But Jesus came to save me.'—
Yes, He will save me—I know it. I have a hope—a pretty certain hope—O, it is a very certain hope—it is a very sure hope." He then in a low and indistinct voice, supplicated for many minutes; after which he said, "I have been talking to my Saviour."
Not expecting him to hear, I asked his mother if he had always been a serious boy; but before she could reply, George said, "No! I was always bad, always wicked; but since I was brought to this bed of sickness, I have sought for repentance, and I have found it: my sins were as scarlet, but now they are washed as white as snow. But it is all mercy, pure mercy; we have no righteousness of our own to depend upon—no works, no merit of our own will avail us at such a time as this. If these were all we had to look to, we should never be saved. But this is what Jesus came into the world for—to save us poor sinners; and salvation belongs to Him alone."
After this, he desired me to read to him in the Bible—said he would like to hear me read in the Psalms, where David deplored his sins. I did so, and he afterward composed himself and slept a few minutes; but the pain soon awoke him, and he said, "I hope my patience will hold out—I must not get impatient so near the end."
On the 25th, his sufferings greatly increased, and on the afternoon of the 26th, he was unable longer to speak, but he appeared to be sensible of what was passing, and to know those about him. He several times embraced his mother very tenderly and wept. The impress which the pain and anguish of the preceding day had left upon his countenance, now yielded to a placid and heavenly serenity; and his breath continued to shorten, until he ceased to breathe.
LOTT CAREY.
PRINCIPALLY FROM GURLEY'S LIFE OF ASHMUN.
This interesting individual was born a slave, on the estate of William A. Christian, in Charles City county, about thirty miles below Richmond. In 1804, he was sent to that city, and hired out by the year as a common laborer at the Shockoe warehouse. At that time, and for two or three years after, he was excessively profane, and much addicted to intoxication.
But God, who is rich in mercy, was pleased to awaken him to a sense of his lost estate; and in the year 1807, he made open profession of his faith in the Saviour. A sermon which he heard about that time, founded on our Lord's interview with Nicodemus, awakened in him so strong a desire to be able to read and write, that he obtained a Testament, and commenced learning his letters, by trying to read the chapter in which that interview is recorded.