Closing Days, 1894–1898 (part 2 of 2)

"Then he communed with God as his Father marvellously by prayer. Perhaps no man that lived was more in habitual communion with God. It was indeed as one of the poets said. 'His native breath.' He lived in an attitude of prayer. I remember, it must be four and twenty years ago, when I was first struck by that very fact that beloved Mr. Wright mentioned to-day in Bethesda, which I had noted down to speak of. When I went to confer with him on a matter—unlike too many who speak for some time, and then, when parting, pray—Mr. Müller said, 'Let us ask God's guidance,' and we got on our knees. And so it was with that beloved man throughout the whole of his life. Last Monday evening it was my joy to meet with him and speak with him at the close of the prayer meeting at Bethesda, and I introduced two friends who had just come from Barnstaple, and one brought a message of love from the beloved and honoured servant of Christ, Mr. Robert Chapman. The lady gave this message of love, and he (Mr. Müller) replied, 'Dear Mr. Chapman—give him again my love; he is the oldest friend I have.' They had had sixty-eight years of close friendship.* I was given, a day or two ago, the following, that fell from the lips of that saintly Robert Chapman on last Friday, the day after the beloved one departed; he remarked it at his own dinner table: 'If I were asked to write Brother Müller's life I should say, he brought everything to God, small and great, temporal and eternal, and brought God into everything. The details are written above, and to-morrow morning we shall have the leisure to read them. The night is far spent and the day is at hand.' And verily that is the true epitome of the life of the beloved one.

"Then he was a servant of Christ by the grace of God, and as the servant of Christ he rejoiced to preach the gospel that Paul preached. That 'Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures'—that was the gospel that George Müller delighted to proclaim to sinners. He began that work in Bristol in 1832. The older ones will remember that was the year the cholera visited Bristol; within two months of the arrival of himself and his beloved colleague, Henry Craik, the cholera broke out. Those servants of God did not fly away from the cholera as they might have done, but they started a prayer meeting from 6 o'clock to 8 o'clock every morning, to meet those stricken with fear because of the outbreak. And God gave them great blessing. He loved to the end of his days to preach the gospel. He loved to circulate the Scriptures. He aided in sending that gospel far and wide all over the world by prayer and by counsel, and his God helped him, and sent in funds for the purpose of meeting the expenses of taking the gospel into other lands.

"Then he cared for the Orphans. How vivid a sight is that to all Bristolians—the way in which this beloved one, by the grace of God, cared for the fatherless and motherless. 'By the grace of God I am what I am' would be his language. And in all this he sought not the honour of man, sought not first the temporal blessing of the Orphans; no, as we heard to-day, not first even their spiritual blessing, but that he might honour and glorify the name of God, that he might adorn the doctrine of God, that he might give joy to the heart of God, and wherever he might be that he might spread abroad the wondrous truth that God is the living God. He dearly loved the children of God, and apart from doctrinal bias and sectarianism he, by the grace of God, as a servant of Christ, laboured for their blessing in seeking the honour and glory of God. And that this grace which was bestowed upon him was not in vain is seen in the record of his work, in his abundant labours. Whether beginning so early every morning—as it was his habit for years to rise early and continue day after day—or continuing his long life of grace, which began in 1825 and ended in 1898, how abundant were his labours! How heartily would he, if he could speak from this coffin, say, 'Not I, but the grace of God which was with me.'

"And, beloved, we have here indeed the manifest proof of the grace of God that through these abundant labours He kept His child and servant in such a measure—a gracious godly measure of humility, so that he ever delighted to say, 'Not I, but the grace of God which was with me.' God grant unto us all who are His children here to imitate that faith as we heard in Bethesda. God grant the unsaved within reach of my voice may from the open grave of this beloved and honoured servant of God hear once more the truth he loved to tell —'Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; that He was buried, that He rose again from the dead, according to the Scriptures;' and you will get life from that precious truth as George Müller did in the year 1825."

The following hymn was then sung; it was the last hymn that beloved Mr. Müller gave out, and that at the close of the Prayer Meeting aforenamed.

We'll sing of the Shepherd that died,

That died for the sake of the flock;

His love to the utmost was tried,

And immovable stood as a rock.

When the blood of a victim must flow,

The Shepherd by kindness was led

To stand between them and the foe,

And willingly died in their stead.

Our song then for ever shall be

Of the Shepherd who gave Himself thus;

No subject so glorious as He,

And none so affecting to us.

