The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1890, Page 26

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26

The Lutheran Pioneer.

. (For the ‘‘Lutheran Pioneer.’’)

_ Hannah's Fidelity to the Lutheran Church.

Hannah was one of the first ones to connect
herself with the Ey. Luth. Mt. Zion Church in
this city. Though an elderly lady, crippled
by sickness and hard work, she was always a
regular attendant of the services and according
to her means a liberal contributor. Like the
early Christians she ‘‘continued steadfastly in
the apostles’ doctrine, in fellowship, in the

_ breaking of bread, and in prayer.”’

About a year ago her son who resided in one
of the western cities sent for the old mother.
It was with a heavy heart and tearful eyes that
she parted from her church and its members
with whom she had borne the heat and the
burden of the pioneer life of our church, but
which had served to unite the members the
more closely in brotherly and sisterly love.

. Arriving at the western city, instead of follow-
ing the directions given by her pastor, or hav-
ing lost the address, she landed in a Lutheran
church in connection with the General Synod.
Her experience in that church is best told in
the words of Bro. G. of our Synod who now
administers to the wants of sister Hannah. He
writes: ‘‘Some time Jast fall the pastor of the
English Lutheran church of this city, belonging
to the General Synod, called on me and...
stated the fact that a colored lady from New
Orleans, professing to be a Lutheran, had at-
tended services and Sunday School at his church,
and had expressed her wish to become a mem-
ber of -his congregation. This, however, his
people objected to, some even intimating that,
if the colored lady would persist in visiting the
church, they would withdraw. Hereupon our
minister of the General Synod notified a colored
Baptist minister of the situation and requested him
to persuade Mrs. H. to join the colored Baptist
Church!!! The Baptists made the attempt, of
course, but failed, Mrs. — declaring that she
would remain true to the Lutheran Church.
And this she did much to the annoyance of
the General Synodists. -

“Then it was that their pastor called on me,
relating the circumstances, and asking me what
was to be done. He thought that God might
open # door to Mrs. — in some way; he had
heard that I preached in English occasionally ;
he presumed that the Colored Mission in New
Orleans had some connection with our Synod.
His object was evident to me. I forthwith ex-
pressed my willingness and intention to look to

* the spiritual wants of the lady in question. . ..
Thus it was that the door of the General Synod-
ical church was closed, and our door was opened
to Mra. —. She has proved herself a steadfast and
faithful Intheran and has assured me, that she
did not feel at home in the Church of the
General Synod. A commentary on the be-
havior of this church and its pastor is super-
fluous. ... I'am sorry to say that she is in bad
health. But she does not complain. Her com-

fort is Jesus, her Friend and Saviour, and she

rejoices in His love and kindness. She reads

her Testament, sings her hymns, thinking of |house. To-night she is sleeping there, not in a
the services she has attended and of the friends | heathen’s grave, but as one of Christ’s little
she left behind her in the city of New Orleans.”’ | ones—one of the redeemed. O, Jet the light
May God richly reward the Brother and his| pour into these darkened lives! Pray, those
congregation for the services they have rendered | who believe in prayer, pray for the coming of
and still are rendering to ‘‘one of these little | Christ’s kingdom into these sad and bewildered
ones that believe in Him,’’ and may He con- | hearts.
tinue to comfort, and strengthen, and preserve
old Hannah in grace and in faith unto her end.

New Orleans, La. N. J. B.

Don’t hang it too high.

One golden glorious day in June, 1884, the
writer of these lines spent a half day with ex-
Governor Horatio Seymour at his country resi-
dence in Deerfield, N. Y. After an interestin

Luella was a little Indian girl of whose beauti- talk on free trade, free canals and their inane
ful death the missionary gives following account: | srce on freight rates and foreign trade, and

To-day in our village died one of the little | various other topics then before the public, he
girls who had attended our school more regu-| said: “Now, you area young man and a clergy-
larly than any other girl in the village. Her Will you take a little counsel from an

——_ > 0 oe

Little Luella.

man.
English name, Luella, seemed to please her) jq man???
very much, and though so timid that it was “Certainly.”

hard to make her speak toa stranger, yet with
a pleasant smile she always responded to her
name at roll-call.

Luella showed great patience when suffering.
She was an orphan and lived with her mother’s
relatives. Her grandfather and grandmother
are both very old and-wholly blind. Hers was
a sad and lonely life. Last spring she learned
to know and love the Saviour, and almost alone
among heathen relatives she stood firmly to the
end. She died of consumption, and through
all her suffering, though often all night awake
and coughing, with no candle to light, often
hungry, with no food to eat, yet she was happy
in her love to the Saviour and longed to be
with Him in heaven.

Her old grandmother is a medicine woman,
and used all her arts to draw Luella away from
Christ, but in vain. The other day, when I
was about to say good-bye to her, I asked her to
select a hymn to sing. She looked up with her
great lustrous black eyes and said, ‘‘All Hail
the Power of Jesus’ Name.’’ I wish you might
have seen the strength, the power of soul ex-
pressed in that look. In~darkness, hunger,
pain, surrounded by heathen relatives, all the
old customs and superstitions urged upon her,
threatened with dire disease and death if she
left the old Dakota customs; yet through all,
she, the little shrinking, timid Indian girl, could
say with such triumph of goul, ‘‘All hail the
power of Jesus’ name,” and could mingle her
dying tones with ours, as we sang that grand
old battle song of the Christian Church. How
sweet it sounded in the liquid flowing words of
thé Dakota language! And at the last moment
wishing that she might again hear the mission-
ary pray, she passed away. -

Luella is gone, gone home to God—one more | umbrella.””
sheaf gathered in from the wintry storms of | The minister felt reproved by tie child’s
life and laid at the Master's feet. Dear, sweet,|simple faith. The meeting was then opened
patient Luella, clothed in His robe of righteous-|and earnest prayers were offered. Before the
ness; safe, safe at home with the Heavenly | meeting was over the wind arose, and a thun-
Father; no longer an orphan, homeless and |der storm soon burst upon the country. There
friendless; rich in God’s abounding love. She|was a heavy rain, and little Mary’s umbrella
asked to be laid away on the hill near the school | came in quite handy.

“Well, I will give it. Never use big words.
People understand short words better. They
have greater force." He then quoted the speech
of an Indian chief as an illustration and con-
tinued: “My practice in all my public speeches
has been to use short words. I have spent
many hours in trying to make speeches in words
of one syllable. You will find it a good prac-
tice. Not only do the folks learn your mean-
ing better, but you will find that when you try
to put your thoughts into words of one syllable,
you must get the idea very clearly in mind, or
you can not do it. Studying how'to put your
thoughts into short words will bring truth up ‘
in many new relations to your mind.”’

Young Lutheran.

—+ + oo +

A Child’s Faith.

Some years ago there was a very hot and dry
summer. In a neighborhood in England some
Christian farmers were asked by their pastor
to meet him at a certain time and they would
pray for rain. The pastor was among the first
present, and stood in the yard talking over the
poor prospects of having a crop. While thus
engaged he was surprised to see one of the
Sunday-school girls lugging into the church a
huge family umbrella. ‘‘Why, Mary, my
child,” he said, “what made you bring that
great umbrella on such a beautiful morning as
this??? The dear child looked up in his face,
seemingly much surprised that he should ask
such a question, and said: ‘‘Why, sir, as we
are going to pray to God for rain, and God has
promised to hear and answer His people when
they pray, I thought I’d be sure to want the