YOU knew her,' he said to me, ' you knew, too, how happy we were together. Perhaps you did not know, nor did I at the time, that my darling Emily, when I married her, was an unbeliever! She had been carefully taught by her mother to disbelieve even the existence of a God, and, in that house, from sister and mother, no word of prayer had ever ascended upwards. Sadly had Emily's mind been led astray ... .
“One day I asked her to accompany me in a visit to a dying young person, a member of my Sunday Bible class. The sufferer was reading the word of God, her own Sunday-school Bible. As we entered her room, an unearthly brilliancy sparkled in her eyes, a bright hectic flush mantled on her worn cheeks.
“Emily sat down by the bedside of the dying girl. It was evident that the hour of dissolution was not far distant. I opened my Bible and read a few verses. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.... And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving' —a suppressed sob burst from Emily. Her pale face showed a deep emotion as I ended with the solemn words, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.' ‘Inherit all things,' such is your blessed portion,' I said to the poor dying one. Oh, how great a contrast to those who shall have their part in everlasting woe!
" As we were returning from the dying girl's home, I said to my wife, Emily, have you ever thought of the difference between the believer's and the skeptic's deathbed?’... You may imagine the joy of my heart when, one day after this, Emily came to my side, and putting her arms around me, said, Darling Rob, will you pray with me now, and for me?’
“She began to study the life and character of the Lord Jesus, as revealed in the Gospels, and gradually that divine Saviour therein revealed rose in all His glorious beauty before her mind... His heart of loving tenderness, His endless compassion, His deep yearnings for the poor, wandering soul....
“Her health, which had never been very strong, began to suffer. Her mother asked her to spend a few weeks at their house for change of air, and at last she went, feeling herself much weaker. When I went over to the house, after a few days' necessary absence, I felt shocked at the great change that I perceived in Emily. The doctor said that it was a rapid decline, and he gave me no hope of her recovery. He was a good old man, and the morning he asked me to speak to him in the drawing-room for a few minutes, I cannot forget the manner in which he looked out at the window, as though regarding the flowers beneath, and then turned abruptly to me.
“'W.,” he said, your dear wife's time here is, I fear, very short now. All things are possible to God.'
“I sat down. A deathlike icy sickness grasped my heart. I burst into tears, and the old man stole silently away. When I entered her room, she looked up wistfully into my face. Rob,' she said, tell me what the doctor said of me. Tell it all.' I put my arms around the poor, fragile form. ‘My darling,' I whispered, and I began to weep. ‘Yes, Rob, I see it now. He says that I must die. Darling Robin,' she said, and she put up her poor, thin, worn hand, and wiped away my blinding tears. Don't cry for me. Thank God, it is all right with my soul. JESUS HAS WASHED AWAY ALL MY SINS IN HIS OWN PRECIOUS BLOOD.'
“One night—it was the last—the fire was burning low on the hearth, and I knew that my darling was dying. I was resting on the bed, sitting with my arm round her, when I heard her faintly whisper, Robin, raise me up.' I lifted her up, and the dim light of the candle fell upon her poor, pale face. ‘Robin,' she whispered, 'Jesus has come for me now.' And then an indescribable gleam of love shot into her poor, waning eyes, and she threw her wasted arms around my neck.
“Oh, my darling,' she said, thanks be unto God that ever I met you—thanks be unto God that He has blessed you to save my soul by showing me JESUS. I am pardoned, darling." COME UNTO ME, ALL YE THAT Labor AND ARE HEAVY LADEN, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST” I see Jesus,' she said, He calls me. Goodbye, my own darling.' She kissed my lips with such a yearning love, and then her head fell back. I laid her down. A sweet smile was on her lips. I stooped down, and heard her faintly whisper, Jesus '! And then I knew that my darling was dead.”
R. W.