Part 21 (2/2)
Such was Hedley Vicars--a bright, loving, faithful Christian He knehat it was to be without peace; for having got into debt when he was first in the ar the distress it caused his family at home, his ony I have endured! What sleepless nights I have passed since the perusal of that letter! The review of my past life, especially the retrospect of the last two years, has at last quite startled ain: ”Oh, that I had the last two years allotted to ain!”
His mother's letters stirred him to sorrow for past faults and desires to live a new life The sudden death of his fellow-officer, Lieut
Bindon, s
In Nove the return of a brother-officer to his roo over the leaves of a Bible that was upon the table He caught sight of the words, ”The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us froht he hardly slept With the riress_ he looked to the cross, and his burden rolled away
Feeling keenly his oeakness he bought a large Bible, and placed it open on the table in his sitting-room, determined that an open Bible in the future should be his colours ”It was to speak for h to speak for myself” The usual result followed His friends did not like his ”new colours” One accused hi Methodist,” and departed; another warned him not to becoht you would come to this, old fellow!” So for a tiot that which was better than any ordinary friendshi+ps
Though he often ca to most men than the rifle bullets of the enemy--he experienced a new joy which increased and deepened
Later on he would spend four or five hours daily in Bible reading, meditation and prayer, so that whereas he had written a few months earlier: ”Oh! dear mother, I wish I felton the whole ar those three short years that intervened between his call to grace and his death at the early age of thirty, he did the work of a lifetime; and of him it can be truly said (as ofdead yet speaketh”
THE Lass THAT LOVED THE SAILORS
THE STORY OF AGNES WESTON
”I was obliged to go to church, but I was deterave out the text I have stopped ht neither see nor hear”
Thus writes Agnes Weston of the days of her girlhood There was therefore a time in the life of this devoted woood to any one--to say nothing of the great work she has acco hand to our sailors in every part of the world
However, she got out of this Slough of Despond, and having becoood story to the sick in hospitals, to soldiers and sailors without nuood of Jack Tar afloat and ashore than perhaps any other man or woman
Her public work commenced at the Bath United Hospital, where in 1868 she visited the patients These looked forward so eagerly to her helpful conversation that in course of tiive a short Gospel address in each of the men's wards once a week
One day a ht into the hospital whilst she was there His case was hopeless, and Miss Weston asked that she ht be allowed to speak to him She whispered to hiave no sign of taking it in, yet presently, when she repeated it, big tears rolled down his face The word of comfort had reached him
Another day she cas broken; and after a little earnest talk he said, ”I've been a bad fellow, but I'll trust Him”
Others she found who had been already influenced by Miss Marsh; and so her task of teaching was reat a genius for ta unruly boys that the curate handed over to her the very worst of the youths, that shethe boys' class developed into a class for working e attendance of a hundred
After that followed tee
She orking hard at s for the promotion of the temperance cause when a desperate drunkard, a chis and was going to sign the pledge
Pausing suddenly he remarked, ”If you please, Miss Weston, be you a teetotaler?”
”No,” she replied; ”I only take a glass of wine occasionally, of course in strict ht he'd do the same So after this Miss Weston becaed