{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_22134/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_22134","id":"gutenberg_22134","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22134","summary":null,"tags":["Allen Street Presbyterian Church (New York, N.Y.)","Category: Biographies","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Knowles, James, 1811-1886","Knowles, Matilda Darroch, 1811-1886"],"text":"E-text prepared by Joseph R. Hauser and the Project Gutenberg Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net)\n\n\n\nNote: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this\n file which includes the original illustrations.\n See 22134-h.htm or 22134-h.zip:\n (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/2/1/3/22134/22134-h/22134-h.htm)\n or\n (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/2/2/1/3/22134/22134-h.zip)\n\n\n\n\n\nGATHERING JEWELS.\n\nJAMES KNOWLES.\n\n\n[Illustration: THE LITTLE ORPHAN'S PRAYER\nWhen only eight years old and left an orphan, at her father's death,\nshe went to the corner of the house and asked God to be a father and a\nmother to her--Page 85]\n\n\nGATHERING JEWELS;\n\nOr,\n\nThe Secret of a Beautiful Life.\n\nIn Memoriam of Mr. & Mrs. James Knowles.\n\nSelected from Their Diaries.\n\n\n\"They shall be Mine in that day when I come to make up My Jewels.\"\n\n\nEdited by Rev. Duncan Mcneill Young.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNew York:\nWilliam Knowles,\n104 East Thirteenth Street.\n1887.\n\nCopyright, 1887.\nBy Wm. Knowles\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nThe present volume is a purely pastoral attempt, emanating from a\nfraternal affection for two of God's honored saints, and an\nincreasingly growing desire for the glory of God in the salvation of\nsouls.\n\nIn presenting the following pages to the friends, acquaintances, and\nco-laborers of our departed brother and sister I desire to record my\nappreciation of the good achieved by two whose example among us was as\nbeneficial as that of the angel at the pool of Siloam, stirring up the\nsluggish waters to fresh life and utility, and teaching us that\n\n Beyond this vale of tears\n There is a life above,\n Unmeasured by the flight of years;\n And all that life is love.\n\nWhile a proper and very natural sentiment demands that the memoirs of\nthe beloved ones should not appear until some time has passed away, it\nis also proper that their publication should not be put off till all\ntrace of the facts recorded and the impressions there from made have\nbeen forgotten. During the preparation of these memoirs nothing has\nbeen more clearly manifest to me than the steady recurrence, throughout\ntheir lives, of a deep and earnest unison of feeling between man and\nwife, in such unfailing sweetness as to find its way at once to our\nhearts and clothe it with the freshness of a living, loving presence.\n\nThe subjects whose earthly career we are about to delineate, were\nwhole-souled enough to elicit the respect of all who knew them, hence\nthey made lasting friends, whilst to their own immediate family their\nloss is irreparable, and it is hard to realize that they are no more;\nfor who is there among us who does not know what it is to be united by\na fond and passionate affection to those who are no longer with\nus--ever to think of the beloved ones, and to feel ourselves constantly\nunder the influence of the vanished presence?\n\nIt cannot be claimed for James Knowles that he was a great man, a\nlearned scholar, or one possessed of extraordinary intellectual culture\nabove his fellows, but, as Hamerton says: \"It is not erudition that\nmakes the intellectual man, but a sort of virtue which delights in\nvigorous and beautiful thinking, just as moral virtue delights in\nvigorous and beautiful conduct.\" So it was with our brother, he made the\nmost of the talents God endowed him with, and whatever he undertook to\ndo, he did with might and main; hence his success in any undertaking, or\nany cause he espoused, for he seemed to realize that success in a _good_\ncause is undoubtedly better than failure, while the result in any case\nis not to be regarded so much as the aim and effort, and the striving\nwith which worthy objects are pursued. Although the Elder may have been\nless than a Huss, a Calvin, or a Knox in public fame, he had emulated\nthem in self-contemplation and humility.\n\nAs for Matilda Knowles, our missionary, she was more than a Dorcas, and\nequally vigorous in spirit with a Lydia; hence we speak of her in the\nsphere in which it pleased God for her to labor. Those who will\ncarefully read the chapters devoted to her work, will at once perceive\nthat little is left for me to speak of in words of praise.\n\nLet our Bible women study the pages of this book containing the record\nof her toil in the vineyard, and note the fruits thereof for over a\nquarter of a century; for no work purely imaginative in its character\never outrivalled it in intensity of interest, especially to those who\nhave the salvation of the unregenerate at heart. To our children and\nco-workers and successors we earnestly commend it; praying that the\nDivine blessing may accompany its circulation and perusal in our own\nand other lands until He shall come whose right it is to reign.\n\nWith these few prefatory remarks, with no claim to literary excellence,\nand a prayer for the blessing of the Holy Spirit, I commit this\nimperfect production to the perusal of all co-workers in the vineyard\nof the Lord.\n\nI also sincerely trust that it will be acceptable to every evangelical\ndenomination, where the love of the Great Creator, and the advancing\nperfection of human life predominates over all forms of sin and\nsuperstition.\n\nDUNCAN M. YOUNG.\n\nNEW YORK, August 18, 1887.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\nJAMES KNOWLES.\n\n PAGE.\nCHAPTER I.\n\nBrief Sketch of the Life of James Knowles, 15\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nCorrespondence and Covenants, 24\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nScripture Texts, 29\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nThe Last Hours, 38\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nThe Dead Who Die in the Lord, 46\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nA Brief Historical Sketch of the Allen Street Presbyterian Church, 70\n\n\nMATILDA KNOWLES.\n\n PAGE.\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nBrief Memoir of Matilda Knowles, 85\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nThe Value of Prayer, 89\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nThe Story of William the Consumptive, 94\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nSowing and Reaping, 105\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nDaily Missionary Work, 113\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nDestitution and Reformation, 120\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nHer Faithfulness in Little Things, 125\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nThe Power of Influence, 132\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nMiscellaneous Extracts from Her Diary, 136\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nStruggles and Triumphs, 149\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nLeading Souls To Christ, 156\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nThe Dying Mother and the Intemperate Husband, 159\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\nHelp and Loving Kindness, 163\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\nReaching the Heart, 166\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\nWinter Life and Scenes, 171\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\n\nCirculating the Scriptures, 175\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.\n\nThe Ninety and Nine, 178\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.\n\nAnswered Prayer, 185\n\nCHAPTER XXV.\n\nThe Sin of Idolatry, 192\n\nCHAPTER XXVI.\n\nPeace Through Believing, 197\n\nCHAPTER XXVII.\n\nDrawn by the Cords of Love, 202\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII.\n\nLove for the Hebrews, 206\n\nCHAPTER XXIX.\n\nThankfulness to God, 211\n\nCHAPTER XXX.\n\nLost, but Found, 214\n\nCHAPTER XXXI.\n\nSea-Side Excursions for Mothers and Children, 219\n\nCHAPTER XXXII.\n\nThe Intemperate Wife, 223\n\nCHAPTER XXXIII.\n\nHer Love of Children and of Praying, 226\n\nCHAPTER XXXIV.\n\nThe Conversion of Children, 231\n\nCHAPTER XXXV.\n\nAsleep in Jesus, 235\n\nCHAPTER XXXVI.\n\nTestimonials and Letters of Condolence, 264\n\nCHAPTER XXXVII.\n\nConclusion, 278\n\n\n\n\nDedication.\n\nTo the Pastors, Elders, Sabbath-School Workers, and\nthe New York Female Bible Readers' Society,\nwho were Intimately Associated\nwith the deceased\nin Winning Souls to Christ,\n\nThese Memoirs are Affectionately Dedicated\n\nBY THE EDITOR.\n\n\n\n\nIn Memoriam.\n\nDEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF MR. AND MRS. JAMES KNOWLES.\n\n\nThey died within a week of each other, after a married life of forty-seven\nyears, and each at the age of seventy-five.\n\nEver faithful to the cause of their Master, they died as they had\nlived--in triumphant faith.\n\n Hand in hand, together they trod\n Through years twoscore and seven;\n Their only staff was the Word of God,\n Their path was the way to heaven.\n\n Hand in hand, e'er the burning sun\n Had drunk up the morning dew,\n They started their earthly journey to run,\n While the heavens were fair and blue.\n\n But life's path lies not through a grassy dell,\n In the cool of the morning's shade;\n There are scorching sands, and torrents that swell,\n As well as the flowery glade.\n\n There are crags to climb in the mountains fast,\n There are gorges, and canyons deep,\n And the blinding snow, and the wintry blast\n Must over the landscape sweep.\n\n And the shoulders must bear a wearisome load,\n Whether o'er mountain or moor,\n Or through forest, or dusty highway, lay the road,\n Or the feet be bleeding and sore.\n\n But hand in hand we see them still,\n When the sun had drunk up the dew;\n They were toiling steadfastly up the hill,\n Ever keeping the end in view.\n\n They scaled the crags of the mountain steep\n When the noontide sun was high;\n And they forded the flood of the canyon deep,\n When the sun lay low in the sky.\n\n But their tired feet are no longer as light\n As in days of the long, long past,\n And their youthful tresses have turned to white\n With the snows, and the wintry blast.\n\n Now hand in hand, they stand by the shore\n Of a river dark and wide;\n And the songs which the seraphs are wafting o'er,\n They catch from the other side.\n\n And their faces beam with unearthly light,\n In the rays of the setting sun,\n As their eyes peer far beyond mortals' sight,\n And they learn that life's journey is done.\n\n Hand in hand by the river, they stray\n Where the dark waves wash the shore;\n And they hear the splash, and the feathery spray,\n As the ferryman dips his oar.\n\n Now the father waves a loving adieu,\n As he looses his clasped hand;\n And the ferryman plies his oar anew,\n Till he reaches the golden strand.\n\n By the silent waves of the river of death,\n The mother is waiting still,\n With eager eye and with bated breath,\n The call of the Master's will.\n\n Now her face is illumed by a heavenly light\n As sweet as angels' breath;\n For she knows that the unclasped hands will unite,\n Across the river of death.\n\nGEORGE F. SARGENT.\n\nNEW YORK, February 17, 1887.\n\n\n[Illustration: JAMES KNOWLES]\n\n\n\n\nGATHERING JEWELS\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nBRIEF SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF JAMES KNOWLES.\n\n \"God bless thee, bairn--my bonnie bairn,\"\n She said, an' straikit doon his hair;\n \"O may the widow's God be thine,\n And mak' thee His peculiar care!\"\n\n\nJames Knowles was born at sea, December 5, 1811, his father, the\nprevious day, having been swept overboard and lost. Unfortunately no\nrecord of the misfortune was kept to be available for the present\npurpose; hence we are unable to give either the name of the ship, or\nthe latitude and longitude it was in when his birth occurred. Picture\nto yourself the deck of a vessel in mid-ocean, where the widow of a day\nbecomes a mother the next, the subject of this sketch being the infant\npresented to her bosom, and you have a glimpse of the situation--though\nit be unconnected with either a cottage, a mansion, or a palace.\n\nThe mother returned with the infant to the home of her father at\nBallymena, Ireland, where her relatives then undertook the care of the\nfatherless babe, which eventually grew into healthy boyhood of the most\naffectionate character.\n\nAs a youth he made rapid progress in the elementary branches of\neducation, often surprising his teachers with the patience and care he\nexhibited in keeping in advance of his fellow-students--for he was\nalmost always at the head of his class. He was noted for his quiet,\nunobtrusive disposition, underlying which was an internal force, which\nmade him prompt in action, and to the point in word, when the display\nof such characteristics was sometimes necessary to establish his\nindividual superiority with more than usual power among his\nfellow-schoolmates.\n\nIn 1826 he commenced his apprenticeship as a compositor, under the care\nof Mr. Dugan, in the city of Belfast, Ireland, where he continued until\nthe expiration of the time of his indentures.\n\nIn 1832, after an ocean passage of sixty days in a sailing vessel, he\narrived in Philadelphia, Pa.\n\nDuring this long and tedious voyage across the Atlantic, he and the\ncaptain of the ship became very intimately attached to each other, and\nhe was frequently invited to dine with the officers.\n\nAfter a brief stay in Philadelphia, he came to New York City, where he\nfound employment. Immediately after his arrival in this city, he became\na member of the Rev. Dr. McLeod's Reformed Presbyterian Church, in\nChambers Street, and continued with this church until after they had\nremoved to Prince Street.\n\nIn 1835 he became an employe in the office of the _Journal of Commerce_.\nHe frequently recalled that fearful night during the great fire in New\nYork, when the greater part of the lower portion of the city was totally\ndestroyed, and some of the large buildings had to be blown up with\ngunpowder, to stop the ravages of the flames; he took an active part in\ncarrying the printing \"forms\" to a place of safety.\n\nIn 1839 he was married to Miss Matilda Darroch, who was a member of Dr.\nMcCarthy's Canal Street Presbyterian Church and a teacher in the\nSabbath-school.\n\nAs a Christian man, at this time, we find him teaching a large\nBible-class for young men in the above church, and to the end of his\nearthly career he was constantly engaged in the Sabbath-school.\n\nIn 1849 the Prince Street Church property was sold to erect a new\nbuilding on Twelfth Street, where he continued to attend the services\nuntil the year 1850, when some of the members, being anxious to enlarge\ntheir borders, and continue the work in the lower part of the city,\nformed the Second Reformed Presbyterian Church. They organized, and\ncalled the Rev. Spencer L. Finney to the pastorate, who commenced to\nhold services in the hall of the Apprentices' Library, No. 472\nBroadway, where they worshipped for one year, and then secured more\nample accommodations in which to worship God, in the rooms of the\nMedical College, Crosby Street, near Spring.\n\nIn 1850 he was carefully examined, and when found qualified for the\nsacred office, was duly ordained a ruling elder in the Second Reformed\nPresbyterian Church.\n\nDuring the year 1854 the Church purchased the building in Mulberry\nStreet, near Grand, belonging to the Lutheran body.\n\nAt this time he continued to reside on the west side of the city, and\nattended two sessions of the Sabbath-school morning and afternoon, with\ntwo preaching services, and one prayer-meeting in the evening.\n\nAs soon as the congregation were permanently settled in a church\nbuilding, he removed from the west to the east side of the city, to the\nTenth Ward, in order to be in close proximity to his church work.\n\nHe continued to worship with the Second Reformed Presbyterian Church,\nunder the pastorate of the Rev. S. L. Finney, who, in 1863, was called\nto Princeton, N.J.\n\nThe Rev. Geo. S. Chambers was subsequently called to take the pastoral\ncharge. Eventually, it was found essential to change their\necclesiastical relations from the Reformed Presbyterian Church to the\nOld School, from which time (the two religious bodies having become\nunited), the congregation became known as the Ebenezer Presbyterian\nChurch.\n\nIn due course it united with the Fortieth Street Presbyterian Church,\nafterward called the Murray Hill Presbyterian Church, because at the\ntime, though in possession of a church building, they had no pastor.\nMr. Knowles continued to attend regularly until the imperative demands\nof age and time called for change, when he became united with the Allen\nStreet Church.\n\nIn 1870 he accepted an invitation from his uncle to visit his native\nplace; and he frequently afterward remarked that the scenes of his\nboyhood's days had materially changed as much as he had; realizing that\nchange, progress, and decay were written upon all things terrestrial.\n\nDuring this visit to Europe, he greatly enjoyed rambles over the\ncountry roads, admiring the beauties of the surrounding scenery.\n\nOn one occasion, while passing the school-house of his boyhood days, he\nwas found by an old friend, wistfully gazing at the building, who said,\n\"What are you looking at?\" And upon entering into conversation, he\ndiscovered that he and the gentleman who addressed him had been former\nschoolmates together.\n\nWe find recorded in his diary the following:\n\n \"I now commence filling this book, which I brought with me from New\n York, in the steamship Italia. I am now in Fenagh, Ireland.\"\n\nFrom the record of this journey, we notice that he was very careful in\nwatching the signs of the times, and the changing moods of the weather.\nFor example, he writes thus:\n\n _Sabbath, January 4, 1874._--When I rose this morning, I found the\n ground covered with snow; the first fall of the season, and like the\n little captive Syrian maid, though far from home and friends and\n among comparative strangers, I do not forget God or the sanctuary.\n\n _Monday, January 5th._--A fine day, but cold, and snow on the\n ground.\n\n _Tuesday, January 6th._--A fine day, and a fine thaw, which resulted\n in the removal of the snow which had fallen a short time previously.\n\n _Wednesday, January 7th_ (morning).--A fine day. Afternoon, clouds\n gathering; lightning and thunder; came on to rain.\n\n _Thursday, January 8th._--A fine day of the season.\n\n _Friday, January 9th._--A fair day.\n\n _Saturday, January 10th._--A fine day. I went into Ballymena myself,\n and called at several places, and upon Mr. White, the printer, who\n did not know me, or remember anything about me. I called also on\n Mrs. McQuitty, who treated me in a very kindly manner. I also called\n on Mr. Kilpatrick's, but I only saw two of his daughters, and a\n little child. On the same day I bought McComb's almanac in\n Ballymena; paid two pence for it. I also bought the _Ballymena\n Observer_ from Mr. White. I walked into Ballymena, and also returned\n in like manner, only that in returning I took a circuitous route,\n that I might see a portion of the country that I had not seen for a\n length of time before my departure for America, in June, 1832.\n\n _Sabbath, January 11th_ (forenoon).--I heard Mr. Moody lecture from\n the 16th chapter of John, and 16th verse.\n\n _Afternoon._--Nehemiah, 9th chapter and 19th verse: \"Yet Thou in Thy\n manifold mercy, forsookest them not in the wilderness; the pillar of\n the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way;\n neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way\n wherein they should go.\"\n\n _Monday, January 12th._--A cold day. I received a letter from my\n son, William Knowles, in New York City.\n\n _Wednesday, May 19, 1875._--A fine day. I went to Belfast in an\n excursion train, and called at several places, and in the evening\n took a cabin passage for Glasgow, Scotland. I went from Greenock to\n Glasgow in the train; I arrived on Thursday morning in Glasgow,\n about six o'clock, and went to my brother-in-law's, Mr. William\n Darroch. The day is cold, blowing, and showers.\n\n _Glasgow, Sabbath morning, May 23d._--Heard the Rev. Mr. Douglass\n lecture from the 6th chapter of Matthew.\n\n _Afternoon._--A lovely day. Heard another minister preach in the\n same church, from the 3d chapter of Philippians, and 8th verse: \"Yea\n doubtless, and I count all things but lost for the excellency of the\n knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord.\"\n\n _Tuesday, May 25th._--I went with Mrs. Darroch and her daughter,\n Maggie, to Edinburgh, and after visiting the castle, and a number of\n other places of interest, returned to Glasgow the same day.\n\n _Saturday, May 29th._--Returned to Belfast.\n\n _Sabbath morning, May 30th._--A beautiful day. Heard Dr. Houston,\n pastor of my boyhood, lecture from the 13th chapter of John; then\n preach from 1st Thessalonians, 3d chapter, 12th and 13th verses.\n Lecture in the evening, from the 6th and 7th chapter of Revelations.\n I took dinner and tea with Rev. Dr. Houston and his family. A fine\n day throughout.\n\nBefore returning to this country he expressed his love and unfeigned\ngratitude to the memory of his sainted mother (who early taught him the\nways of God) by erecting a substantial monument over her grave to\nperpetuate her revered name.\n\nAfter spending two years in Europe he returned to New York, and was\nelected an Elder in the Allen Street Church.\n\nOn Easter Sabbath, April, 1877, he was regularly installed into office\nas a Ruling Elder.\n\n So I ask Thee, Lord, to give me grace\n My little place to fill,\n That I may ever walk with Thee,\n And ever do Thy will,\n And in each duty, great or small;\n I may be faithful still.\n\nOf course, the life-work of such a man as we are contemplating was full\nof little peculiarities (eccentricities, society calls them), which even\nhis most intimate relations with the world does not divulge to the\ninquisitive of his day. It is only after such men pass away and their\nrelatives are permitted to look into the \"private jewel-box,\" as it\nwere, that we come across the brilliant diamonds of thought, the\nglowing rubies of expressed gratitude and, may be, some softly-tinted\npearls of faith, hope and charity, all lying together in the receptacle\nwhich, even if humble in workmanship, is full of priceless treasures.\n\nThe Bible of our friend was very often used for over forty years, until\nit showed that it was never allowed to preserve a dainty appearance\nthrough a want of use, nor the dust to accumulate on cover or edge by\nreason of its owner's non-usage of the sacred pages. It was a useful\nReference Bible, and, no doubt, of immense value and comfort to him,\nfor the pages are pretty well worn, even where no marks are made\nindicative of favorite passages, etc.\n\nNext among the eccentricities of our friend was the disposition to keep\na quiet order of memorandums, and a diary extending back for many\nyears, from which had we the space to spare in this book we would place\nbefore the world some of the gems found in his jewel-box, as indicative\nof the man's industry and the Christian's freedom from ostentatious\ndisplay.\n\n Help each step upon the way,\n Strength sufficient for the day,\n All things easy in Thy might,\n Work for thee a felt delight.\n\n Courage, patience, grace supplied,\n All things needful--at Thy side;\n Such my happy lot will be,\n Working, dearest Lord, with thee.\n\nAgreeably with the spirit of our labor, we will take an impartial view\nof our friend as a Christian, in the eyes of the world, and among\nlaymen generally. That he was no drone in the Christian hive, all the\nworld could see; that he was active and unusually laborious for Christ\nand the Church, no one who follows the spirit of the sermon eulogizing\nhis memory, or who reads this work, can deny; as an Elder of the\nChurch, he was faithful in anything he was requested to perform,\nespecially in public prayer-meeting, individual devotional study, and\nself-contemplation.\n\nHis sympathy for suffering humanity in any form, was, indeed, very\nlarge, in fact so easily moved, that he would habitually visit the sick\nmembers of the Church after being relieved from such duties. To him all\nmen and women were brothers and sisters, the distance of relationship\n(if very strained and far between in some instances), he would claim,\nwas closer, more congenial, and intimate in others.\n\nAs a builder among the builders, a workman among the workmen of the\ntemple; or as a brother among brethren of the same house, he was\nmeekness itself; his spirit of patience never failing him in instances\nwhere \"to wait was gain,\" either for God, the Church, or himself.\n\nHis acquiescence in the decision of his brethren, when they at last\ndecided upon changing the location of their place of worship, was\nsecured at the price of sacrificing his own preferences in the\nmatter--and all for the sake of peace, harmony, and continued brotherly\nlove. In this he was a \"light shining upon a hill-top.\"\n\nThe interest he always displayed and the anxiety he expressed for the\ncontinued welfare of the Church, manifesting the same in the labors\nperformed or duties undertaken, was always profound, as it embraced\namong other items of care the temporal welfare and spiritual prosperity\nof the various clergymen with whom he had labored.\n\nIn his demeanor he was never in a hurry to do to-day what he should\nhave done yesterday, because having no faith in procrastination, he\nleft nothing undone to-day to be performed on the morrow, if by any\nmeans it could be accomplished, or the duty performed at once. In going\nto the House of God, he left all worry about the world on the outside\nof it, the moment he entered the porch; the drudgery of every-day life\ndid not go with him into the pew; the prejudices of an ambiguous man\ntroubled him not, while the disposition to \"take things easy,\" while\nothers bore the burden, was never fostered by him.\n\nBut he did carry something into the house every time he entered! He\ntook in with him his Bible, his sweetest temper, his most charitable\ndisposition, a vigorous condition of soul-life, a sensible care of the\ntemporal body, and also the continued desire to be always walking with\nGod, as well as the desire for larger acquisitions of intuitive\nspiritual knowledge--very proper things to take into the House of God\nwith you at all times; and our departed brother had enough of these,\nand to spare.\n\nBut to cease from reflection, we close this chapter with one of our\nfriend's favorite little gems of poetry, believing that when you have\nread it, you will agree with us that James Knowles was a man to be\nbeloved, indeed; for through these few lines his spirit breathes back\nagain to us from the great beyond:\n\n If you cannot be a leader\n In the crowd that pours along,\n Raise the fallen, lying prostrate\n Under foot, amid the throng.\n\n Though your work be never mentioned,\n Though your name may not appear,\n Speak one word for \"Jesus only,\"\n And the Lord, at least, will hear.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nCORRESPONDENCE AND COVENANTS.\n\n\nThe following letter was written to his mother while an apprentice as a\nprinter in the city of Belfast, Ireland:\n\n BELFAST, January 15, 1829.\n\n DEAR MOTHER:--I write this letter to you for the purpose of letting\n you know how I am doing. I am devoting the most of my leisure hours\n to reading and improving my mind, some way or other. Indeed, it is\n not much time I have to devote to things of that nature; but all the\n time I have I am busy. I meet with a good many advantages in every\n respect, where I am now. I have the advantage of having a room to\n apply my time to whatever study I resolve to persevere in. If I had\n time, I would give you a more correct account of my transactions\n through the day; but if I have time to meditate a little, I hope I\n will be enabled to give you some account of the sermons that I hear,\n as I think it would be greatly to my own interest, for if I pry into\n that part of information, there is no danger but that I will have\n success in whatever situation I am placed in life. I may be thankful\n that I have a room to read my Bible in on Sabbath days. I have none\n to speak to me or give me annoyance of any sort whatever. I hope the\n next letter I write you, that it will be in a more correct sense. I\n hope you will write me by Johnny, when he is coming back to town,\n and let me know how you are succeeding in work, and how Jane is\n succeeding in the business of the shop. I send my love to all my\n friends (everyone in particular), I hope you will let me know how\n they are all doing; but I have nothing more to say at present. But I\n trust you will write me in the beginning of the week. I must\n conclude, as it is now too late for me to say anything more. All\n here are well, but Mrs. L----, who is in a bad state of health.\n\n JAMES KNOWLES.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nThe following letter is a sample of many to his old pastors, showing\nhis strong attachment to those who labored with him in word and\ndoctrine:\n\n NEW YORK, March 26, 1883.\n\n MR. PHELPS--Reverend and dear friend and Christian brother: It has\n been my purpose for some time to write to you and yours, even if it\n should be but a few lines, to assure you that you are not forgotten\n by us; for although you are absent from us, yet your faithful and\n earnest appeals still live in our remembrance, and I have no doubt\n will continue to do so; and while I may not be able to recall much\n of the many sermons which I have heard you deliver, yet the\n impressions made upon my mind while sitting under them are retained.\n I might, however, state here, that I was sorry to part with you and\n your family, and to feel that your pastoral relationship with us\n would soon be broken up; I had made up my mind to stay by the Church\n while you remained, if I lived, as I was attached to you and your\n family as to personal friends.... My wife and I unite in love to you\n and Mrs. Phelps and your son.\n\n JAMES KNOWLES.\n\n * * * * * *\n\n COVENANTS WITH GOD.\n\n \"Dear Lord, and shall Thy Spirit rest\n In such a wretched heart as mine?\n Unworthy dwelling! Glorious Guest!\n Favor astonishing, Divine!\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nThe following acts of consecration will, no doubt, be of interest to\nthe reader:\n\n NEW YORK, Thursday, June 21, 1860.\n\n I do solemnly resolve from this day onward to endeavor, relying on\n thy Holy Spirit, to serve _Thee_ better. This is my covenant, and I\n would ask Thee to own and bless me with peace and joy in believing.\n\n * * * * * *\n\n NEW YORK, Saturday, October 6, 1860.\n\n I now promise, as I have formerly promised to do, from this day\n onward, to serve God better than I have been doing; depending on\n God's spirit for assistance; and will now ask to be prospered as\n God may see good for me.\n\n JAMES KNOWLES.\n\n * * * * * *\n\n NEW YORK, Friday, October 18, 1861.\n\n I resolved to serve God with renewed efforts, determining to look\n alone to God for help.[1]\n\n JAMES KNOWLES.\n\n [1] The Fulton Street Noon Prayer Meetings found him an\n occasional visitor during these days of national peril, anxiety,\n and prayer.\n\n * * * * * *\n\n NEW YORK, Thursday, April 9, 1863.\n\n Entered into an agreement with my Heavenly Father that, through the\n strength of His divine grace, I will live more for the glory of God\n than I have ever done.\n\n JAMES KNOWLES.\n\n * * * * * *\n\n NEW YORK, Saturday afternoon, April 22, 1865.\n\n I renewed my covenant with God in the City Hall Park while standing\n there, which I some years ago made, and now I again renew it, that\n I would serve God better than formerly.\n\n JAMES KNOWLES.\n\n * * * * * *\n\n NEW YORK, Thursday, April 19, 1866.\n\n Renewed my engagement with the Lord to serve Him better than I had\n done before, after having prayed to Him to be justified through\n faith in the righteousness of Christ; and asked for other blessings\n which I felt satisfied I would receive, for I feel my great need of\n these, as I felt very helpless in myself, but that there was\n abundant fulness in Christ.\n\n I write this and the above on this Saturday night, the 22d of\n April, 1866.\n\n JAMES KNOWLES.\n\n * * * * * *\n\n NEW YORK, Wednesday, December 5, 1866.\n\n My birth-day, and a fine day.\n\n I resolved on this day to endeavor to serve the Lord better, and\n renewed my covenant with the Lord, which I formerly made, and have\n again and again sought or attempted to renew. May the Lord aid me\n in the future.\n\n And thus, from these few specimens of his constantly self-convicted\n weakness and appeals for more spiritual strength, we get a look at\n the inner life of a practical Christian worker which it is rare to\n find among us in these days. He could not stand alone; his last\n self-examination always found him short, though it consisted of but\n a few questions put by the spirit to the flesh at the end of every\n devotional service incidental to the life and work of each day,\n thus:\n\n Did I this morn devoutly pray\n For God's assistance through the day?\n And did I read His sacred Word,\n To make my life therewith accord?\n Did I for any purpose try\n To hide the truth and tell a lie?\n Did I my time and thoughts engage\n As fits my duty, station, age?\n Did I with care my temper guide,\n Checking ill-humor, anger, pride?\n Did I my lips from aught refrain\n That might my fellow-creature pain?\n Did I with cheerful patience bear\n The little ills that all must share?\n For all God's mercies through this day\n Did I my grateful tribute pay?\n And did I, when the day was o'er,\n God's watchful aid again implore?\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nSCRIPTURE TEXTS.\n\n1858.\n\n \"I want a meek, a gentle, quiet frame,\n A heart that glows with love to Jesus' name;\n I want a living sacrifice to be\n For Him who died a sacrifice for me.\"\n\n\nThe following extracts from his diary reveal to us his carefulness in\nnoting the texts of Scripture and the analysis of sermons he heard\npreached on the Sabbaths and week days from 1858 up to the time of his\ndeath.\n\n _Thursday_ (_fast-day_), _September 16, 1858._--Heard a sermon\n preached by Dr. Crawford from the 57th chapter of Isaiah and the\n 15th verse: \"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth\n eternity, whose name is holy; I dwell in the high and holy place,\n with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the\n spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.\"\n\n _Saturday, September 18th._--Preached by Mr. Sanderson, from the\n 15th chapter of St. Luke and the 2d verse: \"And the Pharisees and\n Scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth\n with them.\"\n\n _Sabbath, June 20, 1859._--Preached by Mr. Finney, from Ecclesiastes,\n chapter 9, verse 10: \"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with\n thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor\n wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest.\"\n\n _Sabbath, December 16, 1860._--Preached by Mr. Finney, from the 53d\n chapter of Isaiah and 11th verse, last clause: \"By his knowledge\n shall my righteous servant justify many: for he shall bear their\n iniquities.\" Afternoon.--\"Therefore being justified by faith, we\n have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.\" It is like the\n love of my mother. What an inexpressible peace and love and\n gentleness is launched upon you; which none but a mother can bestow,\n oft do I sigh in my struggles with the hard, uncaring world, for the\n sweet, deep security I felt, when of an evening, nestling in her\n bosom, I listened to some quiet tale. In my younger years I read in\n her tender and loving voice an invaluable incentive to be good. I\n can never forget her sweet smile upon me. When I appear to sleep, I\n feel her sweet kiss of peace.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nA MOTHER'S LOVE.\n\nChildren, look in those eyes; listen to that dear voice; notice the\nfeeling of a single touch that is bestowed upon you by that gentle\nhand. Make much of it while yet you have that most precious of all good\ngifts--a loving mother. Read the unfathomable love of those eyes; the\nkind anxiety of that tone and look, and by analogy remember the\ntenderness and compassion of Jesus.\n\n _New York, November 12, 1865_ (_Sabbath Day_).--Heard Mr. Finney\n preach from the Gospel according to St. Luke, 24th chapter and 23d\n verse: \"And they said one to another, did not our hearts burn within\n us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us\n the Scripture?\" It was powerful and impressive to all present, as:\n 1. The doctrinal teaching of Christ, as understood in this part of\n the chapter. 2. It is scriptural. 3. It is faithful. 4. It is\n pointed. 5. It is instructive to the understanding.\n\n _Friday, December 12, 1867._--I attended our church, and heard a\n sermon preached from the 3d chapter of St. Matthew and the 3d verse,\n last clause: \"Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths\n straight.\" Afterward Mr. Chambers was ordained to the office of the\n gospel ministry, and the charge was given to him by Dr. Campbell;\n and the charge to the people by Dr. Hall. After the conclusion of\n the services, the congregation congratulated our newly-ordained\n pastor in his new relation to us.\n\n _Sabbath, October 1st._--Preached by Mr. Chambers to the children of\n the Sabbath school, in the Fortieth Street Church, from Luke ii.,\n verses 27 to 32. Simeon was led by the Spirit into the Temple, and\n for an important object. He had been waiting in expectancy of this\n great event, and at the appointed period was led to the temple,\n where he became satisfied in beholding the Lord's Christ, and thus\n his faith became constant in the fulfilment of God's promise to him,\n and found that the desires awakened in his soul was now satisfied;\n and although he had been comparatively unknown to others, yet he now\n enjoyed not only a convincing proof of God's goodness to himself on\n this occasion, with such an appearance of love, but he enjoyed the\n privilege of prophesying concerning his own people, and also the\n effects of the gospel upon the Gentile nations.\n\n _Sabbath, November 21st._--Preached by Mr. Chambers, from Jeremiah,\n 2d chapter and 19th verse: \"Thine own wickedness shall correct thee,\n and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that\n _it is_ an evil _thing_ and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord\n thy God, and that my fear _is_ not in thee, saith the Lord God of\n hosts.\"\n\nIn one of his notes, as if he had just heard a sermon upon the subject,\nhe writes: \"In lives of faith and long obedience to the command of our\nLord and _Master_ Jesus Christ, we have first presented to us something\nof the operations and workings of the mind of the depth of humility and\ngratitude expressed in his own words, and the evident absence of\neverything of a proud spirit. Thus when the sinner is brought to Christ,\nthe change will become manifest not in giving expression to similar\nfeelings in only thankful acknowledgments in words, but a becoming and\nthankful spirit will be seen in the entire life, in proportion as Jesus\nis followed and kept in view. But when Jesus is received into the heart,\nthe recipient of this precious gift will feel anxious to do good to\nothers, that they, too, may partake of the benefits of His salvation.\nFirst, then, deep repentance of sin. Second, a heart full of gratitude\nto God for this free gift. Third, the Apostle is not ashamed to\nacknowledge his entire indebtedness to God. What encouragement we may\nhave from this circumstance in common with others to endeavor to do\ngood; for if it was such an advantage to this man to be made whole, how\ngreat, then, must the advantage be to those, who are led to believe in\nChrist, and are delivered from condemnation, and become heirs of God,\nand joint heirs with Christ.\"\n\n _New York, Sabbath, March 6, 1870._--Sermon [preached by Dr.\n McElroy's assistant] from 1st Thessalonians, 5th chapter, 17th\n verse: \"Pray without ceasing.\"\n\n 1. By observing stated seasons for prayer.\n\n 2. Always maintain a prayerful spirit.\n\n 3. Always acting as in the immediate presence of God.\n\n 4. Turning everything into prayer.\n\n _New York, Sabbath, March 20, 1870._--Sermon preached by Mr.\n Chambers, to the Sabbath-school, from 6th chapter of Romans, 23d\n verse: \"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is\n eternal life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.\"\n\n 1. The death of character.\n\n 2. The death of all good prospect.\n\n 3. The death of the body.\n\n 4. The death of the soul.\n\n _Fortieth Street Church, Sabbath, December 3, 1871._--Sermon\n preached by Mr. Chambers, from the 25th chapter of St. Matthew, 31st\n and 32d verses: \"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and\n all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of\n His glory. And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and he\n shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his\n sheep from the goats.\"\n\n Subject, the goats and sheep.\n\n G--Go into dangerous places.\n O--Often annoy the sheep.\n A--Appear like sheep.\n T--Take poisonous food.\n S--Stubborn.\n\n S--Seek the fold.\n H--Hear the shepherd's voice.\n E--Ever the same.\n E--Eat the wholesome food.\n P--Peaceful and peaceable.\n\n _New York, Sabbath, December 30, 1883._--Heard Rev. Dr. Conkling\n preach from St. Matthew, 17th chapter and 8th verse: \"And when they\n had lifted up their eyes they saw no man save Jesus only.\"\n\n 1. Take Jesus as your guide.\n 2. Trust Jesus as your Saviour.\n 3. We should follow Jesus as our example.\n 4. We should love Jesus with a supreme love.\n\n I heard Mr. Moody preach from the 11th chapter of Hebrews and the\n 16th verse: \"But now they desire a better country, that is, an\n heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for\n he hath prepared for them a city.\" This he divided into three\n parts:\n\n I. The persons referred to are believers.\n\n (_a._) They lived by faith.\n (_b._) They died in faith.\n\n II. They were called by His name; and realized His presence.\n\n III. _He had prepared for them a city._\n\n _Sabbath, November 21st._--Preached by Mr. Chambers to the children\n of the Sabbath-school, from Proverbs 20th chapter and 11th verse:\n \"Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and\n whether it be right.\" Subject: How children may be known. First. We\n will take the word Lord, and let each letter stand for a word, or a\n particular part.\n\n L--Love. Love to God, etc.\n O--Obedience. Obedience to God and to their parents.\n R--Respectful to their superiors.\n D--Doing good.\n\n How bad children are known:\n\n Take one word and let each letter stand for a particular subject.\n By their\n\n D--Disobedience.\n E--Enticing others to evil.\n V--Vanity and pride.\n I--Insulting to their superiors.\n L--Love of sin.\n\n Heard Mr. Chambers preach from the 19th chapter of St. Matthew's\n gospel and the 13th and 14th verses: \"Then were brought unto him\n little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray:\n and his disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said: Suffer little\n children, and forbid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the\n kingdom of heaven.\"\n\n A. Approach of the parents to Christ.\n B. Blessing sought.\n C. Conduct of the disciples.\n D. Displeasure of Christ.\n E. Encouragement of Christ to the parents of the children.\n F. Familiar reception of those parents and the children on the part\n of Christ.\n G. Gracious words of Christ.\n H. Heavenly requirements.\n\n Improvement, or instructions from lesson. Under the 8th head of the\n discourse, Heavenly requirements, he referred to five\n characteristics of children as designated by the five letters of\n the word child; viz., C, Confiding. H, Happy. I, Inquisitive. L,\n Loving. D, Dependants.\n\nCiting another interesting sermon, he writes:\n\n _New York, September 25th_ (_Sabbath_).--Heard Rev. George O. Phelps\n preach from the 3d chapter of Acts and 6th verse, \"Then Peter said,\n Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the\n name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.\" The true\n followers of Christ, in their desire to do good, will frequently\n find cases to excite their sympathy. Here was a most affecting case,\n a man lame from his mother's womb, but is suddenly cured by the\n power of God. He was directed by Peter to look upon John and\n himself, assuring him that they had neither silver nor gold, but\n such as they had he would give. He had only to look upon them, Peter\n and John, at the beautiful gate that is supposed to divide the\n Gentiles from the inner Court.\n\n 1. The power of Christ displayed in such a remarkable manner on this\n occasion. 2. The faith of the man in doing as he was told, and the\n effects produced. 3. The faith of Peter and John, united with their\n desire to work a miracle in this man's case. 4. The gratitude of\n this man; he had received far more than he had expected.\n\n Their success was even more than they had anticipated. They had gone\n forth at the command of Christ. They had not only respect for His\n authority, but they gave testimony to this by their ready obedience\n to the command of Jesus, and thus far they had the satisfaction of\n doing the will of their Lord and Master.\n\n It was a loving obedience, as can be seen by the results that\n followed.\n\n They commenced their work _right_, receiving their instructions from\n their Saviour Himself. They went forth relying upon Him for the help\n and assistance required.\n\n They returned again to give him their report, and they rejoiced to\n feel that their success was even beyond what they expected. And yet,\n while the Saviour heard their report, He cautioned them not to let\n their success occupy too much of their attention, but rather rejoice\n because their names are written in heaven. It is pleasant to know\n that when we obey the Lord, as these seventy disciples did, that we\n adhere strictly to all His words of command; and that we know that\n we have experienced the love of God in our hearts; but yet we are\n not to make this the ground-work of our rejoicing, but trust more in\n that which is done without us than in that which is done within us.\n\n Another grand characteristic of the elder was his almost invariable\n custom to watch and note the providential dealings of God with the\n officers of the church, whenever they met for the transaction of\n business.\n\nHis fidelity in noting the texts preached from, down to the last\nSabbath he spent on earth, is a proof of his unparalleled perseverance\nand painstaking in keeping his diary.\n\nWe close this part of our work by giving our readers a sample of his\ncarefulness at this time.\n\n _New York, October 10th_ (_Sabbath evening_).--Heard Mr. Young\n preach from the 5th chapter of Romans and 1st verse: \"Therefore\n being justified by faith,\" etc., and onward, giving an account of\n Rome the imperial city, and its surroundings; also the triumphs and\n advances of Christianity notwithstanding the opposition which the\n church had to encounter.\n\nThe last sermon he ever heard on earth was peculiarly appropriate to\nprepare his mind and heart for the peaceful closing hour of this mortal\nlife. He again writes:\n\n _New York, October 17th, 1886_ (_Sabbath evening_).--Heard Mr. Young\n preach from the 11th chapter of St. John's Gospel, and the 39th\n verse: \"Jesus said, Take ye away the stone.... Said I not unto thee,\n that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of\n God?\" Unfolding the omnipotency of Christ's love in the hour of\n sickness and sorrow--also the profound sympathy with the sorrowing\n sisters of Bethany in their great bereavement; and His matchless\n power over death and the grave, because He said, \"I am the\n resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were\n dead, yet shall he live.\"\n\nIn closing this part of our work we would remark, that there are very\nfew men who have been so painstaking and methodical as to record in\ntheir diary all the texts, time, and place, and the preacher's name, in\nconnection with the sermons to which he was permitted to listen.\n\nTheir commencement, continuation, and close, is all that space allows\nfor further insertion.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nTHE LAST HOURS.\n\n I often feel impatient,\n And mourn the long delay,\n I never can be settled\n While he remains away.\n But we shall not long be parted,\n For I know he'll quickly come,\n And we shall dwell together\n In that happy, happy home.\n\n\nWe were about to say farewell to the loved brother whose end was\nrapidly approaching. His going from this life to that beyond the grave\nwas one of the most remarkable for faith and hope, quietly exhibiting\nthe spirit of Him who went about continually doing good.\n\nThere was no attempt to argue with death, and ask for a respite to\nprepare for the journey through the valley of the shadow of death to\nthe golden shore beyond. We cannot do better here than lay before the\nreader the following communication written by their son to their former\npastor, the Rev. George O. Phelps, of Utica, N.Y. It is a brief\nnarrative of their last hours on earth, which were a triumphant ending\nto a long life of devotion to their Master:\n\n NEW YORK CITY, November 15, 1886.\n\n Your kind letter was duly received and contents noted. At your\n request, I will endeavor to give you a brief account of the\n \"goings\" of my departed parents. In a spirit of humility I desire\n to avoid all expressions of fulsomeness when speaking of their\n lives and last moments, though it might be said that those who were\n at the death-bed of either, and saw them in their last hours, would\n have been willing to have left all to exchange places with them. I\n would say, in the words of one of old, \"Let me die the death of the\n righteous, and let my end be like theirs.\" As they lived so they\n died! As father lay down, so he never moved until he was carried\n into the arms of Jesus.\n\n All through his two days' sickness, as we put our ears to his lips,\n we could hear him earnestly praying for Allen Street Church, her\n minister and people, and for his family. Our mother would\n frequently speak to him, saying:\n\n \"Just one word, papa!\"\n\n But he would only shake his head, without uttering a word.\n\n The history of his going was as follows:\n\n On Tuesday, October 19th, father left the office for the last time.\n When Wednesday morning, October 20th, dawned, he complained of a\n pain in his side, remarking that he \"did not think he would go to\n the office before noon.\" He did not go at all.\n\n I went to the house in the evening, to find that the doctor had been\n called _twice_, and that father had pleurisy. We passed through the\n night watching and hoping for favorable changes; but, unfortunately,\n the next (Thursday) morning, October 21st, pneumonia set in, and the\n case became complicated. Already very weak, he grew more feeble\n every hour. He had done his part of this life's work, and seemed\n conscious that the Universal Master was about to finish the mansion\n into which his servant was fully prepared to enter. A peaceful,\n quiet Christian in the home circle; a zealous worker in the Church;\n watchful in his business relations with the world, he looked the\n very embodiment of peaceful repose in his last moments, and on his\n earthly bed of sleeping rest--so life-like, too, that I dare not say\n bed of death--as he breathed his last at 2.10 A.M., Saturday,\n October 23d.\n\n The expressions and sentiments of many who visited the house during\n his sickness, and while lying in the casket (Roman Catholics,\n believers, and unbelievers) were all in harmony with the idea that\n \"if ever a human being entered heaven, he had gone straight to that\n realm of blissful repose.\"\n\n But to go back just prior to his demise, when the doctor quietly\n told us he could not live another day. We tried hard to be resigned\n on that Friday night, feeling sure that the end was near. After the\n meeting at the Church was dismissed, the minister came to the house\n and remained with us until after midnight, obtaining from father\n the words and signs that are precious as he passed away; the last\n audible words to me being: \"William, God bless you and your\n family!\"\n\n In the history of _my_ mother's demise, I will briefly state that,\n on Saturday night, October 23d, while father lay asleep in Jesus,\n she went to the store, as was her life-long custom, with some\n tracts, and to purchase a few things. On her return after coming\n up-stairs she threw herself down upon the sofa with the words, \"No\n papa to come and carry up the basket for me to-night!\" and there she\n sat in deep affliction, as if her heart would break.\n\n On Sabbath night, October 24th, when quite a number of people were\n in the house, she very earnestly exhorted them in Christ Jesus,\n allowing no one to pass unobserved. In turning to one young wife, I\n heard her kindly urge, \"Always be cheerful and happy; don't\n discourage your husband by always complaining. He will also get\n discouraged. That is what ruins many a happy home.\" Singular to\n note, my mother had scarcely got through, when she, too, complained\n of a pain in her side, remarking, \"It is papa's pain.\"\n\n On Monday morning she arose to eventually lie upon the sofa in an\n unconscious state. The funeral services over father's remains were\n to be observed in the Allen Street Presbyterian Church at 1 P.M.:\n therefore the doctor came in to arouse her, and gave her a\n stimulant, so that she went to the church with us, returning home\n instead of going to the grounds, after the services; and here I may\n say her pastor preached a very solemn sermon, exactly in harmony\n with the tenor of father's private and public life.\n\n One thing happened (when the relatives were invited to step forward\n and see the remains for the last time) that was singular, viz.: As\n my mother bent over to take a last look at the life-long partner of\n her joys and sorrows, her veil became attached to the handle of the\n casket, which my sister was compelled to stoop and unloosen.\n Without being superstitious, this looked like the dead reaching\n forth to the living.\n\n At all events, on Tuesday, October 26th, mother was confined to her\n bed, and, as she had said, she had \"papa's pain\"--pleurisy. The\n next day, Wednesday, October 27th, pneumonia followed, when it\n required three persons to care for her in the day, and three to\n attend her through the night, with no change for the better.\n\n On Thursday there was no favorable sign to note--suspense was still\n in the balancing beam. Toward Friday night, October 29th, all hope\n having vanished, my mother was quietly informed that \"her day was\n short!\" To which she responded: \"My day is short. I must finish my\n work!\"\n\n \"Then occurred a repetition of the previous call upon the Allen\n Street Church, a second Friday in succession. In response, the\n minister, elder, and' several young men came promptly to the house\n to hear the testimony of a sainted mother in Israel going to rest.\n After supplication in prayer and a hymn of praise, the minister\n asked mother:\n\n \"Have you any word for me, sister?\"\n\n Turning over and taking his hand, she said:\n\n \"No! you know these things yourself. Preach the gospel uncolored!\"\n\n To a Roman Catholic she remarked:\n\n \"There are no forms about my religion!\"\n\n To her daughter-in-law, my wife, she remarked:\n\n \"You have a mother!\"\n\n To the young men present she lovingly urged:\n\n \"Avoid bad company; learn of Christ; seek to be like Him, little by\n little.\"\n\n To Mrs. ----, who is a visitor, she firmly said:\n\n \"You are well liked, and can do a great deal of good; but pray with\n the people you visit!\"\n\n Then at times she would exclaim:\n\n \"Oh, I have so much to do; but I am so weak!\"\n\n When Esther, my sister, soothingly said:\n\n \"Mother, please do not talk so much, it weakens you;\" she responded\n with:\n\n \"The doctor says my day is short!\"\n\n Later on, requesting my wife to remove her stockings, she remarked,\n \"I have got to the edge of the river!\" Finally: \"Once I was young;\n now I am old, and have _never_ been forsaken!\" were the last words\n of testimony she left those present to bear witness to as she fell\n asleep in the Lord.\n\n What a blessed \"going\" for a life-long, zealous Christian who was\n left an orphan when only eight years of age (as seen and recorded\n in another chapter), with a rich uncle who would have done anything\n for her if she had only married as he desired. What an\n encouragement it holds forth to the living to trust everything to\n God, and simply follow as He may direct.\n\n Death had no sting or terror for her. She spoke calmly of the last\n rites to be observed over her remains, saying she would like to be\n buried like \"Papa\" (father), and asked my wife if the services\n would be held over her at the house, or in the church. When\n informed that the service would be held in the church, she\n smilingly said, \"Very well,\" and cheerfully resigned herself from\n earth to heaven.\n\n Her last exhortation to myself was: \"Be faithful, humble, meek, and\n constantly keep at the Master's feet until He calls you up higher.\n Be kind, gentle, and patiently forbearing with your sister.\" In her\n discourse with my sister she was very anxious and urgent that her\n daughter would ultimately meet her parents in heaven, for which we\n pray. Her faith was great; she had no fear or thought for self; her\n great concern was for the heavenly welfare of those around her. She\n spoke and acted as if her seat or place in the realm of bliss had\n been long secured to her--in that great faith she died, but not\n before, in her parting words, she had instructed me, \"To gather up\n the books and tracts; to see that they were properly distributed,\n and that not one sheet be lost, so that the work would go on after\n she was gone.\"\n\n This second source of anxiety having been allayed, she rapturously\n extended her hands to meet the angels, and raising herself up in\n bed, turned her head and raised her eyes as if to gaze upon the\n celestial messengers sent to bear her home, before she said to us:\n \"Be faithful till the Master calls!\" then grasping the hands\n reached out to hers, she was gone--gone from a finite life into\n heavenly rest!