To such as are sorely tried in their households, how comforting are the words of the Apostle: "Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But to do good, and to communicate, forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."

She adds: "During these months I have met with much poverty and sickness. One would almost think it would diminish at this season, but, on the contrary, it is rather worse. I met with a family who had been in the country but two months. The father was a salesman in Germany, and can get no employment in this country. They had nothing to eat in their house, but the Lord opened a way, so that something was provided for them. I read the Scriptures and prayed with them, and the wife expressed a longing to go to a German church. I took her to church, and gave her a Bible."

* * * * * *

A JEWESS FINDS THE MESSIAH.

"A poor Jewess, whose husband has been in the Insane Asylum for nearly two years, finds it hard to support her family by peddling. Calling one day, I found her going out without any shoes on her feet, and her health very poor. I bought her a pair of shoes, for which she was very thankful, and pointed her to Christ as her true friend in time of need. She reads the Bible, and believes He is the Messiah."

"Another Roman Catholic woman, whom I have been visiting for some time, continues to attend church regularly."



CHAPTER XXXI.

SEA-SIDE EXCURSIONS FOR MOTHERS AND CHILDREN.

Sure he, to whom, of mind or hand belongs Some craft that doth uplift the thought of men Above the mold, and bring to human ken The joys of radiance, air and clear bird-songs; So that the brow, o'er moist with sullen toil, May catch a breeze from far-off Paradise; So that the soul may, for a moment, rise Up from the stoop and cramp of daily moil— May own his gift Divine! as sure may trace Its Source, as that of waters kind hands hold To thirsty lips; nor need he mourn (since grace Of his hath such refreshment wrought) if gold Be scant; to him hath richer boon been given An earth-bowed head to raise the nearer heaven.

There is no sight more truly gladdening to the heart of the philanthropist than to behold the large barges, built after the model of Noah's Ark, gliding swiftly through the beautiful waters of New York Bay, heavily laden with the news-boys, working-girls, or poor mothers and children of the city. Thanks to the New York Press, and the contributors to the Fresh Air Fund, for thus giving the multitudes of children, that are thickly huddled together in our tenement-houses, an opportunity of inhaling pure air.

One of the pioneers in this good work was the New York Times. In 1872, that paper started the "Times' Excursion for Poor Children;" ay, and for poor adults, too. The public nobly responded to the Times' appeal, sending in about $20,000. During the sweltering summer of that year, the Times' people carried to shady groves and seasides tens of thousands of children who, for the first time, saw running streams and green fields. No one can estimate the good done, the lives saved, and the hours of happiness secured to young and old who have so few happy hours. Not the least was that of softening hearts and opening purses.

In this noble work we find our deceased friend earnestly engaged instead of taking a vacation in the hot summer months. In her diary we find the following concerning one of these summer seasons:

"It has been a great privilege, during the summer months, to be able to make so many poor mother's happy, by taking them and their children to the sea-side for bathing and country air. There has been much sickness in the tenement-houses. It is, indeed, distressing often to see two sick in one bed, the others nearly ready to be there, and the poor mothers, with but little means, scarcely able to do their work and take care of the sick ones.

"It is then a happiness to obtain for them a little nourishment, and to give them words of sympathy and encouragement. Many are Roman Catholics, who seem surprised that I should take any interest in them, as they said it was more than their own people will do.

"A poor woman whom I visited, said: 'I will never again think that Protestants cannot be saved, as I have been taught; and since I have read the Bible, I intend to go to a Protestant church and hear for myself.'

"The Catholics say to me, 'How different your prayers are from ours. Why do you not pray to the Blessed Virgin?' I tell them that we only pray to the Lord Jesus Christ, as He is the only Saviour. While visiting lately in some wretched houses of infamy and talking to the poor women, they would shed tears, and say that they would like to live different lives, but it is so hard to begin to do better. It is surprising to see with what attention they listen to the words of Scripture and promise to read the Bible themselves."

* * * * * *

A WONDERFUL WORK.

Still continuing the record of her work, she writes: "During last month I made two hundred and fifty visits, read the Scriptures as often as I had the opportunity; have given two Bibles to persons who were too poor to pay for them, and sold one.

"Several Roman Catholic women have asked for Bibles, and are reading them with pleasure. One woman, whose husband called her a 'turn-coat,' said she did not care for that, but that nothing should persuade her to give up her Bible.

"I have induced several persons to attend church, and have taken children to the Sabbath-school, thus trying to sow the seed, and looking to God for His blessing.

"A poor man, ill with consumption, is one whom I visit often. I have aided his family with coal, and also in buying food and nourishment for himself. He reads a Bible that I gave him every day, and when his children come from school he gets them to read to him. He says: 'If I had been a better man; had read my Bible and taken care of my health, I might have been different, but now I am trusting in the Lord that He will forgive and accept me, and that is my only hope. I tell my wife that when I am gone she must never give up the Bible, but read it every day with her children.'"

We must ever remember, dear reader, that the unfolding of the Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believeth. What a tremendous power was manifested by the preaching of the Gospel to the savages of North America, in 1743. Mr. Brainerd, in his journal, gives an instance of the effects which followed the preaching of the Word of God. "There was much concern," says he, "among them while I was discoursing publicly; but afterward, when I spoke to one and another whom I perceived more particularly under concern, the power of God seemed to descend upon the assembly, 'like a mighty rushing wind,' and with an astonishing energy bore down all before it.

"I stood amazed at the influence that seized upon the audience almost universally. Almost all persons of all ages, were bowed down together. Old men and women, who had been drunken wretches for many years, and some little children, not more than six or seven years of age, appeared in distress for their souls, as well as persons of middle age. These were almost universally praying and crying for mercy in every part of the house, and many out of doors, and numbers could neither go nor stand; their concern was so great, each for himself, that none seemed to take any notice of those about them, but each prayed for himself. Methought this had a near resemblance to the day of God's power, mentioned Josh. x. 14; for I must say, I never saw any day like it in all respects; it was a day wherein the Lord did much to destroy the kingdom of darkness among this people." A church was soon afterward gathered among these poor pagans; and such was the change effected among them, that many exclaimed with astonishment, "What hath God wrought?"

He spent whole days in fasting and prayer, that God would prepare him for his great work; and, indeed, throughout his whole life he was truly a "man of prayer," lifting up his heart to God on all occasions, frequently spending whole days in prayer and meditation in the fields and woods desiring holiness of heart far above every other object.

Mr. Brainerd was sent by the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge to the Indians at Kaunaumeek, a place in the woods between Stockbridge and Albany. In this lonely place he continued and endured many hardships and privations.



CHAPTER XXXII.

THE INTEMPERATE WIFE.

If you cannot cross the ocean, And the heathen lands explore, You can find the heathen nearer, You can help them at your door.

If you cannot give your thousands, You can give the widow's mite, And the least you give for Jesus Will be precious in His sight.

In March, 1880, she writes: "I have had much encouragement in my work during the past month. In a family where I had visited a long time, the mother was much addicted to intemperance. On calling one day, I saw the husband, who said he was glad I had come in, for he had resolved to leave his wife; he said he could endure his life with her no longer—he would go his way, and she must go hers. She was much distressed, and I once more entreated her to give up the intoxicating cup and be a good wife and mother. I then engaged in prayer, beseeching the Lord to enable her to resist this dreadful appetite. Her husband stood by and said:

"'Now, Mary, you have your choice: either to follow the advice of this kind friend, or to separate from me forever.'

"She then and there made her decision, and, laying her hand on the Bible, pledged herself not to touch or taste the poison, and signed a paper to that effect. Since then, she has attended our meetings, and says she is happier than she has ever been.

"Some persons to whom I have given the Bible did not seem to care to read it, but have now begun to do so, and encourage their children to read to them. One man tells me:

"'I am scarce five minutes in the house before my little girl begins to read to me, and it does me good.'

"A man and his wife who have attended church this winter, will soon confess Christ. They have suffered much this season, as the father has had but little work; but I have been able to give them some assistance. The mother said she was thankful to the Lord for all that had been done for them, to bring them through their difficulties—but, above all, that she and her husband had found rest in Jesus as their Saviour and their friend."

* * * * * *

WARMLY WELCOMED BY ALL DENOMINATIONS.

"March, 1881.—During this month I have made many visits among Jews and Romanists. Some who formerly opposed me are now anxious to hear me read and pray, and urge me to come to see them often. Several Roman Catholic families have asked for the Bible; and I have given several copies of the New Testament, which they value very highly, as well for themselves as for their children, whom they are anxious should read and learn its sacred truths. One woman, whose children had been taught verses from the New Testament, gave me twenty-five cents to get her a Bible, saying she wondered why their clergy forbid them reading it.

