Thus He sent an answer to my earnest praying, Till I look above it; then with purer vision, Softly flutter to and fro, Watch me ever earnestly Through the loop-holes of the stars; Baby's looking out for me. A MOTHER. A TRUE STORY. FROM THE GERMAN. TRANSLATED BY ELIA. A witness to the truth would gladly, to the honor of God and for the good of souls, write down some passages from the life of a mother, who with God's grace was able to journey on courageously, and free from anxiety amid the most oppressive circumstances of life, and to become a permanent blessing to her family by her shining example. This mother, who persevered in the life by faith, to the end of her days, is even now (for her body has been resting in the ground a long time) the next to their Mediator and Atoner, the most glorious example to her surviving children, that they have ever known. Although these children received no inheritance from their mother-some of them not even a keepsake the spirit which was in the mother lives and reigns in them. This cross-bearer, who bore every cross which the Lord laid upon her as if it were no cross, was born in the year 1772. The survivors not wishing that her name should be known, for that would not be according to the mind of this quiet mother in the Land, neither name nor place are introduced. But still it is their ardent prayer that perchance one soul may learn from reading these lines, how wonderfully, and still how blessedly the Lord conducts those that are His. A child of this believing mother narrated to me the following story: My mother often spoke to me of the years of her childhood. Already, at the age of twelve years, she became a fatherless and motherless orphan, and that in an unfortunate manner. Her father was of a rich family; but its property could not thrive, for it was not acquired with God's ap proval. My grandfather lost all his possessions. His wife, a soul true and betrothed to her Redeemer, he often treated so cruelly that she had to flee to save her life. In the second year of their marriage, when grandmother was twenty-one years old, he attempted her life in a fit of anger. She succeeded in escaping to her parent's house, where she spent two full Our grandmother perceived too late how she had sinned against the Word of God in this matter; having married a man who had been divorced from a woman. Had she better understood what it means: "Whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery," she would never have taken such a step. But now she had to suffer severely for her disobedience to God's Word. Mean while the time was drawing near which was to determine either the complete divorce or the reunion of the two. The father of our grandmother was a God-fearing man; and he deeply repented that he had given his daughter as wife to such a man. Before she appeared in the presence of the court, he said to her, "My child, you know how much I love you; but I tell you before God, that you shall never dare spend another night under my roof, if before the court you pay any attention to the prayers of your husband, who will try to persuade you that he cannot live without you-you know I keep my word." Both appeared in court on the day appointed. Poor grandfather, who had never learned to break his will, insisted here, too, in having all his own way. When the court submitted to him a complete divorce, according to the will of his wife, and her father, because both regretted that they had been induced to put faith in his words, as he had so pitifully kept his vowed fidelity, he exclaimed before the whole court, "If I do not get my wife again to-day, hear, ye judges all, on my way home, I will shoot a bullet through my head, or will hang myself." These words pierced grandmother's heart like arrows, and in her consternation she said to the judges, she would rather live unhappily all the days of her life than load upon herself the guilt of such a calamity. On her entering the paternal house, her father soon saw that his poor child had sold herself again to the wretched man; and when, in answer to his question, she told how matters had gone, pain so overwhelmed the otherwise powerful man, that he fell to the floor as if dead, and recovered only very slowly. But when his sense had fully returned, he said, " My child, you know what I said: you dare not remain in my house over night." And he kept his word; "for," said he, "whoever is so wicked as to make use of such expressions, should never have his will gratified." About this time, as remarked above, our grandfather lost the greater part of his property: what remained over was held as a loan by his brother. He recalled this capital, intending to move with his wife into the neighborhood of his parents-in-law: but this sum was also lost. Grandmother had no property, but she was a very skilful worker: grandfather had, as a young man, learned the art of weaving linen, and now often practised it, nevertheless without, in this way, easing the burden of his family. This would now have consisted of eleven children, if all had remained alive; but God took in early youth all away except our mother. Mother was never compelled to endure want; for grandmother knew so well how to manage, and such a blessing rested on the work of her hands, that no one was able to notice that the whole burden of housekeeping was upon her shoulders. Thus our mother was trained up in prayer and labor until her twelfth year. At this time grandmother died after the safe delivery of the eleventh child, when no one was thinking of death but herself; for she had often said, before her confinement, that she would only live until the birth of her child. She used to say to our mother, by way of preparation, "My dear child, you will soon lose your mother and then your father. Your mother will die in the Lord, and will be taken away that she may not behold the end of your unhappy father. You will not have to provide for the child, for the Lord will soon take it to Himself." Nor was she at all anxious on account of our mother; and this child of twelve was to experience that God provides for the orphans. But it went no better with the child than it had gone with her mother. Often, after her father had, for months, been quite gentle to her, such terrible fits of anger came upon him that he did not know what he was doing, and often sought to kill all who were about him. Alas! the poor man had never known nor seized the hand of the Redeemer, had never tasted the blood of Jesus, which takes away the booty from the mighty one. At such a fit, the young maiden fled for refuge to her grandparents, where she met with a loving reception. Some weeks after the death of his wife, the miserable father put an end to his own life. This event made such an impression upon our mother, that she could not think of her father without tears, and would often say, all other sufferings are nothing in comparison to such a calamity. We were already grown up when our mother spoke of it. Then for the first time did we understand why she always said so decidedly and sorrowfully, if people spoke of murder, or murderous thoughts, "Children, would only that all men might get