“Now, you’re not to run away with the idea that Miss Clara has forsaken her Saviour, and given up her Bible and prayer. Nothing of the sort! She’s a dear child of God, and always has been since I’ve knowed her; only this learning and these studies have so blocked up her heart, that they’ve scarce left room for her gracious Saviour. But yet he’d never let her go, and she hadn’t altogether forsaken him; only she’s been on a wrong course of late, and she sees it now.
“Friends have flattered her, and told her what grand things she might do with such a head-piece as hers, and she’s been willing to listen to them for a bit. But now the Lord has brought her to see different, and she wants me to tell you what a snare she has found this learning to be. She wants me to tell you from her that she’s found it out in her own experience as there’s no happiness out of Christ; as head knowledge can never make us happy without heart knowledge of Jesus.
“It’s all very well wishing to shine in the world and be thought clever, but that’s just pleasing self, and can never give us real peace. She’s tried it, and she says it’s ‘vanity of vanities.’ It’s led her away from her duty, and made her neglect helping her dear father and mother in many ways where she might have been useful, just because her head and her heart were full of her books.
“Now, perhaps some of you may be thinking, while I’ve been talking, ‘Well, this don’t concern us much; we ain’t in danger of going astray after too much learning.’ Don’t you be too sure of that. There’s traps of the same kind being laid before you by the old enemy, though they mayn’t be got up so fine as them by which he catches clever young ladies. Ah, perhaps he’ll be whispering to some of you as it’ll be a grand thing to get up a peg or two higher by learning all sorts of things with queer and long names to ’em. Won’t you just make folks open their eyes when you can rattle off a lot about this science and that science? But what good will it do you? How much will you remember of it ten years hence? What’ll be the use of it, when you’ve got homes of your own, if you’ve your heads cram full of hard names, but don’t know how to mend your clothes or make a pudding? Depend upon it, there’s need to listen to Miss Clara’s message when she bids me tell you from her as there’s no real happiness to be got in making an idol of learning or anything else, and that there’s no happiness out of Christ; and that the chief thing is just to do one’s duty, by grace, in ‘the state of life to which it has pleased God to call us;’ and then, if he means us to do something out of the way, he’ll chalk out a line for us so broad and plain that we shan’t be able to mistake it.
“So now I’ve given you the message; but there’s something else for you besides.—Here, missus, just hand me that little brown paper parcel.”—So saying, he opened the packet which his wife gave him, and taking out the photographs, handed one to each of the girls, saying, “It’s a keepsake to each of you from Miss Clara.”
As the little gifts were received, tears and sobs burst from the whole company; and when time had been given for the first vehemence of their feelings to subside, Thomas continued,—
“I’ve just one or two more things to say; and the first is this: will you all promise me to pray for our dear young lady, that she may be restored to us in health and strength again, and take her place once more as your teacher?”
“Ay, that we will with all our hearts,” was the cry, which was uttered with tearful earnestness by all.
“And will you pray, for yourselves, for grace to remember and profit by the lesson which she has sent you?”
“We will, Thomas, we will,” was again the cry.