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6 . THE PREC3YTERIA
lie ?1 i?I not give the name of the lady, simply referring
to her as Miss I*"*****.
When the letter reached Richmond the Board was
in the act of appointing Mr. Crawford to mission work
in China, lie was asking as to the advisability of marriage
in that work. Mr. Tcague's letter was shown to
him. Feeling that "the woman who should accompany
a man on such an enterprise should do so not merely for
his sake but also for love of the work itself," he sought
to find her.
In February, 1851, he started on horseback from Tennessee
to middle Alabama to find Mr. Teague. One
day at a blacksmith shop, a negro man told him that
the near-by house was a Baptist church in which Mr.
no-mo - I--J
was a 1 eauing memoer. In response to
his questions about Mr. Teague, Mr. Bealle referred
him to his brother, who lived some miles further. This
man told him that Mr. Teague lived across the Tombigbee
river which by reason of high water was then
impassable. As there was sickness in that family and
as it was growing dark he arranged for him a lodging
with a Mrs. Foster half a mile away.
The conversation at her house turned upon the
schools in that locality, and she spoke of her niece,
Miss Foster, as teaching in the town of Clinton, Ala.,
not far distant and on the same side of the Tombigbee
river. Quickly he noticed that the number of letters
in the name Foster, corresponded to the five stars in
thf> IpftPr urliioli ?-? A A ,f I ~ ? TTjfcsk***
? .~>vwi iiiv.il 11.au ItilSS X" ' '
The widow desired him to bear a message to Miss
Foster, in the absence of regular mails, that she had
tidings from her home and that all were well. Of
course Mr. Crawford bore the message. At the hotel
in Clinton he made himself known as representing the
Baptist Home Mission Board. As he met her, the
conversation turned on missions. He asked her
whether she would consider a permanent engagement
ii ti gms scnooi in i ennessee, or whether it was too
far away from home. Her reply was, "Home is where
duty is," and later she added, "I am unwilling to engage
to teach permanently, having decided to become a
foreign missionary."
Failing to find any other excuse for another call, he
then told her that he was expecting to* go to China, and
desired to discuss that question with her. Soon they
went to her home to consult her parents. The parents
and all the family protested against her going on
mission work, and hesitated about encouragirig a young
man of whom they knew nothing. After a week, the
two young people concurred in the view that, much
as they agreed in their love for mission work, they had
not the personal love which would justify marriage.
And for a fortnight they parted. But when Mr. Craw?
1 _ - a * '
luru returned irom Tuscaloosa, the question was opened
again, and in the course of a week they were married.
Fifty years of sweet home life in China demonstrated
the wisdom of the act.
As we consider the details of this case,?the utter
ignorance of these parties concerning each other,?the
providence which led him to learn of her,?the providence
which prevented him fr6m first seeing either her
father or her pastor,?the providence which revealed to
him her residence and secured for him the opportunity
N OF THE SOUTH. March 17, 1909.
of acquaintance,?how can we doubt that the marriage
was planned in heaven?
Is it always thus? Alas, no! Sometimes we fail to
ask the Lord lor guidance; sometimes, with self-will,
we refuse to follow where lie leads. And then the marriage
will be not ordered in heaven but simply permitted
in heaven.
But does not God sometimes send a wife who has
weaknesses? Yes. Rebckah seems to have been just
such a woman. She had her partialities and they led
her even to exercise deceit upon .her husband. Yet the
Lord chose her. And we are sure that at the end of
life Isaac found that with all her defects she was just
the one through whom Isaac's usefulness and happiness
could be most promoted. John Wesley the founder
of Methodism, had a wife who deliberately tore up
his sermons. Yet we are sure that the Lord chose
wisely for Wesley. Possibly without this discipline he
would not have accomplished the good that we now
see in his labors." Only eternity can explain to us all
that is involved in the Lord's choice. But let us not
forget that, when we ask him, the Lord will guide us
aright.
THE EMMANUEL MOVEMENT.
It was to he exnerteH that Rncfnn urnuM - ?
? - L? t/voivii vvuuiu nave a 1C"
action from Christian Science. Various forms of attempted
bodily healing through the mental and moral
nature have had their vogue, and brought relief to
some and* disappointment to others. Mind Cure, Faith
Cure, Hypnotism were followed by Christian Science,
which has gained a larger following, very much because
its prophetess, Mrs. Eddy, claimed to have a special
message, and has given what to her followers is a
sacred book. As Christian Science increased its following
and won disciples from the membership of
Christian churches, it was natural that inquiry should
ut mauc v.uin.ci uuij; 11, ana tne eirort maae to ascertain
just what element of truth there was, and how far that
element could be used wisely and safely by Christian
ministers and churches, for the healing of some forms
of bodily ailment, and the protection from error of
many professing Christians.
The Ministers of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Boston,
Dr. Worcester and Dr. McComb, men of character
and high standing, for a year or more past have made
an experiment of combining in the treatment of some
forms of malady, the physician's art of healing, and the
teachings and appeals of religion. Offices were opened
in the church, classes were formed, and experiments
were made. Some cases were sent to the regular practitioner
of medicine, and no doubt some experienced
direct relief, entering upon a better religious life, a life
r.~A ?11 ~ ..
vx lauu m uuu, as wtn as a ucuer attention to ooa s
laws of health, and the responsible care of life. A result
of the study and experience of the Emmanuel clergymen
has been the book, "Religion and Medicine," an
intelligible account of the Emmanuel Movement. It is
a book which has much information on various forms
of nervous disorder, and the intimate relation of mental
states and nervous conditions with physical health
and disease. We doubt not that it would be read with