"open my mouth wide," this very evening fifteen years ago,
and the Lord has filled it. The new Orphan House is now inhabited by
three hundred orphans; and there are altogether three hundred and
thirty-five persons connected with it. My labor is abundant. The
separation from my dear wife and child is great, on account of my being
the greater part of the day at the new Orphan House; sometimes also by
night. But notwithstanding all this, I have again and again thought
about laboring more than ever in serving poor orphans. Within the last
ten days this matter has much occupied my mind, and for the last five
days I have had much prayer about it. It has passed through my mind to
build another Orphan House, large enough for seven hundred orphans, so
that I might be able to care for one thousand altogether. The points
which have led me to this thought are: 1. The many distressing cases of
children, bereaved of _both_ parents, who have no helper. I have
received two hundred and seven orphans within the last sixteen months,
and have now seventy-eight waiting for admission, without having
vacancies for any. I had about sixty children waiting for admission
about sixteen months since, so about two hundred and thirty children
have been applied for within these sixteen months. But, humanly
speaking, for the next sixteen months the number of applications will be
far greater, as the work is now so much more widely known; except it be
that persons may hear that the new Orphan House is quite full, and on
that account may consider it useless to apply. 2. The constitution of
most other charitable institutions for orphans makes the admission of a
really destitute orphan, _i. e._ a child bereaved of _both_ parents, and
_without an influential friend_, very difficult, if not hopeless; for
the admission by means of the votes of the donors precludes _really
poor_ persons from having, in most instances, the benefit of these
institutions, as they cannot give the time nor expend the money
necessary for obtaining such votes. I have myself seen that certain
candidates had several thousand votes. The necessity of this arrangement
being continued may be much regretted by many who are connected with
such institutions, but they have no power to alter it. In our case,
nothing is needed but application to me; and the _very poorest person,
without influence, without friends, without any expense_, no matter
where he lives, or of whatever religious denomination