CttE famitg eitttie.
THE LORD IS RISEN!
BY REV. WILLIAM RANKIN DURYEE
O Earth, cold Earth, to life arise,
The birds are singing round thee,
Old Winter in the' distance
And on thy surface, biokeii . , lies
The icy band that bound thee
Spring forth, in blootriing ; beanty dreat,-
To show how God hath crowned thee
O World I accursed in sin and: shame,
Let.light dispel thy madness;--
New life shall renovate thy frame
While all thy dross shall sink in flame,
Arouse thee from thy sadness;
A Conqueror comes with kingly crown
To turn thy grief to gladness.
0 Soul! unfettered at the cross,
Yet in thy weakness lying,
Arise ! put off thy fears of loss,
To thee, earth's battle-field across,
A voice divine is crying
" Gird on my strength, thy life I:hold,
And take the songs for sighing."
For lo I the portals of the tomb, -
Unsealed in mortal story,
Where men have wept in hopeless gloom,
As friends have bowed to meet their doom,
Through all the ages hoary„
Roll back for Manhood's highest heir,
The Lord of life and glory.
He lives, He lives, no more to die,
Death's fetters strong are riverk;
Ring out, 0 bells I the triumph high,
In peals that tell to earth and sky,
The joy of souls forgiven;
The grave a Bethel has become, .
The very gate of heaven.
THE COVENANTER'S MARRIAGE DAY.
The marriage s party were to meet in
a little lonesome dell, well known to
all the dwellers round St. Mary's Loch.
A range of bright green hills goes
southward from its shores,
and be
tween them and the high heathery
mountains lies a shapeless scene of
cliffs, moss, and pasture, partaking
both of the beauty and the grandeur
between which it so wildly lies. All
these cliffs are covered with native
birch-trees, except a few of the loftiest,
that shoot up their bare plants in many
fantastic forms'; that moss, full of what
the shepherds call "hags," or holloWs
worn by the weather, or dug out for:
fuel, waves, when the wind goes by,'
its high, rich-blossomed, and fragrant
heath ; and that pasturage, here and
there in circular spots of emerald ver
. dure, affords the sweetest sustenance
to the sheep to be found among all
that mountainous region. It was in
one of these circles of beautiful herb
age, called by the shepherds " The
Queen Fairy's Parlor," that Mark
Kerr and Christian Lindsay, who had
been long betrothed, were now to be
made man and wife. It was nearly
surrounded by large masses, or ledges
of loose rocks, piled to a considerable
height upon each other by some, strong
convulsion, and all adorned with the
budding and sweet breathing birchea,
while the circle was completed by one
overshadowing cliff that sheltered 'it
from the north blast, and on Whose
airy summit the young hawks - were
shrilly and wildly crying in their nest.,
The bridegroom was sitting there
-with his bride and her bridesmaid . ;
and by-and-by, one friend titer an
other appeared below the natural arch
that, all dropping with wild flowers;
formed the only entrance into thi;
lonely Tabernacle. At last they all
stood up in a circle together—shep
erds decently apparelled, shepherd-
L.sses all dressed in raiment bleached
whiter than the snow in the waters of
the mountain spring, and the gray,
headed minister of God, who, driven
from his kirk by bloodthirsty persecu
tion, prayed and preached in the wil
derness, baptized infants with the'
water of the running brook, and joined
in wedlock' the hands of such as vett
tured upon marriage in those dark
and deadly times. Few words were
uttered-by the gracious old 'man; but
these few = were solemn and full of
cheer, impressed upon the hearts of,
the wedded pair by the tremulous;
tones of a voice that was not long, for
this world, by the sanctity of his long
white locks unmoved by a breath of
air, and by the fatherly and a,postoli
cal motion of his uplifted hand, that
seemed to conduct down upon them
who stood in awe before him the
blessing of that God who delighteth in
an humble heart. The short ceremony
was now closed, and Mark Kerr and
Christian Lindsay were _ united till
death should sunder them on earth to
reunite them in heaven.
