such, and 
 through the powerful operations of his grace to 
 prepare the spirit at times through a few days of 
 agony and remorse, to receive that inward cleans- 
 ing in which it finds forgiveness for past trans- 
 gressions, and a preparation for an admission into 
 the kingdom of glory. Such persons thus intro- 
 duced into the Christian family, — and made par- 
 takers of the salvation which comes by Jesus 
 Christ, often attain, before the close comes, to great 
 peace. All this is, in full accordance with Divine 
 mercy. It is through deep tribulation we must 
 enter the kingdom, — it is through obedience that 
 we grow in knowledge and experience ; yet he who 
 is perfect in wisdom sees meet, in some cases, to 
 cut short the work in righteousness. He sees that 
 deep agony of spirit has been felt, that the saving 
 change has been wrought in suffering and remorse, 
 through the fiery baptisms of the Holy Spirit, and 
 
DEATH. 309 
 
 as the ■will of the creature is subdued, he receives 
 it into rest. 
 
 These redeemed ones, before they put off the 
 shackles of mortality, in their true remorse, not 
 unfrequently wish to set up Beacon Marks, to pre- 
 vent others from making shipwreck on the shoals 
 of sin where they themselves were long aground. 
 Oh ! the earnestness of their desires, that their dear 
 friends and relatives should not resist the convic- 
 tions of grace, should not follow the fashions, the 
 manners and the customs of this vain world. But 
 oh, how seldom are such Beacon Marks known to 
 their fashionable friends. Death removes them 
 before "they have time or opportunity of spreading 
 the warning themselves. Their friends in prepar- 
 ing obituary notices, often confine themselves to 
 the expression of a hope that through mercy, they 
 have been admitted into rest. Thus the Beacon 
 Marks which their sudden removal from time 
 might have erected in the view of thoughtless 
 friends are not set up. Their friends lately may 
 have known them as thoughtless and gay as them- 
 selves, — they may have seen them but a little 
 while ago, flaunting with ribbons, or mingling 
 with them in vanity and folly. JSTow, in a few 
 days, they are noticed as having entered the heav- 
 enly city of purity and peace. Oh, did we only 
 
310 DEATH. 
 
 bear in mind the duty that devolves upon us of 
 setting up " Beacon Marks," we should more fre- 
 quently dwell upon the agony of mind, the deep 
 contrition of those who having despised or shrunk 
 from bearing the cross of the Saviour whilst in 
 health, have found upon a sick-bed that the sub- 
 jection of their own wills, as to dress and address, 
 as to manners and walk amongst men, is an abso- 
 lute necessity to every one seeking to enter the 
 kingdom. 
 
 When there is any Beacon Mark to set up in the 
 account of the closing hours of our deceased friends, 
 let not a false delicacy prevent its erection. Surely 
 if through the Lord's merciful providence one 
 soul should be rightly warned by such a memoir, 
 or should be encouraged to take up the cross 
 whilst health and vigor are granted them, it would 
 amply repay whatever cost such a testimony might 
 be to our feelings. 
 
 DEATH SOMETIMES NOT TERRIBLE. 
 
 An account has been given of a little girl, not 
 quite fen years old, who was drawing near to the 
 close of her life. Her friends, who were gathered 
 around her dying bed, found from her broken 
 words, that she felt a dread, a natural dread, at 
 passing alone through the awful river of death. 
 
DEATH. 311 
 
 She may have felt that the dear Saviour had died 
 for her, and that he would receive her; but ohj 
 this dark river, this mighty mysterious river, 
 must be passed. Before the close came, however, 
 she ceased to speak of its loneliness and darkness, 
 and just as she entered it, her face brightened sud- 
 denly, a sweet confiding smile lightened her fea- 
 tures, and with accents of trustful courage she ex- 
 claimed, " Oh, it 's only a brook ! " Happily she 
 entered and passed over to the heavenly Canaan, 
 for her Saviour, the true Ark of the Covenant, 
 gave her gentle spirit a passage as upon dry 
 ground. 
 
 James Simpson, an able minister of the Gospel, 
 was a nervously eccentric uiin. To him death 
 was in prospect a very fearful thing — a river tur- 
 bid and tumultuous, the thought of which produced 
 terror whenever he dwelt upon it. Yet, when his 
 last sickness came, and the solemn moment of de- 
 parture drew near, through the merciful conde- 
 scension of his dear Saviour, he, too, found the 
 dreaded river a mere brook. His pulse having sunk, 
 he was enabled to pray that, if his day's work was 
 done, his bands might be loosed, and he received 
 into rest. In the feeling of his Lord's sustaining 
 presence he then exclaimed, "It is done! It is 
 done ! " and almost instantly, in holy, huinble tri- 
 umph, had passed over the brook. 
 
312 DEATH, 
 
 It sometimes pleases the Lord, in his infinite 
 wisdom, to cause that death should appear more 
 and more terrible to his faithful servants, as they 
 approach it. He would drive them to trust in 
 himself for comfort, he would show them that 
 they are not to rely upon past services in this 
 solemn hour for hope. Yet when these have en- 
 dured all their fearful forebodings of the dark, bit- 
 ter, overwhelming flood — they find, to their eter- 
 nal rejoicing, that the Lord upholding them, 
 death was only a shallow brook, quickly to be 
 passed over into the land of rest and peace. 
 
 Another humble Christian, looking towards the 
 close of his earthly pilgrimage in sweet trusting 
 faith in his long-loved Redeemer, was heard to say : 
 " Though I enter the valley of the shadow of death 
 with awe, I can truly say it is not with dread ; " 
 and, perfectly resigned in the belief that his sins 
 had been blotted out, he calmly and patiently 
 awaited his dissolution. 
 
 THE SA rrOUB TAKES CARE OF HIS LAMBS. 
 
 The love and tender mercy of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ are often marvellously dis- 
 played toward the workmanship of his holy hands, 
 and more particularly so toward those young in 
 life, who have learned to love and serve him. 
 
DEATH. 313 
 
 Some years ago a little girl, who had been well 
 instructed in the school of Christ, felt willing to 
 part with her earthly friends, and to go to the 
 Sa,viour, which was far better. "When the time of 
 her departure seemed drawing near, she expressed 
 a willingness to die, but added, " I fear to go down 
 into the dark valley all alone." To some words of 
 consolation offered her, she replied, " I am a poor, 
 weak, timid creature, and I dread the last struggle 
 with the king of terrors." One, present, told her 
 to trust in the Saviour. This seemed to reach her 
 state, and with a renewed feeling of loving confi- 
 dence she exclaimed, with a sweet smile, " I will 
 trust Him." The dear Saviour was very merciful 
 to her; for, in a few minutes after saying those 
 words, she appeared to sink into a sweet sleep, and 
 without a bodily struggle which could be perceived, 
 was quietly gathered to glory. 
 
 Of one little boy of eight years of age, the fol- 
 lowing interesting incident is narrated. He was 
 taken suddenly very ill, and after a few days the 
 physician told his parents that he could not sur- 
 vive the attack. His affectionate father thought 
 it right that his little boy should be aware of his 
 situation, and therefore told him what the doctor 
 thought. After doing so, he asked the little suf- 
 ferer if he was afraid to die. The child received 
 27 
 
314 DEATH. 
 
 the intelligence with much calmness, but, instead 
 of replying to the query, he requested his father 
 to read to him out of the Bible what the Saviour 
 had said about little children. The father read to 
 him the passage, " Suffer little children to come 
 unto me, and forbid them not," "When the father 
 had finished, the grace-supported child looked up 
 at him, and said, " STo ! I am not afraid to die. 
 "When I die, Jesus will take care of me.. No ! I 
 am not afraid to die ! " 
 
INFLUENCE OF THE HOLY SPIBIT. 315 
 
 INFLUENCE OF THE HOLY 8PIEIT. 
 
 B ABB ABA HOTLAND. 
 
 VARIOUS are the methods which Divine good- 
 ness uses to arrest the careless and uncon- 
 cerned, and awaken them to a sense of the import- 
 ance of religion, and of the necessity of their 
 earnestly seeking for the pearl of great price. Yet, 
 in every case, it is the convicting and persuasive 
 energy and power of the Holy Spirit which is the 
 real agent of conversion. Sometimes he is pleased 
 to operate on the heart, without instrumental 
 means, sometimes through those who have been 
 anointed and qualified to preach the gospel, and 
 sometimes by what may seem as merely accidental 
 occurrences. 
 
 Barbara Hoy land, who became a valuable minister 
 of the gospel, received an awakening visitation in 
 early life, a visitation which, through the Lord's 
 grace, saved her from utter ruin, as she believed, 
 through the Divine blessing upon what might seem 
 like a trivial incident. She was brought up in the 
 observance of the rites and ceremonies of the Church 
 of England, by her parents, and early in life was 
 favored with the visitations of Divine grace, and 
 
316 INFLUENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 
 
 manifested some seriousness and religious tender- 
 ness of spirit. "When twelve years of age, she was 
 sent by her parents to a dancing-school, through 
 the influence of which, and the young persons she 
 was introduced to there, a great change for the 
 worse took place in her character. Her father, too 
 late, discovered it, and earnestly sought to break 
 up all her intercourse with those who had there 
 been her associates. But he died ; and when about 
 sixteen, she was exposed to a temptation, which, 
 if yielded to, would have been her ruin. Whilst 
 hesitating and unsettled, she was one evening 
 sitting with her mother, when they observed a 
 moth fluttering and playing round the candle, 
 until at last the flame caught it, and burned its 
 wings, so that it soon expired in apparent agony. 
 Musing on this, her mother said, " How like in- 
 cautious youth ! playing round the flame till drawn 
 within its power, caught and consumed." The 
 incident, and the remark of her mother, were 
 efiectual, through the accompanying visitations of 
 the Lord's Holy Spirit, for her spiritual awaken- 
 ing. She turned from the seductive attractions, 
 sought comfort and strength in the Lord Jesus, 
 became his faithful follower, and in life and con- 
 versation, as well as by the ministry of the gospel, 
 preached powerfully through her day. 
 
