The daughter of an English nobleman, was providentially brought under the influence of the followers of Jesus, and thus came to the knowledge of the truth concerning Him. The father was almost distracted at the event, and by threats, temptations to extravagance in dress, by reading, and traveling in foreign countries and to places of fashionable resort, took every means to divert her mind from things unseen and eternal; but her heart was fixed. The God of Abraham had become her shield and her exceeding great reward. And she was determined that nothing finite should deprive her of her infinite and eternal portion in Him, or displace Him from the center of her heart. At last the father resolved upon a final and desperate expedient by which his end should be gained, or his daughter ruined, so far as her prospects in this life were concerned. A large company of the nobility were invited to his house; it was so arranged, that during the festivities, the daughters of different noblemen, and, among others, this one, were to be called to entertain the company with singing and music on the piano-forte. If she complied, she forfeited her good conscience, and returned to the world; if she refused compliance, she would be publicly disgraced and lose, beyond the possibility of recovery, her place in society. It was a dreadful crisis, but; with peaceful confidence did she await it. As this crisis approached, different individuals, at the call of the company, performed their parts with the greatest applause. At last the name of this daughter was announced. In a moment all were in fixed and silent suspense, to see how the scale of destiny would turn; without hesitation she rose, and with a calm and dignified composure took her place at the instrument; after a moment spent in silent prayer, she ran her fingers along the keys, and then with an unearthly sweetness, elevation, and solemnity, sung, accompanying her voice with the notes of the instrument, the following stanzas:
No room for mirth or trifling here
For worldly hope or worldly fear,
If life so soon be gone;
If now the Judge is at the door,
And all mankind must stand before
The inexorable throne.
No matter which my thoughts employ,
A moment’s misery or joy,
But, oh! when both shall end,
Where shall I find my destined place;
Shall I my everlasting days
With fiends or angels spend?
Nothing is worth a thought beneath,
But how I may escape the death
That never, never dies;
How make mine own election sure,
And when I fail on earth secure
A mansion in the skies.
Jesus, vouchsafe a pitying ray,
Be Thou my guide, be Thou my way
To glorious happiness.
Ah! write my pardon on my heart,
And whensoe’er I hence depart,
Let me depart in peace.
The minstrel ceased — the solemnity of eternity was upon that assembly. Without speaking, they dispersed. The father wept aloud, and when left alone sought the counsel and prayers of his daughter, for the salvation of his soul. His soul was saved, and his great estate consecrated to the Savior.
From The Church.