{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_35757/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_35757","id":"gutenberg_35757","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35757","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Novels","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Child labor -- Juvenile fiction","Children -- Death -- Juvenile fiction","Christian life -- Juvenile fiction","Poor -- Juvenile fiction"],"text":"</pre>\n\n\n\nProduced by Juliet Sutherland, David E. Brown and the\nOnline Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  OUR KATIE.\n\n\n\n\n  PUBLISHED BY THE\n\n  AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY,\n\n  150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW YORK.\n\n\n\n\n  OUR KATIE.\n\n\n  [Illustration: \"She taught us how to live, and--Oh, too high\n                 The price of knowledge--taught us how to die.\"]\n\n\nKatie was born in Ireland, but at an early age her parents emigrated to\nthis country and settled in Brooklyn, not a great distance from the Lee\nAvenue Sabbath-school. She was one of a family of ten children, of whom\nseveral were older than herself, yet from her earliest childhood she\nappeared to be a ruling spirit among them. Naturally quick and apt to\nlearn, she readily adapted herself to the manners and customs of the new\npeople she was with, and it was her earnest desire that her family\nshould do the same.\n\nKatie was not beautiful, nor even pretty, but there was an earnest look\nin her large dark eyes, and an expression of frankness in her\ncountenance. Her amiable disposition endeared her to every one, and the\ninfluence she possessed among both old and young was truly surprising.\nAt an early age she began to take charge of the younger children; and\nhere her care was like that of a mother. She was anxious they should\nlearn habits of order and cleanliness, and she used to offer some little\nreward to the one who excelled for a certain length of time in these\nvirtues.\n\nIt is related of Katie, as showing her obliging disposition, that when\nat home, it was her custom on every Monday, the general wash-day, to\ncollect around her all the children of her acquaintance, and amuse and\nentertain them, to the intense delight of their grateful mothers; for\nthe little ones all loved Katie, and would oftentimes yield to her a\nmore willing obedience than to those better entitled to receive it.\n\nKatie's connection with the Sabbath-school began with its organization,\nher name being the tenth enrolled upon the register. And little did the\nSecretary think, as he glanced upon the little Irish girl standing so\ntimidly before him, that beneath that rough exterior was hidden such a\nnoble spirit as was afterwards manifested--nor that the humble name then\nrecorded was yet to be known throughout the land, and that its sound was\nto bring tears into eyes which never beheld the owner.\n\nFrom the first, Katie manifested the most absorbing interest in the\nschool, which continued unabated till her death. The second Sabbath she\nbrought all her younger brothers and sisters; and during the entire\nperiod of her sojourn here, though the school increased from ten to ten\nhundred members, there was not one more regular and punctual in\nattendance than they. None were more entirely devoted to the interest of\nthe school than Katie. It was to her more than meat or drink. No weather\nwas so inclement as to detain her from any of its meetings. There was no\nclothing, however poor and dilapidated, which could not, under Katie's\nskilful fingers, be made to assume an appearance of neatness, at least\nlong enough for her to attend Sabbath-school. Is not here a lesson for\nmany a richer child who, with every possible advantage, yet seizes upon\nthe slightest pretext for remaining absent from her class, careless\nalike of the blessing she refuses and the pain she causes an anxious\nteacher.\n\nKatie was always the first one of her class present, and here her sweet\ndisposition manifested itself most forcibly. Extremely neat in her own\nperson, the want of neatness in others annoyed her exceedingly, and that\nany one should come to school with soiled clothing, or dirty face and\nhands, was to her almost an unpardonable sin; therefore each new arrival\nwas scrutinized most closely, and the pump near the school-room has\nwitnessed many and many of her charitable ablutions. She generally\ncarried a small comb in her pocket, which she never scrupled to use; and\nit was often difficult to recognize in the clean-faced, smooth-haired\nchild who returned with her from one of these cold-water expeditions,\nthe wretched little object she had \"carried out.