INFL UENGE- OF THE SOL T SPIRIT. 317 
 
 REFINEMENT NECESSARY. 
 
 The operations of one of our large iron-works, 
 where the metal is reduced from the ore, have fur- 
 nished food for profitable reflection. The rough 
 pile of brown, clayey-looking earth and stone, 
 which lay by the side of the furnace, would seem 
 to one ignorant of iron manufacture very unlikely 
 to yield such a valuable product as the pure metal. 
 In it, indeed, the iron is largely mixed with im- 
 purities, which must be removed. A portion of 
 these is washed away by a stream of water, which 
 separates much of the clay that is mechanically 
 mixed with it. But the heap which remains is 
 still ore, and in it the iron is so intimately united 
 with other substances, that nothing will effect 
 their separation but being plunged, with an abund- 
 ant supply of fuel, into the capacious furnace, 
 where it is subjected to the action of the most in- 
 tense heat. The air which supplies the combustion 
 is forced into the seething mass by powerful machi- 
 nery, and is itself first heated so as to augment the 
 temperature within. The most refractory ores, 
 when long enough exposed to this fiery ordeal, are 
 softened and melted, the iron separates from its 
 associates which had so closely held it and sinks 
 to the bottom of the furnace, from whence in due 
 season the workman allows it to escape — and 
 27* 
 
318 INFLUENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 
 
 casts it, while yet fluid, into such shape as best 
 suits his purpose. 
 
 "What a lively illustration does this process fur- 
 nish us of the manner in which our heavenly Fa- 
 ther accomplishes the great work of transforming 
 apostate man from earthly to divine. The re- 
 straints of civil society, the humanizing influence 
 of polished companions, and the influence of educa- 
 tion, may be compared to the stream of water which 
 washed away the loose particles of earthy matter 
 that were mingled with the ore ; but the corrupt 
 tendencies of the human heart, and its unwilling- 
 ness to bear the yoke of Christ, and resign its own 
 selfish will, arc so closely entwined about it, form- 
 ing as it were part of its very nature, that they are 
 to be removed only in the furnace of affliction, 
 under the direction of Him, whose baptism is with 
 fire, and of whom it was predicted that He should 
 be like a refiner's fire. Let none then seek to es- 
 cape from this needful and profitable experience, 
 but patiently abide the fiery trial, so that in the 
 right time they may be brought forth prepared to 
 be made into whatever vessel it pleases the Master 
 Workman. 
 
 Though the iron, as it first comes from the fur- 
 nace, is valuable and useful for many things, yet 
 there are some purposes for which it is not adapted 
 
INFLUENCE OF THE HOLT SPIRIT. 319 
 
 without passing through still further processes. 
 For its further purification, it is broken into frag- 
 ments, and placed in a puddling furnace, where it 
 is melted by the flames continually directed upon 
 it. Exposed to their action, the impurities are 
 gradually consumed, and when this has been fully 
 accomplished it is withdrawn from the furnace, 
 and, while still soft and pliable, it is so beaten and 
 moulded as best to fit it for the uses and purposes 
 for which it is intended. 
 
 It is the concurrent testimony of experienced 
 Christians that those who are designed for especial 
 service in the church, must submit to repeated 
 baptisms of various kinds, to fit them for the work 
 to which they are called. The prophet Jeremiah 
 compares the word of the Lord to the fire and the 
 hammer ; and those only can hope to become use- 
 ful vessels in his house who submit patiently to 
 the severe and ofttimes painful operations of the 
 Refiner and Purifier. 
 
 He who is infinite both in wisdom and good- 
 ness knows how to dispense to each one what is 
 needful to His humbling and purification — and it 
 is in great mercy that He administers trials and 
 afflictions. It was under a fresh sense of this truth 
 that a deeply experienced Minister of the Gospel, 
 Isaac Penington, gave the following exhortations: 
 
320 INFLUENCE OF TEE HOLT SPIRIT. 
 
 " Prize inward exercises, ^griefs, and troubles ; and 
 let faith and patience have their perfect work in 
 them." And again, " The more thou art weakened 
 and distressed, the more thou art fitted for, and 
 the more abundantly shalt thou partake of, His 
 mercy and strength ; waiting upon Him in the 
 meek, quiet, patient, and resigned spirit which He 
 will not fail to work thy mind into ; that, in the 
 issue of all, thou mayest reap the quiet fruits of 
 righteousness and heavenly peace from His hand." 
 
 THE SWEET INFLUENCE OF GOSPEL LOVE. 
 
 Oh ! that every awakened soul would daily seek 
 after the sweet influences of gospel love ! It sweet- 
 ens society ; it begets its likeness in others ; it ex- 
 cites gratitude ; and even if bestowed on the un- 
 grateful (as saith our dear Eedeemer, — love's holy 
 and exhaustless fountain — the rain falls on the just 
 and the unjust), it brings its own sweet reward 
 with it ; for it attracts the approbation of God. 
 "Where, then, will be contempt ; where the indul- 
 gence of evil surmisings and hard thoughts ; where 
 either studied or careless detraction ; where even 
 the needless disclosure of real failings ; where the 
 least place for any enmity ? These hurtful prac- 
 tices and pride, the promoter of many such things, 
 will fall before the prevalence of pure, Christian 
 
INFLUENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 321 
 
 love ; and surely when these are exterminated from 
 the heart, is it not so far prepared for its best and 
 most sacred purpose, — to be a temple of the Holy 
 Spirit ! 
 
 PROVIDENCE OF GOB ASSERTED. 
 
 In the time of the Revolution, an encampment 
 of about five hundred men was stationed near the 
 dwelling of David Sands, in Ifew York State. 
 During their stay, D. Sands and wife became very 
 uneasy, particularly his wife, who felt a presenti- 
 ment that some trial was approaching. In a short 
 time afterwards, she was alarmed one night by a 
 noise she heard in the house, after thej were gone 
 to bed, which her husband apprehended might be 
 only the wind rustling among the trees. In a few 
 minutes they were more certain, finding some per- 
 sons near their room, and distinctly hearing them 
 say, " Some of the family are awake, we will shoot 
 them." In this alarming situation, personal safety 
 seemed the first object, and they soon determined 
 to attempt an escape, which was the more easily' 
 effected as their chamber was on the first floor. In 
 getting out through the window, one of the com- 
 pany, stationed, to keep guard on the outside, dis- 
 charged a piece at them, the ball of which grazed the 
 forehead of D. Sands ; however, they escaped, but 
 
322 TNFL UENGE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 
 
 with very thin clothing ; and as it was a very cold 
 night, and they remained in the open air till break 
 of day, these circumstances, together with their 
 painful anxiety, rendered it a most suffering 
 time. When they returned to their dwelling, they 
 found it plundered of all the cash, about fifty 
 pounds, most of their bedding, and much of their 
 furniture. A servant and two children, who were 
 sleeping in another part of the house, were not 
 disturbed. 
 
 After considering what was best to be done, 
 David found his mind most easy in determining to 
 go to the encampment. On his arrival, he saw seve- 
 ral officers conversing together, who said to him : 
 " Mr. Sands, we have heard of the depredation 
 committed at your house, and desire to know what 
 you think can be done to discover the offenders." 
 After some solid consideration, he informed them 
 he had on the road felt a belief that, if the men 
 were drawn up rank and file, about fifty in a com- 
 pany, he might be able (if he followed the best 
 direction), in passing through them, to detect those 
 concerned in the robbery. The officers wondered 
 at his proposal, thinking it very improbable he 
 should discover them in such a manner without 
 any outward knowledge of the persons. But they 
 complied, and gave the necessary orders. 
 
INFLUENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 323 
 
 On passing down the first rank he made a stop 
 near the bottom, hut went on to the next, where 
 he soon made a stand at one of the men, and look- 
 ing him full in the face, said to him, " Where wast 
 thou last night ? " He answered: "Keeping guard, 
 sir, and a very cold night it was." " Didst thou 
 find it so when at my house ? " replied David ; at 
 which the man trembled much, and showed evi- 
 dent signs of guilt, on which he was ordered out 
 of the ranks ; and in like manner four others were 
 discovered. Then he went to a young ofilcer, whom 
 he asked how he came to aid and accompany his 
 men in pillaging his house. He positively de- 
 nied the charge, but D. Sands further interrogated 
 him, by saying : " Let me feel thy heart, and see if 
 that do not accuse thee." On putting his hand to 
 it, it throbbed up to his neck, and so loud, that D. 
 Sands called to the other officers to come and see, 
 and hear how it accused the officer. He was there- 
 fore considered to be guilty. Two others, which 
 made eight concerned, deserted before the search 
 commenced, and which accounted for the stop he 
 made in the first rank. 
 
