“IF the letters that passed between Marion and myself were not such long ones as might have been the case had we been able to use pen and ink, still they were pretty frequent, and in this way we contrived not only to assure each other of unabated affection, but to keep in touch about changes in the teaching staff, the departure of old, and arrival of new pupils, as well as many other matters of schoolgirl interest.
“It was, I think, during the last year of my stay at D—that I received a letter from my friend so unlike anything she had ever written to me before, that its contents filled me with wonder and surprise.
“It was not less loving than many of her former ones, but as I read I felt there was something in it I did not understand: something so strange and new, that while I was attracted by it, I felt as if the old friendship was mine no longer.
“Marion had a new joy in which I did not share, a ‘better hope' (in which I had no part) threw a ray of sunshine across her darkened life.
“Marion had been converted. Very simply she told me the story of how, after years of earnest prayer and patient waiting, her sister Helen had been the instrument of leading her to Christ.
“Very loving and tender were her pleadings with me to trust myself to her Savior, so that the old friendship might have a new and more enduring link, that rejoicing together in the knowledge of sins forgiven, we should enjoy a new relationship, ‘Children of God by faith in Christ Jesus ' (Gal. 3:2626For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26)), and so be not only friends, but sisters in Christ.
“She tried in her own loving way, too, to show me the way of salvation in as nearly as I can remember some such words as—
“' We often tried to be good, as we called it, but we never could, and it often seemed as if the harder we tried, the more we failed, till at last we got quite discouraged.
“I am glad, now that I see clearly that all my trying could not help me, for if I had thought myself good, I might never have known that I was a lost sinner, needing to be washed from all my sins in the precious blood of Christ, blood which cleanseth from all sin.' (1 John 1:77But 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. (1 John 1:7).) We thought, too, that if we prayed, or said our prayers very often, and read our Bibles, God would be pleased with us.
“' If we do not pray, we shall not have strength to keep in the right way. If we do not read or hear the word of God, we shall not know what it is; but praying and reading will not save our souls, it must be the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, what He has done for God and for sinners, in which we trust.'
“It was quite a long time before I answered Marion's letter. I hardly knew what to say. I do not think that I loved my friend less than I had done. Sometimes I was almost glad because she was so happy, while at others the contrast between her joy and my own restless unhappiness only served to make me more miserable.
“I had no Christian friend to whom I could speak freely of my desire to be saved, so I kept it to myself and passed among my schoolfellows as a merry light-hearted girl, full of fun and frolic, and an acknowledged leader in all our games.
“At last I wrote; but as I had been at school for seven years, it was thought by my parents high time that I should return home. I was looking forward with great interest to the approaching holidays, as I was then to leave school for good.
“Our correspondence was kept up for a few years after my return home. Marion's letters were always sweet and loving, often telling of her joy in the Lord, or asking me to read her favorite hymns or portions of scripture.
“Some of her later letters told me that she had not felt well for quite a long time, that her cough was troublesome, and that the doctor thought it might be well for her to go into the hospital. Still the tone of every letter was so bright and cheerful, I did not realize that she was seriously ill.
“At last there came a silence on her part so long that I grew quite anxious and wrote a second time; several weeks passed before I received an answer, then a letter, the envelope of which had a deep black border, was left at our house. It was addressed to me, so I asked my mother to open it and read its contents.
“It was a pen-and-ink letter from Helen, telling me that my much-loved friend had fallen asleep in Jesus nearly a fortnight before its date.
“The writer went on to tell how brightly the grace of Christ had shone out in dear Marion during the whole of her illness, which had lasted some months, and how happy she had been in the thought of being forever with the One who had loved her, and given Himself for her. The letter closed with an appeal to me to decide for Christ. Helen wrote: “You were Marion's dearest friend, she often spoke of you during her illness, and I know she prayed much for you.
“I shall miss my sister greatly, but am comforted for her loss by knowing that it is well with her; for her the darkness has forever passed away, and now she sees! Sees the precious Savior in whom she had trusted, for some time before any one thought her illness was more than a cold, or at all likely to end in her removal from us.
“Would it be as well with you, dear Ella, if you were called to die?’
“I knew it would not, and became more unhappy than before. My mother noticed that I was quieter than usual, but thought the change in my manner was caused by my sorrow for the loss of a friend, to whom she knew I had been greatly attached.
“It was not till some years later that I heard a fuller account of dear Marion's illness and death. When she was about seventeen, symptoms of consumption, the disease from which her mother had died, began to show themselves in her; but as she did not complain, and always seemed so cheerful and anxious not to give unnecessary trouble, it was only a short time before her death, that any of her friends thought her really ill.
“She received great kindness, and was sent away for a change, but getting rapidly worse returned to school, from there being sent as an in-patient to B— Hospital, but after a stay of some weeks, on being told she could not recover, begged that she might be allowed to return to school, saying, ‘If it be the will of God, I should so like to finish my journey where as a child of light I began it. I was converted at school, and it would be a great joy to be allowed to go to heaven surrounded by those I have learned to love so well.'
“Her desire was gratified, and though she never again took her old place in the schoolroom, her sick-room was a spot all the girls loved to visit, and many of her schoolfellows still remember how faithfully she urged them not to ‘neglect so great salvation.' (Heb. 2:33How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; (Hebrews 2:3).)
“When asked to choose some little treat or pleasure for her birthday, which was only a few days before her death, she said that, if allowed to do so, she should very much like to invite all the girls to tea on that day.
“One or two of the teachers entered warmly into her plan, and as her room was far too small for the proposed party, she was warmly wrapped in a dressing-gown and carried into the dining-hall, where she sat, looking very happy, till weakness compelled her to return to bed.
“After that she grew weaker, and soon after the Lord put her gently to sleep.
“I have told you a great deal about Marion, but to me she ‘being dead yet speaketh.' I love to think of her where she now is, ‘With Christ; which is far better.' (Phil. 1:2323For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: (Philippians 1:23).)”
“She Is Not Dead, but Sleepeth.”
SHE is not dead, though o'er her early grave
White roses purely bloom, and tall trees wave;
Or though an empty place in home and heart
At times still bids the tear-drops start.
“She is not dead," the living Savior said,
Then gently bent Him o'er the lowly bed,
Where she, the ruler's fair young daughter lay,
Whose spirit had so lately passed away.
Death's reign was brief-the mighty God was there,
His heart responsive answered sorrow's prayer:
The words were full of tenderness and grace
That called her back to life a little space.
And shall we say that Jesus hath no power
To aid or comfort in each trying hour?
Shall we thus wrong His heart of changeless love;
Can He forget us in His home above?