Greetings were interchanged, and
smiles went round, with rosy blushes,
and murmuring and whispering - voices
of irreproachable mirth. What though
the days were dark and the oppressor
strong ? Here was a place unknown
to his feet ; and now was a time to let
the clear sparkling fountain of nature's
joy well up in all hearts. Sadness
and sorrow overshadowed the laud.;
but human life was not yet wholly :a
waste ; and the sweet stinaiine that
now fell down through a screen of
fleecy clouds upon the Queen_Fairy's
Parlor—was it not to enliven and re
joice all their souls ? Was it not to
make the fair bride fairer in her hus
band's eyes,-her smile brighter, and
the ringlets more yellow, as they hung
over - a - forehead that wore its silken
snood. no longer, but in its changed
covering . gracefully showed that Chris
tian Lindsay was now a wife?
But as the evening hours Fere ad
vancing, the party kept dropping
away one by one, or in pairs, just as it
had gathered; and the Fairy Queer
h,ad' her parlor all to hertielt, undls-1.
turbed, if she chose at night - id hold
court beneath the lamp of the moon.
Where had the young married pair
their bridal chamber ? Mark Kerr
had a shelling on the mountain side,
from which was just visible one bay
of St MS,ry'S Loch., The, walls were
built of turf, and the roof of heather ;
and surrounded as it was on all sides
by large, stones, wooded cliff:q, knowes,
and" uneven eminences, it was almost
as likely to escape notice as the nest
of a bird, or the. lair,of a roe. Thither
he took his bride. .Her little brides
maid had a small covert of her own,
distant only a few roods, and the
friends could see each other standing
at the door of each shealing, through
the intercepting foliage of the waving
birches that hung down their thin and
ineffectual wail till it swept the bloom
ing heather.
On a small seat, framed of the roots
of decayed trees, Mark Kerr was now
sitting with his own sweet Christian,
when he gently raised her . head from
his bosom; and - told her - to go into the
shealing, for he saw people on the hill
side whose appearance, even at that
distance, he did not like. Before '.a
quarter of an hour had elapsed a party.
of soldiers were at-hand. Mark knew ,
that he had been observed for some
time, and to attempt escape with his
bride was impossible. So he rose up
at their approach, and met them with
a steady countenance, although there
were both fear and sorrow in his heart.
Christian had obeyed him and the
shealing was silent.
"Is your name Mark Kerr?" "Yes,
that .is my name." "`Were,you- at
Yarrow Ford When a prisoner was
rescued and a soldier murdered ?" "I
was, but did all . : I could to save that
soldier's life." " You wolf, you
mangled his throat with your own
bloody fangs; but we have traced you
to your den, and the ghost of Hugh
Gemmel, who was as pleasant either
with lad or lass as any boy that ever
emptied. a cup or had a fall upon,
heather, will shake hands with you by,
moonlight byjand-by Yen -may meet ;
either in thechurch-yard, down by the
Loch, where:your canting Covenanters.
will bury you, or, down .at Yarrow:
K i rk, w l lere Hugh;, wax. : put, to, bed'
with the worms in is red, coat, like a
soldier as he was. By the Holy, God
of Israel—is not that a lump of yolAr
own slang bayonet' shall drink
a stoup of your heart's blood."
Mark Kerr knew, in a moment, that
there was no hope, of life. He had
confessed being present on the occasion
charged against him • and. a sentence
of death, ,which an angel's intercession
could not lave got - reversed, was glar
ing in the eyes of all the soldier&
Each man seemed to kindle in fiercer
fury as he caught the fiery eyes
around. him`.. Their oaths and execra
tions „exasperated -them all into frenzy;
and a wild and perturbed, sense of
justice, demanding expiation of their
murdered Comrade's blood, made them
deafand blind to every thing but the
suggestions of their own irritated and
infl.amenearts. A horrid sympathy
posSessed. theni all; and they were as
implacable as a, herd of wolves fam
ished and in sight of their prey. There
-was no . 'mercy in any one face there,
else Mark Kerr would have appealed
to that man, for his ,life was now sweet
and precious, and it was a hard thing
to die "I knew his face He is the
very man that stabbed Hugh, when he
was down, with his own bayonet.
