(Translated from the German.)
In consequence of a report of disorder in the Orphan House, I went there, desirous of investigating personally the management of the Establishment. The result has been as follows. During the second week in January of this year, from the 6th to the 13th, the Evangelical Alliance in England, as you know, had prayer-meetings, at which the Lord was besought for a fresh “pouring out of the Holy Ghost.” These special prayer-meetings have been and are still held at different places in Elberfeld, and numbers attend them. At the beginning of this week, four men met in a fellow-workman’s apartment, some young women followed their example, and at last begged Herr Klugh, the superintendent, to have a prayer-meeting under his direction for all the inmates of the house. Herr Klugh immediately granted their request, and they had accordingly throughout the week, every evening, from nine till ten o’clock, a prayer-meeting in the large hall of the building, when earnest prayer was offered to God that He would pour out His Spirit on the orphan children. The children themselves did not take part at these meetings.
On January 13th, a girl, seventeen years of age, came to Herr Klugh, saying that she was in agony of soul about her sins, earnestly desiring mercy, and asking Herr Klugh to pray with her. Soon after came another girl, eighteen years of age, in the same state, and such cases came before him frequently for the next fourteen days. Seven of the number were children.
Monday, 28th. Herr Klugh found a boy sitting on the stairs and crying for the pardon of his sins. He turned to the other boys standing around him, saying, “Would you were all as this boy, and thus humbled before the Lord.” Four boys, crying to God for mercy, were found on the same day in the cellar.
Tuesday, 29th. Seven boys remained out of their beds all night, praying aloud to God; frequently since the same boys have met for prayer.
Wednesday, 30th. Thirty boys begged of Herr Klugh the grant of a particular room, where they could meet together for prayer. This he granted. One boy read a chapter in Isaiah, asking Herr Klugh to speak to them from it, which he readily did—then leaving them; but much later he found them still on their knees praying aloud.
Thursday, 31St. The same eager desire for the Word of Herr Klugh prayed, kneeling with them. The work has been of this nature until now. Great exercise of conscience among the children especially, prayer for mercy, the forgiveness of their sins, and an earnest desire to cry aloud to God on their knees, and shut up in different rooms. On the evening of this day a new phase of the work was seen. Herr Klugh again held a general prayer-meeting, at which now, even the children, of whom there were about sixty, ventured to take part. When the prayer-meeting was over, a boy named Boiler, who had before scoffed at the praying children and said “he did not wish to be saved,” was seized with violent convulsions; he went to the cellar, and found there some children already assembled, kneeling and praying aloud to God that He would turn poor Boiler’s heart. When Boiler heard this he was filled with deep emotion and distress about his soul which continued for some days. During these attacks he was quite conscious, but speechless; he pointed to the Bible, and when Herr Klugh read and prayed with him, he was, for some time, quiet.
On Friday, 1St February, the special movement began among the girls. Herr Klugh found them in all the corners of the room and on the floor, praying.
On Saturday, 2nd February, Herr Klugh had another general prayer-meeting, at which 120 children were present, and which continued until ten o’clock. Herr Klugh specially thanked the Lord in his prayer, for what He had wrought in the house during the past week. At this meeting one boy was seized with convulsions, crying aloud in prayer; this was repeated by seven or eight children, one after another, calling upon God for themselves, for their play-fellows, then for the Syrian Christians, for the Mussulmen, for the poor inundated inhabitants of Holland. Boiler was again deeply affected; soon after, however, he found peace and rest, and sang a song of praise. Two adults (one, the superintendent of the little ones, Htte Lamotte; the other, the housekeeper, Prumers) experienced, as Klugh expressed it, “such violent distress of soul about their sins” that they were obliged to be carried out.
Sunday, 3rd February. Again an extraordinary prayer-meeting. After Klugh had spoken, the very little girls were also seized. They tossed about in their beds, praying and crying aloud. One, seven years of age, prayed that God would convert the Under-master; another girl lay, as Herr Klugh expressed it, “cold and stiff,” which was an exception, few being unconscious. Generally, those who were seized with convulsions were perfectly conscious. On the same evening the movement took hold of all the girls, some were kneeling in their beds, others standing on the floor praying and screaming, alone and together, in the rooms, in the passages, on the stairs, and this until late in the night. Until midnight girls were sitting on the stairs, singing sweet hymns.
