Saved From Starvation.
On the second floor of a rear house lived a lady well known once as
among the foremost members of a wealthy church. The first blow of
adversity opened a wide passage for a succession of disasters. She
passed through the whole sliding scale, until the missionary found her
in the poor, dilapidated tenement where, for two days and nights, she
had lain in bed to keep warm; or as nearly so as her scanty covering
would admit
It was Saturday, and the only food she had to keep her alive until
Monday, was two soda biscuits! She had sold everything comfortable in
the way of furniture; all her clothing but one respectable suit for the
street, and the only thing remaining, that pointed to the history of
better days, was a pair of gold eye-glasses, given her by her dying
mother. Within a few months her dire necessity had often pointed to the
glasses; but she could not see without them, nor could she sell the gold
frames unless she had means to have the glass set in commoner ones.
Moreover, the harpies who feed and thrive on the miseries of the poor,
would in no case have given her more than twenty-five cents for them;
and the short respite derived from that amount would not have
compensated for the sacrifice. She had looked at them that morning; felt
that starve she must and would, but that souvenir of her mother should
never leave her. She went back to bed and prayed fervently that the Lord
would show her some way of escape, or take her that day to himself. She
slept an hour or two, and then awakened, strong in the conviction that
he would show her some way before night, and though it was six o'clock
P.M., before the missionary called, no doubt had arisen to trouble her
mind; and as soon as he entered and introduced himself, she said--"You
are a messenger from the Lord, sir; I have been expecting you."