Many Thousands Sent for the Orphans in Answer to Prayer, 1874-1885
May 26th, 1874, to May 26th, 1875.
i fe 26th. Instead of having at the beginning of the new
period £14,726 2s. 5d. in hand, as was the case three years previously, we began with £4,057 12s. 93d., which, though a considerable sum, was yet only sufficient for about seven or eight weeks for our Orphan work. My readers may remember that there was a time, which lasted above ten years, when my faith was greatly tried by the lowness of the funds of the Institution, and when, from August, 1838, to April, 1849, there was very rarely any considerable amount of means at my disposal. By the grace of God, however, I was enabled to trust in Him in the darkest days, and, with unshaken confidence, habitually to rely upon Him. Now in May, June, and July of 1874 the appearance was, that those days were coming again. I transcribe what I wrote in my journal under July 28th, 1874, and the following days, for the comfort of the reader, and that he may see how God honours those who honour Him, and be encouraged to look to God alone and to trust in Him under all circumstances, even the most trying.
July 28th. For the last three months the income for the various Objects of the Institution has been so little, in comparison with the expenses, that within these three months our balance in hand has decreased about £6,500. Moreover, for several years our expenses have been more than our come. This does not arise from the fact that our income has been decreased, but that our expenses have more and more increased, on account of the enlargement of the operations. Our income from May 26th, 1873, to May 26th, 1874, was as good as in any previous year, but the balance left was comparatively little. On May 26th, 1871, our balance in hand for the Orphans was £14,726 2s. 53d. On May 26th, 1872, the balance for the Orphans was £10,673 13s. 11d. On May 26th, 1873, the balance in hand for the Orphans was £7,570 15s. 11yd. On May 26th, 1874, the balance for the Orphans was £4,057 12s. 94d. Compare this with the balance for the support of the Orphans three years before, and it will be seen, that we had then about £10,700 more in hand. The balance had still further been reduced since May 26th, 1874, so that, instead of having then £4,057 12s. 94d., we had now only
£2869 8s. 14d. left, an amount so small, as that, if the income is not much more than it has been for the last three months, we shall have in six weeks nothing at all left. But how did I feel? the reader may ask, under these circumstances. The answer is, calm and peaceful. It has for months appeared to me as if the Lord meant, by His dealings with us, to bring us back to that state of things, in which we were for more than ten years, from August, 1838, to April, 1849, when we had day by day, almost without interruption, to look to Him for our daily supplies, and, for a great part of the time, from meal to meal. The difficulties appeared to me indeed very great, as the Institution is now twenty times larger than it was then, and our purchases are to be made in a wholesale way; but, at the same time, I am comforted by the knowledge, that God is aware of all this, and that, if this way be for the glory of His name, and for the good of His Church and the unconverted world, I am, by His grace, willing to go this way, and to do it to the end of my course.
But God, our infinitely rich Treasurer, remains to us. It is this which gives me peace. Moreover, if it pleases Him, with a work requiring about £44,000 a year, to make me do again at the evening of my life, what J did from August, 1838, to April, 1849, I am not only prepared for it, but gladly again I would pass through all these trials of faith, with regard to means, if He only might be glorified, and His Church and the world be benefited. Often and often this last point has of late passed through my mind, and I have placed myself in the position of having no means at all left, and 2,100 persons, not only daily at the table, but with everything else, to be provided for, and all funds gone; 189 Missionaries to be assisted, and nothing whatever left; about one hundred schools, with about 9,000 scholars in them, to be entirely supported, and no means for them in hand; about four millions of Tracts and tens of thousands of copies of the Holy Scriptures yearly now to be sent out, and all the money expended. Invariably, however, with this probability before me, I have said to myself: God, who has raised up this work through me, God who has led me generally year after year to enlarge it, God who has supported this work now for more than forty years, will still help, and will not suffer me to be confounded, because I rely upon Him. I commit the whole work to Him, and He will provide me with what I need, in future also, though I know not whence the means are to come.
Thus I wrote in my journal on July 28th. The reader will now feel interested in learning how we fared under these circumstances. I therefore make further extracts from my journal.
When I came home, last evening (July 27th), I found letters had arrived, which contained £193, among which there was one from a Missionary in Foreign lands, helped by the funds of this Institution, who, having come into the possession of some money by the death of a relative, sent £153 Os. 4d. for Foreign Missions. This-morning, July 28th, came in £24 more, so that, when I met this afternoon with several of my helpers for prayer for means and various other matters, such as spiritual blessing upon the various Objects of the Institution, for more rain in this very dry season, the health of our fellow-labourers, etc., we had received since yesterday afternoon, altogether £217. We thanked God for it and asked for more. When the meeting for prayer was over, there was handed to me a letter from Scotland, containing £73 17s. 10d., and a paper with 13s. This was the immediate answer to prayer for more means. When I came home in the evening, I found £30 arrived from Reading, and £14 came in besides.
July 29th. This morning came in about £50 by the first delivery, and an Ottoman bond for £100 anonymously from Warwickshire, to be sold. On making up the account books for the past week, it was found that the income for the various Objects of the Institution, since the evening of the 22nd, has been £662 5s. 10$d., a proof that we do not wait on the Lord in vain, though even this is not nearly enough to meet the average expenses of one week. — August 5th. During the last week, since July 29th, there came in altogether £566. — August 11th. For more than three months we have had to haul water, one, two, or three carts having been daily needed for this purpose; for a long time three carts. We have day by day prayed for more rain. Now the Lord has answered fully our requests in this respect. Last Saturday, August 8th, we were able to take off the last cart. — August 12th. The income for this whole week, since August 5th, has been £897 15s. 64d.
T have an object in view why I give to the reader these extracts from my journal, and for that purpose request him to read a little more, that he may see to what I refer.
August 29th. Income £28. — August 31st. Income £102. — September Ist. Income £140. — September 2nd. £200. — September yd. £333, of this sum came £100 from a clergyman. — September 4th. £100. — September 5th. £90. — September 7th. £250. — September 8th. £170. — September 9th. £180. — September 10th. £90 15s. 10d. — September 11th. £112 7s. 03d. — September 12th. £85 2s. 64d. — September 14th. £94 17s. 54d. September 15th. £67 16s. 2d.- — September 16th. Just after having again prayed for the payment of legacies which have been left, I had a legacy receipt sent for the payment of a legacy for £1,800. The income to-day is £106 2s. 24d. — September 17th. Income to-day £136 13s. 1d. — September 18th. Income £1,845 7s., including the payment of the legacy for £1,800. — September 19th. £83 19s. — September 21st. £183 5s. 7d. — September 22nd. £16 12s. 10d. — September 23rd. Received in one donation £5,327 7s. 6d. This donor I never saw, though he had five or six times previously contributed £200 or £300 at a time. About two months afterwards he died. I have every reason to believe that he gave this money (which would have come to us by his Will) during his lifetime, in order that he might save the Institution the heavy legacy duty. Thus the Lord most abundantly helped us in our low state of funds. The total income for the various Objects of the Institution during this one month was £11,309 4s. 54d. See, dear reader, what God can do! All this was the result, not of an extraordinary effort made on our part, but simply the result of prayer and faith.
I have given these extracts from my journal to show the blessedness of waiting upon God. That, which came in from one prayer meeting to the other, which I had with some of my fellow-labourers, is recorded in the previous page. Besides this we received many answers to prayers for rain, for helpers in the work, for the restoration to health of the labourers in the work, and for the recovery of the children, also for spiritual blessing upon the various branches of the Institution, ete. One particular point I have especially in view in giving these extracts, is, to bring before the reader, that in April, May, June, and July, while the income for the funds of the Institution was so exceedingly small, my soul was, THROUGHOUT, without the least wavering, stayed upon God, believing that He, who had through me begun the Institution, enlarged it almost year after year, and upheld it for forty years in answer to prayer by faith, would do this still, and not suffer me to be confounded! I believed that He would help still, and supply the means; but I was willing, and THOROUGHLY in heart prepared, if necessary, to pass again through the same seasons of trial, through which I had passed from August, 1838, to April, 1849. The Lord be magnified for His kind help!
October 17th. Received £500 (less legacy duty) as the legacy of the late L. H. S. Esq. — October 19th. From Tunbridge Wells £89 7s. 11d. for the support of seven Orphans. The kind donor sent about six years since the average expenses for the support of three Orphans, according to the number of his own children. After some time the Lord gave to him a fourth child, then a fifth, a sixth, and a seventh child, and, as the number of his own children increased, so he added, with each child, the average expenses for an additional Orphan, acting thus in the opposite way from the principles of the world. [ state here, that out of the 2,261 Orphans, who were under our care from May 27th, 1874, to May 26th, 1875, eighty-six Orphans have been provided for by donors sending to me the average expenses for one year for one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, or even eleven Orphans. — October 30th. From Neweastle-on-Tyne £100.
November 7th. From Rosshire £100. — November 7th. Anonymously by post seven sets of artificial teeth, set in gold. — December 10th. From Leamington £100. — December 18th. From Scotland 2,189 yards of Winsey cloth and 302 yards of linen ditto. — December 22nd. From near London £290.
December 23rd. Received £10, with the following letter : —
“Enclosed I have sent you a cheque for £10 for the Orphans, as a thank-offering to the Almighty for the recovery of a stolen horse. After all worldly means seemed to have failed, I made a promise to the Almighty, that if I got the horse, I would give £10 to Mr. Müller’s Orphans, and I am pleased to say, very shortly the horse came back to me.”
From Berkshire £75 for the support of six Orphans for one year. — December 24th. From Leeds £40 for the support of three Orphans for one year, according to the number of the donor’s children — December 31st. From Clifton £150.