We'll sing of such subjects alone,

None other our tongues shall employ;

But better His love will be known

In yonder bright regions of joy.

Mr. E. T. Davies concluded with prayer. Thus ended the service, and the body was then lowered into the grave. Most of the big assembly took the opportunity before leaving the cemetery of having a farewell look at the coffin.

Memorial service at Bethesda

Mr. Müller had been for many years, when at home, a regular attendant at the Bethesda Monday night Prayer Meeting. On the evening of the Monday on which he was interred, instead of the usual Prayer Meeting, a Memorial Service was held. The widespread and reverent interest which had characterised the whole of the ceremonies of the day were again shown in the evening, when the chapel's accommodation was taxed to the utmost, and numbers of persons were content to stand throughout the service.

The meeting was opened by Mr. Benjamin Perry inviting the congregation to join in the singing of a hymn, and after this, prayer was offered by Mr. W. H. Bennet (of Yeovil). Mr. James Stanley followed with an address. After another hymn, and the reading of a portion of Scripture and prayer, Mr. W. J. Morgan delivered an address on the words "With God." Mr. Ormiston subsequently added to the general tribute of love and respect, remarking that Mr. Müller was the property of all God's people. The service was concluded with singing and prayer.

National Free Church Conference

Mr. Müller passed away while the National Conference of Free Churches was sitting in Bristol, and the announcement of his death created considerable sensation. The President said that, in consultation with the Secretary, he desired to ask that by a rising vote they should instruct the Council to bring up a resolution at the Communion service, expressive of thankfulness to God for the noble and beautiful life that had just passed into the higher life—the highest of all—and the great service rendered to humanity by their departed friend and father—George Müller. The instruction was acceded to by the unanimous vote of those present. Later, the President read the following resolution which had been drawn up: "The National Council of Evangelical Free Churches has received the intelligence of the unexpected death of Mr. George Müller with deep personal regret, but with a deeper sense of triumph because of the grace of God manifested in His beloved servant. Mr. Müller has left behind him a record of services to the Orphan and destitute which will long remain an inspiration to the hope and effort of those whose hearts are touched by human necessity. Equally has he been distinguished for simple and courageous trust in God, in undertaking on their behalf responsibilities of great magnitude, which God in His great goodness enabled him unceasingly to fulfil. The piety, lowliness, and love of this man will long remain in the memory of the churches of God and all lovers of their fellows, and the Council, while expressing condolence with those who participated in his domestic affection and watchful care, and commending all these to the love of a gracious God, unite in solemn act of silent thanksgiving to Him whose choicest gift to the world is the gift of holy men." The resolution was passed in solemn silence by the congregation all standing.

Bristol Board of Guardians

At the meeting of the Bristol Board of Guardians, the Chairman said he desired to allude to the great event which had happened since they last met—the death of Mr. George Müller. No life, probably, in the world, had been of greater value than that life, and he could not help thinking, to them as Poor Law Guardians, it had appealed more directly than to almost any other branch of their fellow-citizens. He was sure they would all unite, not only in thanking God, for his past life and the great work he had done, but in prayerfully expressing the hope that others might be raised up to continue the good work so well performed.

Newspaper references to Mr. Müller's death

"Such results as Mr. Müller achieved, flowing from the benevolent efforts of one man, are, doubtless, unparalleled. Yet the founder of these Institutions was not fond of parading his person before the world. On the contrary, he was shy and retiring in disposition, and shrank from publicity. Many years ago he was offered £500 if he would allow a photograph of himself to be published, but he resolutely declined all such offers.* … Amongst those who visited his Homes, and expressed their admiration of the management, and working, were the late Earl of Derby, Lord Salisbury, Lord Hampton, and many others of all ranks interested in beneficent social movements."—Times.

"Mr. George Müller will be remembered as the philanthropist who never advertised. The vast Orphanage which he established at Bristol, in which he passed away, was, as Müller believed, maintained by faith and prayer alone. His fame and his good works throve abundantly as the story came to be known, so much so, indeed, that the reputation of the Orphanage perhaps transcended that of any advertised Institution. Müller's personality made a deep impression on the Evangelical world.… When the venerated Dr. John Pulsford, 'last of the mystics,' as he was called, was staying at Huntly, the beautiful home of Mr. C. F. Carpenter, of Bishopsteignton, Mr. Müller came over from Bristol to see him. But on the day when he arrived Dr. Pulsford had fallen ill, and so, Mr. Müller remarked, 'I must wait a little while before I see him.' The 'little while' has not been prolonged, for, full of years and good works, George Müller has gone to his well-earned rest. If 'every noble life leaves the fibre of it interwoven for ever in the work of the world,' then assuredly the life of this man of faith will accomplish yet more than the grand record it now has won."—Daily Chronicle.

