Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1871-09-15

wish to tell:
NEARER HOME.
One swectl, solemn thought
Comes TO me Ger and DER,
I'm nearer my home TO day
Than l ever have been before;
Nearer my Fathers house,
Where the many mansions be;
Nearer the great white throne,
Nearer the crystal sea;
Nearer the bound of life,
Where we lay our burdens down;
Nearer leaving the cross,
Nearer gaining the crown.
But the waves of that silent sea
Roll dark before my sight
That brightly the other side
Break on shore of light.
0, if my mortal feet
Have almost gained the brink.
If it he that am nearer home
Even to-day than think.
Father. perfect my trust,
Let my spirit feel in death
That her feet are firmly set
On the Rock of living faith.
\ gentleman in China, intrusted
with packages for a young man
from his friends in the United
States, learned that he probably
would be found in certain gam
bling house. He went thither, but
not seeing the young man, sat down
and waited, in the hope that he
might come in. The place was Il
bcdam of noises, men getting angry
over their cards, and frequently
coming to blows. Near him sat
two men, one young, the other forty
wears of age. They were betting
and drinking in terrible way, the
older one giving uttcrances continu-
ally to the toulcSt profanity. Tw"
games had been finished, the young
man losing each time. The third
game. with fresh bottles of brandy,
had just begun, and the young man
sat lazilv back in his chair while
the elder slutllrd his cards. The
man was long time dealing the
cards, and the Young man, looking
carclcssly about the room, began t"
hum tune. He went on, till at
length he began to sing the hymn
of PhGbc Cary, above quoted. The
words, says the . .riter Of the story,
repeated in such i vile place, at
first made me shuddcr. \ sabbath
school HYMN in i gambling hell!
But while the young sang, the elder
stopped dealing the cards, stared at
the singer moment, and, throwing
the cards on the floor, cxclaimed:
"Harry, where did You learn that
tune?" "What tune?" "Whv, that
tune you've been singing" The
Young man said he did not know
what he had been singing, when the
elder repeated the words with tears
in his eyes, and the young man said
he learned them in a Sunday-schoo
in America. Come" said the
elder, getting up; 'come, Harry,
here's what | won from you; go and
use it for some good purpose. AS
for me, as Go,i sees me, have play
ed my last game and drank my last
bottle. l have misled you, Harry,
and | am sorry. Give me your
hand, my boy, and say that, for old
Americas sake, if for no other, you
will quit this internal business"
The gentleman who tells the story
Originally published in the Boston
UoiIy Ne~*) saw these two men
leave the gambling house together,
and walk away arm in arm; and he
remarks, at must be source OF
great joy to Miss Cary to know that
her lines, which have comtortcd so
many Christian hearts, have been
the means of awaken z i'll the
breast of two tempted and erring
men on the other side of the globe,
a resolution to lead q better life" ;"
1t was a source of great JOY to Miss
Cary, as we happen to know. Be
fore us lies private letter from her
to an aged friend in this city, with
the printed story inclosed, and con
tanning this comment: 81 enclose
the hymn and the story for you, not
because l am vain Of the notice, but