The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1894, Page 19

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: The Lutheran Pioneer. — 19

One of the Moys.

A CHINESE BOY IN AMERICA.

‘eYou teachee me read the Bible?”’ he asked,
and there was an eagerness in his voice and
manner which proved the question one of real

_ interest.

No teacher could turn from such a question
with a cold and formal reply. The work was
wearisome, and her hands were full— overfull,
she sometimes thought. But here was this
dark-faced heathen ‘‘boy,’’ with his eager eyes
and ready smile, asking her, ‘‘ You teachee me
the Bible?’’ Could she, dare she, evade the
question? Was it not God Himself who stood
back of this needy soul, awaiting her reply?

She sighed softly at the thought of the after-
noon hour of rest; and following the sigh, a
prayer—a cry for grace sufficient. Then she
said, ‘‘Yes, Sing, I will teach you.”’

When, indeed, had any Sunday School pupil
ever thanked her with such a sincerity as that?
When had any ever shown so glad a face at
the prospect of being taught God’s truth?

There are those who declare that the Chinese

* boys only care to learn our language. Perhaps.
And what then? Will not our language bring
to them the knowledge of the only one God,
and Jesus, His Son, who gave Himself for their
ransom? i

Every Sunday his bright, eager face met
her, and he searched diligently with her those
wondrous Scriptures which would make him
wise unto salvation. ,

Sometimes Sing would tell her of his trou-
bles; of his laundry, and of how the ‘‘’meli-
can boys”’ tormented him — breaking panes of
glass and committing other mean trespasses.

Then she taught him the Lord’s Prayer, and
the meaning of ‘‘Forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.””

‘*Yes, me forgive’em; bleak glass, do what
?em likee to me, no touchee my Fay!’’ And
his dark eyes grew very tender.

‘“Who is Fay?’ she asked.

Fay was his cousin—Moy Fay. He wasa
hunchback, she found out afterwards, and

_rarely went from the doorway of the laundry,
because the ‘‘’melican boys’’ were so rude
to him.

When she told Sing to teach his cousin about
Jesus, he asked, ‘‘You could come and tellee
him,’’ so pleadingly that she overcame her
scruples and went to the laundry and taught
the poor cripple. :

Do you know how those Chinese boys love
one another? We may well learn from them
in this respect. :

Moy Sing gave always the best of every-
thing to Fay. Many a little delicacy of fruit
or a few bright flowers made the poor cousin’s
life happier. Many a long evening, when other
men were enjoying an entertainment, or the
meeting in church would have been very pleas-
ant to Sing, he would sit with Fay in cheerful

And as he learned to read the Bible, he would
read it aloud to his cousin, repeating the lesson
which his teacher had given him.

As the soft spring days dawned upon the
great city, there came a Sunday when Moy
Sing was not there. His teacher waited and
wondered. She sat at her little table in her
quiet corner, the hum of- voices all around
her. At last she heard some one say: ‘Tell
Miss ——. She does not know.’”’ Then one
of the boys went to her and told her that Moy
Sing had been badly hurt in a quarrel, and
‘the not live; he want you come quick.’’ Her
heart sank. Ina quarrel! And she thought
he had learned to love the meek and lowly
Jesus.

She was soon there. The ‘‘’melican boys’’
had done their work well this time. Not broken
panes only, but a simple, gentle, loving heart—
a human creature who would not have harmed
his worst enemy.

‘“‘Not for me, Miss »” he said, lifting
his eyes fearlessly to meet hers. ‘‘I not fight
for me; only to keep Fay flom get hurt.”’

He was very weak from loss of blood, but
his mind was very. clear, and he looked around
from time to time at poor Fay, who sat silently
weeping.

‘*Sing, God knows all about it. It was right
for you to take care of Fay. Can you say the
Lord’s Prayer ?’’

He repeated it with her, in weak, but clear
tones. When they had finished, ‘‘Miss ne
he said, ‘‘I t?ank you for teachee me how to
read the Bible. Fay mos’ learn, too. So glad
*melican boys not hurt Fay. Who take care
of Fay now?’’ we

The lady assured him that she would do so,
and he seemed satjsfied. He asked his teacher
to say a prayer for him to Jesus, that he ‘‘not
mean to strike, only so Fay not get hurt,’’ and
to tell Jesus ‘‘he sorry ; please forgive.”’

It had been one of the unprovoked assaults,
too shamefully common in-many parts of our
country, where a ‘‘heathen’s’’ home had been
invaded and the poor, deformed Fay made the
target for the attacks called ‘‘fun.’’? No one,
of all the crowd that gathered, moved to shield
the Chinese lad, and his cousin, strong in his
great affection, had to battle for him alonc.
He did not mind that he had received his death
wound. His simple, peaceful heart was only
sad for the part he had been compelled to take.

But he would soon be at rest now, and those
blessed Bible truths which he had so longed
to read for himself would become fully known
to him. A little hour or two, and one of the

"Moy family would be one of that great multi-
tude who had come through much tribulation,
and received white robes.

Children’s Work Sor Children.

——_—> + o-< e+

Att the greatness of whole mankind com-

pared to the greatness of the One Triune God,

amounts to just as much as a small spark from

self-denial, striving to brighten his lonely life. | a large fire.—Luther.

Constrained by Love.

A negro girl was being sold in a southern

market-place. She was young and handsome.
She trembled as she saw the evil-looking men
gather about her, and bid for her. A wealthy
gentleman, seeing her terror, purchased her
and set her free. She was overjoyed at being
delivered from the evil men who sought to
buy her. She followed him to his home, and
although he was in no need of her service,
she refused to leave. She remained a life-long
and trusty servant of him and his family. It
was her delight to serve the man who had re-
deemed her from that which was worse than
death. Love constrained her.
Him who has purchased us from sin and Satan,
and are truly grateful, we will be constrained
to serve Him as long as we live.

If we love

On the deck of a foundering vessel stood

a negro slave, the last man on board. He was
about to step into the life-boat at her last trip,
which was loaded almost.to the gunwale. He
was observed to carry in his arms a bundle;
and the boat’s crew, who had great difliculty
in keeping her afloat in such a roaring sea, re-
fused to receive him unless he came unencum-
bered and alone. He pressed to his bosom
what he carried in his arms, and seemed loth
to part with it. They insisted. He had his
choice, either to leap into the boat and leave
that behind, or throw it in and perish. He
opened its folds, and there, warmly wrapped,
lay two children whom their father, his master,
had committed to his care. He kissed them,
bade the sailors carry his affectionate fare-
well to his master, and tell him that he was
faithful to them to the end. ‘Then, lowering
the children into the boat, which pushed off,
that noble-hearted black man stood alone on
the smoking deck, and soon went down with
the foundering ship. That is love. If we
have love for our Master, what will we not do
in His service?

2+ 0 <a +

The Blind Indian Missionary.

A blind Indian who had become a Chris-
tian went to a missionary and said: ‘‘I want
a bell and a hymn-book and a God-book.’’
When asked why he wished them he said:
‘*T live far away in a heathen village. If
I can show the books to my friends they will,
perhaps, believe what I tell them they con-
tain, and I will ring the bell for them to listen
to me.”’

He went away, and after awhile the mes-
sage came from his village asking for a mis-
sionary. The blind Christian was dead, but
as long as he lived—a year and a half from
the time of his visit—he kept tally of the
Sundays, and when they came he would go
through the village ringing his bell and sing-
ing his hymns and telling the ‘‘old, old story””
as best he could. Some of his hearers be-
lieved, and they wished to know more of
Jesus.

ATT. | oss oe ol