"The woman mentioned before as being intemperate seems now truly reformed. She attends our meetings with her boy, and she and her husband once more live happily together.

"My meeting for young girls continues with much encouragement. They seem to take delight in reading the Scriptures, and in singing hymns of praise. They spend the hour in sewing and reading aloud, and they are greatly improved in deportment and character. The little Jewish girl, to whom I gave a Testament, is never absent from this meeting or from the Sunday-school."

What a deplorable sight—an intemperate mother! What a soul-ruinous example to a daughter! When we consider the relation between the mother and the child, how great are the maternal responsibilities. The mother ought to attract the attention of the child by her love. Chilled by the sin of intemperance, how many, alas! drag down their daughters to infamy and a life of shame.

But, oh, what a change is wrought in this household after the dramatic interview, when the husband threatens to leave his wife forever unless she abandons her cups. What joy enters that family circle after the mother's transformation. Surely this revolution in her character was not the work either of the missionary or the person herself. It is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saves us.

How sweetly Dr. Horace Bonar sings in this connection:

Thy works, not mine, O Christ, Speak gladness to this heart; They tell me all is done; They bid my fear depart. To whom, save thee, Who can alone For sin atone, Lord, shall I flee?

When we contrast the previous picture with the closing paragraph of this last account in her diary, we behold the sudden change from sadness to sunshine.

She says, "The young girls seem to take delight in reading the Scriptures, and in singing hymns of praise." This is the new song put into the mouth of the Christian at the hour of conversion: "Happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away."



CHAPTER XXXIII.

HER LOVE OF CHILDREN AND OF PRAYING.

He loves me now, oh, blessed thought, He loved me when I knew Him not, And with His blood my pardon bought, On Calvary He died for me; Then with such love my heart to cheer, How can I doubt or have one fear, Or ever think the days are drear, With Jesus near, with Jesus near.

In 1884 she writes: "Ninety-six visits during the last month, and seven children taken to the Sunday-school. I am everywhere received with kindness, and especially by the children, through whom I hope to reach the parents' hearts. I have disposed of several Bibles, for which I have been paid; and I find there is nothing like reading some verses of Scripture to excite the desire to possess the Book of God. I have an interesting class of girls in my own house who study passages of Scripture every week, and by their example and influence their parents have been led to attend church and give their hearts to God."

* * * * * *

Oh, how few there are who would be so kind-hearted as this woman to open their own house to impart spiritual instruction to others. We are forcibly reminded by this gathering of girls to study God's Word, of a graphic scene in the Acts of the Apostles: We read that, "On the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us."—Acts xvi. 13-15.

We see from the above account of her work the multiplicity of her avocations: Tract-distribution, visiting and caring for the sick, teaching the young, not only out of God's Book, but instructing them how to discharge domestic duties.

Never tired, never weary, In what she found to do— Ever winsome, always cheery, She knew but love for you!

Humble, patient, kindly, sincere, She loved the Master well; Always trying, unknown to fear, She would His story tell!

She continues: "A short time since, on entering a house, the woman who opened the door asked if I was a missionary. When I said 'Yes,' she said, 'The Lord has answered my prayer. I prayed that He would send one to me to read the Bible and pray with me.' Before, when she had been visited, she would hide away to avoid the visitor, but now she desires to be a Christian, and wishes some one to read and pray with her often. She is very poor, but is now seeking the true riches. One who had been very ill, but had recovered, gladly received a Bible, for which, though she is very poor, she gave me fifty cents. I have met with much encouragement in the Sabbath-school and sewing-school. Many mothers are, through their children, interested in religion, and come gladly to the mothers' meetings, and my earnest prayer is that the Lord will help me in the future as He has done in the past."

Her prayerful spirit was marvellous. This was the reason why she was able to impart such comfort and encouragement to others.

I called recently in the suburbs of the City of Brooklyn to see a member of the Allen Street Church, and, after reading God's Word and prayer, our conversation turned to a beautiful portrait that hung over the mantel-piece. The lady remarked, "That is the picture of my departed sister, who died in New York. She was faithfully visited during her sickness by Mrs. Knowles." She continued, "I like to think of her, because she used to tell me after she was gone, 'I pray for you by name every day.'" Perhaps that is the reason why she comes now so many miles through the long, dreary, stormy winter months, to teach a class in the Allen Street Sabbath-school, and some of the scholars are Hebrew children. This person for whom she prayed never misses any of the services at the church.

"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost have made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock."

This is the injunction of the Apostle Paul to the elders at Ephesus, but it is exceedingly appropriate to all who are engaged in missionary work of any kind, and it cannot be faithfully complied with unless there is pastoral work performed from house to house. Who is sufficient for these things?

During February and March, 1885, she again writes: "During the last two months I have been engaged as usual in reading the Scriptures from house to house, and wherever I have visited have been allowed to do so, with very few exceptions. Visiting lately in a tenement house, a woman came out, telling me that I would never go to Heaven, and using other insulting language. I only said, 'Poor woman, I pity you.' A Catholic woman, who heard her, asked me into her room, took me by the hand, and with tears in her eyes expressed her sorrow that I should be treated so ill. I told her it did not harm me as much it did themselves. I then asked if I might pray with them, and when we arose from prayers several of those present were in tears. 'How can you pray for one who has abused you so?' said they. I replied that Jesus prayed for His enemies, and we must imitate His example. One of these women came to our mothers' meeting, and asked me for a Bible, and promises to read it."

* * * * * *

Here she complied with the command of Christ: "I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."

What a wonderful exhibition we have in the above interview of the spirit of Him who was suspended on the cross for our sins, for we read: "That when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots."

The fearful drama enacted on Golgotha excites our wonder when we behold the amazing love of Jesus, in thus praying for His persecutors. How true it is that He was clothed with the mock robes of royalty, that we might be clad in His justifying righteousness; crowned with the crown of thorns, that we might wear a crown of glory.

Flow on, thou stream; oh, ceaseless flow, Till every child of sin and woe Hath plunged beneath thy cleansing tide, And found the Saviour precious.

I want to say here, that I visited a family by request a few evenings since in the upper part of New York City. During our religious conversation I asked the mother of the family how she was led to Christ. Her husband, daughters, and sons were all seated around her at the time, a happy family circle. "Well," she replied, "about twenty-three years ago, when my children were little, Mrs. Knowles met me on the street, coming from the store. She said, 'Excuse me, lady, will you accept a tract?' I answered yes. 'Will you read it,' she inquired, 'if I give you one?' I promised I would. She further asked me, 'Have you any children?' 'Yes.' 'Do they go to Sabbath-school?' 'No.' 'Will you send them if I call for them next Lord's Day morning?' 'Yes.' She called the following Sabbath, and asked if the children were ready. 'They are all ready,' I said, 'but one, and her shoes are not good enough; but wait and I will go out and buy a new pair.' 'Oh,' said Mrs. Knowles, 'never mind buying shoes to-day, I will call next Sabbath for them.' I did not know the reason then why she would not allow me to get the shoes, but I know now. She did not wish me to break the holy Sabbath day. Then she persuaded me to attend church, until I found Jesus as my Saviour. I was in the habit of going to her with all my trouble, and she would say, 'Oh, well, never mind, don't tell anyone but your Heavenly Father about it.'"



CHAPTER XXXIV.

CONVERSION OF CHILDREN.

We are so helpless, Lord, Thou art all power and might; Our path is often drear, Be thou our light. We have no hope but thee; Oh, leave us not alone, Till life's brief day is o'er, Still guard thine own.

Her joy in bringing children to the Sabbath-school was great, but when she led them to Christ it was sublime. Why should she not be interested in their early conversion, when Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." I desire to state here, that when I was a boy, about nine years of age, I attended a prayer-meeting between the morning and afternoon services, led by an elder of the Relief U.P. Church, Greenock, and was so deeply impressed with Divine truth that I gathered my playmates together, and invited them to a meeting of my own across the burn at the foot of grandfather's garden, near Dr. McCulloch's established church, where we boys read God's Word in turn sang the sweet psalms of David, and offered prayer.

Rev. E. P. Hammond is doing a grand work among children at the present time in New York. I assisted in his meetings, and found a goodly number of children inquiring after Jesus, and one afternoon there were a dozen young men and women rejoicing in their sins forgiven, who had signed the covenant.

The following letter will speak for itself regarding Mr. Hammond's work here in this city among children, many of whom were brought to Christ:

"NEW YORK CITY, March 3, 1887.

