Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-10-06

Lord than a defense of himself. Be
hold. how these Christians die!" has
been the wonder-cry of all persecu-
tions The way in which saints en-
dure trials has been one of the weap-
ons of the Spirits war. Without Bit
terness or fear or panic, Paul once
more faced his fate, witness to the
power of the risen life.
Late summer, before the Loung
Women's Conference at Northfield,
George Sherwood Eddy read a letter
that was written by one of the Shan
81 missionaries the night before she
died in the Boxer massacres. Her
husband had been beheaded. and her
little children, her immediate FAM
ily and all her associates, had per-
ished. Her turn to feel the heads
mans sword was only a few hours
distant. This is her dying testimony,
written to her family in America, and
by means of faithful natives. at last
smuggled through. The letter chords
with the spirit of Paul, the prisoner:
MY dear, dear ones, l have tried
to gather courage to write to you
once more. How can 1 tell you the
terrible details of these days? 1
would rather spare you. The dear
ones at Shansi, including our lovely
daughters, were taken prisoner and
were beheaded at the governors or
ders. We are now waiting our call
home. L am preparing for the end
very quietly and calmly. The Lord
is wonderfully near. He will not fail
me. / was very restless and excited
when there was a chance of life, but
God has taken away that feeling, and
now / pray for grace to meet the end
bravely. The pain will soon be over
and, oh, the sweetness of the welcome
above! My little baby will go with
me, and l think God will give it to
me in heaven. My dear mother will
be so glad to see us. I cannot i'm
agine the Saviour's welcome. But
that will compensate for all these days
or suspense. Dear ones, live near to
God cling less closely to earth. I
would like to send a special message
to each one of you, but it tries me
too much. 1 must keep calm and still
these hours. l do not regret coming
to China; but 1 am sorry 1 have done
so little"
Thrilling is the testimony of Chris
tians in crises to the essential things
OF their faith. Paul reached the heart
of his argument before Felix when
he cried, ''The resurrection of the dead
is the thing about which 1 am on trial
before you to-day" He had an eve
for essentials. No questions of per-
sonal well-being could divert him from
u
ness. Before magistrates and mobs,
courts and crowds, he ever bore the
one testimony.
With 1t all, Paul was a gentleman.
He matched in courtesy the court
liest men he met. The pious boor
gets no support from Paul. Rough
and rude Christians, who mistake bad
manners for independence and un-
couthness for genuinenesS run coun-
ter to his practice and teaching. The
graciousness of the prisoners address
to Felix was limited only by the lines
of truth. The temptation of the DO
lite person is to be insincere: Paul
told the truth, but told it pleasantly.
This point of the lesson is worth
developing, for the charge often made
Dy the older nations against us young
er peoples is our bad manners. Two
or the recent magazines have had
articles upon this subject. Suppose
we have a little session of the Sun
day school on the Christian quality of
courtesy. Paul and his Master, that
perfect gentleman, Jesus of Nazareth
were complete gentlemen
Aside from telling his story, the
prisoner made one telling point in his
own defense: II also exercise myself
to have a conscience void of offense
toward God and men always" The
picture is drawn from athletics. He
kept himself "fft" by training. He
had been a spiritual athlete. in good
standing. He had the rare foresight
to see that some day. as is the case
with every living man. his character
would be his defense. All his future
would be staked upon his past. So he
came up to his testing with clean