-A COMMON ERROR--THE FOUNTAIN NEGLECTED.

The time was now come when God would have mercy upon me. At a time when
I was as careless about him as ever, he sent his Spirit into my heart. I
had no Bible, and had not read in it for years. I went to church but
seldom; but, from custom, I took the Lord's Supper twice a year. I had
never heard the gospel preached. I had never met with a person who told
me that he meant, by the help of God, to live according to the Holy
Scriptures. In short, I had not the least idea that there were any
persons really different from myself, except in degree.

On Saturday afternoon, about the middle of November, 1825, I had taken a
walk with my friend Beta. On our return he said to me that he was in the
habit of going on Saturday evenings to the house of a Christian, where
there was a meeting. On further inquiry, he told me that they read the
Bible, sang, prayed, and read a printed sermon. No sooner had I heard
this than it was to me as if I had found something after which I had
been seeking all my life long. We went together in the evening. As I did
not know the manners of believers, and the joy they have in seeing poor
sinners, even in any measure, caring about the things of God, I made an
apology for coming. The kind answer of the dear brother I shall never
forget. He said: "Come as often as you please; house and heart are open
to you." We sat down and sang a hymn. Then brother Kayser, now a
missionary in Africa, fell on his knees and asked a blessing on our
meeting. This kneeling down made a deep impression upon me; for I had
never either seen any one on his knees, nor had I ever myself prayed on
my knees. He then read a chapter and a printed sermon; for no regular
meetings for expounding the Scriptures were allowed in Prussia, except
an ordained clergyman was present. At the close we sang another hymn,
and then the master of the house prayed. Whilst he prayed, my feeling
was something like this: "I could not pray as well, though I am much
more learned than this illiterate man." The whole made a deep impression
on me. I was happy; though, if I had been asked why I was happy, I could
not have clearly explained it.

When we walked home, I said to Beta: "All we have seen on our journey to
Switzerland, and all our former pleasures, are as nothing in comparison
with this evening." Whether I fell on my knees when I returned home, I
do not remember; but this I know, that I lay peaceful and happy