\"\n\nKatie was one of our home missionaries, and a more devoted, faithful one\nit would be difficult to find. Her ardent love for the Sabbath-school,\nand the instruction she there received, made her anxious that others\nshould share the same blessing. It appeared to be a rule of her life\nnever to come alone. Much of her spare time was occupied in searching\nthrough the lanes and hovels for those unblessed with religious\ninfluence, and bringing them in to the Sabbath-school. The locality in\nwhich she resided was inhabited mostly by the lower class of Irish\nCatholics, who were bitterly opposed to the cause for which she so\nunweariedly labored. Yet, although the difficulties she encountered were\nneither few nor easily surmounted, she was very successful, and the\nnumbers which through her means were added to our school were very\nlarge. It was her custom either to call for them herself at their homes,\nor else meet them at some place she should appoint, and then with her\nlittle band to start for the school, taking the pump in her way if she\nthought it necessary.\n\nShe was willing to be placed in any class, or to make any sacrifice the\nsuperintendent required; and the welfare of the school was always\npreferred to her own pleasure. No teacher ever had Katie in her charge,\nbut felt that she was indeed a blessing to the class. Studious and\nattentive, she always knew her lessons perfectly, and it was no\nuncommon thing for her to repeat several hundred verses from the Bible\nand hymn-book at one time.\n\nHer own recitations completed, her attention was next given to the other\nmembers of the class; and if, as was too often the case, there were any\nunprepared with lessons, Katie always considered it her especial duty to\nassist them as much as possible, finding easy places in the Testament or\nshort hymns for them to learn. In this way many who would otherwise have\nbeen totally deficient, were enabled to recite a dozen verses before\nleaving the room.\n\nHer knowledge of Scripture was, for one so young, truly marvellous.\nEvery great historical event recorded on those sacred pages she knew by\nheart. With the beautiful Psalms of David, the sublime prophecies of\nIsaiah, and the solemn, yet mysterious revelations of John, she was\nequally familiar; and on being once questioned by a teacher in whose\nclass she was temporarily placed, where she had learned so much about\nthe Bible, she replied, \"I learned it all in Sabbath-school.\" She could\ncommit to memory with great facility; and being very fond of reading, no\nspare moment found Katie without a book or paper in her hands.\n\nKatie belonged, for some time, to an Industrial school in Brooklyn; and\nthe teachers and managers bear a willing testimony to the high character\nshe maintained while there. Diligent, attentive, and obedient, her\nlovely disposition soon rendered her here, as everywhere else, a\nuniversal favorite; while her prompt and efficient aid in all the minor\nduties of the school, made her almost invaluable as an assistant.\n\nBut it is time to speak of Katie's spiritual life; and short as the\nrecord must necessarily be, it is yet sufficient to prove that \"not by\nmight, nor by power,\" but by the Holy Spirit alone are we made wise unto\nsalvation. When she first entered the school, the Bible was to her\nalmost a sealed book. True, she was not unacquainted with the name of\nChrist, nor that he lived and died for sinners; but beyond the knowledge\nof this simple fact, she was entirely ignorant. That she was personally\ninterested in the matter was something she had never dreamed of. This\nlife alone occupied all her thoughts; and it was left for a\nSabbath-school teacher first to open her eyes to the necessity of a\npreparation here for the life beyond; to teach her the true significance\nof that sorrowful life which Jesus led on earth, the thorny crown and\nthe agonizing death on the cross; to show her that it was for her sake\nhe suffered, for her sins he was numbered with transgressors. It was all\nnew to Katie, something she had never heard of before; and the interest\nshe at first manifested became more and more intense, as week after week\nsome new truth was unfolded, some new idea gained of the great plan of\nredemption through a crucified Saviour.\n\nThe influence of the Holy Spirit upon Katie's mind was like the rising\ndawn, not a sudden change from midnight darkness to the full and glowing\nsplendor of noonday. She could not, probably, have given a connected\naccount of her experience, and pointed to the day and hour in which she\nfirst felt the love of Christ, nor to the moment when for the first time\nshe felt the joy of pardoned sin through his perfect merits. All she\nknew was, that whereas once she was blind, now she saw; and she was\ncontent.\n\nOne Sabbath a new teacher, in whose class Katie was placed a few months\nprevious to her death, took occasion privately to address her on the\nduty of personal religion, urging upon her the importance of giving her\nheart to Jesus while in her youth. With a bright, happy smile, Katie\nreplied,\n\n\"Why, teacher, I do love Jesus now.\"\n\n\"Well, Katie, I am glad; but you must love him with all your heart, so\nmuch that you will be willing to give up all your own wishes for his\nsake; to do any thing he requires, however hard it may seem, and to work\nfor him all your life; and to try and grow more and more like him every\nday. This is the kind of love I mean.