glad you have come, for the baby is worse. He was in a feverish stupor. The doctor was sent for, and after some search, was found half intoxicated in a saloon, which accounted for his absence from the rehearsal. After an examination he said the baby had all the symptoms of pneumonia, and ordered a a hot bath for him. The water had already been heated for the purpose and was brought in at once. He tried to take the child from my arms and put him into the hot water before it was reduced to the right temperature. My husband came in after the bath, and thinking I had become unnecessarily concerned, he proceeded to tell us that everything was in readiness at the church. The doctor had forgotten the entertainment, but after listening to Mr. White he was anxious to go and help sing a duet, for which he had practiced. He advised that the baby be wrapped up in a shawl or blanket and left on the bed, and said he would be all right when we returned. When about to leave he said he would see my husband and myself at the church, but we did not go.

The day was past and the night gathered her shadows in the canon about our home, while my soul brooded in heaviness. I believed that God had permitted affliction to chasten us, and begged Him to stay the hand of death that was reaching out for our child. Two

hours later I felt that I was looking into an open grave. The stillness of the room was broken by some persons who came from the church to tell us that the Christmas entertainment was a failure, and that the people had gone away disappointed. The latter part of the night I was left to watch by the baby alone. I took this opportunity to pour out my soul in prayer to God, but received no assurance that the child would recover. After a fearful struggle I gave him up and became resigned to the will of God.

There was not much change in him until about noon the next day, when he rapidly grew worse. The doctor was somewhere trying to sober up after his drunken debauch, and another physician was called, who was a stranger in the town. After seeing the child he expressed but little hope for his recovery. This was no surprise to me, but was a great shock to my husband, whom I had not been able to convince of the baby's true condition. Could he have realized it before it would have been a great relief to me, and made it much easier for me to become reconciled.

At 3 o'clock the following morning the baby was sinking fast. His head was drawn back and his eyes were setting in death. As a final remedy the doctor was applying a mustard plaster to the back of his neck. They

called me to see him breathe his last. My husband in great sorrow said, "He will never look on our faces again," then turned and went quickly into his study. The child, to him, was strangely wrapped up in a covenant made with God in a day of fasting and prayer on the mountain-side, before his birth. He promised to press forward with all his soul and walk the pathway of absolute faith and trust, in the fullest abandonment to God. He had failed to keep his covenant, and as he entered the study he fell upon his knees and cried out to God in great soul travail. Receiving assurance, he came out and said to me, "I believe God is going to spare the baby's life." The critical hour of this night soon passed and the child was better.

The doctor was present, and heard my husband's prayer in the adjoining room, and the surprising statement that he believed that God would spare the child's life. The child was completely restored in a short time, but the doctor took the credit to himself, and built up a reputation on the strength of it; in the meantime his own little girl and two other children whom he was attending, died, and he lost favor with the people and the reputation he had gained. God says in His word that He will not give His glory to another.

After this experience, we more than ever

I

desired to see the salvation of the lost, and held a revival meeting with the assistance of two pastors, but there was very little accomplished. Sorely grieved over the results of the meeting, I determined to fast and pray to ascertain if possible what was in the way. prayed for the church members and outsiders, calling them by name, when the Spirit whispered to me, "Pray for yourself. As the searchlight was turned on my heart, discoveries were made that astonished me, and I cried out for deliverance. Longing for purity, the self-life became more and more intolerable, and no one but God understood the cry of my soul.

CHAPTER X

ON

CONSECRATION AND SANCTIFICATION

N A SUNDAY EVENING the church organist was absent and I was called upon to take her place. The pastor did not have his usual liberty, and the Spirit moved me to give an exhortation. There was an intense burning in my breast, and a pressure upon me greater than I had ever felt before. I thought of past failures and the suffering that they had brought, and believed that the Holy Spirit for the last time was trying to press me out, and felt that I must seize the opportunity or lose my salvation.

Thoughts of Naaman the Syrian, and the awful leprosy of sin of which this disease is a type, were going through my mind. There was a book lying near me with a song entitled "Naaman the Leper," and the enemy suggested that I sing this song instead of trying to speak. I knew I could readily find it, for it was the last one in the book. I had sung only part of the first verse when my eyes and voice failed me, and the result was a complete break-down. There were two persons in the congregation who contributed largely to our