Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1855-05-02
"-the ledger book on high
Will unfold how he sold"


'One who has nothing, can give nothing,
said Mrs. Sayers, the sections wife, as the
ladies of the sewing society were busily en-
gagged packing the contents of a large box,
destined for q Western missionary.
"A person who has nothing to give, must
be poor indeed said Mrs. L., as she deposit
ted a pair of warm blankets in the already
well-flled box.
Mrs. Sayers looked at the last-named speak
err with a glance which seemed to say, You,
never have known selfdenial, cannot feel for
me- and remarked, You surely think one
can be too poor to give
Il once :hought so, but have learned from
joyful experience that no better investment
can be made, even from the depths of poverty,
than lending to the Lord
Seeing the ladies listening attentiEely to
the conversation, Mrs. L. continued, Per
haps as our work is finished, / can do no
better than to give you my experience on the
subject. It may be the means of showing
you that God will reward the cheerful giver.
During the first twenty-eight years of my
life | was surrounded by wealth, and not
until l had been married for nine years did
l know a want which money could satisfy,
or feel the necessity of e~xertion. Reverses
came with fearful suddenness, and before ]
had recovered from the blow, l found myself
euO wiz vi a. NCiJ pun Hdu, Will i've III
children dependent upon our exertions.
From that hour l lost all thoughts ofany-
thing but the care ofmy family. Late hours
and hard work were my portion, and to nay
unskilled hands it seemed at first q bitter
lot. My husband strove anXiously to gain O
, subsistence, and barely succeeded. We chan
ged our place Of residence several times, in
hope of doing better, but without improve.
ment.
: Everything seemed to be against us. Our
well-stocked wardrobe had become so exhaus-
ted that ] felt justified in absenting myself
from the house Of God with my children, for
e want of my suitable apparel. While in this
4 condition I went to church one evening,
O where my poverty-stricken appearance would
o escape notice, and took my seat near the
door. An agent from the West preached,
and begged contribution to the Home Mis-
r sionary cause. His appeal brought tears to
my eyes, and painfully reminded me of my
past days of prosperity, when ] could give
from my abundance to all who called upon
me. 1t never entered my mind that the ap.
u peal for assistance in any way concerned me,
with my poor children banished from the
m house Of God by poverty, while / could only
=. venture out under the friendly protection Of
10 the darkness. left the church more sub
IS missive to my lot, with a prayer in my heart
that those whose co~nscienees had been ad
m dressed might respond. ] tried in vain to
to sleep that night. The words Of the text
Give and it shall be given unto you gooC
i. measure, pressed down, and shaken together
and running over, shall men give unto YOU
ba BOSOM seemed continually sounding in my
he ears. The eloquent eptreaty of the speaker
nd to all, however poor, to give a mite to tn
Lord, and receive the promised blessing
20 seemed addressed to me-. rose early tn
10 next morning, and looked over all my world
bo ~ goods, in search of something worth be
slowing, but in vain the promised blessin,
1T, seemed beyond my reach.
Hearing that the ladies Of the church ha
az. filled a box for the missiorary's family,
made one more effort to spare something
dv All was poor and threadbare; what shout
] do? At last thought of my towels
AZ had six, ~ofcoarse brown linen, but little worn
led They seemed a scanty supply for a family G
Of seven, and yet I took one from the numbe
nd and putting it in my pocket, FASTENED to til
of house where the box was kept, and quietl
slipped it in.
L returned ZONE with a light heart, fee
2od ing that my Saviour's eye had seen my sacr
fee, and would bless my effort to do RICH
From that day success attended on all m
husbands efforts in business. In a fe
months our means increased SO that we we
able to attend church, and send our chlldre
to the Sabbath school, and before ten yea
2 had passed, our former prosperity had retu
ned four-fold. Good measure, pressed dow
and shaken together, and cunning over BIZ
been given US.
ong 1t may seem superstitious to you, n
ace, dear friends, but we date all our success
lral life to Gods blessing, following that humt
r. gift of deep poverty.
the Wonder not that from that day I dee
8 of few too poor to give, and that [ am a fir
eer. believer in Gods promise that he will rep
Wed with interest even in this life all we lend
him.
llar Chances of deep interest unmixed wi
sads envy, were passed from the windows at Nj
e of L., as, after bidding the ladies adieu, s
ton stepped into her luxurious carriage.
ton Her consistent beneyolence had proved
ell that in her prosperity she still retain
was the same Christian spirit which in her da
lded of poverty had led to the bestowal of
we're BROWN TOWEL.
aise WELL exclaimed Mrs. Sayers, If we
ends had such a s~elf-denying spirit we might
with another box at once. I'll never again thi
! am TOO POOR TO GIVE.