\n\n One or two other items I must note. In looking over my father's\n papers, I find that he kept a private diary (which forms a part of\n the contents of this work) of the texts and sermons he heard on the\n Sabbath, from the year 1858, to the Sabbath before he died, and\n much significance is given to one he heard you preach from the Book\n of Jude, 23d verse: \"Hating even a garment spotted by the flesh.\" I\n feel confident that he grew in grace under the Word of Life\n conveyed to him by you, and assisted by a close study of his own\n Bible. In his usual course of reading the Scriptures, he read on\n the day he was taken sick the 20th Psalm, though not permitted\n again to drink from the same fountain of Eternal Life, for he was\n going, unconsciously, to realize the efficacy of the 21st Psalm--a\n favorite with him--and to receive the crown of gold and life\n everlasting.\n\n The general remarks of the outside world at the time fostered great\n interest in the fact of such peaceful \"goings\" from earth to heaven\n of two such worthy Christians, at dates so close to each other.\n\n Neither of them feared death. Both had lived and worked in harmony\n for the same great end.\n\n Both to be ultimately called up higher in one week and two hours of\n each other.\n\n WILLIAM KNOWLES.\n\nI desire to supplement the foregoing account of the \"Last Hours,\" by\nstating that when we reached the house of sickness and death, we found\nher son reading that precious portion of God's Word, the 14th chapter\nof St. John's Gospel, \"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in\nGod, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions; if it\nwere not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you,\"\netc. The scene was deeply affecting. Loved ones were gathered around\nthe bedside.\n\nAfter reading the Scriptures, and prayer, we united in singing that\nwell known hymn,\n\n Jesus, lover of my soul,\n Let me to Thy bosom fly,\n While the nearer waters roll,\n While the tempest still is high,\n Hide me, O my Saviour, hide,\n Till the storm of life be past;\n Safe into the haven guide;\n O receive my soul at last!\n\nThe dying missionary endeavored to join in the singing though extremely\nfaint, and life's latest sun was sinking fast, for the hour of her\ndeparture had come, and she heard the voice that called her home, and\nat last she peacefully entered into that rest that remains for the\npeople of God.\n\nThree thousand copies of the \"Last Hours\" were printed in pamphlet form\nand widely scattered over different parts of the country. And the Lord\nhas been graciously pleased to bless their circulation to the spiritual\nedification of those who had the privilege of reading them.\n\nIt was a singular coincidence that the last chapter read by the Elder\nwas the same as the one selected by the minister as the Lesson of the\nDay, on the occasion of the celebration of the Jubilee exercises in\nhonor of the noble and beloved Queen Victoria, in Westminster Abbey.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nTHE DEAD WHO DIE IN THE LORD.[2]\n\n\"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the\ndead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that\nthey may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them\"--Rev.\nxiv. 13.\n\n [2] The substance of a sermon preached in the Allen Street\n Presbyterian Church, New York City, October 25, 1886, on the\n occasion of the death of Elder James Knowles, who triumphantly\n fell asleep in Jesus, October 23, 1886, in the seventy fifth year\n of his age.\n\n\nElder James Knowles is at rest--sweet, sweet rest. It is the rest for\nwhich he sighed and for which he prayed. His favorite hymn was:\n\n O land of rest, for thee I sigh,\n When will the moment come,\n When I shall lay my armor by,\n And dwell in peace at home?\n\nTo keep an eye on the home above is consummate wisdom. Hence the\ninjunction of the Holy Apostle, \"Set your affections on things above.\"\nThis exercise of the heart can only be attained by first seeking an\ninterest in the atoning blood and justifying righteousness of the Lord\nJesus Christ.\n\n\"John looked, and, lo! a Lamb (the Lamb of God) stood on the mount Sion,\nand with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's\nname (the new name) written in their foreheads, and I heard a voice\nfrom heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great\nthunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and\nthey sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four\nbeasts and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the four\nhundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the\nearth.\" Those who had here below redemption through His blood, even the\nforgiveness of their sins, according to the riches of His grace. These\nare they who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus\nChrist. Concerning such is this solemn affirmation made, corroborated\nby the attestation of the Divine voice, that the dearly beloved John\nheard, saying, \"Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.\"\n\nYou know that the original signification of the word \"blessed\" means\nhappy. In Christ's inimitable Sermon on the Mount He declares, \"Happy\nare the beggars in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.\" All\nthe uninterrupted felicities of the glory land are theirs at the hour\nof dissolution. Their joy is augmented by the pure fellowship and\nfriendship of the Saviour and the saints before the throne of the\nEternal.\n\nThere is a broad avenue opened up to the saved of pleasing and familiar\nintercourse with the general assembly, and the spirits of just men made\nperfect. They share the attention and affection of the heavenly host,\nand are gladdened by the presence of Him who is the King eternal,\nimmortal, but not now invisible, for they behold the King in his\nbeauty.\n\n\"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.\" Death to the Christian is\nrepresented in the Scripture as a sleep. \"Them that sleep in Jesus will\nGod bring with Him.\" He is redeemed from the power of death. \"For\nChrist came to deliver them, who, through fear of death were all their\nlife time subject to bondage.\" (Heb. ii. 15.) All believers, therefore,\nneed not dread death--he is a conquered enemy. And so every one of us\nwho are here to day in Christ can say humbly, but truly, \"O death,\nwhere is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?\" No Christian,\nhowever weak he may be, need fail to feel with Paul, and ask the same\nquestion, \"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall\ntribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or\nperil, or sword?... Nay in all these things we are more than conquerors\nthrough Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor\nlife, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,\nnor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,\nshall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ\nJesus our Lord.\"\n\nThe last great conflict is inevitable, but the secret of a triumphant\ndeparture from this life is found in the language of the \"Faith Psalm,\"\n\"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will\nfear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort\nme.\" It is not really death that we have to grapple with. It is only\nthe shadow of death. We do not fear the shadow of a sword, or the\nshadow of a serpent. The above verse of the twenty-third Psalm is very\nfrequently misquoted. It is called the dark valley. But you remember\nthat when Bunyan's pilgrim came down to the valley it was not dark, for\nJesus, the light, was with him. The sting of death is not simply\nconcealed; it is completely destroyed by the death of Christ. He\nconquered the great enemy. \"The sting of death is sin, the strength of\nsin is the law; but thanks be unto God who giveth us the victory\nthrough our Lord Jesus Christ.\"\n\nThus understood, the Christian is truly blessed in his death. He cannot\nbe separated from Christ, or from his symmetrically developed spiritual\ncharacter. Death is not the extinction of being. We must make a\ndistinction between natural and spiritual death. It is sin unforgiven\nthat gives death his power. It is a fearful catastrophe to those out of\nChrist. Hence the holiness of others will not avail them at the hour of\ndissolution. \"When the soul raves round the walls of its clay tenement,\nand runs to each avenue, and shrieks for help when no help can come,\"\nthen the door of salvation is eternally shut. The last ray of hope is\nthen forever faded. \"There are no acts of pardon past in the cold grave\nto which we haste.\" Oh, let us not content ourselves with a mere\nexternal profession of Christianity. True wisdom consists in having the\ngraces of the Holy Spirit in the heart. Walking day by day by faith in\nJesus Christ, so that when the cry is made, \"Behold the Bridegroom\ncometh, go ye out to meet Him,\" we go forth with joy and not with\ngrief.\n\nScriptural facts concerning death go to show that it is not an\nunimportant event. To the soul who is found clothed not in his own\nrighteousness which is of the law, but with the righteousness of the\nRedeemer, to die is gain, for precious in the sight of the Lord is the\ndeath of his saints (or holy ones). It is then the refining process is\nthoroughly completed. They are ready to be offered. The honor and favor\nof the Father is now about to be received. The union formed on earth is\nat death gloriously ratified in heaven.\n\nThe obedience of Christ's death is fully realized to be laid to their\naccount. The life and immortality brought to light by the Gospel is\nthen permanently enjoyed. The clouds and mysteries that cluster around\nthis earthly life are then dissipated. The full communion of the\npopulace of glory is wonderfully experienced without interruption or\nrestraint. The \"conflict is over, and the prize is won.\" \"Let me die\nthe death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his.\" It is\nthen we view the Divine glory, for this was a part of Christ's prayer:\n\"Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where\nI am, that they may behold my glory.\"\n\nYou see, then, how the believer is ushered into the beauties and\nblessedness of the beatic state. There is, therefore, nothing to be\ndreaded by the approach of the last enemy. For, says the prophet, He\n\"will swallow up death in victory: and the Lord God will wipe away\ntears from off all faces; and the rebuke of the people shall he take\naway from off all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken it.\" It is by a\nrealization of his security in death that the believer in Jesus can\ncalmly meditate on the hour of dissolution--that he is blest with\nlongings for home; that he is soon to be delivered from the present\nevil world; in short, that he is completely constituted an actuality in\nthe Church triumphant. He is at last brought into intimate alliance\nwith Christ, not now by faith but by sight, not by prayer, but by\npraise; not by earthly circumscribed anticipation, but by the power of\nunfathomable and constraining grace, and a deep sensibility of soul\nwhich springs from the knowledge that he is forever with the Lord; now\nthe strugglings of faith are ended.\n\nWhen Peter, James, and John beheld Christ transfigured on the summit of\nthe mount, and as they gazed upon the glory of the scene, they said,\n\"It is good to be here.\" It was a sight of Moses and Elias that\nenraptured their soul. That was only a transitory sight. But at death\nthe Christian is admitted into endless glory. It is day without a\nnight. It is to be admitted into the House of the Lord. \"The house not\nmade by hands, eternal in the heavens.\" Through much tribulation they\nenter into the kingdom. Soon shall close their earthly mission; soon\nshall end their pilgrim days; hope shall change to glad fruition. God\nis continually guiding our feet to those mansions above, where flowers\nthat never fade do deck the heavenly plains. Where our loved ones gone\nbefore shall meet us and greet us on the golden strand. Many are the\nvoices so sweet and tender, and true, who are calling us away to join\nthe holy ones, that no man can number, who stand around the throne\nclothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. The angels beckon\nus away to join their ranks. Truly blessed are the dead who die in the\nLord.\n\nIn the Treasury Hymnal there is a Pilgrim Song by Dr. Horatius Bonar,\nand the music is from Beethoven; it is very sweet and cheering in this\nconnection:\n\n A few more years shall roll, a few more seasons come,\n And we shall be with those that rest asleep within the tomb.\n Then, oh, my Lord, prepare my soul for that great day,\n Oh, wash me in my Saviour's blood, and take my sins away.\n\nWe truly spend our years as a tale that is told. But in heavenly love\nabiding, no change my heart shall fear. How precious is this thought;\nthough friend after friend depart, \"For who has not lost a friend?\"\nWhat though the storm of bereavement and affliction howl without?\nStill, amid it all, the unbounded, uncomprehended love of God changeth\nnever.\n\nThough our days are determined, and the number of our months are with\nGod; \"though He hath appointed the bounds that He cannot pass, yet He\nwill hide us in the grave; He will keep us secret until His wrath upon\nthe ungodly is past.\" We read, however, His power to redeem and deliver\nHis elect, even amid the wreck and ruin of years and the gloom of the\ngrave, for Christ is the resurrection and the life.\n\nThere is rest, yonder; only just across the river. It is only a narrow\nstream. \"This is not my place of resting; mine's a city yet to come;\nonward to it I am hastening; on to my eternal home.\" \"I go to prepare a\nplace for you,\" said Jesus. No threatening danger or death there. It is\nno desert dreary. It is freedom from pain and weariness, from sin and\nsadness, in the dominions of the Bridegroom. For He says, \"I have\nbetrothed thee unto me forever; I have betrothed thee in righteousness,\nin the judgment, in loving kindness, and in mercy, and in\nfaithfulness.\"\n\n\"_In the Lord._\" How significant the words. It is to have the infinite\narms of love and power encircling us. It is not to receive the spirit of\nbondage again to fear. It is to rise above the uncertainties of this\nlife to the realities of that land where congregations ne'er break up,\nand Sabbaths have no end. Linked to the eternal, never broken chain of\nGod's goodness, what can affright? Can the consolation of God be small\nwith those who are His, when we are informed that He will ransom His\npeople from the power of the grave? Shortly it will be all over with you\nin your pilgrimage journey. Watch and wait, therefore, for the coming of\nthe King.\n\nOn earth, here and now, those who die in the Lord have attentively\nlistened to His kind remonstrances, concerning reconciliation and\nentire renunciation of every false hope of heaven only through faith in\nthe name of Jesus. They realize that God's methods of mercy are\npeculiarly calculated to impart peace in the hour of sickness and\ndeath. They see the city which hath foundations whose builder and maker\nis God, where the inhabitants say, \"I am sick, I am weary no more.\"\nThey know that their Redeemer liveth, and though worms may destroy the\nbody, yet in their flesh they shall see God. They know there are realms\nwhere\n\n The voices of song never cease 'neath a burden of tears,\n And the music falls sweet from those radiant spheres.\n\nGod's children on earth are remarkable for their love to Christ and His\nChurch, and delight to meditate on the glories of heaven. Hence when\ndeath comes they are prepared to enter upon their purchased\npossessions, for which they habitually awaited with bright\nanticipations, knowing full well that He that had promised is able also\nto perform.\n\n\"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the\nkingdom of heaven, but He that doeth the will of my Father which is in\nheaven.\" \"For to be carnally minded is death (death eternal), but to be\nspiritually minded is life and peace.\"\n\nHenry says, \"The _Providence_ that removes God's saints has a loved\nvoice which crieth in the city to the survivors. The death of the saints\nspeaketh the evil of sin.\" It is owing to that they die, for \"the body\nis dead because of sin.\" It speaks the vanities of life, and of all its\ndelights and enjoyments; for if the favorites of heaven are dying daily,\nand going out of this world it is a sign that the things of this world\nare not the best things, else those whom God loves best would not be\ntaken soonest from them. It speaks that all things come alike to all,\nand that one event happeneth to the righteous and to the wicked, \"so\nthat none knows love or hatred by all that is before him in this world.\"\nBut he that would know it must look before him into the invisible world.\nLay your ears this day to the coffins and graves of departed saints, who\nthough they do not pray for us, yet preach to us in the words of Christ,\n\"Be ye also ready.\" (Matt. xxiv. 44.) They are gone, and we are going;\ntheir glass is run out, and ours is running; and therefore it concerns\nus to daily die unto sin, and be alive to holiness, standing on the\nwatchtower, like the sentinel, with \"loins girt,\" and \"lamps burning,\"\nknowing that it is not the stroke, but the sting of death from which the\nimputed righteousness of the Redeemer delivers.\n\nGod's saints are like a green olive-tree, in the house of God, because\nthey trust in His manifold mercy. They are like trees planted by the\nrivers of water, and whose leaf shall never fade. While death can lay\nhis cold and icy hand upon the Christian's body, yet his soul he can\nnever touch. While God destroys the wicked at death, and plucks him out\nof his dwelling-place, and roots him out of the land of the living, yet\nto die in the Lord is to sing with the Psalmist, \"I will not be\nafraid,\" \"I will render praises unto thee, for thou hast delivered my\nsoul from death,\" \"and thou shalt bring me up again from the depths of\nthe earth.\"\n\nHeaven is propitious. Streaming love flows from the fountain of Divine\ncompassion. \"God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son,\nthat whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting\nlife.\" Oh, this constant untiring love of our kind heavenly father.\n\"Scarcely,\" says Paul, \"for a righteous man will one die: yet,\nperadventure, for a good man some would even dare to die; but God\ncommendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ\ndied for us.\" If we would _die in the Lord_, we must get a sight of\nCalvary. He has died that we might live. We must behold His pierced\nhands and feet and side. It is this sight that saves.\n\n Not all the blood of goats and bulls,\n On Jewish altars slain,\n Can give the guilty conscience peace,\n Or wash away the stain.\n But Christ, the heavenly Lamb,\n Takes _all_ our guilt away.\n\nIt is the free gift of grace that, through saving faith, that will hold\nus until this short life is past, and then when we come to the river of\ndeath, like our dear Elder, we will reach our home safely. \"Where sin\nabounded, grace did much more abound, that as sin hath reigned unto\ndeath, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto _eternal\nlife_ by Jesus Christ our Lord.\"\n\nAre we all who are here to-day to this funeral _in the Lord_--\"I in them\nand thou in me?\" Perhaps, some have been living at a distance from Him.\nOthers may have been grieving the Holy Spirit. The Master has come (by\nthis death) and calls for thee. He is standing to-day at the door of thy\nheart knocking and saying, \"If any man hear my voice, and open the door,\nI will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.\" No friend\nso forgiving, so gentle as he. Oh, wilt thou let Him depart? Patiently\nwaiting, earnestly pleading, Jesus thy Saviour knocks at thine heart. Is\nthere some idol that you are cherishing? Is there some secret, darling\nsin to which you are clinging? Oh, what wilt thou do in the swellings of\nJordan without an interest in the atoning work of Jesus? Are you still\nslighting the Saviour? He waits for thee. How tender the look. He says\nunto you as he said to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, \"How often would I\nhave gathered thy children together as a hen gathereth her chickens\nunder her wings, but ye would not.\"\n\nChrist alone is our true Shechem, our City of Refuge. He is the living\nwell of Jacob and the rifled tomb of Joseph. Isaiah says, \"A man shall\nbe as an hiding-place from the wind and a covert from the tempest, as\nrivers of water in a dry place, and as the shadow of a great rock in a\nweary land.\" What boundless resources are found in Christ. We are\nguilty, but He atoned for our guilt; He paid the ransom price; He\nengaged in the great work of paying the penalty due to our sin, for He\nwas made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the\nrighteousness of God in Him. \"We could never have been saved without\nDivine interference, save from going down to the pit, for I have found\na ransom,\" was the declaration of the stupendous wealth of God's free\nlove. For it is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that\nChrist Jesus came into the world to save sinners, even the very chief.\nThe mysteries of redeeming love are solved at Golgotha.\n\nListen to the sweet singer of Israel as he surveys the administration\nof mercy seen anticipatively at the Cross:\n\n I love the Lord, because my voice\n And prayer He did hear;\n I, while I live, will call on Him\n Who bowed to me His ear.\n\nHe was greatly encouraged to serve God in view of the alliance and\nassistance of Jehovah towards the redemption of Israel. In the fortieth\nPsalm he illustrates this thought still further:\n\n I waited for the Lord my God,\n And patiently did bear.\n He took me from the fearful pit,\n And from the miry clay,\n And on a Rock He set my feet,\n Establishing my way.\n\nThe nature of salvation is the same all the world over. The scheme is\nsovereign. The objects are poor, helpless sinners. The results are ever\nthe same, namely, the forgiveness of sin--justification by faith alone;\nand then, at last, an abundant entrance is afforded into the beautiful\nmansions of light, where friendship is changeless and carkering care is\nunknown, and no more pale faces with mute hearts breaking every day.\nYonder we shall be clad in the beauteous wedding garments of the King.\n\nTo die in the Lord will be an ample equivalent for all of earth's\nsorrows and difficulties. In the meantime, we must continually say\nconcerning such providences as the present, \"Draw me, we will run after\nthee. Awake, O north wind and come thou, south, and blow upon my garden\nthat the spices thereof may flow out.\" This loss will work together for\nour good if we hear His voice. It calls us to the necessary duty of\nimmediate decision. We must not halt any longer between two opinions.\nIf the Lord be God follow Him, but if Baal be your God follow him no\nlonger. But please remember that the wages of sin is death. You are\ncalled to decide for Christ, to decide for heaven, by this sad\nbereavement. He draws you with the cords of love as with the bands of a\nman. Will you run after Him?\n\nThere is no one can help you in the hour of death and the judgment but\nJesus. Choose ye this day whom ye will serve. Yield, oh! yield to His\ncall! Say yes, \"My beloved is mine and I am His; He feedeth among the\nlilies until the daybreak, and the shadows flee away.\" Oh! turn your\neyes upwards:\n\n Where high the heavenly temple stands,\n The house of God not made with hands,\n A great High Priest our nature wears,\n The guardian of mankind appears.\n\nIf we would die in the Lord, we must recognize Christ, not only as\nhaving died that we might live, but also as having triumphed over the\ngrave, and is now sitting at the right hand of God making continual\nintercession for us. By day and by night He pleads our cause. Don't try\nto get to heaven by the intercession of saints or angels. Christ alone\nis the Great High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. Disobedience\nin this direction will prove disastrous.\n\nSay, \"who is this that cometh from Edom with dyed garments, from Bozrah\ntravelling in the greatness of His strength?\" I that speak in\nrighteousness, mighty to save. This is your Daysman, your Mediator. He\nhath opened a fountain for sin and uncleanness.\n\n Five bleeding wounds He bears,\n Received on Calvary,\n Now pour effectual prayers\n And strongly speak for thee.\n\nIf you would die like our dear Brother Knowles, _in the Lord_, then\nto-day behold His wounded hands and side. We have all sinned against God\nand abused His mercy; but, oh, let us to-day consecrate ourselves to\nChrist, and like the prodigal son say, \"I will arise and go to my\nfather.\" Christ is our great representative before the throne. Oh, that\nHe would ever teach us to offer this prayer:\n\n Lord God of Hosts, my prayer hear;\n O Jacob's God, give ear!\n See God, our shield, look on the face\n Of thine anointed dear.\n\nI tell you, my friends, we do not want any new school theology. The\nholy religion of our fathers is good enough for me. Here it is a loving\nfather, a crucified and triumphant and pleading saviour for us poor,\nmiserable and helpless sinners, and a Home beyond the flood.\n\nI will arise now and go about the city, in the streets, on the cars, in\nthe workshop, on the ship, on the sea and land where-ever God may guide\nmy wandering footsteps through each perplexing path of life. And I will\nseek Him whom my soul loveth.\n\n_They rest from their labors and their works do follow them._ The\nPsalmist says that our strength is labor and sorrow. The more we toil\nfor Christ and His church the more we honor Him and become\nfruit-bearers. By a constant course of activity and devotedness for the\nwelfare of fallen humanity, the capacities of the soul are greatly\nenlarged, and we apprehend more fully the fact that God hath put the\ntreasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of\nGod and not of man. Sometimes, too, our good will be evil spoken of and\nattributed to selfish motives. We may be traduced by tongues which\nneither know our faculties nor our person. 'Tis but the rough road that\nvirtue must go through. We must not allow any discouragements or censure\nto retard our aggressive work, remembering constantly that the Master\nwas accused of having a devil, and that he cast out devils by the power\nof Beelzebub. Oh, what wrong ideas men have of the great work of saving\nsouls. What prejudices, what indifference, what neglect, what\nlukewarmness have the true servants of Christ to encounter as they\nearnestly toil in transplanting souls into the vineyard _of the Lord_.\n\nThe life of Christ on earth was a life of generous labor; and when He\ncalled His disciples, He said, \"Follow me, and I will make you fishers\nof men.\" Kempis, in his \"Imitation of Christ,\" says, \"by the words of\nChrist we are taught to imitate His life and manner, if we would be\ntruly enlightened and be delivered from all blindness of heart.\" \"Learn\nof me,\" said Jesus, as well as \"Come unto me. I have set the Lord\nalways before me, said David. What a glorious thing it is for the\nservant of Christ to know that he is earnestly engaged in the work of\nHis Master. It is our labors of love that alone meets with the smile\nand approbation of God, for He is cognizant of everything we try to\naccomplish for His cause on earth. Oh, that we may say from the heart,\nI must work the works of Him that sent me; the night cometh when no man\ncan work.\"\n\nThe trees of the Lord are full of sap, they are fat and flourishing. We\nare all familiar with the work of blessed beneficence of Howard, the\ngreat philanthropist, and Henry Martyn, the self-denying missionary. To\nbe a true Christian, then, requires a life of toil. \"For man goeth\nforth unto the work and to his labor until the evening.\" How sweet,\nthen, is rest to the laboring man. When the harvest is gathered in. A\nharvest of souls for Christ. Here am I, Lord, and the children which\nthou hast given me. Paul said that I may so preach and labor that I may\npresent every one of you perfect before God. This is no mean toil. What\nprayers. What watching. What toil. What tears. Ah! but at eventide it\nshall be light. Strange language.\n\nWhat a beautiful and touching description does Burns give, in his\n\"Cottar's Saturday Night,\" of the sweet rest and joy that springs into\nthe soul when the weary work is over. He says:\n\n The toil-worn cottar frae his labor goes,\n This night his weekly moil is at an end,\n Collects his spades, his mattocks and his hoes,\n Hoping the morn in ease and rest to spend,\n And weary o'er the moor his course does hameward bend.\n\nThe next stanza can be truly applied to our Elder in his Christian\nexperience:\n\n The parent pair their secret homage pay,\n And proffer up to heaven the warm request,\n That He who stills the raven's clamorous nest,\n And decks the lily fair in flowery pride,\n Would in His way His Wisdom see the best,\n For them and for their little ones provide,\n But chiefly in their hearts with _grace Divine_ reside.\n\nI think this is the most descriptive, and true, and touching scene of a\nChristian man's experience that can be found in any language. Burns\nknew how to touch the tender chord of a human heart. \"An honest man's\nthe noblest work of God.\" \"They rest from their labor and their works\ndo follow them.\"\n\nPaul, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, says, \"Beloved, we are persuaded\nbetter things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we\nthus speak: For God is not unrighteous to forget your work, and the\nlove which He showed unto His name.\"\n\nListen, then, to this sweet, silent voice calling us to go and do\nlikewise.\n\nLord, what wilt thou have me to do? It is to a life of toil, not of\nindolence, we are called. The fields are white already, unto harvest.\nWho will bear the sheaves away? Who among our young men in this\ncongregation will take the place of Elder Knowles? Can you be engaged\nin a grander or nobler work? He that winneth souls is wise. Is there\nany purer pleasure in this world than the joy that is experienced in\nthe heart when souls are converted to God? Oh, young men, deeply\nmeditate on that precious passage. He that converteth a sinner from the\nerror of his ways, doth save a soul from death, and doth hide a\nmultitude of sins. Are not the opportunities great in this city for\ndoing good? Is not the wickedness great? Are not souls perishing around\nyou for lack of knowledge? Resolve, from this day, that, God helping\nyou, you will dedicate all your powers of heart, soul, and strength to\nthe blessed service of Christ. You are not your own. You have been\nsaved, that you may save others by pulling them out of the fire. Haste\nthen, haste to the rescue. Souls may perish, and go down to hell, while\nyou are deliberating.\n\nI remember, years ago, while coming into New York Harbor, we lost a\nvery promising young man overboard. The life-boat was launched, and the\nlife-buoy was cut adrift. But through some delay, the young man\nperished. What a tremendous disappointment those parents experienced as\nthey stepped on board the frigate at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and\nlearned that their darling boy had found a watery grave.\n\nI never think of the above sad occurrence but I am forcibly reminded\nthat through the delays and sad neglect of Christian parents and\nSabbath-school teachers, many young persons perish, and I inquire, Who\nis responsible for their destruction? Many ask the question that Cain\nimpudently put to the Lord, \"Am I my brother's keeper?\" We can be\nguilty of other men's sins. This is a mysterious fact, but it is\nnevertheless true. If you are an idler in the Master's vineyard, you\nare, to a certain extent, responsible. Oh, that the Holy Spirit would\nshow us our duty to our fellow-men.\n\nOur departed brother realized this truth. Just look at a man\nseventy-five years old, occupied every Lord's Day teaching a large\nclass of youth in the Sabbath-school. But you must remember that for\nsix days in the week he nobly toiled as a printer, from eight in the\nmorning until six at night. And he seldom missed the prayer-meeting, or\nother gatherings of the Church. He was, indeed, a worker that needeth\nnot to be ashamed.\n\nIn the absence of the pastor he frequently led the prayer-meeting, and\nhis expositions of the chapter read as the lesson of the night were\nvery scriptural, cheering, and full of encouragement.\n\nHe was familiarly acquainted with the Word of God, and his prayers were\nearnest, solemn, and to the point, because his soul was surcharged with\nDivine truth.\n\nIt is no wonder, then, that everybody loved him--his young men in the\nvarious Bible-classes especially. Eternity alone will reveal the amount\nof good he accomplished by his kind, gentle, meek, cheerful, and quiet\nspirit.\n\nServant of Christ, well done; you rest from your labor, and your works\ndo follow you.\n\nLet us look at his work as a ruling Elder of the Church of Christ.\n\nPaul, in writing to Timothy, says: \"Let the elders that rule well, be\ncounted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word\nand doctrine\" (1 Timothy v. 17). An elder is one who rules the house of\nGod. They are, therefore, the magistrates of the Church. They are to\nadminister the laws of His holy sanctuary. How great and important this\nwork. Who is sufficient for these things? The pastor, in apostolic\ntimes, was called an elder. But as an under-shepherd his labors are\ngreatly assisted and augmented by the hearty co-operation of a\njudicious selection of men filled with the spirit of God, and duly\nordained for their work. Men who recognize among their fellows no moral\nsuperiority, but that spiritually-mindedness that flows from prayer and\nthe study of God's Word. Their work is immortal. Their duties are\ngreat. But their peculiar privileges are greater--to rule well the\nHouse of God.\n\nIt is, certainly, a sad sight to see men filling this sacred office\nwithout the requisite qualifications. The negotiations between man and\nman are so stupendous, that it is not every member of the Church who is\nfitted for this responsible work. We ought to study adaptation in the\nselection and ordination of ruling them.\n\nEvery time I looked in the face of Elder Knowles, I was deeply\nimpressed with the thought that no blunder had been committed when he\nwas chosen and set apart in this line of Apostolic toil. For he was a\ngood soldier of Jesus Christ.\n\nHe knew full well how to rule his own spirit, and he that can do that\nis more mighty than he who taketh a city. Self must be slain by the\nsword of the spirit, if we would lead the army of the Lord on to\nvictory. Hence the solemn injunction of Paul: \"I charge thee before\nGod, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without\npreferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.... Lay\nhands suddenly on no man\" (1 Timothy, v. 21-22).\n\nWe commend, for attentive perusal and prayerful reflection, the\nqualification of an elder, as laid down by Paul, and elaborated by the\nholy McCheyne, strictly germane to the life of Elder James Knowles.\n\nThey are fundamental requisites. The good McCheyne, of St. Peter's,\nDundee, says: \"I feel, brethren, that a minister alone is incapable of\nruling the House of God well. If a minister is to thrive in his own\nsoul, _he must be half of his time on his knees_; and therefore, if\nChrist's house is to be ruled well, there must not only be pastors, but\nthere must be ruling elders.\"\n\n\"The first qualification is grace. Grace in the heart. If it be a\nqualification in a church member that he should have grace, then much\nmore ought it to be a qualification in one who rules the Church of God.\nHow is it possible for him to admit any to the Lord's table, when he is\nbut a judge himself?\" How is it possible to excommunicate, when he\nought to be excommunicated himself? So, brethren, a graceless elder is\na curse instead of a blessing.\n\nWe can safely say our dear departed elder had grace. This was\nremarkably developed in his Christian character. Patience found a\npermanent home in his heart. It occupied a significantly prominent\nplace there, and was strenuously cultivated. It was copied and\ncommented upon by all who knew him, and uniformly evoked universal\nfavor and approval by the various ministers and sessions of the\ndifferent Presbyterian churches in this city, in which he was an elder.\n\nHe had many trials, and we think he could say with Paul, in his letter\nto the Church at Rome: \"We glory in tribulation, also knowing that\ntribulation worketh patience, and patience experience.\"\n\nIt seems they had some little misunderstanding in the session of one of\nthe churches to which he (our elder) formerly belonged. And some remark\nmade by the elder to the pastor was so cutting, that the minister said\nunless the elder would take back what he said, that next Sabbath he\nwould tender his resignation to the congregation.\n\nThe elder replied that he would not take it back for him. To preserve\nharmony, and be a peacemaker, Elder Knowles stepped up to his brother\nin the session, and asked him if he would not take it back for his\nsake, and the sake of the blessed Jesus. At this, the elder said, with\ntears in his eyes, \"Yes, James, for your sake, I will take it back.\"\nPerhaps the minister was partly to blame, and also the elder, but by\nhaving the grace of patience, not only was a reconciliation brought\nabout, the pastor was retained, and permitted to resume his work, and\nprecious souls were added to the Church. Oh, how much trouble and\nscandal might be averted in some of the churches if our elders and\ndeacons and church members would only strive to cultivate the grace of\npatience.\n\nWe have great need of this grace in our hearts, as we work for the\nMaster. May the Holy Spirit work it in us, for, as Paul says: \"Ye have\nneed of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might\nreceive the promise\" (Heb. x. 36).\n\nThe life of a ruling elder in the Church, and in the world, is like the\nerection of a beautiful building. Great patience is requisite, in order\nto bring it to a successful completion. So, as a wise master buildeth\nfor eternity, we most build the structure of Christian character upon\nthe apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ, Himself, being the chief\ncorner-stone. What a model of patience is Jesus. What difficulties He\nencountered. What trials clustered around Him. What provocations he\nmeekly endured. All through His life, and even amid His unutterable\nagonies on the Cross on Mount Calvary, when His body was shedding the\nlast drop of blood to seal the mysterious work of redemption, even\nthen, amid mockings and scoffings, and tortures, the sacred lips of the\nCrucified Christ uttered this prayer for his enemies, \"Father, forgive\nthem, for they know not what they do\" (Luke xxiii. 34).\n\nThe dear Master considered this prayer essential before He could\nconscientiously exclaim, \"Consummatum est\"--It is consummated, or\nfinished. Our dear elder was like his Lord in this respect. He could\nsay, with Newton,\n\n \"Christ's way was much rougher and darker than mine,\n Did Christ, my Lord, suffer, and shall I repine?\"\n\nAgain, another qualification in a ruling elder is wisdom. \"Be ye wise\nas serpents,\" said Jesus, \"and harmless as doves.\" Are all these\nprofessing Christians wise? Are all elders wise? Are all ministers\nwise? Dr. Bonar says:\n\n Be wise and use thy wisdom well.\n _Be what thou seemest._ Live thy creed;\n Be what thou prayest to be made.\n Lift o'er the earth the torch Divine,\n Let the great Master's steps be thine.\n\nBlessed words these. Who can read them without thanking God for such\nwords and such men, that our kind Father above raises up to instruct us\nin these things that pertain to our everlasting well-being? For all\nwell-being is the result of _well-doing_ in time and in eternity.\n\nWho is a wise man, and endued with knowledge among you, let him show,\nout of a good conversation, his works with meekness of wisdom. This\nmeekness of wisdom Elder Knowles preeminently possessed. The psalmist\nsays, concerning such: \"The meek shall inherit the land. And shall\ndelight themselves in abundance of peace. Strike, said Diogenes, to his\ninstructor, Antichenes, the philosopher; but you will find no staff so\nhard that it will drive me away from your school. I love you, and I\nhave made up my mind to suffer anything for the sake of learning.\" This\nyearning desire on the part of the true elder after fitness for his\noffice, ought to be willing to bear reproach for the sake of Him who\ndied, that we might live. There is great wisdom displayed in bearing\nthe Cross meekly for Jesus. If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign\nwith Him.\n\nIt is a blessed thing to suffer in love for Christ. To bear injustice\nand conquer. Herein is consummate wisdom displayed. \"If ye have bitter\nenvying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the\ntruth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual,\ndevilish. For where envy and strife is, there is confusion and every\nevil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then\npeaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good\nfruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy\" (James iii. 14-17).\n\nBut the wisdom of the elder now lying before us in the coffin was\ndisplayed not only in his meekness, but in his _gentleness_ of\ndisposition.\n\nHis wife used to say, \"Why, he is just like a child. So gentle and\npeaceable. So easily intreated.\" I remember quoting that hymn at the\nprayer meeting:\n\n I want to be like Jesus,\n Meek, lowly, loving, mild;\n I want to be like Jesus--\n The Father's holy child.\n\nAnd at the close of the meeting he shook me warmly by the hand, and the\nsentiment in the stanza seemed to give him unspeakable pleasure.\n\nOnce more, another qualification for the eldership that our deceased\nbrother possessed, was, _that he had a good report from without_. (See 1\nTimothy, iii. 7.) Our dearly beloved was not only highly esteemed for\nhis work's sake by the members of the churches and the various pastors,\nas their letters in this volume testify, but his walk and conversation\nwas such in the outside world, that his fellow-workmen, and those who\nlived in the same house with him, and had opportunity to know him,\nlearned to revere and love him. You know the eyes of the world are\nconstantly watching the Christian. I notice on the casket to-day a\nlovely bouquet of flowers, and I read on the card: \"Presented to James\nKnowles, by the printers where he was for years employed.\"\n\nThis is, certainly, a token of esteem to the memory of him with whom\nthey were long so affectionately associated.\n\nIn every professional life there are daily occurrences that try men's\ntempers. But by the grace of God, our brother was enabled to adorn the\ndoctrine of God, our Saviour, and to live unspotted from the world. As\nall elders have to mingle more with the world than a minister, how\nessential it is that the outside world should see that their walk and\nconversation be as becometh the Gospel of Christ.\n\nAgain: another qualification of an elder, is, that \"he should be a\n_prayerful man_.\" Our brother had all through life cultivated a spirit\nof prayer. This \"is the Christian's vital breath.\" It was his habit to\nshut himself up in his room, and pour out his soul in earnest\nsupplication to God. He prayed in his family, as well as in the church.\nHe had secret prayer. \"And thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy\ncloset?\" said Jesus. Oh, the power of prayer is marvellous. He prayed\naudibly. And his wife used to say of him: \"He pleads with God as one\n_pleading for his life_.\"\n\nWhen he became so weak that he was unable longer to testify for Christ\non his death-bed, his loved ones bending over him, and putting their\nears down to his lips to catch his last articulations, they heard him\npraying, not for himself, but for Allen Street Presbyterian Church and\nits minister.\n\nLastly, an elder ought to cultivate the habit of _systematic beneficence_\nfor the support of the Gospel. This, our brother was constantly in the\nhabit of doing. He remembered the injunction, \"It is more blessed to\ngive than to receive.\" It is worthy of observation that, during the\nthree years during which his son was out in the late war, he paid\nmonthly the pew rent for his boy during his absence, until at last his\npastor would not allow him to do it longer.\n\nOh, that all of our office-bearers and church members would feel it\ntheir duty to give largely and in a worshipful spirit to the cause of\ntheir Redeemer, as the Lord has prospered them.\n\nBlessed are such dead who die in the Lord; they rest from their labors,\nand their works do follow them.\n\nMan cannot cover what God can _reveal_. Says the poet Campbell:\n\n 'Tis the sunset of life gives me mystical lore,\n And coming events cast their shadows before.\n\nTheir works do follow them. Where? On to the judgment. Where selfish\nambition and avarice will be exposed in its true light. Where \"man's\ninhumanity to man\" will be thoroughly scrutinized. For the books will\nbe opened, and we will be judged according to our works.\n\nIn that great and awful day when the great white throne is erected, and\nwhen the heavens shall be removed as a scroll, when it is rolled up;\nand every mountain and island shall be removed out of their places. And\nthe kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief captains, and\nthe rich, and the strong, shall hide themselves in the caves and in the\nrocks of the mountains; and they shall say to the mountains and the\nrocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him who sitteth on the\nthrone, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of His wrath\nis come: and who is able to stand?\n\nOh, let us remember that now broken hearts can be healed by the power\nof the Gospel of Christ. Their works do follow them. Yonder? Yes! Here?\nYes! The salutary influence for good by the consistent life of our\nelder can never be lost or forgotten.\n\nWe lay our brother's body to-day in Cypress Hills Cemetery, but his\nspirit hovers o'er us.\n\nThis tenement of dust is empty, but Jesus says: \"I am the resurrection\nand the life.\"\n\nWe have deep feelings to-day, for we realize that we have lost a\nfriend. No more. \"God bless you, my brother, in your work.\" No more\nshall we see you at the prayer-meeting. Farewell, dear elder and\nco-worker. We say farewell but not forever. \"We shall meet beyond the\nriver.\"\n\nAnd God grant\n\n That we may stand before the throne,\n When earth and seas are fled;\n And hear the Judge pronounce our name,\n With blessings on our head.\n\nGod's voice, by this solemn dispensation of His providence, speaks\nloudly to us all. May our faith in God be greatly strengthened. May our\nlove for perishing souls be made more deeper and _stronger_. May God\nhelp us to go out into the streets and lanes of this wicked city, and\nconstrain them to come in, that His house may be full.\n\nAnd God grant that this deep affliction which this church has sustained\nmay be the means, in the hands of the Spirit, of constraining us to\nhave more earnest and believing prayer, for the manifestation of His\npower to save unto the uttermost. That Jesus may see, of the travail of\nHis soul, and be abundantly satisfied.\n\nTo the bereaved son and daughters, and grandchildren, who are left\nbehind, let me affectionately commend you to the unchanging love of Him\nwho sympathized with the sorrowing sisters of Bethany. Put all your\ntrust in His dear name. Serve Him from day to day, by reading His\nblessed Bible, and holding sweet communion with Him, by prayer and\nsupplication, that at last when God shall call for you to leave this\nstage of action, you may go to meet your dear ones in the happy home\nabove, and sit with them at the \"marriage supper of the\nLamb.\"--AMEN.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nA BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE ALLEN STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.\n\n How lovely is thy dwelling-place,\n O Lord of hosts to me,\n The tabernacles of thy grace,\n How pleasant, Lord, they be.\n\n\n\"Glorious things of thee are spoken, O city of God.\" This saying can be\nemphatically applied to the above church, for the living truths\nproclaimed from her pulpit have saved and sanctified many sons and\ndaughters, and clad in the beauteous garments of Prince Immanuel, have\ngone forth to other churches and to other lands, to lead thousands to\nthe same Saviour that they had found.\n\nLet us glance at its origin.\n\nWhile Christ is the head of the Church, the tried corner-stone elect\nand precious, yet his members are the living stones, and have built up\na spiritual house unto the Lord. The portion of \"Zion\" to which we have\nreference, originated on the corner of Catharine Street, near Madison\nStreet. It was duly organized on Wednesday, May 28, 1819.\n\nThe seal of the church is an open Bible, and the words _Holy Bible_ upon\nit, with the inscription surrounding it: \"_Allen Street Presbyterian\nChurch_.\"\n\nThe location of the place of worship was changed to Allen Street in\n1823.\n\nThe Rev. Ward Stafford was appointed by the New York Female Missionary\nSociety, who nobly toiled, and was succeeded by the Rev. William Gray.\nDuring the first year of its history, twenty-one members were added to\nthe church-roll, and as an expression of her unfeigned gratitude to God\nfor this mark of kindness she became the mother of the same number of\nministers of the Gospel, who were called and commissioned, and who have\ncourageously proclaimed the unsearchable riches of Christ, in distant\nparts of the country. Among them was the present pastor of the Church\nof Sea and Land, Rev. Dr. Hopper. It is worthy of observation that this\nchurch has been able to pay its running expenses by voluntary\ncontributions.\n\nIn a historical discourse delivered by Rev. George O. Phelps, he says:\n\n\"It is a source of untold satisfaction in this day of presumptuous\nspires or burdensome church debts, that the Allen Street Presbyterian\nChurch has no such encumbrance--not one dollar of mortgage rests upon\nit; that at the close of each fiscal year, by means of the voluntary\nsystem, and the kindly aid of friends interested in the prosperity of\nthe church, and the maintenance of the preached word in this part of\nthe city, all obligations are fully discharged.\n\n\"For this, we most heartily thank our God to-day, whose favor is thus\nconstant.\n\n\"True as it is, that this church can be regarded at no period as among\nthe affluent--as there are those to-day who expend more for church\nmusic than our entire congregational expenses, so there have ever been\nthose who could drop into the treasury of a single board, in a single\nyear, more than all our contributions to benevolent objects during\nfifty years, we hope it may be equally true that we have been most\ndefinitely, spiritually pronounced.\n\n\"Whatever may be said of her ecclesiastical loyalty, the evidences are\nnumerous of fervent loyalty to Christ, in doctrine, in the word\npreached, in influence exerted, in means used for the extension of His\nkingdom, and of consequent fidelity to man touching questions of social\nand of national importance.\n\n\"A not unimportant element of influence and success, next to a becoming\nspirituality, is the _social-religious_ element. This is proverbial of\nthe Allen Street Church.\"\n\nNot to refer to the regular weekly prayer-meeting in this connection\nwould do great violence to a complete record as well as harm to many a\nsaint in Israel. For years this meeting has been a great power in\nChristian life and work. Hundreds maybe said to date their first\nserious impression, and very many their conversion, to the scenes of\nthat hour and place; and how perennial its influence, and refreshing\nupon the host of God's people.\n\nAmong the most prominent pastors of this church, we may mention the\nRev. Henry White, D.D., regularly installed March, 1829. He resigned\nMarch 9, 1837, and became the first Professor of Systematic Theology in\nthe Union Theological Seminary, New York City. He died August 25, 1850,\naged fifty years. A man of decided character.\n\nRev. George B. Cheever, D.D., was installed October 10, 1839, and was\ndismissed April 24, 1844. He afterward became the pastor of the Church\nof the Puritans on Union Square. He now resides at Englewood, N.J., a\nman of vast resources, both personal and acquired, eloquent and\neffective in address, in views extremely radical.\n\nRev. David Benton Coe, D.D., was installed October 14, 1844. He was\ndismissed May 13, 1849. He became one of the secretaries of the\nAmerican Home Missionary Society. He was of a retiring habit, scholarly\nattainment, instructive as a preacher, and devoted and sympathizing as\na pastor.\n\nRev. Dr. Newell was installed February 8, 1860. His pastorate ceased\nFebruary 2, 1874, being the longest pastorate of the church, embracing\none quarter of its history.\n\nIn this brother the pastor and the evangelist were happily united. Of\ndeep sympathies, ardent in faith, Christ crucified became the one theme\nof his ministry. He was second to none in religious zeal, and untiring\nin effort.\n\nEach succeeding ministry has not been wanting in the evidences of the\nSpirit, in which the being of the church seems to have been cast.\n\nThe pastorate of Mr. Lucas, for example, deserves more than a passing\nnotice. It was marked by two interesting works of grace: one soon after\nhis coming to the field (1855), and that of 1858. During these seasons\nnot a few of the best friends of Allen Street were brought to Christ.\n\nNot all were equally favored, however, with beholding what men too\noften regard exclusively as signs of success. In illustration of this,\nit is enough to suggest that the loss experienced yearly during a large\nperiod of her history has by no means been supplied through additions\nby letter. This source of gain alone would not have spared her the\nextinction which early threatened the church through removals. On the\ncontrary, as previously observed, the balance has been favorable\nthrough all these years of depletion--a monument to the grace of God in\nno general sense.\n\nPerhaps it may not be disparaging to say that _the_ revival period of\nthe church is embraced in the pastorate of Dr. Newell, the fourteen\nyears of which were distinguished for their revival spirit. I think it\nmay be truthfully said, that he would have deemed his own ministry a\nmiserable failure in the absence of revival seasons.\n\nWith two exceptions each year of his ministry was marked with\ningathering. A large proportion of those now worshipping here were\nbrought to the Saviour within these years; while many others are known\nto be justifying the spirit of their birthplace in other communions.\n\nThe most powerful work of grace, in many respects, occurred in the\nwinter of 1866-67.\n\nOn March 24, 1867, one hundred and fifty-four subjects of that work\npublicly professed faith in Christ; upward of two hundred joined the\nchurch during the year.\n\nThe following notice is taken from the New York _Evangelist_ soon after,\nthe editor of which was present:\n\n \"A goodly sight, indeed, and worthy the words of hearty welcome\n uttered by the pastor. As he led the congregation in the song,\n 'There are angels hovering round,' the house seemed to be full of\n heavenly influence. There were a large number of baptisms. There was\n visible emotion as the symbol of purity was lifted to the brow of a\n lady in deep mourning. Her husband (Mr. George Betts) had been an\n elder of the church twenty-eight years. It was his constant cry to\n God that he might not die until his wife became a Christian. Two\n weeks before he had heard her examined and received by the session.\n On his way from church he was struck with paralysis, and died.\"\n\nHe adds: \"I have never seen a better appearing multitude stand in any\nchurch. The sexes were about equally divided.\"\n\n\"These seasons,\" said the pastor, in his farewell discourse, \"have not\nbeen the result of accident. They were thoroughly planned and provided\nfor, and sought of the Lord. We have found that appropriate means was\nwisdom, that persistent concentration was power; that enthusiasm for\nsouls was force; and that belief in God was success.\"\n\nA complete history of that one revival would occupy a volume. It was\ndeep, wide-spread, and confined to no particular class. The official\ncapacity of the church recently has been largely exercised by men\nconverted at that time. Men holding trusts in the Society to-day were\nwithout hope previous to that work.\n\nIt is gratifying to record the continuance of the gracious favor, that\nthis last year of the century, the fifty-seventh of our existence,\nshould be crowned with still another work of grace--gradual in\ninception, first indicated by increasing interest in the ministration\nof the Word, in the absence of special means, only finding in the Week\nof Prayer an occasion for decided development--continuing with\ndeepening and widening interest, until attention was necessarily\ndivided between this and a more general work in connection with the\ncoming of Messrs. Moody and Sankey to our city. As visible proof of\nthis quiet work, fifty-seven have been added to the church--forty-six\nmaking profession of their faith on March 12th, of all ages--youth from\nthe Sabbath-schools, adults, and several heads of families.\n\nA church of such continuous revival record ought, indeed, to raise her\nEbenezer to-day. While as patriots we fling out our Centennial Banners,\nlet us, as subjects of the Lord Jesus Christ, set up a memorial to the\npraise of His boundless, matchless grace.\n\nDuring the ministry of the Rev. George O. Phelps, the blessing of the\nLord attended his untiring and loving labors.\n\nWe cannot omit mentioning here the kindness of the Rev. Dr. Nathaniel\nConkling, who cheerfully supplied the pulpit for eighteen months\nwithout any remuneration; and during this time the pastor's study was\nneatly furnished, and the church property renovated. Also a number of\nyoung persons were led to Christ and united with the church; some of\nthese young men are to-day actively engaged in the Lord's work in the\nlower part of the city, at the Church, and in connection with the\n\"Young Men's Institute,\" on the Bowery.\n\nIt only remains for me to speak of the _Sabbath-schools connected\nwith this church_.\n\nImperfect, indeed, would be this narrative, without a record of this\ndepartment of Christian work.\n\nMr. Samuel Kennedy was its first superintendent, which office he held\nfor twenty-three years. He was a man of great kindness of heart, strict\nin discipline, and devoted to the interest of youth.\n\nThe present superintendent is Martin Ralph.