Gathering Jewels The Secret of a Beautiful Life: In Memoriam of Mr. & Mrs. James Knowles. Selected from Their Diaries.

One week ago to-day, and at this hour, we stood in this historic church over the precious remains of our dear, departed Elder, James Knowles, so kind, so gentle, so affectionate...

"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors;...

HER GRATITUDE TO THE NEW YORK FLOWER MISSION.--In the middle of a busy summer she writes: "The Flower Mission has enabled me to bring some brightness and pleasure to the suffere...

I've found a Friend; oh, such a Friend! So kind, and true, and tender, So wise a Counsellor and guide, So mighty a Defender! From him, who loves me now so well, What power my lo...

_Our Missing Link_, a journal devoted to missionary work, has given many graphic recitals of the good work she accomplished in numerous fields, but none of much livelier interes...

"Glorious things of thee are spoken, O city of God." This saying can be emphatically applied to the above church, for the living truths proclaimed from her pulpit have saved and...

James Knowles was born at sea, December 5, 1811, his father, the previous day, having been swept overboard and lost. Unfortunately no record of the misfortune was kept to be ava...

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness, Sowing in the noon-tide and the dewy eves; Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping, We shall come rejoicing, bringing i...

I often feel impatient, And mourn the long delay, I never can be settled While he remains away. But we shall not long be parted, For I know he'll quickly come, And we shall dwel...

_Sabbath, December 16, 1860._--Preached by Mr. Finney, from the 53d chapter of Isaiah and 11th verse, last clause: "By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many: for...

I want to go home, to know it all-- The Saviour's love for the sinner's soul, The mercy of God and the glory given To saints when they're safely brought to heaven.

Though dark are the shadows that gather between, I know that thy morning is fair; I catch but a glimpse of thy glory and light, And whisper. Would God I were there!

At one time Mrs. Knowles wrote that, during part of the summer months great weakness and general debility prevented her from laboring as much as usual; and when she resumed her...

There are small things in daily life In which I may obey, And thus may show my love to Thee; And always--every day-- There are some little loving words Which I for Thee may say.

When Jesus was here upon earth the question was asked, 'Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? But it is said that the thirty years of Christ's obscurity was the foundation of...

It is not that the city is glorious to behold, Her walls of lucid crystal, her very pavement gold, All shrined in dazzling splendor, beyond description fair, But I am pressing o...

Dr. Hanna once said: "The heart is an interpreter. It is not in the intellect, it is in the conscience, in the heart, that the finest, most powerful organs of spiritual vision l...

Mrs. Knowles's life, throughout, was characterized by great sincerity and steadfastness of purpose. As an evidence of it, I will give a sketch of her experience and work from he...

"I visited one family," she writes, "a few days since who had not eaten anything for twenty-four hours. The father was out of employment, and in desperation was just about to ta...

Oh, could I flow like thee, and make thy stream My great example, as it is my theme! Though deep, yet clear; though gentle, yet not dull; Strong without rage; without o'erflowin...

He loves me now, oh, blessed thought, He loved me when I knew Him not, And with His blood my pardon bought, On Calvary He died for me; Then with such love my heart to cheer, How...

"In the prosecution of the excavations at Pompeii, the workmen laid bare an ancient spring, the water of which, as soon as it was set free, flowed forth as copiously as ever, an...

Love of Christ, amazing love! Vast as His eternity; Theme of angel choirs above, Theme of souls redeemed like me! Outward to creation's bound, Up to Heaven's serenest height, Un...

Christ said, "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees." She seemed to hate everything that looked like spiritual pride, or idolatry, or worldliness. Hence her sternness and courage...

Sure he, to whom, of mind or hand belongs Some craft that doth uplift the thought of men Above the mold, and bring to human ken The joys of radiance, air and clear bird-songs; S...

I know there are realms where the voices of song Never cease 'neath a burden of tears. And I seek, 'mid earth-discord, the sound of a strain, Falling sweet from those radiant sp...

DEAR MOTHER:--I write this letter to you for the purpose of letting you know how I am doing. I am devoting the most of my leisure hours to reading and improving my mind, some wa...

The subject of this memoir was born in Tichon, near Ballymena, County Antrim, in the north of Ireland, March 22, 1811. Her ancestors fled from Scotland during the dark days of p...

On one occasion, in reference to a severe winter, she writes: "This has been the hardest winter I have known for years." The winters in New York are sometimes very severe. And h...

I cannot do great things for Him Who did so much for me; But I would like to show my love, Lord Jesus, unto Thee; Faithful in very little things, O Saviour! may I be.

We are so helpless, Lord, Thou art all power and might; Our path is often drear, Be thou our light. We have no hope but thee; Oh, leave us not alone, Till life's brief day is o'...

Blest Saviour, slain for me, In grateful love to Thee The cross I bear; Thou didst for me endure, My pardon to insure, And thus for me secure A Crown to wear.

Our daily life ought to be an echo of the life of Christ. Just as God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing unto man his trespasses, so the great aim of...

Dear voices are chanting thy chorus of praise, Dear eyes in thy sunlight are fair; I look from my valley of shadow below, And whisper: Would God I were there.

He is a whole Christ--He is a full Saviour! He saves to the uttermost all who believe; His arms of compassion are ever extended, The contrite and penitent souls to receive.

In March, 1880, she writes: "I have had much encouragement in my work during the past month. In a family where I had visited a long time, the mother was much addicted to intempe...

That Mrs. Matilda Knowles, our _beau ideal_ missionary, possessed a thankful heart, we glean from her diary. She gives a deeply interesting account of the recognition, on her pa...

But life's path lies not through a grassy dell, In the cool of the morning's shade; There are scorching sands, and torrents that swell, As well as the flowery glade.

"I want a meek, a gentle, quiet frame, A heart that glows with love to Jesus' name; I want a living sacrifice to be For Him who died a sacrifice for me."