A LONG row of beds, and many pale, thin faces met the eyes of the old gentleman and his little daughter, when they entered the large ward of the hospital. It was not a strange sight for them; they were accustomed to seeing people in pain and suffering, as they often visited the hospital, to bring some words of comfort and cheer to the sufferers, also some fruit and delicacies. There were many who lay weeks and months in the hospital, far from their native land, and from all their loved ones. To such they addressed themselves in preference, speaking kind words to them, and offering them fruit, books, or other little things. The patients loved the old gentleman and his little daughter, and looked out eagerly for their arrival.
“Who is the man in the last bed?” asked the gentleman of the nurse,” he looks like a stranger, and seems not to belong to this country.”
“Yes, sir,” was the answer; “he is a French sailor who met with a sad accident some days ago. They brought him here, but he doesn’t understand the language. His ship has left the harbor again, and now there is no one who can speak to him in his own language. I have often listened when he muttered to himself, but I couldn’t make it out. Perhaps your little girl could speak to him; I am sure that would please him.”
The old man looked at his little girl, and asked:
“Will you try, Anna? Perhaps you can say a few words to him.”
“O, father,” the little girl answered shyly, “I know so little French.”
She was just beginning to study the French language, and how could she venture to address this stranger in his own language? If her oldest brother was only here, he could do it; for he had been a year in France. But she, what could she do? She didn’t know what to say.
“He won’t understand a word I say,” she thought, “if I do say a few words to him.” Her father saw her hesitate, and said kindly:
“Are you afraid of the strange man, Anna? You know that I don’t understand French, or else I would speak to him.”
Still Anna stood with eyes cast down, then all at once she had a happy thought:
“Father,” she whispered, “shall I repeat my French Bible-text to him?”
“Yes, my child,” he answered, “that is the best thing that you can say to him.”
This verse she had learned by heart, out of a French Bible that had been given to her some weeks before. All eyes were fixed on the dear little figure as it passed through the long ward to the sailor’s bed. Bashfully she approached, and went very softly to him, as the nurse had said that he was badly hurt. His eyes were closed, and his face was deathly pale. She stood for a moment undecided; was he already dead? But no, the noise of her footsteps had reached his ear; slowly his eyes opened, and with surprise he saw the child standing beside him. The little one took courage, and said slowly in a low voice these words:
“Car Dieu a tant aime le monde, qu’il a donne Son fils unique, afire clue quiconque croit en Lui, ne perisse point, mais qu’il ait la vie eternelle.” John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16). (“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”). After that she turned, and went back to her father.
The sick man had listened attentively; he had heard these words before. He considered; where was it? But he could not remember; his eyes closed, and soon he was fast asleep; but his mind worked on. Who was that dear child, who all at once appeared before him like an angel and then quickly vanished? What did she mean by those words? But his head was still too weak to think clearly. The night came, bringing fresh suffering. The next day he slept a little, but even in his dreams the child stood always before him, and her words sounded in his ears. So many days passed.
At last his mind became clearer. His memory came back to him. He saw himself as a little boy beside his father, sitting in the village church, and hearing from the mouth of the old minister, the same words that the little one had said to him. At the time, he had paid no attention, but now he recalled the earnest question that the preacher had addressed to the small congregation:
“If you should die today, would you be lost, or would you have eternal life?”
This question made him uneasy. What must he do? Then he noticed a French Bible, that a visitor had left for him some days before. The nurse had placed it on a little table near his bed, but up to this time he had been too weak to read in it, and had also but little inclination for it. But now he took it, and found in it that God is love; that Christ had come to die, not only for the righteous, but for sinners, and that to all who came to Him, He granted forgiveness of their sins. He read in it, that the Lord Himself invites sinners to come to Him. Yes, that God begs them to be reconciled to Him. This broke down his heart, he turned to God—he prayed. And can God ever leave an earnest prayer unanswered? Impossible. So the sick sailor found a ready answer, and the peace of God which passeth all understanding entered his heart.
Now he had one wish—that was to see again the dear child, whose appearance and words had made such a deep impression on him. Often when the door was opened he would turn his face to it full of expectation. But only to be disappointed. The little one came not again. Shortly after her visit to the hospital, she left the City of B....to visit a relative in a distant part of the country. When she returned, after an absence of some months, the sailor had set sail for his country, happy and cured. But the message that she had brought to him, had not been in vain; the seed had fallen into good ground. and had borne fruit for God.
ML 08/20/1922