\"\n\nKatie humbly replied, \"I think I love him a great deal, but I know it is\nnot enough--it is only a little child's love; but when I get older,\nthen I will love him as much as grown persons do.\"\n\nOnly a child's love! The teacher's eye grew dim as she remembered the\nwords of the blessed Master: \"Suffer the little children to come unto\nme, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.\"\n\nKatie seldom spoke of herself. Deeds, not words, alone spoke of the\nchange within. Yet her life bore beautiful testimony to the profession\nshe made. And what better evidence could be required that the love she\nprofessed was genuine, than that her life daily assimilated more and\nmore to the divine pattern which Christ hath given? He himself said, \"By\ntheir fruits shall ye know them.\"\n\nAs may already have been inferred, Katie's parents were extremely poor,\nwith a large family of small children to support; and the father being\nout of employment much of the time, they often wanted even the\nnecessaries of life, and it was no uncommon thing for Katie to go\nsupperless and hungry to bed. Therefore, as soon as she was old enough,\nshe felt that she must do something to assist her parents in supporting\nthe family. Only one path was open to her, and that was domestic\nservice. Unhesitatingly she availed herself of it. Whatever her strength\nwas equal to, Katie was willing and glad to do; and in seeking a place,\nshe had but one stipulation to make--which was, that she should be\nallowed the privilege of going to Sabbath-school on Sunday afternoons.\nSome kind friend procured for her a situation in New York, where she\nwould have light work and high wages. The distance appeared to make no\nimpression whatever on Katie, as she asked the usual question, \"Can I\ngo to Sunday-school every week?\" On being told that it would not be\nconvenient to have her absent on that day, no persuasions could induce\nher to accept it. And it was so in every instance.\n\nThough she began service at the early age of twelve years, yet in no\ncase did she ever fail of giving satisfaction. Faithful in the discharge\nof her duties, active, and obliging, she invariably won the love and\nesteem of all who employed her. But she did not change often. With one\nfamily, the first she entered, she remained over eighteen months, and\nthen only left because sickness demanded her presence at home.\n\nShe devoted all the wages she received to the wants of the family, never\nretaining a penny for herself. Once when urged by her mother to do so,\nKatie replied, \"Yes, mother, just as soon as the children get fixed up.\"\nBut, poor child, this seemed a hopeless task--there were so many of\nthem, and little shoes will wear out, little frocks will get torn--so\nthat Katie never came home without finding it necessary to supply some\narticle of clothing. Yet she always did it cheerfully, thankful that it\nwas in her power to assist at any sacrifice. Thus this noble girl toiled\non month after month, looking for and receiving no reward, save in\nbeholding the happiness she conferred at home, and each day studying how\nshe might increase it. Surely of her it might well be said, \"She hath\ndone what she could.\"\n\nAbout six weeks previous to her death, she obtained a situation in a\nhighly estimable Christian family in Brooklyn. And here she appeared to\ngrow more spiritually lovely, more tender and affectionate in her\nmanner, more thoughtful for the comfort and welfare of others than\never. The new friends with whom she was living had lately been called to\npass through peculiarly severe affliction. One after another of the\nloved voices in that family circle had been hushed and silent in death,\nand yet that dread messenger who had summoned them away still lingered.\nThe husband and father of that stricken band had for a long time been\nill, and all felt that in his death their bereavement was soon to be\ncomplete.\n\nKatie soon endeared herself to every one in the house. She was to them\nlike an own child, and as such was treated. Seeing her destitute\ncondition, they at once furnished her with suitable clothing. Katie's\ngratitude was unbounded, and the affectionate manner in which she always\nspoke of them showed how truly she appreciated their kindness. Her quick\nand ready sympathies were awakened as she learned of their repeated\ntrials, and by every means in her power she endeavored to console them.\nA daughter near her own age, whom they had recently lost, appeared to\ninterest her most deeply. She never wearied talking of her, and would\nfrequently say to the mother, \"I am sure I shall see and know your dear\nR---- in heaven.\" With the invalid father, Katie was a great favorite,\nand when she was not otherwise engaged, he loved to have her with him.