The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1886, Page 11

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The Lutheran Pioneer. 11

In the Hands of the Turks.

By Pastor Louis Harms.

In the beginning of the last century the
great Turkish war took place, in which the
brave general Prince Eugene gained such a
glorious victory over the Turks. Troops joined
him from all parts of Germany, and from the
Luneburg forest. The Lord of Staffhorst from
Hermannsburg went with him accompanied by
two servants on horseback named Hans Piiffel
and Peter Paasch. At the great battle of
Belgrade, which the Germans won, Hans Piiffel
was killed while rescuing his hard-pressed
master from the hands of the Turks. During
the following attack on Belgrade, the Lord of
Staffhorst fell, after he had entered the city.
Peter Paasch, full of grief over the death of
his beloved master, had incautiously followed
the flying Turks, and was surrounded by them
outside of the city and taken prisoner. They
tied him to his horse’s tail, and one of the Turks
sat on the horse, while Paasch was obliged to
run behind, naked and barefooted; for the
Turks had taken everything away from him.
Late in the evening they made a halt in the
forest, when they helieved themselves to be in
security from the Christians, and now they
proposed to take an especial revenge on the
captured Christian, for they had seen Paasch
cut down a great number of their countrymen
during the conflict. They first laid two sticks
together in the form of across, spit-upon. the
cross, and tried by blows and torturings also to
force Paasch to spit upon it. Paasch, however,
who had been loosened from the horse, and
from whom they did not foresee any resistange,
valiantly struck every Turk behind the ears
whom he had seen spit upon the cross, until
they bound him again, hand and foot. Then
they stabbed him with knives and daggers in
order to force him to spit upon the cross.
When all this availed them nothing, they
nailed both his hands over his head to the
trunk of a tree, and tried by striking him with

“lashes and staves, to make him pronounce in a

reverent manner the name of Mahomet, their
false prophet. But as often as they spoke the
name of the false Prophet, he said, JEsus
Curist. Then these enemies of Christ de-
termined to kindle a fire under his feet, and by
this means either to make him deny his Lord
or to put him to death. As now Paasch saw
that his death was near, he repeated in a de-
vout manner the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed.
And the Lord gave the brave warrior such
peace in his heart that he was able to pray
even for his murderers, as the Lord and Saint
Stephen had done. After he had prayed, he
was filled with such a high degree of heavenly
joy, that he could not refrain from singing,
with devout, loud tunes the grand old Passion-
hymn beginning: —

O Lamb of God, most blameless,

Who on the cross didst languish.

' He had just finished the third stanza, closing | to

With the words: —

Grant us thy blessing, O Jesus! :
when the clear tones of a trumpet sounded
without the forest, and immediately German
horsemen broke into the forest. The Turks
quickly dispersed, and the horsemen saw with
astonishment Paasch nailed up to the tree with
the fire under his feet. They hastened to
release him, and he fell senseless into their
arms. After they had bound up his many
wounds, bathed him and clothed him, he came
to himself, and his first question was: ‘‘ How
has God brought you here just at the right
time?’’? — They answered, ‘‘ We were in pur-
suit of the Turks, when we heard out of the
forest the hymn: —

O Lamb of God, most blameless!
that is a Christian, we cried! and rode quickly
into the forest. The Lamb of God, in whom
you have trusted, has delivered you.”

Then they carried Paasch back to Belgrade.
The story reached the ears of Prince Eugene,
who had him taken care of in the best manner,
went himself to see him several times, and re-
joiced in witnessing his simple, child-like faith.
Afterwards he sent him back to the father-
land, as he was no longer able to serve in the
army.

He lived still ten years longer in his native
city, and those who witnessed the scars of the
wounds which he had borne for the name of
the Lord Jesus, were strengthened in their be-
lief in Him. In the year 1728 he died in the
faith. — His last words were : —

O Lamb of God, most blameless!

May the Lord Jesus impress upon us by this
example the words, ‘‘ Whosoever shall confess
me before men, him also will I confess before
my Father which is in heaven.’

——> + e<i>e +

Useful to the End.

John Eliot, on the day of his death, in his
eightieth year, was found teaching the alphabet
to an Indian child at his bedside. .

“Why not rest from your labors?”’ said a
friend.

‘Because,’’ said the venerable man, ‘‘I
have prayed to God to make me useful in my
sphere, and He has heard my prayer; for, now
that I can no longer preach, He leaves me
strength enough to teach this poor child his
alphabet.”

Eighty years of age, and bedridden, yet still
at work for others! And shall the young find
nothing to do for those about them? :

—_—s ~<a oe

Getting Ready.

‘“Mamma,’’ said a little child, ‘‘my school
teacher tells me that this world is only a place
in which God lets us live awhile that we may
prepare for a better world. But, mother, I do
not see anybody preparing. I see you ‘prepay
ing to go into the eon ye and aunt Eliza is
preparing to come here; bu ot Bee a
one preparing to go there; why don’t they try
t ready?” ! ue
eader, are you making any preparations

very old coinage.
at some time of war, hid in the ground at the
foot of a tree, in the widow’s garden, by some
one who had hoped thus to preserve the buried
treasure till the war, and the fear of plunder-
ing hands, were over, but who had not lived to
dig up his gold. Thus it had laid hidden till,
when just at the right time, by means of the
mole, the treasure was brought to light.

t I do not see any

The Lord will Provide.

In the summer of 1851, great scarcity pre-

vailed in many parts of Wurtemberg. Among
others who suffered, a poor widow of Uha was
in deep distress.
last penny for food for herself and her chil-
dren, and had nothing left wherewith to pay a
small debt that lay heavy on her mind. There
was nothing for it but to sell her cow, but with
it her chief means of support would go.
of care and anxiety on this account, she sat .
alone in her little room, pondering over her
position, and praying to God for help in her
time of need.

She had already spent her

Full

While thus occupied, her little boy came

running in from the garden, exclaiming, ‘‘See
these, mother; what are they? I found them
in the garden, in a mole-hill.”’ .

What he had found were several ducats o
They had doubtless been,

The poor widow's distress and want were re-

lieved by the gold, and she was able to praise
God who, according to his promise, ever helps
His people in time of need, in answer to their
cry.

(From the German.)

——>—- o> -

God’s Sparrows.

A Christian woman was visiting the poor in

London one cold Winter’s day. She was trying
to open the door of a third story in a wretched-
looking house, when she heard a little voice in-
side say, ‘‘Pull the string up high.”
looked up, and saw a string. She pulled it,

She

when it lifted the latch; and the door opened

into a room where she found two little half-

naked children all alone.
and hungry.

“Do you take care of yourselves, little
ones?” asked the woman.

‘“No, ma’am; God takes care of us,’’ replied
the elder of the children.

“You have no fire on this cold day.
you very cold?”’

‘Oh, when we are very cold, we creep under
the quilt, and I put my arms around my brother,
and he puts his arms around me, and then we
say, ‘Now I lay me down tosleep, I'll sing my
Maker's praise,’ and then we get warm,’’ said
the little girl.

«And what have you to eat, pray?” asked
the visitor.

‘‘When granny comes home, she brings us
something. Granny says we are God's spar-
rows, and he has enough for us; and so we
say, ‘Our Father’ and ‘daily bread’ every day.
God is our Father.’’—Faithful Witness.

They looked cold

Are