"DEAR BROTHER YOUNG: I am engaged, night and day, holding meetings here, I wish you could come up and attend some of the services; I thank you for all your kind words. I am to be to-morrow at the prayer-meeting as per bill. If you can be there I shall be glad to see you.

"One hundred and twenty here, gave their names to us yesterday, saying they had been converted in these meetings (for the most part). To-morrow night we go to Carle Hall. It will hold, perhaps, three or four thousand. Pray for us.

"Yours in Jesus,

"E. P. HAMMOND."

The afternoon I visited the scene of his labors, he presented me with a copy of his work entitled, "The Conversion of the Children," in which I have found a very encouraging letter to workers among the little ones. I use it here to illustrate the power of Divine grace, and to show that wherever the effort is put forth to save the children, God blesses it.

The following letter will testify also to the power of the Gospel. It is the production of one whom God has been graciously pleased to bless in a marvellous manner among the young.

"GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, September, 18, 1877.

"MY DEAR MR. HAMMOND: We oftentimes remember you, though few letters have passed between us. My daughters and myself will never forget your visit and the time of blessing then, and they, as well as myself, send you most hearty salutations.

"Dear brother, my thoughts on the subject of the conversion of children are the same as when I wrote that tract you refer to.[5] I think I agreed with you in almost every thing but one, viz., expressing publicly an opinion on cases. It seems to me that we should be cautious in so doing; for children themselves mistake feeling for faith; how easy, then, for us who do not know the heart, to mistake in them a manifestation of feeling for evidence of faith.

"But in the awakening which took place under your labors here, and in awakenings that have been given us since, the cases of young people have been as entirely satisfactory as any cases we have had. If conversion be God's work, in which the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to the soul, surely His work can take place in children as really as in the old; for it is the young soul meeting with Christ in the one case and the adult in the other.

"One day, about the time, or perhaps after the time, you were among us, in the vestry of my church, an old Christian woman, who had watched the work going on, came to me and said, 'Sir, you will find many people speaking lightly of the young who come to Christ, as if there was nothing but feeling in their case; but never mind what these people say. I was converted in the days of Dr. Kidd, of Aberdeen, when I was but a child, and two others of my age were converted at the same time; and we have all three gone on to this day, following the Lamb.'

"The Lord blesses you amazingly. Surely you will need to 'walk circumspectly,' 'sober, vigilant,' for Satan will not fail to watch you, and seek to injure you, that he may injure God's work through you. If the way be opened for your revisiting Scotland, many among us shall rejoice.

"Meanwhile, we pray for you, and will not cease. Pray for us still, dear brother.

"Yours truly, in Him 'Whose we are and whom we serve,'

"ANDREW A. BONAR."

[5] The Conversion of Children, by Dr. A. A. Bonar.

But what makes us to differ from each other? Surely it is simply the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our heart. It is all of free sovereign grace and mercy, as Paul says, to the Church at Corinth:

"By the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not found vain: but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Whether then it be I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed."



CHAPTER XXXV.

ASLEEP IN JESUS.[6]

Asleep in Jesus; blessed sleep, From which none ever wakes to weep, A calm and undisturbed repose, Unbroken by the last of foes.

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."—Philippians i. 21.

One week ago to-day, and at this hour, we stood in this historic church over the precious remains of our dear, departed Elder, James Knowles, so kind, so gentle, so affectionate, so humble, and so meek in his manners that we greatly miss him in our work for the blessed Master. Ah! little did we then think that we were to be so speedily gathered together to pay the last tribute of respect to the memory of his faithful and loving wife. But God's ways are not our ways, nor His thoughts as our thoughts. How inexplicable and profoundly mysterious are His providential arrangements. It hath pleased our kind heavenly Father to say to our sainted sister, "It is enough, come up higher." She also is at rest with her Saviour and her husband, to whom she was so devotedly attached. She was, indeed, a virtuous wife and loving mother.

"The race appointed she has run, The combat's o'er, the prize is won."

[6] The substance of a sermon preached by the Rev. Duncan McNeill Young, in the Allen Street Presbyterian Church, New York, November 1, 1886, on the occasion of the death of Mrs. James Knowles, a city missionary who triumphantly departed this life on October 30, 1886, in the seventy fifth year of her age.

How blessed the change! How rich the reward! How safe from all sin and sorrow! In yonder "land of pure delight where saints immortal reign." What a meeting! What a greeting takes place at the hour of dissolution! How pleasing the contemplation. How inspiring to think of our noble ancestors; our holy ministers and teachers; our fathers and mothers who led us by the hand to the house of God on the Sabbath, who early taught us to lisp the ever precious name of Jesus; who are to-day singing the song of Moses and the Lamb. Let us thank God at this solemn hour, even amid blinding tears, for pious, praying parents.

Oh, that the Holy Spirit of God may touch our hearts to-day; that we may more fully realize the greatness and importance of our work, and that we may understand that this second great loss to this church is the voice of the God of Israel calling us, by the solemn dispensations of His providence, to be more zealous in our Saviour's cause. Clarify our vision just now, O Thou Divine Enlightener, that we may see light in Thy light.

I truly believe my theme to-day is a gift from the Lord, the God of Abraham, and is peculiarly appropriate for this solemn scene, and adapted to the circumstances and special wants of this church and congregation. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." The text, I may add, has been graphically illustrated in the life and labors, as well as in the death of her who now lies before us in that beautiful casket, covered with so many rich and fragrant flowers, the gifts of dearly beloved friends.

While I do not believe in eulogizing the dead, yet, nevertheless, I think, nay, I experimentally know, that great good is derived from reflection upon the lives of the great, the pure, and the noble ones who are beyond the flood. Nothing stimulates me so much to increased activity and aggressiveness in Christian work as the thought of the numerous servants of the Most High God now in heaven:

"How bright those glorious spirits shine, Whence all their white array? How came they to the blissful seats Of everlasting day?"—"Par." lxvi. 1.

Paul, who uttered the words of our text, was passing through great suffering when he wrote this epistle to the Church which he planted at Philippi. He was at this time a prisoner for Christ in the palace of the imperial city of Rome: for he declares, "That the things that happened unto me, have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the Gospel; so that," he adds, "my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places."

There are just two thoughts that we want to try and develop this afternoon, namely, that conformity to the likeness of Christ in life brings glorious gain to the Christian at death. Or, in the words of the great Apostle of the Gentiles, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." From the sacred hour that the blessed Jesus met him on his way to Damascus, to the day of his martyrdom, his continual cry was, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me." "I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord."

"That man," says the Hebrew bard, "hath perfect blessedness, who not only refraineth from walking astray, but who delights in the Law of the Lord." Lex rex, was his motto—"The Law is King!" For the Master has said: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." He desires to corroborate the fact that—"Ye are the light of the world"—hence, he adds, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." "The city set on a hill cannot be hid."

The true Christian, then, beholds the humility and majesty of Christ in defining His and our relation to the law that regulates daily life. The Gospel of the blessed God and the law conjointly elevates and spiritualizes humanity. The law is our school-master to lead us to Christ, hence Paul says, "To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

Our loved one's life was emphatically a life of consecration. It was a life strictly devoted to the cause of her dear Redeemer. "For her to live was Christ, hence to die was gain." We all know that to consecrate is to set apart for holy service. Aaron of old was thus unreservedly laid upon the altar as a living sacrifice for Jehovah. A person thus set apart receives the unction of the Holy One. It was beautifully symbolized under the mosaical dispensation.

Moses took the anointing oil and poured it upon the head of Aaron, in order that he might be sanctified and set apart for the service of God. And so, when we can truly exclaim with Paul, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." It is then we receive the blessed baptism of the Holy Spirit, and are made meet for the Master's use. None can rightly live for Christ until they receive this rich and inestimable blessing. "At that time we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise."

Among the personal property of Sister Knowles were found some crumbs which fell from the Master's table in the form of forget-me-nots of the Word of God, by Dr. McDuff, author of "Morning and Night Watches." Valuable little works which I would earnestly recommend, and which I have endeavored to put into the hands of many young disciples in my various fields of labor. I will quote a few of the forget-me-nots, as they are very comforting in these hours of sorrow and separation. For instance here are a few of them:

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."—Isa. xli. 10. "Yet will I not forget thee: Even to your old age I am He; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you."—Isa. xlvi. 4.

Our dear Sister Knowles corroborated the truthfulness of the above passages by her last dying words, the last she ever uttered upon earth. "Once I was young, now I am old, and have never been forsaken."

It is impossible for us to live a truly devoted Christian life without the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, John said, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." This divine blessing our dear sister pre-eminently possessed.