\n\nThe following named gentlemen have held the office of Superintendent in\nregular succession: John D. Camp, Benjamin N. Goldsmith, Daniel O.\nCaulkins, Amos P. Hawley, Lewis S. Benedict, Mahlon T. Hewitt, William\nC. Bradley, H. C. Southworth, Joseph W. Lester, Edward P. Tibballs, H.\nG. Fraser, and G. A. Koos.\n\nThere is also related to this church a Mission-school, superintended by\none of its elders--Mr. J. H. Owens--known as the \"_Ludlow Street Mission\nSabbath School_,\" at present occupying the public school building on\nLudlow Street, between Rivington and Delancey.\n\nThe superintendents are tireless in exertion, and fully devoted to its\ninterest, encouraged by a zealous band of officers and teachers, the\ninfluence of whose work upon the children and the families they\nrepresent in that locality, eternity alone can tell.\n\nNext to Elder Knowles, as the ruling elder, we might mention the name\nof Joseph W. Lester, of whom it may be said that he endeared himself,\nby an unusual force of character, to a large acquaintance, best known\nin connection with the Allen Street Church, but a pillar of strength to\nevery good work throughout the city; of strict integrity, a judicious\nadviser, largely benevolent, prompt to act, of wonderful energy,\nreliable everywhere, zealous to win souls, esteemed for his business\nqualities, and a true patriot.\n\nBut amid all the changes to which both the church and school have ever\nbeen subject, there remains one, who, as a dutiful son, and an apt\nscholar, took his place forty-seven years ago; so now his fidelity and\nconstancy are no marvel, since, with the Psalmist, he is a \"door-keeper\nin the House of the Lord,\" and like John the Baptist, \"An\n_unshaken_ Reed.\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nCOMMENTS OF THE PRESS ON THE REMOVAL OF THE CHURCH.\n\nThe _New York Times_, of Monday, May 9, 1887, gives a brief account of\nthe origin of the church:\n\n The Allen Street Presbyterian Church had its beginning in Madison\n Street, then Bancker, in 1816. A missionary society in 1817 built a\n wooden structure at a cost of a little over two thousand dollars,\n near the corner of Catharine Street. The society was incorporated\n as the \"Mission Church in the City of New York,\" and that title has\n never been changed, except by common usage. In 1823 an edifice was\n erected at a cost of about three thousand dollars. For years the\n church did not prosper, and was on the point of selling its\n property, when the Rev. Absalom Peters offered to act as Pastor for\n a time without salary. He pulled the society through its troubles.\n The present building was erected in 1833 at a cost of twenty\n thousand dollars. Since then the church has been humbly prosperous.\n For the present, until a site is secured, the congregation will\n worship in the Church of the Sea and Land, in Market Street.\n\nOn the same date, under the heading of \"After Fifty-four Years,\" and\n\"The Last Services in the Old Allen Street Church,\" the same paper\nsays:\n\n Another of New York's old churches will soon be torn down.\n Yesterday the last services were held in the Allen Street\n Presbyterian Church, near Grand Street. For many years the church\n has been a sort of half-way house between up and down town, and its\n congregation has been an ever-changing one. It has never been a\n large nor a rich church, although it has had among its members many\n who are to-day wealthy, and its total membership, since its\n organization, is much greater than that of many a larger church.\n\n The last services were made interesting, not only by the presence\n of nearly all the present members, but of members of twenty and\n twenty-five years ago, who came from churches further up town and\n from Brooklyn. In the afternoon there was a union service of the\n church, Sunday-school, and the Ludlow Street Mission. Later the\n young people held a prayer-meeting, and in the evening reunion\n services were held. The pastor, the Rev. D. McNeill Young, read\n letters from many former members who had left New York, all\n regretting the necessity for demolishing the old building. The\n reading of the letters was interrupted by the puffing and rattle of\n the elevated trains directly in front of the door--one of the\n principal causes of a change of location--that made more prominent\n the fact that, though sentiment might desire to save the church, it\n could never again be a pleasant place of worship. After the letters\n were read familiar hymns were sung, and, without any formality, the\n older members and their former associates gave reminiscences of the\n early days of their church.\n\nAs a proof of its spiritual power not less than _fourteen hundred and\nforty-three_ persons have been connected with it in the service of the\nMaster, the number of active members at the time of changing location\nbeing _five hundred and sixty three_, showing that though old in years\nit still retains its usefulness.\n\nThe _New York Evangelist_ of April 21, 1887, under the heading of\n\"Another Land-mark to be Obliterated,\" says:\n\n The old Allen Street Presbyterian Church building, where God's\n people have continued to battle against sin and Satan for some\n sixty-four years, has at last yielded to the pressure of the\n advancing tide of business on Grand Street, and been sold. The\n present expectation of the Church is to remain in the neighborhood,\n and it is hoped that a more desirable location may be obtained, and\n a building, suited to the times and the needs of the people, erected\n thereon. Farewell services will begin on Friday evening, May 6th,\n with the preparatory lecture, to be followed by an earnest season of\n prayer for the divine blessing on the exodus. On Sabbath, May 8th,\n the farewell communion service will be held at 11 A.M. A union\n meeting of the Home and Ludlow Street Sabbath-schools will be held\n in the main audience room of the church building at 2 P.M. The\n exercises of the Young People's Prayer and Conference Meeting will\n take place at seven o'clock, followed by the closing farewell\n service in the Church at 7.45 P.M. Then the last good-by will be\n said in the dear old home which has been the spiritual birth-place\n of many, many precious souls. It is earnestly hoped that these\n services will bring together many who can tell of former refreshing\n times from the presence of the Lord, and of hallowed associations\n within the sacred walls of the old Allen Street Church. It is\n expected that some of the former pastors will be present to add\n interest to the occasion. It is well understood that this well-known\n church property has been purchased by Messrs. Ridley & Co. for\n $75,000. They thus secure large additional space for their enormous\n mercantile business. It should, perhaps, be known that the building\n of the Elevated road, just in front, has greatly injured \"Old Allen\n Street,\" as it was popularly called, for all church purposes. The\n noise of the passing trains was very annoying, especially in warm\n weather, when windows and doors were open. The sum realized will, it\n is hoped, enable the congregation to build elsewhere in the\n neighborhood.\n\nThe New York Daily _Tribune_, of the same date, thus comments on the old\nchurch:\n\n LEAVING THEIR OLD CHURCH HOME.\n\n Yesterday the Allen Street Presbyterian Church held their last\n service in their present home. The building has been sold to\n Messrs. Ridley & Sons for mercantile purposes. The church moves\n temporarily to Market Street, where they will worship with the\n Church of the Sea and Land. There were the regular morning\n services, followed by communion. The church was tastefully\n decorated with flowers, the gift of the Bethany Society of the\n Church, in commemoration of their last services. On May 28, 1819,\n the church was organized, although the building had been dedicated\n on October 25, 1817. This building was in Madison Street, and when\n it became too small they moved to their present place in 1834.\n\n In the afternoon the home Sunday-school and the Mission school in\n Ludlow Street held a reunion in the home church. The programme in\n the afternoon and evening consisted of short addresses and music.\n It was a reunion of old members and new, of old pastors and people,\n of old officers and those whom they were accustomed to oversee. The\n Rev. N. D. Conkling, assisted the pastor, the Rev. D. M. Young in\n the services, preaching the morning sermon. There were twelve\n persons received into the church on profession of faith.\n\n\n\n\nRESOLUTIONS OF THE ALLEN STREET CHURCH.\n\n\n NEW YORK, March 2, 1887.\n\n _Whereas_, It has pleased Almighty God, our kind and compassionate\n heavenly Father, in the solemn dispensations of His providence to\n remove from our midst by death, our dear and highly esteemed friend\n and brother, Elder James Knowles, and his wife, Matilda Knowles, of\n the Allen Street Presbyterian Church; and\n\n _Whereas_, It becomes us not only as brethren in Christ, but as a\n Session of said church, to express our hearty appreciation of their\n work in and worth to the cause of Christianity, which they so dearly\n loved; and while we bow in humble submission to the Divine will,\n nevertheless we strongly realize that, as co-workers together with\n them in the Master's vineyard, we have sustained a severe and\n irreparable loss by this sad bereavement;\n\n Therefore be it _Resolved_, That as a Session now assembled, we do\n hereby tender our heartfelt sympathy and sorrow to the bereaved\n family in their great grief; and we do earnestly and sincerely\n commend them to God and the Word of His grace, that is able to keep\n them from falling, and to give them an abundant entrance into His\n everlasting kingdom; and be it further\n\n _Resolved_, That the Clerk of Session be requested to enter these\n resolutions on the records of the church, and that a copy be\n immediately forwarded to the family of the deceased.\n\n (Signed),\n\n DUNCAN M. YOUNG, _Pastor._\n\n J. H. ALLEN, M.D.,\n J. M. MORRISON,\n J. R. BATTY,\n MARTIN BRAITMAYER,\n _Elders._\n\n JEROME H. OWENS,\n _Clerk of Session._\n\n\n[Illustration: MATILDA KNOWLES]\n\n\n\n\n GATHERING JEWELS.\n\n MATILDA KNOWLES.\n\n BEING THE RECORD OF A CONSECRATED MISSIONARY\n WOMAN'S WORK FOR OVER A QUARTER OF A CENTURY\n IN THE TENTH WARD OF NEW YORK CITY.\n\n \"She hath done what she could.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nBRIEF MEMOIR OF MATILDA KNOWLES.\n\n They walk with God whom none can shame\n From trusting in His holy name;\n Who looking for a glorious morn,\n Shrink not before the lip of scorn.\n\n\nThe subject of this memoir was born in Tichon, near Ballymena, County\nAntrim, in the north of Ireland, March 22, 1811. Her ancestors fled\nfrom Scotland during the dark days of persecution, \"when the minister's\nhome was the mountain and flood.\" Little can be gleaned of her early\nhistory. Her mother died when she was six years old, leaving a sister\nolder than herself, and a brother, a baby eight months old. Her father\ndied shortly after her mother. When she was only eight years old, she\nwent to the corner of the house, and asked the Lord to be a father and\na mother to her. She was ultimately taken to her uncle's, at which\nplace she resided until she came to America.\n\nDuring her stay with him, she became acquainted with a young girl, who\ntold her of the love of Jesus, and shortly before her death, she would\nfrequently say how good God was to her, in bringing her in contact with\nher friend, who early told her of the life of the Saviour, and His\nnever-dying love. At the same place, being filled with those desires,\nand having those Christian principles instilled into her heart, and not\nhaving conveniences to study and pray in the house, she would repair to\nthe barn, to attend to her devotional duties, experiencing the\ntruthfulness of God's Word, \"They that seek me early shall find me.\" At\nthis time she committed to memory the Psalms, and the Book of Proverbs,\nand several passages of the New Testament.\n\nIt seems that certain influences were brought to bear upon her, for the\npurpose of getting her settled in life, contrary to her own wishes; but\nthe party so chosen was without Christian character, and although every\ninducement was offered, so far as wealth was concerned, she remembered\nthe injunction of the Scriptures, \"Be ye not unequally yoked to\nunbelievers,\" and like Moses, who refused to be called the son of\nPharaoh's daughter, but chose rather to suffer affliction, penury, and\nloss with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a\nseason, she declined to enter into the proposed matrimonial connection.\nAnd then she decided to emigrate to the United States, friendless and\nalone.\n\nIn 1833--the time of the great cholera epidemic in this country--she\nwas left by herself, in a house where all its occupants had fled\nthrough fear. Trusting in the God of Israel for protection, she\nexperienced the full force of those sublime words of King David: \"He\nthat dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under\nthe shadow of the Almighty. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and\nunder His wings shalt thou trust. Thou shalt not be afraid for the\nterror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the\npestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that\nwasteth at noon-day.\" On arriving in New York, she immediately\nconnected herself in church fellowship with the Canal Street\nPresbyterian Church, under the ministry of the Rev. Dr. McCarthy, and\nbecame a Sabbath-school teacher. Some of the first impressions made on\nher mind by her pastor were continually repeated, even up to the hour\nof her death.\n\nIn one address, delivered to young people, he begged them not to allow\nSatan to get even his little finger in, for he generally commenced with\nlittle sins, and by and by he would get his two fingers in, and then\nhis whole hand, and twist you around as he chose, instead of allowing\nyou to obey the commands of God.\n\nShortly after she landed in this country she was invited by an\nacquaintance to go to Brooklyn, to church. She consented, and attended\nthe service; but, on her return, while stepping off the ferry-boat, she\nslipped, and fell into the river, and narrowly escaped drowning. She\nresolved, by God's grace, that she would never put her foot on a\nferry-boat on the Sabbath again, while she lived, which vow she kept to\nthe close of her life.\n\nIt was her usual custom on the street, if she heard any person using\nprofane language, to reprove them, by saying, \"Don't dare take the name\nof my Saviour in vain.\"\n\nIn the year 1839 she was married to Elder James Knowles, by the Rev.\nDr. McLeod, of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church, Prince's Street.\nAt this time she joined the above church, that she might be in full\nfellowship at the same communion-table with her husband.\n\nIn her earnest endeavors to faithfully serve her Lord and Master, she\nwas sorely tried by a woman who lived in the same house with her. And\nherein do we see the goodness of God, in imparting grace to her to\nstrenuously resist temptation. This woman did all in her power to lead\nher astray by offering her strong drink. She would visit her frequently\nafter her husband had gone to his business, and bring the bottle and\nglass. She determined to change her place of residence, and before her\nhusband returned home, she had engaged new apartments, and had her\nfurniture all removed. Even after her removal, the woman followed her\nup, and became a tenant in the same house, and the same temptations\nwere renewed. She once more got up and moved out of the house, never\nonce yielding to the woman's persistent temptation.\n\nIn the summer of 1848 she met with a narrow escape in a burning\nbuilding. In trying to extinguish the flames, she was badly burned from\nthe points of her fingers up to her shoulders. In this house she\nsucceeded in getting some people to attend church; and at this time,\nseeing some women ordained to go to India, she earnestly desired to be\nin their place.\n\nIn 1860, when in her fiftieth year, she removed to the Tenth Ward, the\nscene of her future labors. When her son William went to the war, she\nwas recommended by Mrs. Warren to Rev. Mr. Finney, who engaged her as a\nBible Reader and Visitor in the district.\n\nIn the spring of 1862, during the great fratricidal war, she started a\nsewing-school in Rivington Street, which eventually merged into the\nHarper and Fiske Industrial School in Ludlow Street, which met every\nSaturday. Gathering together from seventy-five to one hundred children,\nshe taught them to sew, and endeavored to lead them to Him who said,\n\"Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for\nof such is the kingdom of heaven.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nTHE VALUE OF PRAYER.\n\n Oh, teach me, Lord, that I may teach\n The precious things Thou dost impart;\n And wing my words, that they may reach\n The hidden depths of many a heart.\n\n\nMrs. Knowles's life, throughout, was characterized by great sincerity\nand steadfastness of purpose. As an evidence of it, I will give a\nsketch of her experience and work from her own pen, illustrating how\nthe closing hours of her life were chiefly devoted to \"Gathering\nJewels\" for Christ, as the secret of a truly beautiful life.\n\n \"In my field of labor I have met with much success and\n encouragement, though, indeed, there are more cases very trying and\n painful to witness, but _all difficulties can be encountered, and\n many overcome, by prayer. I feel more and more the blessedness of\n the privilege I enjoy in being permitted to labor for Christ in the\n salvation of so many poor souls_, and in being the means of aiding\n so many who are sick, cast down, and discouraged. How many there are\n who neglect the house of prayer from the contagion of bad example\n around them, and the want of a kind word of invitation, until the\n habit becomes fixed, and it needs urging to remind them of their\n duty? _I often think of the words of Christ_: '_Compel them to come\n in_.' Yes, compulsion of the right kind is very needful, and a word\n of interest and encouragement such a help. One poor woman whom I\n visited a short time since, told me her lot was the hardest in the\n world--that she had seven children all out of Christ. I told her not\n to be disheartened; that if she could say God was her God, she could\n say he was the God of her seed, and that Jesus had said: 'Whatsoever\n ye shall ask in my name, believing, ye shall receive.' She said: 'I\n have hoped so long, but now I am discouraged.' I told her the mother\n of St. Augustine said she had prayed for fourteen long years for her\n son, and her friend said to her: 'I tell you the subject of so many\n long and earnest prayers cannot be lost.' And that son, of whom she\n was then in search, and whom she met a short time afterward, was\n then under deep conviction, and soon afterward brought to Christ,\n and became an earnest and devoted minister; 'and you, my friend,\n need not be discouraged, for the same Spirit can work as powerfully\n on the hearts of your children as on his.' I prayed with her, and\n left her begging me to pray for her; calling on her a few days\n since, she met me with a cheerful countenance, and told me what I\n had said, together with reading the promise of an answer to prayer,\n had greatly encouraged her, and that her eldest son, who was the\n most unruly of all, had accompanied her to church on the last\n Sabbath, and she believed now the rest would be led to follow his\n example. I told her to doubt no longer, and with a word of cheer\n left her.\"\n\nHere I will make a few comments on the above.\n\n_All difficulties can be encountered, and many overcome by prayer._--How\ntrue and weighty is this remark. Remembrance of this would guard and\ngovern aright the actions of Christians, and deliver them from all\nunprofitable and injudicious murmurings. It suggests the only true\nantidote for the ills of life. A pleasant path to tranquillity of mind\nis prayer. Whether amid the crowded city or in the quiet hamlet, on land\nor on sea, at home or abroad, no matter where we are, God's ear is\nalways open to the cry of His children. Prayer is the divinely appointed\nmeans to the attainment of peace. It lifts the soul above the cares and\nvicissitudes of life. Its effect is nearness to God. Earth's sighs are\nnumerous. The tears flow thick and fast. Tears of affright. The enemy\ncomes in like a flood, but the Lord lifts up a standard against them\nall; and the blest remembrance of the promise, \"Cast thy burden by\nprayer on the Lord, and He will sustain thee,\" imparts fresh courage\namid the conflict. The man who forgets to pray in the hour of trial is\nlike one who has lost his way on a dark, stormy night; he is, indeed, a\nbenighted traveller on a lonesome, dreary road. But let us thank God\nthat--\n\n From every stormy wind that blows,\n From every swelling tide of woes,\n There is a calm, a sure retreat;\n 'Tis found beneath the Mercy Seat.\n\n_I feel more and more the blessedness of the privilege I enjoy, in being\npermitted to labor for Christ in the salvation of so many poor\nsouls._--When we labor with an eye to the glory of God, and the\nexaltation of the name of Jesus in the salvation of lost sinners, it\nalways imparts perpetual pleasure. It was for the joy that was set\nbefore Jesus that He endured the Cross. Pure pleasure springs from the\nmotive of doing good. This was the standard from which Christ labored.\nHis compensation consisted in clarifying the natural and spiritual\nvision of those who sat in darkness and the shadow of death. This is the\ntrue explanation of His mysterious patience with those who frequently\nrepelled His teachings and doings, when they were attributed to the\npower of the Prince of the Air. But the incarnate Son of God fainted not\nin His work, until He exclaimed, \"It is finished.\" It is even so with\nall faithful missionaries. They feel it to be an unspeakable privilege\nto be co-workers with Christ; recognizing the fact that it is not their\nwork but God's, and while they acknowledge their utter inability to save\na single soul, yet, doubtless, their joy and satisfaction in all their\nwork springs from the sacred consciousness that there is not only\nrejoicings and gladness of heart experienced on earth, but \"joy in the\npresence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.\"\n\n_I often think of the words of Christ, Compel them to come in._--The\nscene is changed. From prayer in the closet, to kindly compulsion in the\nlanes and streets of the city. Here the reader will find the true secret\nof her beautiful life; namely, frequent reflection on the words of\nChrist, relative to Christian work in the world. \"Go ye out into the\nhighways and lanes,\" etc. This is the only method by which we can have\ncommunication with the souls of men and women who are perishing for lack\nof knowledge. The question has often been asked by the philanthropic men\nof the present day, How can we reach the masses? How can we save the\nnon-churchgoers? It is calculated that with a population of almost a\nhundred thousand souls in the Tenth Ward alone, of New York, only about\none-fourth attend any place of worship. These facts and figures are\nstartling, but they are, nevertheless, true. These precious souls, for\nwhom Christ died, must be made the object of our affection. Our\nknowledge of the spiritual destitution of the down-town masses is\nstrictly based upon our experience and observation. And hence we say\nthat a house to house visitation, systematically arranged, constitutes\none of the essential characteristics of Christ-like work. He labored not\nonly in the temple and the synagogue, but in the market-place, and on\nthe streets. His pulpit was the stern-sheets of the ship, on the Sea of\nGalilee.\n\n_With a word of cheer left her._--Think of the power of a kind word.\nAmid all the busy scenes of life, is there no time for a cheerful word?\nWhen the Chief Priests and Pharisees sought to lay hands on Jesus, they\nfeared the multitude because they took him for a prophet. What rays of\ncelestial sunshine sometimes stream into the soul of the disheartened\none when the missionary whispers, \"Put all your trust in Jesus, and he\nwill care for you.\" There is balm in Gilead, and there is a physician\nthere. Look at the power of a kind word uttered by the Master. Are there\nno tumultuous fears allayed in the breast of those two blind men as they\nsit by the wayside to Jerusalem? They cry, \"Have mercy on us, O Lord,\nthou Son of David.\" Is there not a stupendous wealth of kindness and\npotency portrayed in yon scene when Jesus stood still and called them,\nand uttered those strange kind words: \"What will ye that I should do\nunto you?\" How sad is the sight of a blind person! How intensely dark\ntheir surroundings! How they excite our pity! How many, alas! are\nblinded by sin, sickness, and sorrow. \"They say unto him, Lord, that our\neyes may be opened. Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes,\nand immediately their eyes received sight and they followed him.\" Is\nthere any wonder that the whole city was moved, saying, \"Who is this?\nThis is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth, of Galilee.\" Now the Saviour\nsaid, \"As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you into the world.\"\nKind Christian words contain the rich unction of encouragement and\ninspiration to the sorrowful, heavy-laden heart. So daughter, be of good\ncheer, thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nTHE STORY OF WILLIAM THE CONSUMPTIVE.\n\n Oh, fill me with Thy fulness, Lord,\n Until my very heart o'erflow\n In kindling thought and glowing word,\n Thy love to tell, Thy praise to show.\n\n\n_Our Missing Link_, a journal devoted to missionary work, has given many\ngraphic recitals of the good work she accomplished in numerous fields,\nbut none of much livelier interest than the case of\n\nWILLIAM AT ST. LUKE'S\n\n\"William\" is a young Englishman. He came to this country eight years\nago. He is now about twenty-four. I first saw him some time last\nwinter. His sister, who lives with her family in our mission block, had\ntold me that she had a brother in New York, who was out of health and\nout of employment, and was very unhappy in consequence.\n\nI expressed my sympathy, but not knowing of anything that I could do,\nasked no questions at the time. A few days after she came to say that\nthe brother referred to was in her room; that it had become evident\nthat he was in consumption. He would like to talk with me. I was\nalone, and bade her invite him in. He came immediately. A tall, thin\nyoung man, with a pleasant face and easy manners. I did not speak to\nhim very directly on religious subjects. I believe that I perceived in\nthis first interview that his views were not very clear. I encouraged\nhim gradually to tell me about his circumstances. His confidence was\neasily won, and in the course of this and subsequent interviews I\nlearned that his only home was with an aged father, who was himself out\nof work and in straitened circumstances. William's clothing was too\nthin for the inclement weather we were then encountering, and it was\nplain he could not have the nourishing food his declining appetite\nrequired. The sister who first introduced him to me was anxious about\nhim, but her tenement was too small to accommodate her own family, and\nher husband's wages hardly equal to the wants of his own household.\nWilliam's great desire was to procure employment. He would work to the\nutmost of his failing strength if only he could get work to do. I\nobtained from the Sick Relief Fund a few shillings' worth of groceries\nper week for him; but employment, means to help himself, was his one\naspiration. I felt sure he was not able to work, but was anxious,\nnevertheless, though in vain, to gratify his wish. One evening I\ncommunicated to him a slight hope of an opening to some employment. The\nincreased brightness of his eye, the red spot on each cheek, and his\nsleeplessness that night, proved that he was not able to bear even the\nexcitement of a sudden hope. Poor fellow! it was plain he would never\nwork much more.\n\nI must mention here that William's constitution had received the seeds\nof disease while at sea during the war. He ran away from home and\nengaged in the revenue service. He also served in the army. He has\nnever been well since his return. His friends tell me that he has been\nwild, not that he was immoral, to use their own expression. He had been\nreligiously trained in England, did nothing that the world would call\nbad; but he was wayward, and the occasion to them of great anxiety and\ndispleasure also.\n\nAs I said before, we did not talk much at first about religion, not\nthat he avoided the subject. He was very conscious of his own situation\nas far as the uncertainty of his life was concerned, but he had\napparently no sense of sinfulness before God. Perhaps the reserve was\non my side. I think I never felt so much as in this case the utter\npowerlessness of human influence to bring the soul to God. He spoke\ncalmly of death; but when I asked him what was the ground of his hope\nbeyond the grave, he replied:\n\n\"I have never done any one harm; I have tried to live right.\"\n\nI replied earnestly: \"Do not trust to any such refuge as that.\"\n\nI then warned him against any hope not founded on Christ alone. He\nacknowledged that what I said was true, and seemed for a moment\ndisturbed. I cannot recall another conversation in our earlier\nacquaintance, in which I was able to speak with any earnestness, or in\nwhich he seemed at all impressed. I could only pray: \"Lord, open his\neyes!\" It is very wonderful to me, on looking back, to see how God was\nleading him all this time. Once he told me of a sermon which he had\nheard months before, upon the text: \"Set thine house in order, for thou\nshalt die, and not live.\" He had never been so impressed by a sermon;\nhe could not forget it.\n\nOccasionally, I observed that his mind was well stored with the Prayer\nBook version of the Psalms. Sometimes he would quote a petition,\ntelling me it had been specially upon his mind. Upon inquiry, I found\nthat at home in England, he had been a chorister boy at church. He has\nsince told me he used to sing the Psalms without any sense of their\nmeaning. Probably the words were never explained to him, or impressed\nupon him in any way. It was a mere form of a church which confirmed its\nmembers at fifteen years old, with very little cognizance of their\nspiritual life. William, however, had not been confirmed. It would seem\nfrom his subsequent life that the words he had chanted, from Sunday to\nSunday, had no effect on him, but now, in his last days, God was\nbringing them home to his heart, over all the years of his\ncarelessness, and accomplishing that which he pleased. It has helped me\nto believe that it is not in vain to store the mind of thoughtless\nSunday-school scholars with the Word of God, and that in the most\nformal Christian Church the words of Scripture are not lost.\n\nBut all this time William's temporal wants were increasingly pressing.\nHis father had been obliged to sell their little stock of furniture,\nand the house was broken up. One night his sister told me that William\nhad not so much as a place to sleep in. She took him in with her own\nchildren for a few days. I recommended that he should go into St.\nLuke's Hospital for a month. Perhaps the rest and nourishment he would\nfind there would enable him to get through the trying spring weather,\nand in the summer he might be better. While this plan was under\nconsideration, William found that he could stay in the room that his\nfather had just quitted until the end of the month, which was half\ngone. Still clinging to the hope of finding employment, he gave up the\nhospital plan, while in his almost empty room was neither food nor\nfuel. His sister did what she could. I applied to the Sick Relief\nSociety for some coal, which was immediately granted. All this time I\nhad not applied to my Superintendent, whose kind and ready sympathy\nnever fails me. The reason was, I have constantly on my heart and hands\nso many cases of suffering that I cannot represent them all, and am\nanxious to get through difficulties, as far as possible, without\nunusual assistance. But in this case God's plans were above my reach.\nOne day Mrs. Knowles called at my room. While we were talking about\nsome mission business, there was a knock. It was William. I had an\ninstant sense that he had providentially called.\n\n\"Come in,\" I said, \"and tell your story to my Superintendent.\" This\ninterview was the beginning of better times for poor William. Mrs.\nKnowles immediately provided him with better clothing. I had only\nsucceeded in getting some flannel from the Society. Her kindness did\nnot stop here. In a few days she procured him a job of cutting wood.\n\n_A Difficulty._--William did his first day's work with all the energy\nhis feeble strength would allow, but on being summoned to the same place\nagain, an unfortunate circumstance occurred. I think it right to state\nthe facts, because it shows how wonderfully God's grace can overrule. He\ncommenced his work as before, but his strength giving out, he accepted\nan invitation from a lady in an adjoining house to come in and rest. His\ndelicate appearance enlisted sympathy. She had had some conversation\nwith him in his previous day's work, and was now prepared to express the\nkindest feelings, especially as she herself had lost a brother with\nconsumption. Observing his exhausted state, she brought forward a glass\nof whiskey, which she made him swallow, strongly advising him to procure\nmore and use it as a stimulant. The lady's intention was only kind, but,\nunfortunately, William acted indiscreetly upon the advice. Encouraged by\nthe momentary relief afforded by the exhilarating beverage, he did\nprocure more. Whether it was the same day or the next, I am not quite\nsure, but he went to his sister's at last, sadly under the influence of\nliquor. His weak state, the uncomfortable condition of his affairs,\nacting with the liquor upon his brain, caused him for a day or two to\nbehave in a very inconsistent and unnatural manner. He seemed even to\nvary from his habitual truthfulness. Much disgusted, his sister rebuked\nhim sharply, declared that she would tell me, and of course, the\ninference was that I should tell Mrs. Knowles. But that good woman knew\nabout it as soon as I did. She was grieved and disappointed at what had\noccurred, but her uniform kindness did not fail. It was evident he was\nno longer able to make any exertion for himself, and she procured him\nadmission into St. Luke's Hospital.\n\nHe went, in the midst of these trying circumstances, not coming to bid\nme good-by, and knowing that his sister was seriously displeased. Poor\nWilliam! disgraced, unhappy, and sick, he went to that bed which was\nabout to become to him as the gate of heaven. I went to see him as soon\nas possible. I went, intending to talk over with him what had passed,\nbut found him so humble and so suffering that I had no heart to make\nany allusion to it. We neither of us spoke directly upon the subject.\nIn fact, I said very little upon any subject, for as he lay there with\nthe tears upon his thin face, expressing brokenly his pain and his\npenitence, I felt that God was teaching him, and taking hold of the\nvery lesson to show him his true character. He was now coming upon a\nnew ground never understood before.\n\n_The Blessed Change._--Mrs. Knowles saw William before I went to him a\nsecond time. She, too, forbore alluding to the unpleasant circumstances,\nbut she talked to him of our human sinfulness before God, and our need\nof a Saviour. Some of his most interesting conversations have since been\nwith her. The second time I visited William his bodily strength had\ngreatly failed, but his face was beautiful with a new light I had never\nseen there before.\n\n\"I feel very differently now,\" he said, \"God has forgiven all my sins.\"\n\nHe then went on to express his sense of his own unworthiness; not that\nhe had led a vicious life, but he felt he was a great sinner before\nGod. In the course of conversation I told him his sister had inquired\nkindly about him; his eyes filled with tears, and he said:\n\n\"Tell her I have been converted; I am very happy.\" The week before\nEaster, when the Bishop visited the hospital to administer\nconfirmation, William was placed in a chair to receive the rite, and on\nEaster Day partook of his first communion. It was a glorious day for\nhim. Mrs. Knowles visited him on that day.\n\nA few days after, as I sat by his bedside, he was speaking, as he\nalways did now, of his sense of sinfulness, and his sense of pardon,\nwhen I reminded him of the early conversation, before alluded to, in\nwhich he had rested on his own moral character for acceptance with God.\n\n\"Yes,\" he replied, \"I used to think so, but I have been all wrong. Now\nI have no dependence but upon Jesus Christ.\"\n\nA little before this, he had said to Mrs. Knowles: \"I never knew that\njust trusting in Christ would give me such peace.\"\n\nHe has said repeatedly: \"This sickness is the best thing that has ever\nhappened to me. If it had not been for this, I should have gone on in\nworldliness.\"\n\nWilliam has never been accustomed to the common religious phraseology.\nHe is such a babe in such things, that his expressions are sometimes\nstrikingly artless. At one time I was speaking of his sufferings, he\nlooked up with a smile, and hesitating how to express the thought in\nhis mind, said:\n\n\"I think it is out of his affections God afflicts us.\"\n\nHis sister had wept much when I delivered his message. As I returned a\nkind reply from her, he said:\n\n\"Tell her I pray for her and her family every day.\" Then, when after a\nlittle conversation I had bidden him good-by, he called me back, and\nsaid:\n\n\"Be sure and tell my sister I pray for her.\" He frequently said to me:\n\n\"I pray for you everyday;\" and on saying this to Mrs. Knowles, he\nadded, at one time:\n\n\"I speak your name to God when I pray.\"\n\nWhen he says this with so much earnestness, we always feel that his\nprayers are a rare treasure, since the helpless, self-renouncing\nprayers are most prevalent in Christ. The tenderness with which William\nspeaks of his sister's family has sometimes touched me. There is\nnothing like the peace of God to beget good will to man. Knowing that\nthe family had many trials with his sister's ill health and scanty\nmeans, he often sends by me messages of sympathy. A few days since it\nwas suddenly discovered that their youngest child, two years old, and a\nlittle pet of William's, was in danger of being crippled for life. This\nnew and unexpected sorrow filled the family with great distress. I\naccompanied the father when the child was brought to St. Luke's for\nexamination. After the physician's opinion had been given, and\narrangements made for placing it in the Children's Ward, we went to see\nWilliam. The unexpected appearance of his brother-in-law, whom he had\nnot seen since coming to the hospital, affected him much. Indeed, the\ninterview was trying to both. I left them alone, and on my return\nshortly afterward, found William still in tears. He was not so well\nthat morning, and grief for the child, and the sight of the brother\nreviving the painful memory of their late alienation, was too much for\nhim; yet his peace was not greatly disturbed, for all alienation from\nman, as from God, had been healed for him.\n\n_The Tried Word._--I went to see the little child the next morning, and\nthen reported him to his uncle, whose first words were a question,\nrather anxiously put, concerning the little one. Wishing to set his mind\nat ease, I said:\n\n\"Oh, it is all well with him. I just met him coming down, stairs with a\nflock of children, and his hands full of bread and butter.\"\n\nHe gave a smile of quiet amusement, which showed the playfulness of\nother days might yet be touched. I then went on to tell him the case\nwas not likely to prove as serious as we had feared, and suggested he\nshould get the nurse, when convenient, to bring the child in her arms\nto his bedside. He was pleased with the idea; but presently the\nconversation fell off from the subject. William's eyes wandered to the\ntexts of the \"Silent Comforter\" at the foot of his bed. With the air of\none who caught the sight of unutterable things, and has not much more\nto do with the world:\n\n\"See,\" said he, \"I have a good verse for this morning.\" He began to\nread: \"Fear not, I am with thee.\"\n\nBeginning to cough, I went on: \"When thou walkest through the waters,\nthey shall not overflow thee; and through the fire, thou shalt not be\nburned. That is just right for you, William.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" he replied, with his own peculiarly beautiful smile.\n\n\"I notice,\" said I, \"that the very words of God are best for you. You\nlove the hymns, but, after all, God's own words are the safest to rest\nupon.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" he replied, \"I live upon those texts. When the nurse comes in,\nin the morning, to turn the leaf over, _I am eager_.\"\n\nI did not speak, but watched him as he lay, his longing eyes fixed upon\nthe words before him, with an absorbed and admiring gaze, as if all\nelse were forgotten. His soul was hanging its eternal destiny on the\nwords of God. A few days before this he had said to Mrs. Knowles:\n\n\"You remember when we first talked of the Shepherd's Psalm, I said I\nshould be glad when I could say: 'When I walk through the valley of the\nshadow of death, I will fear no evil' Now,\" he added, emphatically, \"_I\ncan say it._ I fear no evil, for thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.\"\n\nHis listener then went on to speak of the beautiful figure of the rod\nand staff.\n\n_Sunshine and Shadow._--God leads his little ones gently, the Good\nShepherd bears the lambs, that the enemy may not too much affright them\nthrough the dark valley.\n\n\"Is your peace never disturbed, William?\" I asked one day.\n\n\"Not often,\" he answered. \"Sometimes there comes a cloud--it is a\ntemptation, I suppose.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" I said, \"Satan, perhaps, envies you. He knows that he will never\nget your soul, but he will trouble you a little.\"\n\n\"I suppose so,\" he replied thoughtfully.\n\nWishing to express to me his happiness in God, and not knowing quite\nhow to do so, he said:\n\n\"It is like this, sometimes--I feel like a boy let out from school; I\nam so happy, I want to shout.\" At another time he said:\n\n\"I have much _communion_.\" Then, as if to illustrate this, he added:\n\n\"Last night, I awoke about two o'clock, and I was praying in my sleep.\"\n\n\"Can you recall your prayer?\" I asked.\n\n\"No,\" he said, \"but I was praying to God.\"\n\n\"God is very good, William, to let you talk with him so in the night.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" he answered; and then turning his face toward his pillow, he\nsaid, in a low voice: \"Praise God!\"\n\n\"And bless his holy name,\" I responded.\n\nWe were both silent for a few moments, and then--I think it was in\nconnection with this conversation--I asked:\n\n\"William, if you were to get well now, do you think you would try to\nlive to the glory of God?\"\n\n\"Indeed, I would,\" he answered.\n\n\"And bring others to know him?\" I asked.\n\n\"Yes,\" he said again.\n\n\"Well, William, I suppose you think that here upon this bed you cannot\ndo much; but I think you can glorify him here on this very bed.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" he answered, a little doubtfully; then added: \"I try to pray to\nhim all the time.\"\n\nI was half sorry for the suggestion, which seemed somewhat to bewilder\nhim, and said: \"That is all you can do, is it not?\"\n\n\"And that is little enough,\" he replied sorrowfully.\n\nI tried to make him understand that to receive much of God's grace was\nthe surest way to serve him.\n\n\"What shall I render unto God for all his benefits? I will take the cup\nof salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.\"\n\nWhen I saw William the next morning, he said, immediately:\n\n\"I did last night what you told me. I prayed for strength to glorify\nGod here.\"\n\n\"I think,\" I answered, \"that you will do that if you lie here and\nmeekly suffer his will; and I must tell you that, after these\nconversations with you, I go home thanking God for what you have told\nme of His love to you. I think I love the Saviour better, since I have\nseen what he can be to one in sickness and death.\"\n\n\"_That is good_\" he said emphatically, \"_I would have it so_.\"\n\nAs I left him this time, the thought in my own mind was: \"Oh, speak\ngood of the Lord.\"\n\nOn my return to William and his brother-in-law, after the interview\nwhich I described in my last paragraph, and which occurred only a few\ndays ago, I saw that he was too much agitated for conversation. I read\nhim a hymn and said a few words. He was suffering more than usual that\nday, and his usually peaceful spirit seemed a little clouded. When I\nrose to go, it seemed that he would have detained me. We had bidden\ngood-by, and turned away, when I looked back. I wanted to leave some\nword of Christ or thought of him at the last. \"William,\" I said,\nbending over him, \"Jesus says: 'Let not your heart be troubled--in my\nFather's house are many mansions.'\"\n\nHe took hold of my hand, and looked up, the red lines of tears about\nhis eyes. I could not quite understand their expression of unutterable\nlonging, but I could feel at the moment that death must be penal, and\nits waters cold sometimes, even to a believer.\n\n In these deeply anxious hours,\n O, if Jesus only smile!\n Only Jesus\n Can these restless tears beguile.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\nSOWING AND REAPING.\n\n Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,\n Sowing in the noon-tide and the dewy eves;\n Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,\n We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.\n\n\nThe blessed Master says, in his Sermon on the Mount, \"With what measure\nye mete, it shall be measured to you again.\" If we attempt great things\nfor God, and expect great things from God, He will bless us\naccordingly; for He cheers us by saying: \"Ye shall reap, if ye faint\nnot.\"\n\nMrs. Knowles tells us of instances where this truth has been verified.\n\"One woman, whom I have been visiting for years, but apparently without\nany success, until a few months since, when she was taken sick, sent\nfor me at that time, and said, 'she felt so sorry she had led such a\nwicked life,' and putting her arms round my neck, said, earnestly, 'Oh,\npray for me, that the Lord will have mercy on me, and save my poor\nsoul.' I did so, and when I rose from my knees, she held my hand in\nhers, and looking up for some time, she cried, 'Lord help me, and\nanswer the prayers that have been offered for me;' and when I told her\nto cast herself wholly upon Jesus, that He was ready to save her, she\nsaid, 'Oh, but I have been such a sinner.' 'He is ready to save the\nchief of sinners, if they will only come.' She clasped her hands,\ncrying, 'Oh, Jesus, save me, for I trust in thee.' I left her with a\nheart full of anxiety, but believing the Lord had begun the good work\nin her heart, and that in His own good time he would finish it, and I\nwas not disappointed; for in a short time she was brought to rejoice in\nChrist as her Saviour, and although for weeks she passed through\nintense suffering, she never complained, but looking up, she would say\nto her family, and others who came to visit her, 'My Saviour helps me\nto bear all my trials;' and so he did, for I never saw a more patient\nsufferer, or a happier death.\n\n\"A lady whom I met there said to me, 'You have been sowing seed here a\nlong time, and now you see what encouragement you have to labor.' The\nfamily are still out of Christ, but I earnestly hope to see or hear of\nthem all brought to their mother's God.\n\n\"Another woman, who did not attend church at all, was like a little\nchild, helpless and humble. Her situation became so critical, none were\nallowed to see her; but if she heard I was there, she always wanted me\nto pray with her; and often after offering a short prayer at her\nbedside, she would take my hand when about to leave her, and say, 'Oh,\npray for me;' And when I kissed her, she would look up so earnestly,\nsaying: 'I know you will pray for me.'\n\n\"It pleased the Lord to bless the means used for her recovery, and now,\nnearly well, she cannot express her gratitude to God for having\npreserved her. A few days since, when I told her of a poor woman who\nhad returned from the hospital not much better, she gave me a dollar\nfor her; indeed, her whole desire seems to be to do good, and bring up\nher children (she has a large family) in the right way. She said to me,\n'When you came at first to see me, and spoke to me about being a\nsinner, I did not see how it was that I could be so, for I felt I was\nas good as you was.'\n\n\"These are cases that encourage us in our labors, for although our work\nat the time may seem fruitless, we may safely leave the seed in His\nhands, who maketh it grow and bud and blossom in His own good time.\n\n\"A woman whom I had not seen for some time, as she had moved away, told\nme a missionary had called to see her, and, talking to her as I had\ndone, she asked if he knew me. He said, 'No, he was a stranger; but his\nwords impressed her so much, that I still hope she may soon be brought\nto Christ; and thus it often is, if we sow in faith, 'one soweth and\nanother reapeth.' In many instances a Bible that I have left, neglected\nat the time, has, through another's teaching, become precious; and some\nhave shown me _one_ left by other teachers, to which I have had the\nprivilege of directing the attention of the otherwise careless owner.\"\n\nShe continues her deeply-interesting narrative thus:\n\n\"We have commenced our Saturday Sewing-school in a beautiful room,\nwhich has been secured for us, and hope to accomplish a great deal of\ngood this winter through its means. My Sunday-school will be in\nconnection with the Ludlow Street Mission, and I trust, as my health\nand strength seem renewed, I may be truly useful in working for the\nMaster.\"\n\nHere we have a vivid description of Christian waiting, in expectation\nof results. When we take into consideration that this woman was fifty\nyears old when she commenced directly to work as a missionary, we know\nthat she was fully equipped for the task, and entered upon it with all\nher energies of heart. St. Paul says, in his letter to the Church, at\nRome, that \"tribulation worketh patience.\" Now, there are many\nGod-fearing ministers who cannot stand a rebuff. There are many good\nChristian people, and some of them excellent workers in the\nSabbath-school, who could not stand to be looked upon coldly, much less\nto have the door slammed in their face. I am sure they would give the\nwork up in despair, if, after they had attempted to reach some stranger\nseveral times, and had not succeeded. But, oh, here is a weak woman,\nfor years visiting another of her own sex, year after year,\nremonstrating earnestly and patiently, and lovingly with her, in order\nto lead her to Christ. Is not this the way that God deals with us? Line\nupon line, precept upon precept; here a little, there a little.\n\nSurely, he is the Lord God, \"merciful and gracious, long-suffering,\nslow to anger, abundant in goodness and in truth.\"\n\nWhat does Christ say in the Apocalypse? \"Behold, I stand at the door,\nand knock; if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come unto\nhim and will sup with him, and he with Me.\"\n\nDoes not the Holy Spirit work in this very same manner? Patiently!--oh,\nhow patiently, He strives, He pleads, He warns. Was it not the Holy\nSpirit in this woman's heart, that, led her again and again to visit\nthis home? Yes, most assuredly. Oh, that this self-same spirit would\nwhisper to every reader of this memoir to go and do likewise!\n\nSee how beautifully Divine Providence harmonizes with the Spirit's\nwork, and with those who faithfully toil in the vineyard. How unique\nthe operation. Sickness is the efficient cause.\n\nBut we must constantly remember that it was the almost incomparable\nfaith of this woman in the God of Jacob, amid the greatest difficulties\nand discouragements, that gave her such remarkable success.\nIncompetency for Christian work is a lack, not only of patience, but of\nfaith in the great love of our God, and the triumphant death of Christ,\nand the persistent power of the Holy Spirit, combined with a humble\ntrust in our own capabilities to do valiantly for Jesus. These are the\nallied forces in waging war against the powers of darkness in this\nwicked world. Christ said, \"As the Father hath sent me, even so send I\nyou into the world. And greater works than these shall ye do, because I\ngo to my Father.\" Confidence in the word of our dear Incarnate Lord is\nthe warrant, not only of the stability of God's method of saving souls,\nbut in the progressive propagation of Christian principles. There is\ngrowth in work for Christ, as well as in nature. And our younger\nbrethren would do well to remember that like this woman, we must expect\nsuccess, or we will never get it.\n\nDr. McCosh, the President of Princeton College, made the following\nremarks in an address before the General Conference of the Evangelical\nAlliance:\n\n\"It is useless to tell the younger naturalists that there is no truth\nin the doctrine of development, for they know that there is truth which\nis not to be set aside by denunciation. Religious philosophers might be\nmore profitably employed in showing them the religious aspects of the\ndoctrine of development; and some would be grateful to any who would\nhelp them to keep their old faith in God and the Bible with their new\nfaith in science.\"\n\nAgain, in his book on \"Development,\" Dr. McCosh says:\n\n\"It is no use denying in our day the doctrine of evolution, in the name\nof religion or any good cause. It can now be shown that it rather\nfavors religion by its furnishing proofs of design, and by the\nwonderful parallelism between Genesis and geology.\"\n\nIn this part of Mrs. Knowles' diary, the careful reader will observe a\nmost dramatic account of human nature, under the controlling power of\nthe Holy Ghost. The woman whom she had long visited was at last\nconquered. The city of the soul was successfully bombarded. The sorrow\nfor sin, the sad lamentation over a misspent life, the flinging of her\narms round the neck of the missionary, the urgent request, \"Oh, pray\nfor me, that the Lord may have mercy on me, and save my poor soul,\"\ntogether with the statement of transition from shadow to sunshine, from\ngrief to joy, from alienation to adoption, reveal to us the judiciously\nconnected operations of the deity, in the salvation of immortal souls\nbrought about by the power of prayer.\n\nWhy should we remain incredulous about God's willingness to save\nsinners, after such a marvellous manifestation of Divine mercy?\n\n_Brought to rejoice in Christ as her Saviour._--The term \"brought,\" is a\nvery emphatic Scriptural one. It ascribes the glory, and honor, and\npower of man's deliverance to the free, sovereign, unmerited favor of\nGod. David sings:\n\n\"I waited patiently for the Lord. And He inclined unto me, and heard my\ncry.\n\n\"He _brought_ me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay:\n\n\"And He set my feet upon a rock, and stablished my goings.\n\n\"And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praises unto our God; many\nshall see _it_, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.\"\n\nA judicious acknowledgment of the sovereignty of God as the author of\nsalvation is essential to Christian calmness and courage, and\ncontinuance in the path of duty. Man may break his promise, but God\nnever. Man's objection to God's methods of salvation arise from a\ndesire to take the glory to self, and the disposition to discontentment\non the one hand, and a feeling of distrust on the other. Let us learn,\nfrom the foregoing account of the conversion of this woman, to isolate\nourselves from man's ways of working, and accept God's communications\nregarding His approaches to the avenues of the heart; knowing that He\nwill ultimately send the converting power of the Holy Spirit to the\nsoul of the most hardened and obdurate sinner.\n\nWe must go back once more to Mrs. Knowles' narrative, and observe that\namong the principal causes of her success with the poor and fallen, was\nnot only her intimate acquaintance with God's dealings with both saint\nand sinner, but her marvellous and confirmed habit of always offering a\nshort prayer at the bedside of the sick and suffering and dying. There\nwas, therefore, elicited the pungent request, \"Oh, pray for me,\"\ncorroborated by the impressive ejaculation of confidence in her\nfidelity to the divine command, \"Call upon me in the day of trouble, I\nwill deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.\" How inexpressibly\nencouraging it must have been on this occasion to hear the remark, \"I\nknow you will pray for me,\" accompanied with the look of earnestness\nand helplessness, realizing that God alone could restore her to her\naccustomed health and strength.\n\nWho can tell of the gratitude and gladness that sprang up in this\nwoman's heart in answer to earnest prayer on her behalf, for her\nrecovery which God was graciously pleased to bestow? The donation of\nthe dollar to the other poor woman recently returned from the hospital,\nwas conclusive evidence that she joyfully appreciated what great things\nGod had done, not only for her soul, but for her frail body. Let us\nlearn, dear reader, from the foregoing account of God's dealings with\nHis dear departed saints that, in the first place, we must not be weary\nin well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not, for,\nas Mrs. Knowles says, \"Our work may seem at the time fruitless, yet we\nmay safely leave the seed in His hands, who maketh it grow and bud and\nblossom in His own good time.\"\n\nIn the second place, we must remember that to be actively engaged\nworking for God's glory is the best and surest, and, in fact, the only\nsafe remedy for disappointment and discouragements in aggressive\nChristian work. \"In many instances,\" she says, \"a Bible that I have\nleft, neglected at the time, has through another's teachings become\nprecious.\" We can speak from heart-felt experience on this point, for\nsome of the sweet psalms and hymns we sang, perhaps thoughtlessly, in\nthe days of sunny childhood, are to-day the most soul-stirring,\nimparting fire, force, and fervency while working for Jesus. Here is\none of them:\n\n I think when I read that sweet story of old,\n When Jesus was here among men,\n How He called little children as lambs to His fold,\n I should like to have been with them then.