A TELEGRAM from uncle Gerald; he will be here this evening!" And with the above interesting piece of news, Herbert Graham rushed into the pleasant little parlor, where his elder sister Elsie was busy with some plain sewing.
Elsie lifted her eyes for a moment to her brother's handsome face, and said with a smile, "Oh Herbert, I am so glad, it is always a comfort to have uncle Gerald among us. But when did the telegram arrive?”
“Only just now. It was addressed to mother, but she said I might open it. And look here, Elsie (as he spoke, Herbert pointed to the envelope), it is little more than an hour since the message left Glasgow. Is it not wonderful; I never heard of anything to come up to the telegraph, did you, Elsie?”
Elsie was silent for a few moments, but the light in her eyes told that her thoughts were happy ones. Then she answered in a low gentle voice, "The telegraph is, I think, Herbert dear, one of the most wonderful inventions of the nineteenth century. But just as you came into the room I was thinking of such a beautiful Bible verse, ‘Before they call I will answer, and while they are yet speaking I will hear.' (Isa. 65:2424And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. (Isaiah 65:24).) Do you remember meeting Mr. and Mrs. Lane when we were at the seaside last autumn?”
“Oh yes, Elsie, I liked them so much; Mr. Lane was so kind. He showed me how to put new rigging to my ship, and told me lots of things about foreign countries. He used to go to sea, and one day he told me he had sailed more than half round the world.”
“Did he ever tell you how his wife and he were brought to the Lord? If not, I think I can tell you of answers to prayer swifter even than the wonders of the telegraph.”
“No, Elsie, I can't remember his having done so.”
“I think it is twelve or thirteen years since Mr. and Mrs. Lane found themselves obliged to leave their pretty home in Scotland; Mr. Lane went to sea, his wife to London. At the time of which I am telling you, neither of them knew the Lord; but Mrs. Lane, who for some time had been in feeble health, was really anxious about her soul.
“Soon after her arrival in London, Mrs. Lane went to see a clever doctor. The doctor asked several questions, but spoke hopefully to Mrs. Lane, telling her he thought in time she might get quite well, but she must be very careful to avoid taking cold, and must on no account get her clothes damp or her feet wet.
“Shortly after her visit to the doctor, Mrs. Lane, who had been tempted by the beauty of a spring morning to leave home without an umbrella, found herself overtaken by a heavy shower of rain. Remembering the advice of the doctor, her first thought was to enter a tram car; but the sudden rain had caused quite a rush to the first that passed, and the ‘Full inside' of the conductor, told her she must seek some other means of escape from the shower. Mrs. Lane then noticed that while waiting for the car she had been standing very near the open door of a shop. Entering, she asked if she might take shelter till the rain was over.
“Miss Hill, the young lady who was that day in charge of the shop, was a simple happy believer in the Lord Jesus. Having found rest of soul through His finished work, she loved to speak of Him to the weary hearts and sin-burdened souls who often entered her shop.
“Kindly giving the permission for which Mrs. Lane had asked, and inviting her to take a seat, Miss Hill returned to the little parlor behind the shop, anxious to finish a letter she had been writing before the entrance of Mrs. Lane. But I do not think the letter was finished that day, for a voice seemed to whisper, ‘Go and speak to that stranger about her soul; perhaps she is weary, and does not know her Savior.'
“Miss Hill closed her desk, and went to look for a gospel book or tract. It was some time before she found one she thought quite suitable. Then looking to the Lord for His blessing, she went into the shop, saying with a pleasant smile, ‘I have brought you something to read while you are waiting.' A long talk followed, and Miss Hill soon found that her visitor was truly an anxious soul; one really longing for the rest and peace the Lord Jesus offers to all who simply trust His finished work. So Miss Hill told her of Him, of all His power and willingness to save those who come unto God by Him. And the Lord, who guided the feet of Mrs. Lane to one who would tell her of Christ, opened her heart to receive the gospel message, and it was not long before she was able to rejoice in the knowledge that she was saved. One great desire now filled her soul—that her absent husband might know and trust the Savior, too.
“She wrote him a long loving letter, telling Him what great things the Lord had done for her soul. She asked him to receive Christ as his Savior, ant sent him the name and address of one of the Lord's servants who lived at the place to which Mr. Lane's ship was going. But Mrs. Lane did more than write, she prayed for the salvation of her husband; and I am going to tell you how, before the mail steamer took his wife's letter out to Mr. Lane, her prayer went to God, and an answer of blessing was given.
“Mr. Lane was busy in the discharge of his duties in the engine room of his ship, when an earnest worker for Christ, the very same whose name and address was on its way across the sea in Mrs. Lane's' letter to her husband, went on board, his errand being to speak of Christ to any who were willing to listen. To some of the sailors who had visited that port on former voyages, his face was that of an old friend, while to others it was quite a stranger, and some, among whom was Mr. Lane, were careless about the great salvation of which Mr. White loved to tell.
“Tracts and gospels had been placed in the hands of all willing to receive them, and all who had leave to be ashore the following Lord's day were invited to a gospel address, and Mr. White was about to leave the ship, when hearing voices in the engine room, he turned that way, and said pleasantly, May I come down?'
“Perhaps something in Mr. Lane's work had gone wrong, and he did not want to talk just then, so he answered crossly that he was too busy to have a visitor. Did Mr. White, turn away saying to himself, ‘What a strange-minded man that is, I won't try to speak to him again'? Oh no; he had read in his Bible that ‘the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient' (2 Tim. 2:2424And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, (2 Timothy 2:24)); so he answered quietly, ‘Never mind now, if you are busy; I am in no hurry, and can wait till your work is done.'
“It seemed a long waiting time, but at last Mr. Lane, who could no longer find an excuse for remaining below, came on deck, where he found Mr. White waiting for him. At first Mr. Lane gave short answers, but soon his heart was won by the kindness of Mr. White, and before they parted, Mr. Lane had promised to go and hear the gospel the first time he was on shore. He went, and then and there the Lord met with him, and he too had a long letter to write, telling his wife how as a poor lost sinner he had been sought and found by a loving Savior.
“I think the meeting of husband and wife must have been a very joyous one, when early in the spring of the year following Mr. Lane's ship entered the London Docks, and he was once more free to go home, don't you, Herbert?”
“Oh yes, Elsie, I should have liked to look in on them the day after, to see how happy they were, enjoying one another's company in a way they had never done before. I'm sure such a picture would do one good to see, and I think Mrs. Lane would not want her husband to go to sea any more.”