This was the reason why Christ, our ever adorable Redeemer and Daysman was continually about His Father's business. The Prophet Isaiah said concerning him: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.... To comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified."

The presence here to-day, in a body, of the "New York Female Bible Readers' Society," out of respect to the memory of the departed, is a conclusive evidence of the fact that they recognized her sterling qualities, and her heroic missionary spirit among the fallen sons and daughters of Adam in the lower part of this great city. They fully realize that this church and community have suffered a severe loss in her removal, and their presence, together with so many elders, and ministers, deacons, and Sabbath-school workers, give proof that her life, for over a quarter of a century, during which she incessantly toiled for Christ, were years of holy and unremitting industry, and holy consecration in the service of Him whose whole life was one of self-sacrifice and self-abnegation. "For He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many."

She was like Christ in this respect. Emptied of self, and was found like Mary of old sitting at the feet of Jesus, and hearing His word. As He said, "Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

God has wisely ordained that souls are to be saved through human instrumentality, especially through those whose hearts are in the work. He hath put the treasure in the earthen vessel that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of man. Who can estimate the value of a holy missionary woman's work in this world of sin and sorrow?

Through the power of an indwelling spirit, who can tell of the many broken hearts healed by the application of the Balm of Gilead. Many poor Satan-bound souls have had their shackles severed, and joyously set at liberty by pointing them to the only Redeemer of God's elect, who by His great atoning work hath paid for them the ransom price; and many to-day are singing the song of Redeeming love above, who were led to put their trust in the blessed Jesus by her prayers and religious instruction. Many a poor Jew, and Jewess, and Roman Catholic, and Formalist, and Infidel, and swearer, and Sabbath-breaker, were pointed by her to the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. She ever displayed great sagacity in every kind of work. She will be greatly missed in the Tenth Ward of this city.

God grant that as the spirit of Elijah did rest on Elisha as he was taken up into Heaven, even so may her mantle fall on us who are left behind. Let us

"With zeal like hers inspired, Begin the Christian race; And freed from each encumbering weight, Her holy footsteps trace."

Krummacher, of Elberfeld, in the valley of Barmen, Prussia, said, "That Elisha on inheriting this mantle is henceforth called to take the place of his great Master, and to carry on His work." This singular legacy was therefore very significant to Elisha. The mantle came flying toward him heavily laden, but with the commission he received was connected the encouraging circumstance that it came accompanied with such a precious memorial of his paternal Master. It was no longer the robe of his redoubted reformer, but the robe of a blessed heir of Heaven, borne thither on the wings of the cherubin. This circumstance would tend to refresh his spirit in his arduous work; and, at the same time as the messenger of peace, who was to announce to the house of Israel, like the rainbow after the storm, Jehovah's good-will toward men. Oh, that the remembrance of our ancestors, the great, and the good, and the holy ones who have gone before would inspire us to go and do likewise!

I remember once standing in the cemetery of Stirling and gazing upon the monument of two Christian sisters who suffered martyrdom for Christ, and as I read the inscription on the tombstone, I thought of how much we were indebted to those who have borne the burden and heat of the day.

Here is the inscription: "Margaret, Virgin Martyr of the Ocean Wave, with her like-minded sister, Agnes." Then follows this touching paragraph: "Love, many waters cannot quench. God saves His chaste, impearled one! In Covenant true. Oh, Scotia's daughters! earnest scan the Page and prize this flower of Grace, blood-bought for you."—Psalms ix. xix. The elder and younger sister are exquisitely sculptured, seated together with an open Bible on their laps, and a lamb by their side, while an angel is standing behind them gazing intently on the scene. Who can tell but the departed one gazed upon this very scene in the days of her sunny childhood, for the Bible was her daily delight.

Ah! dear friends, are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to them who are heirs of salvation? And are there not many living martyrs that the world knows nothing of among our Bible Readers in this city, who are saying as Paul did: "What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord Jesus."—Acts xxi. 13.

A French gentleman, a Roman Catholic, who lived in the same house as sister Knowles for several years, told me that he never met a woman so humble and straightforward as she was in all her deportment.

What was the secret of her power in eliciting this outside testimony? She had companionship with Jesus. She lived near Him; she heard His sweet voice saying: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

The holy McCheyne, of St. Peter's, Dundee, Scotland, says, concerning those who walk with Christ on earth, "That they shall walk with Christ in white, for they are worthy.... Never forget, dear brethren, that you are to walk with Christ. This walk expresses the most real intimacy with Him. You know it is a mark of real intimacy to admit one to walk with us in our solitary rambles. Oh, walk with Him now; walk here with Him, and you shall soon put your head where John put his."

She cultivated a firm and unstaggering confidence in the continued presence of the Holy Spirit in her heart. McCheyne's directions to his flock was, "Pray for the Holy Spirit to uphold you, if sensible of your weakness; then lean upon this proved Comforter.... Pray much for this Comforter that He may enlighten your mind, that He may fill your hearts. Oh, pray for the Spirit of God, for there is no other way of walking to heaven but by the Spirit. Let Him lead you. My dear brethren, in this way, and in this way alone, will you not defile your garments." "Thy Spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness."—Psalm cxliii. 10. She had faith in the power of the Comforter, or helper.

In the midst of many privations, and sometimes when the week's earnings of her husband was small, and he would say to her on the Saturday evening, "I have not much money for you to-night," she would cheerfully reply: "Never mind dearest, the Lord will provide." Jehovah-jireh! was her watchword all through her life. She would remark, "That would go further to them with God's blessing, than three times as much without His blessing."

Earthly comforts and pleasures might fail, but the joys that spring from personal piety and firm faith in the Comforter's presence failed her never. She seemed to fully realize the potency of the prophet's words, "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds' feet."—Hab. iii. 17-19.

She evidently found in the mighty God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, an inexhaustible source of strength and comfort and consolation through her child-like trust in the immutable promise, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee."

Conformity to the character of Christ was an essential element in her every-day life. She had cares, difficulties, and trials, but she cast them all upon the great burden-bearer, hence prevailing prayer was ever her chief delight. It is no misplaced and extravagant exaggeration to say that she breathed the very atmosphere of prayer. This is the wisest resource at all times. Like Elijah on the summit of Mount Carmel, where all is peaceful and solitary, alone with God, she made her requests known unto Him. It was then that the peace of God which passeth all understanding, kept her heart and mind through Christ Jesus.—Phil. iv. 6-7.

Oh, who can fully estimate the excellency of a devotional temperament? What evils we are delivered from! What mercies we receive! What gladness of heart! What light is imparted! What strength God bestows! For, has He not promised, "Ask, and ye shall receive?" She had no doubts concerning the faithfulness of her Father to answer prayer. It was through her importunate pleadings at the throne of grace that her only son, when quite young, was led to see his need of Jesus. And what joy was brought into the hearts of those parents when, at the return of the father from the prayer-meeting, they found their child on his knees crying for God to have mercy on his soul. Over such scenes as this the holy angels delight to bend their bright wings and make joyous music in heaven. (See Luke xv. 10.)

On one occasion during the fratricidal war in this country, when her boy was fighting before Richmond, some one brought her word that he was mortally wounded on the battle-field, for they had seen his name in the newspapers, she calmly and trustfully replied: "Not my son; for I have made him the subject of earnest prayer, that his young life may be guarded by God while in his country's battles for continued liberty and independence." She recognized the truth that piety and patriotism are inseparably connected.

She seemed to realize that the Saviour was always at her side. She walked by faith and not by sight. She understood the distinction between the constituents of faith and the consequences of faith. Chalmers wisely remarks—that the gratitude, the love, the disposition toward new obedience; these are not the ingredients of faith; they are but the effects of it. Observe what follows by making them the ingredients. By faith we are said to be justified; but if our piety toward God, or our desire to conform to His law, or any moral characteristic whatever, shall be regarded as parts and constituents of this faith; then, under the consciousness of our sad deficiency, we shall never attain to the solid peace of one who rejoices in a firm sense of his acceptance with God. But reduce faith to its simplicity, take it in the obvious and uncompounded sense which you attach to the mere act of believing, regard it as purely giving credit to God's testimony, when he sets forth Christ as a propitiation for our sin, and invites one and all in the world to cast upon Him the burden of their reliance, and then see how, by immediate transition, one might enter into peace, and become a confiding, tranquillized, and happy creature, simply because convinced that the most powerful of beings, whom he aforetime regarded as an enemy and an avenger is pacified toward him, and now makes him a free proffer of fellowship and forgiveness. It is of the greatest importance to the secure and perfect establishment of a believer's peace, that it should be a matter of believing, and believing only. It is also an imperative necessity that the comfort and confidence should spring from the proper object of belief, which is the sureness of God's own testimony, and not from the consciousness of love or gratitude, or any moral quality in ourselves!