\n\n I wish that His hands had been placed on my head,\n That His arm had been thrown around me,\n And that I might have seen His kind look when He said,\n \"Let the little ones come unto Me.\"\n\n Yet still to His footstool in prayer I may go,\n And ask for a share in His love;\n And if I thus earnestly seek Him below,\n I shall see Him and hear Him above.\n\n In that beautiful place He has gone to prepare\n For all who are washed and forgiven;\n And many dear children shall be with Him there,\n \"For of such is the kingdom of Heaven.\"\n\nThroughout her life Mrs. Knowles constantly experienced the blessing of\nsowing and the happy reward of reaping. Numerous instances could be\ncited, had we the space to spare, in which direct answers to her\nprayers have come to her while in the act of beseeching God's aid and\nblessing upon some one object of interest to her. Her own son was one\namong many of such cases. In the early part of 1857 he had become\nassociated with many bad companions and was a source of anxiety to both\nhis parents. His father thought if he could get him to attend church\nthe good influence there obtained would tend to lead him to Christ and\ninto the paths of salvation. But the youth refused to go, and the\nmother at once besought the aid of God in influencing her son's heart.\nAt first, after praying with him for some time, she found him asleep on\nhis knees. She roused him up and prayed again with him, and on her\nhusband's return from church he found his penitent son beseeching Jesus\nto forgive him and lead him into the way of righteousness.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nDAILY MISSIONARY WORK.\n\n Shall He come and find me faithful\n To His parting words to me;\n \"If I go--a place preparing--\n I will quickly come to thee.\"\n\n Shall He come and find me working\n In the vineyard full of love;\n Only working, till the glory\n Breaks upon me from above?\n\n\nThe following part of her narrative of Christian work, taken from _Our\nMissing Link_, is deeply interesting, and deserves the reader's careful\nperusal.\n\nAt one time Mrs. Knowles wrote that, during part of the summer months\ngreat weakness and general debility prevented her from laboring as much\nas usual; and when she resumed her visits, she found many had been\nmaking inquiries after her in church, not knowing her place of\nresidence. One young woman especially, who had made an unfortunate\nmarriage, and who had been badly treated by her husband, was extremely\nanxious to see her, to tell her what comfort she had derived from a\nBible given her by Mrs. Knowles. She said she had never read so much in\none before. She had been brought up a Roman Catholic, but having lived\na few months in a Protestant family, she had there seen a Bible, and\noccasionally read in it. That upon leaving the family the lady\npresented her with one, which she was obliged to hide away in her bed,\nlest her mother should know she possessed it. It afterward disappeared\nand she thought one of her family must have seen her reading in it, and\nsince then she had never been able to procure another. \"When I gave her\nthis one, her husband had spent all her wages, and she had not the\nmeans of paying for it; but now she paid me for it, and hoped I would\ncome again soon and talk with her about it.\n\n\"I am kindly received wherever I go in my new district. There has been\nmuch sickness, especially among the children, and much care is needed.\nOne man I visited presented a pitiable condition. When I entered his\nroom he was far gone in consumption. A little girl was raising his head\nto give him drink, as the mother had gone to her work. He looked\nsurprised to see a stranger enter his room, but I went forward and asked\nhim if he was looking unto Jesus. He said, like many while in health, he\nhad thought too little about those things. I read and prayed with him.\nUpon leaving him he shook my hand and asked me to come again, saying the\nLord must have sent me. I returned soon with some nourishment, which was\ngreedily partaken of--'It tasted so good.' He lived but little more than\na week, and I visited him daily, reading and praying with him. I carried\nwith me the little book _Come to Jesus_, which he loved to hear, as, 'It\nwas so full of Jesus;' but he said he had neglected the Saviour, and how\ncould he hope He would have mercy on him now. I told him how Christ died\npraying for his enemies, and that the thief on the cross looked to him\nand was saved, and repeated to him the hymn 'Just as I am,' etc. This\nseemed to encourage him, and he said he wanted to trust in the mercy of\nGod through Christ to save him; while all who came to see him, he would\nurge not to delay, as he had done, coming to Jesus. He said I was the\nfirst to speak to him about the salvation of his soul, and expressed\ngreat gratitude to me, and great solicitude about his wife and children,\ntill I told him he could surely trust One, who had done so much for him,\nto care for them. He finally became too weak to speak, but toward the\nlast I saw him clasp his hands together, while he repeated, 'O blessed\nJesus, save me.'\n\n\"The woman whom I mentioned in a former report as so solicitous about\nher children being all out of Christ, tells me she is much encouraged,\nas her eldest son now attends church with her, and is so changed and so\nmuch concerned about the other members of the family, she has great\nreason to hope for great things for all the rest.\n\n\"If those dear ladies who furnish us with means could only see for\nthemselves how grateful these poor creatures are for any small kindness\ndone them, or for a word spoken in kindness, how greatly encouraged\nthey would be. And how great is the responsibility of the Bible woman,\nas she goes from house to house, and from one apartment to another,\nlistening to the many tales of distress which greets her ears, and\nwitnesses for herself the many objects of pity and destitution which\nmeet her gaze, while she knows that something is expected from her to\nalleviate, in some measure, the sorrow of these poor sufferers; and\nthen, when these people look up to her for counsel and advice, she is\noften at a loss to know what to say to them. I often entreat them to go\nto Jesus, and kneel and pray with them that the Lord may direct them\nwhat to do.\n\n\"I have brought a number of persons to church, and trust, through\nblessing, prayer, and continued efforts, much more may be accomplished\nin the future.\"\n\nIt is only by an experimental knowledge of the condition of the\ncitizens of New York and other large centres of population, who are\nhuddled together in the high tenement houses, that we are able to form\na correct understanding of the peculiar circumstances that surround the\ndaily life of the faithful city missionary, especially when they are\nnot thoroughly acclimated. A native-born American does not feel the\nstifling heat of the summer sun like those who are born in a more\nnortherly European country. But even the Americans themselves suffer\nseverely from the heat. Hence, many of them close their churches and\nSabbath-schools, and resort to their summer retreats by the seashore,\nat Ocean Grove or Long Branch, while others seek rest and refreshment\nto their jaded spirits at Saratoga, or snuff the balmy breezes at Mount\nMcGregor, where General Grant breathed his last, and ended his\ncreditable career in the cause of his country.\n\nAt this time we find that she suffered much during the summer months of\n1867. Great weakness and general debility hindered her from laboring\nincessantly, as was her usual custom for her dear Saviour. Sickness\nseems to have been the only limitation to her labors. When I think that\nI am writing not about some imaginary character, but one with an\nuntainted reputation, a _beau ideal_ as a Christian worker, known\nperhaps to a few outside of the circle in which she lived and labored,\nencouraged not by applauding throngs, but attracted and held to her\ntoil, year after year, by sorrowful hearts and weeping eyes, and\nhelpless hands that hang down the widow and the fatherless--these were\nthe objects of her Christ-like and heart-felt compassion.\n\nChalmers observes, in a sermon preached at an Anniversary Missionary\nmeeting, held in the High Church in Edinburgh: \"What the man of liberal\nphilosophy is in sentiment, the missionary is in practice. He sees in\nevery man a partaker of his own nature, and a brother of his own\nspecies. He contemplates the human mind in the generality of its great\nelements. He enters upon the wide field of benevolence, and disdains\nthose geographical barriers by which little men would shut out one-half\nof the species from the kind offices of the other. His business is with\nman, and let his localities be what they may, enough for his large and\nnoble heart that he is bone of the same bone. To get at him he will\nshun no danger, he will shrink from no privation, he will spare himself\nno fatigue, he will brave every element of heaven, he will hazard the\nextremities of every clime, he will cross seas, and work his\npersevering way through the briars and thickets of the wilderness. In\nperils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by the heathen, in\nweariness and painfulness, he seeks after him. The cast and the color\nare nothing to the comprehensive eye of the missionary. His is the\nbroad principle of good-will to the children of men. His doings are\nwith the species, and, overlooking all the accidents of climate or of\ncountry, enough for him if the individual he is in quest of be a man--a\nbrother of the same nature--with a body which a few years will bring to\nthe grave, and a spirit that returns to the God who gave it. The\nmissionary is a man of large and liberal principles.\"\n\nThese characteristics, enumerated by the warm and large, and\ngenerous-hearted Chalmers, dwelt richly in her whose biography we have\ntremblingly attempted to portray. She knew little of the soothing\ninfluences of nature and solitude. Her life's work was spent in this\ncity, so cosmopolitan, composed, almost, of every creed and color under\nheaven.\n\nAfter restoration to health, the great purpose of her life was joyously\nresumed. And at this time we have an opportunity of knowing thoroughly,\nand weighing precisely, the opinions of her parishioners regarding her,\nfor when she began to resume her labors she found that the dear ones\nshe had brought to Jesus were kindly inquiring about her. Surely, it is\ngood to be missed, when either laid aside by sickness or called away by\ndeath.\n\nHow precious are the promises of God's Word, amid domestic difficulties\nand trials. The relations of the home circle are such that, unless\nthere is the utmost harmony and good-will, one toward another,\neverything seems to go wrong. Hence, the importance of the injunction\nof the Apostle, \"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.\"\nHer own domestic happiness was constantly preserved. They told me on\nthe steamer, during a summer excursion, \"that during the forty-seven\nyears of their wedded life, they never needed to be reconciled.\" And\nthe secret of their joy at home, even when they commenced housekeeping,\nwas that they erected the family altar, and established a church in the\nhouse. Conceive, then, her feelings of gratitude to God, when she\nlearned that the young Roman Catholic wife, unfortunate in her\nmarriage, who was badly treated by her husband, was greatly comforted\nthrough the prayerful perusal of the Bible. Her deep feelings of moral\nsensibility enabled her to truly sympathize with her own sex in their\nhome troubles.\n\nHer intense love for the children was a magnificent trait in her\ncharacter. Why? Because she felt the significance that attaches itself\nto the sayings of Christ, bearing on the children. His authority must\nbe recognized. He said: \"Suffer the little children to come unto me,\nand forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.\" There is a\nbeautiful passage in Isaiah, that illustrates how tenderly God cares\nfor the little ones:\n\n\"He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs in\nHis bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.\"\n\n\"Whoso,\" said Jesus, \"shall receive one such little child in my name,\nreceiveth me.\"\n\nThere are too many instances in our daily experience where the children\nare sadly neglected, and where they are looked upon as little heathens,\nand discouraged in their endeavors to follow Jesus in early life. It\nshould be the constant care of parents and Sunday-school teachers to\ntake the children to Him who will in no wise cast them out. Who can\nlook into the clear, bright, blue eyes of a little boy or girl, and not\nsee in their countenance a holy radiance expressive of trustfulness,\ninnocence, and affection? It is no wonder, then, that Jesus said:\n\"Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye can in\nnowise enter into the kingdom of heaven.\"\n\n\"Are you looking unto Jesus?\" she said. Where can we look for a more\nimportant searching question to shadow forth the indispensable\nnecessity of not only this consumptive man, but all men, whether in\nhealth or sickness, to renounce all other methods of trying to get to\nheaven, but by \"looking unto Jesus.\" No change of character can take\nplace in any other way. \"Look unto me and be ye saved, all ye ends of\nthe earth, for I am God, and beside me there is none else.\" They looked\nunto Him and were lightened. \"O! it is easy to look to the hills from\nwhence cometh our help,\" when the Holy Spirit is working upon the\nheart. But ah, it is a tremendously difficult task to perform when the\npoor sinner is bereft of this divine power.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\nDESTITUTION AND REFORMATION.\n\n Oh, use me Lord, use even me,\n Just _as_ Thou wilt, and _when_ and _where_,\n Until Thy blessed face I see,\n Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share.\n\n\nHer willingness to toil in any direction attests the grand purpose of\nher life and the ingenious methods employed in assisting and saving\nsouls.\n\n\"I visited one family,\" she writes, \"a few days since who had not eaten\nanything for twenty-four hours. The father was out of employment, and\nin desperation was just about to take the children to some charitable\nhome, when I came in time to supply their wants and procure aid and\nwork for him. Many others, rather than make known their wants, have\npawned everything they possessed. I have had to give and lend them\narticles of clothing to cover them, and have procured coal and\ngroceries for nine families during the past month.\"\n\nThe remarkable and unprecedented success of this one woman in reaching\nothers of her own sex is nearly unparalleled. This fact has encouraged\nus to persevere in our attempt to make these truths known to the\nChristian world; for how emphatically true are the words of Gray:\n\n \"Full many a gem of purest ray serene,\n The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear,\n And full many a flower is born to blush unseen,\n And waste its sweetness on the desert air.\"\n\nThis thought stimulates us to renewed efforts to present her experience\nin her own language, as she conscientiously discharged her duty with an\neye single to the glory of God.\n\nShe mentions a case of reformation of an intemperate woman who had\ndeserted her home, and after pawning and ridding herself of all she\npossessed, was at length brought to herself and sent for the Bible\nwoman, and, through the omnipotence of loving-kindness, has been won to\nreformation, which she trusts may be permanent.\n\nThis case presents a sad and dark picture in the history of womanhood.\nAn intemperate woman, through the blasting and blighting influence of\nliquor, leaving her home, and like the prodigal, spending her substance\nin riotous living, and at length being compelled to feed on the husks.\nA fallen woman seeking pleasure away from home with all its\nendearments. Alas! alas! \"There is no peace saith my God unto the\nwicked. Whither, oh, whither can they fly as wretched wanderers from\ntheir homes?\"\n\n \"Home, sweet home!\n There is no place like home!\"\n\nIt is a divine institution. A place of rest and peace and joy. To\nforsake home is to despise bliss and accept woe. It is to reject\nfelicity and receive sorrow. When God has been so kind as to furnish a\npeaceable, well-governed home, nothing should tempt the young to leave\nit. All that is necessary for pure pleasure can be found in the family\ncircle. The unwary are sometimes induced to leave home through false\nrepresentations, and a desire to gratify every earthly propensity. Idle\ncuriosity may be greatly augmented, and the new acquaintances formed\nmay, for the time being, partially please the senses; but the calm\nrecollection of former unalloyed joys in the cottage home naturally\nextorts the old cry from pale quivering lips, and a broken heart, \"I\nwill arise and go to my father, and will say: father I have sinned\nagainst heaven and before thee.\"\n\nSuch a course of turning to God, and such a cry, is always richly\nrewarded. Personal reformation is not only gratifying to relatives and\nfriends, but well-pleasing to God. \"Won to reformation\" by the Bible\nwoman through the omnipotence of _loving kindness_! We are reminded by\nthis incident of a story we heard told by the late John B. Gough. It was\npart of his experience a few days after he became a total abstainer. He\nhad returned to work. But his burning thirst for liquor was intense. In\nhis agony of mind and body, he said to his employer, \"I have signed the\npledge.\" The reply was, \"You will keep it about a week.\" \"If so, then I\nwill go and get a drink now, for I cannot endure this awful agony any\nlonger,\" he retorted. He rushed out of the room and down the stairs\nleading to the street, when he was accosted by the kind, gentle voice of\na strange gentleman who met him.\n\n\"How do you do, Mr. Gough? I am so glad to see you; I was delighted to\nsee you at the meeting last night, and I am so thankful that you had\ncourage given you to go forward and sign the pledge. I simply called\nover to shake you by the hand and wish you God speed in your noble\nendeavor. Here is my card; I want you to call at my office, as I desire\nto get acquainted with you.\" Those kind words entered into his heart,\nand from that auspicious hour he resolved to be steadfast and immovable\nin his renunciation of his drinking habits.\n\nGod loves and prospers those who, like Jesus, speak kind words of\nencouragement to those who have gone astray from the paths of\nrectitude. The brevity and uncertainty of life ought to teach us the\npractical lesson that if we would save men and women from their sins we\nmust be watchful and willing at all times to rescue the wanderers from\ntheir critical condition, constantly remembering that He has said, \"Let\nthe wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and\nlet him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to\nour God for he will abundantly pardon.\"\n\n\"When I was hungry ye gave me meat; when I was thirsty ye gave me\ndrink; naked, and ye clothed me.\" Little did this noble-minded woman\nthink that when she was entering her daily experience in her diary that\nher deeds of charity were to be brought to light after death. A story\nis told of Xenophon, the disciple of Socrates, that while offering a\nsolemn sacrifice he heard that his eldest son was slain at Mantinea. He\ndid not, however, desist, but only laid down his crown and asked how he\nhad fallen. When he understood that his son had fallen in battle\nfighting bravely for his country, he calmly replaced the crown upon his\nhead, calling the gods to witness that he received greater pleasure\nfrom the bravery of his son, than pain from his death. We do not,\nnaturally speaking, like to lose our loved ones, but when we think of\ntheir bravery and fidelity, we feel disposed to praise God for them. O,\nwhat transcendent dignity and honor are conferred on the faithful at\nthe hour of death. It seems there is a reciprocal response on earth to\nthe acclamations of heaven perpetually ringing in the ears of the\nransomed, \"Well done, good and faithful servant.\"\n\nThe Church's loss is her gain. Still the deeds of mercy call forth\npraise. Let us ever remember that a holy and just and good God is\ntreasuring up all our words of faith and labors of love against the\ngreat day of account--the day of recognition and remuneration. Pollock\nbeautifully describes the man or woman like her of whom we write, a\nperson of enlarged benevolence and liberality, as practically\nillustrated in the foregoing authentic record of Christian experience.\nHe says:\n\n \"Breathe all thy minstrelsy, immortal harp!\n Breathe numbers warm with love while I rehearse,\n Delightful theme! remembering the songs\n Which day and night are sung before the Lamb!\n Thy praise, O Charity! thy labors most\n Divine! thy sympathy with sighs, and tears,\n And groans; thy great, thy god-like wish to heal\n All misery, all fortune's wounds; and make\n The soul of every living thing rejoice--\n A finishing and polish without which\n No man e'er entered heaven. Let me record\n His praise; the man of great benevolence,\n Who pressed thee softly to his glowing heart,\n And to thy gentle bidding made his feet\n Swift minister of all mankind, his soul\n Was most in sympathy with heaven;\n Nor did he wait till to his door,\n The voice of supplication came, but went abroad\n With foot as silent as the starry dews,\n In search of misery that pined unseen,\n And would not ask. And who can tell what sights\n She saw, what groans she heard in that cold world\n Below, where sin in league with gloomy death,\n March daily through the length and breadth of all\n The land, wasting at will and making earth,\n Fair earth! a lazer-house, a dungeon dark!\n Oh, who can tell what sights she saw, what shapes\n Of wretchedness! or who describe what smile\n Of gratitude illumed the face of woe?\"\n\nSimilarity of character is the firmest bond for forming permanent\nfriendship, hence Christ says to all his followers, Ye are my friends,\nif ye do whatsoever I command thee. A glance at the picture presented\nto us in St. John's gospel, eleventh chapter, at the Feast of the\nPassover of the Jews, remind us of the character and spirit of Jesus\nwhen he took the loaves, and when he had given thanks he distributed to\nthe disciples, and the disciples to the multitude who were set down\nupon the grass. For services of this kind God selects his servants. By\nfilling them with the spirit of Jesus, they are thus thoroughly\nqualified to minister to the necessitous.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\nHER FAITHFULNESS IN LITTLE THINGS.\n\n There are small things in daily life\n In which I may obey,\n And thus may show my love to Thee;\n And always--every day--\n There are some little loving words\n Which I for Thee may say.\n\n\"He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful in much.\"\n\n\nShe continues to write with her usual forcible descriptiveness: \"I found\na mother and daughter in a damp room, on the ground floor of a tenement\nbuilding, in a wretched condition. The room was furnished with a broken\nstove, one chair, two trunks, and some bedding spread on the floor, as\nthey had no bedstead. _Both_ were very lame, and the girl quite feeble\nfor want of care and nourishment. After relieving their immediate wants,\nI tried to lead them to Christ. The girl was so sick and discouraged it\nwas difficult to convince her that any one cared for her, but at length\nshe cried, and said, 'How nice it is to have some one talk kindly to\nme.' From that time she began to read the Bible for herself, and would\noften speak to me of different passages of the Scriptures. But after a\nwhile the landlord ordered them to move, because they could not pay\ntheir rent, and with some effort I succeeded in sending the mother into\nthe country, and placing the girl in a hospital.\n\n\"Two other persons, who through a blessing on my labors have become\ndeeply interested, and even led to study the Bible, have now openly\nprofessed Christ.\"\n\nTake another glance at the above touching scene and behold the lively\nexercise of her wonderful sagacity and powers of observation. This\ngraphic representation of squalor and consummate misery gives\npre-eminence to her adaptedness as a successful missionary of the cross\nof the Lord Jesus Christ. The eyes of the blessed Jesus, the model\nworker, were not closed to the wants and woes of humanity, hence his\nformidable power in preparing an entrance into the hearts of the people.\nHer Christ-like visits, carrying the rich treasure of the glad tidings,\nfound an echo in the soul of those she visited. Although her elementary\neducation had been sadly neglected, yet nevertheless, by her close study\nof God's Word and her varied experience for over fifty years in the\nlower part of a city like New York, she knew full well how to adapt\nherself to circumstances. Let us calmly follow her footsteps into this\nlofty tenement building and watch her movements. See how minutely she\ndescribes the sad scene. If a murder had been committed in the house and\na reporter from the _New York Herald_, or any other paper, had called to\ntake notes, he could not have been more minute in his description of the\nsurroundings than she. All the collateral or subordinate information\nessentially necessary to convey an accurate idea of a true picture\npeculiarly calculated to throw a flood of light on the whole panorama\nare carefully furnished us by her notes. And here we are forcibly\nreminded of the pithy and succinct saying of Scotia's beloved bard,\nBurns:\n\n \"A chiel's amang ye taking notes.\"\n\nNotice how she enumerates the persons and things in the apartment. The\nmother and daughter. The damp room. The ground floor. The wretchedness.\nThe broken stove. The one chair. The two trunks. The bedding spread on\nthe floor. The absence of a bedstead. The lameness. The feebleness. How\nconsummate the skill displayed in her graphic and touching description\nof pitiable facts emanating from her pen with such brilliancy of\nrhetorical power; and all spontaneously springing not from the schools\nof moral and intellectual philosophy, but from the school of Christ\nJesus her Lord who said to his sorrowful disciples: \"These things have I\nspoken unto you, being yet present with you, but the Comforter, which is\nthe Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, _he shall teach\nyou all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I\nhave said unto you_.\" The _Paraclete_, who is infinitely competent to\nperform the instruction necessary amid all the exigencies of life, and\nby whose divine influence every difficulty and trial is easily adjusted,\nwas evidently her great instructor.\n\n\"The girl,\" she says, \"was quite feeble for want of care and\nnourishment.\" In a public address recently delivered in this city by the\ngood and kind Dr. John Hall, of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, at\nthe opening of a Newsboys' Lodging House, on the corner of Eighth Street\nand Avenue B, an institution built through the liberality of Mrs. Robert\nL. Stuart, at a cost of $50,000, the doctor said, \"A man left to himself\nwill choose the bad rather than the good, because the majority do, and\nit is easier besides. As crime breeds misery, so misery too often breeds\ncrime. _We should take note of this fact and try to mend it._\"\n\nMr. Bruce, another speaker, said \"thousands of children, assisted, have\ngone West, and now own farms and are prosperous.\" He concluded his\naddress by asking the boys to cheer Mrs. Stuart, which they did\ngratefully for their new home provided by this inestimable and generous\nlady.--_New York Daily Tribune_, Tuesday, March 29, 1887.\n\nIt is the philanthropist's great aim to defend the moral honor of the\nhomeless as well as to minister to their temporal necessities. This\nimportant service was rendered to thousands by our model missionary\nwoman, and eternity alone will disclose the gigantic results.\n\nBut let us more specifically analyze her course of conduct under the\nforegoing circumstance. In the first place _she immediately relieved\ntheir wants_. I have read somewhere the story of Dr. Guthrie when he was\nfirst called to the metropolis of Edinburgh. Of their filling his\npockets with tracts, and with all the ardor of his noble heart,\ncommenced his great work. He ascended the creaking stairs of a high\nbuilding in the old town, and knocking at the door, an elderly woman\nmade her appearance, whereupon he proffered her a tract. Looking\nearnestly upon him, and in a loud shrill voice she exclaimed,\npathetically: \"'Deed, Sir, I dinna want yeer tracts, I weed thank ye for\na loaf o' breed.\" Ah! he thought to himself, here is a case of\ndestitution, and excusing himself he hurried down-stairs, and going to\nthe baker he ordered bread, and to the butcher he ordered beef, and to\nthe grocer he ordered some English breakfast tea and sugar, a few\ndainties, and a cart of coal, and requested them to be sent at once to\nthe woman in want. Calling a few days afterward he found her comfortably\nseated with a neighbor around a cheerful hearthstone drinking their\nnewly made tea. When she opened the door she enthusiastically exclaimed,\n\"Come awa, noo, Doctor, I am ready to hear you on the subject o'\nreligion.\" Our departed sister also recognized the necessity of\nattending to the temporal as well as the spiritual wants of her\nparishioners simultaneously. \"_After relieving their wants I tried to\nlead them to Christ._\"\n\nWe shall now proceed to show that this incident, in conformity to the\nteaching of God's Word, assures us that suffering and want are the\nmeans used by the kind providence of God to lead the careless sinner to\nseek a saving interest in the Lord Jesus Christ. David says, \"Before I\nwas afflicted I went astray, and thou in faithfulness hast afflicted\nme.\" He delivereth the poor in his affliction. \"The Lord will not cast\nus off forever. But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion\naccording to the multitude of his mercies.\" And here is the reason\ngiven: \"_For He doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of\nmen_.\"--Lam. iii. 31-33.\n\nIn this instructive part of the diary we find described a truly\npathetic and animated scene. A humble missionary woman leading souls to\nChrist. This employment excites the deep interest and profound\nadmiration of heaven. The general assembly and church of the first born\nabove are intently gazing on, not as idle spectators, but the angels\nmay be observed pressing through the crowd of crowned ones with\nglory-lit face, and sanctified step, communicating the cheering\nintelligence of accessions to the ranks of the church militant which\nmust swell the highest strains of celestial music and deeply increase\nand augment the joy of the church triumphant.\n\nIn the hour of deep distress this woman was sent by God to relieve the\nwants of this stricken household, and at the same time lead them \"to\nthe Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world.\" There are many,\nalas, who see no beauty in the despised Nazarene until, by deep\nsuffering, they are absolutely compelled to completely renounce self\nand to fall down, wounded and bleeding and bruised and heart-broken at\nthe feet of Him who shed the last drop of his crimson blood on the\nCross of Calvary for our salvation.\n\n\"Two others,\" she adds, \"at this date, have been led to _study the\nBible_ and have openly professed Christ.\" What extraordinary events\ncluster around this _special agency_ employed by the Holy Spirit to\nbring about such a glorious result. It is the enemy's intention to lead\npersons in distress and misery to commit crime. This is the testimony of\nall history, but God saves His own in the hour of peril, and not\nunfrequently by weak instrumentalities. Near Loch Katrine, encircled by\nlofty mountains and where the scenery which fringes it is of the wildest\ncharacter; where, as Scott says in his \"Lady of the Lake,\" the briar\nrose and fell in streamers green,\n\n And creeping shrubs of thousand dyes,\n Waved in the west wind's summer sighs,\n Boon nature scattered free and wild\n Each plant or flower, the mountain's child,\n Here eglantine embalmed the air,\n Hawthorn and hazel mingled there.\n The primrose pale and violet flower,\n Found in each cliff's narrow bower;\n Foxglove and nightshade side by side,\n Emblems of punishment and pride;\n Gray birch and aspen wept beneath;\n Aloft the ash and warrior oak,\n Cast anchor in the rifted rock;\n And higher yet the pine-tree hung,\n His shattered trunk, and frequent flung\n Where seemed the cliff to meet on high,\n His boughs athwart the narrow sky,\n So wondrous wild, the whole might seem\n The scenery of a fairy dream.\n\nHere, in a roughly wooded island, the country people secreted their\nwives and children, and their most valuable effects from the rapacity\nof Cromwell's soldiers during their inroad into Scotland. The soldiers\nresolved to plunder this island; an expert swimmer swam toward it to\nfetch the boat to his comrades, which had carried the women to their\nplace of refuge. It lay moored in one of the creeks; his companions\nstood watching on the shore; but just as the soldier reached the\nnearest point of the island, and was laying hold of a black rock to get\non shore, a heroine who stood on the very point where he meant to land,\nhastily snatching a dagger from below her tartan apron, with one quick,\nsharp stroke severed his jugular vein, killing him instantly.\n\nThe soldiers on the other shore seeing the disaster, relinquished all\nfuture hope of revenge or conquest, and made the best of their way out\nof a perilous position. Thus the women and children and valuables were\nsaved by the bravery of this noble heroine, Ellen Stuart. Such is the\nway God saves the family to-day, by guiding the feet of our missionary\nto many a distressed household, instantly relieving their wants, and\nputting in their hands the Word of the Spirit which is the Word of God.\nLet this record be an incentive to others to go and do likewise, by\npleading for the poor and the fatherless. God grant that her words may\nbe as goads to arouse sleepy professors to a realizing sense of their\ngreat obligation to Him who is the God of Israel, our father's God, and\nwe will trust Him.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nTHE POWER OF INFLUENCE.\n\n I cannot do great things for Him\n Who did so much for me;\n But I would like to show my love,\n Lord Jesus, unto Thee;\n Faithful in very little things,\n O Saviour! may I be.\n\n\nIn the course of her daily missionary work Mrs. Knowles met with the\nfollowing interesting case which she herself records:\n\n\"Calling on a poor afflicted widow, I found her in great want, much\ndiscouraged, and very sad; she said she did not feel much _desire to\nlive_.\n\n\"'Can you not trust God?' I said. 'Have you not always been cared for?'\n\n\"Her little boy, a child of six years, was sitting by her side\nscribbling on a slate. He looked up and said:\n\n\"'Mamma, do you know what God says?'\n\n\"'What?' said she.\n\n\"'He that believeth in me hath everlasting life; and God don't want our\nmoney. He don't want us to pay the debt with money.'\n\n\"'What does He want?' said she.\n\n\"'He wants our hearts, and won't you trust Him, mamma?'\n\n\"This roused the mother at once.\n\n\"'Oh, how wicked I have been!' she exclaimed, 'to murmur against the\nwill of the Almighty. I will trust Him, for He has always cared for me\nin the past, and I will trust Him for the future.'\"\n\nI cannot refrain from making a few comments on this case, and drawing a\nlesson therefrom.\n\nTrust in the Lord, and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and\nverily thou shalt be fed.--Ps. xxxvii. 3.\n\nHe hath given meat unto them that fear Him; He will ever be mindful of\nHis covenant.--Ps. cxi. 5.\n\nI will abundantly bless her provision, I will satisfy her poor with\nbread.--Ps. cxxxii. 15.\n\nHe filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.--Ps. cxlvii. 14.\n\nThe righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul.--Proverbs xiii. 25.\n\nBehold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap,\nnor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them: Are ye\nnot much better than they?--Matt. vi. 26.\n\nAnd ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied.--Joel ii. 26.\n\nBehold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: Behold, my\nservants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty.--Isaiah lxv. 13.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nSUGGESTIVE OBSERVATIONS FOR CHRISTIAN WORKERS.\n\nWhat a deeply interesting and instructive picture is here presented to\nour view. Notice the synopsis:\n\n_Destitution._--\"_In great want._\"--This missionary was sent by God to\nthis house--sent like the raven to Elijah. Man's extremity is God's\nopportunity. He frequently overrules poverty, and it contributes to the\ngood of His children.\n\n_Discouragement._--Confidence in God's promises, the great panacea for\nall the difficulties of life. \"_Won't you trust Him?_\" the child asked.\n\n_Despondency._--This widow was \"_very sad_.\" When there is no bread in\nthe house and the children are clamorous for food, it is enough to\nproduce despondency. But afflicted women should remember that God has\npromised to be a husband to the widow and a father to the fatherless.\n\n_Despair._--\"_No desire to live._\"--A sad, very sad condition! When God\nsends affliction it is our duty _to pray_ and not despair. Amid the\ngloom of earth's trials, the Holy Spirit alone can cheer; sorrow and\ndespair can be changed, by God's matchless grace, into gratitude and\ngladness. Newton used to say, when inclined to dark, foreboding\nfeelings:\n\n Begone, unbelief, for my Saviour is near,\n And for my relief will surely appear;\n By prayer let me wrestle and he will perform;\n With Christ in the vessel, I can smile at the storm.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nLIGHT AMID DARKNESS.\n\n_God's Word assures us that a little child shall lead them._--\"Mamma, do\nyou know what God says? He that believeth in me hath everlasting life.\"\nTo behold Christ the light of the world is everlasting life.\n\n_Strong devotion to children will lead us to notice their sayings and\ndoings._--What a beautiful and forcible illustration is this incident\nrecorded by her, the sayings of Christ, \"out of the mouth of babes and\nsucklings he hath perfected praise.\" God is always doing wonders. He\nconfounds the mighty.\n\n_Children are Christ's best representatives._--To teach the disciples\nhumility he set the child in their midst and said, \"Except ye be\nconverted and become as little children ye shall in no wise enter into\nthe kingdom of heaven.\" The day spring from on high visited this family.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nLOVE REMEMBERED BEGETS CONFIDENCE IN GOD.\n\n_I will trust Him for He has always cared for me in the past._--How\nbeautifully appropriate in this connection is the twenty-third Psalm,\nthat we used to sing among the purple heather in the sunny days of\nchildhood with those who have gone home to yonder land of light and\nlove.\n\n The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want.\n He makes me down to lie\n In pasture's green; he leadeth me\n The quiet waters by.\n My soul he doth restore again\n And me to walk doth make\n Within the paths of righteousness\n Ev'n for his own name's sake.\n Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale,\n Yet will I fear none ill,\n For thou art with me; and thy rod\n And staff me comfort still.\n My table thou hast furnished\n In presence of my foes;\n My head thou dost with oil anoint,\n And my cup overflows.\n Goodness and mercy all my life\n Shall surely follow me;\n And in God's house for evermore\n My dwelling place shall be.\n\nSaid an old Christian (a member of my church) seventy-eight years of\nage, whose dear partner of his joys and sorrows whom I called to see in\nher deep affliction (for she had fallen and broken a limb), as I read\nthe above psalm to them before engaging in prayer, \"I remember when a\nboy at home of hearing my dear kind mother rocking the children to\nsleep singing that good old psalm of the Hebrew bard.\"\n\nI received a telegram recently to call and see a wealthy manufacturer's\nmother from Ayrshire, who was stricken with paralysis. As I entered the\nroom and took her hand, I said:\n\n\"I suppose you feel now in your sickness that the Lord is your\nshepherd.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" said she, \"and He leadeth me beside the still waters.\" Shortly\nafterward she peacefully fell asleep in Jesus.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\nMISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS FROM HER DIARY.\n\n Have you heard of that wonderful city,\n Whose walls are of jasper and gold?\n Whose inhabitants ever are happy,\n And never grow weary or old?\n\n Have you heard of those emblems of vict'ry,\n That all of the glorified bear?\n Of the star-bedecked crowns of rejoicing\n Which all of the ransomed shall wear?\n\n\nHER GRATITUDE TO THE NEW YORK FLOWER MISSION.--In the middle of a busy\nsummer she writes: \"The Flower Mission has enabled me to bring some\nbrightness and pleasure to the sufferers on sick beds, for which I am\nvery grateful.\"\n\nHer ardent love of \"sweet, sweet nature\" is fully exemplified by\nfrequent visits to the New York Flower Mission Society's Rooms.\n\nHow refreshing to the sight of the sufferer are those gifts of earth's\nadornment. And how pleasing are the words of the poet Burns:\n\n \"The snowdrop and primrose the woodlands adorn\n And the violets they bathe in the weet of the morn.\"\n\nTHE YOUNG JEWESS.--Writing under this head, she says: \"Some time since I\nbecame acquainted with a young Jewess, who was very sick. I visited her\nfrom time to time, carrying her some little comforts and a bouquet of\nflowers. I also read and prayed with her, which displeased her mother.\nBut ere long her daughter became a Christian, and when I asked her one\nday if she fully believed in Jesus as her Messiah, she replied, 'Oh,\nyes.' She always came to church, but being an invalid and dependent on\nher mother, she could not come out boldly and confess Christ. I have\nlearned since that she has married a Christian man, is a member of the\nPresbyterian Church, and is a happy woman.\"\n\nIt is quite possible for this young Jewess in her sickness to have been\nled to the holy cross of Jesus through the missionary's thoughtfulness\nin bringing sunshine into this sick room by those beautiful and\nfragrant flowers.\n\nTHE FORSAKEN GERMAN WOMAN.--Of this case she states: \"A poor woman who\nhad come from Germany not long ago, felt herself forsaken by all, and\nlonged for her old home. Telling her of the love of Christ, she seemed\nto receive God's word with gratitude, and was very thankful for the\nlittle temporal aid I could give her.\"\n\nThe great charm in her life was her almost universal benevolence to all\nin deep distress. Consider this German woman forsaken and far from her\nnative home. She sighed for\n\n Her dear sweet fatherland, and gazed across the sea,\n But could not get a blink o' her ain countrie.\n\nOh! how blessed! truly blessed are those who are thus like minded. Oh!\nthe rich and inestimable value of such a life. Who can really estimate\nthe power of such human affection? It is emphatically real, true,\nsolid, and substantial. How influential! How full of Christ-like\ngenerosity! Where can we find one so full of the spirit of her dear\nmaster? Her life was spent for the temporal as well as the spiritual\nwelfare of those with whom she was providentially brought in contact.\n\nSee how tenderly she _noticed_ the change wrought among her\nparishioners, after her return from a short respite from her incessant\nlabors. Some were dead, others were sick. To minister to these was her\ncontinuous occupation. She felt her days were short, and as she remarked\non her own death-bed, \"I must finish my work.\" Hence, short were her\nintervals of repose. She says:\n\n\"The prospects of the poor are beginning to brighten. Some, who have\nbeen out of work for some time, have now found employment. In the month\nof February, of the two hundred families I visited, forty on whom their\nfamilies were depending for support were without any employment. I have\ngathered several into the church and the Sabbath-school, as well as the\nprayer-meeting, which is well attended. God help the poor!\"\n\nAnd again, after a somewhat short respite from her labors, she writes:\n\n\"On my return from my vacation, I found many sick, and some had been\ncalled away from this life. Mrs. L., whom I had long visited, had\nfallen asleep in Jesus. Another poor woman who had lost her husband and\na darling child was greatly afflicted. She was willing and glad to hear\nof the Saviour who knows all our sorrows, and has promised to comfort\nthe afflicted with His own presence.\"\n\nYes, this is emphatically true. For what sayeth God through the Prophet\nIsaiah:\n\n\"Oh! Israel, fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by\nthy name; thou art mine. When thou passeth through the waters, I will\nbe with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee:\nwhen thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither\nshall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy\nOne of Israel, thy Saviour. I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and\nSebia for thee. Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been\nhonorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee,\nand people for thy life.\"\n\nA Storm of Starvation, Sickness, and Death.--The Widow's Lament.--A\nFather and Three Children Rescued.--The Stranger in the\nCity.--\"During the last month I have met with a great deal of\ndestitution, many persons out of employment, several families without\nfire or food, and the most of them had never known want before, but\nknew not where to apply for aid.\n\n\"One poor woman, whose husband was in the Island Hospital, I called to\nsee on the Wednesday before the last great storm. She had just sent her\nlittle boy to see his father, and was, with her five children, without\nfire or food. The day before she had divided her last five cent loaf\namong them. I immediately went to the Visitor of the district, who gave\nher groceries and coal, but before she received the aid word came that\nher husband was dead. She is a Protestant, but has been living in\ncareless neglect of her duty to God. She now became very penitent, and\nlamented her past life, believing, as she herself affirmed, that God\nhad been afflicting her for her sins. I think I shall be able to get\nher aid from the Widows' Society.\n\n\"Some time ago, visiting in a tenement house, I inquired at one of the\ndoors if there were any children there who did not go to\nSabbath-school, and was answered by a boy that he did not go. I then\nasked him to go to our school. He consented, and on the following\nSabbath three of the children came, and since then have induced their\nfather to attend church, and he appears to be one of the most attentive\nhearers there.\n\n\"A few days since I visited the family, and found his wife to be a very\ninteresting woman. As I entered the room, the children told their\nmother I was from the church. She seemed glad to see me, and told me of\nthe many trials she had met with. She was a stranger in the city,\nhaving recently come in from the country, where they had lived in\ncomfort, but since then have been greatly reduced. She wept sore, as\nshe told me that her husband had no employment at present. He looks\nover the papers every day, but as yet can find no situation. I begged\nher not to be discouraged, but put her trust in the Lord, and He would\nnot forsake her. She said she felt much encouraged from the interest\nher husband had taken in matters of religion, and regretted she had\nnever made a profession herself. Before I left I prayed with her, and\nwhen I bade her good-by, she put her arms around my neck and wept,\nsaying it was the Lord who sent me to her, and asked me to come soon\nand often.\n\n\"That same evening her husband attended our prayer-meeting, and it was\nremarked by several present how very attentive and interested he\nappeared.\"\n\nFidelity in the performance of duty is always rewarded by getting\nassistance from kind Christian friends. The last five cent loaf is\ndivided among the children. It is a terrible picture to study. A storm\nwithout, starvation within, and a father sick in the hospital. Can you\nimagine a more heartrending scene than the one so graphically portrayed\nby this missionary woman? Picture the moral heroism displayed in her\ntender appeals for help to this death-stricken household.\n\nBible illustrations are always the best:\n\n\"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou\nanointest my head with oil: my cup runneth over.\"--Ps. xxiii. 5.\n\n\"There is no want to them that fear Him. They that seek the Lord shall\nnot want any good thing.\"--Ps. xxxiv. 9-10.\n\n\"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these\nthings shall be added unto you.\"--Matt. vi. 33.\n\n\"My God shall supply all your need, according to his riches in glory by\nChrist Jesus.\"--Phil. iv. 19.\n\n\"Godliness with contentment is great gain. Who giveth us richly all\nthings to enjoy.\"--1 Tim. vi. 6, 17.\n\n\"I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or\nwhat ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on: is\nnot the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Wherefore, if\nGod so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is\ncast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little\nfaith? Therefore, take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What\nshall we drink? or, wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your heavenly\nFather knoweth that ye have need of all these things.\"--Matt. vi. 25,\n30-32.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nDISCOURAGEMENT AND ENCOURAGEMENT.\n\nShe begged this woman not to be discouraged, but to put her trust in\nthe Lord. How comforting is the word in this connection, \"He that\ndwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the\nshadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my fortress; my\nGod, in Him will I trust.\"\n\n1. Consider the happiness of those who put their trust in the Lord.\nEveryone who neglects to do this may reasonably expect that God will\nhide his face from them.\n\n2. See the benefits that flow from the reciprocal influence of\nreligion. She felt encouraged because her husband was interested in\nreligion.\n\n3. Trials ought to be spiritually discerned. We form a very wrong\nestimate of religion if we think that God's gifts of grace are\ninvariably conferred upon the prosperous. Many have the smiles of His\nprovidence who are not basking in the sunshine of His reconciling\ncountenance.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nIF WE FORSAKE GOD, HE WILL ALSO FORSAKE US.\n\n_She had not discharged her duty to God, etc._--How quickly she\nrecognized the vital importance of discharging duty to God as infinitely\nsuperior to all others. Penitence for sin omitted and committed against\na holy Being who has purer eyes than to behold iniquity. This thought is\nput in the foreground; sin brings affliction. Repentance was the first\nsubject selected by John, and Christ himself, to proclaim to the people\nof Palestine, \"Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.\" Why does\nit imply simply a change of mind?\n\n_Laments her past life._--Living in the careless neglect of her duty to\nGod, she censures herself, evidently experiencing that Godly sorrow for\nsin which needeth not to be repented of. How many, alas! sadly neglect\nto confess and forsake their sin until the setting of life's sun.\n\n_He consented, etc._--The old story-telling with gentle, winning words,\nat the door of the tenement-house, accompanied with the loving\ninvitation to come to Jesus, are deeply impregnated with never-ceasing\ninfluence. Three children and a father persuaded to attend the means of\ngrace on the Sabbath, in God's sanctuary. What a striking reflection of\nthe character of Him who sat weary and way-worn on Jacob's well. Surely\na truly devoted missionary of the holy cross of Jesus is an angel on\nthis sin-blighted earth, where, through penury and sorrow, hearts are\nalmost crushed with despair. She is Christ's ambassador.\n\n_Seemed glad to see me, etc._--Why, dear Christian reader? Because she\nbrought rays of heavenly sunshine of God's peace and gratitude and\ngladness into many a benighted heart; thus inspiring, encouraging, and\narousing within the soul blessed remembrances of a covenant-keeping God,\neven toward His poor, wayward, backsliding children.\n\nWhat an unspeakable privilege to unbosom one's trials and difficulties\ninto the ear of a faithful servant of God. But ought we not to thank\nthe Father of Light that the throne of grace has been erected, and we\nare kindly invited to come boldly into His immediate presence, through\nthe rent veil of our Redeemer's flesh, that we may obtain mercy and\nfind grace to help us in every time of need?\n\nConsider the change from comfort in the country to circumstances of\ncheerlessness in the city. Many make a sad mistake in leaving their\ncountry home to come to the city to be crowded in a tenement-house.\nDrawn thither, perhaps, by the glare and din and bustle, to mingle in\nthe sin and sorrow. She described the woman as weeping sorely. \"Weeping\nmay endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.\" What an\ninexpressible comfort to those who feel their loneliness in the city,\nthen Jesus wept and said that he was friendless and homeless. \"He hath\ntrodden the wine-press alone, of the people there was none with him.\"\n\nPoverty and hunger is a great temptation to a woman in the city. How\ncomforting to know that Christ was tempted in this respect. For we read\nin God's divinely inspired word:\n\n\"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted\nof the devil. And when he Had fasted forty days and forty nights, he\nafterward hungered. And the tempter came and said unto him: If thou art\nthe son of God, command that these stones become bread. But he answered\nand said: It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by\nevery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil\ntaketh him into the holy city; and he set him on the pinnacle of the\ntemple, and saith unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself\ndown: for it is written,\n\n \"He shall give his angels charge concerning thee:\n And on their hands they shall bear thee up,\n Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone.\n\n\"Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not tempt the\nLord thy God.\"--Matt. iv. 68.\n\nTo such weary ones we would say, remember the words of the blessed\nJesus: \"Let not your hearts be troubled,\" etc., for\n\n I have read of a land whose inhabitants say\n \"I am sick, I am weary,\" no more,\n And I pine, 'mid the burdens and heat of the day,\n For a glimpse of that life-giving shore.\n\n Eye hath not seen it, and ear hath not heard,\n Yet all my spirit with longing is stirred;\n Oh, glory exceeding my heart's utmost pleading!\n Eternal, eternal the weight of thy bliss!\n\n_On Resisting Temptation._--Thomas A. Kempis says: So long as we live in\nthis world we cannot be without tribulation and temptation.\n\nHence it is written in Job, \"The life of man upon earth is a life of\ntemptation.\"\n\nEvery one therefore ought to be careful about his temptations, and to\nwatch in prayer, lest the devil find an advantage to deceive him; for\nhe never sleepeth, but goeth about, seeking whom he may devour.\n\nNo man is so perfect and holy, but he hath sometimes temptations, and\nwe cannot be altogether without them.\n\nNevertheless temptations are often very profitable to us, though they\nbe troublesome and grievous; for in them a man is humbled, purified,\nand instructed.\n\nAll the Saints passed through man's tribulations and temptations, and\nprofited thereby.\n\nAnd they that could not bear temptations, became reprobate, and fell\naway.\n\nThere is no order so holy, nor place so secret, as that there be not\ntemptations, or adversities in it.\n\nThere is no man that is altogether free from temptations whilst he\nliveth on earth: for the root thereof is in ourselves, who are born\nwith inclination to evil.\n\nWhen one temptation or tribulation goeth away, another cometh; and we\nshall ever have something to suffer, because we are fallen from the\nstate of our felicity.\n\nMany seek to fly temptations, and fall more grievously into them.\n\nBy flight alone we cannot overcome, but by patience and true humility\nwe become stronger than all our enemies.\n\nHe that only avoideth them outwardly, and doth not pluck them up by the\nroots, shall profit little; yea, temptations will the sooner return\nunto him, and will be more violent than before.\n\nBy little and little, and by the very beginning, unlearn evil habits,\nlest perhaps by little and little they draw thee to greater difficulty.\n\nOh! if thou didst but consider how much inward peace unto thyself, and\njoy unto others, thou wouldst procure by demeaning thyself well, I\nthink that thou wouldst be more careful of thy spiritual progress.\n\n_Of the Profit of Adversity._--It is good that we have sometimes some\ntroubles and crosses; for they often make a man enter into himself, and\nconsider that he is here in banishment, and ought not to place his trust\nin any worldly thing.\n\nIt is good that we be sometimes contradicted, and that men think ill or\ninadequately; and this, although we do and intend well.\n\nThese things help often to the attaining of humility, and defend us\nfrom vain glory: for then we are more inclined to seek God for our\ninward witness, when outwardly we be contemned by men, and when there\nis no credit given unto us.\n\nAnd therefore a man should settle himself so fully in God, that he\nneeds not to seek many comforts of men.\n\nWhen a good man is afflicted, tempted, or troubled with evil thoughts,\nthen he understandeth better the great need he hath of God, without\nwhom he perceiveth he can do nothing that is good.\n\nThen also he sorroweth, lamenteth, and prayeth, by reason of the\nmiseries he suffereth.\n\nThen he is weary of living longer, and wisheth that death would come,\nthat he might depart and be with Christ.\n\nThen also he well perceiveth, that perfect security and full peace\ncannot be had in this world.\n\n_Before I left, I prayed with her._--This brings before us another very\ntouching scene in the life of St. Paul. His final farewell to the elders\nof Ephesus. When he had spoken unto them he kneeled down and prayed with\nthem all. And they all wept sore and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him.\nSorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they should see\nhis face no more, and they accompanied him unto the ship. If this course\nwas persistently pursued by all Christian workers how manifold would be\nthe blessings conferred on our labors. It would be found that many a\npoor sin-burdened heart would be instantly relieved of its load of care.\nFor \"if we ask, we shall receive.\"\n\nWe are called upon, not to go forth in our own name, or in our own\nstrength, but in the name of Him who said, \"Lo! I am with you alway,\neven to the end of the world;\" and when one reflects on the many sad\nscenes and circumstances with which she was constantly surrounded, we\nought to thank God that in every age of the Christian Church, he has\nraised up men and women who were willing to go with the name of Jesus\nto the distressed and dying, and to speak that name in all its living\npower.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nA MOTHER AND DAUGHTER GIVEN A BIBLE AND ITS RESULT.\n\nOf this incident she writes: \"A woman and her daughter, whom I have\nbeen visiting for some time, and to whom I have given a Bible, have\nbecome greatly changed, and attended our place of worship last Sabbath.\nThey gave evidence of having been very deeply impressed. The mother\nsaid, with the Lord helping her, she will live no longer as she has\ndone. This woman has been greatly tried. On the day of the great storm,\nher husband left Washington, where he had been employed some time, and\nhas never since been heard of. He was her only means of support, as the\nrest of the family were out of employment. Her daughter is a very\ninteresting young woman, and would like a situation as seamstress and\nnurse. I would have no fear in recommending her to any one who might\nneed her services.\"\n\nNotice, 1. That love and reverence for God's Word inspires one with a\ndesire to distribute the Sacred Scriptures. There are various reasons\nfor this. In the first place, because of the moral influence the\nrevealed will of God has had on the world. When we think of the benign\nand salutary influence of the Bible by its circulation throughout the\nlength and breadth of the land, nay, all lands, by the British and\nForeign Bible Society, and the American Bible Society, we have great\nreason to rejoice at the marvellous success that has attended their\nlabors. Surely it is indited by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It\nhas been transmitted to us, from generation to generation, unaltered\nand uninjured; the simple yet sublime boon--God's loving letters to\nmankind.\n\n \"What glory gilds the sacred page!\n Majestic like the sun!\n It gives a light to every age;\n It gives but borrows none.\"\n\n \"The power that gave it still supplies\n The gracious light and heat;\n Its truth upon the nations rise;\n They rise but never set!\"\n\nIn the beginning was the Word. _Christ is the Word._ It giveth light.\nRead His power in the Gospel. Notice the connection between natural\nlight and spiritual faith in Christ.\n\n\"And as they went out from Jericho, a great multitude followed Christ.\nAnd behold two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that\nJesus was passing by, cried out, saying, Lord, have mercy on us, thou\nson of David. And the multitude rebuked them, that they should hold\ntheir peace; but they cried out the more, saying, Lord, have mercy on\nus thou son of David. And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said,\nWhat will ye that I should do unto you? They say unto him, Lord, that\nour eyes may be opened. And Jesus being moved with compassion touched\ntheir eyes, and straightway they received their sight and followed\nhim.\"\n\n2. The infinite superiority of the Divine Word to that of all earthly\ntraditions, and the best literary productions is best judged by\nresults. The works of Plato, Lycurgus, Demosthenes, Homer, Virgil,\nDante, Milton, Scott, Burns, Bryant, and Longfellow are not for one\nmoment to be compared to the Bible. When Scott, the great writer, was\ndeparting life, he turned to his son-in-law, Lockhart, and said:\n\n\"Bring me the Book.\"\n\n\"What book?\" asked Lockhart.\n\n\"There is but one Book--the Bible!\" was the reply. What spiritual and\nspontaneous enthusiasm in Divine things are stirred within us when we\nread the sacred pages.\n\nNow turn to the picture painted by her who is now with the redeemed on\nhigh; she says:\n\n\"_After receiving the Bible they were greatly changed, and attended our\nplace of worship on the Sabbath._ They gave evidence of being now deeply\nimpressed.\" What impressed them? Two things worthy of notice: 1. The\nWord. 2. The Worship. Now, there are some people who imagine that they\ncan go to heaven if they stay at home and read the Bible. This is all\nvery well in its place, but we must not forget the assembling of\nourselves together as the manner of some is. Some try to live a\nChristian life outside of the Church. This is a sad mistake.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nSTRUGGLES AND TRIUMPHS.\n\n Oh! land of the blessed, thy shadowless skies\n Sometimes in my dreaming I see:\n I hear the glad songs that the glorified sing\n Steal over eternity's sea.\n\n Though dark are the shadows that gather between,\n I know that thy morning is fair;\n I catch but a glimpse of thy glory and light,\n And whisper. Would God I were there!\n\n O Saviour, prepare my spirit to share\n Forever with thee those mansions fair.\n\n\nThere is never a day so dreary but God by his Holy spirit can illumine\nthe darkness by revealing to the Christian the home beyond the flood.\n\"He giveth to his beloved songs in the night.\" There is no pathway in\nlife so intricate but what if we ask divine guidance He will give it.\nThere are crosses in this brief life, that must be carried patiently\nand joyfully until the end of the journey. Oh! how comforting is the\nthought that in all our afflictions Christ was afflicted, and the angel\nof His presence strengthened Him. Those hands that were nailed to the\nCross on Calvary, are constantly stretched out to assist the way-worn\ntraveller up the rugged road of life. There never was a human heart so\ncrushed and broken by the sorrows of earth but what Christ can heal,\nfor that heart that was broken on Golgotha pants and heaves toward\nearth's sufferers. How beautifully expressive is the paraphrase:\n\n \"Though now ascended up on high,\n He bends on earth a brother's eye.\"\n\nThe tender watch care of the God of Israel is the same to-day as it was\nwhen Ruth, the Moabitess, said unto Naomi: \"Let me now go to the field,\nand glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace.\" And\nshe said unto her: Go, my daughter. And she went, and came, and gleaned\nin the field after the reapers, and her hap was to light on a part of\nthe field belonging unto Boaz.... And, behold! Boaz came from\nBethlehem, and said unto the reapers: \"The Lord be with you.\" (Ruth ii.\n2-4.) In this whole narrative we behold the law of loving kindness of\nJehovah strikingly exemplified through His own covenanted people. He\nreveals, in a marvellous manner, His grace and goodness to thousands of\nthem that love Him and keep His commandments. Hence, the virtue of\nevery benevolent transaction lies in the motive by which we are\nactuated. As Paul says: \"The love of Christ constrains us.\" Whatever we\ngive, whatever God's children do for the alleviation of the sorrows and\nsufferings of earth, they do it with an eye single to His glory, they\ncontinually hear Christ's voice saying unto them: \"This do in\nremembrance of me.\"\n\nWe see these principles practically illustrated in the wonderful\nexperience of her whose struggles and triumphs for the blessed Christ\nwe are now prayerfully considering. For example, in February, 1874, she\nwrites:\n\n\"Through the kindness of those interested in the poor, I have been\nenabled to supply the wants of many. One kind lady, belonging to the\nBible Society, gave me ten dollars, part to assist one family with fuel\nand groceries, and the rest for another, where the husband had been ill\nfor a long time, and finding it difficult to obtain employment, had\nbeen suffering for the common necessaries of life. I also received\norders from this lady for coal and groceries, for other poor families,\nto be obtained through the visitors of the poor.\n\n\"In one home where I placed some provisions on the table, a little boy\nsaid to his mother, 'Mamma, mustn't you get down and pray, and thank\nGod for these things?' When I enter some of these homes they are full\nof sadness and gloom, but I am often thankful to feel I leave hope and\ncheerfulness behind me, when I go away. In the greater number of these\nfamilies it is want of employment that causes the trouble--they are\nwilling and anxious to work, but it cannot be procured.\n\n\"One family, consisting of a husband, wife, and three children, the\nyoungest ten days old, was found very destitute. They had parted with\neven every article of clothing, except what they had on, and had\nneither fuel nor food. The poor woman wept as she said, 'She had never\nbefore known such destitution.' I gave them some relief, and then\nengaged in prayer with them. They were both much affected, and said it\nwas the first time a prayer had ever been offered in that house by any\none. I sent them some coal, and procured other relief for them, and now\nthey are comfortable, the man having obtained some work.\n\n\"Another family, in which there are two children (the father dying of\nconsumption--the mother very delicate), are wholly dependent on\ncharity. The woman is very industrious, and always ready to do what she\ncan, but it is hard to procure employment. I have read and talked with\nthe man, after supplying their temporal wants, and especially impressed\nupon him the promise, 'Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name it shall be\ngiven to you.' He listened--had been thinking of his past life--but he\nsaid all seemed dark to him. I have prayed with him, and he thought\nlight broke in upon him. He said, 'He saw more clearly,' and after some\ndays professed to be happy. And now, while the tears rolled down his\ncheeks, he says, 'I am willing to go and (looking around on the little\ncircle) resign all these into the arms of Jesus.' I prayed with him\nbefore I left.\n\n\"A friend asked me to go and see a poor sick woman in the same\ndestitute circumstances, the husband being out of work. A sad sight met\nmy eyes; the poor woman lay coughing on the bed, as if she could not\nlast much longer, the children standing by the bed, dirty and uncared\nfor; the floor black, window curtain hanging in rags, while the mother\ncould do nothing. They receive one dollar a week from the Poor\nAssociation. I assisted her, and promised to look to the children;\ntalked with her and then read and prayed. She clasped my hand as I\narose from my knees and said, 'You are the first person who ever prayed\nwith me; oh! it makes me happy, and I hope God will hear your prayers.'\nTrial seems to open the hearts of these poor ones to religious\nimpressions.\n\n\"A few days since, visiting a little girl (belonging to a Catholic\nfamily) who is in our Sewing-school, the mother put her hand in her\npocket and took out some change, saying, 'This is all the money I have\nat present, take it and use it for the poor; I wish it was a great deal\nmore, and,' she added, 'when you find any one hungry and wanting a loaf\nof bread, come to me, and I will give you some money; my little girl\noften tells me what you say to her in the Sewing-school, or when you\nmeet her in the street.' Thus I receive encouragement on every side, and\nam never in want of some aid for those who need it so much. My dear\nfriend, who was removed from me by death last summer, often used to say,\n'Never fear, Mrs. Knowles, when the Lord takes away one support, he\nraises another.' And so I have found it. My Superintendent is always\nready to assist, and our Sewing-school, aided by her and other ladies,\nis very prosperous. Perhaps _want_ may drive many to us, but we trust\nthey will be also benefited by the instruction there received, and carry\nthe lessons home.\n\n\"One poor woman gave me a dollar for a Bible I left with her some\nmonths since. 'For,' she says, 'the Lord has blessed her since she has\nbegun to read it.' Another poor woman paid 25 cents for one, for 'she\nwanted it in the house for the good of the children.' And two others\nwere also sold.\n\n\"A number of children have been brought to Sabbath-school, and several\ninduced to attend church. In beginning a New Year, I trust increased\ndevotion to the work will bring on added blessing.\"\n\nHow tenderly and lovingly she notes the kind lady who gave her the ten\ndollars for the sick family whose prop and stay was out of employment.\n\nThose who are familiar with the sad sights of want and woe in all our\nlarge cities, will be able to appreciate the naturalness of the\nforegoing description of missionary work among the poor and lowly.\n\nShakespeare's account of a complete lady lacks one essential qualification,\n_benevolence_. He says:\n\n \"If lusty love should go in quest of beauty,\n Where should he find it fairer than in Blanch?\n If zealous love should go in search of virtue,\n Where should he find it purer than in Blanch?\n If love ambitious sought a match of birth,\n Whose veins bound richer blood than Lady Blanch?\"\n\nWhat a magnificent portrait is here drawn of truly rounded,\nsymmetrically developed Christian womanhood, and true ladyship is here\npencilled in the diary of the departed. There are some women who win\nmen toward them by their wonderful conversational powers. They can talk\nby the hour; but when you approach them on the question of finance, for\nthe cause of Home or Foreign Missions, they are like the colored man\nwho was a great talker and a lusty singer, but a very poor giver, and\nwhen the collection box was being passed around, he closed his eyes and\nkept on singing, \"Roll, Gospel, roll;\" when the deacon put the box\nunder his nose, and said, \"I say, Brother Sam, what are you gwine to\ngive to make the Gospel roll around the world?\" The distinction is very\npositively affirmed by Christ between those who will be at the last on\nhis right hand, and those on his left, by the \"inasmuch as ye did it\nnot unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it not unto me.\"\nI remember once during the same year in which the circumstances we are\nnow commenting on transpired, of calling upon a friend, a broker in\nWall Street of this city, and after some general conversation about\nChristian work, he called me into his rear office and said:\n\n\"How are you getting along financially?\"\n\n\"Well,\" I said, \"I am able to keep my head above water.\"\n\n\"Ah!\" he replied, \"I have been watching you in your work, and want to\nmake you a present of fifty dollars for your immediate wants.\"\n\nI looked upon him with astonishment and exclaimed:\n\n\"How is it, my friend, you can be so kind to me, as I am a comparative\nstranger to you?\"\n\n\"Well,\" he said, \"I believe you are doing the Lord's work, and I feel\nthat all the money belongs unto Him, and I am only his steward.\"\n\nWhat is the ultimate design of Christ knocking at the door of the heart?\nIs it not that we may be like Him? He gave himself for us. Can we then\nwithhold our alms to the poor? He may take His departure, and we may\nreceive in our hearts the spirit of avariciousness and selfishness. I am\nsure if any of the ladies connected with the New York Bible Society will\nread the simple story of God's dealings with this missionary woman,\ntheir hearts will swell with great gratitude and gladness, to think that\nGod enabled them to contribute of their substance to the poor and needy,\nthrough this humble worker in the master's vineyard. Let us ever\nremember that we are under peculiar obligations to God for _all_ we have\nand all we so richly enjoy. Our true condition is one of absolute\nsubserviency and absolute dependence. We are not our own, we are bought\nwith a price, even the peace-speaking blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.\n\n Our hand must clothe the humble poor,\n Our store the hungry feed.\n Our homes the stranger must receive\n And shelter in his need;\n Each others burdens we must bear,\n Each others faults forgive,\n And thus in perfect peace with all,\n And perfect union, live.\n\nWhat an astonishing amount of pathos is manifested in the joyous\noutbursts of gratitude and thankfulness in the heart of this boy when\ntheir wants were supplied, indicated by his child-like words: \"Mamma,\nmustn't you get down and pray, and thank God for all these things?\"\nAbsorbed in serious reflection, he instantly and spontaneously\nrecognized God as \"the giver of every good and perfect gift, the father\nof lights with whom there is no variableness, nor the least shadow of\nturning.\" Surely out of the mouths of babes and sucklings He hath\nperfected praise. It is remarkable how quickly children recognize\nheavenly things. Train up a child in the way it should go, and when it\nis old it will not depart from it. The early desire to pray deeply,\nimplanted in the tender breast by the mother, can never be obliterated.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nLEADING SOULS TO CHRIST.\n\n Hark! through Nature's vast cathedral,\n Blended echoes ever rise,\n Swelling in a mighty anthem\n To its overarching skies.\n\n Every great and noble action\n Is re-echoed o'er and o'er;\n Life itself is but an echo\n Of the lives that were before.\n\n\nOur daily life ought to be an echo of the life of Christ. Just as God\nis in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing unto man\nhis trespasses, so the great aim of the Christian ought to be to lead\nsouls to Jesus. The Rev. Dr. W. M. Taylor, of the Broadway Tabernacle,\ntells the story of how, when Hector was going to his last battle, and\nhis wife Andromache accompanied him as far as the gates of the city,\nthey were followed by a nurse carrying in her arms their infant child.\nWhen he was about to depart, Hector held out his hands to receive the\nlittle one, but, terrified by the burnished helmet, and the waving\nplume, the child turned away and clung, crying, to his nurse's neck. In\na moment, divining the cause of the infant's alarm, the warrior took\noff his helmet and laid it on the ground, and then, smiling through his\ntears, the little fellow leaped into his father's arms. Now, similarly,\nJehovah of hosts, Jehovah with his helmet on, would frighten us weak\nguilty ones away; but in the person of the Lord Jesus He has laid that\nhelmet off, and now the guiltiest and the neediest are encouraged to go\nto His fatherly embrace and avail themselves of His support.\n\nUnder date of February, 1875, Mrs. Knowles writes that she has been\nsuccessful, during the past two months, in bringing many persons to\nattend church, and a number of children to the Sabbath-schools; and she\nadds:\n\n\"I am much encouraged by the attention paid to the reading of the\nScriptures. I have also made many hearts glad by supplying their\nfamilies with food and clothing, and at some places where I have not\ngiven anything, and have referred to it, I have been answered with:\n\n\"'You have done a great deal for us by teaching us to trust in the\nLord.'\"\n\nThought ought to operate between two limits--the one of time, the other\nof eternity.\n\nThe Sabbath-school and the Church are inseparably linked with earth and\nheaven. \"Train up a child in the way it should go, and when it is old\nit will not depart from it.\" The first book put into my hand when a\nboy, in the public school of my native land, was the Bible. And the\nfirst book I had to study in the Sabbath-school was the Shorter\nCatechism. These two books have exerted a benign and salutary influence\non my whole life. Now, what the study of mathematics is to the\nintellect by disciplining and imparting the power to reason\nconsecutively, thus tranquillizing the judgment by furnishing\ndemonstrative knowledge, even so the sermons heard in the House of God,\nand the lessons taught in the Sabbath-school, and all the outward\nspiritual truth conveyed to the heart of the hearer, quickens the soul\ninto newness of life; hence the injunction of the Apostle:\n\n\"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He\nis faithful that promised;)\n\n\"And let us consider one another, to provoke unto love, and to good\nworks:\n\n\"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of\nsome is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the\nday approaching.\n\n\"For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of\nthe truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.\n\n\"But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation,\nwhich shall devour the adversaries.\n\n\"He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three\nwitnesses.\"\n\nHer chief delight was to lead men, women, and children to the house of\nGod. It does not seem strange, therefore, when we find the foregoing\nemphatic declaration in her diary: \"_I am much encouraged by the\nattention paid to the reading of the Scriptures._\" This is the glorious\nresult of getting people first to attend to the means of grace in the\nsanctuary on the Lord's day. How greatly cheered she must have been in\nher work to hear the welcome words: \"_You have done a great deal for us,\nby teaching us to_ TRUST IN GOD.\"\n\nWhat is God's estimate of those who trust in Him? Here the mind is\nforever set at rest. He proffers innumerable blessings to those who\n_confide_ in Him, and we will, right now and here, give our attention to\na few of the many precious promises by which God richly entertains his\nchildren:\n\n\"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee;\nbecause he trusteth in thee; trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the\nLord Jehovah is everlasting strength.\"--Isa. xxvi. 3-4.\n\n\"He that putteth his trust in me, shall possess the land, and inherit\nmy holy mountain.\"--Isa. lvii. 13.\n\n\"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord\nis. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters and that spreadeth\nout her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her\nleaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought,\nneither shall cease from yielding fruit.\"--Jer. xvii. 7-8.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nTHE DYING MOTHER AND THE INTEMPERATE HUSBAND.\n\n I know there are realms where the voices of song\n Never cease 'neath a burden of tears.\n And I seek, 'mid earth-discord, the sound of a strain,\n Falling sweet from those radiant spheres.\n\n\nWe scarcely ever knew of a more _touching_ account of a dying mother,\nthan the following graphic narrative:\n\n\"One poor woman whom I mentioned before has just died. Surrounded as\nshe was by Romanists, she stood firm in the belief in which she had\nbeen instructed by her father in her youth. Some time since I took her\nlittle girl to Sabbath-school, and a short time ago her teacher found\nher earnestly seeking Christ. She has since given good evidence of\nbeing a Christian, and has united with the church. I was the only\nfriend visiting the mother during her last illness, whom she desired to\ncome to read and pray with her. She mourned over much of her past life,\nbut had much to contend with from those around her. A few days before\nshe died she said, 'she would be better soon.' I asked her what she\nmeant. She answered, 'When I go to be with Jesus;' but she added, 'Who\nwill see to my little girl?' I told her I would. Once again I saw her;\nshe was composed and at peace, saying, 'She would soon be at home.'\"\n\nSee how she pictures the intense solicitude of the mother after her\nchild, in the loving and sweet inquiry (so faithfully remembered and\ncarefully recorded), \"Who will see to my little girl?\" See her quiet\nand Christ-like spontaneous response, that she would. Here we are\nforcibly reminded of a scene in New Testament times. In the ninth\nchapter of the Acts of the Apostles we read:\n\n\"Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which, by\ninterpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and\nalms-deeds which she did.\n\n\"And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom\nwhen they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber.\n\n\"And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard\nthat Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he\nwould not delay to come to them.\n\n\"Then Peter arose, and went with them. When he was come, they brought\nhim into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping,\nand shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made while she was with\nthem.\"\n\nThe last part of her diary is extremely touching. But this sorrowful\nsight presented to our view is only one of the many that frequently\noccur in a city like New York. They harrow the refined feelings of the\nfaithful missionary. If such scenes are so distressing, what must have\nbeen the experience of Him who was made sin for us, and who daily\nmingled with sinners. He who knew no sin that we might be made the\nrighteousness of God in Him. Let her tell her own story.\n\n\"A few days since I visited a woman whose husband had beaten her till\nshe was almost helpless. She told me about his coming to her with a\nknife, and expected he would have taken her life. She asked me to engage\nin prayer with her. He sat by, apparently unmoved. When I was leaving,\nhe asked me to forgive him. I told him it was not me he must ask; he\nmust go to God for forgiveness. It was distressing to see the poor wife,\nas she asked me what she must do, as she had no friend on earth but me.\nI then spoke to the husband; he said he was very sorry he had acted so\nbadly, and would _drink no more_. I intend getting him to sign the\npledge, which he says he will do.\n\n\"The evils of intemperance meet us in so many ways, we often feel\ndiscouraged, and yet at times a case occurs which bids us _work on_ and\nhope on. The man mentioned above from that time continued to refrain\nfrom drink, and has treated his wife well ever since. She wept with\ngratitude as she told me, a few evenings since, that he came in and\nhanded her all his money as he had received it for work, never having\nopened it. She could never forget the day when I came in and found\nalmost everything in the room broken to pieces, and his promise which he\nfaithfully made to me that he would _try and do right_.\"\n\nEternity alone will reveal to our astonished gaze the number of forlorn\nand sad hearts that were made to rejoice in the pardoning mercy of God\nthrough her weak instrumentality.\n\nHow comforting is the thought that His word shall not return unto Him\nvoid, but it will accomplish that which He please, and prosper in the\nthing wherein he hath sent it. \"It either proves the saviour of life\nunto life, or of death unto death.\" If we harden our hearts in the day\nof affliction we grieve the Holy Spirit away from us. But sickness and\npenury properly received soften the heart and lead to repentance and\ntransformation of life. Here is a practical illustration of this truth:\n\n\"Another family I found, with two children lying ill with diphtheria.\nThey were living in a basement room, and were very poor. The father had\nbeen out of work for some time, and the mother's sewing had supported\nthe family, but now her time was taken up with attending to the sick\nchildren. I provided some nourishment, and the next time I called, the\nmother was lying ill with typhoid fever. A poor woman was taking care of\nthem, risking her own life and that of her own children, and another\npoor neighbor had taken home the third child to preserve it from\ninfection. They had but little covering, and I procured what was needed\nfrom the Home of the Friendless, and a dear friend gave me a bundle of\nclothing for them. They have since recovered, and having a friend who\nowned a tenement-house, I spoke to her about them, and they are now\nremoved there, and are quite comfortable. Our kind ladies who assist us\nat the sewing-school having sent us some turkeys for distribution at\nChristmas I was able to furnish them with one; and better still, the\nhusband has obtained employment. They say they never will forget the\ntime when they had nothing, and now they have _everything so comfortable_.\nThey seem to feel it came from God.\"\n\nYes, He is the giver of every good and perfect gift, the Father of\nlights with whom there is no variableness nor the least shadow of\nturning. Without this perception and unless we return to God our\ngrateful acknowledgments, we cannot truly enjoy His blessings from\nabove. If God makes us the happy recipients of His favors it is our\nbounden duty to return to him our heartfelt gratitude. This was the\nfeeling of the Psalmist when he said:\n\n\"Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy\nname.\n\n\"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:\n\n\"Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;\n\n\"Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with\nloving-kindness and tender mercies;\n\n\"Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is\nrenewed like the eagle's.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX.\n\nHELP AND LOVING KINDNESS.\n\n Oh, give Thine own sweet rest to me\n That I may speak with soothing power\n A word in season, as from Thee,\n To weary ones in needful hour.\n\n\nThat Mrs. Matilda Knowles, our _beau ideal_ missionary, possessed a\nthankful heart, we glean from her diary. She gives a deeply interesting\naccount of the recognition, on her part, of the gentle and generous\nloving-kindnesses of those ladies who heartily co-operated with her in\nlifting the burden of sin, sorrow, and sadness from poor suffering\nhumanity. She writes at the close of 1875, thus:\n\n \"Our sewing-school kept its usual festival, thanks to our kind\n ladies, Mrs. Harper,[3] with Mrs. Fiske, and their friends, who\n supplied us liberally, and made many very happy. I have also,\n through the generosity of friends, been able to _aid_ and even\n _supply_ the wants of many who are in need, and I trust, in\n beginning a New Year, I may be able to work even more earnestly than\n ever before.\"\n\n [3] Wife of Mr. Fletcher Harper, of Harper Brothers, publishers,\n Franklin Square, New York.\n\nThis wealthy and inestimable lady (Mrs. F. Harper) has also recently\nentered into her rest and reward. We are glad to know, however, that\nher daughter has taken up all her mother's work, as the following\ncommunication will testify:\n\n \"LAUREL HOUSE, LAKEWOOD, N.J.,\n February 21, 1887.\n\n \"REV. DUNCAN M. YOUNG,\n\n \"DEAR SIR: I regret that I shall not be in New York for perhaps a\n couple of months, and therefore cannot see you in regard to the\n subject of Mrs. Knowles' work. She assisted my dear mother for many\n years in the Industrial School, and was greatly honored and beloved\n by all connected with her in that work.\n\n \"I do not think I can give you any information that you do not\n already know, in regard to Mrs. Knowles; but if I knew a little\n more as to what were your plans and desires in regard to getting\n out a book from her notes, I might consider what I could do. In any\n case, it can be only in a very slight degree that I am able to aid,\n as I have taken up Mrs. F. Harper's work in all directions, as well\n as my own. Any further communication addressed here will reach me.\n\n \"Very sincerely yours,\n\n \"MRS. D. H. SIBLEY.\"\n\nIn our correspondence for the Master we are reminded of two things,\nfirst, the letter sent by the beloved disciple, John, in his second\nepistle:\n\n \"The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the\n truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;\n\n \"For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us\n forever:\n\n \"Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from\n the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.\n\n \"I rejoiced greatly, that I found of thy children walking in truth,\n as we have received a commandment from the Father.\n\n \"And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new\n commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning,\n that we love one another.\n\n \"And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the\n commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should\n walk in it.\"\n\nAnd second, her place of residence for her health is the scene of our\nformer labors for the Lord. In the vicinity of Lakewood we held revival\nservices, and preached every night to a crowded house for over two\nmonths. Among those who were led to Christ was a physician and his\nwife, three public school-teachers, and two brothers--young men--one of\nthem is now a minister of the gospel, the other the editor of a\nTemperance paper in the city of Philadelphia. But we are rapidly\ntravelling to eternity, and these will, we know, be among the fruits of\nour labor. Still, we have to watch for souls and the bringing in of a\nbrighter and better day, when one need not say to the other, \"Know ye\nthe Lord?\" for all shall know Him from the least even to the greatest.\n\"When the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters\ncover the channels of the great deep.\"\n\nHow beautiful and descriptive are the words of Mackay in his \"Watcher\non the Tower,\" that points to the time when, through the labors of His\nservants, truth shall be triumphant, and sorrow and sighing shall flee\naway:\n\n It breaks, it comes, the misty shadows fly,\n A rosy radiance gleams upon the sky;\n The mountain-tops reflect it calm and clear;\n The plain is yet in shade, but day is near.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX.\n\nREACHING THE HEART.\n\n Jesus, let me thus be waiting,\n Full of hope, and love, and zeal\n Let Thy coming, to my spirit,\n Be a hope divine and real.\n\n\nDr. Hanna once said: \"The heart is an interpreter. It is not in the\nintellect, it is in the conscience, in the heart, that the finest, most\npowerful organs of spiritual vision lie. There are seals that cover up\nmany passages and pages of the Bible which no light or fire of genius\ncan dissolve; there are hidden riches here that no labor of mere\nlearned research can get at and spread forth. But those seals melt like\nthe snow-wreath beneath the warm breathings of desire and prayer, and\nthose riches drop spontaneously into the bosom of the humble and the\ncontrite, the poor and the needy.\"\n\nThe great President Edwards, in his admirable work on the affections,\ndeclares that that religion which God requires, and will accept, does\nnot consist in weak and lifeless inclinations raised but a little above\na state of indifference. God, in His word, insists upon it, that we\nshould be in earnest, fervent in spirit, and having our hearts\nvigorously engaged in religion. \"And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy\nGod require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his\nways, and to love him; and to serve the Lord thy God with _all thy\nheart_ and with all thy soul.\" \"And the Lord thy God will circumcise\nthine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with\nall thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.\"--Deut.\nxxx. 6.\n\nThe primary object of the successful worker then is to reach the hearts\nof the parents through the children, constantly remembering the\ndivinely inspired words, \"that a little child shall lead them.\" Let the\nfollowing extracts from her pen speak for themselves:\n\n \"During the last month I have made two hundred and five visits, and\n brought eight children to the Sunday-school. I often find if we can\n gain the affection of the children it opens a way to the parent's\n hearts. For example: On entering a room one day, I asked if they had\n a Bible. The father, a rough-looking man, said, 'We have no money to\n buy Bibles--we need all our money to get something to eat.' 'Oh,'\n said I, 'if you have not the means to buy one I will give you one\n for nothing.' 'If I get it for nothing, I will thank you for it.' I\n took him one the next day; he thanked me very politely, and said, 'I\n will read it.' I handed the little girl a tract, in which was a\n picture of a child kneeling in prayer. The father seemed pleased,\n and before leaving, I said to the child, 'Now, my dear, if you learn\n to do as that little girl does, God will love you.' She looked up\n and said, 'Yes, ma'am.' When I called a few days after, the father\n said, 'My little girl did not forget her promise to you. Every night\n and morning she kneels down and prays, and thinks we should all do\n the same. I have been reading in the Bible. It tells us a great many\n good things, and when I get some clothes I shall try and come to\n church.'\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nWe must form our opinion of aggressive work for Christ by the fruits\nthat are produced. The pictorial tract put into the hands of the little\ngirl, and her subsequent conduct, elicited the attention of that\nrough-looking father, and oh, what a blessed testimony to the power of\ndivine grace in the parental statement, \"Every night and morning she\nkneels down and prays, and thinks we should all do the same.\" It is\nevident that children feel the full force of the words of the apostle:\n\n\"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the\nblood of Jesus, by a new and living; way, which he hath consecrated for\nus through the vail, that is to say, his flesh; and having a high\npriest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart, in\nfull assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil\nconscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\n\"In another place,\" she writes, \"where I visit, the father keeps a\ndining saloon, and sells liquor. His daughter is in our Sunday-school,\nand he always appears glad when I call. 'You are the only one,' he says,\n'who comes to do me good; I hope you will be blessed in your work; go\nup-stairs and see my daughter. _She is a lady_,' he added, 'although\nbrought up in this way.' I generally read and pray with her, and as I\nleft her the last time, she said, 'I hope I shall not always have to\nlive in this way.' Her father was at the door as I came down-stairs; he\nmet me, saying, 'May the Lord bless you. Come as often as you can; I\nwould like to live a different life!' The daughter is pleasing, and\nmourns still for her mother, who died three years since.\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\n\"Christ said I came not to send peace on earth but a sword.\" Now the\nword of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. The\nkey of knowledge of the depravity of the heart is furnished the liquor\ndealer in the above interview, by the concession, \"_I would like to live\na different life._\" The saloon keepers generally attribute their\nremaining in the business to the necessity of it in order to obtain a\nlivelihood. But there are other occupations in which they could be\ndiligently employed in order to maintain their families. Imagine a\nfrail, aged, weak woman, cheerfully bringing gospel light into these\ndark dens of iniquity. It has been wisely said that the organ of pluck\nand perseverance has been prominently developed in the weaker sex from\ntime immemorial, as in the case of Joan of Arc, Jennie Mac Rae, and the\nnoble band of Christian workers connected with the Women's Christian\nTemperance Union of this country. The power of womanly kindness is\nindescribable. Hence we must ever remember that God has chosen the poor\nand weak things of this world to confound the mighty.\n\nBut to return to the diary. Here we find her intensely interested in a\npoor blind girl, for she writes, in November of this year, the\nfollowing:\n\n \"About three years since, a young girl, a Roman Catholic, who was\n then a pupil at the Institution for the Blind, was brought to my\n notice. She became deeply interested in the Bible, and afterward\n embraced the Protestant faith, and since that time has continued\n firm in her belief and practice. She remained at the Institution\n until the end of the term, which expired in June. It was now\n necessary for her to seek another home. She was taken to the house\n of a relative, who insisted on her going to confession. This she\n refused, and was on this account rendered homeless. It was a source\n of great anxiety to know how to provide for her. The girl was\n sincere, evidently willing, 'not only to believe in Christ, but also\n to suffer for His sake.' Her case was stated to some ladies who felt\n an interest in her, and although they could not give her a home,\n they kindly assisted in paying her board; other friends to whom the\n case was made known did the same, and she is now learning a trade by\n which we hope she will soon earn enough for her own support. Her\n employer speaks well of her, and considers her very industrious.\n\n \"Another case is that of a family who took no interest in the\n subject of religion. They had a little daughter eight years of age,\n who loved to sing of Jesus, and would always sit still to listen to\n the reading of Scripture. One day she urged her mother to give her\n the baby, who was eighteen months old, as _her own_. The mother\n laughed, and said: 'You cannot take care of yourself; what will you\n do with him?' But she continued urging her request that the child\n might be given to her, until at last her mother said: 'Jimmy is\n yours.' 'Well,' said the child, 'if he is mine, I will take him\n wherever I go.' Soon after both children were taken sick, and both\n died, and were buried at the same time. This made a great impression\n on the minds of their parents; their hearts have been softened, and\n they now listen with attention to the words of truth, and we trust\n they may be led to follow the dear Saviour, who so loved their\n little ones, that He gathered them into his fold.\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nThe death of loved ones frequently softens the heart. A few days ago, I\nburied a dear, sweet girl belonging to the Sabbath-school, only sixteen\nyears of age. At the funeral service a man who had been formerly an\ninfidel was completely broken down. Why? because his little boy was\ntaken regularly to the school by this girl, and he inquired of his\nfather, \"Now that Fannie is dead, and has gone to be with Jesus, who\nwill take me to the school?\" The father responded, and said, \"I will.\"\nEver since the father takes him there, and now attends the services at\nthe church.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI.\n\nWINTER LIFE AND SCENES.\n\n Shall He come and find me standing\n From the worldling's joy apart,\n Outside of its mirth and folly,\n With a true and loyal heart?\n\n\nOn one occasion, in reference to a severe winter, she writes: \"This has\nbeen the hardest winter I have known for years.\" The winters in New York\nare sometimes very severe. And here we are reminded of Thomson's vivid\ndescription of it in his \"Seasons.\" He prefixes it with this wonderful\nprayer:\n\n \"Father of light and life! thou God supreme!\n O, teach me what is good! teach me Thyself!\n Save me from folly, vanity, and vice,\n From every low pursuit! and feed my soul\n With knowledge, conscious peace and virtue pure;\n Sacred substantial, never-fading bliss!\"\n\n \"SNOW MANTLES THE EARTH. DISTURBS THE COMFORT OF MANKIND.\n\n \"The keener tempests rise; and fuming down\n From all the livid east, or piercing north,\n Thick clouds ascend; in whose capacious womb\n A vapory deluge lies, to snow congealed.\n Heavy they roll their fleecy world along,\n And the sky saddens with the gathered storm.\"\n\nWe all know that a northwest snow-storm in this city is very cold and\nbiting. But amid the blinding snow-drift this woman could be seen\nwending her way to homes of want, poverty, and wretchedness.\n\nIn order to recognize and appreciate her labors we have only to\ncontrast her aims and aspirations with another and far different class\nthat abound in all large cities, so graphically described by Pollock:\n\n Ah! little think the gay licentious proud,\n When pleasure, power, and affluence surround;\n Ah! little think they of the sad variety of pain:\n How many pine in want; how many bleed,\n How many pine, how many drink the cup\n Of baleful grief, or eat the bitter bread\n Of misery; sore pierced by wintry winds.\n\nAmid all such sad scenes this heroine bids us labor on in faith, and\nshe adds, \"_Our labor will not be in vain._\" No, never! \"For, they\nthat go forth weeping, bearing precious seed, shall _doubtless_\nreturn again rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them.\"\n\nWhat is faith? Faith is simply taking God at His word. Paul, in the\neleventh chapter of the Hebrews, reveals to us the victories God's\npeople obtained through faith. There is often something startling to\nour sluggish spirits by a critical examination of the almost incredible\naccount of the power of faith. How tremendously efficacious. Oh! that\nthe Holy Spirit may reveal to us its vast importance.\n\n\"By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed\nabout seven days.\n\n\"By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not,\nwhen she had received the spies with peace.\n\n\"And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of\nGedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jepthae; of David also, and\nSamuel, and of the prophets:\n\n\"Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained\npromises, stopped the mouths of lions,\n\n\"Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of\nweakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the\narmies of the aliens.\n\n\"Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were\ntortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better\nresurrection:\n\n\"And others had trial of _cruel_ mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover\nof bonds and imprisonment:\n\n\"They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain\nwith the sword: they wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins;\nbeing destitute, afflicted, tormented;\n\n\"(Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in\nmountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.\n\n\"And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received\nnot the promise;\n\n\"God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us\nshould not be made perfect.\"\n\n To lift with tender pitying hand,\n Sin's victims, from the dust;\n Reproach them not, nor chide their wrong,\n Be kind as well as just;\n A word may touch a sleeping chord\n Of mem'ry pure and sweet,\n And bring them, sorry for their sins,\n To bow at Jesus' feet.\n\n Go, seek them out--poor, wand'ring sheep,\n That on the mountain cold,\n Are hungry--starving now for bread--\n Go, lead them to the fold;\n There comes a cheering thought to those\n Who toil in patient love--\n Each soul reclaimed shall be a star\n To deck their crown above.\n\nIf we but prayerfully consider the sad condition of the unregenerate,\nand the innumerable antagonistic diabolical influences to which they\nare constantly exposed, we will be able to accurately understand the\nnature and importance of a city missionary's work, and the great need\nthere is of giving heed to the injunction of the Master, \"Be ye wise as\nserpents and harmless as doves.\" There are few vices which cannot be\nconquered by the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to\nevery one that believeth. Here the reader will behold this illustrated,\nfor she writes again:\n\n\"In many places I have found it distressing to visit, the destitution\nbeing so great; but through the assistance of kind friends, I have been\nable to assist them in various ways, and thus have found a way to their\nhearts, and they gladly receive me in many houses, and listen with\ngreat attention to reading and prayer. One poor woman whom I found, had\nbeen ill for some weeks, and while ministering to her temporal wants I\nhave not neglected her spiritual needs. She seems truly awakened to the\nsinfulness of her past life, and feels her need of Christ. She begged\nme to visit her daughter and try to influence her. I have spent some\nhappy seasons in that attic-room, and when I leave she puts her arms\naround me, kissing me, and asking me to come again.\n\n\"A man asked me for a Testament, saying he wanted to read it for\nhimself. I gave him one, and on visiting him again, he said, 'I have\nbeen reading your book, and like it so very much, I will pay you for\nit;' and he handed me a dollar.\n\n\"Notwithstanding this has been the hardest winter I have known for\nyears, I have been much encouraged in my work, having been enabled to\nhelp every deserving family I have met with; and one, where I have been\nvisiting for years without being able to induce them to attend church,\nhave now been brought in, and have united with the church, both mother\nand daughter rejoicing in the Saviour, and feeling they have never\nknown happiness before. Let us, therefore, labor on in faith, and our\nlabor will not be in vain.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII.\n\nCIRCULATING THE SCRIPTURES.\n\n O land of the blessed, thy hills of delight\n Sometimes on my vision unfold;\n Thy mansions celestial, thy palaces bright,\n Thy bulwarks of jasper and gold.\n\n Dear voices are chanting thy chorus of praise,\n Dear eyes in thy sunlight are fair;\n I look from my valley of shadow below,\n And whisper: Would God I were there.\n\n\nAmid the toil and sufferings of earth, how comforting is the assurance\nin our hearts that Jesus is preparing a place for his people. O, how\ncheering, when we can adopt the language in the song of Solomon, and\nsay:\n\n\"My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies. Until\nthe day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou\nlike a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.\"\n\nIt will not be long before we will be done with the cares and\nvicissitudes of life, and enter into that \"Rest that remains for the\npeople of God.\" I am sure that in the midst of her toil, she ever found\njoy in the hope that one day she would be forever with the Lord. She\nhad indeed laid up treasures in heaven, and her earnest desire\nevidently was, not to go to heaven alone, but to take some others with\nher. This was the joy of her life. Like the Master who, for the joy\nthat was set before Him, endures the cross. Hence she enjoyed a uniform\nexperience of peace, although she witnessed many a sorrowful sight. A\nlate writer, the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, has well observed:\n\n\"Joy will reach farthest out to sea where troubled mariners are seeking\nthe shore. Even in your deepest griefs you can rejoice in God. As waves\nphosphoresce, let joys flash from the swing of the sorrow of your\nsouls. Low measures of feeling are better than ecstacies for ordinary\nlife. God sends His rains in gentle drops, else flowers would be beaten\nto pieces.\"\n\nAh, it was the peace of God that passeth all understanding that enabled\nher to bear up during the hot summer months in which she penned the\nfollowing, wherein she says:\n\n\"The past three months have been the most trying of any I have\nexperienced since I began my work. There has been much sickness and\nmany deaths. But I have been kept and sustained amid many difficulties.\nI have been kindly received in many Roman Catholic and Jewish families.\nA poor woman whose husband was killed a year since, who had lost one\nchild, and has another very sick, is glad to have me read and pray with\nher, and when I point her to the Saviour she says He is, indeed, her\nbest friend. Another Catholic woman said, she did not see why her\npriest forbade her reading the Bible, 'for what you have read to me is\nso beautiful.' When asked if she would like to have a Bible, she said\nshe would, and when I took one to her she gave me twenty-five cents,\nand said she wished she could give me more. One day I was addressed in\nthe street by a little girl, who asked me to go and see her mother.\nWhen I enquired who she was, I found she was a woman whom I had visited\nsome time before. She was very glad to see me, showed me the Testament\nI had given her, and asked me many questions which would have led to\nargument; but I told her I only taught the religion of the Lord Jesus,\nand I wished them to come to Him and seek for light and salvation. She\nurged me to come again, and gladly listened when I read to them from\nthe Scriptures.\n\n\"A young woman on being asked to attend church said, 'The only church I\ngo to is the theatre.' I gave her a Testament which she promised to\nread; she has now begun to go to church regularly, and says she hopes\nnever again to live the life she has lived. I have been able to take a\nnumber of mothers and their children to the sea side, which has been a\ngreat blessing. I have given the Bible to two women who have paid for\nit, and wished for one for a neighbor.\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nIt is a true and striking fact, that there are very few women who ever\nlabored so assiduously for the good of others as this Missionary,\nespecially in trying to save souls and make others happy.\n\nWe may say we believe in Jesus and, therefore, we will be saved; but we\nmust remember also that faith without works is dead, and on the great\nday of judgment all will be made known, for St. John says in the\nApocalypse: \"I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the\nbooks were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of\nlife: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written\nin the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead\nwhich were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were\nin them: and they were judged every man according to their works.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII.\n\nTHE NINETY AND NINE.\n\n When he lived on earth so lowly,\n Friend of sinners was his name;\n Now enthroned among the holy,\n He rejoices in the name.\n\n\nWhen Jesus was here upon earth the question was asked, 'Can any good\nthing come out of Nazareth? But it is said that the thirty years of\nChrist's obscurity was the foundation of his three years'\nmanifestations. He was there, however, not alone, for he was under the\nfostering love and anxious solicitude of His heavenly Father. Nazareth\nis beautifully described thus:\n\nIt was \"a handful of pearls in a goblet of emerald. No great road led\nup to this sunny nook. Trade, war, adventure, pleasure, pomp, passed by\nit, flowing from west to east, from east to west, along the Roman road.\nBut the meadows were aglow with wheat and barley. Near the low ground\nran a belt of gardens, fenced with loose stones, in which myriads of\ngreen figs, red pomegranates, and golden citrons ripened in the summer\nsun. High up the slopes hung vintages of purple grapes. In the plain\namong the corn, and beneath the mulberry-trees and figs, shone daisies,\npoppies, tulips, lilies, anemones, endless in their profusion,\nbrilliant in their dyes. Low down on the hillside sprang a well of\nwater, bubbling, plentiful and sweet; and above this fountain of life,\nin a long street straggling from the fountain to the synagogue, rose\nthe homesteads of many shepherds, craftsmen, and vine-dressers. It was\na lovely and humble place, of which no poet, no ruler, no historian of\nIsrael had ever taken note.\"\n\nEven so, it was a very humble sphere that our missionary filled, but she\nwas precious in God's sight. Her work was among the poor and the lowly.\nLost sight of perhaps by men on this account, but the more like her\ndivine master in her work and ways. O, how true are Christ's own words:\n\"Whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot\nbe my disciple. Salt therefore is good: but if even the salt have lost\nits savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is fit neither for the\nland nor for the dunghill: _men_ cast it out. He that hath ears to hear,\nlet him hear.\n\n\"Now all the publicans and sinners were drawing near unto him for to\nhear him. And both the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, this\nman receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.\"\n\nYes! sinners--unworthy, hell-deserving sinners--it is to such, that He\ncries _if any man thirst_, let him come unto me and drink. How\nrefreshing are the well-known words:\n\n Aid the dawning, tongue and pen;\n Aid it, hopes of honest men;\n Aid it, paper--aid it, type--\n Aid it, for the hour is ripe,\n And our earnest must not slacken\n Into play.\n Men of thought and men of action,\n Clear the way!\n\nThe following account of the origin of the well-known hymn, the \"Ninety\nand Nine,\" may have a tendency to stimulate others to go and do\nlikewise. It is taken from \"Sabbath Reading,\" published by the late Mr.\nDougal of this city, who has recently passed away into his everlasting\nrest.\n\nA humble lady in Melrose, Scotland, was led to see the beauty of the\ncharacter of Christ in the parable of the Good Shepherd. She possessed\ngenius, and sometimes expressed her best thoughts and feelings in\nverse. The vision of Christ leaving the glories of Heaven and becoming\na seeker of men who had gone astray, like an Eastern shepherd seeking a\nwandering sheep in perilous places, touched her heart with poetic\nfervor, and she wrote the hymn beginning:\n\n \"There were ninety and nine that safely lay\n In the shelter of the fold.\"\n\nOne of the stanzas most vividly and tenderly expressed her clear view\nof Divine sympathy and compassion:\n\n \"But none of the ransomed ever knew\n How deep were the waters crossed;\n Nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through\n Ere He found His sheep that was lost.\n Out in the desert He heard its cry--\n Sick and helpless, and ready to die.\"\n\nThe poem was published in a local paper, and the lady soon afterward\ndied, and went to the Good Shepherd, whose love for the wandering and\nperishing had gained the affections and service of her life. She was\nburied in one of the churchyards of beautiful Melrose.\n\nThe efforts of a sincere life always meet with the needs of others, and\nare often given, under Providence, a special mission in the world. The\nsimplicity and fervor of the little poem gained for it an unexpected\nrecognition.\n\nThe American evangelist, Mr. Sankey, was one day returning from\nEdinburgh to Glasgow, to hold a farewell meeting there. Glasgow had\nbeen the scene of the most signal triumphs in the work of Messrs. Moody\nand Sankey, and this farewell gathering promised to be one of\nthanksgiving and tears, of wonderful interest, power, and feeling.\n\nMr. Sankey, on this occasion, desired to introduce a new hymn which\nshould represent Christ as a compassionate and all-sufficient Saviour.\n\"Before getting on the train,\" he says, \"I went to the news-stand and\nbought two or three papers--some secular, some religious--and in one of\nthem I found these verses:\n\n \"'There were ninety and nine that safely lay\n In the shelter of the fold,' etc.