How do you like that sirrah2' and
one of the soldier§ 'thrust his long ba,y; -
onet through Mark's shoulder, till the
point was Seen at his back, and then.
drew it out smeared withr blood, and
returned it to, its sheath, with a grin
of half-glutted vengeance. The
wounded . man, staggered., at, the_
and sat down, nearly fainting, upon
the seat where 4 - few minutes before
his bride
_had leaned her head 'Upon
his bosom. But heutteredrirot a Word,
and kept his eyes !fixed, not reproach
fully, but somewhatiadly,land with a
faint expression of hope, on= the men
who seemed. determined to be his exe
cutioners. The pain, the sickness, the
sudden blasting of all his hopes, almost
unmanned his resolute heart; and
Mark Kerr would have now done
much to save his life, and something,
•
perhaps, even at the expense of con
science and faith. But that weak
mood' was of shorn'duration, and the
good and brave man braced .up his
heart to receive the. doom of death.
Meanwhile one of the soldiers had
entered the shealing, and brought out
Christian in his grasp. A loud shout
of laughter and scornful exultation
followed. "Ho, ho, my heath.-cock k
you have got your bonny hen. Catch
a Covenanter without his comfort. Is
your name Grace, my bonny bairn ?"
Christian looked around, and saw,
Mark sitting pale and speec,hless, with
his breast covered with clotted blood.
She made no outcry, for 'grief, and
pity, and consternation struck her
dumb. She could not move, for the
soldier held her in his arms. But she
lobked into - the ruffian's face with such
an imploring countenance, that un
consciously he let her' go, and then
she went up 'tottering to poor Mark,
and with her white bridal gown wiped
off the gore from his breast, and kissed
his clayey and. quivering lips. She
then ran to the spring that lay spark
ling among its cresses, within a few
yards of the shealing, and brought a
handful of cold water, which she
sprinkled tenderly over his face.
The human soul is wild and terri
-ble thing when inflamed with cruelty
and revenge. The soldiers saw little
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1865.
THE FRIGHTFUL ROLL.
It is recorded of Luthe4, that during
a serious illness the evil 4ne seemed to
enter rig. ; sick, room, and leoking at
him with a triumphant sinile, unrolled
a vast roll which he 4rried in his
arms. As the fiend threv one end of
it on the floor, and it unwound itself
with the impetus he lad given it,
Luther's eyes were, "on' it, and to his
eonsterriation he 'read ''there" the`long
and- fearftl 'record - of ' his own sins,
:oljarlyr and distinctly enumerated:.
There beforexhis !very i - eyes " the
isins%and ' ,offences- "ofz his; youth, .:""and:
all this 'transgressions in all his, sink"
Thffeltbv , ,wPre in
.be,
as black
as he feltbi,s sins to 9e,,ang as plain
as he .knew they would be if God
should "s r et them before' him in the
light,of his countenance." "Hie heari
failed him" as he looked. That stout
heart which never quailed 'before man
—that firm, honest eye,, which could
look cardinals and bishops, princes
and palatines, in the face, did quail
before that ghastly roll. " His sins
took such a hOld upon him that he
was not able to look ,up."
Suddenly it flashed into his mind
that there was ' one, thing not written
there. He said aioud, " One thing,
you have forgotten; the rest is all
true, but one thing you have forgot
ten, The blood of tresus r Of;rist, his,
,Sbn, cleangeth us froth - all sin :;'," and
as he said thii the "Accuser of the
brethren," and his heavy roll of
"lamentation, 'and mourning, and woe,"
disappeared together.