January Ist. The past year, during which the Lord had graciously helped us so manifestly with means for the Orphan work, ended with further considerable help on the last day, as £300 came in yesterday. This day the Lord has again sent us very many donations, like an earnest that He will during this year also be mindful of us — January 2nd. Received this day £11 8s. 7d. from India, with the following letter : —
* My dear Sir,
“I have the pleasure of enclosing £11 8s. 7d., the amount of an offertory in Christ Church, Simla, for the Ashley Down Orphanage, to be applied as you think best. I am sorry that the amount is so small. I wish that Professor H. and others, who think that prayer is mere waste of breath, would try how long they can support two thousand Orphans without asking any one — God or Man — for help.”
January 16th. From Buckfastleigh £62 6s. 4d — January 18th. A gold bracelet made of three guinea pieces, four half-guinea pieces, a seven-shilling piece, and an American gold dollar. — January 30th. Received four old five-shilling pieces, with the following letter : —
“I send you a box containing four old five-shilling pieces. Their history is this. Many years ago there was a wedding at a village church in Kent. After the party had returned home, the bridegroom gave the bride a handful of five-shilling pieces. She said, as they were her husband’s first gift, she would not spend them. She kept them, and gave one to each of her grandchildren. My mother was her granddaughter, and these four descended to her. We naturally prize them very much; but if we kept them they would do no one any good, and we think they will, perhaps, be more acceptable to God, because they are dear to us. Please accept them for the benefit of the Orphans.”
When the bridegroom gave these crown pieces, and the bride determined not to spend them, neither of them thought that a hundred years or more after, four of them would come forth, in answer to our prayers, to help providing for the Orphans. Numberless old coins, both of gold and silver, have we received within the last forty years for the benefit of the Orphans, which had long been hoarded up for some reason or other; also the greatest variety of jewellery, gold and silver watches, clothes, and numberless other articles for which year after year a considerable sum has been obtained. During the past year alone we realized by the sale of articles sent for that purpose £856 17s. 5d.
February Ist. Legacy of the late W.T., Esq., £500, less legacy duty. — February 19th. From Neweastle-on-Tyne £75. — March 2nd. This day was sent to me as a gift the script for 200 ten-pound shares in a limited liability company, fully paid up, of which the kind donor intends 150 for the benefit of the Orphans, or the other Objects of the Institution, as the need may be, and 50 for my own personal expenses. The kind donor is personally unknown to me. This is another striking proof of the willingness of the Lord to provide both for the work and my own requirements, simply in answer to prayer. March 4th. From Glasgow £51 0s. 3d. The donor of this amount sends me once a fortnight one penny in the pound of all his receipts, and sent now £50 extra. — March 24th. From Victoria, Australia, £40.
April 5th. From Kidderminster £53 15s. 6d. From Buxton five pieces of artificial teeth (four of them set in gold). — May 13th. Legacy of the late Mr. T., £200, less duty. — May 25th. Legacy of the late Mr. P., £150, less duty.
May 26th, 1875, to May 26th, 1876.
Though our faith has been exercised so greatly during the last financial year, in that at one time there was so little in hand for the support of the Orphans, as that the natural appearance was, that in a short time all the means for them would be gone; yet the Lord so abundantly helped us, as the result of prayer and faith, that we had more than twice as much at the end of the year, as when the year began, our balance in hand on May 26th being £8,406 13s. 113d.
June yd. Legacy of the late W. G.S., Esq., £1,342 7s. 3d. — June 4th. A legacy of £200 had been left by Miss M. B.; but of this amount through circumstances, only £60 lls. ld., when the legacy became due, could be paid. Now this day £139 8s. lld. was paid to the Institution by G. 8., Esq., to make up the full amount, of £200. Thus the kind stranger acted towards the work, without being under the least obligation so to do. — June 14th. Received £100 as the legacy of Lady H.
July 15th. From Wales £70, with £6 16s. for myself — July 19th. From one of the Midland Counties £60. — July 23rd. From Reading two sets of artificial teeth and some gold springs. — July 24th. Lett at my house four pieces of artificial teeth, three of them set in gold.July 3lst. From a Bristol donor, who sets
apart a certain part of his business for the Orphans, and has done so for many years, £65 18s.
August 2nd. From a lady who had already kindly sent us £500 in the early part of the year, £175, with £25 for myself, sent especially on account of the great additional expenses, occasioned by much sickness among the Orphans. — August 25th. Received from the Royal Hospital, Putney, 5s., with the following letter : —
“Dear Mr. Müller,
‘“‘It is more than twenty-three years since I first wrote to you, and now I do it that you may have it when I have entered into rest. I enclose 5s. as my last donation, feeling truly thankful to our dear Lord for having enabled me to do some little for the dear Orphans. You need not acknowledge this, as there will be no one to receive the letter. Farewell, till we meet in glory.”
This poor woman was habitually an invalid and sufferer, but for more than twenty years worked little things for the benefit of the Orphans, and, according to her means, being herself supported by the love of Christians, sent little donations. At last she was received for life into the Royal Hospital, Putney, and sent even from thence now and then small donations, till this came, which we received after she had fallen asleep in the Lord. Thus the Lord is pleased to lay this work even on the hearts of the very poor, and to send to us help through them.
September Ist. Received anonymously £100. Received September 11th from a considerable distance three valuable rings, three sets of gold buttons, a diamond cross, a cameo brooch, a brooch and ear-rings, a pair of gold ear-rings, a gold locket, two pairs of ear-rings, and a brooch and bracelet. Altogether a very valuable donation.
October 9th. Legacy of the late W. A. R., Esq., £332 16s. 3d. The kind testator was an entire stranger to me, which gives another proof how the Lord is pleased to help us in answer to prayer. — October 15th. From Burnham £50. As the legacy of the late Mrs. J. £500. — October 19th. From the neighbourhood of Abingdon £50. From London £63 0s. 10d. for the support of five Orphans for one year.
November 13th. Legacy of the late Mrs. L. £1,756 4s. 4d. The kind testatrix was an entire stranger to me. I had not even heard of her name, until I received information about the legacy — November 30th. From Tobago £6. The reader will observe that the means for the support of the Orphans do not come merely from various parts of England, nor even merely from parts of the United Kingdom; but almost from every part of the earth. There are few countries, from which we have not at some time or other received donations. Our Heavenly Father has the hearts of all men at His disposal, and we give ourselves to prayer to Him, and He, in answer to our prayers, lays the necessities of this work on the hearts of His stewards; and thus it has come to pass, that we have now received from Him, in answer to prayer, more than seven hundred thousand pounds. Should any one question this statement, we reply, Whom did we ask for anything? Let the individuals come forward to prove that it is otherwise. But if this cannot be done, as it cannot, then, will not the reader see, how much power there is in believing prayer, and how much may be obtained through the exercise of faith? Though the real power of prayer is by certain individuals denied, yet the Orphan-Houses on Ashley Down, erected at a cost of about one hundred and fifteen thousand pounds, without any one being asked for anything, but God only; and more than two thousand Orphans being yearly provided for at an expense of twenty-five thousand pounds or upwards, besides all the other departments of the Institution being provided for at the cost of seventeen or eighteen thousand pounds, without going to any one for help but to God; plainly shows that even in the latter part of the nineteenth century much may be obtained from our Heavenly Father, simply through prayer and faith.
December 15th. Received £6 6s. from one of the former Orphans, with the following letter : —
“* Dear Sir,
“‘T am anxious to redeem a vow made some years since by my dear departed wife, that she would give a certain proportion of some earnings for the support of the Orphans. — I can scarcely express my gratitude to you, dear Sir, for the fatherly interest you took in the matter of her personal salvation, as the wife of one of your Orphan boys. She never forgot the firm kindness with which you pressed home the one important question, ‘ Did she love the Saviour?’ and, her having to respond to that, was a means of grace of which the influence was never lost. We saw many sorrows afterwards, but our God was more to us than our fears, and He has now enabled me to redeem her vow for the Orphans. — I would desire again to thank you, dear Sir, for the great interest you took in me, while under your care; and I often reflect on happy days, spent in New Orphan-House No. 1. — You will be glad to know, that the Lord has been pleased to use me in His service. For nearly fourteen years I have been employed in preaching the Gospel in dark villages in this neighbourhood; and for about seven years have been deacon of the Congregational Church here; and I have too the happiness of knowing, that, by His blessing upon my labours, some have been added to the Lord. This I say, as desiring alone to glorify His name, and because I feel it is right you should know, that He thus owns and crowns your labours for Him, by enabling those, whom you have rescued, to be the means of hastening His kingdom. Htc.”
The writer of this letter, and his brother, were the first two Orphans received in the New Orphan-House No. 1. His brother was brought to the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, and,
after having walked very consistently for a considerable time whilst under our care, was sent out. He has been a decided follower of the Lord Jesus Christ ever since, has been engaged for about eighteen years in the ministry of the Word, has been the instrument of leading not a few to the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, and is now a clergyman in the Church of England. The writer, as has been seen, labours in a different sphere for the Lord, but has also been used by Him, in the winning of souls. These first-fruits of the removal of the Orphans to Ashley Down, and the building of the five large houses, have been followed by the conversion of many hundreds of Orphans, yea, by hundreds who have been already safely removed into the presence of the Lord. Thus, in the midst of difficulties, trials of faith and patience, and sometimes also disappointment with regard to some of the Orphans, we reap already abundantly even now; but the chief part of the harvest is yet awaiting us.
December 22nd. From the neighbourhood of London £290, with £10 for myself.
