Learn to pray while you are in health, and you will find the comfort and power of it when you come to die; but, first of all, pray for a new heart--without it you will never see God in heaven--your present ways lead to misery and ruin--may the Lord turn your heart to love and follow him!" To the other woman she said, "I thank you, Dame K---, for all your kindness since I have been ill--you have been a Christian friend to me, and I hope that the Lord will remember you for it, according to his rich mercy:--you and I have many a time talked together about death; and though I am the youngest, he calls me first to pass through it: but, blessed be his name, I am not terrified.

I once thought I could never die without fear; but indeed I feel quite happy, now it is come; and so will you, if you trust him--he is the God both of the old and the young." "Ah, my child!" said the woman, "I wish I was as fit to die as you are; but I fear that will never be--my sins have been many, very many." "Christ's blood cleanseth from all sin," said the child.
At this moment, instead of growing weaker, through the fatigue of so much speaking, she seemed to gather fresh strength.

She turned to me with a look of surprising earnestness and animation, saying,-- "You, sir, have been my best friend on earth--you have taught me the way to heaven, and I love and thank you for it--you have borne with my weakness and my ignorance--you have spoken to me of the love of Christ, and he has made me to feel it in my heart--I shall see him face to face--he will never leave me nor forsake me--he is the same, and changes not.

Dear sir, God bless you!" The child suddenly rose up, with an unexpected exertion, threw her livid, wasted arms around me, as I sat on the bedside, laid her head on my shoulder, and said distinctly, "God bless and reward you--give thanks for me to him--my soul is saved--Christ is everything to me! Sir, we shall meet in heaven, shall we not ?--Oh yes, yes--then all will be peace--peace--peace--" She sank back on the bed, and spoke no more--fetched a deep sigh--smiled--and died.
At this affecting moment, the rays of the morning sun darted into the room, and filled my imagination with the significant emblem of "the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." It was a beam of light that seemed at once to describe the glorious change which her soul had now already experienced; and, at the same time, to shed the promised consolations of hope over the minds of those who witnessed her departure.
This was an incident obviously arising from a natural cause; but one which irresistibly connected itself with the spiritual circumstances of the case.
For some time I remained silently gazing on the breathless corpse, and could hardly persuade myself that Jane was indeed no longer there.
As I returned homeward, I found it difficult to repress the strong feelings of affection which such a scene had excited.

Neither did I wish it.