."I am a young lady of s ,
ixteen and
the ,handsome st, Everybody' that goes into our
church. admires me, I
know ; for how can they help , it ? My
face and figure are perfectly splendid';
I know More than either of iny parentS,
and I despise-their narrow, humdrum
opinions. I am entirely superior to
most of my class at'lie academy, and.
'shall soon stop going there ; and,
shoUldn't think of attending, SundaY,.
school, only Mrs. Grey is so , devoted:,
to me that.l. can't 'seem to get away
from her. She, is very "rich, and knows:,
such grandpeople, that I don't want '
offend her ; but I never look at my
lesson except in the class, nor take any.
trOuble "to Sy,attention.
"History and dull, prosy books I.
hate, and I always skip4,he religion in
stories but I read all the novels I can
find; till sometimes I feel as stupid as
if I had been taking laudanum.
"I mean to get all the pleasure I
can out of life. New dresses and
things, and walks and rides, and games
and parties, with plenty of flirting, are
enough happiness for me.
"If anybody objects to my ways, I
advise them not to say so, for I shan't
allow meddling. I can snap them up
very shortly, till they wish they had,
let me alone.
"Once:in a while, *hen anybody
dies, I do fell'uneasy, and wish .I .was'
a Christian; but I very soon get rid
of it."
AS SKETCHED BY HER YOUNG .A.CQUAIN:'
" Clara is handsome and bright
that's certain. One would enjoy look
ing at her, if she did not spoil every
thing by that proud toss of her head,
and her cold, indifferent, sharp expres
sion. Sometimes we like going with
her for a while ; but she will suddenly
turn round with such cutting speeches
and insolent airs as to be really outra
geous. She does very well in com
pany ; but nobody would - want to live
in the house with her, or ever think of
loving her:"
"Our poor Clara is our greatest
anxiety., Headstrong, passionate, and.
disobedient, she 'often makes our home
unhappy; She'plunges into whatever
_course of conduct she chooses, and
ridicules the idea of being guided by
more in all this than a subject for
loathsome scurrility and ferocious
merriment; and as Christian looked
wildly around upon them, one asked,
"Are you his sister—his cousm—or
his drab ?" "Ohlsoldiers, soldiers, I
am his wife—this blessed day was. I
married to him. If any of
. you are,
married men, think of Ydui` 'Wives now
at home—remember the day they were
brides, and do not murder, us,quite—.
if, indeed, my Mark is not already
murdered." "Come, come, Mrs.
Sweetlips, no, more , 51 - 1 i ning—you
shall not" want a' husband - . I Will
you myself, and sto, I dare say,
will the sergeant there, and also the.
corporal. ,Now you have had in
dulgence enough, so stand back a bit ;
and do you, Master -Paleface, come
forward, and down upon your marrow
bones."
COnciTlecl next wee k' )
CUED AND.CHERIII3.
Baby Nora, peering out
Throughlthe easement, gave a shout
So full of glee, 7 -
' Its melody
Blending With'the
Like the breeze with:rippling'rill;—
?Twas se,eneso .sweet to,see,
That I gazed admiringly.
Passing by her,horne next ,day,
All is mute ; nochild.to play,
No open blind,
NO fade I find!
Baby Nora, why so still,—;
Dost thou sleep or art thciu,ill?
Hush I give ear.! her. spiTt is
Hymning heavenly'harmonies I
[Transcript
CLARA 'STONE.-
AS SKETCHED BY HERSELF.
TANCES
BY HER PARENTS
us. Oh, what sin and sorrow are be
fore her, if she . goes on indulging her
self-will ap.d - vanity and prikr She
will alienate everybody, and 'harden
her heart against God. How_ can We
rest, while we see her resisting 'his
love, and openly defying his cora
man.ds 2"
BY HER SUNDAY-SCHOOL TEACHER.
