The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1866-06-21
Last Days of a Young Lady.


In the autumn of 1868 there was
period of unusual religious interest in
the town Of c., Conn Inresponse
to an invitation to meet me for religi-
Gus conversation, seven youug ladies
came to my study. Among the number
was Susan Nj, an intelligent young
lady of about 90 years of age She
had for several years been teacher,
and her wit and cheerful disposition
made her the life of many a social
gathering,
After ceRyersing and praying with
her, as she rose to leave my study, /
said, SNOW my dear girl, be very earn
est in the matter and press right for
ward al once" 81 viii, sir, will"
was her prompt response. She kept
her word and was soon indulging a
hope in Christ. s' r-.
She passed that winter term faithful
and useful Christian, uniting with the
church of Christ the first Sabbath in
1864 One evening in attempting to
sing in one of our prayer meetings her
voice failed, and the next morning we
were startled by the report that she
was very i'll of a hemorrage at the
lungs. Now follows the old story Of
consumption, seven months of linger-
ing disease. But during all the seven
months, not a doubt or fear seemed to
enter her mind, often she assured me
that it was the pleasantest summer she
had ever passed, This was the more
easily traced to her religious hope,
from the fact that in previous illness she
had been desponding. 1t was also the
more remarkable, from the fact that
being an orphan, she was dependent
upon other relatives than parents for
her support and care. Naturally
nothing would annoy her Independent
nature more than this.
As the months passed and it became
more and more apparent that she could
not live, her prospects frightened.
Often would she repeat that sweet
hymn, beginning;
zone sweetlv solemn thought,
Comes to me DER and DER,
I'm nearer home to-day
Than have ever been before.
A few weeks before her death, find
ing that she was falling rapidly, |
determined to know of certainty
whether she realized her situation,
Requesting her attendants to leave me
alone with her, | approached the mat
ter as gently as could, and asked her
if she was aware that she could not re-
main with us much longer, ! saw at
once that my gentleness was not need
ed, the thought which ! had suggested
was neither new nor unpleasant TO her
She had watched her symptoms, and,
having lost several relatives by the same
disease, she knew just the meaning Of
each change, as well as, if not better
than any of her attendants. And she
regarded these changes, not as the ad-
yancing steps Of death, but as the ap-
preaching footsteps Of her Savior
After this conversation ! spoke with
her oftener and more freely Of her death.
She had spent the summer with her
brother G. who, with his wife had been
exceedingly kind to her In the au-
tumn she visited for a few weeks her
old home and her pastor, and then
went. to spend the remainder of her
days with her sister M, who was
recently married. Said she to me one
day, IL tell them that | had such a
good home all summer, and | enjoyed
my visit to S. @. SO much, and that
now | am in just the best place in the
world for me, and | am going from here
to heaven" During all her illness she
was never heard to express, nor could
be entrapped into expressing the wish
that she was as we'll as such and such a
one. Speaking of the sister just mar
ried, whose lot seemed to her a very
pleasant one, she said, 81 would not
exchange places with her. ] am ready
to 90 now, and had rather not wait. +"
As long as she was able to hold a pen
she wrote last messages to her friends.
Her anxiety for her brothers and sisters
still out Of Christ was intense. She
died, however, in the hope that they
would fulfill their promises to meet her
in heaven.
A few days before she died, ! asked
her how Jesus seemed to her. Raising
her hands, she replied, 90. lie seems
He seems,-I cannot tell you how he
seems; it is something so different from
what ever experienced before, Why
think he just stands waiting for me
that / have just little more to do, and
then shall go right to Him. SONY
think, "she added" "when just stoI
breathing, shall stop praying, for
shall be with Jesus. When ] think O
dying, | think of Jesus first"
She was most devotedly attached tC
her mother, who had died about yeal
and a half previous, and often spoke o
meeting her When she said shC
thought of Jesus first, M---asked hel
If she did not think of her mother anC
other friends. eyes, ] think Of these
but think of Jesus first, for he ha'
died for me and no other friend has done
this" As she uttered these words il
whispers and with great oHort, hel
eyes lighted with an earncstness and {
Joy which seemed of heaven itself
The last Sabbath of her life was ,
irving day, but a blessed one also