ere a great interest to her. She always showed the
greatest sympathy and devotion to them, and while caring for their souls
did not forget their bodily needs. Even when on a holiday she sought and
found work amongst the poor. Indeed, distress of any kind always
appealed to her heart.

There are some Christians who are very active in the outside world, but
who forget that the first duty of a child of God is to "show piety at
home." It was not so with Agnes Jones, for it was in the home that the
beauty of her life was most visible, and it was in the family circle
that the affection and unselfishness of her character shone most
conspicuously. Others, indeed, could plainly see the development of the
Christ-life in her, but she herself, dwelling as she did in the presence
of her Lord, was prone to judge herself harshly. Thus, with every moment
occupied, she charged herself with being lazy and negligent.

The first step towards the great work of her life was taken while on a
visit to the Continent in 1853. During the May meetings in Paris, there
was one held on behalf of the Oeuvre des Diaconesses, one of the
branches of the Institution at Kaiserswerth on the Rhine, founded by
Pastor Fliedner. This she attended, and was then first made acquainted
with that work, which became of great interest to her, an interest which
was much strengthened by a visit to Kaiserswerth itself about two months
later. "As we drove away," she writes, "my great wish was that this
might not be my last visit to Kaiserwerth.... That visit was, I believe,
a talent committed to our care; may it not be buried."

So full was she of the conviction that by seeing more of the work at
Kaiserswerth she would be the better fitted for her beloved work in
Ireland, that she proposed that she should go there for a week. To her
great joy her mother concurred in the proposal, and earnestly did Agnes
pray that this visit might be blessed and sanctified by God to
His glory.

She was charmed with all that she heard and saw at Kaiserswerth, with
the love which was so manifest in all, with the intensity of purpose,
the perfect obedience, the beautiful order, the incessant work without
fuss or bustle, and above all with the spirit of prayer, which pervaded
the whole institution. Her journals show how strong was her desire to
return there for training, for she believed that "as we use means to fit
us for any earthly profession, so are we bound to use every means which
wi