" Clara Stone tries me. mere and
quo - re. With.. her, bright ; qiiick mind,
she might be a great help in the class ;
but her careless air and flippant an
towers areeno - ughlto spoil gm other
, girls. Still, I . pity the poor, foolish
so Much, I think with such dis
tress of 'her soil's danger, that 'I- bear
from her what F. never' should have
supposed I could;' Her' aisurance and
self-complacency are so offensive that
~only the hope ot doing her good could
-make me endure it."
BY HER
,PASTOR
" That cruel Clara Stone—what rais
clief she does among these young peo
-ple ! I fe,ar she seta herself deliberately
about laughing away their serious
thoughts, lest they should be Chris
tians a,nd leave her alone 1 How defi
antly she repels every approach the
'loving Saviour makes to her haughty
heart I Warnings and sweet, inviting
voices are alike disregarded. If any
one bears patiently and kindly with
her for Christ's sake, she fancies her
self irresistibly charming to them. Oh,
the egregious folly of self-conceit !"---
Congregationalist.
THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
If your young readers will commit
to memory the following lines, they
will ever after have a correct' idea of
the arrangement of our solai system.
It will fix it in the memory like the
lengths of the months by the old
"Thirty days hath September," etc.:
'Poised in the centre hanethe glorious Suw,
Round whieh the.rapid MERCURY cloth run;
Next, in due order, VENUS wheels her flight,•
And then' the E.Kivrn, and'lloow!her satellite ;
Next fiery Mei& pursues his..xound career ;
Bernd,,tlie cisch.e . g ASTEROIDS appear,
The'lielted Xtri.Aen remoter - flies,
With his :•four. , moons attendant thiough the
slues ,
The belt ringed SAiSEIN roams more distant .
still,
Witksevep swiftmoonshedoes his circuit fill;.
While with six satellites, that iound'him roll,
Urtliffiggfdili'circuiliviilve - i the Whole.
But fatbeyendi utiscauped.fiy mottaLeye,
In widening spheres, bright suns and systems
Circling, in measureless infinityl
Pause o'er the mighty, scenes, 0 man! and raise=
Your feeble voice in the Caseioa's praise! ef.
THE POWER OP A SINGLE WORD.
Some sixty years since, `` a boy
overheard his mother say that she had
dediCated hith to theervice'of God as
a missionary.
That was a simple remark, acciden:
tally, as it seemed, dropped` into the ear
of a happy but thoughtless boy. Had
the reader heard it, would he have
considered it the; seed of a majestic
tree? Let us trace_ its fruits. , "
When, that„ boy- 7 samuel J,. Mills
was bis name—grown. to young man
hood, gave hisheart to Christ, his
mother's remark' grew'into a thought
of power within him. Diiven for
shelter from a - grove prayer-meeting
one day' by a tliunder c storm:, to the
shelter of ahaystack, with. four other'
youths, he uttered his thoughts by
proposing to send. the gospel to. Asia,
and asserting,:” We could• do it if we
would!" His holy enthusiasm was
,caught by the others, and. the five
youpg men founded. - a society "to
effect, in the_persons of its members, a
'mission to the -heathen."
' This waslhe beginning of the Amer-,
ican Board of Corrithisaioners for For-.
Fifty yeari= have passed since the
memorable meeting beneath the hay
-stack. Behold,the fruits of thataittle
assembly, in the ,thirty-nine • missions,
with their twO - hunilre - kio sixty-Ab4o
- and out-stations ; the one;
thousand and: t'ivo hundred' and fifty
eight Missiohlriee''sent,'out ; the one,
hundred ancrfortYinint ohnrcheg, with
their fifty-five thonearacomniunicants,
formed'; the three hundred and sixty
nine schools ; the- ten thousand Sab
bath-school children, and the thousand
million pages, of gospel truth printed.
through the labors of that noble
Board ! To this grand fruitage has
that mother's remark grown in sixty
years.
