The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1858-06-16
Suuaag Reahlng.
From the New York Observer,
Grant Thorburn on the Bible.

Mr.. PRISTER.-It is often remarked
that experience is the best teacher. When
in my fifth year | commenced reading
this book, 1t IS forescore years since tbs
day,) and Of all that have seen of men
and their manners, and all that have e1
perieaced in my own walks of life, confirm
me IN its truth, and that its Author is
divine.
The first night slept in New York
WAS on the l7th OF June, 1894 it WAS in
an old Dutch house, No. 8 Dutch street,
where Mr.. Colgate now has his manufac
tory. The nj ght was hot; I spread my
ships mattress on garret floor, and Law
down to sleep. with my head within eigh-
teen inches of the shingles. At midnight
a storm arose, the rain descended and the
floods came, and beat on that shingle
roof, the lighting flashed, the thunder
rolled. The rafting Of the rain on the
shingles put me in bodily fear. ] knew
not what it meant. We have no shingle
roofs in Scotland, no such vivid lightning
or loud thunder. The storm ceased, her
fear had driven sleep from mine eyes and
sumber from my eye-Iids. Day broke
at 3 II. m; arose with head.ache hear,
ache, bone.ache, and my spirits sunk down
to my heels. wished myself at home
again. | WAS now in my twenty second
year, and had never been twenty miles
from the house in which / WAS born till
| sailed for America. The amount of nv
education was TO read the Bible and write
my own name. No, wishing to disturb
ha
will open my box Of hooks, and lay
them out TO air; they had been fourteen
weeks in the hold Of the vessel; on the
top lay pocket-blble; I opened the book
to see If the paper WAS mildewed; my
eyes lit on the words, NV son. wa,
thinking Of my father, whose hands placed
the book on the top OF its fellows for a
mornen, facied he spoke; read to the
end Of the chapter Of Proverbs my heart
revived. my tears fed, grasped my ham
mer and went forth to earn my FIRST ecu I
in Americs. Il is sixty-three years and
nine months since that morning. Ever
since, in every strait, have found direc
ton by doing as was told in that sixth
verse. When yellow fever swept the
streets for seventeen summers, read the
25th and Goth verses. rever left the
city nursed many Of the sick-yet
neither |, my wife, nor anv Of my Sc, On
children ever caught the fever.
All the doings Of God with ,he children
Of men are a practical comment an the
truth Of the Bible. This book says, The
wicked man diggeth pi, for his neigh
Dor. and faIe,h therein himself The
| following is n case in point:
Some years ago a man named Hague
attempted 10 poison his wife. They sat
down to dinner by themselves; while she
left the room few minutes, he put pois
on in her soup. No, daring to trust him.
self in hnr presence, he feigned an excuse.
and left the room. By wonderful Pro
whence, when she came to the table
SPIDER had dropped from the ceiling into
the plate of soup She WAS especially
afraid Of spiders, and her husband often
laughed at her fears; so she carefully re
moved the spider, and exchanged the
plates and ate his soup. He came back
and devoured what he thought TO be pure
soup. He was soon after seized with con-
vulsions, aud before death he confessed he
bad poisoned the soup, and that it must
have been placed before him unintention.
ally. Similar cases occur daily, which
will never see the light till the judgment
shall sit and the books be opened.
GRANT THoRBURS, Sen.
New Haven, April IA, 1853.