Monday, 4th February. At the earnest request of the children, Herr Klugh had another prayer-meeting. Four children were seized and taken out of the room. One, Peter Meyer, cried, says Klugh, for whole days, in agony of soul.
Tuesday, 5th February. Many children came crying about their sins. Twenty girls besought Klugh that he would pray with them; he did this, and was followed by twenty boys. These earnest prayers are sometimes sudden and without immediate effect; often, however, the result is immediate. For example, one child prays to God to convert one of his companions, naming him; the boy named is instantly seized with anguish of soul about his sins. Mr. Grafe gave me an account of one such scene—the boy praying would say, “Lord lay hold on him—cast him down—strike him low,” naming one of his companions, who would be immediately seized with convulsions. The children have lain, conscious, but speechless; they have shrieked and wailed, yet understanding everything—as an eye-witness says, “The head is so violently moved that they were in danger of hurting themselves.” These cases ere of different duration. It is said of one boy, that he was only able to speak one hour in two days. Many children only once stricken; others, for two or three days are seized again and again. The last fourteen days have been marked by such cases, with a great number of children.
Sunday, 17th. There were twelve cases known. As I went over the house, yesterday evening, I found no child in distress of soul; the girls were in the large hall, quiet, but singing at their work. Of the boys I found twenty, some of them pale and wan-looking, assembled in a room with the first master. They were those who had been stricken during the past week. Four boys, whom I met on the stairs, answered, to my question, “What had they been doing?” “They had been praying together.” A Sub-inspector then passing, remarked, that this had happened in a back room. One of the boys, in an unnaturally excited tone, said he had been praying “that the Lord would give him the shield of faith, wherewith to quench the fiery darts of Satan.”
These are the particulars of the matter, as I learned them from Herr Klugh himself, at the Orphan House. I noted down, immediately, all the essential points, while the details I have expressly left. All that Klugh stated was at once confirmed by the President Grafe, on the other hand, what Klugh omitted, the President at once completed.
Elherfeld, 23rd February.
The following extracts from a letter which appeared in the Patriot of Feb. 21, give some interesting details, immediately connected with the foregoing narrative.
“They then asked for a room to meet in, where they might not be disturbed, which was granted to them. The next meeting numbered not eight but sixteen boys, and when they came into the room set apart for them they all simultaneously fell down on their knees, and began to cry out with awful vehemence and floods of tears for pardon, ‘Lord have mercy on me! Jesus, Ο Jesus, forgive my sins!’ There was no order, no leader, in this strange meeting: but each, with incredible ardor, and as if he were alone, confessed his sins, and cried for mercy. This made a great noise, and the overseer heard it in a distant part of the house. He came directly, feeling somewhat irritated at such disorder, intending at once to put a stop to it. He entered, but there his interference ended! He was astonished; he was overwhelmed with awe and wonder. He had never seen such earnestness, such agony, depicted on the human countenance. He felt he could do nothing, and that God alone could still the tumults of the terrified conscience. He remained, however, and gradually the tempest calmed; but not till they had made a full confession of all their sins, even the most secret. This they did in the sight of God, unasked, and as if no ear but God heard them. And it is not unlikely that this was really the case: each was too earnest for himself to think of the confessions of others. However, this may be, these confessions of sin form one of the most extraordinary features of this strange movement.
“They appointed another meeting for prayer. When the time came round, one of the awakened said to his companion Boiler, ‘Won’t you come with us to the meeting?’ ‘No I won’t,’ said Boiler, ‘I don’t wish to be saved! go you, if you like, but I shall go to bed!’ And to bed he did go, but he became uneasy and restless, and when he heard the sound of prayer in the distance he rose and crept away to the meeting. As he entered they were just praying for him by name. This acted like electricity upon him, and he fell to the earth as if struck with a thunderbolt, in terrible agonies and also frightful convulsions. He remained speechless for many days; his face was dark and diabolical; his fingers bent together; his arms smote the ground with frightful vehemence, and his entire body writhed as in mortal agonies. After five or six days he obtained perfect peace and full conviction of the Saviour’s love. This case of Boiler made a prodigious impression on the inmates of the Orphan House. It wrought like electricity on the whole of the 300 orphans; the prayer-meetings became full, and now came the marvelous power of God among them in such strength and vehemence, that in one night twenty-eight boys were carried into one room where they lay in the most awful bodily and mental agonies. They were all for a time perfectly speechless; they were stricken down to the ground by some invisible power; they were all crying out for pardon of their sins as long as voice remained with them. They all made the fullest confession of their sins, even the most secret, as if none but God were present; and finally, in all their agonies and dumbness they were perfectly conscious of what was going on about them. Many of them signed for slates, and wrote their wishes on them while unable to speak. While all this took place among the boys, the girls rushed up to the large sleeping apartment and fell down in the agonies of conviction,—some in their beds, some before their beds, some flat on their faces on the floor, some in the corners of the room, but all with many tears and bitter cries, confessing their sins and crying to Jesus for mercy. It was a night of wonders! There was, indeed, much searching of hearts, and many precious souls were brought to the Lord. The whole house rang with strange voices, and the whole 300 were bent before the presence of the Lord like the trees of the forest before the storm.