 The officers now desired to know what could be 
 done for him. He said he should like to have 
 his furniture, bedding, etc., returned ; he wanted 
 his bedding in particular ; on which they brought 
 
324 INFLUENGE OF THE HOLT SPIBIT. 
 
 the greatest part, with half the money, assuring 
 him the rest was lost. They were brought to trial 
 before the civil power, but as David declined ap- 
 pearing at the stated time, they were, of course, 
 acquitted ; but this not exempting them from the 
 trial by martial law, and their guilt appearing 
 beyond a doubt,- the officers had them bound 
 together and taken to David Sands' house, inform- 
 ing him their lives were at his mercy, and he was 
 to determine their sentence ; upon which he gave 
 them suitable advice, and then forgave them ; and 
 as they were weary with long travelling, he ordered 
 them comfortable refreshlnent. 
 
 At this time, his wife observing one of the men, 
 said, " Thou art he that shot at us." Her husband 
 made answer, "He has been told of it before." 
 David Sands was informed the officer could not 
 be pardoned, as the punishment of such a crime 
 was death to him, who should have been an ex- 
 ample to his men. But David, being very solicit- 
 ous to preserve his life, asked if nothing could be 
 done to release him from that punishment. They 
 informed him there was but one way, which was 
 for him to desert the regiment, which was per- 
 mitted. They likewise said some punishment 
 must be inflicted upon some of the men, to deter 
 others from the like practices. Therefore some of 
 them underwent a slight flogging. 
 
INFLUENCE OF THE HOLT SPIRIT. 325 
 
 Several years after this occurrence, David Sands 
 was travelling on a religious visit, and after ap- 
 pointing a public meeting, a person came up to 
 him and begged his pardon. He was, indeed, 
 about to kneel down, but David Sands prevented 
 him, saying, he thought he was not the person he 
 meant, as he had no knowledge of him. But the 
 man confessed he was one of those concerned in 
 pillaging David's house, and was one of the two 
 who deserted to avoid discovery, and that he had 
 not been easy in his mind since, but hoped he 
 should meet with his forgiveness. David Sands 
 told him it was out of his power to forgive sins, 
 but he hoped the Almighty would forgive him, as 
 he himself had long done. The man informed 
 him the other person was at a short distance off, 
 who came to David, asking his excuse and con- 
 fessing his crime, desiring him, at the same time, 
 as a confirmation of his entire forgiveness, to go 
 with him to his house, telling him he had married 
 a young woman of the Society of Friends, but that 
 he had not had true peace of mind since they had 
 done him that injury. David consented to go, 
 
 and found it as the man had said, 
 28 
 
326 INFLUENCE OF THE HOLT SPIRIT. 
 
 SILENT WORSHIP. 
 
 The value of silent worship is far from being 
 properly estimated. Many people think the time 
 passed in silence, in meetings for Divine worship, 
 is almost wholly lost. But when we consider that 
 all true worship consists in an intercourse between 
 the soul and its Almighty Creator, we cannot doubt 
 that a state of inward silent prostration of soul 
 before the Majesty of heaven is a fit condition for 
 the acceptable performance of Divine worship. 
 There are many living witnesses to the truth of 
 the Psalmist's testimony, when he says, " I waited 
 patiently for the Lord, and he inclined unto me 
 and heard my cry." It is a practice among many 
 of the Methodists to await the opening of the 
 iN'ew Year in solemn silence, and one of their 
 preachers, speaking of an occasion of this kind, 
 says, " During the time we sat in silent meditation 
 and prayer, the whole assembly felt the over- 
 whelming power of Divine grace." 
 
 A number of persons, whose minds had been 
 powerfully awakened during what is called a re- 
 vival among the Methodists, found themselves 
 much drawn, after a time, into a state of stillness 
 and inward waiting on God. Finding the comfort 
 and benefit of this exercise, they met together for 
 the purpose ; their preacher heard of this, advised 
 
INFLUENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 327 
 
 against it, and reasoned the point without being 
 able to convince them — their own experience being 
 more than a full answer to all his arguments. 
 They still continued their silent meetings, and 
 were evidently growing in the root of religion, 
 that inward life which is hid with Christ in God. 
 Pained at his want of success in producing a 
 change in their views, and hoping to accomplish 
 by an experiment what he could not by words, 
 after setting forth the ridiculous appearance which 
 he thought one of their assemblies would present 
 — sitting in perfect stillness, he said in substance: 
 " Well, come now, we will hold a silent meeting 
 in the chapel ; and you '11 see what will come of 
 it — what a dry, dull time it will be." Accord- 
 ingly, at the next meeting they all sat in silence ; 
 there was neither hymn, nor sermon, nor prayer, 
 nor benediction, vocally uttered. But we may 
 well believe, that those spiritual worshippers, 
 whose souls had oft been strengthened and re- 
 freshed in silence, did not sit in listless indiffer- 
 ence, but wrestled in spirit for the Divine blessing 
 on the opportunity. For was it withheld. After 
 they had remained some time together, the LordJs 
 power broke in upon them in a marvellous man- 
 ner, contriting their spirits, and bedewing many 
 cheeks with tears. The solemn and precious feel- 
 
328 INFLUENCE OF THE BOLT SPIBIl. 
 
 ing spread from one to another, until it seemed to 
 
 cover the whole assembly like a heavenly canopy ; 
 
 and, under its humbling inlBluence, the minister no 
 
 longer able to restrain the fulness of his emotions, 
 
 broke forth with tears in these memorable words : 
 
 " Surely the Lord is in this thing, and I knew it 
 
 not." With this exception, the meeting continued 
 
 to its close in silent waiting, and separated under 
 
 a deep solemnity. 
 
 "BRIDGE UP." 
 
 An invitation came from a kind friend to ac- 
 company him in a ride into the thinly settled and 
 wooded district of the middle portion of lower 
 New Jersey, locally known as " The Pines ; " and 
 the early morning of a bright, pleasant day, in 
 the early part of summer, saw us on our way, with 
 a ride of forty miles before us, over roads, the 
 sandy portions of which were rendered heavy by 
 the long-continued dryness of the weather. 
 
 We had travelled but a short distance, enjoying 
 the fresh air of the morning, listening to the songs 
 of the Robin, Golden-crowned Thrush, and Song- 
 Sparrow ; and admiring the richness of the foliage, 
 and the brightness of the verdure, as yet uribrowned 
 by the summer's sun ; when my companion unex- 
 pectedly halted at a road which crossed our path, 
 and turned aside, regretting the necessity of mak- 
 
INFLUENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 329 
 
 ing a detour, which would lengthen our journey. 
 IsToticing my surprise, he pointed to a small board, 
 which had escaped my notige, stuck up near the 
 side of the road, on which were written the words : 
 " Bridge up," indicating that the repairs then in 
 progress of a bridge a mile before us 'would pre- 
 vent our passage. If he had not observed the 
 caution, and had gone on, he would have been com- 
 pelled to return, and thus added needlessly to the 
 exertion and fatigue of the day. 
 
 This little incident furnished food for profitable 
 reflection. Who is there, in his journey through 
 life, that does not often find his onward career 
 checked by a caution, a warning, an impression 
 on his mind, that there are dangers in advance, 
 that a "Bridge is up," on the road he is travelling, 
 and that it is needful he should alter his course, if 
 he would pursue his journey in safety ? He may 
 be a man in active business, enlarging the sphere 
 of his operations, and, stimulated by a growing 
 ambition, adding one thing after another to his 
 concerns. The warning signal may be very un- 
 welcome to him, and he may refuse to listen to it ; 
 or persuade himself that his own skill and energy 
 will enable him to overcome all the difficulties he 
 may encounter ; and thus he may go on, as many 
 
 a one has, until financial troubles overtake him. 
 28* 
 
330 INFLUENCE OF THE HOLT SPIRIT. 
 
 He then finds his business beyond his control, his 
 receipts insufficient to meet the obligations he has 
 incurred, his credit weakened, and after struggling 
 in vain to extricate himself from the quicksand in 
 which he is sinking, ruin and distress overtake 
 him. 
 
 If he avoids a catastrophe of this kind, and 
 pecuniary success attends his labors, it may be that 
 his mind becomes gradually more and more cen- 
 tered in the pursuit of wealth ; his spiritual green- 
 ness withers, and though the desire of his heart is 
 answered, yet leanness enters into his soul. This 
 is a result even more to be deplored than the 
 former. For the man whose business hopes have 
 been blighted, may be so humbled by the dispensa- 
 tion, as to turn his thoughts to the Source of all 
 good, and in repentance and contrition, may be led 
 to acknowledge his transgressions, and seek for re- 
 conciliation and forgiveness; and thus, through 
 the aboundings of Heavenly goodness, he may 
 know his afflictions to be blessed, and to be a means 
 to l^ad him back to the safe enclosure of submis- 
 sion to the will of God. 
 
 A late valued minister, William Evans, in the 
 early part of his business life,, becoming dis- 
 couraged as to success in the avocation he followed, 
 made some preparation to enter into another em- 
 
INFL VENGE OF THE HOLY SPIBIT. 331 
 
 ployment, involving greater risks, and giving 
 promise of larger returns. From time to time 
 doubts and uneasiness respecting the change at- 
 tended his mind, but he reasoned them away. 
 Yet they continued and increased, until, he says : 
 "One day sitting in our religious meeting, it 
 plainly appeared to me, that though the mind may 
 be able to compass much, yet beyond its capacity 
 it cannot go. If all its energies are enlisted in the. 
 concerns of the world, and their pressure is as great 
 as it is capable of bearing, the all-important work 
 of religion must be neglected. This appeared to 
 me must inevitably be my case. My time and 
 talents would be wholly engrossed, and I must 
 abandon all prospect of usefulness in religious 
 society for the servitude of a man of the world. 
 It seemed, if I pursued the prospect of adopting 
 the proposed change of business, that I would be 
 lost to religious society, and to the work of re- 
 ligion in my own heart." 
 