I heard Dr. Andrew Bonar, while preaching in Philadelphia, during a visit to this country, tell about a dying elder who was asked by friends who clustered around his couch, "How do you feel, now that the hour of your departure has come, and you hear the voice that calls you home? Have you still joy and peace?"

"Oh," he said, "I am not thinking about joy or peace, or my feelings. I am not thinking about myself at all. I am just lying here thinking about Christ. I am thinking about what He has done and suffered for me; and what He is doing for me in heaven. Yes, He is 'a hiding place from the wind.'

"'Rock of ages cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee.'

"That is what we have to do in life and in death. Where can we find rest and refuge in a dying hour, but by thinking upon and trusting in Him who is 'the shadow of a great rock in a weary land?'"

Our peace, our joy, our hope, our all in life and in death, are the results of confidence in Christ. Our dear, departed sister had heard the sweet voice of Jesus saying, "I am the dark world's light; come unto me, thy morn shall rise and all thy day be bright." Her trust was not in this vain and transitory world, though smiling and fair, she trusted not His joy, for sorrow was there. Her faith had found an anchor—a sure abiding home; she had a strong consolation because she had fled for refuge and had laid hold of the hope set before her in the Gospel.

The sweet and tender and loving words of John were ever present to her ear: "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." Hence she continually enjoyed four precious elements of spiritual life and Christian experience; viz., Union with God, Communion with Christ, Pure Fellowship with the Saints, and Constant Cleansing by the peace-speaking blood of Jesus—"That blood which speaketh better things than the blood of Abel."

The application to your hearts of the blood of Jesus by the Holy Spirit is like the dew upon the new mown grass.

Amid the great rush and roar of business, where men are pressing against each other on the busy streets, in the race for gold, her mind was constantly occupied with thoughts relative to the wants and woes of the sick and the dying. While others were daily seeking their own, not the things of Christ, she was found bringing children to the Sabbath-school—reaching out to the hearts of the parents through the little ones—bringing the blessed Bible to the bosoms of the homes which had none; circulating tracts and religious literature; visiting sad scenes of distressing spiritual and domestic destitution. And whatsoever her hands found to do, she did it quietly and unostentatiously, and unreservedly, knowing full well, "That there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge in the grave whither we goeth." She sweetly rests from her labors, and her works do follow her. And as the Gospel of the grace of God was in her a well of water, out of the abundance of her heart, so kind, calm, consistent, and courageous, there constantly flowed streams of living water of earnest, loving, prayerful toil in the Master's vineyard.

She gathered daily jewels for the crown of her rejoicing. I have found in her diary, that this was the aim of her whole life.

Companionship with Christ is constantly manifested by love for the Holy Scriptures. "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." The will of Jesus is made known through His word. When the blessed Master was in Capernaum, His own city, He declared that it was the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing: "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."—John vi. 63.

There is sunshine and beauty in His words. They are practical principles for the regulation of life, and a humble, holy walk and conversation is the product. It is in His word we behold the character of Jesus. In the Mirror of the glad tidings, we behold His lovely countenance and are changed into the same image, from glory to glory. It is no wonder that David exclaimed, "The entrance of Thy word giveth light." Hence the exhortation of Paul to Timothy, "Preach the Word." Oh, the intrinsic value of the Word of God. It was because of Christ's own word that the Samaritans believed on Him, notwithstanding the prejudice they entertained against the Jews and their religion.

Alas! how many professing Christians make shipwreck of faith because they neglect to read the Word. Christ is the Word. "This is that bread which came down from heaven. He that eateth my flesh shall live forever."

What Matthew Henry says of his father at his funeral, may be said with reference to the dear one who has just left us for the mansions above. Let us then, as ever we hope to meet her with joy in the other world, follow her with diligence now. Having begun "in the spirit," let us not "end in the flesh,"—having laid our hands "on the plough," let us not "look back," lest our latter end be worse than our beginning.

Being dead, she yet speaks to us to be loving and helpful to one another. Her common and undistinguished love to us all was such that it could never be said which of us she loved the best, and it speaks to us, now that she is gone, to "love one another with a pure heart fervently." We know very well that our unity was the joy of her heart while living, and many a time she hath with us blessed God for it. Let it, therefore, be to the credit and honor of her family, friends, and the Church, for I find it was her dying prayer for this church and its minister, not only that we may be built up in holiness and comfort, but that we may be continued in brotherly love, and be a bundle of arrows which cannot be broken.

Now that we have lost her who was wont to pray for us, and to be a common helper to us, let us pray so much the more one for another, and be so much the more helpful one to another, especially in the things that pertain to the kingdom of heaven; and let all our bonds of unity be strengthened and confirmed, and let it be our constant endeavor, each of us in our place, to be mutually serviceable to each other's comfort and welfare, and jointly serviceable to the glory of God and to the comfort of the Church, for Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for the Church.

When we unbosom ourselves, He lets His love stream richly and gloriously into our hearts. From day to day, our sister seemed to realize how strongly and truly Christ loved the Church, and herself, as an individual member of it. The sacrificial death of the Saviour was to her not simply an historical fact, but a living reality. The sweet peace and pure pleasure she daily enjoyed was the result of His death. For, "He hath made peace through the blood of His cross." And since He had made her the happy recipient of His grace, it was her daily delight to walk in the path of obedience. Christ was to her the door of salvation, and she went in and out and found pasture, in ministering to the poor and indigent and dying, and in this line of Christian toil she possessed a remarkable faculty.

She told me on one occasion, during one of my pastoral visits, that she visited a dying woman and endeavored to point her to Jesus. And when a clergyman of the Church of Rome, who happened to be present, was retiring, she suggested that they should have a word of prayer together. He replied, "That while he enjoyed her religious conversation, he could not pray with her, as she did not belong to his church."

At this remark she was deeply affected, and said, with great emphasis and deep solemnity: "I thought there was but one fold and one shepherd."

When she sent around, or rather, came herself for me, to the church on Friday, the prayer-meeting night, to come and see her dear dying husband, she seemed to be troubled when I asked him, "Are you still trusting in Jesus?" as I observed he was rapidly sinking, I put the question that I might employ his blessed testimony for my own good, and the good of the congregation. He quickly responded very emphatically in the affirmative, "Yes! yes!" and I think those were the last audible words he uttered. But she was troubled because she had such faith in the consistency of the Christian life of her husband, that she knew full well that he feared no evil, for Christ was with him.

Oh, how tenderly and lovingly she would step up to his bed-side and kiss his heated brow. When he became unconscious or rather, when his speech failed him and he would point to his parched lips to have them moistened, she would tearfully exclaim, "My dear, dear husband, can you not speak to me? Have you not a word for Esther? My dear husband, how can I live without you?"

I endeavored to console her on the sorrowful occasion, until after midnight, by reading the Scriptures, and prayer, and general conversation about heavenly things, and more especially the precious promises of Jesus concerning the many mansions, I remember reading 2 Corinthians, v. 1: "We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."

About midnight she became perfectly resigned to the will of God, and felt that life, even amid affliction, is the gift of God, and is a valuable endowment.

In this she was like Christ, "For me to live is Christ," seemed to be her motto to the last. I left the house about two in the morning. I called again between eight and nine A.M., the same day, after her husband's death, to see how she was bearing her trouble. But oh, how changed! Her tears were all dried; and as she sat by the bedside where her husband suffered his last illness, her countenance wore an expression of perfect peace and Christian fortitude. Like her Saviour amid the hoary olives of Gethsemane, she could tranquilly exclaim: "Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done!"

The first words she uttered when I entered the room were: "My dear husband has gone to glory." These words were uttered very quietly, and very solemnly. Ah, little did she think that in just one week and two hours from that time, she also was to pass away from earth to heaven, "To see the King in his beauty, and be forever with the Lord."

The Saturday night after her husband's death, she went to the store for some groceries. It was the usual custom for her husband, when he would hear the door open, to go down-stairs and carry the basket up for her; she remarked, when she returned home and experienced his absence for the first time, "No Papa to come and carry up the basket to-night!" How quickly she remembered this little act of courtesy and kindness on his part. "He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful in much." Gratitude to God and one another for little deeds of kindness is well-pleasing in His sight.