“They knelt for prayer in the secret corners and under the stairs; they formed themselves into groups in the halls and alleys to sing psalms. Some wept with joy over sins forgiven, and some roared in agony under the terrors of the wrath of God; the faces of the orphans, according to their states of mind and body, assumed all varieties of color and expression; some were dark and fallen; some awfully contorted as if in deadly pain; some overflowing with bitter tears; some changing gradually into calm repose; some showing the dawning smile of immortal hope, and not a few beaming with ecstasy of indwelling peace and joy. It is said of Stephen that ‘the people looked upon his face as if it had been the face of an angel;’ and certainly some of these orphan faces might, without much straining of the fancy, suggest the peace and brightness and the beauty of angels.
“Today, Feb. 11, I visited the orphans in company with Mr. Grafe and two others, one an Englishman, the other a German. We were astonished and delighted at what we saw, and could say nothing else but that God was among them of a truth. There lay thirty-three orphan boys in their beds in the consciousness of utter weakness. There were no symptoms of disease of any kind, for they all had the appearance of robust frames and vigorous health. Most of them were speechless, but all perfectly conscious, and could write down their wants: a few still in great pain of body, but yet manifested quite clearly that peace reigned within. Among these thirty-three boys there were some still mourning under the heavy weight of unforgiven sins, while many were rejoicing in the sunshine of Divine love. The English gentleman observed to me, when we came out, that the air of the place seemed holy; for that verily God was there.
“Let us pass through among these beds, and note down a few particulars. You see that big boy on the first bed there; he is, indeed, a young man rather than a boy; he is in deep distress, moving his hands in agony, but yet confessing that the storms are past and he has peace with God. A boy much smaller and younger than himself has his arm round his neck, and is telling him of the power of the gospel and the freeness of redeeming love. You see that little boy lying quietly in the fourth bed; it was he who brought his reluctant companion to the prayer-meeting, and then cried out with the greatest earnestness, ‘There he is! Jesus, seize him! he will run away!’ There in the corner is a fine lad nearly quite well and rejoicing in the love of God. It was he, opening his eyes and seeing a former companion standing near him, cried out, with indescribable earnestness, ‘Pray! he’ll certainly get you,’ meaning the devil; and then, exhausted by the effort, fell back into his bed, and became speechless as before. Here, too, is Boiler, who did not wish to be saved. He is a stout resolute boy; but to all appearance, fully subdued and peaceful. He spoke very freely both of his former wickedness and of his present love to the Saviour. Before leaving the place, I told them that we had similar scenes in Ireland, and that when I wrote home what I had seen in that room many of the children of God in Ireland, England, and Scotland, would pray for the orphans of Elberfeld. Then those who could rise came round to me to shake hands, those in bed who could speak called me, and those who were speechless waved their hands for me, and thus I pressed the hands of all those dear orphans, and solemnly blessed them in the name of the Lord. I never visited a more solemn scene in my life, and I never felt a parting more tender. May God bless these orphans, and extend this great work all over the whole world.”
I’ve found the Pearl of greatest price!
My heart doth sing for joy;
And sing I must, for Christ I have;
A precious Christ have I!
Christ Jesus is the Lord of lords,
He is the King of kings;
He is the Sun of Righteousness,
With healing in His wings.
Christ Jesus is the heaven of heaven:
My Christ, what shall I call?
Christ is the first, Christ is the last,
And Christ is All in all.