Transcribed from the 1900 T. Nelson and Sons edition by David Price,
email ccx074@pglaf.org
THE ANNALS OF THE POOR
BY
THE REV. LEGH RICHMOND, M.A.,
LATE RECTOR OF TURVEY, BEDFORDSHIRE.
"Thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor."
PSALM lxviii. 10.
London:
T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW.
EDINBURGH; AND NEW YORK.
1900
THE DAIRYMAN'S DAUGHTER.
PART I.
It is a delightful employment to discover and trace the operations of
divine grace, as they are manifested in the dispositions and lives of
God's real children. It is peculiarly gratifying to observe how
frequently among the poorer classes of mankind the sunshine of mercy
beams upon the heart, and bears witness to the image of Christ which the
Spirit of God has impressed thereupon. Among such, the sincerity and
simplicity of the Christian character appear unencumbered by those
obstacles to spirituality of mind and conversation which too often prove
a great hindrance to those who live in the higher ranks. Many are the
difficulties which riches, worldly consequence, high connections, and the
luxuriant refinements of polished society, throw in the way of religious
profession. Happy indeed it is (and some such happy instances I know)
where grace has so strikingly supported its conflict with natural pride,
self-importance, the allurements of luxury, ease, and worldly opinion,
that the noble and mighty appear adorned with genuine poverty of spirit,
self-denial, humble-mindedness, and deep spirituality of heart.
But, in general, if we want to see religion in its most simple and pure
character, we must look for it among the poor of this world who are rich
in faith. How often is the poor man's cottage the palace of God! Many
can truly declare that they have there learned the most valuable lessons
of faith and hope, and there witnessed the most striking demonstrations
of the wisdom, power, and goodness of God.
The character which the present narrative is designed to introduce to the
notice of my readers is given _from real life and circumstances_. I
first became acquainted with her by receiving the following letter, which
I transcribe from the original now before me:--
"REV. SIR,
"I take the liberty to write to you. Pray excuse me, for I have never
spoken to you. But I once heard you, when you preached at --- Church.
I believe you are a faithful preacher to warn sinners to flee from the
wrath that will be revealed against all those that live in sin, and
die impenitent. Pray go on in the strength of the Lord. And may he
bless you, and crown your labour of love with success, and give you
souls for your hire!
"The Lord has promised to be with those whom he calls and sends forth
to preach his word, to the end of time; for without him we can do
nothing. I was much rejoiced to hear of those marks of love and
affection to that poor soldier of the S. D. militia. Surely the love
of Christ sent you to that poor man. May that love ever dwell richly
in you by faith! May it constrain you to seek the wandering souls of
men with the fervent desire to spend and be spent for his glory! May
the unction of the Holy Spirit attend the word spoken by you with
power, and convey deep conviction to the hearts of your hearers! May
many of them experience the divine change of being made new creatures
in Christ!
"Sir, be fervent in prayer with God for the conversion of sinners. His
power is great, and who can withstand it? He has promised to answer
the prayer of faith, that is put up in his Son's name. 'Ask what ye
will, it shall be granted you.' How this should strengthen our faith,
when we are taught by the word and the Spirit how to pray! Oh, that
sweet inspiring hope! how it lifts up the fainting spirits, when we
look over the precious promises of God! What a mercy if we know
Christ and the power of his resurrection in our own hearts! Through
faith in Christ we rejoice in hope, and look up in expectation of that
time drawing near when all shall know and fear the Lord, and when a
nation shall be born in a day.
"What a happy time when Christ's kingdom shall come! Then shall 'his
will be done on earth as it is in heaven.' Men shall be daily fed
with the manna of his love, and delight themselves with the Lord all
the day long. Then what a paradise below they will enjoy! How it
animates and enlivens my soul with vigour to pursue the ways of God,
that I may even now bear some humble part in giving glory to God and
the Lamb!
"Sir, I began to write this on Sunday, being detained from attending
on public worship. My dear and only sister, living as a servant with
Mrs. ---, was so ill, that I came here to attend in her place and on
her. But now she is no more.
"I was going to entreat you to write to her in answer to this, she
being convinced of the evil of her past life, and that she had not
walked in the ways of God, nor sought to please him. But she
earnestly desired to do so. This makes me have a comfortable hope
that she is gone to glory, and that she is now joining in sweet
concert with the angelic host in heaven to sing the wonders of
redeeming love. I hope I may now write, 'Blessed are the dead that
die in the Lord.'
