not altogether and
entirely for others either, for I fear me that if _my_ little all had been
burnt before my eyes, I should not have had grace to bear up as you and
the rest are enabled to do." And then with an outburst of irrepressible
emotion, she added: "And you can yet exhort us to forgive these our
enemies, and not murmur and repine under all this, as not only you
yourself but others have said, we should do. It's _this_ that makes me
weep."

I freely confess that I have never experienced in my own case, nor in the
case of others, even under comparatively light and trifling losses and
deprivations, such resignation, such quiet, gentle submission, and such
calm endurance, amid the loss of all things, as in this instance. To such
an extent have been these manifestations, that persons from neighboring
towns, and strangers from a distance who in great numbers have visited the
place, almost universally remark upon it. A highly intelligent and pious
woman in a remote part of the county, a few days after the burning, called
at the house in which a number of the homeless ones were kindly cared for.
The large dining-table was surrounded by those who, a few days before,
were in possession of all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life.
Pleasant and cheerful conversation passed around the board. The visitor
alone seemed sad and out of tune. Tears stood in her eyes as she looked
around upon us. "I am amazed beyond measure at you all," she said. "I
expected to see nought but tears, hear only lamentations and sighs, and
here you are as I have seen and known you in your bright and happy days,
calm, serene, and even cheerful!" When one of our number replied, that no
tear over the losses sustained had yet been shed by herself, but many
tears at the numerous tokens of Christian sympathy and generous aid from
far and near to relieve the immediate necessities of the sufferers, she
added, "God be thanked for your words; they flow like precious ointment,
deep down into my heart. Oh, what a commentary on the promised grace of
God!" And we all felt, I am sure, that among the many gifts of our
heavenly Father, not the least was

"A cheerful heart,
That tastes those gifts with joy."

And in regard to the feeling of revenge, so natural to the human heart, I
have been gratifyingly disappointed. Among the heaviest sufferers, by far
the largest proportion have not only expressed themselves decidedly
opposed to the spiri