\n\n\"I said to my brother Moody, 'That's just the hymn I have been wanting.\nI think the Lord has really sent it to us!'\n\n\"Next day this little tune or chant it is set to, came to me.\n\n\"We went into the noon meeting, and dear Dr. Bonar, who has written so\nmany beautiful hymns ('I was a Wandering Sheep and did not Love the\nFold,' and 'I Heard the Voice of Jesus say, Come unto Me and Rest') was\nthere, and the thought came to me, 'We must sing now this new hymn that\nthe Lord has sent us.'\n\n\"The tune had scarcely formed itself in my head yet, but I just cut the\nwords from the paper, put it in front of me on the organ and began to\nsing them, hardly knowing where the tune was coming from. But the Lord\nsaid, 'Sing it,' and as we were singing it His Spirit came upon us, and\nwhat a blessed meeting we had!\"\n\nThe meeting was a very crowded one, and tender feelings were awakened\nin all hearts, bringing vividly to all minds, as it did, the fact that\nthe world is full of farewell. The imagery of the hymn, the shepherd,\nthe sheep-fold, the dark-night on the hills, the anxious search and the\njoyful return, was in harmony with Scottish associations, and touched\nthe best feelings of the converts and inquirers. Christ stood revealed\nin the song, and it seemed as though the listeners went up some living\nTabor, and again saw Him transfigured.\n\nAway in the gallery there sat a lady who was at first startled, and\nthen deeply affected by the hymn. She was unable to speak with the\nsweet singer in the confusion that followed the close of the meeting,\nbut she soon after wrote to him from Melrose, and said, \"I thank you\nfor having sung, the other day, my deceased sister's words. She wrote\nthem five years ago. She is in Heaven now.\"\n\nThe hymn has had a tender mission. Thousands seeking the help of a\npower outside of their own sinful nature, have seen in it the vision\nthat the prophet saw: \"And I looked, and there was none to help; and I\nwondered there was none to uphold; _therefore mine own arm brought\nsalvation unto me_.\"\n\nWhat a true and striking picture is painted by the dear Saviour in this\nimmortal parable! They are the words of Him \"who spake as never man\nspake:\"\n\n\"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth\nnot leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that\nwhich is lost, until he find it?\n\n\"And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.\n\n\"And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and\nneighbors, saying unto them, 'Rejoice with me; for I have found my\nsheep which was lost.'\n\n\"I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in Heaven over one sinner\nthat repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need\nno repentance.\"\n\nThe intensity of that joy is indescribable. What a glorious company are\nyonder. Here they toiled and suffered, and sacrificed for Christ, but\nnow they are in the land of light and love.\n\n How sweet as we journey, to pause for a moment\n And look at the foot-prints we see in our way;\n The foot-prints of pilgrims who've crossed over Jordan\n And now are rejoicing forever and aye.\n\n O blessed Redeemer, ere long thou wilt call us\n To join the great army beyond the dark sea;\n They fought the good fight, their course they have finished,\n And now they inherit the kingdom with thee.\n\nWhat must be the joy in heaven when the meeting and greeting time\ncomes. The holy apostle said, \"Set your affection on things above.\"\nWhy; what does he mean? It is that we may richly enjoy a foretaste of\nits unutterable bliss preparatory to our departure.\n\n Hark the song of holy rapture,\n Hear it break from yonder strand,\n Where our friends for us are waiting,\n In the golden, summer land.\n They have reached the port of glory,\n O'er the Jordan they have passed,\n And with millions they are shouting,\n Home at last, home at last.\n\n Oh, the long and sweet re-union,\n Where the bells of time shall cease;\n Oh, the greeting, endless greeting,\n On the vernal heights of peace;\n Where the hoping and desponding\n Of the weary heart are past,\n And we enter life eternal--\n Home at last, home at last.\n\n Look beyond, the skies are clearing;\n See, the mist dissolves away;\n Soon our eyes will catch the dawning\n Of a bright celestial day;\n Soon the shadows will be lifted,\n That around us now are cast,\n And rejoicing we shall gather,\n Home at last, home at last.\n\nIt is no wonder that St. John in the Apocalypse, speaking anticipatively,\nsays:\n\n\"A voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his\nservants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.\n\n\"And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the\nvoice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying,\nAlleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.\n\n\"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of\nthe Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.\n\n\"And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean\nand white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.\n\n\"And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto\nthe marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the\ntrue sayings of God.\"\n\nWho are the true called to the marriage supper of the Lamb? Who are\narrayed in white linen, pure and white?\n\nThey are those who try to be like Him who said, \"I am the good shepherd\nwho gave His life for the sheep.\" Here, in this wilderness of\nwandering, it is our imperative duty to go out after the suffering and\nsorrowing and straying, and bring them into the fold.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV.\n\nANSWERED PRAYER.\n\n I want to go home, to know it all--\n The Saviour's love for the sinner's soul,\n The mercy of God and the glory given\n To saints when they're safely brought to heaven.\n\n\n\"Here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come.\" Ours is a\ncamp life. Moses, in his wonderful prayer, claims God as his guide and\nprotector amid all the changing scenes of life. \"Lord, thou hast been\nour dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were\nbrought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even\nfrom everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Thou turnest man to\ndestruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men. For a thousand\nyears in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is passed, and as a\nwatch in the night.\"--Ps. xc. 1-4.\n\nHow essential then to constantly seek the guidance of God in all we\nundertake for His glory.\n\nHe directs and controls all our affairs just as much to-day as He did\nthis ancient Israel by the great miraculous cloud by day, and pillar of\nfire by night, stretching far high into the heavens.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nHOPEFUL CASES.\n\nConcerning such, she writes: \"Some encouraging circumstances present\nthemselves amidst the scenes of trial and suffering with which my daily\nwalks render me familiar, and I will note a few which have excited my\nwarmest sympathy. Among others, there is one family of a father,\nmother, and three small children, whose whole subsistence depends upon\nwhat the mother is able to make by washing. The man has been for two\nmonths lying ill, with what the doctor calls typhoid fever; but which\nseems now to have settled on his lungs, attended with a severe cough,\nand no hope of recovery. I have been enabled to assist them from time\nto time with a little nourishment. When I entered their house one day\nwith what I had provided for them, I found they had nothing but a\nlittle bread. As I showed them what I had brought, they looked from one\nto the other, and were so filled with gratitude, and overcome by the\nunexpected supply, they appeared unable to speak. I find thus, not only\nan open door to their home, but also a welcome to their hearts. They\nhave not been in the habit of attending church, and, as might be\nsupposed, the duty of personal and family religion was also neglected.\nBut it appears evident that these trials have not been sent in vain by\nthe Lord. The sick man loves to have me read the Scriptures, and pray\nwith him: and the children delight to see me, often running to meet me,\nand take me by the hand before I reach the house.\"\n\nRecognizing the necessity of prayer for the Divine blessing in all our\nwork, she writes in her journal thus:\n\n \"MARCH 2, 1875.--In commencing my work this morning I asked for\n guidance in the direction of my visits, and I was led to go to a\n house quite out of my district, to visit a colored family who were\n very destitute.\n\n \"I found them at family prayer, asking the Lord to send them some\n food; my heart was touched as I listened to the simplicity of the\n petition, and I could not but feel the Lord had directed my steps to\n the house in answer to their prayer, and was reminded of that\n passage of Scripture, '_while they are yet speaking, I will\n answer_.' I believed these words, and procured them both food and\n fuel. As we then sat down to read God's word, the tears streamed\n down the cheeks of these aged women, as I was helped to explain the\n word to them, and when we knelt to pray, we were blest together.\n Truly, while teaching others our own souls are often refreshed!\n\n \"MARCH 6th.--Poor Mrs. L. was visited to-day; she has been suffering\n for years from rheumatism. As I went in I said, 'Mrs. L., is Jesus\n precious to-day?' The tears came to her eyes as she said, 'I fear I\n have grieved Him to-day; I felt like murmuring because my pain has\n been so great.' I told her Jesus understood her, and knew she did\n not mean to murmur. And then I read to her how He had a feeling for\n our infirmities, being Himself tried and tempted; and so she was\n comforted, and became quite cheerful. On leaving her I felt what a\n blessed privilege it is to be able to comfort the sick poor. A poor\n brother sent to my house to-day for something to nourish him, as he\n felt quite weak. I prepared some broth and gave it to him, which he\n ate with a relish, and that passage from the word came to my mind,\n 'Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these, ye have\n done it unto me.'\n\n \"MARCH 8th.--Felt much wearied with visits and climbing stairs, and\n was glad to return to a cheerful fireside, and settle for the\n evening; but before I had removed my rubbers, a knock at the door\n assured me some call had come for me, and so it proved. A child of\n one of my families came to say her mother was ill, and wanted to see\n me. This woman, a few months before, did not seem to care for\n religion, and would not hear me read, saying she had no time for it;\n she had to earn her living without listening to what did not concern\n her. But when she came to lie upon a bed of suffering, she thought\n of me first, and found the word of God was just what she wanted; and\n as I read the words, 'Whosoever cometh unto me I will in no wise\n cast out,' the tears ran down her cheeks, and she at once cast\n herself upon Christ, taking him for her Saviour, and her face shone.\n As I left her my soul rejoiced, though it was far in the night when\n I returned home, that I had been permitted to point one soul to the\n 'Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world.'\n\n \"'Oh! that all the world my Jesus knew,\n Then all the world would love Him too.'\n\n \"One poor woman asked me if I would get her a Bible, and she would\n pay twenty-five cents a month. I promised, and am rejoiced at\n finding so many that seem eager for Bibles; quite a number have\n asked for them, and I trust it may prove a lamp unto their feet and\n a light unto their path.\n\n \"MARCH 11th.--After the fatigue of the day, I did not feel like\n going out again in the evening, but our pastor, Rev. Geo. O. Phelps,\n came in, and after tea he said, 'We have not many minutes to spare,\n but we will have a few words of prayer before parting.' They were\n few, but they cheered and comforted me so, I felt refreshed, and\n forgetting all fatigue, I arose and went to the prayer-meeting,\n feeling as my people do sometimes when they say to me after a visit,\n 'Oh! Mrs. Knowles, how your prayer has _rested_ me.'\n\n \"MARCH 23d.--A message came to-day, saying Mrs. L. was dying, and\n wanted me to come at once. I went, and was helped in return to see\n the triumph of spiritual over temporal things. The Lord was present\n to bless us at the bedside of the dying one. Her trust and faith are\n firm in Jesus, and her whole desire is to be with Him and see Him as\n He is.\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nBlessed hope, \"to see Him as He is, and to be transformed into His\nimage.\" John declares:\n\n\"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what\nwe shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like\nHim; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope\nin him purifieth himself even as He is pure.\"\n\nIt was about this time that she penned in her diary the following\ntouching record of her toil. It reveals how sincere, diligent,\nsystematic, and unprejudiced she was in her work for Jesus, even\nmentioning the names of the streets. She faithfully copied the example\nand closely followed the directions of her master, given to Ananias at\nthe wonderful conversion of the great apostle of the Gentiles, when\ngiving directions how to find Saul of Tarsus:\n\n\"The Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called\nStraight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of\nTarsus: for, behold, he prayeth:\n\n\"And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting\nhis hand on him, that he might receive his sight.\n\n\"Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how\nmuch evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:\n\n\"And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that\ncall on thy name.\n\n\"But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto\nme, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of\nIsrael:\n\n\"_For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's\nsake._\"--Acts ix. 11-16.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nShe writes: \"I called on a woman in Broome Street who was convicted of\nher lost condition and ready to yield to despair. Her mind had been\nimpressed by a letter from her husband who had gone West some time\nsince on business.\n\n\"He had been converted during his absence, being awakened by witnessing\nthe wickedness and depravity of his fellow-men, the profanation of the\nSabbath, licentiousness in high and low places, and reflecting that if\nthere were a righteous God, the wicked could not go unpunished. It was\npleasant to be able to tell this distressed woman of the love of Jesus,\nand to urge her to go with her husband in the narrow way. On my next\nvisit I found her more cheerful, and feeling that there is hope for\nher. She wishes me to get her a Bible, which she will pay for by weekly\ninstalments.\n\n\"Met with a woman in Eldridge Street,[4] who was given to drinking. As\nshe was sober at that time, I conversed with her about her sin. She\nburst into tears and said, 'I have long wanted some one to talk to me\nabout my soul.' As I read to her the story of redeeming love, she\nseemed to drink it in with delight, and promised to attend the place of\nprayer. She, too, wishes to possess a Bible, and to use the money she\nhas before spent for rum in payment. I am greatly encouraged to labor\nand pray for her.\n\n [4] This was the street in which our missionary died.\n\n\"Visiting some families in Madison Street, I conversed with one woman\nwho excited my especial interest. She had been very ill with a sore\nthroat. She was a Romanist, but the Spirit of God had opened to her\nview the evil of her heart, and she now desired to hear from me of the\nway of life. I told her of the forgiveness of sin through Christ's\nblood. She said she had confessed to the priest, and had received\nabsolution, but found no relief from her load, which weighed upon her\nlike a mountain. I directed her to the Lamb of God, who alone can take\naway sin. But after conversing with her some time (although her throat\nwas so much inflamed as almost to deprive her of the power of\nutterance), she broke forth into one of the most affecting prayers I\never heard. Her husband sat by and listened to all that was said, being\nvery anxious lest she should abjure the Catholic faith and die out of\nthe pale of the Church. He interrupted me frequently, saying, 'My good\nlady, we don't want you to teach us, the priest instructs us in all we\nneed.' But I told him I had a message from God, and I could not be\nprevented from delivering it. He left the room in anger, but I hope\nthis poor soul may find peace, by trusting in the 'sinner's Friend.'\n\n\"Who can tell but what even this poor man may be found at last among\nthe ransomed ones!\"\n\nThis short extract from _The Home Mission Monthly_ for May, published by\nthe Woman's Executive Committee of Home Missions of the Presbyterian\nChurch, is peculiarly appropriate to the above experience of her who now\nsleeps in Cypress Hills Cemetery,\n\n \"Under the shadows gray.\"\n\n\"At this spring-time season, when the seed is cast into the brown bosom\nof the earth, the lesson taught by the great Teacher, eighteen hundred\nyears ago, in Palestine, 'as the sower went forth to sow,' is borne in\nupon the mind once more, and these lines are the reflex of the impulses\nwhich are astir in many hearts:\n\n \"I know my hand may never reap its sowing,\n And yet some other may;\n And I may never even see it growing--\n So short my little day!\n\n \"Still must I sow, although I go forth weeping,\n I cannot, dare not stay.\n God grant a harvest! though I may be sleeping,\n Under the shadows gray.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV.\n\nTHE SIN OF IDOLATRY.\n\n It is not that the city is glorious to behold,\n Her walls of lucid crystal, her very pavement gold,\n All shrined in dazzling splendor, beyond description fair,\n But I am pressing onward to see my Saviour there.\n\n\nHow dangerous is idolatry. When God says, \"Thou shalt not make unto thee\nany graven image,\" etc., He means that we should not only avoid kneeling\nto them, but we should worship Him alone, and come to Him through the\n_only mediator between God and man_--the man Christ Jesus. How explicit\nare the words of the beloved John: \"Little children, keep yourselves\nfrom idols.\" (1 John, v. 21.) She seemed to realize the importance of\nspeaking of _Jesus only_.\n\nThere is an alarming and increasing propensity in religious circles, to\nlook with leniency on the worship of saints, angels, martyrs, and the\nVirgin, but the Master himself said, \"I am the way, the truth, and the\nlife. No man cometh unto the Father but by Me.\" Pure worship is\nspiritual, not aesthetical; hence the use of all pictures, crucifixes,\nand figureheads of apostles and saints dishonors Christ.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nIn August, 1875, Mrs. Knowles writes: \"Among many discouragements, I\nmeet with enough to cheer me on my way, and induce me to feel that my\nlabor is not all in vain.\n\n\"Among other incidents, I will mention the case of a family I have\nreferred to before, as having visited. The mother received me very\nkindly. She had four children, and as I was speaking to them of Jesus\nwhile the little ones gathered around me, the father came in, a very\nrough-looking man, and at the time apparently under the influence of\nliquor. The mother and children looked at me, and a feeling of sadness\nwas visible on their faces. I spoke to him of his family, but he said\nlittle, and I then knelt and prayed with them. I asked if they had a\nBible. He said 'No,' and they had not much time to read. I then asked\nhim if he would like to have one. He said he would, as 'it was a good\nthing to have one in the house.'\n\n\"I took them one in the course of a day or two, and he has been led to\nread it daily; the mother and children also read it, and a few nights\nsince he signed the temperance pledge. He said to me lately, while\nvisiting him: 'No more pennies for rum; those pennies will go toward the\nsupport of my wife and children.' He now attends _evening_ church,\nfeeling his clothing is not good enough to go by daylight. He has told\nme, although they are very poor, he was never as happy as now. He has\nnot yet been able to procure steady employment, so I help them as I can.\n\n\"I have been helped on to perseverance in my work by what was told me\nby one I visited. In speaking of herself, she said she owed much to the\nefforts of a home missionary, who not only sought her out, but followed\nher up; and although she often neglected her duty, and stayed away from\nthe preaching, he was so persevering and diligent in his efforts to win\nher, he at length succeeded, and she is now truly a Christian. A severe\ntrial has lately come upon her: her son, a boy of ten years, has been\nkilled by falling from a house. He lived but a short time after the\naccident; and as I stood by her at the side of the remains of her\ndeparted child, she was calm and resigned, telling me _the Lord was\nhelping her_.\n\n\"I have been visiting at the hospitals much of late, where I have\nprocured places for my sick, of whom there have been many this season.\nI have also assisted some, and procured work for others; have also\ndistributed several Bibles, for which some have promised to pay as they\nare able. My Superintendent and Pastor are both kind in aiding me; for\nwhile I can truly say, 'of myself I can do nothing,' I can also, I\nhope, add, 'I can do all things through Christ, who strengtheneth me.'\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nWe cannot leave this part of the record of the Lord's work without\nobserving her strong attachment to the children. In this she was very\njudicious. What momentous issues are at stake during early childhood.\nIt is doubtless true that Christ meant to teach a practical lesson with\nreference to our tender watch-care of the little ones during His third\nbrief interview with His disciples, after His resurrection. We read:\n\n\"So, when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of\nJonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith to him, yea, Lord; thou\nknowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.\n\n\"He saith unto him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest\nthou me? He saith unto him, yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.\nHe saith unto him, Feed my sheep.\n\n\"He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?\nPeter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou\nme? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest\nthat I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.\"\n\nAmid such a scene so truthfully depicted in the above narrative, we\nbehold the insecurity of the children. What a sad sight. An intemperate\nfather and no Bible in the house. What a statement in this land of\nBibles! Oh, what fearful consequences hang upon the conduct of parents.\nWhat would become of the masses in the lower part of the city, were it\nnot for our truly devoted Bible women? What victories for Christ and\nHis Church have been achieved--who can tell?\n\nThe cheering light that dawned upon the deeply bereaved mother when her\nboy was killed, is beheld as we, in imagination, take our stand by the\nbedside with them, and hear that sorrow-stricken mother exclaiming,\n\"_that the Lord was helping her_.\" This is a striking proof that He who\ncomforted Martha and Mary, at Bethany, was in that tenement-house,\nsaying once again, \"I am the resurrection and the life, he that\nbelieveth in me, though he were dead yet shall he live.\" Yes, helping\nher to look beyond this vale of tears, and say even amid the loss of her\ndarling boy, \"Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.\" Surely the\nlanguage of Job must have been experienced on an occasion like the\nabove. \"When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw\nme, it gave witness to me: Because I delivered the poor that cried, and\nthe fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him\nthat was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to\nsing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was\nas a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the\nlame.\"--Job xxix. 11-15.\n\nThere is a very comforting reflection for bereaved parents in Dr.\nPayson's \"Comparison of Departed Children to Jewels.\" To a mother\nmourning the death of a child, he said:\n\n\"Suppose, now, some one was making a beautiful crown for you to wear,\nand you knew it was for you, and that you were to receive it and wear it\nas soon as it should be done. Now, if the maker of it were to come, and\nin order to make the crown more beautiful and splendid, were to take\nsome of _your jewels_ to put into it, should you be sorrowful and\nunhappy because they were taken away for a little while, when you knew\nthey were gone to make up your crown?\"\n\nIn endeavoring humbly to interpret the language of the deceased, and, at\nthe same time, call attention to her superior magnanimity of heart, I\nwould not for a moment dare to make it appear that I was compromising\nhuman merit with the free, rich grace of our Heavenly Father, so richly\ndisplayed in His imparted _power_ to His children, enabling them to do\nvaliantly in the salvation of souls. This power is the presence of the\nHoly Spirit in the heart. Just listen to the closing sentence of the\nlast paragraph: \"_I can truly say of myself I can do nothing!_\" though\nI can also, I hope, add, \"_I can do all things through Christ who\nstrengtheneth me_.\" Ah! here is the secret of distinguished merit in the\ngreat conflict against all the forms of evil in the world. The\ninstruction to the disciples were to tarry until they received this\nDivine strength. Tarry, how? Well, let us read the record:\n\n\"To whom also He shewed himself alive after his passion by many\ninfallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the\nthings pertaining to the kingdom of God: And, being assembled together\nwith them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem,\nbut wait for the promise of the Father, which, sayeth he, ye have heard\nof me. _For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized\nwith the Holy Ghost not many days hence._ When they therefore were come\ntogether, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time\nrestore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, 'It is not\nfor you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in\nhis own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is\ncome upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and\nin all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.'\nAnd when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up;\nand a cloud received him out of their sight.\"--Acts i. 3-9.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI.\n\nPEACE THROUGH BELIEVING.\n\n Oh, the unsearchable riches of Christ!\n Wealth that can never be told;--\n Riches exhaustless of mercy and grace,\n Precious, more precious than gold!\n\n\nAt the sixty-eighth annual meeting of the New York Female Auxiliary\nBible Society, the Rev. Dr. William M. Taylor, in his earnest masterly\naddress on the occasion, happily said:\n\n\"In the prosecution of the excavations at Pompeii, the workmen laid\nbare an ancient spring, the water of which, as soon as it was set free,\nflowed forth as copiously as ever, and carried refreshment with it\nwherever it went. For centuries it had been buried beneath the ashes of\nthe volcano, but the moment it was again uncovered, it sent out its\nstream of blessing with all its pristine fulness and wholesome\ninfluence.\n\n\"Something like that was the work which Martin Luther did for the\nfountain of truth in the Sacred Scriptures. For many generations that\nhad been virtually stopped up by the rubbish of tradition and entombed\nbeneath the weight of authority, but by his sturdy strength, his steady\npersistence and his dauntless courage, he dug it clear again; and it\nbecame once more, as at the first, the well-head of the river of\nprogress among the nations.\"\n\nWhat was said of the great German Reformer can be truthfully applied to\nthis humble mother in Israel.\n\nAt the above meeting it was stated that this Missionary woman in her\nadvanced age made four hundred and forty visits in two months, she had\nread the Scriptures in many homes, prayed with a large number, comforted\ndying believers with Christian song, administered first aid to the\ninjured; thus bringing into practical use the instructions _she_ had\nreceived, and receiving the commendations of physicians, distributed\nreligious reading, and suspended the \"Words of Life\" in the rooms of the\nsick. Streams from this uncovered fountain of truth are turned by the\ncheerful, willing, working hands, heads, and hearts of our Bible women\ninto human habitations in this city, where degradation, poverty,\ndrunkenness, vice, and squalor sink the inmates to the level of brutes.\nThe cleansing waters, as if by magic, convert these dark places into\nhomes of joy and brightness, sobriety, industry, cleanliness, and\ngodliness.\n\nThe effulgence born of the lustre of Christ drives out the darkness of\nsin and sorrow, and the thoughts of regenerated souls are indeed\ncarried upward to the throne of God. All sorts and conditions of men,\nall varieties of human life, find their adaptation in the religion of\nour Lord Jesus Christ.\n\nLater on she writes: \"During the month of January, 1876, I have been\ngreatly encouraged in various ways. Knowing how many were the wants,\nand how small the means for supplying them during the present winter, I\ncalled on my old friend, Mr. M., at his place of business, and telling\nhim how low our funds were, as he always took an interest in our work,\nhe gave me twenty dollars for the Society. Much encouragement has also\nbeen afforded me by seeing some, among whom I have been laboring for\nyears, brought to Christ, and those of whom I had the least hope, now\ntestifying their love for the Saviour. It is not more than three or\nfour weeks since they began to attend church, and since then it is\nsurprising to witness the change. They have risen in the prayer-meeting\nand told what the Lord had done for their souls.\n\n\"One of those women, when I visited her, told me when I asked her to\nattend church, that the devil was her best friend; he helped her out of\nall her difficulties, by lying and cheating, and she intended to give\nherself entirely to him. Such an expression falling from the lips of\nany one, but especially from one for whom I have been watching and\npraying for years, rendered me almost speechless; but I kissed her, and\nsaying there would be no use in my calling on her again, as she had\nsettled in indifference, I left her. In a few days she sent for me, and\nI had another interview with her, which resulted in a promise, on her\npart, to attend church. She did not do so for some weeks. A noon-day\nprayer-meeting was then established in our church, and I invited her\nthere. In a few days she came, and since then has been attending both\nnoon and evening meetings, and coming to church. She has risen to ask\nprayers for herself, her husband, and children, and a dear old mother,\nnearly eighty years of age, still out of the ark of safety.\n\n\"Last Sabbath morning, upon entering the church, and seeing a stranger\nin my pew, I could not express the feeling of joy that filled my soul,\nupon discovering this was the same woman, now come to the house of God,\nhaving exchanged masters, and forsaken the territory of Satan, anxious\nto become the servant of Christ, and receive the gift of God which is\neternal life, instead of the wages of sin, which is death; and which, a\nshort time since, she avowed herself determined to secure.\n\n\"Another woman with whom I had talked about the sin of her encouraging\na love for dress and pleasure in her young daughter, acknowledged the\ntruth of what I said, and has since attended church, and undoubtedly\nbeen brought to Christ. Her husband, also, who had not set his foot in\na church for fifteen years, but spent all his leisure time in a liquor\nstore, and associated with a rough class of men, according to his own\nstatements concerning himself, believes he has found the Saviour, and\nattends the meetings regularly. A few evenings since he told me he had\nto watch himself very closely, as he had become habituated to profane\nswearing. The change that has been made in him is remarkable. It\nappears clear to my mind that nothing but a Divine power could have\neffected it.\n\n\"Another case is that of a young girl who was brought to the meeting by\nher mother. She is so impressed herself, that her great concern is for\nothers with whom she has been associated, to induce them to attend, the\nlanguage of her heart being, 'Come with us, and we will do thee good,\nfor the Lord has spoken good concerning Israel.'\n\n\"There is a great outpouring of the Spirit in our midst; we have\nunmistakable evidence of it. We have but to 'open our mouths wide that\nwe may be filled with it.' All are ready to hear and learn, and we are\nin every way encouraged to labor on with our whole hearts, knowing that\nif we are strong, and of good courage, God will not fail in the\nperformance of His promises.\n\n\"Our sewing-school is also improving; the children in good behavior;\nthe mothers are asking, in many cases, for Bibles, while the\nSunday-school is filling up so fast, we cannot get a sufficient number\nof teachers.\n\n\"There are many cases of sickness in my district, and a great deal of\ndistress, occasioned by want of work.\n\n\"I made about one hundred and sixty visits during the month, and sold\nbut one Bible.\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nHer gratitude, when any kind-hearted friend like the above gave of\ntheir substance, to carry on the Lord's work, was unbounded. Also, when\nthose among whom she labored for years were brought to confess Christ,\nby testifying at the meetings. Oh! how true are the words of Malachi:\n\"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the\nLord hearkened, and heard it: and a book of remembrance was written\nbefore Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his\nname. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when\nI make up my jewels.\"\n\nNo spot on earth was so dear to her heart as the house of God, hence the\nexpression: \"_I could not express the feeling_ of joy that filled my\nsoul upon discovering this was the same woman, now come to the house of\nGod, having exchanged masters.\" She evidently entered into the feelings\nof David when he said of the Church, as the recognized holy spouse of\nGod: \"How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth,\nyea, even fainteth, for the courts of the Lord, my heart and my flesh\ncrieth out for the living God.\"\n\nHer practical piety is continually manifested, not only by her\nstrenuous exertions to save souls, but in the recognition of Divine\npower in the execution. She says, \"The change is remarkable. It appears\nclear to my mind that nothing but Divine power could have effected it.\"\n\nThe doctrine of the personality of the Holy Spirit is here brought to\nour view, strongly reminding us that it is not by might, nor by power,\nbut by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII.\n\nDRAWN BY THE CORDS OF LOVE.\n\n Blest Saviour, slain for me,\n In grateful love to Thee\n The cross I bear;\n Thou didst for me endure,\n My pardon to insure,\n And thus for me secure\n A Crown to wear.\n\n\n\"One poor woman,\" she writes, \"asked me to call and see her, as she\nwished to tell me her troubles. She said she was afraid to believe that\nGod loved her. I have seldom seen any one in such ecstacy as she, when\nshe was told that God loves her with an everlasting love, and that she\nneed not be afraid to trust Him, as the more she rejoices in Him, the\nmore she would glorify Him.\"\n\nThe earnest desire of Paul for the Church at Colosse was: \"That their\nhearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all\nriches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of\nthe mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; in whom are hid\nall the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nGRATEFUL OFFERING OF A SAVED SOUL.\n\nShe writes again thus: \"One woman, to whom I took a Bible, said to me,\n'_If it had not been for you I should have died in ignorance_.' Although\nshe is poor, two Sabbaths since when a collection was taken, she put\ndown her name for two dollars. She says, 'she can never thank the Lord\nenough for bringing her out of darkness into light.'\n\n\"I visit a woman who endures great agony from cancer. She lives alone,\nin a tenement house, poor and friendless, having been driven from her\nhome by her relatives because she has become a Protestant. But she has\na firm trust in God, and it is indeed wonderful to see how she is\nsupported amid terrible sufferings. She cannot read, having never\nlearned, but says, 'I thank God that He sends His servants to read the\nBible to such as I.'\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nWhat a picture of all that is conceivable of human suffering. Alone,\npoor, persecuted, yet thankful and trustful. Oh! How amazing is God's\ngrace.\n\n Oh, yes, to the uttermost Jesus is able\n To save the poor sinner who cometh to Him;\n His word is most sure, and His promise is stable:\n Though feeble thy trust and thy faith very dim,\n Yet listen again to the soul-cheering sound,\n Our Jesus can save to the uttermost bound.\n\n Did I hear some one say, \"But what of to-morrow,\n For my foes are so strong, and I'm sinful indeed?\"\n He is able to save to the end of the journey--\n To the uttermost bound of thy uttermost need.\n That same Jesus who died for us now ever lives,\n And as mightily saves as He freely forgives.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nWORK AMONG THE JEWS.\n\n\"Though laboring to bring souls to Christ, of any nation, my chief\ninterest and work is among the Jews.\n\n\"I called upon a family of very religious Jews. I talked with them of\nChrist as the true Messiah and of His sacrifice for our sins. I saw\nthat they had the Old and New Testament, given them by a Christian\nlady. They said they often read it together, and I could not but think\nthat the good seed was sown in their hearts.\n\n\"I am often discouraged by the opposition of one member of a family. A\nchild who goes to Sunday-school is kept away by an unbelieving father,\njust as the truth has found a lodgement in her heart; but, again, my\nheart is filled with joy when I find that my labor has not been in\nvain. Such was the case in a family where I have prayed, and conversed\noften about their souls' salvation. The mother, a Jewess by birth, had\nchanged her Jewish religion some time ago. But her heart remained\nuntouched. I endeavored to make her understand what a change of heart\nis, and persuaded her to go with me to a German church. Some weeks\nafter the father spoke of his faith in Christ, and a week since his\nwife also gave evidence of being a Christian woman. During the month of\nMarch I visited a poor woman who had had great sorrows. She asked me\nfor a Bible, for which she was most thankful. Her husband, a Catholic,\nnow reads it with her, and shows by his greater kindness to her its\nblessed effect. What a blessing, indeed, is this holy book in these\npoor homes?\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nANOTHER YOUNG JEWESS BROUGHT TO CHRIST.\n\n\"A young Jewess, who had found and believed in Jesus as her Saviour,\nwanted to unite with a Christian church, but her aged mother would not\nallow it. I encouraged her to pray for her mother, and one day calling\nto see her, I found she had now no objection to her daughter doing as\nshe wished. I have had many conversations with Jews, and have often\nbeen allowed to read the Bible to them.\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nIt is certainly very encouraging to read how intensely interested she\nwas in the conversion of the Hebrew people. We cannot wonder at this\nwhen we consider that they were the chosen people of God; and also to\nthose who are in the habit of prayerfully consulting their Bibles,\nespecially the prophecies pertaining to the Messiah, as they behold\nthem literally fulfilled, not only as to the time and place of His\nbirth, but His person, life, miracles, death, resurrection, and\nascension of the Lord Jesus Christ.\n\n\"He surely came unto His own and His own received Him not, but to as\nmany as received Him them gave He power to become the Sons of God, even\nto those who believed in His name.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII.\n\nLOVE FOR THE HEBREWS.\n\n A weeping sinner kneels,\n The chains of death are broken,\n And soon his glad heart feels\n The Saviour's welcome spoken.\n\n\nChrist said, \"Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees.\" She seemed to hate\neverything that looked like spiritual pride, or idolatry, or\nworldliness. Hence her sternness and courage in watching for sin in\nherself or others was marked. The language of Jesus ever sounded in her\nears: \"Take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged\nwith surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day\ncome on you suddenly as a snare: for _so_ shall it come upon all them\nthat dwell on the face of all the earth. But watch ye at every season,\nmaking supplication, that ye may prevail to escape all these things that\nshall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.\"\n\nShe felt also that God was no respecter of persons, and her great\nambition on this account was to try and save the Hebrew people from\ntheir vain delusions that they were still the chosen people of God,\nnotwithstanding their rejection of the Messiah.\n\nThis is evident from the following conversation with a Jewish woman\nabout God's Word.\n\n\"Visiting another Jewish woman, she asked me to sit down, and soon we\nwere in earnest conversation about the Bible, and her soul's salvation.\nAfter hearing me read some passages, she said, 'We Jews must all be\nwrong if you are right.' I told her it was not my word, but the Word of\nGod. I begged her to search the Scriptures for herself, and left with\nher a tract relating to Christ, written by a Jew. She asked to have a\nBible, which I carried to her. Again we conversed on this great\nsubject. She liked the tract, and had lent it to several of her\nfriends. She said she would read the Bible with prayer, and if she was\nwrong, the Lord would open her eyes. During these four months I have\nmade over one thousand visits, distributed many tracts and given away\neight Bibles, besides taking several children to the Sunday-school, and\nusing the Mission funds in assisting the poor.\n\n\"There has been a great deal of sickness this summer, especially among\nthe children. But I have been enabled to do some good by taking these\nlittle ones and their mothers into the country. Among them were several\nRoman Catholic families. They expressed surprise that we should do so\nmuch for them, saying, 'It was more than their own people would do for\nthem.' In visiting one of these women soon after, she said her husband\nhad told her she had better take my advice and read the Bible. He said\nshe had better have one, for it could do her no harm. I took her the\nGospel of Matthew, which she has been reading attentively, and her\nchildren learning verses by heart. She gave me fifty cents, asking if\nthat would be enough to buy a Bible.\n\n\"To several Catholic families I have lent Bibles, and they now wish to\npurchase them, paying for them in small sums, as they are able. One\nman, who has led a very wicked life and abused his family, is now so\nchanged that when he comes home he asks his children to read to him. He\ndoes not go to church, but says he does not know why his people are not\nallowed to read the Bible.\n\n\"A poor woman to whom I gave a Bible handed me one dollar, saying she\nwished she was able to give more, as it had been such a blessing to her\nin her sickness and poverty. I have been much encouraged by the\ngratitude expressed for my reading the Scriptures in some families. A\nCatholic woman was in great distress for her husband. She begged me to\npray for him, and calling her five children about her, we knelt in\nprayer.\n\n\"I have a mothers' meeting at my house, at which several women have\ndesired prayers for their husbands. Visiting in a house where were some\nJewish families, I asked if they would allow me to pray with them. They\nsaid they would not dare to kneel, but would stand and listen. On my\nleaving them, they shook my hand, with tears in their eyes, and said\nthey liked to hear my prayer. Another Jewess said she would be sorry if\nshe thought we would not meet in heaven. I begged her to pray God to\nshow her the true way, and read to her in Isaiah the prophecies\nconcerning the Messiah. She, too, promised to think, and pray for\nlight.\n\n\"I have good hopes of several intemperate persons. They have abstained\nfrom drinking for several weeks, one has joined the Temperance Society,\nand another has promised to drink no more. They asked for a Bible,\nwhich I took to them. We have opened our Sewing-school again, and have\nthe hope of accomplishing much good this winter among the children.\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nGLADNESS IN COMING TO THE HOUSE OF GOD.\n\nShe continues to write thus: \"Some of the women who attend my mother's\nmeeting have never attended any place of worship, and it is encouraging\nto hear them speak of reading the Scriptures, which they have never\ndone before, and of the pleasure they take in going to the House of\nGod, and in listening to His Word.\n\n\"A Jewess, to whom I spoke of the Saviour, said, 'Your religion must be\nvery comforting, when you have something to rest upon. I would like to\ngo to your church, and hear about your Saviour.'\n\n\"I found a family where the mother was sick; the father without work,\nand four children to be fed. I obtained assistance for them, and after\ndoing what I could to make them comfortable, I read a portion of\nScripture to them. As the woman lay listening, the father came into the\nroom and said, 'You are reading the Bible; it is a good book; my\nchildren love to hear it; they learn in the Sabbath-school what will do\nthem good, but the times are hard; I can get no work, and everything\nseems dark.' His wife said, 'God has sent us help just when we needed\nit the most.' I urged him to trust in our Heavenly Father, and pray to\nHim; he said, 'I will try.'\"\n\nWhy not? for\n\n E'en the hour that darkest seemeth\n Will His changeless goodness prove;\n From the gloom His mercy streameth;\n God is wisdom, God is love.\n\nThe shadows of earth are immediately dispelled when we trust God, for\nHe says, \"Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee and\nthou shalt glorify Me.\" This passage has been the cup of great blessing\nto many a benighted soul.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nShe writes: \"In another family, the kindness shown has led the father\n(who has also been ill) to think seriously of religion, and resolve on\nleading a new life.\n\n\"One poor woman, to whom I had given a Bible, said to me, a few days\nsince, that she wanted to 'pay something for her Bible,' it had been\nsuch a comfort to her in her lonely hours. She said she had never read\nso much of the Scriptures before, nor found so much comfort from\nreading them, as during the last few weeks; and now she wished me take\nten cents as part payment; she had been keeping it for me, and would\nadd more soon, as she wanted to give me fifty cents. She was living\nalone; her husband dead; her son, having married recently, had left\nher, but gives a little toward her support. She was also made happy by\nsome addition for Thanksgiving.\n\n\"My visits among the children of the Sewing-school are also productive\nof good. One little girl whom I brought to Sabbath-school for the first\ntime, induced her mother to come to church, where she was enough\npleased to desire to come again. This family have usually spent their\nSabbaths in reading stories in the newspapers, as is the case with many\nothers from which we have gathered the children, and when they say at\nparting, 'Do come and see my mother,' I feel here is a wide field of\nusefulness opening before us, inviting us to enter in and work for the\nMaster.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIX.\n\nTHANKFULNESS TO GOD.\n\n He is a whole Christ--He is a full Saviour!\n He saves to the uttermost all who believe;\n His arms of compassion are ever extended,\n The contrite and penitent souls to receive.\n\n\nSt. Augustine says: \"The Kingdom of Light was from its very\ncommencement assailed by the Kingdom of Darkness.\" But, notwithstanding\nthe opposition of Satan, and the strong prejudices of his ancient\npeople, how encouraging to read the following narrative from her pen:\n\n\"I have been able to supply the immediate necessities of some poor\nfamilies, and it encourages my heart to see their gratitude for what is\ndone for them, but, above all, for their joy at receiving the 'Word of\nGod,' and knowing that it was their own. From four persons I have\nreceived payment for the Bibles, who were anxious to receive them, and\nwho read them daily. I have met with some success among the Jews. A\nJewish girl who has been in my Sewing-school is very happy to be there,\nand says that now her father does not forbid her to read the Bible or\nattend Sunday-school. A young girl who attends the meeting which I hold\nin my house has joined the church in Allen Street, and is so much in\nearnest that she is trying to induce others to follow her example. I am\nthankful that my efforts for the young have not been without results.\"\n\nWhy? we ask; because He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him\nup for us all, how will He not with Him also _freely give us_ all\nthings.\n\n\"I have had much encouragement,\" she continues, \"in my labors during\nthe summer. Visiting at the Hahnemann Hospital, I have become much\ninterested in some of the patients. They ask me to sit down and talk to\nthem, and I then point them to Jesus as the best Physician for soul as\nwell as body. I have been kindly received by Roman Catholics, and have\nloaned Bibles to some of them, and some have kept them and paid for\nthem.\n\n\"During the months of July and August, I have found many sick, in\nassisting whom I have been aided by the Flower Mission.\n\n\"I see a great change in families where the Bible is being read. One\nlittle girl says, 'I read the Bible every day, and so do my father and\nmother. Now they do not work on Sunday, as they used to do, but go to\nchurch, and read God's Word.'\n\n\"My own church has been closed a part of the summer, but the\nprayer-meeting has been well attended, and there has been much interest\nevinced. A man who was a drunkard for many years, has given up his bad\nhabits and is now the support and comfort of his family. I gave him a\nBible, which he reads, and he seems to be a truly converted man. I have\nsold several Bibles, as well as given several away.\"\n\nAt one time coming in contact with a very serious case of hardship, she\nwrote concerning it, \"Formerly the mother depended upon the daughter\nfor support, but she has lately been obliged to stay at home, and take\ncare of her mother; and in consequence of this, they have both\nsuffered, as they belong to that class who are unwilling to make their\nwants known.\n\n\"I asked if they had attended any place of worship. The mother said she\nhad been a member of a Protestant church in Troy, but since she came to\nNew York, and her circumstances had changed, not having clothing to\nmake a decent appearance, she had not been to church. She added: 'I\nmust say, it was pride, but I could not overcome it. Now I know and\nfeel that I did wrong.'\n\n\"She is now more comfortable; for I have been able to get her some\nlittle delicacies, which she suffered greatly from the need of.\n\n\"It is a great satisfaction to us, when we meet with so many cases of\nwant and suffering, to give some relief, however small, but the anxiety\nand labor that have often to be borne to succeed in the work is great.\nI often think that if those who employ us to go forth with the Word of\nLife in our hands could see us engaged in our work, giving consolation\nand encouragement to the poor and destitute, the sick and dying, and as\nfar as in our power relieving their wants, they would feel abundantly\nrewarded for the good and honorable work in which they are engaged.\n\n\"Every month I feel more and more the greatness of the work, and the\nnecessity of laboring with earnestness, in order to compel them to come\nin, that the Lord's house may be filled, and that jewels may be\ngathered for our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. I have brought a\nnumber of children into Sabbath-schools, and have induced several to\nattend church, and feel that my labors have been abundantly blessed,\nand that during the last month I have been much encouraged.\n\n\"I have succeeded in getting five tons of coal for my poor, besides\ngroceries, etc. Have sold three Bibles, and given one away.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXX.\n\nLOST, BUT FOUND.\n\n Love of Christ, amazing love!\n Vast as His eternity;\n Theme of angel choirs above,\n Theme of souls redeemed like me!\n Outward to creation's bound,\n Up to Heaven's serenest height,\n Universal space around,\n Swells the chorus day and night.\n\n\nHere she writes about a woman whom she visited several years ago, and\nwho attended her meetings: \"I lost sight of her for seven or eight\nyears. She moved away from the city. One day recently I was sent for by\na sick woman; I found it to be Mrs. V., who had returned. I read,\nprayed, and visited her until she died, believing in Jesus.\" Here she\nreports the conversion of several others whom she has visited and\nbrought out to religious services.\n\nAn unknown Christian lady writes thus: \"Mrs. Knowles has great success\nin her work, reading God's Word, and leaving the Bible to be read by\nthose whom she visits, when not able to purchase a Bible; one is given\nin some instances; even the poorest will pay a small sum. A great\nchange is noticeable after the Bible is read with real interest--cleaner\nchildren, better-dressed men and women, and a desire to hear the Gospel.\"\n\nWhy this marvellous success? What brought about this personal\nreformation in the habits and character of parents and children? There\nare two reasons for this great change, namely: 1. Contact with God's\nWord. 2. Contact with a soul set on fire with the love of Christ. Oh!\nthe tremendous power there is in divinely implanted affection when it\nis beautifully blended in a human heart. Sir Walter Scott says:\n\n Love rules the court, the camp, the grove,\n And men below, and saints above;\n For love is Heaven, and Heaven is love!\n\n * * * * * *\n\nCONSOLATION AMID DOMESTIC DIFFICULTIES.\n\nWhen we remember that we are penning for publication only a few stray\ngleanings from the multiplicity of instances of conversion, the reader,\nwe trust, will behold the variety of cases recorded, and we sincerely\nhope the Christian worker will utilize them for practical purposes.\n\nSome one has said that Paul's favorite illustrations by images are\ndrawn, not from the operations and uniform phenomena of the natural\nworld, but from the activities and outward exhibition of human society,\nfrom the lives of soldiers, from the lives of slaves, from the market,\nfrom athletic exercises, from agriculture, from architecture.\n\nAt this time she again writes: \"I visited a family where the mother was\na Christian, and the father a Jew. The father being sick for two years\npast, and unable to support his wife and four children, has gone to his\nown people. The eldest girl is a member of my Sunday-school class. The\nmother told me one day, as I was speaking to her of the Bible, that she\nhad not seen or read one since she was married; 'but,' said she, 'since\nAmelia has been in your class, she has repeated the lessons she has\nlearned at home, and I am longing for a Bible.' I gave her one given me\nfor my Jewish children. She thanked me heartily, and now reads it every\nday with her children. One Sunday morning her husband came in to see\nthem, and found her reading aloud to the children from the Bible. He\nasked her what she was reading. She told him it was the Bible, and how\nshe had got it, and that the children went to Sunday-school, and that\nshe went to church. He was not pleased, but could say nothing, as he\ndoes not live with or support his family. This poor woman was deeply\nconvicted of sin, and was earnestly seeking for forgiveness and peace,\nand peace has come to her son through humble trust in the Saviour of\nsinners. Thus the Lord is prospering our labors, and the meetings begun\nin trembling, have been blessed to some souls.\"\n\nIt seems her source of unalloyed happiness was in watching for souls,\nat morning, noon, and night. Her prayers were perfumed with sighs, and\ncries, and tears for the impenitent. She was one of those so\ngraphically described by Jeremiah: \"They say to their mothers where is\ncorn and wine? when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the\ncity, when their soul was poured out into their mother's bosom. What\nthing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to\nthee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may\ncomfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like\nthe sea: who can heal thee.\"--Lam. ii. 12-13.\n\n Long they sat beneath the shadow,\n And the gloom of moral night,\n Waiting only for the dawning\n Of the promised heavenly light.\n But they've heard the glorious Gospel,\n Of salvation full and free,\n Now they read the \"Blessed Bible,\"\n They are coming, Lord, to Thee.\n\n Hasten, Lord, the coming morning\n Of the bright, millennial day,--\n And may we who love the Saviour\n Labor to extend His sway,\n Until every ransomed being,\n On the land and on the sea,\n Shall unite in one grand chorus,\n \"We are coming, Lord, to Thee.\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nTHE FORTUNE TELLER.\n\n\"During the last two months I have met with several interesting cases.\nOne Jewish woman whom I visited was always pleased when I told her of\nmy interest for her people. Being poor and in delicate health, she\ncould do but little for her own support, and I learned had resorted to\ntelling fortunes. I showed her that this was wrong, and that God would\nnot bless her, as it did not agree with His Word. She said, 'I have\noften thought it might be wrong, but I am now convinced of it; but what\nshall I do for my living?' I directed her to prayer for guidance, and\nassured her that those who put their trust in the Lord would be taken\ncare of. She has since been to our meeting and requests to have a\nBible.