She fed the hungry and clothed the naked; many a loaf of bread she carried with her own hands to the necessitous. Many a poor, crying, shivering, half-clad child was comfortably clothed through her instrumentality: "He that honoreth Him hath mercy on the poor."—Prov. xiv. 31. "The poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always." Shall the Christian's remembrance of these words be overlooked in the great day of reckoning? Will the dear Lord not recognize even a cup of cold water given in the name of a disciple? Verily it shall in no wise lose its reward. To care for the poor is practical Christianity. The question will not be asked in the great day of account: Did you preach long, deep, and eloquent sermons? Or offer long and pharisaical prayers? No. But He will "say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed." Why? "Inherit the kingdom.... For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?... And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

As Christian workers we have constantly to remember that while we are justified by our faith here, and now, we will be judged by our works, yonder.

Henry Law, in "Christ is All," wisely remarks that, "Fruit is the sign of healthy trees, and so works evidence that we have life." "By their fruits ye shall know them." "Whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?"

* * * * * *

TO DIE IS GAIN.

How frail, how short, how uncertain is human life. "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down."—Job xiv. 1. "As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more."—Ps. ciii. 15-16.

"All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away, but the Word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the Word which by the Gospel is preached unto you."—1 Pet. i. 24-25.

These very solemn passages of Scripture reveal to us two distinct lines of thought: First, The mutable; and, secondly, the immutable. If a man die, shall he live again? Ah, it is here, amid the ravages which death makes, that we hear Christ's blessed words, "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth on me though he were dead, yet shall he live."

While it is true that this body must droop and die, and return to dust, yet death cannot touch the soul. It is immortal, it has been created in the image of God. He is a spirit, and a spirit is indestructible. The essence of the soul is spiritual. From the hour of the new birth, the soul of man begins to ripen for glory. All its powers and capacities are gradually developed and made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light.

This preparation for Heaven is the work of the Holy Spirit. By providences, by sermons, by the word of truth, and by prayer, God prepares His servants for the heavenly home on high. Looking, then, at this life as a state of danger, difficulties, and trials—a life of probation—we must say with Paul, that when the great conflict is over, "To die is gain." "The time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day."

But remember he said, now I am ready to be offered.

It is only when we are ready to be offered, that to die will be gain. Oh, are you ready? Jesus says, "be ye also ready."

There are some here, perhaps, who are still unsaved, unprepared for death. Oh, if God should call for you to-day, where would your soul go? You know that God out of Christ is a consuming fire. It will not be gain for you when you die, unless you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, come to Him while it is the accepted time, and the day of salvation.

There is no time to be lost in this important matter, for death is upon our track. While God invites how blest the day. While the Holy Spirit is speaking and saying, "Prepare to meet thy God." Oh, resist not entreaties, yield to His power. How is it possible for a soul to be ready for death, and judgment, and a coming eternity, without conversion?

"Verily, verily," said Jesus to Nicodemus, "I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God." "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." How is it possible for any to be ready to meet God in peace unless they are washed in Christ's blood, and clothed in His spotless and justifying righteousness.

Paul said, "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." There are some, however, who do not believe this comforting doctrine. They debar the Christian from the enjoyments of Heaven during the intermediate state between the hour of death and the resurrection. This condition they call the unconscious state of the dead. They are soul-sleepers, and generally believe in the pernicious error, namely, the annihilation of the wicked. A pleasing thought no doubt to the workers of iniquity, as they shall escape the punishment due to their iniquities. This is about as dangerous a doctrine as the new school theology of reformatory punishment, namely, that God is so good and so full of universal benevolence, that He cannot consistently, with His attribute of mercy, consign His creatures to everlasting punishment. It is true that God is full of love and tender mercy; but He never appeared as a merciful God excepting through a mediator. He can only be just, and the justifier of those alone who believe in Jesus. "Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name given under Heaven or among men whereby we can be saved, but by the name of Jesus." To those, we believe, He is precious at the hour of death. It is then the believer is ushered into the presence of the King eternal, immortal, and invisible. In view of the greatness and glory of the transition from earth to Heaven, the Apostle exclaimed, "I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better." For it is then that we really begin to live; now we see through a glass darkly; now we know only in part, but then, oh, what a change, "Beyond the smiling and the weeping."

"Let not your heart be troubled," said Jesus; "in my Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also." It is for these mansions we were begotten. "Heirs to an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, and fadeth not away."

Sister Knowles had the blest assurance of this Heavenly home, she knew this assurance was attainable, and on earth she enjoyed it, and now she is reaping the rich reward, and its innumerable and unutterable advantages. In her dying hour she could triumphantly exclaim, with Simeon in the temple, "Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." And, like Moses, her eye was not dimmed, nor her natural force abated. Oh! the gain, the bliss of thus dying.

Heaven as our home is worthy our deepest contemplation. "It doth not yet appear what we shall be." It is a place of perfect rest. Oh, how comforting is this thought to the poor, way-worn, toiling pilgrim.

Oh, land of rest for thee I sigh!

The important discovery of this land of rest will nerve our arm for the great conflict of life. It will inspire us to work more earnestly and more incessantly for Jesus. It will sweeten every bitter cup of trial and tribulation that we have to encounter here below. It will distil a desire and a loftiness of aim in life, that we may at last reach the rest that remains for the people of God. The struggle with inbred sin will be more easily overcome, and every lust and evil passion will be completely conquered by keeping the eye steadily fixed on those glittering mansions,

Where the wicked cease from troubling, And the weary are at rest.

Christ Himself will administer this rest to the believer in the Heavenly Kingdom. Just as He is the source of peace and quiet here on earth, so is He at this moment surrounded with the saints triumphant in glory, imparting perpetual peace in the paradise of God to all the bright spirits who loved Him on earth, and kept His commandments. Yonder they enjoy eternal Sabbathism.

Let us fear, therefore, lest haply a promise being left of entering into rest, any of you should seem to come short of it through unbelief. For indeed we have good tidings preached unto us, and we which believe do enter into that rest.

Alford, in speaking of the rest on earth that resembles the rest of Heaven, says: "Our Lord does not promise (here below) freedom from toil or burdens, but rest to the soul." The rest and joy of the Christian soul is to become like Christ. To the young men, who surrounded her dying couch, she said: "Avoid bad company, learn of Christ; seek to be like Him, little by little." It is no wonder King David said, "As for me I will behold Thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake with Thy likeness."

But we are to behold the royal dignity of the Redeemer, and be brought forth into a large place because He delighted in us. Yes! to die is gain. Oh! wondrous change: To behold His illimitable power and partake of His consummate wisdom and knowledge. One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; "that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple, for in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion. The Christian is secure at death; he has a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens."

Here we have a continual conflict; but yonder we are made more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Here we are sinful and short-sighted; but yonder we shall partake of His perfect holiness and inexhaustible love and Divine penetration in the Heavenly Kingdom. Yes to die is infinite gain.

The spiritual enjoyment of the soul in the land of light is indescribable. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." Yonder you shall behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

You know this was a portion of the parting prayer of Jesus for His disciples. He said: "Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory." There is but a step between us and it. There is but a thin veil that parts us from the beatic vision of the blest.

I once entered the beautiful harbor of Cronstadt, in Russia, and I distinctly remember that the entrance was so narrow and land-locked, that we could scarcely discern its precise location until we had suddenly entered it. The passage from earth to Heaven is not unlike the ending of the voyage of a ship, even although many of them reach the harbor in a dismantled condition. Many a storm has been encountered, and while sails have been torn to shreds, yet the gallant bark has outweathered the gale and has escaped rocks, and quicksands, and whirlpools of destruction. But now the gale is hushed forever, the sails are all furled, the anchor is cast out, and she rides securely in the harbor where storms cannot affright. Glorious port of peace! Oh, blessed and triumphant entry! To go no more out forever; where the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and lead them unto living fountains of water, and God Himself shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Beautiful valley of Eden, Sweet is thy noon-tide calm, Over the hearts of the weary, Breathing thy waves of balm. Home of the pure and blest; How often amid the wild billows, I dream of thy rest, sweet rest.

It was the glimpse of this rest beyond the river that lit up the pale cheek of our dear, dying sister, with seraphic brightness and beauty.

"All my fountains are in thee," said the Psalmist. God is the author of holiness. In John's vision of Heaven, he describes the four living creatures, having each of them six wings, round about and within, and they have no rest day and night, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come."

The great object therefore of the Gospel of the blessed God is to transform us into the Divine image. Another of our sister's dying utterances was very forcible, "Now I have got to the edge of the river."

"Only just across the river, Over on the other side."

We all with open face beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image.