January 11th. ‘“From a person in Yorkshire, who desires to be a faithful steward of the Lord’s possessions,” £500. When this donation came to hand, I did not in the least degree know the kind donor. This furnishes another proof, of how much may be obtained simply by waiting upon God, as day by day we do. January 12th. From believers, meeting at Sand Area Chapel, Kendal, £35 1s. 3d. — January 13th. From a Clifton donor, then at a considerable distance from thence, £150, with £10 for myself. January 26th. From Warwickshire £200. — February 2nd. From Yorkshire £126 1s. 8d., for the support of ten Orphans for one year. — March 20th. Received 10s., with the following letter from one of the former Orphans : —
‘** Beloved Sir,
“Once more it is the privilege of one of your former Orphans to write you a few lines and ask your acceptance of this small offering of thanksgiving to God for all His loving-kindness to me and mine. — I need hardly say, that, as each year passes away, my veneration for you, dear Sir, and love for the dear place, where I spent the best part of my childhood, increases, so also do I hope my gratitude to the Father of the fatherless, who put it in the heart of you, His honoured and beloved servant, to carry out such a noble scheme to the glory of God. How often, when tempted to indulge in the sin of unbelief, has the thought of my six years’ sojourn on Ashley Down come across my mind like a gleam of sunshine. There, the clothes I wore, the food I ate, the bed I slept on, and the walls around me, were all in answer to believing prayer. What better prescription for any infidel, than to go to Ashley Down Orphan-House and enquire into its working! Ay, and what better prescription for the doubting, wavering child of
God! May the Lord Jehovah strengthen you still further, and fill you with all joy and comfort in our Saviour, Jesus Christ, is ever the loving prayer of one of your unworthy Orphans.”
May 18th. For the support of twenty-five Orphans for one year £315 4s. 2d. — May 25th. From a lady in Warwickshire £200.
May 26th, 1876, to May 26th, 1877.
July Ist. On account of the residue of the estate of Mr. T. M. left by his Will to the Orphans £1,500. — July 5th. Legacy of the late Miss P. £1,000, less duty. — July 17th. Legacy of the late Miss C. R. B. £306 4s. Legacy of the late T. P., Esq., £150. — July 24th. By sale of gold and silver articles, dentist gold, and diamonds £120. — August 16th. As the remainder of the legacy of the late Mr. T. M. £594 6s. 10d. I never saw Mr. T. M., yet received from him, through his Will, and by donations in his
* lifetime, for the benefit of the Orphans, altogether about £8,000., October 2nd. As “‘ God’s Tenth” from Torquay £40. — October 28th. Received £5, with the following letter: —; “Dear Sir, J “Some time ago we marked off our books a very old debt of £11 12s. 6d., which we had every reason to believe we should ee never receive. We had tried our utmost to get the debt paid,. without success. It so happened that a few weeks ago I bought a your last Report, and have been much refreshed by the perusal; and a week ago, on turning over the pages of one of the ledgers, I came across the name of the above debtor. I at once thought, I will ask the Lord to send that in, and, if it comes, £5 shall go to 5 Mr. Müller’s Orphans. 1, therefore, wrote a letter to the man in 7 the most simple terms, asking him to remit the amount, and a posted it with an earnest prayer to the Lord. This morning, to; the utmost amazement of our cashier, a cheque has come to hand. Be good enough to accept £5 of it for the Lord’s direct service in a your hands. I cannot say, how much this has encouraged me. “‘T remain, yours faithfully, * * * *.” November 6th. Received £303 14s. 5d. as the legacy of the late B. A. D., Esq. — November 7th. Legacy of the late J. T., Esq., £194 14s., less duty. — November 15th. Received 15s., with the following letter: —
“My dear Mr. Müller,
“Twenty-eight years ago, while at school in Devonshire, another boy and 1 took some money out of a box, into which we were required to put fines for certain misdemeanours. This money was to have been forwarded to you for the work among the Orphans. Since then many and varied have been my experiences, temporal and spiritual: the latter including even the extremes of Ritualism, confession to a priest (so-called), ete. During the course of this latter, I had occasion to confess the
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above sin, and was told by the priest to make restitution by sending you the money. My object in writing to you now is, to tell you, that what the voice of man failed to do, the voice of God (speaking by His servant) has done. In other words, having now been brought to trust in the precious Saviour (and not in His pardon handed down through a fellow-sinner), I have been led to see, that it is right to send you this money. I may just say, that the means God has used, to bring me to a decision on this matter, is a sermon I heard this morning from Mr. A. He preached powerfully from the case of Zaccheus, and spoke strongly of the é necessity of reparation for any wrong done before conversion to i. God. The wrong I had done you (or rather the poor little Orphans) iS) became powerfully impressed upon my mind, and although the ye amount is but a small one, that does not of course affect the s principle of the thing. Be kind enough, therefore, beloved brother in Jesus, to accept this exceedingly tardy but genuine reparation for wrong done so long ago.”
‘The matter referred:to in this letter is of deep importance. To the utmost of our power reparation is to be made. Should the transgressor not have strength enough to do it, giving his name, it would be better to do it anonymously than not at all, or to use a friend, to act on his behalf.
December 16th. Received £114 9s. for the support of nine Orphans for one year, with £10 10s. for myself. Legacy of the late Mrs. T. £373 19s. 2d. — December 21st. The first annual instalment on account of the legacy of the late G. W., Esq., £200.
January Ist. Legacy of the late Miss P., of Ireland £2,000 new 3 per cent Government Stock, less legacy duty. I had not even heard the name of this lady, till I received the information about this legacy being left. — February 6th. Received £300 (less duty), as the legacy of the late Miss H. H. C. — February 7th. From Yorkshire £200. — April 27th. From Yorkshire £200. — May 24th. From the neighbourhood of Manchester £100. — May 26th. From 8. 8. £100.
May 26th, 1877, to May 26th, 1878.
June 7th. From a servant of the Lord Jesus in Ireland £1 Iis. 7d. While he dines with his family, a box is handed round each time, in which each member of the family places something according to ability, as a token of gratitude to God for the present meal, and in sympathy with the Orphans who need to be provided for. From time to time these contributions have now been sent us for about two years. Received from New Zealand, a gold watch, a gold chain, a ring set with stones, a collar stud, a mourning ring, a diamond pin, and a pin set with a stone.
July 31st. Legacy of the late G. H., Hsq., £500. This gentleman, who kindly left the legacy, was an entire stranger to me. Legacy of the late Mr. H. J. O. £206 6s. 6d.
August 28th. Received £1, with the following letter from one of the former Orphan boys, who, many years since, was apprenticed, and who, several years ago, finished his apprenticeship : —
‘Dear and honoured Sir,
“I beg to thank you very much for a copy of this year’s Report, which I received a day or two since. Please accept the enclosed £1, and apply it to the Object for which it is most needed. I thankfully take another opportunity of acknowledging the goodness of God to me in the past, first by placing me in the Orphan-Home, afterwards by leading me to Himself, and then in His guidance ever since I left the Home. I have, indeed, special cause for gratitude to Him, and I trust I may be enabled to live to His praise in my future life. Please accept my kindest wishes for the prosperity of the Institution, and for the spiritual welfare of you and yours.
“I am, dear Sir, your obedient Orphan, * * * *.”
September 12th. From the workmen employed at Easton, Whitehall, and Hanham Collieries, £5, as a thank-offering for being preserved from fatal accidents during the past twelve months. September 29th. Received £11 12s. 6d., with the following letter : —
“Dear Mr. Müller,
““I send for the Orphans a cheque for £11 12s. 6d. It is the amount of a claim which I could not recover by legal process, and had repeatedly made application for, without success. Seeing in your last Report, under date October 28th, 1876 (page 496), the account of the recovery of £11 12s. 6d., I resolved to apply for the amount of my claim (as above) with the secret intention of sending it, if recovered, to the Orphans. Accordingly I sent the particulars in writing under an envelope, addressed ‘ private,’ and without a word of application; and by the very neat post 1 received a cheque for the amount, with the debtor’s compliments and a stamped envelope for my acknowledgment in return; so that the whole amount came without the loss of a single penny. The coincidence of the same amount (£11 12s. 6d.) in each case appears most extraordinary, but I vouch for the precise accuracy of this statement.
“I remain, Yours faithfully and respectfully, * * * *.”
The following letter is from one of the former Orphan boys, articled to a branch postmaster, as a telegraph clerk : —
“Dear and honoured Sir,
“It is a very great pleasure to be able to write to you and thank you for all you have done for me during the eight years I
was under your kind and fatherly care in the dear Orphan-Home. Tam glad to tell you it was in the Orphan-House I learnt to love my dear Saviour. I am still rejoicing in Him, and I have taken a firm grasp of His kind, loving hand, which, by God’s grace, I hope never to let go. I thank you very much for the nice, comfortable situation as a telegraph clerk, in which I have been placed. I have such a kind Christian master and mistress, and they do all they can to make me happy.”
October 12th. Legacy of the late Mrs. H. £1,000. — October 19th. Legacy of the late Mr. B., of Philadelphia, U.S.A., 5,000 dollars = £1,002 Os. ld. Mr. B. insured his life for 5,000 dollars in the year 1868, with the intention that the amount should be paid for the benefit of the Orphans on Ashley Down. The testator died on November 20th, 1874; but I had never heard the least about this. On my arrival in the United States of America I was preaching on September 10th, 1877, in Dr. Budington’s Church in Brooklyn, when a slip of paper was handed to me, on which it was stated, that if I would apply at such and such a place in Philadelphia, I might obtain this legacy of 5,000 dollars. I did so, and after some time obtained in full the amount. Thus my being led of the Lord to labour for a season in the United States in word and doctrine, was also used as a means of obtaining the payment of this legacy. This was not all. In New York, in Brooklyn, in Philadelphia, in Baltimore, and in other cities in the United States, I had the joy of seeing Orphans, who had been brought up under my care, some of whom had walked in the ways of the Lord for a number of years, and one of them for about thirty. I saw also a gentleman, who told me the following deeply interesting facts, which a few days afterwards he had printed, and sent me. I give the narrative verbatim, as it will interest the Christian reader.
“REMARKABLE USEFULNESS OF ONE OF
Mr. MULLER’S ORPHANS.
Lindale, Modoc County, California, October 7th, 1877.