 This merciful and clear notice of " Bridge up," 
 was heeded, and circumstances that soon after 
 occurred, showed that, by so doing, he saved him- 
 self from the spiritual decay with which he was 
 threatened, and also from pecuniary difficulty, 
 which would probably have resulted disastrously. 
 . It is not in business matters alone that a warn- 
 
332 INFLUENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 
 
 ing voice is thus extended. The Spirit of our 
 Eedeemer, given to guide and direct us in our 
 journey to heaven, raises in the heart a protest, 
 intelligible to him that reverently listens and 
 obeys, against all that would lead to evil. This is 
 the every-day experience of the Christian. At 
 one time we are called upon to abstain from fleshly 
 lusts which war against the soul ; or perhaps to 
 lay aside a book which may tend to sow tares in 
 the mind, or to dissipate, by its light and hurtful 
 character, the serious impressions which have 
 rested on our spirits ; or we may be made sensible 
 that some irreligious friend is 1 ading our mind 
 away from its true centre ; or that our affections 
 are becoming too strongly placed upon some favor- 
 ite pursuit, which is thus coming between us and 
 that which should be the supreme object of our 
 attention. He who has long been pursuing the 
 path of the pilgrim to the better land, has learned, 
 by bitter experience, how dangerous it is to disre- 
 gard any of these notices of " Bridge up," kindly 
 placed by the master of the highway to keep his 
 followers in the right path. Like my friend, they 
 have learned by experience to be on the watch for 
 them, and are prepared to point them out to their 
 more unwary companions, and exhort them to be 
 on their guard. 
 
INFLUENGEOF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 333 
 
 COBWEBS. 
 
 "Wliile gathering flowers in the early morning 
 when they were yet sparkling with dew, a writer 
 relates, that she noticed in one place that a spider 
 had spun his web above a sprig, upon which were 
 several blossoms; carefully reaching underneath 
 the web, she plucked the flowers, and found that 
 they were as dry as though no refreshing moisture 
 had been deposited around them, so slight a thing as 
 a cobweb had inter<:epted the dews of heaven. 
 
 How much of instruction does this little incident 
 suggest to the thoughtful mind. A continuance 
 in anything that is wrong, even if it seem to us 
 but a trifling matter — a mere cobweb — may effect- 
 ually prevent us from experiencing those sweet re- 
 freshing seasons with which the Lord favors at 
 times His honest-hearted, faithful servants ; and 
 may keep us in a dry, barren condition, where 
 there is no growfh experienced in the life of re- 
 ligion: "Where there is neither dew, nor rain, 
 nor fields of offering." 'Nor does this seem strange 
 when we reflect that the great object of the 
 Lord's dealings with us, is to humble us and make 
 us thoroughly submissive to His will ; and that 
 without this there can be no admission into His 
 heavenly kingdom. So long as we refuse to sub- 
 mit fully to His government, we are living to some 
 extent in a state of rebellion. 
 
334 INFLUENCE OF THE HOLT SPIRIT. 
 
 When under Divine visitation we may at times 
 have felt our hearts solemnized by the influence 
 of heavenly good, and have clearly seen that we 
 ought to give up ourselves, body, soul and spirit, 
 without reservation, into the hands of our Creator, 
 who was waiting to redeem us from all evil, and to 
 purify us unto himself; but oh ! the unwillingness 
 we felt to part with some cherished project ; some 
 gratification of the appetite ; some mental indul- 
 gence. Perhaps, in after years, we may look back 
 
 4 
 
 on such periods, and be surprised to see what mere 
 cobwebs we allowed to intercept the flow of heav- 
 enly love to us. Many years ago, the late Samuel 
 Bettle attended the meeting at Westtown Board- 
 ing School, Chester Co., Pa., and was powerfully 
 engaged in testimony therein. Among his listen- 
 ers, was a boy who had in his possession several 
 flying squirrels, which abound in the neighbor- 
 hood. The regulations of the school prohibited 
 keeping such pets, and the child felt condemned 
 for his violation of the rules, and under the soften- 
 ing influence that prevailed in the meeting, re- 
 solved to give up this indulgence, which he clearly 
 saw to be wrong for him. After the meeting, as 
 he walked with a companion, he unbosomed his 
 feelings and expressed his intention of releasing 
 the squirrels. His companion was a more hardened 
 
INFL UENCE OF THE HOL Y SPIRIT. 335 
 
 character, and simply remarked that he had had 
 such feelings, but that it would all die away in a 
 few days, and so in measure it proved. It is not 
 the magnitude or smallness of the offering required, 
 but the willingness to surrender what is called for 
 that opens the way to receive the rich blessings of 
 the Lord. 
 
 During a season of Divine visitation, a respect- 
 able farmer in a certain neighborhood was strongly 
 impressed with the importance of religion, and 
 under much exercise of mind ; but he seemed un- 
 able to arrive at any settlement in the Truth. An 
 interested friend, who was anxiously concerned 
 about him, knew not how it was that with so 
 much apparent earnestness and sincerity, so little 
 progress appeared to be made. He knew not of 
 the cobweb that was spread over his soul ; but it 
 was all explained when one day his friend met 
 him and told him that there had long existed some 
 unpleasantness between him and a near relative, 
 who, he thought, had improperly treated him. 
 He had become convinced that this hardness of 
 feeling must be removed from his own heart, or it 
 would shut out the sweet enjoyment of Divine 
 love ; and he had become humbled enough to go to 
 his relative and ask for forgiveness for all that he 
 himself had unkindly said and thought about him. 
 
336 INFL UENGE OF TBE SOL T SPIRIT. 
 
 He met with a kind welcome and a hearty response, 
 and now all hardness between them was done, and 
 •great was the tide of peace that flowed into his 
 soul. 
 
 How great is the goodness of our heavenly Fa- 
 ther, and how does he visit, and re-visit his chil- 
 dren ; even the rebellious, seeking to draw them 
 into his safe enclosure, that He may be good unto 
 them and bless them. Oh, that all might turn to 
 Him with full purpose of heart, and love and serve 
 Himfaithfullv! 
 
MINISTBY. 337 
 
 MINISTRY. 
 
 A GOSPEL MINISTRY. 
 
 WILLIAM PENN'S observations on this im- 
 portant subject are worthy our attentive 
 consideration. He says; "There is such a thing 
 as a very small gift in a great many words ; and 
 there is such a thing as a large gift in a very few 
 words. We do not want an eloquent ministry ; we 
 do not want a flowery ministry ; we want a Uving 
 ministry ; we want a baptizing ministry — a minis- 
 try that will break a hard heart, and heal a 
 wounded one ; a ministry that will lead us to the 
 fountain, and leave us there." 
 
 PROVIDENTIALLY DIRECTED SERMONS. 
 
 It is recorded that a clergyman, who had pre- 
 pared with more than usual care a written dis- 
 course to deliver to a large congregation, whilst 
 on the way to the place of worship saw a half leaf 
 of a printed 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 fragment, and a remark there 
 which he read, that took such hold of his mind, 
 29 W 
 
338 MINISTRY. 
 
 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 sceptical sophistries, 
 and closed with a solemn appeal to such as give 
 way to such shallow reasonings, to examine Truth 
 in its own spirit, and earnestly seek, through the 
 Lord's assistance, 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 congre- 
 gation." 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 
 something about this discourse which was not to 
 be found connected 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 
 sceptical 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 not present so many difficulties in the 
 way of being a truly consistent Christian — whose 
 
MINIS TB Y. 339 
 
 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 ho 
 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 
 springing from it, and N^oah's wisdom, in obedi- 
 ence 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 of them had been 
 avowed deists ; that, upon the day alluded to, they 
 had been seeking amusement together, and as they 
 
340 MINISTRY. 
 
 were returning, the Scriptural account of the de- 
 luge had been the subject of their conversation 
 and ridicule ; that they had heard in his discourse, 
 to their amazement, not a few of their own sophis- 
 tries repeated in the very language in which they 
 had uttered them, and with clearness and power 
 solidly refuted. 
 
 These four men were all, in the long 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 ac- 
 count was taken down, it is stated, that he left 
 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. 
 
 POOB PnEACHING AND POOR HEARING. 
 
 An author, probably a preacher himself, after 
 stating that he had heard much about poor preach- 
 ing, gives it as his opinion, that there is also a 
 
MINISTRY. 341 
 
 great deal of poor hearing. He enumerates first 
 drowsy hearing, the hearers being evidently dull 
 and sleepy, if not soundly asleep. The second is 
 inattentive hearing, when the mind is wandering, 
 and taking little or no heed to what the preacher 
 is saying. The third is captious hea,ring, when the 
 listener keeps his attention alive only that he may 
 find fault. He is a fisherman always on the alert 
 to catch bad fish, and in this business being very 
 expert, he is seldoin without success. The fourth 
 specimen of poor hearing of which he speaks is 
 hearing for other people. The hearer is apt to say to 
 himself, whilst dissecting the sermon he is listen- 
 ing to : Ah, this fits John ; that is well adapted to 
 Stephen's case ; and thus, whilst looking around 
 the assembly, is distributing all the advice and the 
 reproof to others, — being unwilling to keep aught 
 so unpalatable for himself. This the author referred 
 to deems a certain way of " offering the sacrifice 
 of fools." 
 