It is thus God's people become meet for the holy inheritance. Here we have to cry out, "Oh, wretched man, who shall deliver me from the body of this death;" yonder the Spirit's work has gloriously triumphed. The believer's holiness is effectually accomplished in Heaven. Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have the right to come to the tree of life and may enter in by the pearly gates into the city.

Heaven is called the land of light. What is light? "Hail, holy light, offspring of Heaven's first-born." Light is pure. "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. Darkness, in God's Word, is an emblem of sin. They love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil, and every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."—John iii. 19-20.

The more we increase in the likeness of God, the greater and stronger will our light shine in this dark world, and the more will we enjoy basking in the sunshine of the light of His countenance. We are partakers now of the Divine nature, but in Heaven we shall continually walk before Him who is the enlightener and the light. Oh, the gain, the bliss of dying! For we shall see His face and His name shall be in our foreheads.

Paul's prayer for the church at Colosse was "that they might be filled with the knowledge of His will, increasing in the knowledge of God, giving thanks unto the Father, who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light."—Col. i. 12.

Oh, that a view of the pure, and the great, and the good ones around the throne may be as a golden chain to bind our hearts to that home beyond the skies, where there is no night, and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.—Rev. xxii. 5.

Dearly beloved, this is the "Night of Weeping;" but oh, remember, that it is written in His Holy Word that God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.

As we stand by the bedside of our loved ones, and watch them wasting away with disease, and as we behold their love, their patience, and Christian fortitude, we think of earth's bitter trials and earthly relationship, and of the strong tie that binds heart to heart. How touching the parting words to her only son she so tenderly loved, "Be faithful, humble, meek, and constantly keep at the Master's feet, until He calls you up higher. Be kind and gentle to your sister Esther." To her Pastor she said: "Preach the Gospel uncolored!" We look upon the sinking form of a dear wife and mother, or brother, or sister, or husband, or friend, and as we sadly muse upon the fact that we held sweet counsel together and walked to the House of God in company; and we softly whisper to the physician is there no hope of recovery? Can you not save that young and precious life, so dear to us, so gentle, so loving, so kind, so sympathetic, so hopeful? And as in response to our inquiry, we receive the look of pity, and the sorrowful shake of the head, it is then, in our deepest agony, amid blinding tears, and hearts almost crushed to despair, we turn to our great Father above, and we ask, why must we part? Oh, God, can you not spare him? How can I live without him?

Providential bereavements are sad scenes in life, for the scythe of death stops not to ask if they be sweet and precious to some fond wife, or mother, or brother, who knows? whom their heart chose. On! on! he pursues his desolating work, amid their sighs, their cries, and tears.

But beloved, there is no tearing of heart from heart in Heaven. There is no death there; there is no sorrow there; there is no sin there. I often think of the words of the Apostle as peculiarly appropriate to us in the hour of sad bereavement: "These light afflictions are but for a moment, but they work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."

I have had persons tell me when God has suddenly removed loved ones from their midst, that God had forsaken them, that He had forgotten to be gracious. But ah, to such let me say that the Lord loveth whom He chasteneth. God is love. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.

But what is the object God has in view in thus breaking the family circle by death? It is that our attention may be attracted to the saints above, and that we may by faith behold the beauties of the Celestial city.

You know, David says, "It was good for me that I was afflicted; before I was afflicted, I went astray." We not unfrequently forget that this is not our home. But that we are strangers and pilgrims on the earth. God has to put us in remembrance of it. Beautiful as this world is, there is a fairer and brighter, and infinitely more lovely world above our heads. Lovely as human friendships and fellowships are here below, what are they in comparison to the felicitous condition of society in heaven?

"I would not live alway, I ask not to stay, Where storm after storm rises dark o'er the way."

There are no estranged feelings in heaven. There are no misunderstandings there. No sickness there. All, all is peace and joy and love!

Our faith in God, and in the existence of Heaven, and the possibilities of the future life, can enable us to triumph over the trials and bereavements in this vale of tears.

Dr. Guthrie asks: "Why should we not lie as calmly in the arms of God's Providence, as we lay in infancy on a mother's breast? Having an ever-living, an everlasting, an ever-loving Father in God, how may we welcome all providences, sweetly submissive to the will of God. Shall it not fare with us as with the pliant reeds that love the hollows and fringe the margin of the lake, and bending to the blast, not resisting it, raise their heads anew, unharmed by the storm that has snapped the mountain's pine and rent the hearts of oaks asunder." "All things work together for good to them that love God; them who are the called according to His purpose."

When John was in the spirit on the Lord's Day, he heard a great voice saying, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it."

How can we best overcome the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the pride of life but by deep and continued meditation on the blessed change that takes place at the hour of death. The shadows of earth are instantly dispelled when we set our affections on things above.

"Who are these arrayed in white robes, and whence came they? These are they who have come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." I remember once standing at the grave of Richard Cameron, in Ayrs Moss, and as I read the names of other martyrs engraved on the tomb-stone, I thought of the general assembly of the Church of the first-born in Heaven, and as I read God's Word there and sang a sweet Psalm of praise to Jehovah, and offered a prayer to the Father of lights, the God of Israel, I thought of the prayer of Peden, the prophet, as he sat on Cameron's grave. Lifting up his eyes steadfastly to Heaven, he prayed: "Oh, to be wi' Ritchie!"

"Often at the shades of evening, When I sit me down to rest, One by one, I count them over, They who are in glory blest."

Dearly beloved, I have a Ritchie[7] in Heaven, for I have recently learned of the death of the spiritual guide of my youth, who, in years gone by, at the close of a cottage prayer-meeting, requested me, for the first time in my life, to speak a word for Jesus. Pulling a flower from the hill-side, he said as he held it up, "I can see God in that gowan." Taking me to his room, he said, "This is my study; these are my books, I am going to be a minister of the Gospel, and then go to China."

[7] The late Rev. Hugh Ritchie, of Formosa, China.

Handing me a neat, little, precious volume, he said, "Take this book and study it, and commence speaking for Jesus, and help me in my meetings." Surely to such to die is gain.

Who; who, would live alway away from his God—away from yonder Heaven, that blissful abode where the noontide of glory eternally reigns, and the smile of the Lord is the feast of the soul?

Dearly beloved, we may well ask, "Who are these arrayed in white robes?" Oh, what celebrated personages are above! The prophets, the apostles, the reformers, and the martyrs of Scotland are there. For in a dream of the night I was wafted away to the moorland and moss, where the martyrs lay. When the minister's home was the mountain and flood. When they dared not worship God in daylight. Only at the dead of night, when the wintry winds raved fierce, and the thunder-peal compelled the men of blood to crouch within their den. Then the faithful few—true followers of the blessed Jesus—would venture forth to some deep dell by the rock o'er canopied; then, amid the glare of sheeted lightning, those men of God would open the sacred Book and words of comfort speak. Ah, it cost something to be a Christian in those days, when from the high foaming crest of Solway to the smoothly polished breast of Loch Katrine, not a river nor a lake but has swelled with the life's tide of religious freedom. From the bonnie highland heather of her lofty summits to the modest gowan on the lea, not a flower but has blushed with the martyr's blood. But, beloved, the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the Church. What holy, loving lessons does God teach us by the history of the true Church, and a thoroughly consecrated people—lessons of love, hope, fortitude, and long-suffering!

"Oh, Jesus, our Master, command to beat faster These weary life-pulses that bring us to Thee."

Our dear departed sister had the true missionary spirit. She feared not the things she was called on to suffer for Christ in her great work in this city. Let us who are left behind catch her magnanimous and heroic disposition in working for the blessed Jesus. Oh, that the spirit of our noble ancestry might come upon us! Oh, that the Holy Spirit of God may enter into all our hearts to-day, that we may be more humble, more loving, more zealous, more sympathetic, and more sincere in our toil for Christ and His Church; then to die will be gain! and to Him shall be all the glory, world without end. Amen.



CHAPTER XXXVI.

TESTIMONIALS AND LETTERS OF CONDOLENCE.

I've found a Friend; oh, such a Friend! So kind, and true, and tender, So wise a Counsellor and guide, So mighty a Defender! From him, who loves me now so well, What power my love can sever? Shall life, or death, or earth, or hell? No, I am his forever.

The following resolutions and letters furnish, in a pre-eminent degree, conclusive evidence of the high estimation in which His servant and handmaiden were held by ministers, elders, and Sabbath-school workers generally:

NEW YORK, January 12, 1869.

MRS. JAMES KNOWLES:

MY DEAR FRIEND—At the Annual Meeting of the Teachers' Association of the Sabbath-school of the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, held last evening, the following action was taken:

"On motion, the cordial thanks of this Association are voted to Mrs. James Knowles for her faithful labors in behalf of our School during the past year."

