His Louisa, (the name of his faithful housekeeper,) has added to it ten francs for the same purpose, and ten for the Missionary Society at Paris. She has a single field, and this is the amount of the rent. May the Lord put a peculiar blessing upon it!"

It would be almost repetition to say that these contributions towards public institutions did not prevent the inhabitants of the Steinthal from appropriating large sums to charitable societies nearer home. Their beneficence was not, however, confined to their immediate vicinity; for the Foundation for Protestant Theological Students at Strasbourg, the Reformed Theological Society at Montauban, and particularly the Protestant Institution for the Education of Poor Children of the Neuhof, near Strasbourg, were indebted to Oberlin and his people for much efficient assistancê.

What can we add to facts so full of eloquence? Whilst contemplating the rich blessings which Oberlin disseminated around him, and which the pervading influence of his example so greatly augmented, we can only earnestly hope that the "centre" of Christian benevolence being once moved, "circle after circle" may succeed, and tenfold good be effected.

"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."-Jeremiah 17: 7, 8.

CHAPTER X.

Oberlin's last illness and death-Letter respecting Louisa Schepler found after his decease-His funeral-Prayer delivered upon that occasion-Fragments of an address to his parishioners-Conclusion.

TOWARDS the latter part of Oberlin's life, the infirmities of age precluded his discharging the greater part of his pastoral functions, and he was therefore compelled to delegate the charge to his son-in-law, Mr. Graff, being able to do little more than occupy himself in constant prayers for his beloved flock.* That no individual might be omitted in his intercessions at the throne of grace, he used in the morning to take his church register of baptisms in his hand, and to pray, at stated intervals during the day, for every person whose name was there mentioned, as well as for the community at large. At all periods of his residence in the Ban de la Roche, Oberlin had a deep feeling of the value of intercessory prayer; and so alive was he upon this point, and so fearful lest he should omit any one whom he particularly wished to remember, that he wrote the names of such persons in chalk upon the black door of his chamber.

*In consequence of an apoplectic attack, Mr. Graff was compelled to relinquish his pastoral duties in the Ban de la Roche soon after Oberlin's decease, and to remove, with his wife and children, to Strasbourg, where he now resides. Mr. Rauscher is his successor, and occupies the parsonage house at Waldbach. Louisa Schepler lives with him and his family.

His strength had greatly diminished; his figure indeed was not bent, but symptoms of infirmity had made their appearance, and his white locks announced advancing age. He no longer left his home but from necessity, and devoted more time than formerly to the labors of his study. Several essays, on various subjects, found since his decease, appear to have been written at this period, and a refutation of Cicero's work, 'De Senectute,' drawn up in 1825, was probably the last he attempted.

His last illness attacked him suddenly, and was of short duration. On Sunday, the 28th of May, 1826, he was seized with shiverings and faintings, which lasted till a late hour of the night. The whole of the two following days. were passed in alternate consciousness and insensibility; but he often exclaimed, when his strength permitted, "Lord Jesus, take me speedily! Nevertheless, thy will be done!" On the evening of Tuesday, Mr. Daniel Legrand, who had been absent on a missionary excursion to Basle, came to see him. He appeared delighted at his return, and, tenderly embracing him, said in a distinct voice, and in an accent of paternal solicitude, "The Lord bless you, and all who are dear to you! May He be with you day and night!" On the Wednesday he appeared considerably weakened by the convulsions he had undergone, and the want of nourishment, as a few drops of water were all he had been able to taste; he however still intimated by signs, when he was unable to speak, the tender affection which he felt for his children, his friends, his faithful Louisa, and all the members of his flock.

During the night, between Wednesday and Thursday, the 1st of June, which was a very distressing one to his attendants, he continued almost incessantly to utter plaintive cries, as though in pain, although in intervals of ease he would seize the hand of either of his children who happened to be nearest to him, and press it to his heart. When Mr. Legrand arrived, at six o'clock in the morning, from Foudai, he had lost the use of speech, and his arms and legs had become cold and lifeless. He, however, recovered strength sufficient to take off his cap, join his hands, and raise his eyes for the last time towards heaven; his countenance, as he did so, beaming with faith, joy, and love.

After this effort his eyes closed, never again to open; but it was not till a quarter after eleven that his spirit forsook its mortal tenement, and that the passing bell announced to the inhabitants of the valley that they had lost the pastor, benefactor, and friend, who for nearly sixty years had so unceasingly labored and prayed for them.

It would be impossible to describe the grief which his loss occasioned: sorrów was depicted on every countenance; and not only in his own house, but in every cottage throughout his extensive parish, was his memory embalmed by the tears and regrets of those who had participated in his labors of love, or enjoyed the benefit which his unremitted kindness afforded.

His care for those who had any peculiar claims on his affection, extended even beyond the grave. He was particularly anxious to evince his gratitude to the excellent Louisa, who had faithfully served him during a period of fifty

years; and the following sealed letter, in which he speaks of her good qualities, and begs his children to treat her as a sister, was opened a few days after his death. It is dated, Waldbach, August 2, 1811.

"My very dear Children,

"In leaving you, I commend to your care the faithful nurse who has brought you up-the indefatigable Louisa. The services which she has performed for our family are innumerable. Your dear mamma took her under her care before she had attained the age of fifteen; but, even at that early period, she rendered herself useful by her talents, her activity, and her industry. On the premature decease of your beloved parent, she became at once your faithful nurse, your careful instructress, and your adopted mother. Her zeal for doing good extended beyond the confines of our own family. Like a devoted servant of the Lord, she went into all the surrounding villages, where I sent her, to assemble the children together, to instruct them in God's holy will, to teach them to sing hymns, to direct their attention to the wonderful works of nature, to pray with them, and to communicate to them all the knowledge that she had herself derived from me and your mamma. This was not the labor of a moment; and the innumerable difficulties which opposed themselves to her benevolent employments would have discouraged a thousand others; for whilst on the one hand she had to contend with the wild and froward characters of the children, she had, on the other, to correct their patois, and, consequently, after having spoken to them in that