The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1886, Page 39

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

——————— ee eee

Chiefs of Viti. ters came in. Supper ended, a clearance was

| made, the big Bible and the psalm-books were
| brought out, and the family was seated.

‘‘But where are the servants?”’ asked Moffat.

“Servants! What do you mean?”

“‘T mean the Hottentots, of whom I see so
many on your farm.’’

‘“‘Hottentots! Do you mean that, then!

Our readers would hardly suspect that the
two portraits—for such they are, and true to|
life— which accompany this article, represent
persons nearly related to one another. They
would very likely suppose the one, tatooed, |
and distorted, and hideous, to be a cannibal of
the most savage and degraded type. The other} Let me go to the mountains and call the
face would pass anywhere for that of an in-| baboons, if you want a congregation of that
telligent, loving-hearted, Christ-like missionary | sort. Or, stop, I have it. My sons, call the dogs
of the gospel. Yet are these two father and/| that lie in front of the door—they will do.”’

s0n.

~brought such a son forth from the house of
such a father? Truly not! It was that miracle,
wrought by the power of the Gospel.

The younger man is Thakaumba, chief of
Bau, and Tui Viti; that is, King of the Viti
Islands, a group of over three hundred, in the
Southern Pacific ocean.

The father’s name we
do not know. He was
chief of Bau, and with
his tribe practiced can-
nibalism within this half
century ; thatis, less than

« twenty-five years ago;
and at which time the
tribe were worshiping
idols, stocks and stones.

A few years earlier a
missionary had landed
upon the island, bearing
in his hand the blessed
Bible, and with the old,
old story of Jesus and
his love, upon his lips.

For a little time he
stood in hourly danger
of being killed, roasted,
and eaten by the wild,
fierce, wretched people,
but God’s providence was over him, and the
message he brought in time accomplished its
powerful effect. The people relinquished their

idols, to worship our true and only God, and
also the practice, revolting to us, but fascinat-
ing to those who have been trained to it, of
eating the flesh of their fellow men.

Thakaumhna, the old chief’s son, was educated
at the Mission home, and rose to the dignity of

King of the whole group of islands.

——~>+ <a> ¢ pe
Preaching to the Dogs. /

‘

The following is told of the famous African
Missionary, Robert Moffat:

One evening he halted at a farm which
showed signs of. belonging to a man of wealth
and importance who had many slaves. The
old patriarch, hearing that he was a Missionary,
gave him a hearty welcome, and proposed that
in the evening he should give them a service.
No proposal could have been more acceptable,
and he sat down to the plain but plentiful
meal with a light heart. The sons and daugh-

Could anything short of a miracle have |

The Missionary quietly dropped an attempt
which threatened a wrathful ending, and com-
| menced the service. The song was sung, prayer
| was offered, and the preacher read the story of
j} the Syro-Pheenician, and selected more espe-

| cially the words: ‘‘Truth, Lord, but even the
|dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the
He had not spoken many

| master’s .table.’’

minutes when the voice of the old man was
again heard. ‘‘ Will Mein Herr sit down and
wait a little? He shall have the Hottentots.’’

The summons was given. The motley crowd
trooped in, many who probably had never been
within the door of their master's house before,
and many more who never before had heard
the voice of a preacher.

When the sermon was over, and the aston-
ished Hottentots had dispersed, the farmer
turned to his guest and said: ‘My friend,
you took a hard hammer, and you have broken

‘| a hard head.’?

tt 0

The Dying. General.

General C— was a man of very determined
character and of somewhat eccentric habits.
He had imbibed infidel principles while. at
college, and his friends regarded him as im-
moveable in-his skepticism. Believing prayer,
however, had been offered in his behalf by a
Christian wife, and mother, ‘and sister, all of
whom had gone down to the grave without

seeing an answer to their supplications. It
pleased God at length to lay the rough grasp
of disease upon him, and as he contemplated
the slow but steady approach of death, he
found that his infidelity was worse than non-

sense, and that it left him to drift out upon a

dark and turbulent sea without a single star of
hope in his sky.

Sending for a minister of the gospel he asked
him the great question almost in the very
words of the Philippian jailer, ‘‘ What must
Of course the reply was,
‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved’’ (Acts 16,31). ‘I will not
do it,’ he answered, angrily; ‘‘you require
me to believe that Jesus Christ was the Son
of God, and I will not do it.’’ ‘*No,”’ said
the minister, ‘“‘I do not require you to be-
lieve anything; but I can tell what God re-
quires; and if I were to tell you anything else,
I would tell you a lie.”’
“Well,’’ he responded,
“T will not believe it.”
‘« My visit is ended then,”’
said the minister; ‘‘ but
anytime you would like
to hear about the only
way by which a sinner
can be saved, send for
me, day or night.”

Within less than a
week he sent for the
minister again, and on
entering the room; the
sick man, reclining in
an easy chair, abruptly
said, ‘‘ Why do you be-
lieve that Jesus Christ
was the Son of God?”’
‘*Because He says s0,’’
was the answer. The
next quick question was,
‘Where does He say so?’’ ‘Oh,’’ replied the
minister, ‘‘it is easy enough to show you that;””
and turning to his Bible, he read passage after
passage affirming in the most positive and un-
equivocal manner the eternal sonship and ab-
solute divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the
only name under heaven given among men
whereby we must be saved. Much to the sur-
prise of the reader, the proud and self-willed
man before him covered his face with his
hands; and at last looked up with a peaceful
expression of countenance, and said, “T am
satisfied; I know that Jesus Christ would not
tell a lie; I accept the truth upon His testi-
mony.” From that moment his only desire to
live was to show his gratitude to the dear Say-
iour who had plucked him as-a brand from the
burning.—J. H. B. :

I do to be saved?’’

—> + o<e

Ane you worried for fear that you are not
among the elect? If so, remember this, that
it is simply impossible for you to get among
the non-elect, except by rejecting the Son of