To the Editor of the ‘ Witness,’
“The report of Mr. Müller’s addresses in Dr. Budington’s Church, as given in a late copy of the Witness, calls to my mind some pleasant remembrances.
“During the war I spent some time at Washington, N.C., as agent of the Christian Commission. Having been informed that there was a band of earnest Christian seamen on board of the gunboat ‘ Louisiana,’ then guarding the town, I improved the earliest opportunity to visit the vessel. On being introduced to them by one of the officers, the young men gathered about me, and spoke of the great joy they found in the service of Christ. Their whole conversation was religious. With no marks of fanatical enthusiasm, they seemed literally filled with Christian zeal. The interest I felt in them at the first introduction was greatly enhanced on learning from one of their number, by name Wilkinson, that he was one of Mr. Müller’s Orphans. (I had previously read Mr. Müller’s book, The Life of Trust, and was greatly interested in the Bristol Asylum.)
“Wilkinson I found to be the leading spirit, and the recognized head of this little Bethel church. He, it was, who some months before, when the cloud of impending battle was hanging over the ship’s company, was one night pacing the deck with a comrade, when their conversation took a religious turn. Mutually impressed, they agreed to meet the following night in the * chain locker’ for prayer. This was the beginning of one of the most remarkable series of meetings of which I have ever had any knowledge. The ‘ chain locker” prayer-meetings were continued with increasing interest and attendance for about twenty months without the intermission of a single night. At a stated hour every day the whole company (the exact number of converts I am unable to state, but they were many) met to read God’s Word, and to exchange views wpon it, Wilkinson being the chief interpreter. He alone of the whole group had any previous knowledge of the Bible. Up to the age of fourteen years and a half he had been faithfully taught at the Orphan Asylum.
“At another stated hour of the day, Wilkinson, with some selected helpers, met the coloured sailors belonging to the ship, and taught them reading, writing, ete. Wilkinson seemed to me, through several months of intimate acquaintance, to be a product of Mr. Müller’s faith. The calm confidence of God; the method in his whole manner of life; the persistence of purpose, and the quiet, spiritual power, which so characterize the founder of the Bristol Asylum, were, in an eminent degree, characteristics of my young friend. An incident illustrates the quality above mentioned. On one occasion he, with two other sailors, was detailed to make an awning for the ship, the work to be performed in a sail-loft on shore. The two associates were very rough, wicked men, and to sit down in their company, and be compelled for two weeks to listen to their lewd and profane conversation, was to Wilkinson no light affliction. At the time he spoke of it with great depression. It was to him a providence he could not understand. But God had a purpose. His manner with his unconverted shipmates was commonly characterized by extreme reticence, so, during his stay in the sail-loft, he took scarce any part in their conversation; but it happened that a single sentence dropped from his lips by which the Spirit of God carried conviction home to the hearts of both his comrades. Before the two weeks were ended he led both of the men to my office for Christian counsel and prayer. Both came to trust that God, of whom they had been living in utter disregard, and almost utter ignorance. In three months from his conversion one of these
men had read the Bible through from Genesis to Revelation. If Mr. Müller were able to trace the work which, under God, the Bristol Orphan Asylum has accomplished in the world, he might well exclaim, ‘What hath God wrought!’ For some years I have lost sight of my friend Wilkinson. If this should meet his eye, I would be glad to hear from him.
“J. R. Hammonp.”
After my having preached the first time in Calvary Presbyterian Church, San Francisco, California, on April 26th, 1878, Mr. Wilkinson, who has a respectable situation in that city, introduced himself to me. I had not seen him for about twenty years. He holds fast the Lord Jesus, and is a happy Christian; ‘and, as he told me, is even happier now than during the American civil war, to which the preceding narrative refers. It was a real joy to me to meet this former Orphan, about 6,500 miles from Bristol. I have to state, that thousands of similar instances of blessing have been the result of our labours. While engaged on a preaching tour in England, Scotland, and Ireland, I met converted Orphans in every one of the large cities in which I preached, and sometimes ten or fifteen at once, who, after the service, came to shake hands with me, some of whom had left the Orphan-Houses more than ten or fifteen years, and are now fathers or mothers of families. Thus we reap in a small degree even now; but how vast will be the harvest in eternity! N othing has so abundantly shown to me the blessed results of my labours in connection with the Scriptural Knowledge Institution as going from city to city, and from country to country, on my preaching tours. “In every city in England, Scotland, and Ireland where I preached, I had testimony from the mouth of multitudes of the great blessing which they have received through reading the Reports of the Institution, or the Narrative of the Lord’s Dealings with me. The same I found to be the case in the sixty-eight cities where I preached in Switzerland, the German Empire, and in Holland, also in all the many cities in the United States of America, where I have been preaching.
November 27th. Legacy of the late Miss M. R. £300, less legacy duty. The testatrix I did not know personally, and, as far as I remember, not even by name.
December 5th. Received £2 1s. 6d., with the following letter : — “My dear Sir,
“Taking an interest in your work, but being at present unable to assist by sending any regular remittances, it has occurred to me, to forward you each month the fees I receive in my professional capacity as ‘a commissioner to administer oaths,’ so that I may help forward in some small degree what, I am satisfied, is God’s work. You should know (to appreciate the cause of any fluctuation in the amounts) that the fees for affidavits and declarations taken by commissioners are unsought by them and come, as people say, ‘ by accident;” and therefore, what you may receive from time to time, you may justly consider as sent to you direct from our Heavenly Father, I being merely the ‘ conduit pipe.’ In order to draw the attention of my professional brethren to this method of ‘ doing God’s service,’ please enter my donation as ‘ A solicitor’s fees for affidavits taken im November, £2 1s. 6d. Ete.”
December 10th. For the support of 9 Orphans for one year £117 9s., with £10 10s. for myself. — December 17th. Legacy of the late Mr. BE. M. L. £500, less duty. — December 19th. From the neighbourhood of London £290.
January Ist. Already on the first day of this New Year we received many donations for the support of our large Orphan Family — January 9th. From a Christian former Orphan, an inmate in 1850, £10, with the following letter to Mr. Wright : —
‘* Honoured Sir,
“When in New York in October last, I had the pleasure of crossing the ferry from Brooklyn to New York in company with Mr. Miller. At that time it was intended to fix the ship I commanded to Bristol, and I promised myself the pleasure of going to see the New Orphan-Houses; but a day or two afterwards I received orders to fix for Liverpool, and, on account of the death of my late employer, whom I have served for more than nine years, the ship I commanded was sold by the executors, so that T am thrown out of employment, and cannot avail myself of the pleasure of seeing the New Orphan-Houses; but please accept the enclosed £10, to be used at your discretion, as a thank-offering unto the Lord for His numerous mercies during another voyage, and bringing me safely back to my native land from the East Indies.
“With Christian love, yours respectfully, * * * *.”
January 24th. From the neighbourhood of Nottingham a lady’s gold watch set with diamonds, and a gold chain, as “Treasures in Heaven” (Matthew vi. 20). — January 30th. From Scotland £8 5s. This donation comes from a servant of the Lord Jesus, who has no property and no fixed salary or income whatever, and who for years has sent me for the benefit of the Orphans the fifth part of all that God is pleased to give to him in answer to prayer.
March Ist. The total income for the support of the Orphans to-day was £8 14s. 4$d., but the average expense, for each day, for this Object alone, is £73. What is to be done under such circumstances 2 We do not ask friends to help us. We do not send out circulars to make known our need. We do not in the least, for the time being, refer to it, outside the Institution. We pray and seek to encourage ourselves in God. And similar days
come often. Yea, the money in hand may sink more and more, so that the appearance is, that very shortly we shall have nothing at all. And what do we then? We still wait upon God and trust in Him, and in Him alone. He has helped, and helped above forty years, and we trust He will yet help us; and thus we encourage ourselves in God. — March 8th. From Limerick £20, “Being Marine-Insurance on goods for November, December, January, and February.” — March 9th. From the neighbourhood of Manchester £200. — March 26th. From the neighbourhood of London £2, with this letter : —
Dear Sir,
“It is with much pleasure I enclose a Post Office order for the sum of £2 for the Orphan-Houses. When I sent last year, I thought it would be the last I should ever be able to send, as ] was getting old and had left service, to live upon the hard earnings of nearly fifty years. It is now twelve months since I left. To my great surprise my late master sent for me last week and presented me with a handsome sum which has enabled me to double the amount which I have sent before. ‘Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and His wonderful works to the children of men!’ 1 have had to plead with Him during the past year, and tell Him that the silver and the gold were His, and all hearts were in His hands; and now He has done much more than I could ask or think. ‘ What shall I render to Him for
all His benefits |’
May 7th. Total income this day £11 15s. 2d., whilst our average expenses for one day are about £124. Thus it has been of late again and again. Under these circumstances we lay hold on the promises of our Heavenly Father, and thus seek to encourage ourselves. — May 16th. From Cornwall £3 9s. 6d.
May 26th, 1878, to May 26th, 1879.
June 22nd. The total income for all the five different Objects of the Institution was to-day £6, whilst the average expenses for one day are £124. — June 25th. Received £9 10s., “instead of insuring 380 acres against hailstorms.” — June 27th. Although, during the month, from May 27th to June 27th, 363 donations had been received, yet, as the total of them amounted only to £752 14s., whilst our average expenses for one month for the support of the Orphans alone amounted to more than £2,000, our balance was still further reduced, to what it had been at the beginning of the year; but our confidence in the Living God was as strong as before, and, by His grace, without wavering.
