Gathering Jewels: The Secret of a Beautiful Life: In Memoriam of Mr. & Mrs. James Knowles. Selected from Their Diaries.Knowles, James
Religion
Gathering Jewels: The Secret of a Beautiful Life: In Memoriam of Mr. & Mrs. James Knowles. Selected from Their Diaries.
Knowles, James
Allen Street Presbyterian Church (New York, N.Y.); Knowles, James, 1811-1886; Knowles, Matilda Darroch, 1811-1886
This case presents a sad and dark picture in the history of womanhood.
An intemperate woman, through the blasting and blighting influence of
liquor, leaving her home, and like the prodigal, spending her substance
in riotous living, and at length being compelled to feed on the husks.
A fallen woman seeking pleasure away from home with all its
endearments. Alas! alas! "There is no peace saith my God unto the
wicked. Whither, oh, whither can they fly as wretched wanderers from
their homes?"
"Home, sweet home!
There is no place like home!"
It is a divine institution. A place of rest and peace and joy. To
forsake home is to despise bliss and accept woe. It is to reject
felicity and receive sorrow. When God has been so kind as to furnish a
peaceable, well-governed home, nothing should tempt the young to leave
it. All that is necessary for pure pleasure can be found in the family
circle. The unwary are sometimes induced to leave home through false
representations, and a desire to gratify every earthly propensity. Idle
curiosity may be greatly augmented, and the new acquaintances formed
may, for the time being, partially please the senses; but the calm
recollection of former unalloyed joys in the cottage home naturally
extorts the old cry from pale quivering lips, and a broken heart, "I
will arise and go to my father, and will say: father I have sinned
against heaven and before thee."
Such a course of turning to God, and such a cry, is always richly
rewarded. Personal reformation is not only gratifying to relatives and
friends, but well-pleasing to God. "Won to reformation" by the Bible
woman through the omnipotence of _loving kindness_! We are reminded by
this incident of a story we heard told by the late John B. Gough. It was
part of his experience a few days after he became a total abstainer. He
had returned to work. But his burning thirst for liquor was intense. In
his agony of mind and body, he said to his employer, "I have signed the
pledge." The reply was, "You will keep it about a week." "If so, then I
will go and get a drink now, for I cannot endure this awful agony any
longer," he retorted. He rushed out of the room and down the stairs
leading to the street, when he was accosted by the kind, gentle voice of
a strange gentleman who met him.
"How do you do, Mr. Gough? I am so glad to see you; I was delighted to
see you at the meeting last night, and I am so thankful that you had
courage given you to go forward and sign the pledge. I simply called
over to shake you by the hand and wish you God speed in your noble
endeavor. Here is my card; I want you to call at my office, as I desire
to get acquainted with you." Those kind words entered into his heart,
and from that auspicious hour he resolved to be steadfast and immovable
in his renunciation of his drinking habits.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account