"MORE
An old gentleman who was always
bragging how folks used to, work in
his younger days, one day chillenged
his two sons to pitch on ,a 'load of hay
as fast as he could load it. The chal
lenge was accepted, the hay wagon
driven round, and the trial commenced.'
For some time the old man heldhis
own very creditably, calling— out,
"More hay! more hay!" Thicker
and faster it came. 'The old man was
nearly covered, still he kept crying,
"More hay ! more' hay!" At 'length,
struggling to keep on the top of the,
ill-arranged heap, it began first to roll,
thereto,slide, and at 'last off it went
from the wagon, and 'the old:man with
" What-are you down here for?"
cried the boys. "I came down after
the hay!" answered' the old man,
stoutly:
Let him who thinketh he standeth
take - heed lest:he fall—in other words,
it is better to look clo§ply aft9r our,
own foundation for faith than to be
over anxious about other -People's up
rightness and moral-status.
LEAVE NO HEART 0 - 011
0 le,ave,no. heart urkwoo'd, unsought,
Which life's off:Varying sceneihaTe'Vionght
Within` the poWer to aid 3 -
Think that with each thy Lord:draws nigh
To mark thy greeting.- Kria4 His eye
Rests on each effort made.
With every wound thou stoop' st to bind,
Or tear-drop stay-thou too shalt find
Thy views of Min expand.
Whilu grateful love , thy_mth attends,
The praying poor are richest friends;
Who for his God.,most.liblrallybspends l -
By liberal things shall stand.
(From the German
THE SECOND -MOTHER.
" What can be the matter with our
Swallow ?" asked little Kate, Niith
much concern ; "he is flying about
the nest like a crazy bird, crying as
hard as he can cry. His mate is set
ting, on her nest and doesn't pay the
_least attention to him. lam afraid he
is sick, or. someting:else Ls the matter.
Will you please come, out to the cor
ner of the wood-shed, mother, and see
if you can find out what the trouble
is?"
Mother kindly consented, and laying
down her, work went out to the wood
house. The bird was certainly in great
distress, and her heart was touched, as
her little daughter's had been. This
was their pet swallow, who came and
built his nest the very spritig little
Katy was born, and he had faithfully
returned to it every season since.
Mother asked Hannah to bring her
the step-ladder, and mounting to the
top, soon found out the cause of the ,
disturbance. The poor little mate sat
on her nest stone dead. She took her
down, and little Katy shed many tears
over the lifeless bird. The melancholy
mate assumed the position of his com
panion, brooding over the eggs for an
hour or two, but after that time seemed
to consider his task much too trouble
some for his fancy. His sorrows were
quickly healed, and he flitted off briskly
to try his forfune among his friends.
His suit seemed successful, for before
long he cane back with a second mate,
:who asumed the duties of the lost one,
and- reared, and cared for the brood
just as they bad been:her own. She
showed,a decided
.energy in their early
instruc,tion,and would not, allow them
to remain like lazy little lumps in the
nest long after" they were- able to. fly.
No, indeed: One heavy, indolent fel
low thought he would defy her au
thority. Perhaps somebody had hinted
in his hearing that she was only his
step-mother; but he found her argu
ments irresistible. She crowded him
up ito the edge of the nest, after: re
peatedly instructing him how to fly,
both by her, precept and example, and.
then gently pushed him overboard.
Now it was fly or fall, so he was com.
pelled to spread his lazy wings, and
make an awkward - attempt at it. She
knew they would'never get the start
of insects they were 'to live on, so she
arranged them all' on a rail; and = pro
ceeded to give them their breakfast
It was no use for a greedy little bill to
clamor for a nice morsel, when: it was
not his turn. She fed them. Often, and
in exact rotation, until ;they were able
to take care Of themselies, and were in
all respects as exemplary as bird.-
niother could desire.--Presbyterian.