 Poor preaching there will ever be, so long as the 
 professed ministers of the gospel trust to their own 
 wisdom, and the knowledge obtained from study 
 as the fountain from which to draw their sermons. 
 Poor hearing will always be found, unless those 
 assembled are really craving spiritual food, and 
 desiring to be fed by the Lord Jesus Christ him- 
 29* 
 
342 MINISTRY. 
 
 self. If they are seeking instruction from Him, 
 without placing their trust and confidence in man, 
 their hearts will be open to receive the instruction 
 the Lord may give to his anointed servants to 
 distribute, and they will prove good hearers — 
 thankfully taking whatever of reproof or conso- 
 lation the Holy Spirit may show them is fitted to 
 their state. 
 
 If the ministers of the gospel do indeed dwell in 
 their services under the infiuence of the Spirit of 
 the Lord Jesus, and draw their supplies of doctrine 
 and of power from Him alone, they will at times 
 experience through his assisting grace, ability 
 given them to arouse the drowsy, to draw the 
 attention of those of wandering minds, to cause 
 the captious to forget his criticisms, and even so to 
 turn the attention of the hearer for others to him- 
 self, as to forget that there are others present to 
 whom the words of the preacher may be' applied. 
 
 Reader, be not thou one of the hearers who are 
 drowsy in spirit, or inattentive, or captious, or one 
 who listens merely for others. If the ministry 
 under which thou art sitting at any time has evi- 
 dent tokens of Divine authority, do thou, with a 
 liviely spirit and an attentive mind, give it kindly 
 entrance, and be sure in the first place let it have 
 a self-application. 
 
MINISTB r. 343 
 
 MUSTC AND DECORATION IN PLAGES OF PUBLIC 
 WORSHIP. 
 
 R. H. Herschell, a converted Jew, remarks upon 
 this subject : " I firmly believe that, if we seek to 
 affect the mind by the aid of architecture, paint- 
 ing, or music, the impression produced by these 
 adjuncts is just so much subtracted from the wor- 
 ship of the unseen Jehovah. If the outward eye 
 is taken up with material splendor, or forms of ex- 
 ternal beauty, the mind's eye sees but little of 
 ' Him who is invisible ; ' the ear that is entranced 
 with the melody of sweet sounds listens not to the 
 ' still small voice ' by which the Lord makes his 
 presence known." 
 
 "A WORD SPOKEN IN DUE SEASON HOW GOOD IS 
 IT."— PnoY. XV. 23. 
 
 In the fifth month, 1782, as Eachel Kirk (after- 
 wards Price) was passing by the gate of Friends' 
 meeting-house, at Second and Market sts., Phila- 
 delphia, she was stopped by Samuel Emlen, an emi- 
 nent minister who at times was led to speak in a 
 prophetic manner. He took her hand, and asked : 
 " Whence comest thou ? " Having told the place 
 and her name, she informed him of the settlement 
 in life of her sister Rebecca, whom he had met be- 
 fore, and whom he remembered and loved ; he paused 
 and said : " Rachel, it will be thy turn next, and be 
 
344 MINISTRY. 
 
 careful that thou place thy affections upon virtue. 
 Let not anything short of virtue sway thy mind. 
 If anything inferior should gain pre-eminence in 
 thy view, difficulties may ensue ; but if virtue and 
 piety govern thy mind in making a choice of a 
 companion, you may walk, hand in hand, happily 
 together through life, and be true helpmates to 
 each other." Still holding her by the hand, he 
 continued, — " Farewell : now mind what I say." 
 Two yoiang men were at that time seeking the ac- 
 quaintance of Eachel Eirk, with a view to mar- 
 riage, one of whom was a person of polished man- 
 ners and specious address and appearance, whom 
 inclination might have prompted her to accept, the 
 other a plain, unassuming man of solid character. 
 That casual meeting — casual so far as man can dis- 
 cern — produced a lasting impression. Jl^arrating 
 it to her children, after she had lived in wedlock 
 for more than half a century, and known the ex- 
 perience of a long life, she said, " I thought it a 
 remarkable interview with an entire stranger. 
 But it was of great use to me in settling my mind 
 to make a prudent choice, which was soon after 
 brought to a trial, having but a few days pre- 
 viously become acquainted with Philip Price, with 
 whom his prediction has beeu verified, and as far 
 realized as can be expected in this probationary 
 
MINIS THY. 345 
 
 state of trial." Assisted by the opportune advice, 
 she preferred the serious, virtuous, and solid char- 
 acter, and enjoyed the felicity of a congenial com- 
 panionship through life, hut witnessed the moral 
 declension of the more gay and showy suitor, who 
 had had a momentary power to hold her choice in 
 
 suspense. 
 
 PRE ACHING BY EXAMPLE. 
 
 Many conscientious Christians who are not called 
 to the work of vocally upholding and advocating 
 the gospel of Christ Jesus, are yet efficient preach- 
 ers thereof in life and conversation. Some by their 
 humble, self-denying example, when surrounded by 
 the votaries of pride, of fashion, and of self-indul- 
 gence ; — some by their honest, upright dealings in 
 the walks of trade and business, when most around 
 them seem grasping after all they can gather of this 
 world's goods, without respect to the law of doing 
 to others as they would others should do to them ; 
 — some by cheerful content in poverty ; some by 
 holy resignation in sickness and sorrow. These 
 are all teaching the great lessons of Christian prin- 
 ciple, — these are all preachers of righteousness, in 
 a greater or lesser degree to those around them. 
 
 A striking remark was once made by a religious 
 man, to one who complained of the distance which 
 he lived from the place of worship. The latter 
 
346 MTNISTBY. 
 
 was deemed a pious man, and was diligent in his 
 attendance at religious meetings, although he lived 
 six miles from the house in which they were held. 
 On this occasion, however, he spoke of the distance 
 he had to travel, whilst some of the members had 
 but a few steps to walk. His religious friend told 
 him to remember that he had weekly the privilege 
 of preaching a sermon six miles long. To all the resi- 
 dents by the road side, — to all those he met or 
 passed on his way, — he upheld by example the duty 
 of assembling for the worship of Almighty God. 
 These silent sermons may have been blessed to 
 many. 
 
 We have it on record that a meeting of the 
 Society of Friends in one of the Southern States, 
 which, by the moving away to the west of many 
 members, and the remissness in spiritual zeal of 
 some who remained, had been entirely dropped, was 
 resuscitated through the faithfulness of one young 
 woman, who regularly, on meeting days, went and 
 sat alone in the old house. Her diligence preached 
 with prevailing power. Some who beheld her 
 going, and others who heard of it, were led to con- 
 sider their own responsibility, as dependent crea- 
 tures, and the duty they owed to their Almighty 
 Care-taker, to offer him worship and praise for the 
 unnumbered blessings received at his hands, and 
 
MINISTRY. 347 
 
 were drawn, by a heartfelt sense of duty, to meet 
 with her. 
 
 A somewhat similar instance occurred in the ex- 
 perience of John Carter of I^orth Carolina, during 
 last century. He had felt it his duty when a young 
 man to repair to the old house on meeting days and 
 to sit there, though alone. He had continued this 
 practice for some time when, on one of these occa- 
 sions, a great exercise came upon him to stand up 
 and audibly proclaim what he then felt of the love 
 of God, through Jesus Christ, towards sinful man. 
 ' It was a great trial of his faith,' but he yielded to 
 the apprehended duty. Shortly after he had again 
 taken his seat, several young men came into the 
 house, in a serious manner, and sat down in silence 
 by him, some of whom evinced brokenness of heart. 
 After the meeting closed he found that these young 
 men, his former associates, wondering what could 
 induce him thus to go alone to that house, had 
 approached softly to look through the cracks of 
 the door at what he was doing : and in this situa- 
 tion were so affected, by what he had declared, that 
 they were induced to come in. Some of these young 
 men continued to meet with him ; zeal for religion 
 revived ; others joined them ; and, in time, a large 
 meeting of Friends was held there. John Carter 
 himself became a valuable minister amongst them. 
 
348 MINISTRY. 
 
 TIMES OF REFRESHMENT. 
 
 Many portions of our country, during the sum- 
 mer season, have at times experienced the effects 
 of a prolonged withholding of those refreshing 
 showers which are so essential to the maintenance 
 of vegetable life, and the health and comfort of us 
 all. In some neighborhoods, the broad leaves of 
 the Indian corn have rolled up, and presented that 
 parched aspect so distressing to the farmer ; the 
 pasture fields have become brown and dry, and 
 furnished but little food for the animals that fed 
 in them ; and the cucumber, melon, and similar 
 vines, have wilted under the hot sun. One who 
 listened to the conversation of those who met in 
 such districts, would hear sage comments on the 
 weather, doubts as to the future of the crops, and 
 discussions upon the amount of drought that corn 
 would bear, and the necessity of moisture when 
 the grain was about developing. Even those not 
 directly interested in farming could not but enter 
 into sympathy with their friends and neighbors. 
 It often required some effort, during these periods, 
 to refrain from indulging in impatient longings for 
 rain, and to maintain that state of quiet submis- 
 sion to the Divine will which, when associated 
 with due diligence in the performance of our 
 allotted labors, is the safest resting-place for short- 
 sighted, dependent mortals. 
 