\n\n\"I visited another woman, whose husband is a Catholic. Her three\nchildren are in my Sunday-school class, and I am much interested in\nthem. The mother came to the German church, and I gave her a German\nBible, as she never had one. Calling one day, I found her in great\ntrouble. She said: 'Oh, Mrs. Knowles, I have been praying for you, and\nthe Lord has sent you. I read and prayed with her, directing her to the\nFriend of sinners for peace. I think she became a true Christian, and\nsoon she wished to unite with the church. Her husband, however, opposed\nit, and threatened to take away the children from her. He did so, and\nsent them to the Catholic Sunday-school. But the seed is sown in their\nyoung hearts, and they say to their mother, 'We will never turn to the\nCatholics.'\"\n\nTo such as are sorely tried in their households, how comforting are the\nwords of the Apostle: \"Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the\npeople with His own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth\ntherefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. For here\nhave we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By Him therefore\nlet us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the\nfruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But to do good, and to\ncommunicate, forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.\"\n\nShe adds: \"During these months I have met with much poverty and\nsickness. One would almost think it would diminish at this season, but,\non the contrary, it is rather worse. I met with a family who had been\nin the country but two months. The father was a salesman in Germany,\nand can get no employment in this country. They had nothing to eat in\ntheir house, but the Lord opened a way, so that something was provided\nfor them. I read the Scriptures and prayed with them, and the wife\nexpressed a longing to go to a German church. I took her to church, and\ngave her a Bible.\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nA JEWESS FINDS THE MESSIAH.\n\n\"A poor Jewess, whose husband has been in the Insane Asylum for nearly\ntwo years, finds it hard to support her family by peddling. Calling one\nday, I found her going out without any shoes on her feet, and her\nhealth very poor. I bought her a pair of shoes, for which she was very\nthankful, and pointed her to Christ as her true friend in time of need.\nShe reads the Bible, and believes He is the Messiah.\"\n\n\"Another Roman Catholic woman, whom I have been visiting for some time,\ncontinues to attend church regularly.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXI.\n\nSEA-SIDE EXCURSIONS FOR MOTHERS AND CHILDREN.\n\n Sure he, to whom, of mind or hand belongs\n Some craft that doth uplift the thought of men\n Above the mold, and bring to human ken\n The joys of radiance, air and clear bird-songs;\n So that the brow, o'er moist with sullen toil,\n May catch a breeze from far-off Paradise;\n So that the soul may, for a moment, rise\n Up from the stoop and cramp of daily moil--\n May own his gift Divine! as sure may trace\n Its Source, as that of waters kind hands hold\n To thirsty lips; nor need he mourn (since grace\n Of his hath such refreshment wrought) if gold\n Be scant; to him hath richer boon been given\n An earth-bowed head to raise the nearer heaven.\n\n\nThere is no sight more truly gladdening to the heart of the\nphilanthropist than to behold the large barges, built after the model\nof Noah's Ark, gliding swiftly through the beautiful waters of New York\nBay, heavily laden with the news-boys, working-girls, or poor mothers\nand children of the city. Thanks to the New York Press, and the\ncontributors to the Fresh Air Fund, for thus giving the multitudes of\nchildren, that are thickly huddled together in our tenement-houses, an\nopportunity of inhaling pure air.\n\nOne of the pioneers in this good work was the New York _Times_. In 1872,\nthat paper started the \"_Times'_ Excursion for Poor Children;\" ay, and\nfor poor adults, too. The public nobly responded to the _Times'_ appeal,\nsending in about $20,000. During the sweltering summer of that year, the\n_Times'_ people carried to shady groves and seasides tens of thousands\nof children who, for the first time, saw running streams and green\nfields. No one can estimate the good done, the lives saved, and the\nhours of happiness secured to young and old who have so few happy hours.\nNot the least was that of softening hearts and opening purses.\n\nIn this noble work we find our deceased friend earnestly engaged\ninstead of taking a vacation in the hot summer months. In her diary we\nfind the following concerning one of these summer seasons:\n\n \"It has been a great privilege, during the summer months, to be\n able to make so many poor mother's happy, by taking them and their\n children to the sea-side for bathing and country air. There has\n been much sickness in the tenement-houses. It is, indeed,\n distressing often to see two sick in one bed, the others nearly\n ready to be there, and the poor mothers, with but little means,\n scarcely able to do their work and take care of the sick ones.\n\n \"It is then a happiness to obtain for them a little nourishment,\n and to give them words of sympathy and encouragement. Many are\n Roman Catholics, who seem surprised that I should take any interest\n in them, as they said it was more than their own people will do.\n\n \"A poor woman whom I visited, said: 'I will never again think that\n Protestants cannot be saved, as I have been taught; and since I\n have read the Bible, I intend to go to a Protestant church and hear\n for myself.'\n\n \"The Catholics say to me, 'How different your prayers are from\n ours. Why do you not pray to the Blessed Virgin?' I tell them that\n we only pray to the Lord Jesus Christ, as He is the only Saviour.\n While visiting lately in some wretched houses of infamy and talking\n to the poor women, they would shed tears, and say that they would\n like to live different lives, but it is so hard to begin to do\n better. It is surprising to see with what attention they listen to\n the words of Scripture and promise to read the Bible themselves.\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nA WONDERFUL WORK.\n\nStill continuing the record of her work, she writes: \"During last month\nI made two hundred and fifty visits, read the Scriptures as often as I\nhad the opportunity; have given two Bibles to persons who were too poor\nto pay for them, and sold one.\n\n\"Several Roman Catholic women have asked for Bibles, and are reading\nthem with pleasure. One woman, whose husband called her a 'turn-coat,'\nsaid she did not care for that, but that nothing should persuade her to\ngive up her Bible.\n\n\"I have induced several persons to attend church, and have taken\nchildren to the Sabbath-school, thus trying to sow the seed, and\nlooking to God for His blessing.\n\n\"A poor man, ill with consumption, is one whom I visit often. I have\naided his family with coal, and also in buying food and nourishment for\nhimself. He reads a Bible that I gave him every day, and when his\nchildren come from school he gets them to read to him. He says: 'If I\nhad been a better man; had read my Bible and taken care of my health, I\nmight have been different, but now I am trusting in the Lord that He\nwill forgive and accept me, and that is my only hope. I tell my wife\nthat when I am gone she must never give up the Bible, but read it every\nday with her children.'\"\n\nWe must ever remember, dear reader, that the unfolding of the _Gospel of\nChrist_ is the _power of God unto salvation to everyone who believeth_.\nWhat a tremendous power was manifested by the preaching of the Gospel to\nthe savages of North America, in 1743. Mr. Brainerd, in his journal,\ngives an instance of the effects which followed the preaching of the\nWord of God. \"There was much concern,\" says he, \"among them while I was\ndiscoursing publicly; but afterward, when I spoke to one and another\nwhom I perceived more particularly under concern, the power of God\nseemed to descend upon the assembly, 'like a mighty rushing wind,' and\nwith an astonishing energy bore down all before it.\n\n\"I stood amazed at the influence that seized upon the audience almost\nuniversally. Almost all persons of all ages, were bowed down together.\nOld men and women, who had been drunken wretches for many years, and\nsome little children, not more than six or seven years of age, appeared\nin distress for their souls, as well as persons of middle age. These\nwere almost universally praying and crying for mercy in every part of\nthe house, and many out of doors, and numbers could neither go nor\nstand; their concern was so great, each for himself, that none seemed\nto take any notice of those about them, but each prayed for himself.\nMethought this had a near resemblance to the day of God's power,\nmentioned Josh. x. 14; for I must say, I never saw any day like it in\nall respects; it was a day wherein the Lord did much to destroy the\nkingdom of darkness among this people.\" A church was soon afterward\ngathered among these poor pagans; and such was the change effected\namong them, that many exclaimed with astonishment, \"What hath God\nwrought?\"\n\nHe spent whole days in fasting and prayer, that God would prepare him\nfor his great work; and, indeed, throughout his whole life he was truly\na \"man of prayer,\" lifting up his heart to God on all occasions,\nfrequently spending whole days in prayer and meditation in the fields\nand woods desiring holiness of heart far above every other object.\n\nMr. Brainerd was sent by the Society for the Propagation of Christian\nKnowledge to the Indians at Kaunaumeek, a place in the woods between\nStockbridge and Albany. In this lonely place he continued and endured\nmany hardships and privations.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXII.\n\nTHE INTEMPERATE WIFE.\n\n If you cannot cross the ocean,\n And the heathen lands explore,\n You can find the heathen nearer,\n You can help them at your door.\n\n If you cannot give your thousands,\n You can give the widow's mite,\n And the least you give for Jesus\n Will be precious in His sight.\n\n\nIn March, 1880, she writes: \"I have had much encouragement in my work\nduring the past month. In a family where I had visited a long time, the\nmother was much addicted to intemperance. On calling one day, I saw the\nhusband, who said he was glad I had come in, for he had resolved to\nleave his wife; he said he could endure his life with her no longer--he\nwould go his way, and she must go hers. She was much distressed, and I\nonce more entreated her to give up the intoxicating cup and be a good\nwife and mother. I then engaged in prayer, beseeching the Lord to enable\nher to resist this dreadful appetite. Her husband stood by and said:\n\n\"'Now, Mary, you have your choice: either to follow the advice of this\nkind friend, or to separate from me forever.'\n\n\"She then and there made her decision, and, laying her hand on the\nBible, pledged herself not to touch or taste the poison, and signed a\npaper to that effect. Since then, she has attended our meetings, and\nsays she is happier than she has ever been.\n\n\"Some persons to whom I have given the Bible did not seem to care to\nread it, but have now begun to do so, and encourage their children to\nread to them. One man tells me:\n\n\"'I am scarce five minutes in the house before my little girl begins to\nread to me, and it does me good.'\n\n\"A man and his wife who have attended church this winter, will soon\nconfess Christ. They have suffered much this season, as the father has\nhad but little work; but I have been able to give them some assistance.\nThe mother said she was thankful to the Lord for all that had been done\nfor them, to bring them through their difficulties--but, above all, that\nshe and her husband had found rest in Jesus as their Saviour and their\nfriend.\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nWARMLY WELCOMED BY ALL DENOMINATIONS.\n\n \"_March, 1881._--During this month I have made many visits among\n Jews and Romanists. Some who formerly opposed me are now anxious to\n hear me read and pray, and urge me to come to see them often.\n Several Roman Catholic families have asked for the Bible; and I have\n given several copies of the New Testament, which they value very\n highly, as well for themselves as for their children, whom they are\n anxious should read and learn its sacred truths. One woman, whose\n children had been taught verses from the New Testament, gave me\n twenty-five cents to get her a Bible, saying she wondered why their\n clergy forbid them reading it.\n\n \"The woman mentioned before as being intemperate seems now truly\n reformed. She attends our meetings with her boy, and she and her\n husband once more live happily together.\n\n \"My meeting for young girls continues with much encouragement. They\n seem to take delight in reading the Scriptures, and in singing\n hymns of praise. They spend the hour in sewing and reading aloud,\n and they are greatly improved in deportment and character. The\n little Jewish girl, to whom I gave a Testament, is never absent\n from this meeting or from the Sunday-school.\"\n\nWhat a deplorable sight--an intemperate mother! What a soul-ruinous\nexample to a daughter! When we consider the relation between the mother\nand the child, how great are the maternal responsibilities. The mother\nought to attract the attention of the child by her love. Chilled by the\nsin of intemperance, how many, alas! drag down their daughters to infamy\nand a life of shame.\n\nBut, oh, what a change is wrought in this household after the dramatic\ninterview, when the husband threatens to leave his wife forever unless\nshe abandons her cups. What joy enters that family circle after the\nmother's transformation. Surely this revolution in her character was not\nthe work either of the missionary or the person herself. It is not by\nworks of righteousness which we have done, but according _to His mercy_\nHe saves us.\n\nHow sweetly Dr. Horace Bonar sings in this connection:\n\n Thy works, not mine, O Christ,\n Speak gladness to this heart;\n They tell me all is done;\n They bid my fear depart.\n To whom, save thee,\n Who can alone\n For sin atone,\n Lord, shall I flee?\n\nWhen we contrast the previous picture with the closing paragraph of\nthis last account in her diary, we behold the sudden change from\nsadness to sunshine.\n\nShe says, \"_The young girls seem to take delight in reading the\nScriptures, and in singing hymns of praise._\" This is the new song put\ninto the mouth of the Christian at the hour of conversion: \"Happy day,\nwhen Jesus washed my sins away.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIII.\n\nHER LOVE OF CHILDREN AND OF PRAYING.\n\n He loves me now, oh, blessed thought,\n He loved me when I knew Him not,\n And with His blood my pardon bought,\n On Calvary He died for me;\n Then with such love my heart to cheer,\n How can I doubt or have one fear,\n Or ever think the days are drear,\n With Jesus near, with Jesus near.\n\n\nIn 1884 she writes: \"Ninety-six visits during the last month, and seven\nchildren taken to the Sunday-school. I am everywhere received with\nkindness, and especially by the children, through whom I hope to reach\nthe parents' hearts. I have disposed of several Bibles, for which I\nhave been paid; and I find there is nothing like reading some verses of\nScripture to excite the desire to possess the Book of God. I have an\ninteresting class of girls in my own house who study passages of\nScripture every week, and by their example and influence their parents\nhave been led to attend church and give their hearts to God.\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nOh, how few there are who would be so kind-hearted as this woman to\nopen their own house to impart spiritual instruction to others. We are\nforcibly reminded by this gathering of girls to study God's Word, of a\ngraphic scene in the Acts of the Apostles: We read that, \"On the\nSabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont\nto be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted\nthither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the\ncity of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord\nopened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.\nAnd when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying,\nIf ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house,\nand abide there. And she constrained us.\"--Acts xvi. 13-15.\n\nWe see from the above account of her work the multiplicity of her\navocations: Tract-distribution, visiting and caring for the sick,\nteaching the young, not only out of God's Book, but instructing them\nhow to discharge domestic duties.\n\n Never tired, never weary,\n In what she found to do--\n Ever winsome, always cheery,\n She knew but love for you!\n\n Humble, patient, kindly, sincere,\n She loved the Master well;\n Always trying, unknown to fear,\n She would His story tell!\n\nShe continues: \"A short time since, on entering a house, the woman who\nopened the door asked if I was a missionary. When I said 'Yes,' she\nsaid, 'The Lord has answered my prayer. I prayed that He would send one\nto me to read the Bible and pray with me.' Before, when she had been\nvisited, she would hide away to avoid the visitor, but now she desires\nto be a Christian, and wishes some one to read and pray with her often.\nShe is very poor, but is now seeking the true riches. One who had been\nvery ill, but had recovered, gladly received a Bible, for which, though\nshe is very poor, she gave me fifty cents. I have met with much\nencouragement in the Sabbath-school and sewing-school. Many mothers\nare, through their children, interested in religion, and come gladly to\nthe mothers' meetings, and my earnest prayer is that the Lord will help\nme in the future as He has done in the past.\"\n\nHer prayerful spirit was marvellous. This was the reason why she was\nable to impart such comfort and encouragement to others.\n\nI called recently in the suburbs of the City of Brooklyn to see a\nmember of the Allen Street Church, and, after reading God's Word and\nprayer, our conversation turned to a beautiful portrait that hung over\nthe mantel-piece. The lady remarked, \"That is the picture of my\ndeparted sister, who died in New York. She was faithfully visited\nduring her sickness by Mrs. Knowles.\" She continued, \"I like to think\nof her, because she used to tell me after she was gone, 'I pray for you\nby name every day.'\" Perhaps that is the reason why she comes now so\nmany miles through the long, dreary, stormy winter months, to teach a\nclass in the Allen Street Sabbath-school, and some of the scholars are\nHebrew children. This person for whom she prayed never misses any of\nthe services at the church.\n\n\"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the\nwhich the Holy Ghost have made you overseers, to feed the church of\nGod, which he hath purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that\nafter my departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not\nsparing the flock.\"\n\nThis is the injunction of the Apostle Paul to the elders at Ephesus,\nbut it is exceedingly appropriate to all who are engaged in missionary\nwork of any kind, and it cannot be faithfully complied with unless\nthere is pastoral work performed from house to house. Who is sufficient\nfor these things?\n\nDuring February and March, 1885, she again writes: \"During the last two\nmonths I have been engaged as usual in reading the Scriptures from\nhouse to house, and wherever I have visited have been allowed to do so,\nwith very few exceptions. Visiting lately in a tenement house, a woman\ncame out, telling me that I would never go to Heaven, and using other\ninsulting language. I only said, 'Poor woman, I pity you.' A Catholic\nwoman, who heard her, asked me into her room, took me by the hand, and\nwith tears in her eyes expressed her sorrow that I should be treated so\nill. I told her it did not harm me as much it did themselves. I then\nasked if I might pray with them, and when we arose from prayers several\nof those present were in tears. 'How can you pray for one who has\nabused you so?' said they. I replied that Jesus prayed for His enemies,\nand we must imitate His example. One of these women came to our\nmothers' meeting, and asked me for a Bible, and promises to read it.\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nHere she complied with the command of Christ: \"I say unto you, love\nyour enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you,\nand pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.\"\n\nWhat a wonderful exhibition we have in the above interview of the\nspirit of Him who was suspended on the cross for our sins, for we read:\n\"That when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there\nthey crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the\nother on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know\nnot what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.\"\n\nThe fearful drama enacted on Golgotha excites our wonder when we behold\nthe amazing love of Jesus, in thus praying for His persecutors. How\ntrue it is that He was clothed with the mock robes of royalty, that we\nmight be clad in His justifying righteousness; crowned with the crown\nof thorns, that we might wear a crown of glory.\n\n Flow on, thou stream; oh, ceaseless flow,\n Till every child of sin and woe\n Hath plunged beneath thy cleansing tide,\n And found the Saviour precious.\n\nI want to say here, that I visited a family by request a few evenings\nsince in the upper part of New York City. During our religious\nconversation I asked the mother of the family how she was led to Christ.\nHer husband, daughters, and sons were all seated around her at the time,\na happy family circle. \"Well,\" she replied, \"about twenty-three years\nago, when my children were little, Mrs. Knowles met me on the street,\ncoming from the store. She said, 'Excuse me, lady, will you accept a\ntract?' I answered yes. 'Will you read it,' she inquired, 'if I give you\none?' I promised I would. She further asked me, 'Have you any children?'\n'Yes.' 'Do they go to Sabbath-school?' 'No.' 'Will you send them if I\ncall for them next Lord's Day morning?' 'Yes.' She called the following\nSabbath, and asked if the children were ready. 'They are all ready,' I\nsaid, 'but one, and her shoes are not good enough; but wait and I will\ngo out and buy a new pair.' 'Oh,' said Mrs. Knowles, 'never mind buying\nshoes to-day, I will call next Sabbath for them.' I did not know the\nreason _then_ why she would not allow me to get the shoes, but I know\n_now_. She did not wish me to break the holy Sabbath day. Then she\npersuaded me to attend church, until I found Jesus as my Saviour. I was\nin the habit of going to her with all my trouble, and she would say,\n'Oh, well, never mind, don't tell anyone but your Heavenly Father about\nit.'\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIV.\n\nCONVERSION OF CHILDREN.\n\n We are so helpless, Lord,\n Thou art all power and might;\n Our path is often drear,\n Be thou our light.\n We have no hope but thee;\n Oh, leave us not alone,\n Till life's brief day is o'er,\n Still guard thine own.\n\n\nHer joy in bringing children to the Sabbath-school was great, but when\nshe led them to Christ it was sublime. Why should she not be interested\nin their early conversion, when Jesus said, \"Suffer the little children\nto come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of\nHeaven.\" I desire to state here, that when I was a boy, about nine\nyears of age, I attended a prayer-meeting between the morning and\nafternoon services, led by an elder of the Relief U.P. Church,\nGreenock, and was so deeply impressed with Divine truth that I gathered\nmy playmates together, and invited them to a meeting of my own across\nthe burn at the foot of grandfather's garden, near Dr. McCulloch's\nestablished church, where we boys read God's Word in turn sang the\nsweet psalms of David, and offered prayer.\n\nRev. E. P. Hammond is doing a grand work among children at the present\ntime in New York. I assisted in his meetings, and found a goodly number\nof children inquiring after Jesus, and one afternoon there were a dozen\nyoung men and women rejoicing in their sins forgiven, who had signed\nthe covenant.\n\nThe following letter will speak for itself regarding Mr. Hammond's work\nhere in this city among children, many of whom were brought to Christ:\n\n \"NEW YORK CITY, March 3, 1887.\n\n \"DEAR BROTHER YOUNG: I am engaged, night and day, holding meetings\n here, I wish you could come up and attend some of the services; I\n thank you for all your kind words. I am to be to-morrow at the\n prayer-meeting as per bill. If you can be there I shall be glad to\n see you.\n\n \"_One hundred and twenty_ here, gave their names to us yesterday,\n saying they had been converted in these meetings (for the most\n part). To-morrow night we go to Carle Hall. It will hold, perhaps,\n three or four thousand. Pray for us.\n\n \"Yours in Jesus,\n\n \"E. P. HAMMOND.\"\n\nThe afternoon I visited the scene of his labors, he presented me with a\ncopy of his work entitled, \"The Conversion of the Children,\" in which I\nhave found a very encouraging letter to workers among the little ones.\nI use it here to illustrate the power of Divine grace, and to show that\nwherever the effort is put forth to save the children, God blesses it.\n\nThe following letter will testify also to the power of the Gospel. It\nis the production of one whom God has been graciously pleased to bless\nin a marvellous manner among the young.\n\n \"GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, September, 18, 1877.\n\n \"MY DEAR MR. HAMMOND: We oftentimes remember you, though few letters\n have passed between us. My daughters and myself will never forget\n your visit and the time of blessing then, and they, as well as\n myself, send you most hearty salutations.\n\n \"Dear brother, my thoughts on the subject of the conversion of\n children are the same as when I wrote that tract you refer to.[5] I\n think I agreed with you in almost every thing but one, viz.,\n expressing publicly an opinion on cases. It seems to me that we\n should be cautious in so doing; for children themselves mistake\n _feeling_ for _faith_; how easy, then, for us who do not know the\n heart, to mistake in them a manifestation of feeling for evidence of\n faith.\n\n \"But in the awakening which took place under your labors here, and\n in awakenings that have been given us since, the cases of young\n people have been as entirely satisfactory as any cases we have had.\n If conversion be God's work, in which the Holy Spirit reveals\n Christ to the soul, surely His work can take place in children as\n really as in the old; for it is the young soul meeting with Christ\n in the one case and the adult in the other.\n\n \"One day, about the time, or perhaps after the time, you were among\n us, in the vestry of my church, an old Christian woman, who had\n watched the work going on, came to me and said, 'Sir, you will find\n many people speaking lightly of the young who come to Christ, as if\n there was nothing but feeling in their case; but never mind what\n these people say. I was converted in the days of Dr. Kidd, of\n Aberdeen, when I was but a child, and two others of my age were\n converted at the same time; and we have all three gone on to this\n day, following the Lamb.'\n\n \"The Lord blesses you amazingly. Surely you will need to 'walk\n circumspectly,' 'sober, vigilant,' for Satan will not fail to watch\n you, and seek to injure you, that he may injure God's work through\n you. If the way be opened for your revisiting Scotland, many among\n us shall rejoice.\n\n \"Meanwhile, we pray for you, and will not cease. Pray for us still,\n dear brother.\n\n \"Yours truly, in Him 'Whose we are and whom we serve,'\n\n \"ANDREW A. BONAR.\"\n\n [5] The Conversion of Children, by Dr. A. A. Bonar.\n\nBut what makes us to differ from each other? Surely it is simply the\npresence and power of the Holy Spirit in our heart. It is all of free\nsovereign grace and mercy, as Paul says, to the Church at Corinth:\n\n\"By the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed\nupon me was not found vain: but I labored more abundantly than they\nall: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Whether then it\nbe I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXV.\n\nASLEEP IN JESUS.[6]\n\n Asleep in Jesus; blessed sleep,\n From which none ever wakes to weep,\n A calm and undisturbed repose,\n Unbroken by the last of foes.\n\n\"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.\"--Philippians i. 21.\n\n\nOne week ago to-day, and at this hour, we stood in this historic church\nover the precious remains of our dear, departed Elder, James Knowles,\nso kind, so gentle, so affectionate, so humble, and so meek in his\nmanners that we greatly miss him in our work for the blessed Master.\nAh! little did we then think that we were to be so speedily gathered\ntogether to pay the last tribute of respect to the memory of his\nfaithful and loving wife. But God's ways are not our ways, nor His\nthoughts as our thoughts. How inexplicable and profoundly mysterious\nare His providential arrangements. It hath pleased our kind heavenly\nFather to say to our sainted sister, \"It is enough, come up higher.\"\nShe also is at rest with her Saviour and her husband, to whom she was\nso devotedly attached. She was, indeed, a virtuous wife and loving\nmother.\n\n \"The race appointed she has run,\n The combat's o'er, the prize is won.\"\n\n [6] The substance of a sermon preached by the Rev. Duncan McNeill\n Young, in the Allen Street Presbyterian Church, New York,\n November 1, 1886, on the occasion of the death of Mrs. James\n Knowles, a city missionary who triumphantly departed this life on\n October 30, 1886, in the seventy fifth year of her age.\n\nHow blessed the change! How rich the reward! How safe from all sin and\nsorrow! In yonder \"land of pure delight where saints immortal reign.\"\n_What a meeting! What a greeting takes place at the hour of dissolution!_\nHow pleasing the contemplation. How inspiring to think of our noble\nancestors; our holy ministers and teachers; our fathers and mothers who\nled us by the hand to the house of God on the Sabbath, who early taught\nus to lisp the ever precious name of Jesus; who are to-day singing the\nsong of Moses and the Lamb. Let us thank God at this solemn hour, even\namid blinding tears, for pious, praying parents.\n\nOh, that the Holy Spirit of God may touch our hearts to-day; that we\nmay more fully realize the greatness and importance of our work, and\nthat we may understand that this second great loss to this church is\nthe voice of the God of Israel calling us, by the solemn dispensations\nof His providence, to be more zealous in our Saviour's cause. Clarify\nour vision just now, O Thou Divine Enlightener, that we may see light\nin Thy light.\n\nI truly believe my theme to-day is a gift from the Lord, the God of\nAbraham, and is peculiarly appropriate for this solemn scene, and\nadapted to the circumstances and special wants of this church and\ncongregation. \"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His\nsaints.\" The text, I may add, has been graphically illustrated in the\nlife and labors, as well as in the death of her who now lies before us\nin that beautiful casket, covered with so many rich and fragrant\nflowers, the gifts of dearly beloved friends.\n\nWhile I do not believe in eulogizing the dead, yet, nevertheless, I\nthink, nay, I experimentally know, that great good is derived from\nreflection upon the lives of the great, the pure, and the noble ones\nwho are beyond the flood. Nothing stimulates me so much to increased\nactivity and aggressiveness in Christian work as the thought of the\nnumerous servants of the Most High God now in heaven:\n\n \"How bright those glorious spirits shine,\n Whence all their white array?\n How came they to the blissful seats\n Of everlasting day?\"--\"Par.\" lxvi. 1.\n\nPaul, who uttered the words of our text, was passing through great\nsuffering when he wrote this epistle to the Church which he planted at\nPhilippi. He was at this time a prisoner for Christ in the palace of the\nimperial city of Rome: for he declares, \"That _the things that happened\nunto me_, have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the Gospel; so\nthat,\" he adds, \"my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and\nin all other places.\"\n\nThere are just two thoughts that we want to try and develop this\nafternoon, namely, that conformity to the likeness of Christ in life\nbrings glorious gain to the Christian at death. Or, in the words of the\ngreat Apostle of the Gentiles, \"For to me to live is Christ, and to die\nis gain.\" From the sacred hour that the blessed Jesus met him on his\nway to Damascus, to the day of his martyrdom, his continual cry was,\n\"God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of the Lord Jesus\nChrist, by whom the world is crucified unto me.\" \"I count all things\nbut loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.\"\n\n\"That man,\" says the Hebrew bard, \"hath perfect blessedness, who not\nonly refraineth from walking astray, but who delights in the Law of the\nLord.\" _Lex rex_, was his motto--\"The Law is King!\" For the Master has\nsaid: \"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I\nam not come to destroy, but to fulfil.\" He desires to corroborate the\nfact that--\"Ye are the light of the world\"--hence, he adds, \"Let your\nlight so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and\nglorify your Father which is in heaven.\" \"The city set on a hill cannot\nbe hid.\"\n\nThe true Christian, then, beholds the humility and majesty of Christ in\ndefining His and our relation to the law that regulates daily life. The\nGospel of the blessed God and the law conjointly elevates and\nspiritualizes humanity. The law is our school-master to lead us to\nChrist, hence Paul says, \"To be carnally minded is death; but to be\nspiritually minded is life and peace. For what the law could not do, in\nthat it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the\nlikeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that\nthe righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not\nafter the flesh, but after the Spirit.\"\n\nOur loved one's life was emphatically a life of consecration. It was a\nlife strictly devoted to the cause of her dear Redeemer. \"For her to\nlive was Christ, hence to die was gain.\" We all know that to consecrate\nis to set apart for holy service. Aaron of old was thus unreservedly\nlaid upon the altar as a living sacrifice for Jehovah. A person thus\nset apart receives the unction of the Holy One. It was beautifully\nsymbolized under the mosaical dispensation.\n\nMoses took the anointing oil and poured it upon the head of Aaron, in\norder that he might be sanctified and set apart for the service of God.\nAnd so, when we can truly exclaim with Paul, \"I am crucified with\nChrist: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the\nlife which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of\nGod, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.\" It is then we receive the\nblessed baptism of the Holy Spirit, and are made meet for the Master's\nuse. None can rightly live for Christ until they receive this rich and\ninestimable blessing. \"At that time we are _sealed_ with the Holy Spirit\nof promise.\"\n\nAmong the personal property of Sister Knowles were found some crumbs\nwhich fell from the Master's table in the form of forget-me-nots of the\nWord of God, by Dr. McDuff, author of \"Morning and Night Watches.\"\nValuable little works which I would earnestly recommend, and which I\nhave endeavored to put into the hands of many young disciples in my\nvarious fields of labor. I will quote a few of the forget-me-nots, as\nthey are very comforting in these hours of sorrow and separation. For\ninstance here are a few of them:\n\n\"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I\nwill strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee\nwith the right hand of my righteousness.\"--Isa. xli. 10. \"Yet will I not\nforget thee: Even to your old age _I am He_; and even to hoar hairs will\nI carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will\ndeliver you.\"--Isa. xlvi. 4.\n\nOur dear Sister Knowles corroborated the truthfulness of the above\npassages by her last dying words, the last she ever uttered upon earth.\n\"Once I was young, now I am old, and have never been forsaken.\"\n\nIt is impossible for us to live a truly devoted Christian life without\nthe presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, John said, \"I\nindeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after\nme is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall\nbaptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.\" This divine blessing\nour dear sister pre-eminently possessed.\n\nThis was the reason why Christ, our ever adorable Redeemer and Daysman\nwas continually about His Father's business. The Prophet Isaiah said\nconcerning him: \"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the\nLord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath\nsent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the\ncaptives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.... To\ncomfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to\ngive unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the\ngarment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be\ncalled trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that _He\nmight be glorified_.\"\n\nThe presence here to-day, in a body, of the \"New York Female Bible\nReaders' Society,\" out of respect to the memory of the departed, is a\nconclusive evidence of the fact that they recognized her sterling\nqualities, and her heroic missionary spirit among the fallen sons and\ndaughters of Adam in the lower part of this great city. They fully\nrealize that this church and community have suffered a severe loss in\nher removal, and their presence, together with so many elders, and\nministers, deacons, and Sabbath-school workers, give proof that her\nlife, for over a quarter of a century, during which she incessantly\ntoiled for Christ, were years of holy and unremitting industry, and\nholy consecration in the service of Him whose whole life was one of\nself-sacrifice and self-abnegation. \"For He came not to be ministered\nunto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.\"\n\nShe was like Christ in this respect. Emptied of self, and was found\nlike Mary of old sitting at the feet of Jesus, and hearing His word. As\nHe said, \"Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall\nfind rest unto your souls.\"\n\nGod has wisely ordained that souls are to be saved through human\ninstrumentality, especially through those whose hearts are in the work.\nHe hath put the treasure in the earthen vessel that the excellency of\nthe power may be of God and not of man. Who can estimate the value of a\nholy missionary woman's work in this world of sin and sorrow?\n\nThrough the power of an indwelling spirit, who can tell of the many\nbroken hearts healed by the application of the Balm of Gilead. Many\npoor Satan-bound souls have had their shackles severed, and joyously\nset at liberty by pointing them to the only Redeemer of God's elect,\nwho by His great atoning work hath paid for them the ransom price; and\nmany to-day are singing the song of Redeeming love above, who were led\nto put their trust in the blessed Jesus by her prayers and religious\ninstruction. Many a poor Jew, and Jewess, and Roman Catholic, and\nFormalist, and Infidel, and swearer, and Sabbath-breaker, were pointed\nby her to the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. She\never displayed great sagacity in every kind of work. She will be\ngreatly missed in the Tenth Ward of this city.\n\nGod grant that as the spirit of Elijah did rest on Elisha as he was\ntaken up into Heaven, even so may her mantle fall on us who are left\nbehind. Let us\n\n \"With zeal like hers inspired,\n Begin the Christian race;\n And freed from each encumbering weight,\n Her holy footsteps trace.\"\n\nKrummacher, of Elberfeld, in the valley of Barmen, Prussia, said, \"That\nElisha on inheriting this mantle is henceforth called to take the place\nof his great Master, and to carry on His work.\" This singular legacy\nwas therefore very significant to Elisha. The mantle came flying toward\nhim heavily laden, but with the commission he received was connected\nthe encouraging circumstance that it came accompanied with such a\nprecious memorial of his paternal Master. It was no longer the robe of\nhis redoubted reformer, but the robe of a blessed heir of Heaven, borne\nthither on the wings of the cherubin. This circumstance would tend to\n_refresh his spirit in his arduous work_; and, at the same time as\nthe messenger of peace, who was to announce to the house of Israel,\nlike the rainbow after the storm, Jehovah's good-will toward men. Oh,\nthat the remembrance of our ancestors, the great, and the good, and the\nholy ones who have gone before would inspire us to go and do likewise!\n\nI remember once standing in the cemetery of Stirling and gazing upon\nthe monument of two Christian sisters who suffered martyrdom for\nChrist, and as I read the inscription on the tombstone, I thought of\nhow much we were indebted to those who have borne the burden and heat\nof the day.\n\nHere is the inscription: \"Margaret, Virgin Martyr of the Ocean Wave,\nwith her like-minded sister, Agnes.\" Then follows this touching\nparagraph: \"Love, many waters cannot quench. God saves His chaste,\nimpearled one! In Covenant true. Oh, Scotia's daughters! _earnest scan_\nthe Page and prize this flower of Grace, _blood-bought_ for\nyou.\"--Psalms ix. xix. The elder and younger sister are exquisitely\nsculptured, seated together with an open Bible on their laps, and a lamb\nby their side, while an angel is standing behind them gazing intently on\nthe scene. Who can tell but the departed one gazed upon this very scene\nin the days of her sunny childhood, for the Bible was her daily delight.\n\nAh! dear friends, are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to\nminister to them who are heirs of salvation? And are there not many\nliving martyrs that the world knows nothing of among our Bible Readers\nin this city, who are saying as Paul did: \"What mean ye to weep and to\nbreak mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die\nat Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord Jesus.\"--Acts xxi. 13.\n\nA French gentleman, a Roman Catholic, who lived in the same house as\nsister Knowles for several years, told me that he never met a woman so\nhumble and straightforward as she was in all her deportment.\n\nWhat was the secret of her power in eliciting this outside testimony?\nShe had companionship with Jesus. She lived near Him; she heard His\nsweet voice saying: \"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man\nhear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup\nwith him, and he with me.\"\n\nThe holy McCheyne, of St. Peter's, Dundee, Scotland, says, concerning\nthose who walk with Christ on earth, \"That they shall walk with Christ\nin white, for they are worthy.... Never forget, dear brethren, that you\nare to walk with Christ. This walk expresses the most real intimacy\nwith _Him_. You know it is a mark of real intimacy to admit one to\nwalk with us in our solitary rambles. Oh, walk with Him now; walk here\nwith Him, and you shall soon put your head where John put his.\"\n\nShe cultivated a firm and unstaggering confidence in the continued\npresence of the Holy Spirit in her heart. McCheyne's directions to his\nflock was, \"Pray for the Holy Spirit to uphold you, if sensible of your\nweakness; then lean upon this proved Comforter.... _Pray much for this\nComforter that He may enlighten your mind, that He may fill your hearts.\nOh, pray for the Spirit of God, for there is no other way of walking to\nheaven but by the Spirit. Let Him lead you._ My dear brethren, _in this\nway, and in this way alone, will you not defile your garments_.\" \"Thy\nSpirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.\"--Psalm cxliii.\n10. She had faith in the power of the Comforter, or helper.\n\nIn the midst of many privations, and sometimes when the week's earnings\nof her husband was small, and he would say to her on the Saturday\nevening, \"I have not much money for you to-night,\" she would cheerfully\nreply: \"Never mind dearest, the Lord will provide.\" Jehovah-jireh! was\nher watchword all through her life. She would remark, \"That would go\nfurther to them with God's blessing, than three times as much without\nHis blessing.\"\n\nEarthly comforts and pleasures might fail, but the joys that spring\nfrom personal piety and firm faith in the Comforter's presence failed\nher never. She seemed to fully realize the potency of the prophet's\nwords, \"Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be\nin the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall\nyield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there\nshall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will\njoy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He\nwill make my feet like hinds' feet.\"--Hab. iii. 17-19.\n\nShe evidently found in the mighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, an\ninexhaustible source of strength and comfort and consolation through\nher child-like trust in the immutable promise, \"I will never leave thee\nnor forsake thee.\"\n\nConformity to the character of Christ was an essential element in her\nevery-day life. She had cares, difficulties, and trials, but she cast\nthem all upon the great burden-bearer, hence prevailing prayer was ever\nher chief delight. It is no misplaced and extravagant exaggeration to\nsay that she breathed the very atmosphere of prayer. This is the wisest\nresource at all times. Like Elijah on the summit of Mount Carmel, where\nall is peaceful and solitary, alone with God, she made her requests\nknown unto Him. It was then that the peace of God which passeth all\nunderstanding, kept her heart and mind through Christ Jesus.--Phil. iv.\n6-7.\n\nOh, who can fully estimate the excellency of a devotional temperament?\nWhat evils we are delivered from! What mercies we receive! What\ngladness of heart! What light is imparted! What strength God bestows!\nFor, has He not promised, \"Ask, and ye shall receive?\" She had no\ndoubts concerning the faithfulness of her Father to answer prayer. It\nwas through her importunate pleadings at the throne of grace that her\nonly son, when quite young, was led to see his need of Jesus. And what\njoy was brought into the hearts of those parents when, at the return of\nthe father from the prayer-meeting, they found their child on his knees\ncrying for God to have mercy on his soul. Over such scenes as this the\nholy angels delight to bend their bright wings and make joyous music in\nheaven. (See Luke xv. 10.)\n\nOn one occasion during the fratricidal war in this country, when her\nboy was fighting before Richmond, some one brought her word that he was\nmortally wounded on the battle-field, for they had seen his name in the\nnewspapers, she calmly and trustfully replied: \"Not my son; for I have\nmade him the subject of earnest prayer, that his young life may be\nguarded by God while in his country's battles for continued liberty and\nindependence.\" She recognized the truth that piety and patriotism are\ninseparably connected.\n\nShe seemed to realize that the Saviour was always at her side. She\nwalked by faith and not by sight. She understood the distinction between\nthe constituents of faith and the consequences of faith. Chalmers wisely\nremarks--that the gratitude, the love, the disposition toward new\nobedience; these are not the ingredients of faith; they are but the\neffects of it. Observe what follows by making them the ingredients. By\nfaith we are said to be justified; but if our piety toward God, or our\ndesire to conform to His law, or any moral characteristic whatever,\nshall be regarded as parts and constituents of this faith; then, under\nthe consciousness of our sad deficiency, we shall never attain to the\nsolid peace of one who rejoices in a firm sense of his acceptance with\nGod. But reduce faith to its simplicity, take it in the obvious and\nuncompounded sense which _you attach to the mere act of believing,\nregard it as purely giving credit to God's testimony, when he sets forth\nChrist as a propitiation for our sin, and invites one and all in the\nworld to cast upon Him the burden of their reliance, and then see how,\nby immediate transition, one might enter into peace, and become a\nconfiding, tranquillized, and happy creature_, simply because convinced\nthat the most powerful of beings, whom he aforetime regarded as an enemy\nand an avenger is pacified toward him, and now makes him a free proffer\nof fellowship and forgiveness. It is of the greatest importance to the\nsecure and perfect establishment of a believer's peace, that it should\nbe a matter of believing, and believing only. It is also an imperative\nnecessity that the comfort and confidence should spring from the proper\nobject of belief, which is the sureness of God's own testimony, and not\nfrom the consciousness of love or gratitude, or any moral quality in\nourselves!\n\nI heard Dr. Andrew Bonar, while preaching in Philadelphia, during a\nvisit to this country, tell about a dying elder who was asked by\nfriends who clustered around his couch, \"How do you feel, now that the\nhour of your departure has come, and you hear the voice that calls you\nhome? Have you still joy and peace?\"\n\n\"Oh,\" he said, \"I am not thinking about joy or peace, or my feelings. I\nam not thinking about myself at all. I am just lying here _thinking\nabout Christ_. I am thinking about what He has done and suffered for\nme; and what He is doing for me in heaven. Yes, He is 'a hiding place\nfrom the wind.'\n\n \"'Rock of ages cleft for me,\n Let me hide myself in thee.'\n\n\"That is what we have to do in life and in death. Where can we find\nrest and refuge in a dying hour, but by thinking upon and trusting in\n_Him_ who is 'the shadow of a great rock in a weary land?'\"\n\nOur peace, our joy, our hope, our all in life and in death, are the\nresults of confidence in Christ. Our dear, departed sister had heard\nthe sweet voice of Jesus saying, \"I am the dark world's light; come\nunto me, thy morn shall rise and all thy day be bright.\" Her trust was\nnot in this vain and transitory world, though smiling and fair, she\ntrusted not His joy, for sorrow was there. Her faith had found an\nanchor--a sure abiding home; she had a strong consolation because she\nhad fled for refuge and had laid hold of the hope set before her in the\nGospel.\n\nThe sweet and tender and loving words of John were ever present to her\near: \"If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have\nfellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son\ncleanseth us from all sin.\" Hence she continually enjoyed four precious\nelements of spiritual life and Christian experience; viz., Union with\nGod, Communion with Christ, Pure Fellowship with the Saints, and\nConstant Cleansing by the peace-speaking blood of Jesus--\"That blood\nwhich speaketh better things than the blood of Abel.\"\n\nThe application to your hearts of the blood of Jesus by the Holy Spirit\nis like the dew upon the new mown grass.\n\nAmid the great rush and roar of business, where men are pressing\nagainst each other on the busy streets, in the race for gold, her mind\nwas constantly occupied with thoughts relative to the wants and woes of\nthe sick and the dying. While others were daily seeking their own, not\nthe things of Christ, she was found bringing children to the\nSabbath-school--reaching out to the hearts of the parents through the\nlittle ones--bringing the blessed Bible to the bosoms of the homes\nwhich had none; circulating tracts and religious literature; visiting\nsad scenes of distressing spiritual and domestic destitution. And\nwhatsoever her hands found to do, she did it quietly and\nunostentatiously, and unreservedly, knowing full well, \"That there is\nno work, nor device, nor knowledge in the grave whither we goeth.\" She\nsweetly rests from her labors, and her works do follow her. And as the\nGospel of the grace of God was in her a well of water, out of the\nabundance of her heart, so kind, calm, consistent, and courageous,\nthere constantly flowed streams of living water of earnest, loving,\nprayerful toil in the Master's vineyard.\n\nShe gathered daily jewels for the crown of her rejoicing. I have found\nin her diary, that this was the aim of her whole life.\n\nCompanionship with Christ is constantly manifested by love for the Holy\nScriptures. \"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask\nwhat ye will, and it shall be done unto you.\" The will of Jesus is made\nknown through His word. When the blessed Master was in Capernaum, His\nown city, He declared that it was the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh\nprofiteth nothing: \"The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit,\nand they are life.\"--John vi. 63.\n\nThere is sunshine and beauty in His words. They are practical\nprinciples for the regulation of life, and a humble, holy walk and\nconversation is the product. It is in His word we behold the character\nof Jesus. In the Mirror of the glad tidings, we behold His lovely\ncountenance and are changed into the same image, from glory to glory.\nIt is no wonder that David exclaimed, \"The entrance of Thy word giveth\nlight.\" Hence the exhortation of Paul to Timothy, \"Preach the Word.\"\nOh, the intrinsic value of the Word of God. It was because of Christ's\nown word that the Samaritans believed on Him, notwithstanding the\nprejudice they entertained against the Jews and their religion.\n\nAlas! how many professing Christians make shipwreck of faith because\nthey neglect to read the Word. Christ is the Word. \"This is that bread\nwhich came down from heaven. He that eateth my flesh shall live\nforever.\"\n\nWhat Matthew Henry says of his father at his funeral, may be said with\nreference to the dear one who has just left us for the mansions above.\nLet us then, as ever we hope to meet her with joy in the other world,\n_follow her with diligence now_. Having begun \"in the spirit,\" let us\nnot \"end in the flesh,\"--having laid our hands \"on the plough,\" let us\nnot \"look back,\" lest our latter end be worse than our beginning.\n\n_Being dead, she yet speaks to us to be loving and helpful to one\nanother._ Her common and undistinguished love to us all was such that it\ncould never be said which of us she loved the best, and it speaks to us,\nnow that she is gone, to \"_love one another with a pure heart\nfervently_.\" We know very well that our unity was the joy of her heart\nwhile living, and many a time she hath with us blessed God for it. Let\nit, therefore, be to the credit and honor of her family, friends, and\nthe Church, for I find it was her dying prayer for this church and its\nminister, not only that we may be _built up in holiness and comfort_,\nbut that we may be _continued in brotherly love_, and be _a bundle of\narrows which cannot be broken_.\n\nNow that we have lost her who was wont to pray for us, and to be a\ncommon helper to us, let us pray so much the more one for another, and\nbe so much the more helpful one to another, especially in the things\nthat pertain to the kingdom of heaven; and let all our bonds of unity\nbe strengthened and confirmed, and let it be our constant endeavor,\neach of us in our place, to be mutually serviceable to each other's\ncomfort and welfare, and _jointly serviceable to the glory of God and\nto the comfort of the Church_, for Christ loved the Church, and gave\nHimself for the Church.\n\nWhen we unbosom ourselves, He lets His love stream richly and\ngloriously into our hearts. From day to day, our sister seemed to\nrealize how strongly and truly Christ loved the Church, and herself, as\nan individual member of it. The sacrificial death of the Saviour was to\nher not simply an historical fact, but a living reality. The sweet\npeace and pure pleasure she daily enjoyed was the result of His death.\nFor, \"He hath made peace through the blood of His cross.\" And since He\nhad made her the happy recipient of His grace, it was her daily delight\nto walk in the path of obedience. Christ was to her the door of\nsalvation, and she went in and out and found pasture, in ministering to\nthe poor and indigent and dying, and in this line of Christian toil she\npossessed a remarkable faculty.\n\nShe told me on one occasion, during one of my pastoral visits, that she\nvisited a dying woman and endeavored to point her to Jesus. And when a\nclergyman of the Church of Rome, who happened to be present, was\nretiring, she suggested that they should have a word of prayer\ntogether. He replied, \"That while he enjoyed her religious\nconversation, he could not pray with her, as she did not belong to his\nchurch.\"\n\nAt this remark she was deeply affected, and said, with great emphasis\nand deep solemnity: \"I thought there was but one fold and one\nshepherd.\"\n\nWhen she sent around, or rather, came herself for me, to the church on\nFriday, the prayer-meeting night, to come and see her dear dying\nhusband, she seemed to be troubled when I asked him, \"Are you still\ntrusting in Jesus?\" as I observed he was rapidly sinking, I put the\nquestion that I might employ his blessed testimony for my own good, and\nthe good of the congregation. He quickly responded very emphatically in\nthe affirmative, \"Yes! yes!\" and I think those were the last audible\nwords he uttered. But she was troubled because she had such faith in\nthe consistency of the Christian life of her husband, that she knew\nfull well that he feared no evil, for Christ was with him.\n\nOh, how tenderly and lovingly she would step up to his bed-side and\nkiss his heated brow. When he became unconscious or rather, when his\nspeech failed him and he would point to his parched lips to have them\nmoistened, she would tearfully exclaim, \"My dear, dear husband, can you\nnot speak to me? Have you not a word for Esther? My dear husband, how\ncan I live without you?\"\n\nI endeavored to console her on the sorrowful occasion, until after\nmidnight, by reading the Scriptures, and prayer, and general\nconversation about heavenly things, and more especially the precious\npromises of Jesus concerning the many mansions, I remember reading 2\nCorinthians, v. 1: \"We know that if our earthly house of this\ntabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made\nwith hands, eternal in the heavens.\"\n\nAbout midnight she became perfectly resigned to the will of God, and\nfelt that life, even amid affliction, is the gift of God, and is a\nvaluable endowment.