A
ANSWERING zi.DVERTISEMEM.-;- .
A Boston storekeeper the other day
stuck upon his door the laconic ad-
Aiertisement,-"A' boy wanted." The
next thorning, on opening the store,
he = found a little urchin in a basket,
labeled " Here he is."
There is a certain balance of mind
we receiv,e ,secret prayer which can
not be : attained. in any other, way.
Ithat tido.
FINILIAR TAI t ES., WITH THE, CHIT
BREIT. 111.
BY NEV. ISEISWARD 'VAYSON HAMMOND.
HOW TO FYP(D JESUS.
" I HAVE TRIED TO FIND JESUS, BUT I
CANNOT.
Here is kletter from a little girl not
more than ten:years old. I remember
her very well:.. I shall• never forget
how she sat and sobbed as if her little
heart would break. But I saw her a
day or two after as happy as a lark,
and again about a _year after, and= she
was clinging to Jesus Still. During
the children's meetings in the city
where she lived, you_might haVe seen
her speaking and prarng with her
little friends, who felt just as she felt
a few days lbefore, when she could not
sing " Jesus isimine."
She afterwards wrote me a sweet
letter telling me that she . had found
Jesus, and was, fullof joy. -
I shall let you read her first letter
just as she wrote it to me. Perhaps
you have at times felt just as this anx
ious little one did when she Spelled
out these words.
TRYING TO FIND JESUS
When I wrote toy-ou last I could not sing
Jesus is mine, and I cannot yet,' I am sorry
to say. : . I' attended- the inquiry-meeting last
Sunday, and three or four kind ladies came
and talked to me ' "but I did not weep,but I
felt as though I should if a little girl spoke
to me. By and by a little girl came and
talked to me, and asked me if I had .found
Jestis. I could note notanswer her for I began
I
to weep. Oh, Mr.. Hammond, am. so un
happyl I have tried to find Jesus, but - I
cannot find ` I will try and not give up
trying. Please -pray me- that I'May , Scion
be' happy working for Jesus;
From your loving little friend,
If you, my dear littler friend, feel
now as the writer of this little letter
which you have just read did, then
here is a letter, which I hope will help
you, from one who can say,
"I THINK I HAVE FOUND JESUS."
This Sabbath• school scholar, you see,
-had Ipeen trying for two years to find
Jesus, but not, m the right way. Seek
ing Jesus *ill .never save you ;'but
TRUSTING Je,sts will. This scholar
sought Jesus a long time, you will see,
but did not trust . him. The moment
you muserJEsus you a,re - s.A.vBD. The
moment, you will give yourself into
gas'. loving. arini. he will fdld you to
his bosom, and you. will hear his gentle
words, " I WILL 'NEVER LEAVE THEE
NOR FORSAKE TITEN:," Heb. xiii. 5.
=My dear little friend, if you shduld
weep all your life it would not make
you any better. A good many think
that if they weep a good awhile Jesus
will be ready to receive them,_ and
this is a great mistake. Lha - ve known
some children come with simple faith
to him who died to save us, without
shedding a tear.
A few weeks ago I saw a Sabbath
school scholar in a meeting in Phila
delphia, who told -me that she had
found- the Saviour that eventg; and
yet she had not shed a tear. I have
since seen her Sabbath-school teacher,
and he told me that he bad no doubt
but that she did, that very evening,
sweetly yield herself to God.
I most earnestly pray that as you
-read this letter you too nio:y
"Cast your deadly doing down,
Down at Jesus' feet."
I think I have found Jesus. I have been
trying to become a Christian for the last two
years. I felt the need of a Saviour ; but did
not know what to do. I had no one with
whom to talk, so I would pray and, read my
Bible, but found no peace._ When these
meetings first commenced I did not "think
much about them; but when all My friends
went, I thought I would too, and: perhaps
find the peace I was seeking. I went tlpee
or four times that week but did not 'stay to
"inquiry-meeting." OnSatur . day icthonght
I would stay, but my compamon-wopld mot
stay for fear some one would •spea' IE - to her;
but I am glad she has tinde fotrid the
Saviour.