MINISTRY. 349 
 
 When at le'ngtli these seasons of drought have 
 been ended, and the hoped-for rains have come, a 
 great change appears in the landscape. A fresher 
 greenness clothes the fields of grass, and the curled 
 corn-blades open out their broad surfaces as they 
 feel the influence of this " sweet reviver of the 
 famished land." The spirits of the people are as 
 much enlivened as their fields, and they now look 
 forward with confident hope of receiving a reward 
 for their labor and care. 
 
 Can we not see in all these things an emblem of 
 the condition into which the church is sometimes 
 brought ? There are times when little apparent 
 fruit is seen from the most earnest labors of the 
 spiritual husbandmen. The seed which is sown 
 remains in the heart apparently without germi- 
 nating — the soil appears to be without moisture, 
 and no growth is visible. The hoe of church dis- 
 cipline may, indeed, loosen and mellow the soil, as 
 well as prevent the growth of noxious weeds, but 
 it cannot supply that penetrating and all-powerful 
 Grace, which alone gives spiritual greenness and 
 life to the plants. Disheartening as it may seem 
 to the workman in such a field, it is still his duty 
 faithfully to stir the ground, pruue the straggling 
 branches, and to watch over and care for the poor 
 shrivelled plants, as the Master of the vineyards 
 30 
 
350 MINISTRY. 
 
 may direct. In the vicissitudes of the heavenly sea- 
 sons, the rains will descend and water the ground 
 — there will come a time when it will please the 
 Lord of the harvest, not only to send forth labor- 
 ers, but to visit His Church with a renewed out- 
 pouring of His Grace and good Spirit. Then, 
 indeed, the toiling husbandmen will see of the tra- 
 vail of their souls and be satisfied. Sons and 
 daughters, who had wandered far from the safe 
 inclosure of the sheep-fold, will be brought back ; 
 new growth will be developed in some who had 
 seemed like stunted plants, and heavenly life and 
 beauty will again adorn the garden of the Lord. 
 
 THOMAS BROWN. 
 
 Human wisdom is not an essential attribute of 
 Christian character. Some who have been valu- 
 able ministers of the gospel of Christ, and through 
 his aid have been enabled to turn many to right- 
 ousness, have been in point of intellect consider- 
 ably below the average of the human race. Tor 
 the service to which they were called by their 
 Divine Master, they were furnished at the time 
 with the necessary qualifications to enable them 
 rightly to perform it. Sometimes they were emi- 
 nent in the ministry, even as to the beauty and 
 force of the language they employed, although in 
 
MINISTRY. 351 
 
 the common affairs of life, they took rank with 
 the simple, and in some instances were unac- 
 quainted with the meaning of the words which, in 
 their public ministrations, they used with perfect 
 propriety. 
 
 Thomas Brown, who died in Philadelphia in 
 1757, was an illustration of these remarks. He 
 was an illiterate and, as regards the ordinary busi- 
 ness of life, a simple-minded man ; yet he was en- 
 trusted with a remarkable gift in the ministry, in 
 the exercise of which he was at times led (to use 
 his own language), " to extol the divinity of that 
 religion that is breathed from heaven, and which 
 arrays the soul of its possessor with degrees of the 
 divinity of Christ, and entitles him to an eternal 
 inheritance." His friends say of him : " Though 
 not a man of literature, he was often led into sub- 
 lime matter, which was convincing and persuasive 
 in setting forth the dignity and excellence of the 
 Christian religion." He was frequently drawn to 
 speak in a remarkable manner upon the glories of 
 the celestial kingdom ; and on one occasion the 
 celebrated George Whitefield, who had attended a 
 meeting of Friends in the hope of hearing him, 
 was so impressed by his communication and the 
 Divine authority accompanying it, that he said he 
 felt himself like a child in comparison with him. 
 
352 MINISTBT. 
 
 George Dillwyn says : " Divine "Wisdom some- 
 times sees meet to endue the instruments he makes 
 use of with qualifications far above their natural 
 powers, and this to enable them to distinguish 
 between the heavenly treasure and the earthly 
 vessel that co'ntains it ; that so none may deck 
 themselves with jewels not their own, or give the 
 praise to the creature, which is due to the Creator, 
 and to him alone ! " 
 
 JOHN JUSTICE. 
 
 The Apostle Paul, in speaking of his call to the 
 work of the ministry, declared : " Tor I neither re- 
 ceived it of man, neither was I taught it, but by 
 the revelation of Jesus Christ." Immediate reve- 
 lation still continues to be the only source of true 
 gospel ministry, and it is by attention and obe- 
 dience to the Lord's will, thus inwardly manifested, 
 that a minister can be qualified to communicate 
 exhortation, reproof, warning or consolation to his 
 hearers. As this is the ministry of Christ's ap- 
 pointment, so it often pleases him to make use of 
 it as an instrument in the accomplishment of his 
 blessed purposes, and at times to open the minds 
 of individuals in a remarkable manner to receive 
 it. Of these remarks the following circumstances, 
 narrated by the individual to whom they occurred, 
 are an illustration. 
 
MINIS THY. 353 
 
 John Justice, late of Bucks Co., Penna., was in 
 early life a zealous member of the Methodist So- 
 ciety, and, at the time the following incident oc- 
 cured, was living in Philadelphia. Several times 
 while going to his place of worship he had- been 
 impressed with a belief that it would be right for 
 him to go to a meeting of Friends ; but he set aside 
 the impression, as he afterwards related, on the 
 ground that he did not believe in the doctrine of 
 a Divine Eevelation to the souls of men, and that 
 until convinced thereof, he could not be a membei 
 of that religious Society. On' a certain First-day 
 morning, however, as he was on his way to his 
 place of worship, the impression was again so 
 forcibly renewed, that he almost involuntarily 
 turned, and retraced his steps towards the building 
 in Key's alley, in which the meeting was then held. 
 
 As he went towards the house, musing upon the 
 singularity of the intimations he had received, he 
 resolved that, if he must attend that meeting, he 
 would avoid observation, and then, if anything 
 particularly applicable to him was said, it could 
 only be by Divine revelation. With these thoughts 
 he quietly entered and, taking a seat near the door, 
 leaned down so as to be partly concealed by the 
 benches in front. Whilst in this position, consid- 
 ering the circumstances which had led him there, 
 
 30* X 
 
354 MINISTRY. 
 
 a piece of writing appeared to be presented to his 
 view. It remained visible long enough to be de- 
 liberately read ; after he had perused it, it was re- 
 moved, and another manuscript appeared to be pre- 
 sented to him, which also remained in sight long 
 enough to be read, and was then removed. The 
 contents of these writings made a strong impres- 
 sion upon his mind. Shortly after the last had dis- 
 appeared, Samuel Smith, a minister of that meeting, 
 arose and commenced his discourse with the words 
 written on the first paper which had been presented 
 to John Justice's mental vision, the contents of 
 which he repeated verbatim, and also a part of 
 the contents of the second paper, which comprised 
 his whole sermon. His astonishment at this re- 
 markable occurence was great ; but it was increased 
 when, soon after Samuel Smith had sat down, 
 Thomas Scattergood another minister of the same 
 meeting, arose, and commenced his discourse at the 
 part of the second paper where Samuel Smith had 
 ended, and repeated the remaining portion of it : 
 after which he addressed an individual who was 
 present in a very affectionate manner, describing 
 John's state, as though he had been familiar with 
 his most secret thoughts and exercises from his 
 youth to that day. 
 
 The power which accompanied his ministry, and 
 
MINISTR Y. 355 
 
 the accuracy with which he descrihed his condition, 
 left on John's mind no doubt that nothing short 
 of immediate Divine revelation could have informed 
 and enabled him thus to minister to his spiritual 
 wants. The events of that day wrought a full 
 conviction in John Justice, that a Divine qualifi- 
 cation was necessary eft'ectually to preach the gospel, 
 and from that time he attended the meetings of 
 the Society of Friends. He afterwards became a 
 member, and for many years before his death was 
 an approved minister among them. 
 
 GRAFTED INTO CHRIST. 
 
 A certain rose-bush, which, though of small 
 growth, had borne beautiful roses, one summer ap- 
 peared unusually weak, and bloomed feebly. But 
 there were strong and vigorous shoots, lifting up 
 green leaves and spreading branches far above 
 those which had heretofore furnished beauty and 
 fragrance. The summer passed; and it was a, 
 matter of wonder that such a luxuriant growth, 
 such a fine appearance of green leaves, should be 
 unattended with a single bud. At last, the cause 
 was apparent — the rose-bush, which had borne the 
 beautiful flowers, was but a graft upon a wild stock, 
 and the much-promising, nothing-yielding shoots, 
 
356 MINISTRY. 
 
 were from the old root. On closer investigaliou, 
 it was found that the leaveSj although flourishing 
 in appearance, were very different from those which 
 grew on the graft. 
 
