CHAPTER XIX.

HELP AND LOVING KINDNESS.

Oh, give Thine own sweet rest to me That I may speak with soothing power A word in season, as from Thee, To weary ones in needful hour.

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 part, of the gentle and generous loving-kindnesses of those ladies who heartily co-operated with her in lifting the burden of sin, sorrow, and sadness from poor suffering humanity. She writes at the close of 1875, thus:

"Our sewing-school kept its usual festival, thanks to our kind ladies, Mrs. Harper,[3] with Mrs. Fiske, and their friends, who supplied us liberally, and made many very happy. I have also, through the generosity of friends, been able to _aid_ and even _supply_ the wants of many who are in need, and I trust, in beginning a New Year, I may be able to work even more earnestly than ever before."

[3] Wife of Mr. Fletcher Harper, of Harper Brothers, publishers, Franklin Square, New York.

This wealthy and inestimable lady (Mrs. F. Harper) has also recently entered into her rest and reward. We are glad to know, however, that her daughter has taken up all her mother's work, as the following communication will testify:

"LAUREL HOUSE, LAKEWOOD, N.J., February 21, 1887.

"REV. DUNCAN M. YOUNG,

"DEAR SIR: I regret that I shall not be in New York for perhaps a couple of months, and therefore cannot see you in regard to the subject of Mrs. Knowles' work. She assisted my dear mother for many years in the Industrial School, and was greatly honored and beloved by all connected with her in that work.

"I do not think I can give you any information that you do not already know, in regard to Mrs. Knowles; but if I knew a little more as to what were your plans and desires in regard to getting out a book from her notes, I might consider what I could do. In any case, it can be only in a very slight degree that I am able to aid, as I have taken up Mrs. F. Harper's work in all directions, as well as my own. Any further communication addressed here will reach me.

"Very sincerely yours,

"MRS. D. H. SIBLEY."

In our correspondence for the Master we are reminded of two things, first, the letter sent by the beloved disciple, John, in his second epistle:

"The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;

"For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us forever:

"Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

"I rejoiced greatly, that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.

"And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.

"And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it."

And second, her place of residence for her health is the scene of our former labors for the Lord. In the vicinity of Lakewood we held revival services, and preached every night to a crowded house for over two months. Among those who were led to Christ was a physician and his wife, three public school-teachers, and two brothers--young men--one of them is now a minister of the gospel, the other the editor of a Temperance paper in the city of Philadelphia. But we are rapidly travelling to eternity, and these will, we know, be among the fruits of our labor. Still, we have to watch for souls and the bringing in of a brighter and better day, when one need not say to the other, "Know ye the Lord?" for all shall know Him from the least even to the greatest. "When the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the channels of the great deep."

How beautiful and descriptive are the words of Mackay in his "Watcher on the Tower," that points to the time when, through the labors of His servants, truth shall be triumphant, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away:

It breaks, it comes, the misty shadows fly, A rosy radiance gleams upon the sky; The mountain-tops reflect it calm and clear; The plain is yet in shade, but day is near.