"She expressed a desire to receive the Lord's Supper, and commemorate
his precious death and sufferings. I told her as well as I was able
what it was to receive Christ into her heart; but as her weakness of
body increased, she did not mention it again. She seemed quite
resigned before she died. I do hope she is gone from a world of death
and sin to be with God for ever.
"Sir, I hope you will not be offended with me, a poor ignorant person,
to take such a liberty as to write to you. But I trust, as you are
called to instruct sinners in the ways of God, you will bear with me,
and be so kind to answer this ill-wrote letter, and give me some
instruction. It is my heart's desire to have the mind that was in
Christ, that when I awake up in his likeness then I may be satisfied.
"My sister expressed a wish that you might bury her. The minister of
our parish, whither she will be carried, cannot come. She will lie at
---. She died on Tuesday morning, and will be buried on Friday or
Saturday (whichever is most convenient to you), at three o'clock in
the afternoon. Please to send an answer by the bearer, to let me know
whether you can comply with this request
"From your unworthy servant,
"ELIZABETH W---."
I was much struck with the simple and earnest strain of devotion which
this letter breathed. It was but indifferently written and spelt. But
this the rather tended to endear the hitherto unknown writer, as it
seemed characteristic of the union of humbleness of station with eminence
of piety. I felt quite thankful that I was favoured with a correspondent
of this description; the more so, as such characters were at that time
very rare in the neighbourhood. I have often wished that epistolary
intercourse of this kind were more encouraged and practised among us. I
have the greatest reason to speak well of its effects both on myself and
others. Communication by letter as well as by conversation with the
pious poor has often been the instrument of animating and reviving my own
heart in the midst of duty, and of giving me the most profitable
information for the general conduct of the ministerial office.
As soon as the letter was read I inquired who was the bearer of it.
"He is waiting at the outside of the gate, sir," was the reply.
I went out to speak him, and saw a venerable old man, whose long hoary
hair and deeply wrinkled countenance commanded more than common respect.
He was resting his arm upon the gate, and tears were streaming down his
cheeks. On my approach he made a low bow, and said,--
"Sir, I have brought you a letter from my daughter, but I fear you will
think us very bold in asking you to take so much trouble."
"By no means," I replied; "I shall be truly glad to oblige you and any of
your family in this matter, provided it be quite agreeable to the
minister of your parish."
"Sir, he told me yesterday that he should be very glad if I could procure
some gentleman to come and bury my poor child for him, as he lives five
miles off, and has particular business on that day; so when I told my
daughter, she asked me to come to you, sir, and bring that letter, which
would explain the matter."
I desired him to come into the house, and then said,--
"What is your occupation?"
"Sir, I have lived most of my days in a little cottage at ---, six miles
from here. I have rented a few acres of ground, and kept some cows,
which, in addition to my day-labour, has been the means of supporting and
bringing up my family."
"What family have you?"
"A wife, now getting very aged and helpless; two sons, and one daughter;
for my other poor dear child is just departed out of this wicked world."
"I hope for a better."
"I hope so too. Poor thing, she did not use to take to such good ways as
her sister; but I do believe that her sister's manner of talking with her
before she died was the means of saving her soul. What a mercy it is to
have such a child as mine is! I never thought about my own soul
seriously till she, poor girl, begged me to flee from the wrath to come."
"How old are you?"
"Near seventy, and my wife is older. We are getting old, and almost past
our labour, but our daughter has left a good place, where she lived in
service, on purpose to come home and take care of us and our little
dairy. And a dear, dutiful, affectionate girl she is."
"Was she always so?"
"No, sir; when she was very young she was all for the world, and
pleasure, and dress, and company. Indeed we were all very ignorant, and
thought if we took care for this life, and wronged nobody, we should be
sure to go to heaven at last. My daughters were both wilful, and, like
ourselves, strangers to the ways of God and the word of his grace. But
the eldest of them went out to service, and some years ago she heard a
sermon, preached at --- church by a gentleman that was going to --- as
chaplain to the colony, and from that time she seemed quite another
creature. She began to read the Bible, and became sober and steady. The
first time she returned home afterwards to see us she brought us a
guinea, which she had saved from her wages, and said, as we were getting
old, she was sure we should want help, adding, that she did not wish to
spend it in fine clothes as she used to do, only to feed pride and
vanity. She said she would rather show gratitude to her dear father and
mother, because Christ had shown such mercy to her.