 Christian, if thou art bearing fruit to the praise 
 of the blessed Saviour, it will be found only on the 
 branches springing from the graft he himself has 
 placed in thee. Take heed, lest in running into 
 things ostensibly good, thou shouldst be found 
 encouraging a growth, vigorous in appearance, and 
 drawing human attention from afar, which will 
 not produce the true fruits of the Spirit, and which 
 may cause a withering and blight to come over 
 that growth in thee which was of Divine nourish- 
 ing, and whose fruit and flower were acceptable to 
 thy heavenly Father, and comforting to his saints 
 on earth. The works of charity and labors of love 
 into which any are led by their heavenly Father, 
 are to be accounted amongst the fruits of the 
 Spirit, and being brought forth through grace, 
 have no tendency to . dwarf any growth from the 
 root of Divine life. 
 
 The experience of an excellent man, — a reli- 
 giously minded exhorter amongst the Metl odists, 
 who was willing to spend and be spent in works for 
 the good of others — is instructive. He was fre- 
 
SfTNISTB Y. 357 
 
 quent in his exhortations in meeting-houses and 
 beside sick-beds. He labored abundantly in First- 
 day schools, an4 wherever he thought he might do 
 good. His time, not devoted to making a prepa^ 
 ration for the wants of the body, seemed fully 
 occupied in these — as he deemed them — religious 
 engagements. In the midst of his hurry and zeal 
 to work, however, the thought sometimes pressed 
 on his mind, that he was not growing in grace ; 
 nay, more, — he feared that in the inward life and 
 power of religion he was withering. This con- 
 viction increased, until he found that his peace 
 and safety consisted in ceasing from all these 
 engagements, that in quietness he might seek after 
 a more intimate acquaintance with his heavenly 
 Father, and witness a fresh visitation of love, and 
 a renewal of inward life and greenness. The 
 suckers, which had been draining his spiritual life, 
 were cut oft", as it were, in one day. In his silent 
 watching and waiting, he witnessed a new growth 
 inwardly ; and although his path afterwards was 
 attended by much sickness and suffering, yet know- 
 ing his way and work to be ordered of the Lord, 
 he was kept in patience until the period came 
 when his earthly service being accomplished, his 
 Divine Master gathered him home in love. 
 
358 MINISTRY. 
 
 WOBK OF THE MINISTRY. 
 
 This is the great fundamental, — that " God is 
 light, and in Him is no darkness at all." The 
 great work of the ministry, is, to turn mankind 
 from the darkness, wherein is the power of Satan, 
 unto this light, wherein is the power of God. 
 As Isaac Penington remarks, " The ministry of the 
 Apostles was to turn men from Satan's kingdom 
 to this kingdom ; from his large compass of domin- 
 ion in the heart to this narrow seed ; from his 
 great territories of darkness to this little principle 
 of light; from his great power of death to this 
 little weak thing of God; wherein the eternal 
 power and godhead is made manifest, as this 
 comes to be opened and increased by the Spirit." 
 
 The great work of the ministry, then, is to turn 
 people from everything outward to the kingdom of 
 God which is within, and to His law written upon 
 the heart. And the Psalmist, in speaking of the 
 happiness of the godly, says : " His delight is in the 
 law of the Lord ; and in his law doth he meditate 
 day and night." This is the Christian's privilege. 
 
 " There is," says a well-known author, " in silent 
 worship something so beautiful, so sublime, so con- 
 sistent with the relation in which we stand to God, 
 that it appears strange there should exist a single 
 doubt of its propriety." 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Affliction, Observations on the uses and benefits of, 229. 
 
 Agitation that purifies, 247. 
 
 Anguish of soul at times experienced by the Christian on re- 
 viewing the actions of his unregenerate days, 29. 
 
 Augustine, Narration by, illustrating the impossibility of finite 
 nature comprehending the infinite, 254. 
 
 Augustine, Humility of, in the prospect of death, 127. 
 
 Ann Young's text, 196. . 
 
 Awakening inquiry. An, 61. 
 
 Barclay Eobert, and the highwaymen, 91. 
 
 Baxter Richard, Dying expression of, 50. 
 
 Be faithful to impressions of duty, 135. 
 
 Be not ashamed of the cross, 115. 
 
 Be not deceived, 305. 
 
 Berridge John, Anecdote of, 115. 
 
 Be ye not conformed to this world, Anecdote entitled, 34. 
 
 Bettle Samuel, Remarkable preservation of the life of, 207. 
 
 Incident connected with the ministry of, 334. 
 Bird tamed by kindness, and comments, 14. 
 " Bridge Up," Incident entitled, and comments, 328. 
 Brown Thomas, Observations on the ministry of, 350. 
 
 " Call upon me in the day of trouble," 275. 
 
 Camm John, Thankfulness of, upon the bed of death, 238. 
 
 Capital punishment, Remorse of Judge Wilson for passing the 
 sentence of, upon a criminal, 65. 
 
 Captain Yonnt's dream, 204. 
 
 Carson Hannah, a poor colored woman, and Nathan Roths- 
 child, Contrast between, 60. 
 
 359 
 
360 INDEX. 
 
 Carter John, A religious meeting revived by the faithfiilness 
 
 of, 347. 
 Chalkley Thomas, Remarkable warning recorded and inter- 
 preted by, 292. 
 Child, Gratitude of a, 21. 
 
 Influence exerted by a, upon a drunken father, 28, 286, 
 
 The lost, 141. 
 
 Bemarkable expressions of a, 154. 
 
 Evils intended to a, overcome by good, 289. 
 
 Notice of the happy death of a, 310, 312. 
 Children, Series entitled, 149. 
 
 Anecdotes of kindness to, and comments, 18. 
 
 Prompt obedience of, to the commands of Christian pa- 
 rents, a duty, 1 9. 
 
 Narrative of sufferings of, for religion, 152. 
 
 Are a heritage of the Lord, 154. 
 Chinese convert, Bemark of a, on the fashionable life of pro- 
 fessed Christians, 34. 
 Cheerful resignation, a Christian duty, 235. 
 Church, Times of refreshment in the, 348. 
 Cobwebs, 333. 
 Cope Samuel, Anecdote of, 131. 
 
 Daily mercies, 188. 
 Death, Series entitled, 297. 
 
 Of a fellow-being, To be accessory to, abhorrent to the 
 Christian, 65. 
 
 Sustaining grace in the prospect of, 297. 
 
 On the importance of a timely preparation for, 301. 
 
 The danger of being deceived in the prospect of, 305. 
 
 Sometimes not terrible, 310. 
 
 Beacon marks sometimes to be set up in preparing notices 
 of, 306. 
 Deliverance from shipwreck, 184. 
 Dillwyn George, Anecdote of, 190. 
 
 Observations of, on the ministry, 352. 
 Divine intimations, Observations of Thomas Story on, 169. 
 
 The necessity of strictly heeding, 328. 
 
INDEX. 361 
 
 Du Plessis, Humility of, in death, 126. 
 Due attendance of religious meetings, 108. 
 
 Emlen Samuel, Anecdote of, 312. 
 Erskine Henry, relieved from want, 209. 
 
 Evans William, Providentially restrained from business embar- 
 rassments, 331. 
 Evil overcome of good, 289. 
 Evil prevented, Anecdote of, 42. 
 Example, Influence of, 28, 35. 
 
 Setting good grafts by a Christian, 38. 
 
 Preaching by, 345. 
 
 Faith, Series entitled, 252. 
 
 In Trials, On exercising, 227. 
 Faithfulness to convictions, 116. 
 Family, Advice on spreading a feeling of love in the, 10. 
 
 Care of a religious man in reference to speaking of money 
 transactions in his, 63. 
 Father saved. A, 286. 
 Fault-finding, Eemarks on, 120. 
 Fell Leonard, attacked by a highwayman, 208. 
 ■Florence, Establishment of a beneficial institution in, by a re- 
 ligious-minded laborer, 40. 
 
 Trivial origin of a sanguinary war by, 70. 
 Forgiveness of injuries, 110, 335. 
 
 Fothergill Samuel, Anguish of, in reviewing his evil course in 
 early life, 31. 
 
 Touching incident in the life of, 158. 
 From whence come wars and fightings ? Incidents entitled, 70. 
 
 Gentleness and gratitude, On the happy influence of, in our 
 
 every-day life, 9. 
 Gerhardt Paul, Incident in the life of, 105. 
 Go to Launceston, Anecdote entitled, 177. 
 Goethe, Eemark of, on the disappointed happiness of his 
 
 life, 238. 
 Good out of evil, 223. 
 
 31 
 
362 INDEX. 
 
 Grafted into Christ, 355. 
 Guidance in giving, 201. 
 
 Healy Christoplier, Anecdote of, 116. 
 
 Heart of man deceitful above all things, The, 82. 
 
 He is dead ! Solemn incident entitled, 54. 
 
 Heaven — Home, 49. 
 
 Herschell E. H., Remarks of, on music in places of wor- 
 ship, 342. 
 
 Honor thy father and mother, 156. 
 
 How little we understand, 257. 
 
 Howard Henry, a professed infidel, Instrumentality of a slave 
 in the conversion of, 269. 
 
 Hoyland Barbara, Merciful visitation of Divine Grace to, 315. 
 
 Hubberthorn Richard, Rejoicing of, on the bed of death, 298. 
 
 Human life soon over, 44. 
 
 Humility, 123. 
 