The following extract from the Annual Report was also ordered to be forwarded with the foregoing:

"Mention must be made of one of our own church members, Mrs. Knowles, who has labored most devotedly for our School. In behalf of the School, the Superintendent would take this way of expressing our gratitude for her cheerful, earnest, and persevering labor. She has taken a deep interest in our School, and has shown it by hard work in its behalf."

I am very glad that the pleasant duty of making you acquainted with this action has been imposed upon me. Without your help I would oftentimes during the past year have been very much discouraged. Your readiness for Christian work, and your thoroughness in it, have both cheered and satisfied me. May you fully realize the promise given to those who are always abounding in the work of the Lord. (1 Cor. xv. 58.) And may the present year show us a continuance of your willing labors and be marked by a stronger faith in expectation and more new-born souls, as your joy and crown in realization. (Psalm cxxvi. 5-6.)

Respectfully yours in the Master,

SAMUEL B. W. MCKEE, Superintendent.

* * * * * *

When we take into consideration the time that elapsed between the penning of the foregoing resolutions as no vain and unmeaning compliment, and the departure of her concerning whom they were voted upon, we are led to see the importance of those words in the Apocalypse: "He that is faithful unto death shall receive a crown of eternal life." How significant are the words employed to denote their hearty appreciation of her worth. "We express our gratitude for her cheerful, earnest, and persevering labor. She has taken a deep interest in our School and has shown it by hard work," etc.

We trust that our Sunday-school workers may be greatly encouraged to go and do likewise through a careful and prayerful examination of the above communication.

The following additional affectionate and deeply instructive tribute to her worth to the church and Sabbath-school is from one who was her beloved pastor for seven years—years of pure and uninterrupted Christian fellowship and disinterested devotedness to the cause of Christ.

UTICA, N.Y., November 8, 1886.

REV. DUNCAN M. YOUNG:

DEAR BROTHER—In the removal of Mr. and Mrs. James Knowles we sustain a personal loss. The fact was unknown to us previous to your letter. To enjoy such friendship as they admitted us into from our first acquaintance, was not unlike a continuous salutation with the impressiveness of an unqualified good-will. Heaven is indeed richer for their entrance, and by so much is increasingly endeared unto us.

They were not time-servers, but, in no mere sentimental sense, God-servers. The feverish world, greedy and rushing, will know little of their value, nor miss their humble crafts so quickly trackless, and yet they really laid the world under obligation. If its life, and aim, and effort were not purer and higher, it was in spite of their actual godliness, at all times apparent.

My first introduction to Mrs. Knowles was on the first Sabbath in February, 1874; also, my first acquaintance with the Allen Street Church. Mrs. Knowles was then teaching in the Ludlow Street Mission. As a teacher, she was simple, fearless, and Scriptural. Her ruling passion, perhaps, was a desire to be useful in some way, adjusting herself with good grace to the requirements of advancing years. If just a little disturbed at the thought that she must contract her labors, or "hold up" at some point, the spirit was ever the same, perhaps too exacting of a body not excessively vigorous.

As a "Bible reader" she did some of her best work, and made her greatest sacrifices. Faithfulness characterized her covenant relation—seldom absent from the scenes of public worship; and the more remarkable in view of her untiring zeal and devotion in her specially God-given calling. Many will rise up and call her blessed, because, so true of her, "she went about doing good." My own indebtedness to her, as a pastor, was great. Her sympathy with the ministry seemed innate. Full of faith, and rich in peculiar experience, she was the one "to step in" at the minister's for a half-hour; and here, incidentally, I may say, that her practical views of life and knowledge of human ways turned to my advantage on repeated occasions, whenever she reported a case as worthy or unworthy. When an application for aid or comfort required investigation—that is, ultimate cases requiring delicate, careful treatment, often impossible for the pastor to do—her feminine instinct and sagacity of experience took it in hand with a readiness that was surprising, in view of her always full hands. A gentle, trustful soul, a frank, unwavering friend, a pious, useful woman, and a faithful wife and mother, her rest will be sweet.

If the beginning of my acquaintance with her companion dates somewhat later, it ripened early, I suppose mutually so, into a strong attachment. Integrity of character was my first impression of the man; whether an instinct or a judgment, there never was a doubt as to its correctness. Strong in faith, also—the old-time faith, of apostolic color, for he took no pleasure in "new departures." Sound in doctrine, fervent in spirit, wise in council, stable in action, he was truly a strong "pillar in the house of the Lord." If he wrought obscurely, as the world moves, my impression is that he did some excellent work for eternity in the most quiet sort of way. I do not think Heaven could be a surprise to one of his habits and trend of life. He could assimilate the good easily. Though positive in his feelings, and sensitive of attachment, he was no mere man-worshipper, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, so long as it was the Word of Christ, faithfully, earnestly preached; he was a responsive hearer. The chief desire was that the word should be successful. Perhaps simplicity was as characteristic as any other distinct trait. If he did not choose the uppermost seats he occupied them becomingly when once bidden to take them.

I remember him not so much by means of incidents—his life was not formed on that plan; but by the deep impression of genuine, unpretentious godliness.

If I have written at too great length, my heart is full. In deep sympathy with those who will so surely mourn their loss, and grateful for the privilege of a tribute, I am,

Sincerely yours,

GEORGE O. PHELPS, An Ex-Pastor.

* * * * * *

The more I read and study the phraseology of this letter, welling up out of a full heart, the more I am convinced of its adaptedness to impart encouragement to others the same in kind and degree as was doubtless reciprocally experienced in days of yore, "for as iron sharpeneth iron, so does the countenance of man his friend."

Here is another tender and terse tribute from the same source to their only son—the request for particulars regarding their last illness, which produced the leaflet entitled "A Short Account of the Last Hours"—that has been already a rich spiritual blessing to many souls.

UTICA, N.Y., November, 1886.

MR. WM. KNOWLES:

DEAR BROTHER—We have just learned of the departure of your dear parents. Our attachment to them was exceptionally strong, even as our association in the Master's work was intimate.

I have been looking over your father's letters, too few in numbers; how full of human kindness, how intensely godly.

Be assured of our sincere regard for you and others in this great bereavement.

May we not receive, at your convenience, particulars of their last illness and going? We have no knowledge of either case.

Very sincerely yours,

GEORGE O. PHELPS.

* * * * * *

The subjoined is the answer to the reception of the account of their last hours on earth.

UTICA N.Y., November 30, 1886.

MR. WM. KNOWLES:

MY DEAR SIR AND BROTHER—You have laid us under great obligation by your lengthy and painstaking statement respecting your lamented parents. Seldom have we been affected so deeply as in the reading of it, which came so appropriately as to time and feeling, just as we were closing one of the sweetest meetings of our little "Gospel Band." Yes, truly, those dear, true friends of ours were as "little children" in "the Kingdom of Heaven."

Nothing would afford me greater satisfaction than to be able to add further by word or incident what you desire to gather up by way of a grateful memorial. As I stated in my letter to Mr. Young, my impressions were made by their uniform consistency of character, and not by any particular event or circumstance. Perhaps the enclosed letters will afford characteristic illustration of your father's habitual godliness or tenor of life. As to your mother, why, she was always "going about doing good," seemingly never tiring.

What death-bed scenes! If those faithful words of hers are ever forgotten, somebody will have a hard witness against them at last. Their memory is indeed blessed. We will all try to profit by their examples of godly fidelity, and faithful admonitions. With the sincerest sympathy, I am,

Gratefully yours,

GEORGE O. PHELPS.

* * * * * *

UTICA, N.Y., February 17, 1887.

MR. WM. KNOWLES:

DEAR BROTHER—You have laid us under new obligations. On my study table is a picture of the pastor of my childhood—It has been there nearly my entire ministry. You can conceive the influence it is designed to exert over me. Now there will be, if not in my study exclusively, in our house itself, the constant stimulus of such reminders of devotion as these two most welcome pictures.

We are indeed very grateful to you for them; your filial love was strong while they lived, and must be quickened by their death, but if anybody outside of the circle of kindred exceeds our veneration for your parents, they deserve it all. We certainly cannot fail to cherish what has been so well done by the artist, the expression in both pictures is so characteristic. It seems, when we dwell intently upon them and let thoughts come and go at liberty, that the lips must open and pleasant words come from them as in life; but they do speak, nevertheless, and as distinctly, and as affectionately. Oh! that we were more worthy to hear. And that blessing upon yourself, how valuable and hopeful, or encouraging it must be.