\nKatie would then take her little Bible and read to him the sweet\npromises of Jesus, or sing some of the many beautiful hymns she learned\nat Sabbath-school. Her simple comments on what she read at once amused\nand interested him, while her glowing faith seemed to quicken and\nincrease his own. Who shall say that the ministrations of this blessed\nchild were not instrumental in lightening his pathway to the tomb;\ndispelling the doubts and fears which cluster round it, and revealing\nmore distinctly the smiling face of Jesus to him who was so soon to pass\nthrough the dark valley?\n\nA favorite hymn was the following:\n\n  I'm a pilgrim, and I'm a stranger,\n    I can tarry, I can tarry but a night;\n  Do not detain me, for I am going\n  To where the streamlets are ever flowing;\n      I'm a pilgrim, and I'm a stranger,\n      I can tarry, I can tarry but a night.\n\n  There the sunbeams are ever shining,\n    I am longing, I am longing for the sight;\n  Within a country unknown and dreary,\n  I have been wandering, forlorn and weary.\n      I'm a pilgrim, etc.\n\n  Of that country to which I'm going\n    My Redeemer, my Redeemer is the light;\n  There is no sorrow, nor any sighing,\n  Nor any sin there, nor any dying.\n      I'm a pilgrim, etc.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nKatie was soon known to every child in the neighborhood. During her\nhours of recreation she would gather them all about her on the steps,\nand tell them stories from the Bible, talk about heaven, or sing with\nthem from her hymn-book; and the eager attention which they gave her\nproved that they were well entertained. Though living now at a distance\nof over three miles from the Sabbath-school, yet she never failed of\nbeing present, generally starting from ten to fifteen minutes earlier\nthen was otherwise necessary, in order to stop at home and see that the\nother children were ready, for Katie would never consent to their being\nabsent. To be sure, she always had the whole of them to wash and dress,\nbut that was no hardship, for she was too active to allow of its\nconsuming much time, and in an incredible short space she would be seen\nmarching down the street with her little band in regular order, teaching\nthem a lesson to repeat as she went along; for in this, as in every\nthing else, they depended entirely upon Katie.\n\nThe last Sabbath Katie ever passed on earth found her in her usual\nplace; but her sad look attracted the attention of her teacher, who\nkindly inquired the cause. With tearful eyes she replied, \"The gentleman\nI live with is very sick; we do not think he can live till next Sunday.\"\nHer foreboding proved true, and on the following Tuesday he died. Then\nit was that Katie seemed almost an angel of mercy. She not only consoled\nthem with words of hope and encouragement, but endeavored in every way\nto relieve them of all care or thought, apart from the one great sorrow\nwhich overshadowed them; while the delicacy and tenderness of feeling\nshe manifested throughout this whole trying season, would not have\nshamed the most fastidious refinement. But at last it was all over. The\nprecious dust had been laid in its last resting-place, and now the busy\ncares of life may not longer be forgotten. The day after the funeral,\nthinking that Katie looked pale, and that the air would do her good,\nMrs. D---- sent her out towards evening for a short walk. On her return\nit was found that she had been several miles out of the way, to procure\nsomething she knew the physicians had ordered for a little grandchild of\nMrs. D----, and which they had not known where to obtain. Thus was she\nto the very last thoughtful and careful for others.\n\nThat evening after the rest of the family had retired, Mrs. D---- and\nKatie remained in the parlor, speaking of the home their departed friend\nhad gained. Katie then took a small lamp in her hand, and sat down to\nread. It is supposed that, overcome by fatigue, she fell asleep, when\nthe lamp slid from her grasp to the floor and ignited the bottom of her\ndress. In an instant she was enveloped in flames. Mrs. D---- seized a\nrug and sprang to her assistance; but Katie, frightened, ran through the\nhall into the yard, where she fell. By this time their screams had\nbrought assistance. The poor child was raised and carried into the\nhouse, but every particle of her light summer clothing had been\nconsumed, and her body burned in the most shocking manner. Medical aid\nwas instantly summoned, and every thing possible done to alleviate her\nsufferings, but it was at once perceived she could survive only a few\nhours. Katie received the intelligence with a smile of joy, and\ninstantly remarked, \"Now I shall indeed see your daughter, very, very\nsoon.\" She requested them to send for her own family, and also for her\nSuperintendent, that she might see them once again before she died, or\nrather hear them, for her sight was entirely destroyed. Her mother was\nsoon beside her, and her agony as she beheld her child was\nheart-rending. Katie took her hand, saying, \"Dear mother, please don't\ncry so; if you do I cannot talk to you, and I have so much to say. See,\nI am not crying. Oh, please don't.