The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1891, Page 23

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

23

Evening Prayer.

“Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord, my soul to take;
And this I ask for Jesus’ sake. .

Thy favor gives me daily bread,
And friends who all my wants supply;
And safely now I rest my head,
Preserved and guarded by Thine eye.”

++ +<> oro

‘ The Due-Bill.

Over the ocean in the kingdom of Prussia,
in a small village at the foot of a mountain,
lived a schoolmaster with his wife and eight
Although he was a zealous worker
and a good man, his salary was but $150 a
As his children grew older, it became
more and more difficult for him to support his
He succeeded
And when
his heart grew sad and heavy he would enter
his closet and pour forth his troubles into the

children.
year.

family on this small income.
only by the most rigid econorfiy.

ear of his heavenly Father.

In 1847 harvest was almost a failure, and
all kinds of provision were scarce and high in
The bill at the shoemaker's had been
allowed to grow until it was now $25, for the
money was needed to get something to eat.
The shoemaker insisted on payment.” The only
hope the schoolmaster had of cancelling the
But where then
would they get milk for the children? In his
great trouble he turned to Matth. 6, 25. 26.,
‘‘Take no thought for your life what ye shall
eat, or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your
Is not the life
more than meat, and thé body than raiment?
Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not,
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns;
yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are
ye not much better than they?’’ And his wife
said: ‘‘ Yes, dear husband, God still lives and

price.

debt was by selling his cow.

body what ye shall put on.

knows our wants, He will not forsake us.”’

Then he sat down at his old piano, and

together they sang:

“*My heart, why art thou so distressed,
So fearful, so with grief oppressed,

r So moved with anxious care!
Trust in thy God! He liveth ever,
And He forsakes His children never.’’

At last that memorable winter was over.
In the spring news arrived that the king would
pass through the village on a certain day at a
The schoolmaster composed an
8ppropriate hymn and trained the children of
the school in singing it, and resolved to take
them out to meet his majesty, and to greet
him with song. All progressed nicely. But
a8 the day approached, the schoolmaster began
40 think about his worn and soiled clothes, his

ttered hat, and his almost soleless shoes.

given hour.

of patience because of what was already due
him. But the schoolmaster implored him to
help him out this time yet by mending his
boots, and, rather than keep him wait much
longer, that he would sell his cow and cancel
the debt. The boots were returned patched
and soled, and with them the shoemaker's ac-
count:

How the Lord cared for four Orphans.

In a small village of Pomerania a pastor lay
sick. He knew that he must soon die. His
soul was at peace, yet he often felt sad. He
had four small children to leave behind him,
and their mother was in poor health. Soon he
had to bid them all farewell, and commend

Schoolmaster them to God's keeping.

T T. W. SHOEMAKER, Dr., The mother and children turned away from
One pair. boots repalied.2e-essseeeereoe ees gs 50| the grave of their loved one with heavy hearts.
Back account....+...eeeee - It was with great difficulty that they eked out

a living. In ten months the four children were
standing beside a new-made grave. Mother
had been called away to her heavenly home,
and the little ones were orphans indeed.

What shall become of these poor orphans?
A grandmother still lives, but she is poor and
old. However she would do what she could.
The children were taken to her humble home.

The time in which this occurred was the year
1866. Prussia had just gained a victory in its
war with Austria. A pious and wealthy couple
living in Hamburg were so happy over this
victory that they felt like doing some work of
charity. We will call them by the name Mayer.
Mr. M. wrote to a minister whom he knew and
told him that if he knew of any orphans made
by the late war, especially children of some
army officer who may have been killed, that
he and Mrs. M. would adopt two such orphans
as their own children.

The minister could find no such orphans.
But before he had time to write to Mr. M. he
received word of the death of the pastor’s wife
in Pomerania, and knew that thus four chil-
dren were left helpless orphans. He wrote at
once to the rich Mr. M. of Hamburg and told
him that he could not get any soldier’s orphans
for him, but that he could secure him the
orphan children of a pastor. Mr. M. and his
wife agreed to take the two youngest of the
pastor’s children.

The minister wrote the grandmother the good
news. But here wasa new trouble. The grand-
mother had solemnly promised the mother that
she would not separate the four orphans. This
word was at once sent to Mr. and Mrs. M.
But they did not feel like dropping the matter.
So Mrs. M. went to Pomerania and hunted
up the humble home of the grandmother.
She came in upon the four orphans quite un-
expectedly. When the youngest child saw her,
he reached out his tiny arms to her and cried:
Mamma, mamma. Mrs. M. could not restrain
her tears. It was a fact, too, that there was
a great resemblance between Mra. M. and the
departed mother. The heart of the wealthy
lady was wonderfully drawn toward the chil-
dren. She wrote to her husband and he re-
plied, ‘Bring all four of the children.” And
this she did. This kind couple, having no
children of their own, adopted these and gave

Total. .cccccccccccccccccec cece cess cee S26,50

“These boots will be the last I shall mend unless
the bill is paid. You can sell your cow. My pa-
tience is completely worn out; if you do not pay
this time I shall be obliged to push you.

T. W. SHOEMAKER.”

The schoolmaster with a sigh stuck the note
in his pocket so his wife would not see it. In
the same pocket he put a neatly written copy
of the hymn he had composed with which to
greet the king.

The next day he led the children out along
the highway at the head of the procession,
and, after hours of waiting saw the royal party
draw near. The king ordered his carriage to
stop as they approached the villagers, and the
children, led by their teacher, sang the hymn
of welcome in a whole-souled manner. The
king was delighted, and, calling the teacher to
him, expressed his thanks. He also said that
he had never before heard that hymn, and
would be glad to have a copy of it. The
schoolmaster took the copy from his pocket
and gave it to his majesty. The king also
asked how long he had held the position of
teacher in that village, the amount of his in-
come, and other questions.

After proceeding on his way the monarch
opened the paper containing the schoolmaster's
hymn, and found with it the shoemaker’s due-
bill. The wise king readily understood how
the two papers got together. At the next
stopping-place he sent an officer back to the
village, with instructions to pay the bill, get
it receipted, and then return it to the school-
master. After retiring that night the school-
master and his family were aroused by the
burgomaster of the village, who was bringing
him the due-bill to which had just been added:

“ Gratefully received in full,

T. W. SHOEMAKER.”

It took a little thinking and guessing before
the schoolmaster could satiafy himself how it
had all come about, but finally. rightly con-
cluded that he must have given the bill to the
king with the paper containing the hymn, and
that the king had paid it.

The monarch made it his business to inquire
about the schoolmaster, and hearing nothing
but good reports of him, soon offered him the
best position among the teachers of his king-

; * Christian education. Thus did God
'8 Wife applied her utmost skill and ingenuity, | dom, with a good salary, to which the queen eer rant foux orphans’ hd
and at last got all the clothes into a passable|herself added $50 each year. |= mtheee, fo * Gidee Paes
shape but the boots. ‘The shoemaker was out From ; Luthera