"Few men have had so long a career of active beneficence as Mr. George Müller, of Bristol, who was born in Prussia in 1805, and preached his first sermon in 1826. He never advertised, for his work was its own best appeal. His was the faith that moves mountains, for his simplicity was his strength, and he never wearied in welldoing."—St. James's Gazette.

"Mr. Müller occupied a unique position among the philanthropists of the nineteenth century. In an age of agnosticism and materialism, he put to a practical test theories about which many men were content to hold profitless controversy. Even those who talked about the operations of natural laws, and who did not share Mr. Müller's views, as to the power of prayer, could not fail to admire the extraordinary faith and indomitable perseverance of the man who practically founded a colony for Orphans, and who had raised, up to May last, no less than £1,424,600 for various Objects in connection with the Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad."—Bristol Evening News.

"Upon Ashley Down can be seen a substantial block of buildings where thousands of Orphan children have been fed, clothed, and educated out of funds which have poured in without any influential committee or organization, without appeal or advertisement of any sort, except, perhaps, the published story of the founder's life. How was this wonder accomplished? Mr. Müller has told the world that it was the result of 'Prayer.' The rationalism of the day will sneer at this declaration; but the facts remain, and remain to be explained. It would be unscientific to belittle historical occurrences when they are difficult to explain, and much juggling would be needed to make the Orphanages on Ashley Down vanish from view."—Liverpool Mercury.

"Mr. Müller's personality, his work, his philosophy of life, have presented to the world an object lesson of which the most unsympathetic could not think without respect. Never was there a philanthropist with less of fanaticism and more of method. His bearing and his speech were not those of an emotional enthusiast who would incur heavy liabilities with a light heart; indeed, had he been such a man, his life would have been less surprising than it was; it was his calmness and confidence, associated with the most careful watchfulness over expenditure and most business-like habits, that presented a combination of qualities altogether unique and wholly surprising. The sound of Mr. Müller's work has gone out into all lands, and it is simply impossible to try to estimate the extent of the influence, directly and indirectly, which he has exerted in the course of his long life."—Western Daily Press.

"To-day the world is the poorer by the loss of a remarkable, if comparatively unknown, man, who has ended his labours and laid down the cares of an anxious though cheerful life at the great age of ninety-three. George Müller is dead. Upon looking back over the career of this extraordinary man, his life-story borders so much upon the marvellous as to be barely credible. In him the old adage that 'truth is stranger than fiction' was verified in an astonishing manner. George Müller, the rackety young Prussian student from Halberstaedt, lived to become at once the oldest and most practical philanthropist of his adopted country. A man without friends, without influence, without money, without social position, and with a dissipated and reckless past, he became, by integrity of conduct and nobility of life, honoured and loved by thousands. The farreaching effects of his labours can never be approximately gauged or estimated. He robbed the cruel streets of thousands of victims, the gaols of thousands of felons, the workhouse of thousands of helpless waifs. And he did it all—to use his own words—'with the sword of the Spirit.' Mr. Müller's life and example, by their eloquent and touching beauty, cannot fail to impress even a sceptical and utilitarian age. It may be truly said, in this case, that 'his works live after him.' "—Daily Telegraph.

MR. WRIGHT'S REMARKS

In our first Prayer Meeting after the decease of the human guide, whom all of us so loved and revered, no fear as to the future was permitted to distract our hearts. By God's grace our minds were kept "in perfect peace,"—because "stayed upon Him." And thus it has been, without intermission, ever since, until the present hour; the only difference being that the constant proofs of His presence with us, and His power, love, and tender care toward us have confirmed our faith in Himself.

It is written (Job 26:7), "He hangeth the earth upon nothing;" that is on no visible support. And so we exult in the fact that "The Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad hangs, as it has ever hung, since its commencement, now more than sixty-four years ago, upon nothing,"—that is upon no VISIBLE support. It hangs upon no human patron, upon no endowment or funded property, but solely upon the good pleasure of the Blessed God.

