“I was sure our house was gone,” earnestly resumed Mrs. Kerr, “and I expected nothing else than the death of all of us.”
“When we are ready,” he replied, “death is no evil.”
This practical reply rather embarrassed her, and for a moment she was at a loss to know what to say next; so he continued:
“To crush the body is a matter of little consequence; but the soul, the immortal being that inhabits this house of clay, is of immense value. Could we fully realize the fact that nothing dies but the clay we inhabit, we would not dread the change.”
Mrs. Kerr listened attentively, but made no reply.
“Will you be so kind as to give us an account of your troubles on that dreadful night?” asked Mr. Kerr.
“Certainly,” said he, and he related to them the long list of trials, dangers and privations through which he had passed.
Tears more than once filled the eyes of the eager listeners. “And now,” said Mr. Kerr, after the missionary had finished, “I must give you some of my experience since we parted. If you remember one of the cards you gave the children, read, ‘And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal;’ that fell into my hands. When I read those words the irresistible conviction struck me that I would be one of ‘these,’ and a fearful looking for judgment to come took hold of me. All the way home I seemed to hear the words, ‘And these shall go away into everlasting punishment.’ I wished again and again that I had only taken you with me; or at least have defended you against the unreasonableness of Mr. Steele. But that was now too late, and I groaned under the lashes of my guilty conscience. Upon reaching home, my wife told me that you had been here and prayed with the family. I suffered greatly, and was at length compelled to ‘own up’ to my wife, who soon discovered that all was not right with me—and she strongly condemned my action.” Mr. Kerr did not cease speaking until he had made a full confession of the humiliation he had experienced from a guilty conscience.
The missionary could not but be moved at the penitent recital; yet he rejoiced that Mr. Kerr was at last led to the true and only source of comfort.
After uniting in prayer with the family, the missionary inquired if they had been to the Sunday-school.