July 25th. At the beginning of this day we were still poorer than on June 27th, because the income during the past four weeks had been again only £740 11s. 84d., instead of £2,200. But we looked out for help, and continued patiently, with prayer, to exercise faith in the power of God, and in the willingness of God to help us. In the meantime, also, we had still something in hand to last a little while longer. Now, however, the time was come when the Lord graciously would give again more abundantly, after having tried our faith considerably for several months with regard to means. I received this day £5,000, free of duty, as payment of the legacy of the late W. C. H., Esq. This gentleman I had never seen, and the legacy was paid considerably before the legal time, both of which circumstances are to be noticed. I also received £1,293 14s. 11d. to-day as payment of the legacy of the late C. G. E., Esq., this amount being a third of the residue. My heart rejoiced, when I thus again saw the hand of God so manifestly stretched out on our behalf, bidding us, so to speak, afresh to be of good cheer, and afresh assuring us by His dealings that He will never leave us nor forsake us. August 27th. Received 3s., with the following letter : —
* Honoured Sir,
“I wish to thank you for the Report sent, which my wife and self have read with pleasure and profit, and, in some instances, with much joy; but it is with some concern we look at the figures at the end of the book. Of course we mean not so much as a matter of faith, but as a matter of fact. The difference between £10,936 (the balance in hand May 26th, 1877) and £4,708 (the balance in hand May 26th, 1878) is pretty palpable at first sight; and we judge that this decline has given not a little exercise of mind and trial to yourself, Mr. Wright, and others, and we send you as much as we can (3s. worth of stamps) to cheer you on your way in this new year of faith and hope. — We see, looking back, that you began May 26th, 1874, with £4,057, and ended with £8,406, and let us hope that 1878 and 79 may prove as good, under God’s blessing. Please excuse and accept it in the good will with which it is sent, and believe us to be yours faithfully, * * * *.”
I wrote on the receipt, in acknowledging this 3s., “Thanks for the kind sympathy. I trust in God, He has helped, and He will further help.”
Such fluctuations do not take us by surprise; they were expected from the beginning of the work; periods even when all might be expended, when God, in answer to prayer, would make bare His arm, and send help for the Orphans, were looked for; and the very reason for founding the Orphan work was, to show to the world and the Church at large, how much even in the 19th century can be accomplished by prayer and faith. This Institution has been from the beginning like the burning bush, and yet it is not consumed.
Receives £18,400 in three months.
September yd. Received on account of the legacy of the late Mrs. S. 8. £4,100. This Mrs. 8. had never sent anything in her lifetime; I had never seen her, never heard her name; but
hearing about the Orphan work on Ashley Down, she was induced, I understand, to leave this legacy. Thus God helps us. We make our prayer to Him, we look to Him, we do trust in Him; and He speaks and works ‘for us, without our doing anything in the matter besides. Unspeakably blessed it is, thus to confide in God ! — September 4th. To-day, when I had prepared the balance-sheet, it was found, that we had in hand for the support of the Orphans £11,575 4s. 114d. and £988 3s. 8yd. for the first four Objects. Within three months and eight days the Lord had been pleased to send us £18,400 17s. 8d., by far the largest sum we have ever had, within the same space of time, during the 45 years of the existence of the Institution. Will not the beloved Christian readers see, if they have not done so before, how blessed it is to trust in God? Verily, those who do so will not be confounded, though their faith may again and again be sharply tried. — September 9th. ‘‘ Given up for conscience sake,” 4 gold rings. October 10th. Legacy of the late Mrs. K. £465 12s. 6d. This lady, as far as I know, I have never seen, but God, in answer to our daily prayers for means to carry on this work, put it into her heart to leave us this legacy — October 23rd. From a Christian gentleman and lady £134 for the support of ten Orphans for one year. — October 28th. Received 5s., with the following letter : —
Dear Sir,
““I send you the enclosed 5s. as a thank-offering for the restoration of a very bad finger. Having read in your last Report about the horse getting better in answer to prayer, and the owner sending you £2, I told the Lord if my finger got better without a doctor I would send you the enclosed. At that time I could do nothing, but had to nurse it. That very night, however, it became so much better that I could work the next day. Now, thank the Lord for His loving-kindness, I am able to act according to my promise.”
November 15th. Received 10s., with the following letter : — “Dear Sir,
“I enclose a Post Office order for 10s., which kindly accept for the use of the Orphans. A few months ago I suddenly became very deaf, and feared the use of one ear was gone. Knowing the ear to be such a delicate organ, I always dreaded consulting a doctor about it; so I made it a subject of earnest prayer, and determined that if my hearing was restored, without medical advice, I would send 10s. for the Lord’s work in your hands. I now hear again as well as ever, so you can receive this trifle as another of the many interesting ways in which God answers your prayers.
‘“‘T remain, yours in the love of Christ Jesus, * * * *.”
December 10th. From Yorkshire £100. This kind donor has again and again sent us help, within the last four years, though not re eg te. a. eee ee ee eee oe eo On, ee
personally known tome. From the neighbourhood of Birmingham £400; this kind donor also has within the last few years sent to us considerable help, which again and again arrived, when greatly needed. She also is not known to me personally. — How precious it is, to have a Friend in Heaven to go to, in our need, and then to obtain help through His stewards, though we know them not personally.
From an anonymous donor £500.
December 18th. Received from London the first half of a £500 Bank of England note, with the following letter: — Dear Sir,
“I had intended leaving a sum of money for your Orphanages in my Will; but as the funds of all Institutions are at present suffering from the commercial depression, I have thought it better to send the amount, £500, now, thus saving the legacy duty, and ministering to your present need; so please to enter it in your books as ‘ Instead of a Legacy.’ When I see by advertisement in the Daily Telegraph that you have received the first half of note enclosed, I will then post you the other. I trust that God will continue to guide and bless you in your work. Please to accept my kind regards and best wishes.”
We have not (of course) the least idea who this kind anonymous donor is; but God knows him, and we pray that He will abundantly recompense him.
January Ist. On the first day of the year we obtained 83 donations for the Orphans, amounting altogether to £268 10s. Oyd. January 14th. Received £200 from the same kind donor in Yorkshire, who, within the last four years, has repeatedly sent to us similar donations. — January 15th. From Devonshire £68 7s. 8d. from a donor who has kindly helped in the Orphan work for more than thirty years, and who sends this sum now in consideration of the difficulties there may be on account of the failure of banks, ete — February 10th. As “A thank-offering from Cork, £50.” — Through W. H. A., Esq., £63 — February 17th. Received £10 10s., “‘ Being half the amount of prizes the donor has won with his sheep during the past year.”
March yd. Received £8, with the following letter : — “Dear Sir, -
‘““Enclosed is £8, which we send to you to be used for the benefit of the Orphans. We send this as a thank-offering to God for blessing and prospering us since commencing business. As ours is principally a rearing farm, we promised to give to the Orphans 3d. for each lamb, 6d. each pig, 1s. each calf, and 2s. 6d. each foal. Remaiming yours affectionately, * * * *.”
“10¢ abud buon)
‘SHSIOUMXGY HSIGAMG ‘STHTIN) NVHAIGO
May 5th. Eighty new suits of boys’ clothes, value £66. — May 8th. From Yorkshire £200. — May 9th. Received £93 16s. for the support of seven Orphans for one year — May 10th. The legacy of the late Miss M. A. P. £451 10s. — May 26th. On this last day of the year of the Institution, we received, besides a number of other donations, £161 3s. 3d., and a large quantity of silver articles, as the legacy of the late Mrs. G.
May 26th, 1879, to May 26th, 1880.
May 30th. Legacy of the late Mr. M. £103 7s. 10d. — June 24th. Five sacks of oatmeal. The same donor has sent fifteen times five sacks, three times ten sacks, and once sixteen sacks, 121 sacks in all, in the course of the year. A very valuable donation to us, as we consume about 7,000 stones of oatmeal per year.
August 12th. From Yorkshire £200. — August 22nd. A general’s full-dress tunic, undress surtout, trousers, with gold lace, pair of boots, three pairs of spurs, gold lace sash, belt, Russia leather belt, cocked hat and feather, and forage cap.
Legacy prayed out of Chancery.
September yd. A case containing a gold pendant, set with an emerald, pearls, and diamonds, and a pair of ear-rings set with diamonds, half for Missions and half for the Orphans. — September 8th. Legacy of the late A. B., Esq., £9,091 14s. 6d. This legacy was a considerable time in Chancery; but, as I have often found, by prayer it was at last brought out of the Court. This is the largest donation we have received at one time; but, as I stated, when receiving £8,100 at one time, that I expected yet greater donations, so I now say again, that it may be yet further seen how much even now can be accomplished by prayer and faith. — September llth. Received 1s. 10d., with the following letter : —
“Please accept these few stamps (1s. 10d.) as a thank-offering for mercies in having employment, when many have none. From a poor widow and her family, for the Orphans.”
September 12th. Received £1 12s. 6d., with the following letter : —
“Dear Sir,
““I have much pleasure in sending you the enclosed £1 12s. 6d., being 74d. per week for 52 weeks, formerly spent on tobacco. I tried all human effort to give it up; but all was a failure, till I was led to ask the Lord for help, and promised to send what it cost to the Orphans at Bristol. I thank God He has kept me through the past year without any desire for it.”
September 10th. From one of the former Orphans, now filling a very honourable and useful position, £10, with the following letter :- —
ee ee oe Se ee ee
“Beloved Mr. Müller and Mr. Wright,
“The kindness I have experienced at your hands I can never fully repay, but whilst able, may I prove my willingness to show practically my sincere appreciation of the same. I beg you, therefore, to accept the enclosed donation of £10 towards the Orphan Fund, from which fund, through the goodness of the Lord, and the bounteous liberality of His people, I have myself benefited so largely. Truly the hand of the Lord has led me, and His blessing has been my portion. May my heart continually well up with gratitude to Him and to you; and with the voices of His people may mine unite in singing praise to the Lord! My earnest and constant prayer is, that the Lord will continue to uphold the work, of which you are the honoured Directors, that it may stand for ages to come as a monument to faith, which infidelity could not destroy; a challenge thrown down by the former, which the latter durst not accept for fear of certain and utter defeat; also that many an Orphan, similarly cireumstanced as I was, may partake of that goodness of which, in a very large degree, I have been the happy recipient. With sincere love and respect to you, my esteemed benefactors, I am, of your large family, a truly grateful member, * * * *.”
