The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1904, Page 71

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

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The Treasure.

A Christian traveler, in his journey, came upon
a lonely cottage belonging toalaborer. Everything
seemed dilapidated, neglected, and almost ready to
crumble to pieces. Before entering the building
angry curses and boisterous noises greeted his ear.
His thirst, however, caused him to enter, that he
might ask for a drink of water, which was handed
to him from a broken jar which stood in the filthy
room. He could not restrain himself from saying
to the inhabitants who complained bitterly to him
about each other and their poverty, ‘‘You make
your lives to be a hell, and no wonder that you are
poor. You have a treasure in the house which, if
you would use it as you should, would soon relieve
and enrich you.”’

When he had. departed they made light of his
words— but could not rid themselves of the impres-
sion made; and so, when the husband was at work
in the woods near by, the wife sought diligently
everywhere for the treasure, and when she was away
from home the husband searched the house, even
looking under the flooring of the house, but found
nothing, and the discontent increased. At last the
eyes of the woman fell upon a Bible which the stran-
ger had left. She opened it, and found written on
the fly-leaf at the beginning of the book in her own

_ mother’s handwriting: ‘‘The Law of Thy mouth is
better unto me than thousands of gold and silver,”’
Ps. 119,72. Her heart was touched and quickened.
She began to read the story of the dear Saviour’s
life and sufferings; tears chased each other down
her cheeks, and she cried, ‘‘God have mercy, if we
were as this Book would have us be, our family
would be better and happier.’’

She then related Biblical stories to her children,
and soon observed that they were becoming more
orderly and obedient. One day the husband came
in cursing, scolding, and raging. The wife, who
had been accustonied to reply in like manner, was
silent. Winally, she said: ‘‘We have’sinned, and
ourselves been the cause of our trouble. We must
conduct ourselves wholly differently.”’

‘“Whence did you get this idea?”’ said the man.

The wife replied, ‘‘See this Book, this is the
treasure of which the stranger spoke.’’? She read
from its precious pages to her husband; his heart
was humbled and affected.

One year after that the stranger again passed

that way. Everything was changed. The cottage
was neat and clean, and everything orderly, and in
the countenances of parents and children the trans-
forming power of God’s dear Word was visible,

Poor Heathen Babies.

The wretchedness of heathenism is shown by
the way and manner thousands of little children
are treated. Two instances will suffice. In Kame-
run, West Africa, the custom prevailed to bury little
children with their mother when she died young,
because it was believed that motherless little chil-
dren would cause the sudden death of other children
whom they met. The’German governor abolished
this horrible custom, but he cannot prevent that
such children are starved to death. The Lutheran
missionaries in the colony when they hear of such
children endeavor to save them, and their good
wives are ever willing to take charge of these waifs.
They have quite a number of them, babies a few
months old and tottlers of a few years’ age, happy
little bodies since they are in the hands of white
Christians. The native mothers, even the Chris-
tians, do not yet understand what the blessed and
blessing word of our Saviour means, ‘‘ Whoever
shall receive a little child in my name receiveth
me!?? ne

On Christmas Day, 1899, a native of Nias Island,
southwest of Sumatra, was baptized. While still a
heathen he had been committed for murder four
times. Yet he had not been a savage, bloodthirsty
man; he was rather of a peaceful, timid disposition.
Superstition and the fear of evil spirits had led him
to such awful deeds. He was a wealthy man, and
his young wife was the daughter of a chieftain.
Twins were born to them to their great distress, for
the Niassans look upon such a family event as a
terrible misfortune, as a sure sign of the displeasure
of the gods. The parents were treated like outcasts,
they were shunned by everybody, no.one entered.
or crossed their threshold. They were driven to de-
spair. The.young man thought he must do what
his forefathers had done in such cases. He put the
twins into a bag, placed boiled rice and juicy sugar
cane beside them, and hung the bag into a tree near
his house. For days the poor parents heard the
crying and whimpering of their starving children.

They were terribly frightened when twins again a

came, crying for their tender love. The father had
to murder his children; this was the stern demand
of cruel superstition. In order to satisfy the irate
gods, he had tokillaslave, a young boy. He slaugh-
tered the victim on the brink of the river. But he
found no rest; his soul was tormented by fear and
remorse. By the mercy of God he at last found
peace through faith in the Saviour. No evil spirits:
dare to haunt his house, for it now is the dwelling
of a Christian. — Foreign Missionary. :