The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1877-06-01
Incidents ofthe Crusade.
BY MRS. s. X. LEAvITr.

One oil the conferences of the NJ. H.
church, of Kentucky, was held at
Louisville, some months ago. During
Its session, there was ladies' meeting
in the lecture room of the church, in
the interests of the Woman's Foreign
Missionary Society. Soon after the
opening of the exercises, two men came
into the room and quietly took their
seats. Jnst before the meeting closed,
one of them rose and asked permission
to speak.
Said he, 81 can't express my feeling,
this afternoon. I've been, for two
years, hungry 10 hear woman pray.
Eve been very wicked man. was
drunkard for fifteen years. | neglect
cd my family; my children died,t
my poor wife's heart broke, and the
town buried her. Two years ago |
found myself in Cincinnati. had moi
drawn a sober breath in months: |
spent my days in saloons, my nights
in the station house. | didn't care for
myself, and nobody cared for me. One
day band of temperance praying wo-
men came into the saloon where LOT OF
us were drinking. Standing in front OF
the counter, they sang, There is foun-
tain filled with blood'-a hymn my
mother used 10 sing-then they all
knelt, and one after another PRAYED
Oh, | can never forget those prayers as
long as | live. Icouldn't keep the
tears back; for the first time in years,
there came into my heart great desire
70 be a man once more. When they
left the saloon / followed them to the
church; there signed the pledge, and
took my first step towards better life
AS L wrote my name, my hand tremb-
ling and unsteady, a lady said to me,
Jesus can help you, oh, can't you trust
in him, brotherT | could not say one
word, but all that afternoon kept say
ing to myself, I'm somebody's brother!
AT the close of the meeting she came to
me, her eyes were full of tears, and
said: 'All this afternoon I've been pray
ing for you. Oh, you are in great dan
ger. Jesus wants You and Satan wants
you-which are You going to server
Then l broke down all to pieces, and
sobbed out, q do want Jesus to help
me, but oh, am such wretched sim
ner,' there can be no help for me. I've
sinned away my day of grace. I've
murdered my wife. I've murdered my
children. I've broke my poor, old
mothers heart I've committed every
crime; there can be no mercy for me.
| don't deserve mercy, but oh, my
heart is breaking Somehow l went
right on my knees. All l could say
was, 'have mercy on me, Lord
GLOW those women talked to I'VE
They told me Jesus didn't come to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance,
that he would save even TO the utter
most; then laid hold of Christ, and
peace came.
II can never tell you how happy |
was then, and have been ever since.
want to tell everybody what q dear Sa-
viour have found. | want every one
to love Jesus. If any of you live in
Cincinnati, tell the temperance women
I've been true; tell them God has given
me over fifty souls here; glory to His
blessed name. Sometimes l feel must
go back. j went on my knees to thank
those dear women for dragging me from
the mouth of hell, and leading me TO
Christ. Oh, dear friends, it was wo-
mans prayers and woman's tears thai
saved me, that's why came into your
meeting. thought perhaps you had
met to pray for the drunkard. I'm glad
you are praying for the heather, but
oh, don't forget the heather at home.
There are drinking men in Louisville
to-day by the hundred, hungry for the
bread of life; they don't know it-but
woman's prayers can save them-they'll
all go to hell if something isn't done.
Won't you go to them and tell them,
"No drunkard can enter heavenr' they
will believe You, they will reform If
you'll plead with them. Every drunk
ards heart can be touched, all are not
hardened, they have many bitter hours,
they get down-hearted, and then Satan
leads them off.
sob, pray for me, and pray for the
drunkards of our city before YOU 60"
None who were present, will ever
forget the closing moments of that mis-
sionary meeting. As prayer was offer
ed for that man, and the class for whom
he had been so earnestly pleading, the
sobs and tears from the kneeling audi
ence told how deeply their hearts had
been touched.
Let us hope that that meeting will
bear its legitimate fruit, and that ia
Louisville. as well as Cincinnati, Chica-
go, Brooklyn, New York. and scores
and scores of other places. the word,
we love so well, "Women's Christian
Temperance Union," will be placed
over the door of some spacious room in
the heart of the city, where earnest
Christian women win gather day after
day TO work for SOULS Our Union.