October 7th. Legacy of the late E. B., Esq., £450, less legacy duty. — November 5th. Received the following letter, with £180 :- —
“Dear Sir,
“I have much pleasure in sending you a draft for £180 towards your good work. It has been given to me by a patient of mine to forward to you anonymously. You may enter it in the Report under the initials A. B.”
Donor provides for eleven Orphans for a year.
November 18th. Received £158 9s., with the following letter :- —
“My dear Sir,:
“The time of year has again come round when J have usually made my remittance for the benefit of your Orphan-Houses, and, through the gracious mercy of our God and Saviour, I am now enabled to send it, and, as you will see, also permitted to add to it, for it has pleased the Lord to commit to our care and into our charge another child (we humbly believe) to train up for Himself. We earnestly pray and believe, that, with the charge, He will supply all our need, to enable us to fulfil it, patiently, diligently, and faithfully. Remember us in your prayers, and add your thanksgiving to our own. The cheque I enclose is for 1879, for eleven children at £13 9s.=£147 19s., and for your own personal use, which we present with our Christian good wishes, £10 10s.
“With our kind regards and best wishes, from
‘Your sincere friend, * * * *,”
About twelve years ago the Christian gentleman, who is the writer of this letter, sent me the average expenses for three Orphans per year, considering that, as he had three children of his own, for whom he was able comfortably to provide according to their position in life, it would be well pleasing to God to give, as a thank-offering for this mercy, the means for three poor Orphans, deprived of their earthly parents. The next year he sent me the average expenses for four Orphans, the Lord having given to him another child; and thus, as the number of his children increased, he sent year after year the cost of as many Orphans as he had children of his own; and as he has now eleven children, he sends the average expenses for eleven Orphans, acting thus on the very opposite principles of men of the world, who would say, that, because their families increase, therefore they can afford less and less, instead of more and more for the Lord’s work.
Smoking.
November 19th. Received 10s., with the following letter : — “Dear Sir,
“Will you please to accept of this trifle, as a thank-offering to the Lord, for His blessings, both temporally and spiritually. Through reading your Reports I have been greatly blessed. When I was converted I was very poor; for sometimes I did not seem to have a penny to spare for the Lord’s work. About ten years ago I met with Mr. P. He, knowing my case, gave me one of your Reports. I cannot express the joy I had whilst reading it; and ever since I have longed for the time for them to come out. My desire is, that Christians would read them more, and follow the example that is set before us in them. At that time I was a smoker of tobacco. I then took up that passage of Scripture in Matthew xvi. 24, also 1 Cor. xvi. 2, and devoted a part of my money regularly to the Lord’s cause. I was soon enabled to increase it, and now, although only a farmer’s man, it seems a wonder to myself at times, that I am able to do as I do. Although this past summer has been a trying one with hundreds, God has prospered me, and I am enabled to do more this year than ever, since I started in my Heavenly Father’s way. The desire of my heart and prayer is, that God may abundantly bless your testimony, both to the Church and world.
“Yours affectionately in the Lord Jesus, * * * *.”
Here is a Christian farm labourer from whom one or the other of my readers may learn a profitable lesson. He gives up the use of tobacco. Have those of my readers who have been in the habit of smoking, laid aside the pipe and cigars entirely? This habit, an evil habit, is very injurious to health, as all disinterested physicians, who do not themselves indulge in it, will fully allow. A robust constitution may for a good while resist its pernicious effects; but, sooner or later, these effects will be manifested. I beseech the Christian reader prayerfully to consider this, in order that he may no longer indulge in that which is most injurious to the body, besides being a means of wasting his money also. From the moment I was converted, the beginning of November, 1825, I have never touched a pipe or a cigar. December 15th. From two ladies at Windsor Castle £5 12s.
January 14th. From Yorkshire £200. Legacy of the late Mr. J. T. BE. £100. — February 16th. As “A thank-offering for the gift of another child,” £10. As the legacy of the late Mrs. R. £90. From Staffordshire £4, with £1 for myself. The donor writes: ‘‘ This last year, although so disastrous to most traders, has been the best I have ever had; and under God’s providence T have to thank you for teaching me how to give.”
April 6th. From a little boy 10s. 7d. At his death he expressed a wish for his money to be given to the Orphans. — April 8th. The total income of to-day, for all the five Objects of the Institution, was £6 13s. 5d., instead of £124, our daily average expenses. Similar days we have again and again, and therefore need to look to the Lord with unwavering confidence, May llth. Legacy of the late Mrs. W. £200. — May 21st. Legacy of the late Rev. A. P. £135. — May 24th. From Malta £100. — May 25th. ‘‘Thank-offering for receiving tidings, in answer to prayer, of relatives, of whom the donor had not heard for many years,” 10s..
May 26th, 1880, to May 26th, 1881.
June yd. From Yorkshire £200, with these words: “Desiring to be a faithful steward of the bounties the Lord has conferred upon one who is unworthy of the many blessings He has bestowed, I send the enclosed cheque for £200 for the use of the Orphans at Ashley Down.”’ — June 17th. As a legacy from the late Miss J. 8. £1,000. The lady who kindly left us this amount was an entire stranger to me. I did not even know her by name.
July 2nd. Received £500 as the legacy of the late Mr. R. B. The legacy of the late Mrs. EK. W. £100. In the South of Devon a musical entertainment was held for the benefit of the Orphans, but when the proceeds of it, amounting to £4 5s., were sent to me on July 7th, I returned them, not wishing to use money for the work of God obtained in this manner; for it is not money only which J desire, but money provided in God’s way. The kind intention, however, of those who set this entertainment on foot to help the Orphans, I do not question for a moment. — July 14th. From Islington £13 9s., with the following
letter : —
“Dear Sir,
“God, in His infinite mercy, having blessed me with a living son, I enclose cheque for £13 9s. as a thank-offering, this being the cost of providing for one Orphan for one year.
Sa Moursicculyee ita acoeea
August 7th. To-day £264 lls. 10d. was received as the legacy of J. B., a common labourer, who left his all to the Orphans. Notice this remarkable gift, and see how God cares for them. August 16th. To-day the expenses connected with the support of the Orphans were £1,035 11s. 10d. The income for them amounted only to £24 3s.
September Ist. As “Part of the legacy of the late T. H., Esq.,” £1,600. This legacy has been long in Chancery, but now at last, in answer to many prayers, we have received a portion of it. — September 2nd. Received £300, with the following letter: —
“Dear Sir,
“At the request of Mr., I forward you cheque for £300, which he intended to leave as a legacy to your Institution; but inasmuch as his property consists principally of real estate, he could not legally make such a bequest. He has thought it best, therefore, to make the gift in his lifetime. Please acknowledge receipt to him personally. Yours truly, * * * *.”
This kind donor I have never seen, yet God leads him thus to help us. — September yd. Received £2 10s., with the following letter:
“Dear Sir,
“As Mr. D.’s young man had an accident with his horse, about five weeks ago, which was almost rendered unfit for work, he was reading how the Lord had blessed Mr. Müller in his work;; and he resolved to give £5 if the horse was restored, as a token of his gratitude to God, for answering prayer for the speedy recovery of the horse, in order to show all the believing family of God that there is no matter too small to take to Him, especially if done in faith. We have a female Orphanage here, so my husband has divided the sum. I enclose a cheque for £2 10s. to you, and have sent the same amount to the Orphanage here.
““I am, yours in the Lord) * + * *.”
September 16th. From Dudley £1, with the following letter : —
“At Christmas last we wrote off as hopelessly bad a debt which had been due since 1878. Since then we have had some faint hopes of getting the money, and said, if ever we do get it we will send £1 for the Orphanage. A few days ago we received a cheque for the amount, and now enclose Post Office order oye ETE
October 21st. From a former Orphan and his wife, who have now three Orphan boys as apprentices in their house, £4, with the following letter: — “Dear and honoured Sir,
“I desire to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of the second half of premium on account of C. B. You will be pleased to hear he is getting on very nicely with his trade, and his behaviour is all we could desire. The same can besaidofJ.D. He confesses his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom also J. D. is rejoicing. As regards ourselves, we daily continue to pray, as we have done for many years, for blessing on the dear Orphan work, and those engaged init. We greatly rejoice in its continued prosperity, as well becomes us, who have received such inestimable spiritual and temporal blessings through its instrumentality. Will you please use £3 10s. of the enclosed for the support of one Orphan for three months, and the remaining 10s. for Foreign Missions? and accept with it the grateful love of two former Orphans.”
October 25th. As the legacy of the late J. J. O., Esq., £500.
November Ist. Received £200 as the legacy of the late Miss EH. W. — November 5th. Received £200 as the legacy of the late Miss M. W. A. — November 15th. From Essex £1 as “A thank-offering for freedom for two years from severe suffering.”
December 22nd. Received £5, with the following letter : — “Dear Sir,
“Last Christmas, when I sent you 10s. for the Orphans, I had a yearling calf that was very ill and not worth more than 5s. I made up my mind that, if it recovered (though I did not think that possible), I would send you half its value next Christmas; I therefore have the pleasure of sending you a cheque for £5 for the Orphans. I am, dear Sir, yours truly, * * * *.”
December 23rd. From near London £290, with £10 for myself.
January Ist. Received 10s., “Being 4d. per pair for 480 pairs of boots mended during the past year. Received 7s. 6d., with the following letter : —
“Dear Sir,
“Last October I was reading your annual Report, and I am induced to give up my pipe and tobacco, and send the sum to you thus saved yearly, for the Orphans. The enclosed 7s. 6d. is for the first three months. May the Lord accept this offering.