Mr. Müller's Will

In almost the last words he ever wrote, Mr. Müller reiterated what he had so often stated before, that his chief purpose in seeking to found this Institution was to emphasize the truth that this God is the "living God," and that now, in the 19th century, He listens to and delights to answer the prayers of His children. Like the Apostle Peter, Mr. Müller was desirous that after his decease the Church of God should have these things "always in remembrance" hence the language of his "last Will," which is as follows:—

"I, George Müller, Minister of the Gospel and Founder and Director of the Five New Orphan Houses on Ashley Down, Bristol, England, erected and fitted up for the accommodation of 2,050 Orphan Boys and Girls bereaved of both parents by death, and for 112 assistants and servants, declare that this document is my last Will (setting aside all former Wills) which I am now writing. I direct that the Orphan Houses on Ashley Down be carried on after my decease on the same principles on which I founded them in 1835, and that Mr. James Wright, who for more than 37 years has been one of my principal assistants, and whom I appointed in the year 1872 to be Assistant Director with me, be after my decease the sole Director of the Five Orphan Houses on Ashley Down. It is my particular wish that the Five New Orphan Houses on Ashley Down continue to be Homes for destitute boys and girls who have been bereaved of both parents by death and who are legitimate children, and that such Orphans only be received into these Five Houses. I direct further that Mr. James Wright be my sole Executor of this my last Will. I also appoint Mr. James Wright my heir of all I possess in the way of personal or real estate, whether already actually in my hands or due to me by Will not yet carried out and matured. All my apparel, furniture, books, linen, everything I have, to go to him at my decease. The various branches of the Scriptural Knowledge Institution for Home and Abroad which for twenty-two years we have jointly carried on, namely Schools, viz., Day Schools and Sunday Schools for Poor children; the circulation of the Holy Scriptures for the benefit of the poor especially; missionary operations; and the circulation of Religious publications especially for gratuitous circulation; these various branches of work which Mr. Wright and I have jointly carried on for twenty-two years he no doubt will carry on alone after my death. All the property connected with the Five New Orphan Houses on Ashley Down is vested in the hands of eleven Gentlemen whom I have chosen as Trustees, and the deeds are enrolled in Chancery. I have written this my last Will or Testament with my own hand, and now in finishing it I cannot help admiring God's wondrous grace in bringing me to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus when I was an entirely careless and thoughtless young man twenty years and five weeks old, and that He has kept me in His fear and truth for sixty-nine years and four months, allowing me the great honour for so long a time of serving Him. And now in the prospect of eternity I confess that my only hope of salvation is faith in the merits and in the atoning death of my precious adorable Lord Jesus Christ. I sign this my last Will before two Witnesses, both of whom are present at the same time. Ashley Down, Bristol, March 16th, One thousand eight hundred and ninety-five (1895).

Mr. Müller's personal estate

For the glory of God, whose grace made Mr. Müller what he was, I record the fact that his Personal Estate was sworn at £160 9s. 4d., consisting of books and household furniture valued at £100 6s., and money in his possession on the day of his death £60 3s. 4d. During his life he received by the gifts of God's children and by legacies for his own absolute use, tens of thousands of pounds, but he counted it his joyful privilege to regard the whole as committed to his stewardship, and hence he never laid up any pecuniary provision for the future, either for himself personally, or for any member of his family, but sought to "lay up treasure in heaven" by expending it in spreading in various ways the knowledge of God's truth, or in ministering to the necessities of the poor, "especially to those of the household of faith." Accompanying the Will (given above in extenso), which was signed on March 16th, 1895, was a private letter to myself dated fourteen months later, viz., May 13th, 1896, in which he wishes me to make known his particular desire that those who minister the Word of God may be led to bring before their hearers the deep importance of systematic giving for the work of God, in proportion to the amount with which He is pleased to entrust His children.

Tomb Stone erected by former Orphans

From many of the dear Orphans formerly under our care, I received most affectionate letters, saying that they wished to contribute toward the erection of a monument, in the Cemetery, to the memory of their beloved benefactor. One dear young servant, with the aid of friends, communicated with a number of her former companions, and collected a sum of more than £20 for this purpose. As the expressed wish of the deceased forbad my incurring any needless expense, or the erection of anything but of as simple a character as possible, I checked the flow of these loving gifts, because the amount in hand was more than sufficient, as I judged, to meet the cost of the head-stone that will be placed at the grave, and to keep it in repair.

