The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-01-21

scarcely be expected that the villagers
would come. But on the chance that some
might, and in order to show to these peo-
pie the deep Importance they attached to
the meetings and the truth and earnest
ness of their religion, they decided to 90,
and took the train for the distant station.
The village lay six miles from the rail
road, and on their arrival at the station
the prospect was dismal and dreary
enough. The whole face of the country
was covered with deep unbroken snow
no paths left, and most of the landmarks
not to be seen. The weather, too was
bleak and lowering, and the searching
wind made them shiver in their thick
wraps: For a long, long time they waded
knee deep through the snow, over fields
and hills, their way lost, and almost in
despair of reaching the place of meeting,
when they saw trudging along towards it,
supporting his feeble steps with stick,
an old gray-headed man. He told them
they were not far from the house they
sought, that he was just on his way there,
and would guide them When they asked
how 1T was that so old a man as he had
ventured out in the snow and cold. he
told them with touching earnestness that
all hls youth had been passed in ignor-
ance and darkness and only in his old
age had the tidings of salvation come to
him. Now" said he, "only few more
days are left between me and the grave.
and not an hour of them can lose" "I
must hear and learn all that can" In
the house thirty or forty people had gath
cred and there they spent several hours
in singing and reading, the people most
anxiously listening to all that he told
them of the Bible and its precious truths.
Before another year should pass, the mis-
slonary said, he hoped to have some place
of worship for them and some regular
pastor to teach them Thus by simple
Bible reading, had been drawn together,
and perhaps eternally saved, as many as
seventy or eighty souls.
And so by many other examples the
missionary showed good cause for beiev-
ing that all through the land many were
ready and willing for the gospel to be
preached to them, many were throwing
off the old yoke of the priests and look
ing around them for a purer brighter,
guiding light than that of Rome Never
before in France had there been such an
opportunity for spreading the gospel
Never before had such freedom been
granted Gods people to go where they
would and worship as they pleased The
most bigoted of the Catholics oppose them
by every means in their power, but their
hands are bound by the law, and all their
efforts to resist the entrance of the evan
gelists into their strongholds are vain.
Knowing the French readiness for revo-
lutions no one can tell how long this free
dom will last; ought not the most then
to be made of the time granted? The
Societ6 Evang6lique is doing all that it
can. Its stations numbering three hun
dred or more, are scattered through
France, and during the last year it ex-
pended 225,000 francs in the work. Oh
this sum 10000 were contributed by the
French themselves, the remainder coming
from England, America, and Switzerland
Can we not extend to them a generous
helping hand to aid them in this great
work? T