The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1901, Page 11

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

11

How. Ailsie Saved the Bible.

It was the year 1555 when Catholic Queen
Mary sat upon the English throne with her
Spanish husband at her side, and filled the
land with trouble because of her terrible per-
secution of the Protestants.

In the west of England was a little village
called Harrant. At one end of the hamlet
was the blacksmith’s shop, with his small
house just back of it, and a tiny garden in
the rear.

The smith’s wife was dead, but his bonny,
blue-eyed little daughter kept his house.
When lonely, she pushed aside a
small panel in the end of the shop
and crept in and stayed with him,
unless the sound of voices or hoof-
beats on the road drove her away,
for she was a shy child.

One day when she had stolen in,
her father was standing behind the
door.

He had a sliver in his big hand,
with which he touched the side of
the great black beam in the corner.
Suddenly a block of wood fell for-
ward, disclosing a small opening.
Into this he thrust a dark, leather-
bound book, and quickly, but care-
fully, fitted the chip into its place,
so that no sign of the hidden space
remained.

Seeing his daughter, he started,
and said sternly: ‘‘Ailsie, child! how
dare you spy upon your father?”’

“Oh, father! I am not spying!”
and the blue eyes filled with tears.

“Of course you were not. I was
wrong to say so, child!’’ said the
smith remorsefully. ‘‘But you saw
what I did?”

“You put the Holy Book into the
beam, father. It is a fine hiding
place, too; for surely neither priest
nor soldier can find it there.”’

“T would you knew not its place
of concealment, for the knowledge
may bring you into danger, lass.
You must never betray it. When Parson
Stow went away to foreign lands he gave me
the Sacred Word, and told me to keep it as
my life. For, by the Queen’s orders, all the
Bibles have been gathered up and burned,
and we are forbidden to read from its holy
pages. This is the only one between here
and the sea; and it is more precious than
the crown jewels. You are fifteen, Ailsie,
and old enough to understand, so I have told
you all.’’

‘You need not fear, father,” said Ailsie,
firmly; ‘I will not tell.’”? But the rosy
cheeks grew pale as she remembered all that
her promise might mean.

Now, there was a certain priest that came
sometimes to Harrant to preach to the vil-
agers. But, being all Protestants, they would

neither listen to him nor pay him tithes. He
was very angry at their behavior, and spied
about until he became sure there was a Bible
among them; and he knew that it was in the
blacksmith’s possession, because he was the
only man in the village who could read.

After trying in vain to find the Holy Book,
he went to the nearest town and lodged infor-
mation against the. village with the officers
there; and one day, when the smith chanced
to be away from home, an oflicer and six men
marched into Harrant.

They called upon the cottagers to surrender
their Bible; but one and all declared they had

Ley

The Body of Jesus Laid in the Grave.

NS

none. Then the soldiers searched every dwell-
ing, and threatened to burn them, every one,
unless the book was found.

But that did not suit the priest at all. He
would get fewer tithes than ever, if the vil-
lage was destroyed. So he told the soldiers
to let the rest of the villagers alone, for the
Bible was in the blacksmith’s possession. It
was getting late, and the soldiers were in a
great hurry to be gone. So they resolved to
burn the two little buildings, and thus destroy

‘the book quickly and surely.

At the first sight of the strange men, Ailsie
had fled through the garden, out upon the
moor, and hidden among the furze bushes.
She was terrified, for she feared that they
might find her and demand the hiding place
of the precious Bible.

It was growing dark when she saw a bright
light against the sky and sprang to her feet.
Her father’s house was on fire. The sight
made the shy child a heroine. Forgetting all
about her danger, she only remembered that
she must save the Bible at all cost.

Swift as an arrow, she flew homeward.

The soldiers were intent upon piling straw
round the burning building, and did not see
the little figure that darted in between the
house and the shop, whose thatched roofs
were all ablaze. Breathless and determined
she pushed aside the panel and stumbled
through the blinding smoke.

The hungry flames scorched her
dress and her hair, and burned and
blistered her hands and face before
she secured what she sought. But
at last she reached the Bible and fled
out into the open air.

No one had noticed her in the
darkness, and she crept safely into
the little garden and sank down,
choked and suffering, among the
vines.

But she felt that the Bible was in
danger even now. She slipped off
her woolen petticoat and wrapped
it around the volume; then digging
with her little burned hands in the
soft soil, she buried it under an im-
mense cabbage. Then she crawled
upon her hands and knees to the
spring at the foot of the garden,
where her father found her an hour
later half unconscious with pain and
fright. He never ceased while he
lived to praise his little daughter for
the brave deed of that day.

The Bible always remained in the
family, and years and years after,
Ailsie’s great-granddaughter carried
it with her when she followed her
husband across the sea to the lonely
coast of New England.

Mary S. Hitchcock.

a oe

God’s Light.

A beautiful story is told of a little girl,
whose faith in God may teach us all a lesson.

The lamp had just been put out, and the
little girl was rather afraid of the dark. But
presently she saw the bright moon out of her
window, and she asked her mother, ‘‘Is the
moon God’s light ?””

‘Yes, Ethel,’? the mother replied; ‘“‘the
moon and stars are all God’s lights.”

“Will God blow out His light and go to
sleep too?’ she asked again.

“No, my child,” replied the mother, ‘‘God’s
lights are always burnipg.””

‘‘Well, mamma,”’ said Ethel, ‘‘while God’s
awake, I’m not afraid.”