Mondaya remained with my
,teacher, and
'she' talked and prayed with me afid'asked me
how I felt; and I- told her I thoughti had to
cry : and do something before Jesus would
taknme ; but I found I ulna only "lay ipy
deadly doing down," and come "just as I
am," Tuesday I came here, but felt no
better. When I went home I prayed, but it
seemed as if Jesus was far off and would not
hear me; but next morning he seemed to be
right by me,. and I felt happier. I stayed at
home away from school, and I felt very sad
that I had for so long gone astray. Yet I
did nothing but sing all the morning. I
think it was then I found. Jesus, and now I
mean to work for him, for I read in my Bible
this morning that "faith without works would
not last."
Please pray for me that I may not be
.de
ceived, and that my faith may last until
death.
Belo*. is another which- may help
you to see the way to r come to Jesus.
These little letters have often done
more than any, words of mine to show
children and others the way to be
saved.
I pray that as you, my young friend,
read these words from one who says
I began - to think that I was a sinner,"
you too 'may be able to say,
"THE LORD HEARS MY PRAYER."
When I first, heard of the, meetings I
thought I would 'go. I went the first Sunda
you were here, and could not get`in. Then I
asked some ofmy school mates if they would
go on , the Monday following, they said they
would. And so on Monday, after school was
out, =we went. It was in Dr. Fish's Church,
and me.sat in the second seat from the door.
I didn't hear much of what you ,said, only
abOnt the little tack hammer, and that inter
ested , me very much, and then when you
asked the obildren_why it wouldn't take the
large, nails up, they said they were sinners,
and: then I began to think that I was a sinner.
Y.ou said you would dose the first meeting
by singir% a hymn, and then there would be
an' inquiry-meeting. I' did not stay to in
quiry -meeting, for I was afraid to have any
one speak to. me about :my soul. I went
ho s nie, and that night I could not sleep, for I
was 'thinking what a great 'sinner I was.
'After lying awake untilprettynear , midnight,
thinking how wicked I was, I; -went to sleep.
rthenght I would go the next afternonn, and
so 'I went and stayed to inquiry-meeting, and
pretty soon Dr. Parker' came and spoke to
me, and he asked me if I loved Jesus, and I
told' him I wanted to love him. I went home
that night, and prayed that Jesis would take
,me just as I am., I went to. all the meetings
that week, and on Friday morning I got up
and"felt so ham I went all around the house
singing, and I. believed the 'Lord heard m
prayers. I love to read the Bible now, and I
love to pray. I used to .love to read my
Bible but not as I loire to read it now. Please
pray for me that I may love Jesus, and work
for him more and more.
Now my dear little friends I want
you to read the words of the Lord
Jesus, in Matthew xi. 28, and do just
what they say,
"COME UNTO ME ALL YE aSAT LABoir-
AND ARE HEAVY LADEN, AND I WILL.
GIVE YOU REST."
Don't try to do it but do it. Goa
is, ready to help you. Jesus has died
for you. Oh, think of his bloody
sweat in the garden. Think of his
dreadfill agony on the cross. Oh,
yes,
Behold! behold! the Lamb of. God,
On the bross, on the dross; •
For you he shed his precious blood,
On ,the cross, on the cross. -
Now hear his all-important cry,
"Eloi lama Sabacthani ;"
Draw near and see your Saviour die,
On the cross, on the cross.
And then your joyful song will
soon be heard,
Where'er I go, I'll tell the story
Of the cross, of the cross;
In nothing
_else my soul shall'glog,
Save the cross, save the cross.,
Yes; this my constant theme shall be,
Through time and in eternith
That "Jesus suffered death for me
On the cross, on the cross.