Erection of a Statue suggested—Mr. Wright declines

Further, suggestions reached me, from this country and from America, urging the erection of a statue, or some large visible memorial to the memory of the departed one. The subject was also agitated in the local newspapers, and various proposals were made as to the most suitable kind of memorial. At length, as I had taken no part in the discussion, I was directly interrogated, in a letter from a fellow-citizen, as to what my views on the subject were, telling me that he asked this for publication. I wrote, stating the view which I well knew my beloved father-in-law would have taken of such proposals. I think it well to insert here the whole of the letter, which is as follows:—

New Orphan Houses, Ashley Down, Bristol,

Dear Sir, March 31st, 1898.

"The unusual pressure of my correspondence must be my plea for your forgiveness of a day or two's delay in replying to your letter of the 28th.

"You ask me, as one long and closely associated with the late Mr. George Müller, to say what I think would be most in accordance with his own wishes as a fitting memorial of himself?

"Will not the best way of replying to this question be to let him speak for himself?

"1. When he erected Orphan House No. 1, and the question came what is the building to be called, he deliberately avoided associating his own name with it, and named it 'The New Orphan House, Ashley Down.' N.B.—To the end of his life he disliked hearing or reading the words 'Müller's Orphanage.' In keeping with this, for years, in every Annual Report, when referring to the Orphanage he reiterated the statement 'The New Orphan Houses on Ashley Down, Bristol, are not my Orphan Houses … they are God's Orphan Houses.'

"2. For years, in fact until he was nearly eighty years old, he steadily refused to allow any portrait of himself to be published; and only most reluctantly did he at length give way on this point.

"3. In the last published Report, at page 66, he states 'the primary object I had in view in carrying on this work,' viz., 'that it might be seen that now, in the 19th century, God is still the living God, and that now, as well as thousands of years ago, He listens to the prayers of His children, and helps those who trust in Him.' From these words and ways of acting, is it not evident, my dear Sir, that the only 'memorial' that George Müller cared about was that which consists in the effect of his example, Godward, upon his fellow-men? Every soul converted to God (instrumentally) through his words or example, constitutes a permanent memorial to him as the father in Christ of such an one. Every believer strengthened in faith (instrumentally) through his words or example, constitutes a similar memorial.

"He knew that God had, already, in the riches of His grace, given him many such memorials; and he departed this life, as I well know, cherishing the most lively hope that he should greet, above, thousands more to whom it had pleased God to make him a channel of rich spiritual blessing.

"He used often to say to me, when he opened a letter in which the writer poured out a tale of sore pecuniary need, and besought his help to an extent twice or three or ten times exceeding the sum total of his (Mr. Müller's) earthly possessions at the moment: 'Ah! these dear people entirely miss the lesson I am trying to teach them, for they come to me, instead of going to God.' And if he could come back to us for an hour, and listen to an account of what his sincerely admiring, but mistaken friends are proposing to do to perpetuate his memory, I can hear him, with a sigh, exclaiming, Ah! these dear friends are entirely missing the lesson that I tried for seventy years to teach them,' viz., 'That a man can receive nothing except it be given him from above,' and that, therefore, it is the Blessed Giver, and not the poor receiver, that is to be glorified.

"Yours faithfully,

"R. D. R., Esq." "JAMES WRIGHT."

Appointment of Mr. Bergin as Associate Director

As if to show His delight in the life-testimony of His departed servant, and to confirm that testimony by a signal act of favour towards the Institution he had so long directed, it pleased God, within about a month of my father-in-law's decease, to give me one of the most striking answers to long-continued prayer which I ever experienced.—To enable the reader to appreciate its importance, I must refer, briefly, to some facts in the past history of "The Scriptural Knowledge Institution."—In the Report for the year 1872, Mr. Müller announced that he had associated me with himself in the direction of the Institution, and that he had also nominated me to become his successor in its direction, in the event of his decease. Three years later he commenced the missionary tours which formed the principal part of his labour for the Lord, during seventeen subsequent years. When, over seventy years of age, he began to encounter the exposure and fatigues of voyages to the Antipodes—and in two successive years, faced the extremes of temperature in St. Petersburg and Calcutta! my beloved wife (his only child) and I began to realize how uncertain, humanly speaking, was his precious life; and how, any day, we might find that the direct responsibility of the Institution had come to rest upon our shoulders. Under these circumstances we had only one resource; we "cast" our "burden on the LORD." Again and again our united prayer was that the Lord would be pleased to raise up some servant of His who would be able and willing (in the event of our beloved father's departure) to share with me the labour and responsibility of the work. More or less, this was our constant united prayer for the happy years we laboured together. After the 10th of January, 1890, when my loved one went to her Lord, I continued, alone, to "seek unto God" for the long asked and waited for blessing, a congenial sharer of my labours and responsibilities. In 1895 (January 13th), Mr. Müller became a second time a widower, and I began to unite with him in daily private prayer concerning all matters affecting the welfare of the Institution. Latterly his mind became impressed with the importance of the will of God being clearly manifested as to a fellow-labourer with myself in the oversight of the work.