"We wondered to hear her talk, and took great delight in her company; for
her temper and behaviour were so humble and kind, she seemed so desirous
to do us good both in soul and body, and was so different from what we
had ever seen her before, that careless and ignorant as we had been, we
began to think there must be something real in religion, or it never
could alter a person so much in a little time.
"Her youngest sister, poor soul! used to laugh and ridicule her at that
time, and said her head was turned with her new ways. 'No, sister,' she
would say, 'not my _head_ but I hope my _heart_ is turned from the love
of sin to the love of God. I wish you may one day see, as I do, the
danger and vanity of your present condition.'
"Her poor sister would reply, 'I do not want to hear any of your
preaching; I am no worse than other people, and that is enough for me.'
'Well, sister,' Elizabeth would say, 'if you will not hear me, you cannot
hinder me from praying for you, which I do with all my heart.'
"And now, sir, I believe those prayers are answered. For when her sister
was taken ill, Elizabeth went to Mrs. ---'s to wait in her place, and
take care of her. She said a great deal to her about her soul, and the
poor girl began to be so deeply affected and sensible of her past sin,
and so thankful for her sister's kind behaviour, that it gave her great
hopes indeed for her sake. When my wife and I went to see her as she lay
sick, she told us how grieved and ashamed she was of her past life, but
said she had a hope, through grace, that her dear sister's Saviour would
be her Saviour too, for she saw her own sinfulness, felt her own
helplessness, and only wished to cast herself upon Christ as her hope and
salvation.
"And now, sir, she is gone, and I hope and think her sister's prayers for
her conversion to God have been answered. The Lord grant the same for
her poor father and mother's sake likewise!"
This conversation was a very pleasing commentary upon the letter which I
had received, and made me anxious both to comply with the request and to
become acquainted with the writer. I promised the good dairyman to
attend on the Friday at the appointed hour; and after some more
conversation respecting his own state of mind under the present trial, he
went away.
He was a reverend old man; his furrowed cheeks, white locks, weeping
eyes, bent shoulders, and feeble gait, were characteristic of the aged
pilgrim. As he slowly walked onward, supported by a stick, which seemed
to have been the companion of many a long year, a train of reflections
occurred, which I retrace with pleasure and emotion.
At the appointed hour I arrived at the church, and after a little while
was summoned to the churchyard gate to meet the funeral procession. The
aged parents, the elder brother, and the sister, with other relatives,
formed an affecting group. I was struck with the humble, pious, and
pleasing countenance of the young woman from whom I had received the
letter. It bore the marks of great seriousness without affectation, and
of much serenity mingled with a glow of devotion.
A circumstance occurred during the reading of the Burial Service, which I
think it right to mention as one among many testimonies of the solemn and
impressive tendency of our truly evangelical Liturgy.
A man of the village, who had hitherto been of a very careless and even
profligate character, went into the church through mere curiosity, and
with no better purpose than that of vacantly gazing at the ceremony. He
came likewise to the grave, and during the reading of those prayers which
are appointed for that part of the service, his mind received a deep,
serious conviction of his sin and spiritual danger. It was an impression
that never wore off, but gradually ripened into the most satisfactory
evidence of an entire change, of which I had many and long-continued
proofs. He always referred to the Burial Service, and to some particular
sentences of it, as the clearly ascertained instrument of bringing him,
through grace, to the knowledge of the truth.
The day was therefore one to be remembered. Remembered let it be by
those who love to hear "the short and simple annals of the poor."
Was there not a manifest and happy connection between the circumstances
that providentially brought the serious and the careless to the same
grave on that day together? How much do _they_ lose who neglect to trace
the leadings of God in providence as links in the chain of his eternal
purpose of redemption and grace!
"While infidels may scoff, let us adore!"
After the service was concluded I had a short conversation with the good
old couple and their daughter. She told me that she intended to remain a
week or two at the gentleman's house where her sister died till another
servant should arrive and take her sister's place.
"I shall be truly obliged," said she, "by an opportunity of conversing
with you, either there or at my father's when I return home, which will
be in the course of a fortnight at the furthest. I shall be glad to talk
to you about my sister, whom you have just buried."
Her aspect and address were highly interesting. I promised to see her
very soon, and then returned home, quietly reflecting on the
circumstances of the funeral at which I had been engaged. I blessed the
God of the poor, and prayed that the poor might become rich in faith, and
the rich be made poor in spirit.