Leaving in his keeping our two telescope baskets, containing all our
earthly belongings, we soon reached the residence of the Congregational
minister, only to discover that he, with his family, had left that very
morning for his summer vacation. His neighbors directed us to the
Methodist minister, an old gentleman, who received us very cordially,
said many encouraging words on learning of the nature of our errand,
and wished us God's blessing as we took our departure to the next
place, at that moment unknown.
I now decided to make our errand known to the editors of the local
papers. We found two, in close proximity to each other. They received
us kindly, inspected the letters of endorsement with which I had
provided myself before leaving San Francisco, and took notes.
Noon-time found my faith not sufficient to invest our capital or even a
portion of it for the food we now so much needed. Moreover, it was
extremely warm, and we were clad in heavy garments, suitable to the
colder climate from which we had come. I made the same inquiry of the
editor of the _Gazette_ as I had made of the depot-agent, and I shall
never forget the editor's surprised smile as he replied: "Really, Mrs.
Roberts, I'm the last one of whom to inquire, as I make no profession
whatsoever of religion. There is a lady living on the edge of town,
formerly of the Salvation Army; she might do."
It was a long walk, or rather seemed so. We soon discovered that this
lady was in no position to entertain us over night, and as it was long
past noon, she must have taken it for granted that we had dined. Before
leaving I requested a season of prayer. Her aged mother preceded her, I
followed, then Lucy, who drew tears from our eyes by her fervent
petition for guidance. After we had made our adieus and had walked a
few yards, the daughter called and ran after us, to inform us that she
had just thought of the landlady of the Tremont Hotel (Mrs. Ayers).
"Her dining-room is closed for the season. She is a very kind-hearted
woman. I have no doubt of her inviting you to remain under her roof
when she learns your errand," said this newly-found friend. I thanked
her most sincerely, and we proceeded once more to town.
I again called upon the _Gazette_ editor, for I had it in mind to hold
a street-meeting that evening and make public announcement of our
errand. He promised the presence of himself and of others in the event
of my doing so.
"Mother dear," inquired poor, tired, hungry, over-heated Lucy, "I
wonder if God really wants us to hunt a home for the girls, after all?
I can't stand much more."
"Neither can I, dear child," I replied, "but we'll ask him. Give me
your hand." (We were walking toward the hotel.)
"Father," I prayed, "hast thou sent us on this errand? If so, please
seal it with money before the day ends. I ask in Jesus' name." And Lucy
sighed, "Amen."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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