a proper horror of that greatest of all sins." As already said, the maiden, now twelve years old, was kindly received by her grandparents. She remained with them and enjoyed a serious Christian nurture until her sixteenth year. Her grandfather then died; in the following year she lost also her grandmother, who, being godmother of the child, had interested herself for the orphan with love, and amid prayers and supplications. The little girl was also prepared by her grandmother for the last separation from the last of her relatives. The evening before, she said to her, "To-night I am going to my Saviour; he is coming at midnight to bring me." And at the same hour she went to him, comforted and joyful, in her home above. Our mother earned her bread by spinning. She took care of the children of a widower according to the best of her ability, in devoted selfforgetting love; and they were attached to her with the most inviolable fidelity and love to the end of her days; yea, even when they themselves were grandfathers and grandmothers, they still told of the sacrificing love of our mother, with tears in their eyes. In the twenty-fourth year of her age, her hand was sought by our father in marriage, but she steadily refused; for she was always seized with fear, even if he only spoke to her. Mother was a model of perfect devotedness to her fellow men. She was also very fair of countenance. Although father was any thing but pious, he chose her as his wife on account of her piety. His father was deeply pious and skilled in the ways of God through grievous afflictions; and it would fill a book to recount his pain "Do ful ways and saving providences. When father uttered to him the wish of marrying this maiden, the pious father said in her own presence, you choose this daughter; that would be a great fortune for me and my daughter; but if you do not promise before God to lead another life, you shall not marry her, for it would be a pity for her." He vowed to lead a godly life with her. The God-fearing man now gave his benediction to both amid many tears, and rejoiced unspeakably over the newly found daughter. From that moment, mother was seized with great anxiety; an unknown unconscious something lay heavily on her heart. But she would not break her word for the sake of her pious father (in-law) and sister. It is a hard task for a child to tell of the sufferings of such a mother; but, to the glory of God, let it be said, during the twenty-seven years that I ave known her, I never heard a word of complaint. We children were many a time not able to understand it, when our mother, who persevered day and night in prayer, always and in all situations seemed to be cheerful and calm, preserving her courage and her joy through every difficulty. Especially incomprehensible was it to me, that she should bear so patiently the unrighteous treatment which she was compelled to suffer for I had not the spirit of my mother, but the choleric temperament of my father. When mother met father so lovingly and gently, and steadily was able to show some good trait, while we with our eyes could find but little good in him, I often said, "O mother, how can you speak so to us! If I had such a husband, I should act otherwise; you spoil him; you, instead of holding his iniquities up to him, only pray all the time." She looked at me with a kindly smile and said, "Only wait, my child: you will yet understand me. My husband is my fortune: through him I have learned to rely on God alone. I would not have been able to give you childdren to the Lord, if I had still had any thing in which I could live quite according to my own will. But if you do not let yourselves be taught that the Saviour can help us through all, and bless us, you will give me more trouble than my husband. It is now my task to pray that the rod which now smites may not be thrown into the fire at the last day. But for this rod I will thank my Saviour all the days of my life." What a speech was that! I replied, "How! be thankful for such a rod?" I could not understand it; I should have held it as directly impossible for one to be happy and contented in all sorts of sufferings, if my mother had not stood a living example before my eyes. Mother, like our grandmother, had eleven children, and having no property, we received a very simple training. But mother knew how, by her example and her life of prayer, to impart to us such contentedness, that we spent our youth cheerfully and pleasurably, notwithstanding all the suffering we had to undergo. In spite of the often violent outbreaks of our father, peace dwelt beneath our roof, a living proof of what incessant prayer is able to accomplish for husband and children. (To be continued.) FAITH. A sinner's simple trust in the Saviour. . . . A justified man, no doubt, will always be a holy man. True believing will always be accompanied by godly living. But that which gives a man an interest in Christ is not his living, but his faith.-Ryle. THE TEMPTATION AND FALL OF MAN. BY A PASTOR. It is good for us to look sometimes at the origin of all our miseries and woes. It will make us cling more closely to the salvation provided. It will cause us to look with more longing eyes to Him, who is the new source of life and peace to fallen man. Eve, the weaker, and when alone, was first attacked by Satan. Very gradually was she led into sin. She first listened to the tempter, then conversed with him, then looked at the forbidden fruit, then took it into her hand, then eat! "Earth felt the wound; and Nature from her seat, Vain, perhaps, are all our speculations with regard to the question : What would have been the consequences, if Eve alone had sinned, and not her husband with her? His Maker might have provided another help more meet for him. God's infinite will is prepared, so to speak, for every contingency. Enough for us to know that" She gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." "Earth trembled from her entrails, as again In pangs; and Nature gave a second groan; Sky lower'd; and, muttering thunder, some sad drops Original." But why am I a sinner, and subject to death, because Adam and Eve transgressed? Why am I punished for another's sin? That I am subject to pain and death from the very beginning of my existence, experience teaches me that the origin of this is our first parent's sin, the Bible reveals. "In Adam all die." "By one man's disobedience, many were made sinners." The only satisfactory answer perhaps to this question, is found in the truth, that God was pleased to constitute things in such a way that every thing must produce after its own kind. "God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body." "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." Healthy parents have healthy offspring. The children of delicate parents are themselves delicate. Let parents commit an indiscretion in violating the laws of nature, and the evil effects thereof are entailed upon their children unto many generations, who personally did not sin with their parents. It is a law that holds every where. We need not be surprised, then, that when the root and trunk of the tree of humanity became de |