Sours) trully tac ome
February 18th. From the Isle of Wight £53 18s. for the support of four Orphans for one year. — March yd. As the fifth and final instalment of a legacy of the late G. W., Esq., £200. — March 29th. Legacy of the late G. B., Hsq., £450.
May 7th. Received the following letter, with £13 : —
“My dear Sir,
“I have much pleasure in enclosing a cheque for £13 for the support of one Orphan for one year. In reading your Reports from year to year, I am particularly struck by observing how the
Lord provides for you in such a wonderful manner, and during such depressing times as we have been, and are now, passing through. That He may still provide and give you faith to trust Him at all times and under every circumstance, is the desire of “Yours sincerely, * * * *.”
How does it come, that “during these depressing times” we are provided for? Because we do not look at them, nor trust in friends, but depend wholly upon God. This is the secret whereby, year after year, for forty-seven years, we have been helped. Continually we ourselves feel the effects of the depressing times. This morning, for instance, while I am writing this, the income for to-day and yesterday amounts only to £28, but the average expense for two days is £248. Often the income for one day is only £10 or £15, sometimes even less than £10; and yet our average expenditure for a single day is £124. If, under these circumstances, we were not looking to God alone, we should soon be overwhelmed with difficulty; but, as by God’s grace, we are steadfastly keeping our eyes upon Him, and are expecting help from Him only, our hearts, year after year, are kept in peace under the most trying and difficult circumstances; and He has never suffered us to be confounded.
May 26th, 1881, to May 26th, 1882.
On May 27th, 1880, we began the new financial year with £10,009 16s. 44d. in hand; but on May 27th, 1881, we had only £2,922 12s. 94d. to begin with.
On the very first day of the new period, May 27th, 1881, we received from a donor in one of the Midland counties £50. — May 30th. Received £100, with the following letter : —
“My dear Sir,
“It has been a matter of much regret with me, that I have not been able of late years to send you any contributions to your good work; but circumstances have not allowed me to do so. Some years ago my wife and myself resolved that, if some shares we held advanced to a certain price and were sold, we would then send you £100. Last week they were disposed of at the exact price, and we are truly thankful to God that we are enabled to send you the enclosed £100. Please enrol it in your list of givers ‘ For Christ’s sake from Shrewsbury for the Orphan Fund.’
‘Believe me, very truly yours, * * * *,”
June llth. Balance of legacy of the late T. H., Esq., £142 Os. 4d.rJune 15th. Received £50, with the following letter : —
“Dear Sir,
“I enclose a bank note for £50. It is in memory of the late M. W., and by her dying request, that her surviving sisters send this sum towards your great work.
“I am, dear Sir, yours very truly, * * * *.”
July 23rd. Received £3, with the following letter : —
“Dear Sir,
“I enclose you £3, sent to you by my former Church Clerk, of Queensland, Australia. He is only a labouring shepherd, yet so great is his appreciation of your benevolent work for Orphans, that he hopes to send you £3 a year for them. I do not think you receive any more devoted offering to your work; for he has only just what he earns for the maintenance of himself and family.”
August 22nd. Part of the legacy of the late G. J., Hsq., £1,000. This is the result of much prayer.
September 6th. Received from Westmoreland £100, when our funds were very low. — September 9th. God helped us in our time of need. Above £300 came in from September 6th to September 9th inclusive- — September 22nd. From Yorkshire £200. — September 27th. From the neighbourhood of Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, £100, with £5 for myself.
October 19th. Although we have this day nothing at all in hand for the School, Bible, Missionary, and Tract Fund, yet we are still provided with some means for the Orphans, though more than two months since there was only enough in hand to meet the average expenses of 44 days. God has graciously, as the result of our daily believing supplications, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, helped us; and He will do so further, though we know not how the help will come. — November yd. Legacy of the late W. R. L., Esq., £200. — November 16th. From the National Provincial Bank of England, Bath, £100, with the following letter : —
Dear Sir,
“Enclosed we hand you, under direction of a client of ours (being unable to disclose name) draft for £100. Kindly forward receipt in due course. Yours faithfully, * * * *,”
This donation of £100 came to hand, when the balance for the Orphans was reduced to £108 15s. 94d., that is, the amount in hand was not quite enough to meet the average expenses of one day and a half for the Orphans. The total of the expenses for the Orphans alone in the previous year from May 26th, 1880, to May 26th, 1881, had been £26,783 10s. 103d., therefore the average expenses of one day are £73 7s. 7d. Will you kindly place yourself in our position, dear reader. What do we do under such circumstances? We only speak to our Heavenly Father, in order that, by the answers, which we receive from Him, we may encourage the hearts of His children, increasingly to go to Him in all their need, and that thus their faith may be strengthened; and in order that those, who know not God, may see what a blessed thing it is to have a Father in Heaven. Wedonotsend out advertisements, to say we are so poor; we do not call on our rich Christian friends for help; we do not speak at all to persons
outside of the work about our need; but we betake ourselves only to our universal remedy for all difficulties, trials and necessities, ‘viz., prayer and faith.
November 24th. From a Christian gentleman and lady £162 16s., for the support of twelve Orphans for one year, with £10 10s. for my own personal expenses. — December 6th. “A thanksgiving on the occasion of a silver wedding”’ £90, with £10 for myself. — December 10th. From Paternoster Row £100. — December 20th. From near London £290, with £10 for myself. From a person in an almshouse, who lives upon 3s. 6d. per week, and who sends one penny out of every 3s. 6d. which she receives, 5s. 6d. See how even the poor seek to help in this work, as well as the rich; but we desire to receive every donation as coming from God, in answer to prayer.
January 4th. From Yorkshire £200. — February 18th. From Bath £100. The balance for the Orphans, when this donation was received, had been reduced to a little above £100, viz., only enough for the average expenses of one day and a half. On the same day came in £5, with the following letter : —
“Dear Mr. Wright,
“*T have been pressed in spirit for a day or two to send you the enclosed for the Orphans, which please take as from a steward who desires to be found faithful.”
February 26th. The balance in hand to-day for the Orphans is £97 10s. 74d., viz., £24 more than the average expenses of one single day. — March 2nd. Our position now regarding the Orphan work is, praying day by day, “Give us this day our daily bread.” For a considerable time we have had day by day to look to the Lord for the supply of our daily wants; but God has helped thus far — March 4th. Legacy of the late Mrs. C. £156 8s. 6d. — March 9th. From Maidenhead £60. — March 17th. Legacy of the late Mr. G. F. £200. Many of the legacies have come in just when we were in great need. Thus it has been in particular regarding the last three legacies just mentioned. — March 25th. From a Scotch donor, then staying in London, £100. When this donation was received, the balance of the Orphan fund was quite exhausted. Received also from Sunderland £5; and from Liverpool, from “An old New Yorker,” £5. — March 26th. The balance in hand to-day is £32 15s. 3#d., viz., not one-half of the average expenses for one single day. — March 29th. Instead of suring stock, £5. From the Isle of Wight £53 18s. for the support of four Orphans for one year.
April 17th. From one of the Midland Counties £80, which came in at a time of great need. — April 20th. When in the greatest need we received from Edinburgh £100, with this statement: “The enclosed was intended as a legacy, but I have sent it in my lifetime.’ — April 26th. From H. B. £100. From the late A. B., one of the Christian Orphans, who for nearly thirty years had walked in the ways of God, £5. — May 10th. From Ootacamund, India, £14 6s. ld. — May 15th. From Edinburgh £50. — May 16th. From one of the Midland Counties £50. — May 24th. From Manchester £55. — May 26th. From Scotland £65 6s. 8d. May 26th, 1882, to May 26th, 1883.
Our position with regard to funds for the support of the Orphans was very trying during this year, and, looking at things naturally, it seemed impossible that we should be able to contenue to carry on an Institution, like that of the five Orphan-Houses on Ashley Downs — where day by day about 2,100 persons sit down to their meals, and where the expenses of many thousands of pounds, besides those for food, have year after year to be met — without applying to any human being for a single sovereign. [See page 481.| We grant that, according to appearances, all was dark, and that there was no natural prospect of help; but we knew God. We did not merely say that we knew Him, but verily we did know Him. We did not merely say that we trusted in Him, but we did go in reality; and thus it has come, that we have been helped, as it is written : — “They that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee; for Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee” (Psalm ix. 10).
We stayed ourselves upon God, and at the beginning of the new financial year, encouraged ourselves in Him. We were assured that help would come, though we knew not how; and that God, who raised up this Orphan Establishment at the first, who supported it while it was small, and under many difficulties; who enlarged the work, and who supported it, simply through prayer and faith for so many years, would do this further.
On the very first day of the new period, May 27th, 1882, a dear Christian donor, in Ale County, United States, an entire stranger to us, sent £20. By this, God would say, ‘* Only believe”; only trust in Me; I have the hearts of all at my disposal; the gold and the silver belong to Me. — May 29th. We received from Manchester £50. — May 31st. From Grahamstown £13 10s. 6d.
June yd. From Wotton-under-Hdge £500. <A glorious deliverance was this donation, and a precious earnest of what God would do further for us. This donation came from a Christian gentleman who, though for very many years a donor to the Institution, is not personally known to us, and who had never given so large a sum before. This made the hand of God all the more manifest — June 6th. Legacy of the late Mrs. M. F. £500. June 23rd. Legacy of the late R. W., Hsq., £1,000 3 per cent reduced Bank annuities, less duty and brokerage. By these and very many smaller sums, within the first month, from May 27th to June 26th inclusive, £2,874 10s. 5d. for the support of the a
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Orphans was received. By this the reader will see, that we did not wait upon the Lord in vain, nor rely upon Him to no purpose. June 27th. From a Bristol donor £100. — June 30th. From Liverpool, from a former Orphan, who is the commander of a large merchant vessel, £13.