 Indian, Remark of an, on refusing to drink intoxicating 
 
 liquors, 283. 
 Indians, Notice of the Protest and Memorial of the Cherokee, 
 
 and succeeding events, 92. 
 Individual experience of the gracious visitations of the Saviour, 
 
 an answer to infidel suggestions, 279. 
 Individual Influence, Series entitled, 28. 
 Infidel, Remarkable conversion of an, 275. 
 Infidels, Professed, often insincere, 275. 
 Infidelity, Series entitled, 269. 
 Influence, No one without, 28. 
 Of example, 35. 
 
 Of the outward upon the inward, 241. 
 Influence of the Holy Spirit, Series entitled, 315. 
 Intemperance, Series entitled, 283. 
 
 James Stirling reclaimed from, through the instrumental- 
 ity of his child, 286. 
 Reproved, 291. 
 Intemperate doctor. Remarkable warning to and death of 
 
 an, 292. 
 It costs too much, 57. 
 
INDEX. 363 
 
 Jordan Richard, Remarkably preserved from shipwreck, 184. 
 Justice John, Incident in the life of, 352. 
 
 Kindness, Series entitled, 9. 
 
 Rewarded, Anecdote of, 12. 
 
 Anecdote and comments on the power of, 14. 
 
 To children. On showing, 18. 
 
 Want of proper thought often the cause of unkindness, 23. 
 Knox, Expression of, on his death-bed, 127. 
 
 Larks sent to the starving, 183. 
 
 Lawrence Amos, Anecdote of, 132. 
 
 Leaky roof. The, 128. 
 
 Lee Thomas, Instructive incident in the life of, 163. 
 
 Letchworth John, Incident in the ministry of, 175. 
 
 Faith of, in the decline of life, 267. 
 Lights in the world. Christians called to be, 32. 
 Little wonts, 1 20. 
 
 Loe Thomas, Happiness of, on the bed of death, 299. 
 Long life undesirable, 45. 
 Lost child. The, 141. 
 Love of money the root of evil, The, 59. 
 Love your enemies, 86. 
 
 Marks of the Lord Jesus, The, 72. 
 
 Marsh James, Anecdote of the kindness of, to children, 19. 
 
 Martyr, Dying experience of a, 267. 
 
 Materialistic doctrines, Remarks on, 279. 
 
 Maximilian, an early Christian, Account of the martyrdom of, 
 
 for his testimony against war, 78. 
 Ministry, Series entitled, 337. 
 
 Necessity of watchfulness in those engaged in The, 144. 
 
 Observations of Wm. Penn on the, 337. 
 
 Human wisdom not essential to gospel, 350. 
 
 Immediate revelation the only source of the gospel, 352. 
 
 Work of the, 358. 
 Mistake providentially directed, A, 214. 
 
364 INDEX. 
 
 Mistaken comfort, 239. 
 
 Music and decorations in places of public worship, On, 342. 
 
 Mysteries of Providence, The, 254. 
 
 Napier, Sir William, Anecdote of the kindness of, to chil- 
 dren, 20. 
 Neri Fillippo, Anecdote of, 61. 
 Never tempt a man to break a good resolution, 283. 
 No one without influence, 28. 
 Novel reading tends to alienate from God, 240. 
 
 Obedience necessary, 268. 
 
 Old age, Eeligion the effectual comforter of, 45. 
 
 Old rose-bush revived. The, 229. 
 
 Our little treasures, 21. 
 
 Our past lives, 51. 
 
 " Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, etc," 152. 
 
 "Out of sorts," 118. 
 
 Particular Providence, A, 190. 
 
 Penington Isaac, Remark of, on the benefit of spiritual exer- 
 cises, 319. 
 Penn William, Dying injunction of Thomas Loe to, 300. 
 
 Observations of, on gospel ministry, 337. 
 Politeness, Anecdote and definition of, 25. 
 
 Remarks on Christian, 27. 
 Poor preaching and poor hearing, 340. 
 Power of kindness. The, 14. 
 Pray in fair weather. Incident entitled, 245. 
 Prayer, Remarks on the efficacy of, 166. 
 Preaching by example, 345. 
 Prevention of war, 98. 
 Price Rachel, Incident in the life of, 342. 
 Professed infidels often insincere, 275. 
 Profanity checked, Anecdote of, 40. 
 
 Reproved, 291. 
 Providence directing, 163. 
 
INDES:. 365 
 
 Providence of God asserted, 321. 
 Providential deliverances, Series entitled, 163. 
 Providentially directed sermons, 337. 
 
 "Keady to be offered,"— Paul, 301. 
 
 Refinement necessary, 317. 
 
 Regeneration, On the necessity of, 51. 
 
 Relief from starving by providential means, 171. 
 
 Relief in extremity, 173. 
 
 Religious Duties, Series entitled, 101. 
 
 Remarkable preservation of life, 206. 
 
 Remarkable warning, 292. 
 
 Reproof blessed. A, 291. 
 
 Retirement essential to the Christian, 101. 
 
 Retribution, 92. 
 
 Riches, Series entitled, 57. 
 
 Caution of Cecil to a friend concerning, 48. 
 Remarks on the undue pursuit of, 63. 
 Rich in faith. Anecdote of persons poor in earthly treasure, 
 
 yet, 260. 
 Rothschild. Baron, Remarks of, on the accumulation of 
 
 wealth, 59. 
 Nathan and Hannah Carson, Contrast in the circumstances 
 
 and happiness of, 59. 
 Rutherford, Dying expressions of, 128. 
 
 Sands David, Remarkably guided in detecting robbers, 321. 
 
 Saviour, The, takes care of His lambs, 312. 
 
 Scattergood Thomas, Incident in the ministry of, 352. 
 
 Scotton Ilobert, Anecdote of, 108. 
 
 Set up beacon marks, 306. 
 
 Setting good grafts by a Christian example, 38. 
 
 Shortness and uncertainty of life. Series entitled, 44. 
 
 Silent worship, 826. 
 
 Simpson James, Incident connected with the ministry of, 108. 
 
 Fear of, in the prospect of death, dispelled, 311. 
 Smith Samuel, Incident in the ministry of, 357. 
 31* 
 
36« INDEX. 
 
 Spirituous liquors, Remarks on the temptations to the use oij 
 
 129. 
 Eemark of an Indian on abstaining from, 283. 
 James Stirling reclaimed from the use of, through the 
 
 instrumentality of a child, 286. 
 Steinhofer, C. G., Protected from injury, 192. 
 Story Thomas, Remarkable experience by, of the operation 
 
 of Divine power, 166. 
 Observations by, on Divine intimations, 169. 
 Strawberry bed, A, 144. 
 Superintending Providence, A, account of the visit of a Friend 
 
 to Bucks county. Pa., 212. 
 Support in the time of trial, 267. 
 Sustaining grace in the hour of death, 297. 
 Sweet influence of gospel love, The, 320. 
 
 Tamerlane, Remarks on the early and later cnaracter of, 82. 
 Taylor Sarah, Remarkable visit of, to a professed infidel, 271. 
 Tearing down a wall, 138. 
 Temptation, On resisting the first approaches of, 128. 
 
 The approaches of, frequently insidious, 138. 
 Tertullian, Observations of, on the marks of a Christian, 74. 
 Thornton James, Remarks of, on the attendance of religious 
 
 meetings, 109. 
 " Thou shalt not kill," 65. 
 Times of refreshment, 348. 
 Tobacco, Observations of Richard Williams on giving up the 
 
 use of, 135. 
 Trials, Series entitled, 227. 
 
 Trotter Benjamin, Faith of, in the decline of life, 265. 
 Trust in the Lord, 105. 
 
 Walking by faith, 252. 
 
 Want of proper thought often the cause of distress to others, 23, 
 
 War, Series entitled, 65. 
 
 Trivial origin of a, 70. 
 
 Testimony of Tertullian against, 74. 
 
 The unresisting testimony of- a Friend against, blessed to 
 a persecutor, 75. 
 
INDEX. 367 
 
 War, Example of the early Christians in reference to, 78. 
 
 Bemarks on the career of Tamerlane, 82. 
 
 Zulu, the Greek chief, brought to see the inconsistency of, 
 with the Christian religion, 86. 
 
 Conduct of Bobert Barclay when attacked by highway- 
 men, 91. 
 
 Betribution by, in the former country of the Cherokees, 92. 
 
 On the prevention of, 98. 
 Warning by a dream, 216, 292. 
 Watchfulness over self. Series entitled, 118. 
 Way hedged up, The, 249. 
 Whiting George, A kind act of, rewarded, 12. 
 Wilberforce William, Bemarks of, on long life, 45. 
 Wilson Judge, Bemorse of, for sentencing a crimiqal to death, 
 
 65. 
 Widow protected, A, 219, 
 
 Woolman John, Expression of, on Christian graces, 73. 
 Woman the messenger of mercy, 210. 
 " Word spoken in due season, how good is it, A," 342. 
 
 Zulu, Basil Patras, a Greek chief, brought to see the inconsis- 
 tency of war with the Christian religion, 86. 
 
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 1. Memoir of John Woolman ?i 
 
 2. On the Universality of Divine Grace ii 
 
 4. Evidences of the Truth of the Christian Religion *" 
 
 7. On the Effects of Ardent Spirits 5 
 
 9. Detraction .? 
 
 10. The Poet Cowper and his Brother '2 
 
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 18. On Profane Swearing ^ 
 
 20. Popular Amusements 4 
 
 22. Christianity and Infidelity Contrasted 12 
 
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 115. Samuel Fothergill .'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.' in 
 
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 _^ 4 
 
 William Penn's Exhortation (in German) 
 
 4 *