\" Katie then told her about the\naccident, and how happy she felt in view of death; and said, \"Oh,\nmother, it is so blessed to feel that I am going to be with Jesus for\never.\" Then, with a clear, sweet voice, she sung,\n\n  \"My heavenly home is bright and fair,\n  No pain nor death can enter there;\n  Its glittering towers the sun outshine,\n  That heavenly mansion shall be mine.\n  I'm going home, I'm going home,\n  I'm going home, to die no more.\"\n\nAll through those hours of terrible agony, not a complaint, scarcely a\ngroan, escaped her; but words of prayer and praise were continually upon\nher lips. \"Jesus is my best, my only friend,\" she said; \"he is close\nbeside me now, and I know he will not let me perish.\" Again she sung\nthis beautiful hymn,\n\n  \"Rock of ages, cleft for me,\n  Let me hide myself in thee;\n  Let the water and the blood,\n  From thy side a healing flood,\n  Be of sin the double cure,\n  Save from wrath and make me pure.\n\n  Could my tears for ever flow,\n  Could my zeal no languor know,\n  This for sin could not atone;\n  Thou must save, and thou alone.\n  In my hand no price I bring,\n  Simply to thy cross I cling.\n\n  While I draw this fleeting breath,\n  When my eyelids close in death,\n  When I rise to worlds unknown,\n  And behold thee on thy throne,\n  Rock of ages, cleft for me,\n  Let me hide myself in thee.\"\n\nWhen she concluded, there was not a dry eye in the room. Perceiving that\nshe was sinking rapidly, the physicians ordered stimulants to be\nadministered; but the moment Katie felt them upon her lips, she turned\naway and absolutely refused them.\n\n\"Don't you know,\" she exclaimed, \"that I belong to the Band of Hope?\"\n\n\"But, Katie,\" urged her friends, \"your superintendent would give it to\nyou himself, were he here now.\"\n\n\"Well, when he comes and says so, then I will take it.\"\n\n\"But, Katie, you may die before he comes, if you don't take a little\nnow.\"\n\n\"Then I will die,\" exclaimed the noble girl, \"but I won't break my\npledge.\"\n\nShe appeared to appreciate every thing which was done for her, and her\nexpressions of gratitude were most touching. Several times she said,\n\"Oh, how I do love everybody, but Jesus best of all;\" and then, with\nclasped hands, she prayed. And as the words of holy trust fell from her\nlips, there was not one present but felt it was \"well with the child.\"\n\nHer mind appeared to dwell much on the Sabbath-school: \"I shall never\nsee it again,\" she once said, \"but Oh, I shall see heaven so soon!\" and\nthen, in a sweet, but feeble voice, she sang two verses of a favorite\nhymn:\n\n  \"I'm travelling home to heaven above,\n    Will you go? will you go?\n  To sing the Saviour's dying love,\n    Will you go? will you go?\n\n  The crown of life I then shall wear,\n    The conqueror's palm my hands shall bear,\n  And all the joys of heaven I'll share;\n    Will you go? will you go?\"\n\nNot a doubt or fear appeared to dim the glory of her faith. The last\nhour, so terrible to many, brought to her only the most ineffable joy\nand peace.\n\nFearing that Mr. Johnson her superintendent would not arrive in time,\nshe left a most affectionate message for him.\n\nShe then bade all her friends good-by, thanked them for the care and\nattention shown her, and entreated them all to meet her in heaven.\nSinking back, she murmured, in an exhausted tone, \"_Dear_, DEAR\nSaviour.\"\n\nMr. Johnson now entered, but too late, for it was thought Katie was\ngone. She lay a few moments longer, silent and motionless; scarcely a\nbreath came from these parted lips to indicate that she yet lived.\nSuddenly collecting all her remaining strength, with uplifted hand, she\nexclaimed, in a glad, exultant voice, \"Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh\ngrave, where is thy victory?\" The raised hand slowly drooped upon her\nbosom, a few fluttering breaths, and Katie was ours no longer.\n\nA solemn silence filled the chamber, unbroken by even a single sob. It\nwas a season never to be forgotten by the few who stood round that lowly\ncouch. What, Oh what but the religion of Jesus could have stood the test\nof that awful hour? What but his infinite love could have enabled her to\nendure such terrible sufferings--to go singing into the swelling waves\nof Jordan, and even as its billows closed over her, to send back the\ntriumphant cry, \"Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy\nvictory?\"\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Notes:\n\n\n  Passages in italics are indicated by _italics_.\n\n  Obvious errors in spelling and hyphenation have been corrected\n  from the original:\n\n      Page 20: eomments correct to comments\n      Page 29: wont corrected to won't\n\n  Punctuation has been corrected without note.\n\n\n\n\n\n<pre id=\"pg-footer\">","title":"Our Katie","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":4241}