HISTORY OF DIANA, A POOR HOTTENTOT ORPHAN. 69 of slavery, and treated her as his slave. | soul; so much so that she was afraid Ignorant of her rights, she submitted to go to sleep, for fear of waking in to her hard lot. She was a diligent eternal misery. and obliging little girl; and she became a favourite with many. Amongst others, she pleased her master's parents very much; and as they wished to have her, they gave to their son, in exchange for her, ten or a dozen oxen and another slave. Some time after this exchange, her new master wishing to have a child baptized, went for this purpose to the village of Tulbagh, and the little girl accompanied them to take care of the child. She had never before been in a place of Christian worship. When, therefore, she entered that at Tulbagh, she was astonished, and even somewhat frightened. But soon the minister rose, and giving out his text, said, in a loud voice, these words: "I know thy works." The poor creature thought she noticed that the preacher fixed his eyes particularly on her; he appeared to her something more than a man, and she fancied that he knew all she had ever done. Under such circumstances, her alarm was so great that she tried to hide herself hehind one of the large pillars of the church. In that position she remained until the end of the sermon. What she heard, however, made a deep impression upon her heart, and she became very uneasy about her When she returned to her master's farm, she happened to meet a Hottentot, named David, and he, as it appears, was more enlightened than she was. "What shall I do, and where shall I go?" she asked him. He recommended her to pray; but she did not know what it was to pray, and asked him what he meant. "Go," he answered, "kneel down behind some bush, and, looking up to heaven, say, 'O God, help me! O God, teach me!' and God will hear you." Very soon you might have seen Diana, in the middle of the bushes, crying out, "O God, help me! O God, teach me! for David told me you would hear me." At her master's house they sometimes read the Bible in the family, but never when the servants were present. In her great desire to hear the Word of God, Diana hit upon the following plan:-In this family, as in many others of the Cape Colony, they were accustomed to wash their feet every evening, and Diana was the person employed for that purpose. It occurred to her, then, to choose the moment when the Scriptures were being read for carrying the water into the room. In this way she was able to hear the reading of 70 HISTORY OF DIANA, A POOR HOTTENTOT ORPHAN. the Word of Life; and she sometimes Her master and mistress perceived felt so much at what she heard that the state in which she was; and her tears flowed freely, and, as she sometimes they showed compassion herself afterwards stated, fell into the for her, but at other times they water she brought. But at length treated her with cruel severity. the poor girl received her master's order not to enter the room while the Bible was being read. She contrived another plan. The post of the door which separated the kitchen from the room where the Scriptures were read was somewhat worn, and there was a crack in it. Diana, therefore, came to it softly, applied her ear to the crack, and thus managed to hear when the Word of God was read. Poor girl! how very little encouragement she found in this house to attend to the things of God! One day, while she was churning butter, not far from her mistress, who was occupied with reading the New Testament, she heard these words: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.' "What are those words?" said she; "who has spoken them? are they true?" But what answer do you think she received to this question? "Those words are not for you," said her mistress, "so you better mind your work." Meanwhile Diana was suffering distress of mind, which was continually increasing, so that she could hardly go through her daily duties. At length Diana found out the injustice with which she had been treated that she was not a slave, and had a right to her liberty. One day these words came to her mind with great power: "Depart hence, and I will be with thee." She did not know where to find this command, but she believed it to come from God himself, and she immediately set out, without knowing whither she was going. Having met with a waggon on the road, she mounted it, and after some days, she arrived at the village of Stellenbosch. It was a Saturday evening. day Diana heard a missionary preach, who took for his text this passage— "Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out." This promise was exactly what the troubled soul of the poor wanderer needed. She received with delight the good news of salvation by Christ. Shortly after this her master arrived at the village, and summoned her before the magistrate, that she might be punished; but she so well proved the justice of her cause, that her rights were acknowledged, and her liberty was restored. The following Henceforward she had the oppor I HAVE GOT THE BIBLE. tunity of hearing the Word of God regularly, and grew in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Walking in the paths of holiness, she felt happy. This happiness lasted for several years; but, alas, for our weak nature, Diana failed in watchfulness, and so fell into sin. She was, however, rescued from this sad state by her gracious God, who appointed for her a heavy trial, which brought her back to Him, and she was again able to rejoice in Him as the God of her salvation. 71 useful character. Her lot was not among the rich of this world, but, as she was married to a husband who sought to employ his time profitably, she was permitted, after having sometimes experienced great poverty, to see her family comfortably provided for. She eventually became a widow, but continued, to the close of life, to glorify her Saviour. Often would she call on Christian families, to comfort the afflicted, or to pray with the dying; affording a striking instance of what God is doing, and can do, by His Word amongst She afterwards became a very the untutored heathen. I HAVE GOT THE BIBLE. for the money. Away he went home, but he soon began to cry, for his mother had not the money to give him. He went back to the shopwoman and told her, and wept as he said, "But, O mistress, don't tear the Bible, for my teacher told me it is the Word of God." MANY years ago, a little boy, a Sab- | said he would go home to his mother bath-scholar, was sent by his mother to a shop for some soap. The shopwoman weighed it, and tore a leaf out of a book which lay on the counter for waste paper. The boy was surprised and grieved when he saw that the book was a Bible. He said to the woman, "Mistress, you should not tear up that book, for it is the Bible." "What does it matter?" said the woman, "I bought it for waste paper." "What!—the Bible!" said the boy; "I wish it was mine, I would not tear it up like that." "Well," said the woman, "if you will pay me what I gave for it, you shall have it." He thanked her, and Seeing how concerned he was, the woman said, "Well, don't cry, you shall have the Bible, if you go and get its weight in waste paper." Away he went again to his mother. She gave him all the waste paper she had, and then he went to the neighbours and begged for more, till he had collected, as he thought, a big 72 POETRY-UP AND DOING, LITTLE CHRISTIAN. enough bundle. Then he went back to the shop. "Now, mistress, I have got the paper.' The woman weighed it, putting the Bible in the Then she gave him the other scale. book, and he ran home with it happy, crying, "I have got the Bible! I have got the Bible! Reader, do you care as much for the Bible? THE KAFFIR BOY. A KAFFIR boy about twelve years of "That is true," said the boy, "but I wish to be a child of God; in this place I hear how I may become so; but in my own country, I hear nothing about it; therefore, I am thankful to come here, and can be "But in the Kaffir country you had plenty of meat and milk; here, you can hardly get any." Dear reader, are you as much in earnest to be God's child, as this Kaffir boy was?—Church of England Sunday Scholar's Guide. Poetry. UP AND DOING, LITTLE CHRISTIAN. UP and doing, little Christian, Up and doing, little Christian, E'en her slightest wishes mind: For your care, and harmless play; Help them by your kindly way. Price 6d. per doz. or 3s. 6d. per 100; 20 copies sent free by post for 10d., paid in advance. Published by GALL & INGLIS, 6 George Street, Edinburgh,HOULSTON & WRIGHT, London. |