\n\nIn this she was like Christ, \"For me to live is Christ,\" seemed to be\nher motto to the last. I left the house about two in the morning. I\ncalled again between eight and nine A.M., the same day, after her\nhusband's death, to see how she was bearing her trouble. But oh, how\nchanged! Her tears were all dried; and as she sat by the bedside where\nher husband suffered his last illness, her countenance wore an\nexpression of perfect peace and Christian fortitude. Like her Saviour\namid the hoary olives of Gethsemane, she could tranquilly exclaim:\n\"Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done!\"\n\nThe first words she uttered when I entered the room were: \"My dear\nhusband has gone to glory.\" These words were uttered very quietly, and\nvery solemnly. Ah, little did she think that in just one week and two\nhours from that time, she also was to pass away from earth to heaven,\n\"To see the King in his beauty, and be forever with the Lord.\"\n\nThe Saturday night after her husband's death, she went to the store for\nsome groceries. It was the usual custom for her husband, when he would\nhear the door open, to go down-stairs and carry the basket up for her;\nshe remarked, when she returned home and experienced his absence for\nthe first time, \"No Papa to come and carry up the basket to-night!\" How\nquickly she remembered this little act of courtesy and kindness on his\npart. \"He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful in\nmuch.\" Gratitude to God and one another for little deeds of kindness is\nwell-pleasing in His sight.\n\nShe fed the hungry and clothed the naked; many a loaf of bread she\ncarried with her own hands to the necessitous. Many a poor, crying,\nshivering, half-clad child was comfortably clothed through her\ninstrumentality: \"He that honoreth Him hath mercy on the poor.\"--Prov.\nxiv. 31. \"The poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.\"\nShall the Christian's remembrance of these words be overlooked in the\ngreat day of reckoning? Will the dear Lord not recognize even a cup of\ncold water given in the name of a disciple? Verily it shall in no wise\nlose its reward. To care for the poor is practical Christianity. The\nquestion will not be asked in the great day of account: Did you preach\nlong, deep, and eloquent sermons? Or offer long and pharisaical\nprayers? No. But He will \"say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye\nblessed.\" Why? \"Inherit the kingdom.... For I was an hungred, and ye\ngave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger and\nye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me:\nI was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer\nHim, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or\nthirsty, and gave thee drink?... And the King shall answer and say unto\nthem, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of\nthe least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.\"\n\nAs Christian workers we have constantly to remember that while we are\njustified by our faith here, and now, we will be judged by our works,\nyonder.\n\nHenry Law, in \"Christ is All,\" wisely remarks that, \"Fruit is the sign\nof healthy trees, and so works evidence that we have life.\" \"By their\nfruits ye shall know them.\" \"Whoso hath this world's good, and seeth\nhis brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from\nhim, how dwelleth the love of God in him?\"\n\n * * * * * *\n\nTO DIE IS GAIN.\n\nHow frail, how short, how uncertain is human life. \"Man that is born of\na woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a\nflower, and is cut down.\"--Job xiv. 1. \"As for man, his days are as\ngrass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind\npasseth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no\nmore.\"--Ps. ciii. 15-16.\n\n\"All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of\ngrass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away, but\nthe Word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the Word which by\nthe Gospel is preached unto you.\"--1 Pet. i. 24-25.\n\nThese very solemn passages of Scripture reveal to us two distinct lines\nof thought: First, The mutable; and, secondly, the immutable. If a man\ndie, shall he live again? Ah, it is here, amid the ravages which death\nmakes, that we hear Christ's blessed words, \"I am the resurrection and\nthe life; he that believeth on me though he were dead, yet shall he\nlive.\"\n\nWhile it is true that this body must droop and die, and return to dust,\nyet death cannot touch the soul. It is immortal, it has been created in\nthe image of God. He is a spirit, and a spirit is indestructible. The\nessence of the soul is spiritual. From the hour of the new birth, the\nsoul of man begins to ripen for glory. All its powers and capacities\nare gradually developed and made meet for the inheritance of the saints\nin light.\n\nThis preparation for Heaven is the work of the Holy Spirit. By\nprovidences, by sermons, by the word of truth, and by prayer, God\nprepares His servants for the heavenly home on high. Looking, then, at\nthis life as a state of danger, difficulties, and trials--a life of\nprobation--we must say with Paul, that when the great conflict is over,\n\"To die is gain.\" \"The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a\ngood fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:\nhenceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the\nLord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day.\"\n\nBut remember he said, _now I am ready to be_ offered.\n\nIt is only when we are ready to be offered, that to die will be gain.\nOh, are you ready? Jesus says, \"be ye also ready.\"\n\nThere are some here, perhaps, who are still unsaved, unprepared for\ndeath. Oh, if God should call for you to-day, where would your soul go?\nYou know that God out of Christ is a consuming fire. It will not be\ngain for you when you die, unless you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.\nOh, come to Him while it is the accepted time, and the day of\nsalvation.\n\nThere is no time to be lost in this important matter, for death is upon\nour track. While God invites how blest the day. While the Holy Spirit\nis speaking and saying, \"Prepare to meet thy God.\" Oh, resist not\nentreaties, yield to His power. How is it possible for a soul to be\nready for death, and judgment, and a coming eternity, without\nconversion?\n\n\"Verily, verily,\" said Jesus to Nicodemus, \"I say unto thee, Except a\nman be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.\" \"Except ye be\nconverted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the\nKingdom of Heaven.\" How is it possible for any to be ready to meet God\nin peace unless they are washed in Christ's blood, and clothed in His\nspotless and justifying righteousness.\n\nPaul said, \"To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.\"\nThere are some, however, who do not believe this comforting doctrine.\nThey debar the Christian from the enjoyments of Heaven during the\nintermediate state between the hour of death and the resurrection. This\ncondition they call the unconscious state of the dead. They are\nsoul-sleepers, and generally believe in the pernicious error, namely,\nthe annihilation of the wicked. A pleasing thought no doubt to the\nworkers of iniquity, as they shall escape the punishment due to their\niniquities. This is about as dangerous a doctrine as the new school\ntheology of reformatory punishment, namely, that God is so good and so\nfull of universal benevolence, that He cannot consistently, with His\nattribute of mercy, consign His creatures to everlasting punishment. It\nis true that God is full of love and tender mercy; but He never appeared\nas a merciful God excepting through a mediator. He can only be just, and\nthe justifier of those alone who believe in Jesus. \"Neither is there\nsalvation in any other, for there is no other name given under Heaven or\namong men whereby we can be saved, but by the name of Jesus.\" To those,\nwe believe, He is precious at the hour of death. It is then the believer\nis ushered into the presence of the King eternal, immortal, and\ninvisible. In view of the greatness and glory of the transition from\nearth to Heaven, the Apostle exclaimed, \"I have a desire to depart and\nto be with Christ, which is far better.\" For it is _then_ that we really\nbegin to live; now we see through a glass darkly; now we know only in\npart, but then, oh, what a change, \"Beyond the smiling and the weeping.\"\n\n\"Let not your heart be troubled,\" said Jesus; \"in my Father's house are\nmany mansions, if it were not so I would have told you, I go to prepare\na place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come\nagain and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be\nalso.\" It is for these mansions we were begotten. \"Heirs to an\ninheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, and fadeth not away.\"\n\nSister Knowles had the blest assurance of this Heavenly home, she knew\nthis assurance was attainable, and on earth she enjoyed it, and now she\nis reaping the rich reward, and its innumerable and unutterable\nadvantages. In her dying hour she could triumphantly exclaim, with\nSimeon in the temple, \"Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,\nfor mine eyes have seen thy salvation.\" And, like Moses, her eye was\nnot dimmed, nor her natural force abated. Oh! the gain, the bliss of\nthus dying.\n\nHeaven as our home is worthy our deepest contemplation. \"It doth not\nyet appear what we shall be.\" It is a place of perfect rest. Oh, how\ncomforting is this thought to the poor, way-worn, toiling pilgrim.\n\n Oh, land of rest for thee I sigh!\n\nThe important discovery of this land of rest will nerve our arm for the\ngreat conflict of life. It will inspire us to work more earnestly and\nmore incessantly for Jesus. It will sweeten every bitter cup of trial\nand tribulation that we have to encounter here below. It will distil a\ndesire and a loftiness of aim in life, that we may at last reach the\nrest that remains for the people of God. The struggle with inbred sin\nwill be more easily overcome, and every lust and evil passion will be\ncompletely conquered by keeping the eye steadily fixed on those\nglittering mansions,\n\n Where the wicked cease from troubling,\n And the weary are at rest.\n\nChrist Himself will administer this rest to the believer in the\nHeavenly Kingdom. Just as He is the source of peace and quiet here on\nearth, so is He at this moment surrounded with the saints triumphant in\nglory, imparting perpetual peace in the paradise of God to all the\nbright spirits who loved Him on earth, and kept His commandments.\nYonder they enjoy eternal Sabbathism.\n\nLet us fear, therefore, lest haply a promise being left of entering\ninto rest, any of you should seem to come short of it through unbelief.\nFor indeed we have good tidings preached unto us, and we which believe\ndo enter into that rest.\n\nAlford, in speaking of the rest on earth that resembles the rest of\nHeaven, says: \"Our Lord does not promise (here below) freedom from toil\nor burdens, but rest to the soul.\" The rest and joy of the Christian\nsoul is to become like Christ. To the young men, who surrounded her\ndying couch, she said: \"_Avoid bad company, learn of Christ_; seek to be\nlike Him, little by little.\" It is no wonder King David said, \"As for me\nI will behold Thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I\nawake with Thy likeness.\"\n\nBut we are to behold the royal dignity of the Redeemer, and be brought\nforth into a large place because He delighted in us. Yes! to die is\ngain. Oh! wondrous change: To behold His illimitable power and partake\nof His consummate wisdom and knowledge. One thing have I desired of the\nLord, that will I seek after; \"that I may dwell in the house of the\nLord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to\ninquire in His temple, for in the time of trouble He shall hide me in\nHis pavilion. The Christian is secure at death; he has a building of\nGod, an house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens.\"\n\nHere we have a continual conflict; but yonder we are made more than\nconquerors through Him who loved us. Here we are sinful and\nshort-sighted; but yonder we shall partake of His perfect holiness and\ninexhaustible love and Divine penetration in the Heavenly Kingdom. Yes\nto die is infinite gain.\n\nThe spiritual enjoyment of the soul in the land of light is\nindescribable. \"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered\ninto the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that\nlove Him.\" Yonder you shall behold the glory of God in the face of\nJesus Christ.\n\nYou know this was a portion of the parting prayer of Jesus for His\ndisciples. He said: \"Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast\ngiven me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory.\" There\nis but a step between us and it. There is but a thin veil that parts us\nfrom the beatic vision of the blest.\n\nI once entered the beautiful harbor of Cronstadt, in Russia, and I\ndistinctly remember that the entrance was so narrow and land-locked,\nthat we could scarcely discern its precise location until we had\nsuddenly entered it. The passage from earth to Heaven is not unlike the\nending of the voyage of a ship, even although many of them reach the\nharbor in a dismantled condition. Many a storm has been encountered,\nand while sails have been torn to shreds, yet the gallant bark has\noutweathered the gale and has escaped rocks, and quicksands, and\nwhirlpools of destruction. But now the gale is hushed forever, the\nsails are all furled, the anchor is cast out, and she rides securely in\nthe harbor where storms cannot affright. Glorious port of peace! Oh,\nblessed and triumphant entry! To go no more out forever; where the Lamb\nwhich is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and lead them unto\nliving fountains of water, and God Himself shall wipe away all tears\nfrom their eyes.\n\n Beautiful valley of Eden,\n Sweet is thy noon-tide calm,\n Over the hearts of the weary,\n Breathing thy waves of balm.\n Home of the pure and blest;\n How often amid the wild billows,\n I dream of thy rest, sweet rest.\n\nIt was the glimpse of this rest beyond the river that lit up the pale\ncheek of our dear, dying sister, with seraphic brightness and beauty.\n\n\"All my fountains are in thee,\" said the Psalmist. God is the author of\nholiness. In John's vision of Heaven, he describes the four living\ncreatures, having each of them six wings, round about and within, and\nthey have no rest day and night, saying, \"Holy, holy, holy, Lord God\nAlmighty, which was, and is, and is to come.\"\n\nThe great object therefore of the Gospel of the blessed God is to\ntransform us into the Divine image. Another of our sister's dying\nutterances was very forcible, \"_Now I have got to the edge of the\nriver._\"\n\n \"Only just across the river,\n Over on the other side.\"\n\nWe all with open face beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord,\nare changed into the same image.\n\nIt is thus God's people become meet for the holy inheritance. Here we\nhave to cry out, \"Oh, wretched man, who shall deliver me from the body\nof this death;\" yonder the Spirit's work has gloriously triumphed. The\nbeliever's holiness is effectually accomplished in Heaven. Blessed are\nthey that wash their robes, that they may have the right to come to the\ntree of life and may enter in by the pearly gates into the city.\n\nHeaven is called the land of light. What is light? \"Hail, holy light,\noffspring of Heaven's first-born.\" Light is pure. \"God is light, and in\nHim is no darkness at all. Darkness, in God's Word, is an emblem of\nsin. They love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are\nevil, and every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to\nthe light, lest his deeds should be reproved.\"--John iii. 19-20.\n\nThe more we increase in the likeness of God, the greater and stronger\nwill our light shine in this dark world, and the more will we enjoy\nbasking in the sunshine of the light of His countenance. We are\npartakers _now_ of the Divine nature, but in Heaven we shall continually\nwalk before Him who is the enlightener and the light. Oh, the gain, the\nbliss of dying! For we shall see His face and His name shall be in our\nforeheads.\n\nPaul's prayer for the church at Colosse was \"that they might be filled\nwith the knowledge of His will, increasing in the knowledge of God,\ngiving thanks unto the Father, who made us meet to be partakers of the\ninheritance of the saints in light.\"--Col. i. 12.\n\nOh, that a view of the pure, and the great, and the good ones around\nthe throne may be as a golden chain to bind our hearts to that home\nbeyond the skies, where there is no night, and they need no candle,\nneither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light, and they\nshall reign forever and ever.--Rev. xxii. 5.\n\nDearly beloved, this is the \"Night of Weeping;\" but oh, remember, that\nit is written in His Holy Word that God shall wipe away all tears from\ntheir eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor\ncrying, neither shall there be any more pain.\n\nAs we stand by the bedside of our loved ones, and watch them wasting\naway with disease, and as we behold their love, their patience, and\nChristian fortitude, we think of earth's bitter trials and earthly\nrelationship, and of the strong tie that binds heart to heart. How\ntouching the parting words to her only son she so tenderly loved,\n\"_Be faithful, humble, meek, and constantly keep at the Master's\nfeet, until He calls you up higher. Be kind and gentle to your sister\nEsther._\" To her Pastor she said: \"Preach the Gospel uncolored!\" We\nlook upon the sinking form of a dear wife and mother, or brother, or\nsister, or husband, or friend, and as we sadly muse upon the fact that\nwe held sweet counsel together and walked to the House of God in\ncompany; and we softly whisper to the physician is there no hope of\nrecovery? Can you not save that young and precious life, so dear to us,\nso gentle, so loving, so kind, so sympathetic, so hopeful? And as in\nresponse to our inquiry, we receive the look of pity, and the sorrowful\nshake of the head, it is then, in our deepest agony, amid blinding\ntears, and hearts almost crushed to despair, we turn to our great\nFather above, and we ask, why must we part? Oh, God, can you not spare\nhim? How can I live without him?\n\nProvidential bereavements are sad scenes in life, for the scythe of\ndeath stops not to ask if they be sweet and precious to some fond wife,\nor mother, or brother, who knows? whom their heart chose. On! on! he\npursues his desolating work, amid their sighs, their cries, and tears.\n\nBut beloved, there is no tearing of heart from heart in Heaven. There\nis no death there; there is no sorrow there; there is no sin there. I\noften think of the words of the Apostle as peculiarly appropriate to us\nin the hour of sad bereavement: \"These light afflictions are but for a\nmoment, but they work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal\nweight of glory.\"\n\nI have had persons tell me when God has suddenly removed loved ones\nfrom their midst, that God had forsaken them, that He had forgotten to\nbe gracious. But ah, to such let me say that the Lord loveth whom He\nchasteneth. God is love. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the\nLord pitieth them that fear Him.\n\nBut what is the object God has in view in thus breaking the family\ncircle by death? It is that our attention may be attracted to the\nsaints above, and that we may by faith behold the beauties of the\nCelestial city.\n\nYou know, David says, \"It was good for me that I was afflicted; before\nI was afflicted, I went astray.\" We not unfrequently forget that this\nis not our home. But that we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth.\nGod has to put us in remembrance of it. Beautiful as this world is,\nthere is a fairer and brighter, and infinitely more lovely world above\nour heads. Lovely as human friendships and fellowships are here below,\nwhat are they in comparison to the felicitous condition of society in\nheaven?\n\n \"I would not live alway, I ask not to stay,\n Where storm after storm rises dark o'er the way.\"\n\nThere are no estranged feelings in heaven. There are no\nmisunderstandings there. No sickness there. All, all is peace and joy\nand love!\n\nOur faith in God, and in the existence of Heaven, and the possibilities\nof the future life, can enable us to triumph over the trials and\nbereavements in this vale of tears.\n\nDr. Guthrie asks: \"Why should we not lie as calmly in the arms of God's\nProvidence, as we lay in infancy on a mother's breast? Having an\never-living, an everlasting, an ever-loving Father in God, how may we\nwelcome _all_ providences, sweetly submissive to the will of God. Shall\nit not fare with us as with the pliant reeds that love the hollows and\nfringe the margin of the lake, and bending to the blast, _not resisting\nit_, raise their heads anew, unharmed by the storm that has snapped\nthe mountain's pine and rent the hearts of oaks asunder.\" \"All things\nwork together for good to them that love God; them who are the called\naccording to His purpose.\"\n\nWhen John was in the spirit on the Lord's Day, he heard a great voice\nsaying, \"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto\nthe churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden\nmanna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name\nwritten, which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it.\"\n\nHow can we best overcome the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye,\nand the pride of life but by deep and continued meditation on the\nblessed change that takes place at the hour of death. The shadows of\nearth are instantly dispelled when we set our affections on things\nabove.\n\n\"Who are these arrayed in white robes, and whence came they? These are\nthey who have come out of great tribulation, and have washed their\nrobes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.\" I remember once\nstanding at the grave of Richard Cameron, in Ayrs Moss, and as I read\nthe names of other martyrs engraved on the tomb-stone, I thought of the\ngeneral assembly of the Church of the first-born in Heaven, and as I\nread God's Word there and sang a sweet Psalm of praise to Jehovah, and\noffered a prayer to the Father of lights, the God of Israel, I thought\nof the prayer of Peden, the prophet, as he sat on Cameron's grave.\nLifting up his eyes steadfastly to Heaven, he prayed: \"Oh, to be wi'\nRitchie!\"\n\n \"Often at the shades of evening,\n When I sit me down to rest,\n One by one, I count them over,\n They who are in glory blest.\"\n\nDearly beloved, I have a _Ritchie_[7] in Heaven, for I have recently\nlearned of the death of the spiritual guide of my youth, who, in years\ngone by, at the close of a cottage prayer-meeting, requested me, for the\nfirst time in my life, to speak a word for Jesus. Pulling a flower from\nthe hill-side, he said as he held it up, \"I can see God in that gowan.\"\nTaking me to his room, he said, \"This is my study; these are my books, I\nam going to be a minister of the Gospel, and then go to China.\"\n\n [7] The late Rev. Hugh Ritchie, of Formosa, China.\n\nHanding me a neat, little, precious volume, he said, \"Take this book\nand study it, and commence speaking for Jesus, and help me in my\nmeetings.\" Surely to such to die is gain.\n\nWho; who, would live alway away from his God--away from yonder Heaven,\nthat blissful abode where the noontide of glory eternally reigns, and\nthe smile of the Lord is the feast of the soul?\n\nDearly beloved, we may well ask, \"Who are these arrayed in white\nrobes?\" Oh, what celebrated personages are above! The prophets, the\napostles, the reformers, and the martyrs of Scotland are there. For in\na dream of the night I was wafted away to the moorland and moss, where\nthe martyrs lay. When the minister's home was the mountain and flood.\nWhen they dared not worship God in daylight. Only at the dead of night,\nwhen the wintry winds raved fierce, and the thunder-peal compelled the\nmen of blood to crouch within their den. Then the faithful few--true\nfollowers of the blessed Jesus--would venture forth to some deep dell\nby the rock o'er canopied; then, amid the glare of sheeted lightning,\nthose men of God would open the sacred Book and words of comfort speak.\nAh, it cost something to be a Christian in those days, when from the\nhigh foaming crest of Solway to the smoothly polished breast of Loch\nKatrine, not a river nor a lake but has swelled with the life's tide of\nreligious freedom. From the bonnie highland heather of her lofty\nsummits to the modest gowan on the lea, not a flower but has blushed\nwith the martyr's blood. But, beloved, the blood of the martyrs was the\nseed of the Church. What holy, loving lessons does God teach us by the\nhistory of the true Church, and a thoroughly consecrated\npeople--lessons of love, hope, fortitude, and long-suffering!\n\n \"Oh, Jesus, our Master, command to beat faster\n These weary life-pulses that bring us to Thee.\"\n\nOur dear departed sister had the true missionary spirit. She feared not\nthe things she was called on to suffer for Christ in her great work in\nthis city. Let us who are left behind catch her magnanimous and heroic\ndisposition in working for the blessed Jesus. Oh, that the spirit of our\nnoble ancestry might come upon us! Oh, that the Holy Spirit of God may\nenter into all our hearts to-day, that we may be more humble, more\nloving, more zealous, more sympathetic, and more sincere in our toil for\nChrist and His Church; _then to die will be gain!_ and to Him shall be\nall the glory, world without end. Amen.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVI.\n\nTESTIMONIALS AND LETTERS OF CONDOLENCE.\n\n I've found a Friend; oh, such a Friend!\n So kind, and true, and tender,\n So wise a Counsellor and guide,\n So mighty a Defender!\n From him, who loves me now so well,\n What power my love can sever?\n Shall life, or death, or earth, or hell?\n No, I am his forever.\n\n\nThe following resolutions and letters furnish, in a pre-eminent degree,\nconclusive evidence of the high estimation in which His servant and\nhandmaiden were held by ministers, elders, and Sabbath-school workers\ngenerally:\n\n NEW YORK, January 12, 1869.\n\n MRS. JAMES KNOWLES:\n\n MY DEAR FRIEND--At the Annual Meeting of the Teachers' Association\n of the Sabbath-school of the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, held last\n evening, the following action was taken:\n\n \"On motion, the cordial thanks of this Association are voted to\n Mrs. James Knowles for her faithful labors in behalf of our\n School during the past year.\"\n\n The following extract from the Annual Report was also ordered to be\n forwarded with the foregoing:\n\n \"Mention must be made of one of our own church members, Mrs.\n Knowles, who has labored most devotedly for our School. In\n behalf of the School, the Superintendent would take this way of\n expressing our gratitude for her cheerful, earnest, and\n persevering labor. She has taken a deep interest in our School,\n and has shown it by hard work in its behalf.\"\n\n I am very glad that the pleasant duty of making you acquainted with\n this action has been imposed upon me. Without your help I would\n oftentimes during the past year have been very much discouraged.\n Your readiness for Christian work, and your thoroughness in it,\n have both cheered and satisfied me. May you fully realize the\n promise given to those who are always abounding in the work of the\n Lord. (1 Cor. xv. 58.) And may the present year show us a\n continuance of your willing labors and be marked by a stronger\n faith in expectation and more new-born souls, as your joy and crown\n in realization. (Psalm cxxvi. 5-6.)\n\n Respectfully yours in the Master,\n\n SAMUEL B. W. MCKEE,\n _Superintendent_.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nWhen we take into consideration the time that elapsed between the\npenning of the foregoing resolutions as no vain and unmeaning\ncompliment, and the departure of her concerning whom they were voted\nupon, we are led to see the importance of those words in the Apocalypse:\n\"He that is faithful unto death shall receive a crown of eternal life.\"\nHow significant are the words employed to denote their hearty\nappreciation of her worth. \"We express our gratitude for her _cheerful_,\n_earnest_, and _persevering labor_. She has taken a _deep interest_ in\nour School and has shown it by _hard work_,\" etc.\n\nWe trust that our Sunday-school workers may be greatly encouraged to go\nand do likewise through a careful and prayerful examination of the\nabove communication.\n\nThe following additional affectionate and deeply instructive tribute to\nher worth to the church and Sabbath-school is from one who was her\nbeloved pastor for seven years--years of pure and uninterrupted\nChristian fellowship and disinterested devotedness to the cause of\nChrist.\n\n UTICA, N.Y., November 8, 1886.\n\n REV. DUNCAN M. YOUNG:\n\n DEAR BROTHER--In the removal of Mr. and Mrs. James Knowles _we_\n sustain a personal loss. The fact was unknown to us previous to your\n letter. To enjoy such friendship as they admitted us into from our\n first acquaintance, was not unlike a continuous salutation with the\n impressiveness of an unqualified _good-will_. Heaven is indeed\n richer for their entrance, and by so much is increasingly endeared\n unto us.\n\n They were not time-servers, but, in no mere sentimental sense,\n God-servers. The feverish world, greedy and rushing, will know\n little of their value, nor miss their humble crafts so quickly\n trackless, and yet they really laid the world under obligation. If\n its life, and aim, and effort were not purer and higher, it was in\n spite of their actual godliness, at all times apparent.\n\n My first introduction to Mrs. Knowles was on the first Sabbath in\n February, 1874; also, my first acquaintance with the Allen Street\n Church. Mrs. Knowles was then teaching in the Ludlow Street Mission.\n As a teacher, she was _simple_, _fearless_, and _Scriptural_. Her\n ruling passion, perhaps, was a desire to be useful in some way,\n adjusting herself with good grace to the requirements of advancing\n years. If just a little disturbed at the thought that she must\n contract her labors, or \"hold up\" at some point, the spirit was ever\n the same, perhaps too exacting of a body not excessively vigorous.\n\n As a \"Bible reader\" she did some of her best work, and made her\n greatest sacrifices. Faithfulness characterized her covenant\n relation--seldom absent from the scenes of public worship; and the\n more remarkable in view of her untiring zeal and devotion in her\n specially God-given calling. Many will rise up and call her\n blessed, because, so true of her, \"she went about doing good.\" My\n own indebtedness to her, as a pastor, was great. Her sympathy with\n the ministry seemed innate. Full of faith, and rich in peculiar\n experience, she was the one \"to step in\" at the minister's for a\n half-hour; and here, incidentally, I may say, that her practical\n views of life and knowledge of human ways turned to my advantage on\n repeated occasions, whenever she reported a case as worthy or\n unworthy. When an application for aid or comfort required\n investigation--that is, ultimate cases requiring delicate, careful\n treatment, often impossible for the pastor to do--her feminine\n instinct and sagacity of experience took it in hand with a\n readiness that was surprising, in view of her always full hands. A\n gentle, trustful soul, a frank, unwavering friend, a pious, useful\n woman, and a faithful wife and mother, her rest will be sweet.\n\n If the beginning of my acquaintance with her companion dates\n somewhat later, it ripened early, I suppose mutually so, into a\n strong attachment. Integrity of character was my first impression of\n the man; whether an instinct or a judgment, there never was a doubt\n as to its correctness. Strong in faith, also--_the old-time faith_,\n of apostolic color, for he took no pleasure in \"new departures.\"\n Sound in doctrine, fervent in spirit, wise in council, stable in\n action, he was truly a strong \"pillar in the house of the Lord.\" If\n he wrought obscurely, as the world moves, my impression is that he\n did some excellent work for eternity in the most quiet sort of way.\n I do not think Heaven could be a surprise to one of his habits and\n trend of life. He could assimilate the good easily. Though positive\n in his feelings, and sensitive of attachment, he was no mere\n man-worshipper, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, so long as it\n was the _Word of Christ_, faithfully, earnestly preached; he was a\n responsive hearer. The chief desire was that the _word_ should be\n successful. Perhaps simplicity was as characteristic as any other\n distinct trait. If he did not choose the uppermost seats he occupied\n them becomingly when once bidden to take them.\n\n I remember him not so much by means of incidents--his life was not\n formed on that plan; but by the deep impression of genuine,\n unpretentious godliness.\n\n If I have written at too great length, my heart is full. In deep\n sympathy with those who will so surely mourn their loss, and\n grateful for the privilege of a tribute, I am,\n\n Sincerely yours,\n\n GEORGE O. PHELPS,\n _An Ex-Pastor_.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nThe more I read and study the phraseology of this letter, welling up\nout of a full heart, the more I am convinced of its adaptedness to\nimpart encouragement to others the same in kind and degree as was\ndoubtless reciprocally experienced in days of yore, \"for as iron\nsharpeneth iron, so does the countenance of man his friend.\"\n\nHere is another tender and terse tribute from the same source to their\nonly son--the request for particulars regarding their last illness,\nwhich produced the leaflet entitled \"A Short Account of the Last\nHours\"--that has been already a rich spiritual blessing to many souls.\n\n UTICA, N.Y., November, 1886.\n\n MR. WM. KNOWLES:\n\n DEAR BROTHER--We have just learned of the departure of your dear\n parents. Our attachment to them was exceptionally strong, even as\n our association in the Master's work was intimate.\n\n I have been looking over your father's letters, too few in numbers;\n how full of human kindness, how intensely godly.\n\n Be assured of our sincere regard for you and others in this great\n bereavement.\n\n May we not receive, at your convenience, particulars of their last\n illness and going? We have no knowledge of either case.\n\n Very sincerely yours,\n\n GEORGE O. PHELPS.\n\n * * * * * *\n\n\nThe subjoined is the answer to the reception of the account of their\nlast hours on earth.\n\n UTICA N.Y., November 30, 1886.\n\n MR. WM. KNOWLES:\n\n MY DEAR SIR AND BROTHER--You have laid us under great obligation by\n your lengthy and painstaking statement respecting your lamented\n parents. Seldom have we been affected so deeply as in the reading of\n it, which came so appropriately as to time and feeling, just as we\n were closing one of the sweetest meetings of our little \"_Gospel\n Band_.\" Yes, truly, those dear, true friends of ours were as \"little\n children\" in \"the Kingdom of Heaven.\"\n\n Nothing would afford me greater satisfaction than to be able to add\n further by word or incident what you desire to gather up by way of\n a grateful memorial. As I stated in my letter to Mr. Young, my\n impressions were made by their uniform consistency of character,\n and not by any particular event or circumstance. Perhaps the\n enclosed letters will afford characteristic illustration of your\n father's habitual godliness or tenor of life. As to your mother,\n why, she was always \"going about doing good,\" seemingly never\n tiring.\n\n What death-bed scenes! If those faithful words of hers are ever\n forgotten, somebody will have a hard witness against them at last.\n Their memory is indeed blessed. We will all try to profit by their\n examples of godly fidelity, and faithful admonitions. With the\n sincerest sympathy, I am,\n\n Gratefully yours,\n\n GEORGE O. PHELPS.\n\n * * * * * *\n\n UTICA, N.Y., February 17, 1887.\n\n MR. WM. KNOWLES:\n\n DEAR BROTHER--You have laid us under new obligations. On my study\n table is a picture of the pastor of my childhood--It has been there\n nearly my entire ministry. You can conceive the influence it is\n designed to exert over me. Now there will be, if not in my study\n exclusively, in our house itself, the constant stimulus of such\n reminders of devotion as these two most welcome pictures.\n\n We are indeed very grateful to you for them; your filial love was\n strong while they lived, and must be quickened by their death, but\n if anybody _outside_ of the circle of kindred exceeds our veneration\n for your parents, _they_ deserve it all. We certainly cannot fail\n to cherish what has been so well done by the artist, the expression\n in both pictures is so characteristic. It seems, when we dwell\n intently upon them and let thoughts come and go at liberty, that the\n lips must open and pleasant words come from them as in life; but\n they do speak, nevertheless, and as distinctly, and as\n affectionately. Oh! that we were more worthy to hear. And that\n blessing upon yourself, how valuable and hopeful, or encouraging it\n must be.\n\n I know you will share it with others, and so make a saintly life\n still reproductive. The world needs nothing so much as _positive\n Christian character_.\n\n Permit me to say that we are greatly prospered in our work, and\n have hand and heart seemingly full; but, old Allen Street has _a\n warm place_ in our affection always. Our united regards.\n\n Affectionately yours,\n\n GEORGE O. PHELPS.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nThe reader will surely notice the true, touching, and graphic account\nof their work in the next letter.\n\n UTICA, N.Y., April 8, 1887.\n\n REV. MR. YOUNG:\n\n DEAR SIR AND BROTHER--While my mind is full of impressions\n concerning the life and work of Mr. and Mrs. Knowles, it is not easy\n to withdraw the details, and give you any real satisfaction. The\n very simplicity and humility of their ways and deeds render it\n impossible to make any adequate illustration--not that incidents are\n lacking. Why, there are families in the vicinity of Allen Street who\n could relate incidents by the hour touching the gentle care of Mrs.\n Knowles for the needy and sick.\n\n Here her life can never be written in full. \"Oh, Mr. Phelps, how\n sad it is about Mrs. K---- and her little family.\" \"Poor L----, she\n is going just like her brother, and they don't want me to tell her\n of our fears.\" \"I have just been to see poor Mr. H----, he cannot\n live--he doesn't seem to realize it; and then what will become of\n his family? I have tried so long to get them into the\n Sabbath-school.\" \"I have just come from Mrs. F---- (a woman of\n means and Christian charity), who encouraged me greatly in the care\n of that family where the father is in the hospital.\" \"Mr. Phelps,\n can you go to No. 12 ---- Street, and see a young man who is sick,\n and will have to go to the hospital? No friends, and I have been\n trying to make him comfortable.\" \"Mr. Phelps, can you attend the\n funeral of a child on ---- Street? It did suffer so much--its\n mother is on the Island.\"\n\n These were common to her work, as I now recall them; not\n sentimental products of imagination, but facts, only lacking the\n details to make the tenor of her life stranger than fiction. To see\n her quietly enter some abode of the lowly, her soft and gentle\n greeting to the housewife engaged in her home duties, the aspect,\n perhaps, a forlorn one, and hear her words of heart-felt sympathy\n and encouragement, her solicitude for the little ones, that they\n might be \"trained in the way of the Lord,\" and that simple,\n fervent, trustful prayer, which seems so befitting as to excite no\n repellant feeling; and that parting word which would go straight to\n the mother-heart. Here is a picture of Christian-following which\n even Munkacsy could not paint.\n\n The Master reserves some things for future inspection. We have no\n sufficient canvas for these in such humble, useful lives.\n\n Her faithfulness in dealing with the erring was remarkable;\n seemingly without fear of man, and yet always full of gentleness.\n\n We had a way of investigating cases appealing for charity. One day\n a girl, nine or ten years of age, came to the door with a basket\n asking for something; her mother was a widow and poor, baby sick,\n etc., etc.\n\n We asked Mrs. Knowles to look into the case. She went to the place\n given, and at first there was some mistake, or, perhaps, a purposed\n misdirection; but, nothing daunted by the difficulties encountered,\n she succeeded in gaining admittance to apartments on the second\n floor, where, instead of poverty and sickness, she found the mother\n in the midst of evident comfort, seated at her piano, who at first\n denied all knowledge of the little charity girl, and was only\n confronted successfully by the entrance unguardedly of the child\n herself.\n\n If confusion ever overtook a mortal fraud, in which an active\n apprehension and deep humiliation were successfully involved; it was\n then and there in the presence of _holy indignation on fire_. Mrs.\n Knowles was simply irresistible in such cases.\n\n Now, dear brother, I hardly know what use you can possibly make of\n this, but my prayers shall go with your work of perpetuating their\n memory.\n\n Very sincerely yours,\n\n GEORGE O. PHELPS\n\n * * * * * *\n\nThe thought that the servants of Christ are praying for us is very\ncheering in the prosecution of our work.\n\nThe facts enumerated in the following letter from Pastor Chambers\ncontain a thousand thoughts as descriptive of what every Christian\nought to pray for and strive after, namely, to be, as he expresses it,\nan Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.\n\nHow expressive in this connection are the words of the apostle, \"_Take\nheed_ lest there be found in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in\ndeparting from the living God.\"\n\n NEW YORK, November 9, 1886.\n\n REV. D. MCNEILL YOUNG:\n\n DEAR BROTHER--Your letter informing me of the death of Mr. and Mrs.\n Knowles was forwarded to me from Harrisburg, to this city.\n\n I had seen a notice of Mr. Knowles' death in a New York paper, but\n had not known of the departure of his wife, whose death, under such\n circumstances, had a pathos peculiar to itself. Her presence at his\n funeral, it would seem, was more than her affectionate testimony to\n their past devotion to each other. It was her unconscious prophecy\n of their speedy reunion in the presence of Him whom they both loved\n and served.\n\n You ask me for some information in regard to them, during the time\n of my ministry in this city. They both illustrated the truth of the\n remark, that \"to be useful, it is not necessary to be conspicuous.\"\n Mr. Knowles was \"an Israelite indeed, in whom was no guile.\" Gentle\n and peaceable in spirit, loving the house of God, rejoicing in the\n spiritual prosperity of the church, _speaking evil of no man_, a\n firm friend of his minister, relishing all conversation upon divine\n things, frequenting the place of prayer where he was often heard\n leading the devotions of the people in simple, earnest, Scriptural\n petition, and ever willing to help in Sabbath-school work, or any\n other form of Christian activity in which he might be of service--he\n was just such a man as any pastor is glad to have as a friend and\n helper. He was a ruling elder in the church from the time I first\n knew him, and in that capacity was one of the first to welcome me to\n New York. He was unobtrusive in all meetings of session, but never\n failed to give his suggestions on all matters that came before him,\n but was happiest when it was his privilege as an elder to welcome to\n the communion of the church those who confessed Christ.\n\n Mrs. Knowles I knew as a warm friend of the church, while at the\n same time a faithful member of that band of Bible readers whose\n blessed work is best known by the Divine Master. She enjoyed that\n service for Christ; she loved to talk about it. Her fidelity and\n consecration are known to those under whose superintendence she\n labored; but the results of her devotion are a matter of divine\n record. May it not be that she has now discovered the real dignity\n and the glorious consequences of a service which she humbly, yet\n lovingly followed here, and that in Heaven's high fellowship the\n faithful Bible reader has a place of peculiar honor?\n\n I can only say, in conclusion, that a church is bereaved indeed\n when two such Christians are taken from it. The Providence that\n calls them away should not only stimulate those who remain to a\n holier activity, but should also elevate our thoughts and\n affections, and make us the more glad that at the end of our\n journey, and the cessation of our earthly activities, we will\n discover the still grander meaning of Christ and Heaven.\n\n Yours fraternally,\n\n GEORGE S. CHAMBERS.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nThe next letter is from one who materially aided her in helping the\nnecessitous.\n\n November 21, 1886.\n\n REV. DUNCAN MCNEILL YOUNG:\n\n DEAR SIR--Absence from the city has prevented my answering your kind\n note received only last evening.\n\n I have no statistical facts to give you, relative to our dear Mrs.\n Knowles, but I can testify to her interest in her work until the\n last, her lovely Christian spirit shown under all circumstances,\n and her love for her Heavenly Father.\n\n She seemed to me to be supremely happy and content with whatever\n lot was given her.\n\n I was not able to be with her when she was ill, but was at her\n funeral.\n\n She must be missed in her field of labor, and I am sure I shall\n miss her prayers for myself.\n\n Hoping this will be of some use to you, I am,\n\n Yours sincerely,\n\n M. T. FISKE.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nThe annexed note of commendation from the Rev. Dr. Conkling, of this\ncity, who formerly labored in word and doctrine with the deceased, in\nconnection with the Allen Street Church, is concise yet comprehensive.\nHow much is implied in these words--_faithful, loving, earnest,\nprayerful and consistent Christians!_\n\n NEW YORK CITY, November, 1886.\n\n DEAR MR. YOUNG--My acquaintance with Mr. and Mrs. Knowles was so\n limited that my knowledge of them could be only of the most general\n character. I knew them, as all who knew them could testify, as\n earnest, loving Christians, faithful in their church duties,\n prayerful and consistent; and evidently living always near to\n Christ. I prized their friendship much; I feel how deep the loss to\n the church must be in being deprived of their active influence and\n their believing prayers.\n\n With thanks for your kindly note, conveying the sacred request, I\n remain, dear sir,\n\n Sincerely yours,\n\n NATH'L W. CONKLING.\n\n * * * * * *\n\nTo show how greatly beloved they were by all denominations we insert\nthis closing tribute from a dear servant of Christ, whose calm, clear\neye of penetration recognized that, by prayerfully studying the\ncharacter of Christ we became assimilated to His glorious image. He is\na member of the Society of Friends.\n\n CLINTONDALE, N.Y., June 23, 1887.\n\n DUNCAN M. YOUNG:\n\n DEAR BROTHER--Yours received, bearing us news indeed. We had not\n heard before of the demise of our dear Brother and Sister Knowles.\n\n The effect of it at first, to me, was that I could scarcely speak\n for a fulness of feeling which it produced, and a home-sickness for\n the home where they have gone.\n\n My memory was immediately taken back to the visit I paid them a year\n ago last spring, which was _very pleasant_ and soul-refreshing, and\n especially to the parting _kiss_ that the dear Mother in Israel gave\n me on my parting from them; and also she gave me a supply of\n beautiful tracts, which I had the privilege of using to the comfort\n of two souls on the cars as I was returning home, and some of the\n tracts I have yet, and you can depend on it I place higher value on\n them than ever before.\n\n The little leaflet you sent us is very appropriate indeed, but none\n can do them justice in writing of them, for we do not know of all\n their heart-yearnings and achings over poor wanderers, and their\n personal private labors for their salvation, neither can we ever\n know until we see the record of it all up there.\n\n And may you, dear Brother, as the honored minister of God, carry\n out literally her exhortation to you, \"Preach the Gospel\n Uncolored.\"\n\n Accept my sincere thanks for your kindness in writing us, and\n sending the leaflets. You asked if I could use any of them? I can,\n certainly, and there are a few around here yet living who remember\n our departed sister and brother when they boarded at our house.\n\n I unite in interest and prayer with you for your important Work in\n the abundant ripe fields of Harvest, and pray that you will receive\n many souls for your hire.\n\n I am, yours sincerely, and in the love of the pure Gospel of the\n Kingdom of our Christ,\n\n ERASTUS S. ANDREWS.\n\n * * * * * *\n\n \"They lived, and they were useful; this we know.\n Oh, take who will the boon of fading fame!\n But give to me\n A place among the workers, though my name\n Forgotten be,\n And if within the book of life is found\n My lowly place,\n Honor and glory unto God redound\n For all His grace!\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVII.\n\nCONCLUSION.\n\n Oh, could I flow like thee, and make thy stream\n My great example, as it is my theme!\n Though deep, yet clear; though gentle, yet not dull;\n Strong without rage; without o'erflowing full.\n\n\nIn concluding these memoirs and looking back over the lives of our\ndeparted brother and sister, there is a great lesson to be learned--that\nof _example_. Such example as theirs possesses incalculable power of\neffecting good. It takes deep and tenacious root; it fructifies with\namazing rapidity and profusion, and flourishes where precept would\nutterly perish. Its impression is so indelible, that the greatest\ndifficulty is experienced when attempting to eradicate it. The salutary\ninfluence which good example propagates, we find stamped on every\navocation in life. In some people a heinous negligence, and in others a\nculpable apathy is evinced with respect to the principles their conduct\nis implanting. Profuse illustrations abound in every profession,\ncalling, and trade, of the effect of evil example, and also of the\ndisregard paid to its consequences. Whether or not this regardlessness\narises from negligence, or ignorance, it is difficult to determine. All\nclasses of society possess, undoubtedly, though in varying degrees, the\nimportant power of exemplifying good or evil, and it behooves them to\nact with greater circumspection and discretion with respect to the\ninjurious consequences which their examples may evoke, having due regard\nto the avidity which is shown by weak minds to follow example, however\npernicious. It is natural for man to imitate a model or pattern, as it\nthereby affords him a much easier and more agreeable opportunity of\nforming his ideas on any particular subject. Nor is example confined to\nthose holding high public positions. Its presence and power are\nexperienced as much from the humblest Bible woman as from the greatest\nshining light in the pulpit. I admit that influence, good or evil, is\npropagated to a greater extent when the source from which it emanates is\nmore prominently before the gaze of the world than if it were less\npublic; but I am persuaded that the closer the relationship between the\none who exerts the influence and the one upon whom it takes effect, the\nmore deep and lasting will the impression prove, and any endeavors to\neradicate it will involve more strenuous efforts and diligent\napplication than where there is no sympathetic feeling evinced by the\none toward the other.\n\nThe implicitness with which example is followed is subject to\nconsiderable variations, for I am inclined to think that the lower the\nmoral position the greater the aptitude for imitation is displayed.\nThis arises from the incapability of those who occupy such positions to\ntear asunder the forms which envelope them, and strike a path untrodden\nfor themselves. They find it much more congenial to their tastes and\npursuits to act as others around them usually do than to alienate\nthemselves and endeavor to live more in accordance with the laws of\nmorality. No one can deny, especially those who knew her well, that\nMrs. Knowles's great success was as much derived from her example and\nhumility as from any power of teaching and persuasion she possessed.\nAnd now, dear readers, those of you who have not the gift of leading\nothers into the paths of virtue and morality by the gift of ready\nspeech or the force of your conversation and address, can at least so\nregulate your conduct that the little world around you may look up to\n_you_ as an example, however humble your position in it may be.\n\nThere are lesser lights along the iron-bound coast of England than the\nEddystone; still they serve the purpose for which they were erected.\nYea, the widow's lamp, in the window of the cottage by the sea, saved\nher own son from shipwreck. The Talisman's motto ought to be ours:\n\n \"Be watchful, be ready, for shipwreck prepare,\n Keep an eye on the life-boat, but never despair!\"\n\nAll along our coast the Government has built massive and strong\nlight-houses to guide and warn the tempest-tossed mariner. The passage\nmay have been hazardous to many a staunch ship and brave crew,\noccasioned by constant exposure to a multiplicity of dangers seen and\nunseen. Who can tell of the deep anxiety of the gloomy days and nights\nthey spent waiting and watching, while many a keen blast has mournfully\nwhistled through the shrouds, and many a billow has threatened to\nengulf their bark; but how cheering is yonder light streaming forth\namid the densest darkness. It speaks with trumpet-tongue to the\nbewildered navigator, and says, \"This is the course, steer ye by it.\"\nHow refreshing the sight. How assuring those bright beams that quiver\nover the perilous sea. Clouds and wind must not affright, for the\ngladsome welcome light of example interposes between us and\ndisappointment and despair. \"Ye are the light of the world,\" said\nJesus. It is by beholding the lights that once shone on earth, that are\nnow shining as the stars for ever and ever in heaven, that we, seeing\ntheir good works do glorify our Father in Heaven.\n\nHow many, alas! are utterly unconscious of the power of a godly example;\nit is only prayerful reflection upon it that rivets the connecting link\nbetween earth and heaven. Endearing attachments are formed and\ngradually, eternally perpetuated, strengthened by constant companionship.\nIt is then we become truer-hearted, more gentle, more generous, and more\naffectionate. Exquisitely rounded Christian character is only thus\nobtained. Our hearts, and glad, willing service ought to be laid on the\nsame altar as our humble offering, in proof of the profit and pleasure\nthat we have experienced in reviewing the career of those great examples\nworthy of study and imitation. This is the only explanation we can give\nfor penning this memorial. Our hearts were deeply stirred by the words\nuttered with the dying breath of Mrs. Knowles, when she said to me,\n\"PREACH THE GOSPEL UNCOLORED;\" I want to recognize their importance as\nsynonymous with Paul's exhortation to Timothy, \"Preach the Word.\" Yes,\ndear reader, this is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God,\nand it is quick and powerful. We must wield it earnestly and bravely in\nthe great conflict of life, constantly reiterating the Bible woman's\ndying words:\n\n \"MY DAY IS SHORT, I MUST FINISH MY WORK!\"\n\nIn perusing these memoirs, we ask, Who can read the foregoing\ncorrespondence and record of God's goodness to His saints, and through\nthem to perishing souls, promiscuously scattered among all classes, and\ncreeds, and colors, Jews and Gentiles alike, without feelings of\nunfeigned gratitude to God for raising up two such worthy persons to\nadorn \"the doctrine of God, our Saviour?\"\n\nOur earnest prayer is, that the Holy Spirit will not allow to pass\nunobserved such lives of usefulness and self-sacrifice, without\nawakening a deeper interest in the lapsed masses of the lower part of\nthis city.\n\nWe sincerely trust, also, that the publication and perusal of this\nhumble effort to glorify God by perpetuating the memory of the loved\nones so fondly cherished shall not be all in vain, and fall on the\nheart as a dead letter, \"like the wind that passes over the rock,\nleaving it harder than before.\" Mr. D. L. Moody once said, \"I never saw\na man who was aiming to do the best work, but there could be some\nimprovement; I never did anything in my life that I didn't think I\ncould have done better, and I have often upbraided myself that I had\nnot done better. But to sit down and find fault with other people when\nwe are doing nothing ourselves is all wrong, and is the opposite of\nholy, patient, divine love.\" May we rather be of that number concerning\nwhom it is said, \"Blessed are those servants, who, when their Lord\nshall come, He will find watching.\"\n\nThe sunset of life will come sooner or later, \"Let us, then, give\nearnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we\nshould let them slip.\" Especially let us consider the importance of\nMrs. Knowles's final farewell exhortation: \"_Be kind, gentle, and\npatient. Be faithful, humble, meek, and constantly keep at the Master's\nfeet until He calls you up higher._\" If we take heed to these dying\nwords, we will be able easily to appropriate as our own the sweet\nsolacing words in the Song of Songs, \"I sat under His shadow with great\ndelight, and His fruit was sweet unto my taste. He brought me into His\nbanqueting house, and His banner over me was love.\"\n\nIn bidding our readers adieu, I would, in conclusion, urge that they\nseriously reflect upon the significance of the Bible woman's last\ntriumphant utterances: \"Once I was young, now I am old, and have never\nbeen forsaken.\"\n\n Who to their reward will say them nay,\n In Heaven or on Earth:\n Brave Pilgrims of Israel, pass'd away--\n We till now ne'er knew your worth!\n Go! write out their lives on leaves of gold,\n With characters of love,\n Let the future know, when we are cold,\n Of our loved ones gone above.","title":"Gathering Jewels: The Secret of a Beautiful Life: In Memoriam of Mr. & Mrs. James Knowles. Selected from Their Diaries.","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":83107}