The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1889, Page 11

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

11

A Story of the German Bible.

and his name in the fly leaf of the Bible which
had been so carefully guarded by an overruling
Providence for so many years, and sent it over
to the hospital by a native servant.

Shortly after this, she was called from service
on earth to the yet higher and more glorious
service ‘‘in the presence of the King.”

Another ten years have slipped away, and
I find myself long since retired from the army,
seated by the fireside of my English home in
company with Captain
manded the company in the regiment in which

BY AN OLD SOLDIER.

In the year 1848 I was stationed with my
regiment at Hyderabad in India. One of my
most intimate friends was an officer of engineers,
whose consistent Christian life preached a more
telling sermon than his lips. At the time of
which I am speaking he was ordered to Eng-
land, and before leaving, he made over the
whole of his religious library to me, giving me
‘permission to keep, give away, or lend the
books, as I thought well. Although left thus
in possession, I realized that I was only a
steward, and I endeavored to make a good use
of my stewardship, and such was my success
that my friend's library rapidly decreased, and
in time became so ‘‘beautifully less’’ that it
was represented by one book—a German Bible.
For this book there had been no demand, and
as it happened to be a particularly well-bound
volume, it presented a somewhat imposing ap-
pearance in a subaltern’s book-case.

During the fifteen years that elapsed be-
tween 1848 and 1863, I was twice ordered to
England, and my quarters in India were
changed again and again.

Repeatedly had I sold off pretty well all my
possessions and had set up house afresh, but
never had I found a purchaser for the German
Bible, or one to whom the book could be given;
and it became a standing joke with us that
wherever our Indian home might happen to
be, and whatever changes of furniture or ar-
rangement might mark the new settlement, the
German Bible was sure to be well to the front.

In the year 1863 I was executive engineer
of the Nagpore division, my headquarters being
at Kamptee, and my bungalow not far distant
from the European Soldiers’ Hospital.

It was the habit of my wife and myself to
spend a portion of each Sunday afternoon in
the hospital. Sometimes the sick men were
asleep when we went in, and we were careful
not to wake them. Svometimes they pretended
to be asleep, which we understood to be a po-
lite way of intimating their wish not to be dis-
turbed. Sometimes they were very wide awake,
and glad that we should sit by them, read to
them, talk and pray with them, and we were
not slow to avail ourselves of such opportunities.

One Sunday afternoon my wife was going
from bed to bed on one side of the ward, while
I took the other side, and seeing a man tossing
and restless, she went up to him and spoke a
kind word. He answered her in German. She
could just muster enough German to, reply
that she was unable to converse with him in
his own language, and he made her understand

that he could not follow her in English, so she
contented herself with taking down his name
and regimental number, which were posted at
the head of his bed, and passed on.

As we left the hospital together she said to
me, ‘Every bullet has its billet’; there is
work for the German Bible to do after all’’;

old times, he suddenly said to me:

hospital at Kamptee?’’
“©OF course I do,’’ said I.
end of it?’’
«You shall hear,’’ said my friend.

He was a tremendously hard drinker.
little hope of his recovery.

covered in more senses than one.
came out of the hospital a new man.

he had been born again.

tremely practical form.
hospital involved in debt.

a grossly licentious life.

spiritual life.

a, smart soldier, trustworthy and efficient.

charge.

, who once com-

the German soldier had enlisted. Talking over

“Do you remember that German Bible that
your wife gave to the German soldier in the

“What was the

“That
soldier was the black sheep of the regiment.
At the
very time the Bible was given him he was so
ill—the result of drink—that the doctor had
But, contrary to
all expectation, he did recover; indeed, he re-
He literally
Physic-
ally he was marvelously restored, and spiritually
The Word of God,
applied by the ‘Spirit of God, and wholly with-
out man’s intervention, had done its work; and
doubtless, peace of mind and tranquillity of soul
had contributed materially to restoration of
body. His conversion took in his case an ex-
He had gone into
He now began sys-
tematically to pay off his debts. He had lived
His outward conduct
was now unblemished, and there was reason to
believe that the outward conduct was but the
index of the main spring of the inward and
He was to be found night after
night in the mission hall, or ‘prayer-house,’ as
we used to call the bangalow appropriated to
evangelistic services in those days.’ Instead of
separating himself from his comrades, as he
had done, and not troubling himself to acquire
a knowledge of English, he now consorted with
those who had made a friend of Jesus. In fact,
the whole man was changed. He had become

‘In time all his debts were paid, and he now
began to place his savings in the savings bank.

“From time to time contributions were made
among the Christian men in the regiment for
various departments of the Lord’s work, and it
was observed, though little was said about it,
that the German soldier never contributed any-
thing. -This was apparently the one unsatis-
factory feature in his Christian character, the
little fly which caused the otherwise sweet oint-
ment to stink. After a while he had amassed
a fair amount, and, coming to me one day, he
asked if his savings would suffice to buy a dis-
I told him he could accomplish this

and on reaching home she wrote her own name | at once if he chose. Some weeks elapsed, when

he came to me again, saying:

«Sir, I am going to take my discharge.
I have been saving up my money all this time
that I might be a free man to proclaim the
glorious gospel of Jesus Christ to the natives
of India, whom J have grievously wronged by
my unholy life. I wrote to a mission in another
part of India. I told the missionaries what a
sinner I had been; I assured them that the
Lord had met me with His own Word when
I was sick nigh unto death in hospital, and I
asked them to make inquiries about me, and,
if the replies were satisfactory, to allow even
me to join them in their blessed work—and,
sir, I have been accepted.’”’

Thus ended what to me was the recital of a
tale of thrilling interest. It assured me of the
honor which God puts upon His own Word.
It confirmed my faith in the fact that He is
graciously ready to acknowledge with His
blessing any little labor of love undertaken for
His sake, and it rejoiced my heart to remember
that the little circle of blessing which was
caused by the dropping of the good seed of
eternal life into the heart of the sick soldier
has gone on extending and extending, and will
go on, until eternity shall declare the fullness
of the blessing resulting therefrom.

Fourteen years have passed away since that
fireside talk. My friend too has passed away.
It is hardly likely that the German soldier is
still at work in India, but ‘‘the Word of the
Lord endureth forever.’”’—Selected.

24 ot 0

The Poor Wealthy Man.

Some years ago there died in the city of
Moskow a man named Rukin, who left his
twenty million rubles, many houses and great
possessions.

He had splendid apartments, though he never
entered them, but lived in a’ miserable hut.
Nails, horseshoes and the like, which he had
gathered in the streets and alleys, were stored
up here; a loathsome couch was his bed, be-
neath which rested a gold chest in which sixty
thousand rubles were found after his death.
His chief treasures were stored away in the
cellar. Five years ago a cover of a large chest
fell over him while he was rummaging in his
treasures, and he was in danger of death. His
servant, hearing his cries, ran and freed him
from his dangerous position. He thanked this
servant by giving him a few pennies and dis-
charging him with the words: ‘You have seen
my money.’”’ Rukin reached his 80th year.
In all his lifetime this man expended not a
single penny for charitable purposes but lived
as a beggar, subsisted on dry bread and salt,
and was arrayed so beggarly that his own chil--
dren were ashamed of him. In his testament
the man asked that his money be given him
along in his coffin, The heirs were indeed not
so foolish as to grant him this his last wish,
but whether they made better use of the money.
is a question.