In August of last year, Mr. Müller had attacks of heart weakness, which he evidently understood to indicate the approaching end of his service on earth, for one day he remarked to his medical attendant, in connection with the irregularity of his pulse, "It means death!" During the six or seven months that we were still permitted to have the cheer of his joyous and triumphant spirit with us, his prayer became more frequent, when we were together, that God would manifest His choice of "a man" who should be my helper. But no name escaped his lips. He was never led to drop a word from which I could gather that he had even thought of any one as the one in whom our prayers would find their answer.

After the 10th March, when, for the first time, I realised as a fact what I had looked forward to for twenty-six years as a possible, and, during the later portion of this time, as a probable issue, it can be well understood with what increased earnestness I urged my petition that our gracious tenderly pitiful Father in heaven would answer the prayers of so many years, and set before me, unmistakably, the man of His choice.

I had not much longer to wait; about two weeks later I became assured that it was the will of God that I should invite a brother in Christ, Mr. G. Frederic Bergin, to join me in the work. One thing which, at first, struck me as an insuperable difficulty, and which, I think, had hitherto prevented my ever thinking of him as eligible for the service, was that he had for twenty-four years been engaged in pastoral labour in the Church, and seemed to become, day by day, more needful to the Lord's flock, in this capacity of under-shepherd. But it was brought to my mind that, sixty-four years ago, Mr. Müller, himself, had been placed in a very similar position; and that he then deliberately judged that, in consideration of the blessing to the Church of Christ at large, which, he believed the Institution he had been led to establish would prove, he was justified in retiring in a great measure from a personal attention to the needs of a local Church. I could not fail to see how subsequent events had proved that, in this decision, he had been guided of God; and I thought, may it not be the will of God that Mr. Bergin should be led to the same conclusion?

At the end of another week I felt free to go forward; I had been intimately acquainted with my beloved friend for twenty-five years. Our hearts had become closely united through deep sympathy with each other in family joys and sorrows. We had worked, shoulder to shoulder, in the work of the Church for years; and, though of different temperaments, and, at times, differing from each other as to the course which should be taken, we had never had a misunderstanding. We had, invariably, been enabled to respect each other's judgment, and to wait till God brought us to a common view of our duty.

Mr. Bergin is seventeen years my junior, and, therefore, has the prospect, if it please the Lord, of occupying in this service for a good many years. His personal experience in the path of faith for over twenty years will tend to fit him to encounter the trials of faith to which we are often subjected, in carrying on the work of this Institution. Moreover, his singularly happy domestic life fits him to find his element in the loving care of children. In the fullest certainty that I was directed of God, I went to Mr. Bergin, explained fully my need, and told him that I believed he was the man, who, as the Lord's instrument, could meet it. To my delight, though not to my surprise, I found that the Lord had prepared his mind to entertain my invitation. After conferring with his beloved wife, who, up to that time, knew nothing of the exercises of his heart about the matter, he heartily consented to become my yoke-fellow, and on April 25th he was at my side on Ashley Down, actually at work.

I have dwelt, thus minutely, upon this event, not only because of its most important bearing upon the future conduct of this Institution, but because it furnishes what its beloved Founder so desired all the providential dealings of God with it should ever furnish, viz., a practical lesson of encouragement to the dear children of God to confide utterly in the love, and wisdom, and power, and tender compassion of their Heavenly Father. As long as the Founder and Director of the Institution was spared to live and work on earth, there was no absolute need that the yokefellow of his successor should be manifested; so, it pleased the Lord to conceal him from us both, and thus to exercise the faith and patience of His servants. Both Mr. Müller and I felt, and felt deeply, that, which ever one of us should survive the other, that one would not be able to go on many weeks alone, but we were assured that our Father knew what He would do when the need actually came. And this confidence our good and gracious God abundantly justified in the way I have above described.