Late
hours and hard work were my portion, and to my unskilled hands it seemed
first a bitter lot. My husband strove anxiously to gain a subsistence, and
barely succeeded. We changed our place of residence several times, hoping
to do better, but without improvement.
"Everything seemed against us. Our well-stocked wardrobe had become so
exhausted that I felt justified in absenting myself from the house of God,
with my children, for want of suitable apparel. While in this low
condition, I went to church one evening, when my poverty-stricken
appearance would escape notice, and took my seat near the door. An agent
from the West preached, and begged contributions to the home missionary
cause. His appeal brought tears to my eyes, and painfully reminded me of my
past days of prosperity, when I could give of my abundance to all who
called upon me. It never entered my mind that the appeal for assistance in
any way concerned me, with my poor children banished from the house of God
by poverty, while I could only venture out under the friendly protection of
darkness.
"I left the church more submissive to my lot, with a prayer in my heart
that those whose consciences had been addressed might respond.
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