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Show W 0 MAN ' S 146 nicknamed But the true misin the man, he persevered, sionary spirit was thousands were reclaimed, and Ihey in turn became "lecturers" on temperance; In an incredibly short time the chief cities of England had large organizations entirely engaged in preaching and practicing the principles of entire abstinence from all intoxicating drinks. The effect was marvelous; public houses were emptied, gin palaces were less thronged; as a consequence, coffee houses and reading rooms were filled. Freed from drink, men began to reflect; churches, ajid especially chapels, were better attended. Public lecture rooms were opened; some of the most eloquent Orators were developed from the speakers of the Temperance platforms. By the middle of the 1 835, at the year very time the organization of the Quornm of the Twelve Apostles was effected at Kirtland, gret missionary efforts were Being made m England; in London the singular spectacle was seen of men of every evangelical creed uniting their efforts to preach the Gospel ! A system of domiciliary visitation was devised, by which the poor should be visited: and invited to attend the "means of grace." This was done without any desire to increase the number of converts to any particular denomination of Christians. The poor were visited in the most wretched localities, their wants were ministered to: tens of thou sands of dollars were raised to establish mis"Tee-totalers- ." Great good was done. The feelings of brotherly love were extended among all religious bodies. And as a culmination to the universal desire to put away sectional feelings, clergymen of the Church of England and nonconformist ministers began to labor together as missionaries. Such was the origin of the "London City Mission" in 1835, founded by men of the most exalted moral character, who could not have labored more assiduously for the preparation of the minds of the masses to receive the truth had they known that the Gospel, as restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, was about to be introduced into England by the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ! Never was there such a time of rejoicing in the churches, never were there such meetings as those held in public assemblies, where ministers of every denomination who "named the name of Jesus" were recognized as brethren; where all agreed to put away sectional feelings, and imitate the Savior of mankind! And never was there an organization established upon so wide a basis of Christianity, in which its members were more vigilant, more upon the altar of sacrifice, more humble and prayerful, more efficient, in its early history. And, as a sequel to the labors of Mr. Obadiah UniDod, he was appointed as the first of the missionaries oi mis important organization The London City Mission. This is only one among the many good results of the Spirit of the Lord that had spread among the nations; in the reclaimed inebriate, now placed upon a higher plane of usefulness, the strong moral nature of the mother triumphed, when the weakness inherited from the father was vansions. quished. To be Continued. SARAH CARTER. WHO WAS " IN A TRANCE 8 EVEN YEARS. BY II ANN All T. KING. CONTINUED. It seems to me I have anticipated a part of ray subject; I ought to have named that just before affairs arrived at this climax with Sarah her father died. This made quite a change in the situation of the family; the widow had to remove from the old homestead, EXPONE NT. ' as of course the eldest son became heir and took possession. She" was left in circumstances raised above all want, but still with comparatively small means. She had a house built for herself and two daughters, tcTwhich she retired, These events somewhat aroused the dormant faculties of Sarah, but as soon as they were settled in their new home, all exertion ceased on her part to arouse herself, and then commenced the lethargy I have forestalled in my last section, Such a pitch of excitement did the affair create, that the parochial authorities took it in hand. Imposition and fraud, making money by allowing her daughter to be visited, were the stigmatizing accusations thrown upon the poor mother. Watchers were placed day and - night to make observations, and to see that no sustenance was given to her. The "Cambridge Chronicle" issued a column headed "Sarah Carter," in which the depositions of the watchers were given, and remarks thereon. Nothing was elicited that could in any way designate a fraud. The medical men tried many experiments, as far as the poor mother would allow them, one of which was croton oil; at one .time vomiting was produced, which ejected food that had lain undigested in the stomach for some weeks. It was also proposed to drop flaming sealing-wa- x upon her, but all such torture her mother positively forbade; and quite right too. A lady of title, of a very high and noble family was a daily visitor to the house. She was a. woman of a sweet, angelic nature, and was throughout an angel in disguise to that afflicted family. She said to a friend: "I feel there is no deception; I myself, when sitting quietly by her bed, and watching her sleeping form alone, have tried little strategems upon her, such as suddenly striking her face or hands with my pocket handkerchief, but I never saw the least start, or even a thrill, pass over her, no more than if I had struck a corpse." At last the Faculty gave in and owned it was "one of their opprobriums!" They confessed that it appeared to them that "the finder of God was upon her," and so they retired. Doctor Ficklin would often call in, and the poor mother seemed to like to see himr for he wa3 ever kind and ever a gentleman; he would be permitted to walk into that silent room and view the sleeping girl. Lady Godolphin never forsook the mother. Every week,. when not at her town residence, might be seen her beautiful equipage standing at Mrs. Carter's gate, while she was talking to and comforting her, and always sitting some little time bythe somnambula ! who lay sleeping calm as a summer morning, and really growing beautiful and etherealized by her marvelous somnambulism. I first saw her when she had lain in that state about three or four years. How well I remember the visit and the feeling of awe with which I stood at the foot of the bed. I was very young then and had never looked but on one corpse; this appeared to me as the second. The housekeeper of our family accompanied me; she was one who knew nothing about nerves, or what is commonly defined fine feelings, though by no means deficient in humanity. She at once made friends with Mrs. Carter, and I did what I could to assure her of my sympathy by holding her hand with a warm pressure in mine for some minutes; and I believe she understood me, for from that time her door was ever open to me, when she had closed it to all except those she knew were her friends, and I respected her for it, and she seemed to know it. A few questions were asked by my companion, in a low voice, and they were answered in the same. I saw her no more until she awoke from her long slumber, which happened at the end of seven years ! Godolphin was sitting by the bedside, . -- 1 Idy i when she observed the eyelids of the girl slightly tremble, and the body gentry-Bfroi- r signs oi reiurmug animation. .Lady G. called gently and said: "Mrs. Carter, your daughter is waking!" Judge the electric shock to the two ladies, both fond, devoted mothers. From that time life and animation returned slowly, but surely; her mind, weak as that of an infant, her body helpless but both seemed to grow and expand, like the mind of a child until she was in the full possession of her mental faculties. She still continued her reelinin position, the lower limbs retaining great weak ness and inertia; at last she was daily lifted from her bed to a sofa placed beside it; her mother being her sole nurse, and performing all those offices, with assiduous and loving devotion; indeed, it appeared that she became to her a "consecrated shrine," whereon she expended her maternal worship; and Sarah became her preacher and her teacher, her Bishop and her Cardinal! and though the clergyman of the village visited her occasionally, I am not sure that she allowed him to see her daughter; I feel sure she made him feel that she tolerated him merely as one to whom custom had rendered courtesy, and not as being of any assistance or edification to her or her household! That child that I portrayed in the little quaint dress must surely have had the germs of a lady in her little form, for she developed from her sleep into a polished lady. She appeared a queen holding her levee, calm, courteous and polite to all! Yes, and all felt they were in the presence of a being whose life was something apart from common every day life. The grand and the noble that visited her felt she was their peer, and with the iact of genuine nobility, at once yielded to her the palm, and stooped their crest to her as one ennobled by affliction that was so unique that all put the finger on the lip, and waited for the few words that, issued from her mouth. What was there in that simple girl, m her simple, homely room, her simple white wrapper, all so entirely unruffled that the beholder marveled how the Everyrobing had ever been accomplished. ! moment thing about her was remarkable at no did it seem she could be taken unprepared; her pillows like a heap of snow for whiteness, no furbelows about them, or any pretentions to them; her dress the same, the simple plaited frill passing round the neck and down the bosom of the wrapper, with the wrists matching; this was all the;ornamental trimming. A cap yes, that cap, let me not forget it; Titian would not have forgotten it, he would have made that whole form a Madonna, that would have filled his studio with an admiring crowd The cap, with a broad plaited frill, that sat round that pure face like a little bonnet, and the rich, dark hair banded over thpure broad white forehead completed the costume. She ever sat in her bed in a reclining position, her hands lapping over each other; and generally a little gem of a book, a gift of course; or a letter just received, or a choice bouquet, sent by some elegant, loving heart, lay close by them. The bed pure and white as "unsunned enow," not a spot or wrinkle ever upon it. Here, to me, was ever the mystery; but so it was. A chair always placed by the right side of the bed for the choice visitor seldom more than one was admitted at one time. As the visitor ap exproached, the right hand would be gently tended, a smile of welcome, and you were in the presence of Sarah Carter. . To be Continued. i o i m Mr. Cross, husband of, George Eliot, de- ceased, is preparing a biography of the life and works of that eminent woman. There will no doubt be a great demand for the book, as so little is known of this genius of acknowledged the nineteenth century. |
