Chapter I: Preface

The present volume is a purely pastoral attempt, emanating from a fraternal affection for two of God's honored saints, and an increasingly growing desire for the glory of God in the salvation of souls.

In presenting the following pages to the friends, acquaintances, and co-laborers of our departed brother and sister I desire to record my appreciation of the good achieved by two whose example among us was as beneficial as that of the angel at the pool of Siloam, stirring up the sluggish waters to fresh life and utility, and teaching us that

Beyond this vale of tears
There is a life above,
Unmeasured by the flight of years;
And all that life is love.

While a proper and very natural sentiment demands that the memoirs of the beloved ones should not appear until some time has passed away, it is also proper that their publication should not be put off till all trace of the facts recorded and the impressions there from made have been forgotten. During the preparation of these memoirs nothing has been more clearly manifest to me than the steady recurrence, throughout their lives, of a deep and earnest unison of feeling between man and wife, in such unfailing sweetness as to find its way at once to our hearts and clothe it with the freshness of a living, loving presence.

The subjects whose earthly career we are about to delineate, were whole-souled enough to elicit the respect of all who knew them, hence they made lasting friends, whilst to their own immediate family their loss is irreparable, and it is hard to realize that they are no more; for who is there among us who does not know what it is to be united by a fond and passionate affection to those who are no longer with us--ever to think of the beloved ones, and to feel ourselves constantly under the influence of the vanished presence?

It cannot be claimed for James Knowles that he was a great man, a learned scholar, or one possessed of extraordinary intellectual culture above his fellows, but, as Hamerton says: "It is not erudition that makes the intellectual man, but a sort of virtue which delights in vigorous and beautiful thinking, just as moral virtue delights in vigorous and beautiful conduct." So it was with our brother, he made the most of the talents God endowed him with, and whatever he undertook to do, he did with might and main; hence his success in any undertaking, or any cause he espoused, for he seemed to realize that success in a _good_ cause is undoubtedly better than failure, while the result in any case is not to be regarded so much as the aim and effort, and the striving with which worthy objects are pursued. Although the Elder may have been less than a Huss, a Calvin, or a Knox in public fame, he had emulated them in self-contemplation and humility.

As for Matilda Knowles, our missionary, she was more than a Dorcas, and equally vigorous in spirit with a Lydia; hence we speak of her in the sphere in which it pleased God for her to labor. Those who will carefully read the chapters devoted to her work, will at once perceive that little is left for me to speak of in words of praise.

Let our Bible women study the pages of this book containing the record of her toil in the vineyard, and note the fruits thereof for over a quarter of a century; for no work purely imaginative in its character ever outrivalled it in intensity of interest, especially to those who have the salvation of the unregenerate at heart. To our children and co-workers and successors we earnestly commend it; praying that the Divine blessing may accompany its circulation and perusal in our own and other lands until He shall come whose right it is to reign.

With these few prefatory remarks, with no claim to literary excellence, and a prayer for the blessing of the Holy Spirit, I commit this imperfect production to the perusal of all co-workers in the vineyard of the Lord.

I also sincerely trust that it will be acceptable to every evangelical denomination, where the love of the Great Creator, and the advancing perfection of human life predominates over all forms of sin and superstition.

DUNCAN M. YOUNG.

NEW YORK, August 18, 1887.

CONTENTS.

JAMES KNOWLES.

PAGE.
CHAPTER I.

Brief Sketch of the Life of James Knowles, 15

CHAPTER II.

Correspondence and Covenants, 24

CHAPTER III.

Scripture Texts, 29

CHAPTER IV.

The Last Hours, 38

CHAPTER V.

The Dead Who Die in the Lord, 46

CHAPTER VI.

A Brief Historical Sketch of the Allen Street Presbyterian Church, 70

MATILDA KNOWLES.

PAGE.
CHAPTER VII.

Brief Memoir of Matilda Knowles, 85

CHAPTER VIII.

The Value of Prayer, 89

CHAPTER IX.

The Story of William the Consumptive, 94

CHAPTER X.

Sowing and Reaping, 105

CHAPTER XI.

Daily Missionary Work, 113

CHAPTER XII.

Destitution and Reformation, 120

CHAPTER XIII.

Her Faithfulness in Little Things, 125

CHAPTER XIV.

The Power of Influence, 132

CHAPTER XV.

Miscellaneous Extracts from Her Diary, 136

CHAPTER XVI.

Struggles and Triumphs, 149

CHAPTER XVII.

Leading Souls To Christ, 156

CHAPTER XVIII.

The Dying Mother and the Intemperate Husband, 159

CHAPTER XIX.

Help and Loving Kindness, 163

CHAPTER XX.

Reaching the Heart, 166

CHAPTER XXI.

Winter Life and Scenes, 171

CHAPTER XXII.

Circulating the Scriptures, 175

CHAPTER XXIII.

The Ninety and Nine, 178

CHAPTER XXIV.

Answered Prayer, 185

CHAPTER XXV.

The Sin of Idolatry, 192

CHAPTER XXVI.

Peace Through Believing, 197

CHAPTER XXVII.

Drawn by the Cords of Love, 202

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Love for the Hebrews, 206

CHAPTER XXIX.

Thankfulness to God, 211

CHAPTER XXX.

Lost, but Found, 214

CHAPTER XXXI.

Sea-Side Excursions for Mothers and Children, 219

CHAPTER XXXII.

The Intemperate Wife, 223

CHAPTER XXXIII.

Her Love of Children and of Praying, 226

CHAPTER XXXIV.

The Conversion of Children, 231

CHAPTER XXXV.

Asleep in Jesus, 235

CHAPTER XXXVI.

Testimonials and Letters of Condolence, 264