The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1889, Page 31

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_. The hole was filled with powder and

en The Lutheran Pioneer. 381

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Michael Verran the Hero. Eager hands dragged away the rubbish and
rock, and there, underneath a huge slab of |
There are heroes in every class of life; many |stone that had been blown across him, and)
a name unnoticed and unknown to fame is yet | lodging against the end of the shaft protected
written in the Book of Life, enrolled in the| him from all the rest, they found him safe,
noble army of martyrs, who have laid down /not a scratch upon him, nor his clothes torn.
their lives for others for His sake who died for} He had sat himself down in the corner of his
them. , j rocky prison, placed a shield of rock before his
Such 2 hero was Michael Verran, a splendid | eyes, and commended hissoul in prayer to God;
specimen and true type of a Christian Cornish | and the God who cared for Daniel in his rocky
miner. | dungeon had delivered him, and saved him
From a boy he had lived and worked in the | from death.
dark mines; but he had learned to lisp the| For years he lived to tell of God’s goodness
name of Jesus at his mother’s knee, and the|to him, and to lead others by his example to
dark galleries and levels of the mine did not| the Saviour; and then they laid him in the
hinder his having an abiding sense of the|quiet country church-yard, where the long
Saviour’s presence. grass now waves over his sleeping-place. But
One day, in his full manhood, he was en-| his name still lives in the hearts of the simple
gaged with two others sinking a shaft. They | Cornish miners; his heroism is still remembered
had bored a hole in the usual way for blasting, | by maiden and stripling, who have learned his
and then, according to rule, one of

five times without any perceptible answer. He
appeared not to hear at all with the external
ear. But as he heard it the sixth time, he
opened his eyes and smiled. And to my as-
tonishment he lisped: ‘And I have not thanked
Him, but no one told it me. I now thank Him
many times! Iam only a poor gypsy boy! I
see! Isee! I thank Him heartily.’’ He closed
his eyes with an expression of thé perfect peace.
AsI knelt beside him, I thanked God. His
lips again moved, and I understood these
words: ‘‘That is it.”’ There were more words,
but I could not understand them. When, days
afterward, I came there again, I learned that
the youth had died eleven hours after I left
him,—or, rather, had fallen asleep in Christ. -
His father told me he had been very peaceful
and had an easy death. There was no Bible
| nor Testament in the tent. I gave them a Bible
j}and Testament. The poor man wished me hap-
piness and gave me a small bundle of

“the three had descended the shaft, ray — oF

leaving the others to finish the prep-
aration for firing the charge.

securely tamped, and all that was left
to do was to cut the fuse, and then for
one man to ascend the shaft, and let
down the bucket for the last, so that
he who fired the fuse might have time
to be drawn up to the surface before
the charge should explode.

Michael and his companion had be-
come familiar with danger. They were
careless; and, while the fuse was at-
tached to the charge, they set to work
to cut it through with a stone and an
iron drill. In doing it the iron gave
out a spark, and in a second the hiss-
ing’ of the fuse told them that in a few
moments the hole would explode.

“Village in Levale, Africa.

Both dashed to the shaft, and, holding on to} story from the aged folk who lived in the time
the bucket, gave the signal to be drawn up; when the brave fellow gave himself up to die
but, alas! the strength of the man at the wind-| for his friend and comrade in the bottom of the

lass was not equal to lifting two—he could | pit shaft.
wind up only one man at a time.

To remain was death to both, and it was|he lay down his life for his friend.”
Michael Verran’s turn to ascend. He looked
at his companion, stepped from the bucket,
and quietly said:

“Escape, lad, for thy life; I shall be in
heaven in a minute.’’ .

—+ +o or

_ “No One Told It Me.”

«Greater love hath no man than this, that

‘As I came near a gypsy camp I went in and

Swiftly the bucket ascended, and the man | bought some tin-ware; as they were putting it
‘saved leaned over the pit’s mouth and listened | up for me, I perceived that oue of them was
—Jistened for what? For the great roar and|sick. I asked permission to greet him. His
boom that told him of the sudden destruction father asked: ‘‘Do you wish to speak about
of the brave comrade who had given up life to | religion to him??? No, said J. ‘“‘What then?”

tin-ware which the dear boy had made.
It was evidently the first time this
youth had heard the word of God’s
salvation, and without hesitation he
took God at His Word, and with his
dying lips thanked God that He so
loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son for him, the poor
gypsy boy! After eleven hours he was
permitted to exchange his painful sick-
bed for the Paradise of God.
From the German.

——__ 1 oe po

Told a Lie with his Finger.

A little boy, for a trick, pointed his
finger to the wrong road when a man
asked him which way the doctor went.
As a result the man missed the doctor,
and his boy died because the doctor came too
late to take the fish-bone from his throat. At
the funeral the minister said that the little boy
was killed by a lie which another boy told with
his finger. ?

I suppose that boy did not know the mis-
chief he did. Of course nobody thinks he
meant to kill a little boy when he pointed the
wrong way. He only wanted to have a little
fun; but it was fun that costs somebody a great
deal.

We ought never to trifle with the truth, and
we must remember that we can tell a lie by
the nod of the head, or by the look on our face,
as well as by the words of our mouths. ,

Olive Leaf.

— > oor oe -

save’ him.
Up came the smoke and rubbish, blinding
and sickening. ‘There could be no doubt of

the miner’s fate close shut against that fearful

hole. Yet down they hurried; and among the
scattered blocks of rock at the bottom of the
shaft they shouted in faltering tones his name,
‘Michael! Michael! where are you?”

And the strong answer came, “Thank God,

‘I am here!’’

OF Christ. ‘O, then you may go in to him,
but if you speak about religion to him, I will
set the dogs upon you!’’ In the hut I found
a lad alone and in bed, manifestly at the end
of the last stage of consumption. His eyes
were closed, and he looked as if he were dead.
Irecited slowly the passage of Scripture: “God
so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.” I repeated it

Dr. Johnson’s Testimony.

writer. To a young gentleman who visited
him on his death-bed, he said, ‘‘ Young man,
attend to the voice of one who has possessed a
certain degree of fame in the world, and who
will shortly appear before his Maker: read the
Bible every day of your life.””

“Dr. Samuel Johnson is distinguished as a