The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1888, Page 31

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The Liutheran Pioneer: 31

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_ “That's Thee, Jem!”

A TRUE AND TOUCHING STORY.

I was some few years ago sojourning at a|
very beautiful and much frequented English |
watering place. I met with an earnest Chris-
tian tradesman of the town, whose labors in the |
cause of religion are many and great. Although
his occupation was not in selling books, yet he
had, in a prominent place in his shop window,
an assortment of Bibles, with an illuminated
card containing this announcement: ‘‘ Luther’s
Sword sold here!”’ With one of these ‘‘swords’’ |
that Christian soldier, whom I shall here call |
by the name of Mr. Carr, fought and won the!
following battle:

A band or ‘‘troupé”’
of young men, with
hands and faces black-
ened, and dressed in
very grotesque cos-
tumes, arranged them-
selves before this gen-
tleman’s door one day
for an exhibition of
their peculiar ‘‘ per-
formance.”’ These peo-
ple used to be called
“Ethiopian Serenad-
ers.”’ After they had

- sung some comic and
some plaintive melo-
dies, with their own
peculiar accompani-
ments of gestures and
grimaces, one of the
party, a tall and in-
teresting young man,
who had the ‘‘look”’
of one who was he-
neath his proper sta-
tion, stepped up to the door, tambourine in
hand, to ask for a few ‘‘dropping pennies”’ of
the people. Mr. Carr, taking one of his Bibles
out of his window, addressed the youth:

“See here, young man,”’ he said, ‘I will
give you a shilling and this book besides if you
will read a portion of it among your comrades
there, and in the hearing of the bystanders.’’

‘‘Here’s a shilling for an easy job!’’ he
chuckled out to his mates, ‘‘I’m going to give
you a public reading!”’

Mr. Carr opened at chapter 15 of St. Luke's
Gospel, and pointing to verse 11, requested the
young man to commence reading at that verse.

‘Now, Jem, speak up!” said one of the
party, ‘‘and earn your shilling like a man!”

And Jem took the book and read, ‘‘And he
said, a certain man had two sons; and the
younger of them said to his father, Father, give
me the portion of goods that falleth to me.
And he divided unto them his living.”’

There was something in the voice of the
reader, as well as in the strangeness of the cir-
cumstances, that lulled all to silence; while an
air of seriousness took possession of the youth,

of the crowd. \

|, He read on: ‘‘And not many days after the |

younger son gathered all together, and took his
journey into a far country, and there wasted |
his substance with riotous living.”’

“That’s thee, Jem!” ejaculated one of his
comrades; “it’s just like what you told me of |
yourself and your father!’’

The reader continued: ‘‘And when he had

|Spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that

land, and he began to be in want.’’

“Why, that’s thee again, Jem!’’ said the
voice. ‘‘Go on!”’

‘‘And he went and joined himself to a citizen |
of that country; and he sent him into his fields |
to feed swine. And he would fain have filled |

his belly with husks that the swine did eat,
and no man gave unto him!’’

“That’s like us all!’’ said the voice, once
more interrupting; ‘‘we're all beggars, and might

be better than we are! Goon; let’s hear what
came of it.’’

And the young man read on, and as he read
his voice trembled: ‘‘And when he came to
himself, he said, How many hired servants of
my father’s have bread enough and to spare,
and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go
to my father.’

At this point he fairly broke down, and could
read no more. All were impressed and moved.
The whole reality of the past rose up to view,
and in the clear story of the Gospel a ray of
hope dawned upon him for his future. His
father—his father’s house—and his mother’s
too; and the plenty and the love ever bestowed
upon him there; and the hired servants, all
having enough; and then himself his father’s
son and his present state, his companionships,
his habits, his sins, his poverty, his outcast
condition, his absurdly questionable mode of
living, all these came climbing in invading

| and still further commanded the rapt attention | force of thoughts and reflections into the citadel

of his ‘mind, ‘and fairly overcame him.

The day — that scene— proved the turning-
point of that young prodigal’s life. He sought
the advice of the Christian friend who had thus
providentially interposed for his deliverance.
Communications were made to his parents,
which resulted in a long-lost and dearly-loved

|child returning to the familiar earthly home;

and still better, in his return to his Heavenly
Father! He found, as I trust my readers will,
how true are the promises of the parable of the
“Prodigal Son,’’ both for time and for eternity.

“Yes, there is one who will not chide nor scoff,

But beckons us to homes of heavenly bliss:
Beholds the prodigal a great way off,

And flies to meet him with a father’s kiss.”

B. Ww.

Be Slow to Anger.

Philip II., King of
Spain, had been writ-
ing very late at night,
in order to conclude
a letter of very great
importance. Having
done so he handed the
same to his secretary,
that he might fold and
seal it, but the latter,
in his haste, seized the
inkstand instead of the
sand-box, and by this
means destroyed the
whole letter. This so
frightened him that he
became pale as death.
But the king, without
manifestation of the
least anger, said to
him: ‘‘Give me some
other paper,’ renewed
his work, and wrote another letter. ‘‘He that
is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and
he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a
city” (Prov. 16, 32).

Sir Walter Raleigh, an English courtier, and
a gentleman of great courage, was at one time
grievously insulted and dared by a young and
violent man; and when Sir Walter declined to
fight a duel with him, the young man publicly
spit in his face. The knight thereupon drew
his kerchief from his pocket, and said to him
who had given the insult: ‘Young man, if I
could as easily wipe your blood from my con-
science as I can wipe your spittle from my face,
I would instantly kill you.”” The young man
was so overcome with a feeling of remorse and
shame at this reply, that he fell at the feet of
Sir Walter, and humbly begged his forgiveness.

Fairs does not ask whether good works are
to be done, but before the question is put, it
has done them already, and is always engaged
in doing them. You may as well separate bur-
ning and shining from fire as works from faith.

Luther.

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