Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1858-05-17
A REMARkABLE CONVERSION.

When a young man, L was distinguished in
| the community where l lived for wckedness
and profanity. 1 married however, strange
| as il may seem, a young woman of most exem-
plary plety, and we at once moved into our
humble house, full Of anticipations of happi-
ness so common with the young.
AS the hrst day of our residence in our new
| abode drew to a close, the supper table being
removed. my wife, without saying a word,
placed a little stand by my side, Laid a little
Bibie upon it, and sat down on the opposite
SIDE OF the hearth, in evident expectation that
would conduct family worship. What could
do was in n manner spell bound, coukd
not dlsappOlnt her She knew nothing of nv
| profanity and wickedness. And yet how could
such a wretch as | kneel before Almighty God
| and utter words of devotion? Yet / did? I
read and prayed. But o, as took the name
of Jehovah upon my lips, asked for blessings
| In the name Of Christ, and made confession Of
sin, sense Of my guilt and hypocrisy stung
| my soul L rose from my knees one of the most
| miserable of men l succeeded however i'm
| partially recovering my selEpossession by aid
| Of secret determination, on no considerations
to yield 10 repetition of the act, and thus
tried TO dismiss the matter from my mind.
Another day rOllod by-another sunset came,
Again the tea table was spread and removed,
and. before was aware, there at my side was
the same stand, and upon it the same dreaded
Bible, and my wife seated before me in silent
expectation Of the evening devotiOns Accord
ing to a we'll law of practical morality,
having yielded once, found myself less ca
pable OF refusing now, and once more l read
the word OF GOd-once more [ kneeled and
with prCtane tongue invoked the Divine bless
ing. new horror fell upon me "a dread.
lest like Uxzah. l should perish for the crime
of laying goddess hands upon the sacred ark.
The sins of lifetime, and those of no common
dye, stared me In the face, and as they ''re-
vived, died" My soul and Satan took the
part of the wife of job and bade me course
God and die" And l was half minded to heed
the injunction.
Morning came, but brought with it only
deeper and more oppressive sense of guilt. I
opened not my lips, but could think of nothing
but the gall of bitterness I had drunk-the
bands of iniquity which held me. 1 had heard
OF God with the hearing of the ear, but now
mime eyes saw him, and 1 abhorred myself in
dust and ashes
AT length another, tho third evening. drew
nigh, and l well knew that again the inevitable
table, with its sacred furniture, would be
placed beside me, ana the fascination of my
wifes presence and look of assured expectation
would assail me so that could not look Up l
could say nothing, but could endure my an
guish no longer. As / sought no aid from
Heaven, Satan voluntarily offered his. and L
took it. My mind was made up-I resolved on
suicide. A rope hung from a tree in the or
IN mad delirium L fancied. the increasing and
now intOerabie horrors of my soul
We took our third, and to my mind last
supper together. fingered in the room until
L saw the dreaded moment was at hand. when,
without wOrd-I could not have mastered
my emotions to speak, withdrew | hast
ened to the orchard. Every step increased my
anguish. L ran-my reason seemed to reel 1
missed the rope, and found myself in the woods
beyond. On ran, until overpOwered by emo
tiOns, my limbs gave way, and fell PROSTATE
upon the ground How long | lay there I
know not, but an eternity was crowded into
that period. A horror OF great dark kness passed
over me in view Of my viIeness and guilt before
God, in view Of the terrible Judgment, and the
awful, endless hell that awaited me. But mans
extremity is Gods opportunity. The darkest
hour is just before day. In the thickest of the
darkness, and when despair seemed ready TO
settle down in endless night upon my soul the
light broke, There was Jesus in all the full
ness Of the GOdhead bodily. l saw aud be-
heyed, and loved and lived I sprang to nv
feet the happiest of men, and from that time to
this L have suffered scarcely doubt of my ac-
ceptaDce with God through Jesus. Long have
| been a ruling elder i'll the church Many
precious revivals have L witnessed and enioyed
and now, if God will once more open the win
d0ws of Heaven upon u, think | can say
with old Simeon, Z" Now, Lord, lettest thou thy
servant depart III peace -
AZ the old man spske. the tears rolled in
liberal dow down his cheeks, and tears fell i'm
heavenly rain upon the floor, and his aged
form shook with emotion, leaving an impression
on my mind not soon to be efficed d.-PrfsByfe-
TIXU.