July 5th. From Yorkshire £200. From Torquay £81 18s. 9d. July 10th. From donors, “on their wedding day,” £5. — July 15th. From a donor on his wedding day £2 3s. 10d. From Sussex £49 10s. — July 25th. From Stapleton £100. From Bromley £50. — July 26th. From a Bristol donor £100. — July 27th. Last evening our balance in hand, for the support of the Orphans, was £172 10s. 7d., and the total income for them, during the two first months of the present period, from May 26th to July 26th inclusive, has been £4,602 8s. 1d.
August 2nd. Legacy of the late Miss L. £100. — August 9th. From Clifton £50 13s. 4d. for the support of four Orphans for one year. — August 11th. From Westmoreland £100. — August 14th, From Wotton-under-Edge £100 from the same gentleman who had only on June yd given £500. — August 23rd. From Clifton £50. — August 25th. By legacy of the late Mr. W. C. £123 14s. 7d.
September llth. Legacy of the late J. H., Esq., £618 4s. 2d. September 16th. From Manchester, a gold ring set with a diamond, a gold pencil case, a gold Albert chain, and a silver locket and chain. — September 25th. As legacy of the late Mr. J. M., £150.
October 4th. From Tunbridge Wells £5, as “Part of an anticipatory thank-offering, for health to be restored.”” — October 17th. As the legacy of the late Mr. ©. J. K. £500. — October 21st. Received from Wotton - under - Edge £1,000, £100 of the sum being for myself. The kind Christian donor is personally unknown to me, though for very many years he has from time to time sent us donations. During the present year he had already sent £100 and £500, making with this donation, up to October 21st, 1882, altogether £1,600. On the same day there was received from Manchester £100, from a Christian gentleman, who for very many years has helped us considerably.
‘October 25th. From the neighbourhood of Manchester £200, with £5 for myself. — October 30th. From Edinburgh £100.
November Ist. As the legacy of the late Miss E. R., of Bath, £300. — November yd. From Clifton £50, from a Christian lady who for many years manifested much interest about the Orphans, and who since then has been called to her heavenly home, now to reap, as she has been sowing. — November 8th. From Sussex £150. — November 27th. Received £50, with the following letter: “I began business twenty years ago, in a very small way, and have been prospered above all my expectations. I have been giving ten per cent of my income to the Lord, mainly through reading Mr. Müller’s Narrative. At the beginning of this year I resolved, that all I should make, over and above the requirements of my family and household expenses, on a certain enterprise, I would give to the Lord’s work; and, though my books will not be made up until the 3lst December, T can see I shall have a good surplus, and therefore it is that I now send you the enclosed.” — November 28th. From Wales £75, with £25 for myself, from a Christian gentleman who gives systematically and regularly, and that very largely, just as the Lord is pleased to prosper him in his very large business.
December 5th. From Yorkshire £200. — December 23rd.
From near London £290, with £10 for myself — December
30th. Received £105.
January Ist. Received £13 8s., with the following letter : — “* My dear Sir,
““I have much pleasure in sending you, as usual, the contents of our Orphan box, and also, because of what we have seen of the excellence of the training in your Institution in the servant we have, I add to the contents of the box enough to support one Orphan.”
January yd. A gentleman had asked the question whether we were in need of funds. When £100 was very kindly sent by him for the Institution, this question was not answered, because we speak only to God about these matters; and now, to-day, this gentleman sent us £1,000, for the Orphans. — January 24th. From Edgbaston £200. — January 27th. From Dublin £100, with the following letter : —
“Dear Sir,
“On the 25th November last I sent you £50, and gave an account of how it came about that I so increased my usual donation. TI find now, having made up my books to the end of the year, that I have a much greater surplus than I had expected, and have a difficulty in deciding as to how to dispose of it. I, however, have no hesitation in sending to you the first and largest instalment, as it was by reading your Narrative I first learned that it was my duty to give proportionately and statedly
of my income to the Lord’s work. Please find enclosed first half.
note for £100; and, unless you otherwise wish, I desire it to go for the support of the Orphans.”
January 27th. Received £152 for the support of twelve Orphans for one year, together with £10 10s. for myself.
February 15th. Received £2, “Part of a thank-offering for the conversion of my only remaining son.”
March 28th. From Maidstone £78 Os. 10d. — March 31st. “Instead of buying a gold watch,” £25. May the Lord abundantly recompense the donor for this act of self-denial, and may he continue thus to live for God!
April 7th. Legacy of the late Mrs. A. K. £200. — April 10th. From Leicester £300. From Yorkshire £200. — April 13th.
From one of the Midland counties £70. From Servia £100. April 16th. Legacy of the late A. W., Esq., £500. The gentleman who left this legacy, as in so many cases, was an entire stranger to us — April 17th. From Wotton-under-Edge £100. The same Christian gentleman, who had sent us already £100, £500, and £1,000 during this period, kindly added this other donation to his former ones. — April 18th. From a Bristol donor £60 for the support of five Orphan girls for one year, and £40 for the support of three Orphan boys. — April 20th. Legacy of the late Mr. J. O. £1,000.
May 26th. The Lord was graciously pleased to help us, not only to meet all the expenses connected with the Orphan Institution, though they amounted altogether to £26,693 12s. 104d., but also to close the year with £2,266 19s. 74d. in hand. We praise and magnify Him for this kindness!
May 26th, 1883, to May 26th, 1884.
May 30th. From South Australia £53 — June 2nd. From
Philadelphia £40 19s. 8d.
July 10th. From the neighbourhood of Manchester £200. — July 19th. With Matthew xix. 13-15, £100.
August 17th. The balance was to-day reduced to £111; but the Lord sent in £239. — August 18th. Having paid out yesterday and this morning £365 17s. 5d. for the Orphans, and having only received £26 this morning, our balance was reduced this afternoon to £10 2s. 7d. Think of this, dear reader! Day by day about 2,100 persons have to be provided for in the Orphan Institution, and £10 2s. 7d. was all that was in hand to do this. You see that we are just in the same position in which we were 46 years since as to funds. God is our Banker. In Him we trust, and on Him we draw by faith. This was Saturday. In the evening £30 was received. On Monday we received £129 further, but had to pay out £60. On Tuesday we received £295, but had to pay out £180. — August 20th. From Norfolk £27 6s. for the support of four Orphans for six months. — August 21st. From Preston £146 8s. 2d. — August 25th. From Wotton-under-Hdge £200. ‘From a happy husband and father, on his 15th wedding day, in token of thankfulness to the Father of us all,” £10.
September 27th. Received £40 9s. 3d., with the following letter from one of the former Orphans : —
“Dear and respected Sir,
“I have very great pleasure in sending the enclosed cheque for £40 9s. 3d. from my brother-in-law, which he wishes to be taken for the Orphans. With deep gratitude for all the kindness I received while in the dear Orphan-House, and kind remembrance to all the dear teachers who remember me,
‘“*T remain,
“Yours respectiully and affectionately, * * * *,”
October 8th. From South Australia £20. — October 29th. From M. D. £100.
November 2nd. In 41 coupons £153 14s. 7d., from a donor who has repeatedly helped us in a similar way. Received £51 12s. “From one whose heart is in heaven.’” — November 8th. From Cambridgeshire £89 8s. From Smyrna £1 — November 16th. From a friend at Burnley £50. — November 26th. Received £10 from Ale County, U.S.A., with the following letter : —
“Dear Brother,
“This is a stormy morning. I was led to think how my Heavenly Father had taken care of every parcel I have sent to you these three years across the wide ocean, and what storms they have encountered, and my thoughts have been carried further back. It is about forty-four years since first I prayed to God, and shed tears over sin, and I feel sure they are not lost, nor forgotten by Him.
“Yours in the good work, * * * *.”
November 28th. From Yorkshire £200. From Beckenham £20, and from Islington £10 1s., with £5 for myself. We had scarcely anything left for the Orphans when these three donations were received.
December 7th. From Maryborough, Australia, £100. Day after day, for many days, our balance in hand for the Orphans has been very small. Yesterday, when all expenses had been met, £34 14s. remained in hand. This morning £256 7s. 8d. came in, so that we had £291 1s. 8d.; but the expenses of the day were so great, that the last sovereign was called for, and we had nothing at all left. — December 8th. £140 2s. 4d. came in to-day; but all was called for again, and thus we were continually day by day, without any balance in hand, though helped day by: day. — In this state of things we continued till December 19th, when our balance was reduced to £7 0s. 4d. I mention these particulars, because some of my readers may suppose that our trials of faith with reference to means existed only 46 years ago. Ever since the commencement of the work, we have gone on in the same way, and have acted on the principles on which the Institution was first begun. See therefore, Christian reader, how truly blessed it is to have real trust in God; not only to say, I rely upon God, but in reality to do so. Our daily average expenses for the Orphans alone amount to £73, and all we had left on December 19th, 1883, amounted to £7 Os. 4d. — December 20th. From “8. S.” £50. From the neighbourhood of London £190. — December 24th. From two servants of the Lord Jesus, who, constrained by the love of Christ, seek to lay up treasure in heaven, £150. — December 31st. The Lord has helped us through another year. Again and again all our means for the support of the Orphans were completely expended, so that not a single sovereign remained in hand, yet the Lord has
not allowed us to be confounded. Whenever our money was gone, He again appeared on our behalf; we ended the year with a balance of £572 15s. 5d. in hand, and, trusting in Him, we entered in peace upon the New Year.
January Ist. From Maidstone £76 14s. 8d. — January 8th. A deposit certificate for £100, of the Liberator Permanent Benefit Building Society, as the legacy of the late Mrs. 8. 8. D. — January 9th. From one of the Midland counties £60. — January 19th. Legacy of the late Mr. J. F. Y. £459 8s. 4d. From Wotton-under-Edge £100. — January 25th. Legacy of the late G. 8. G., Esq., £500.
February 8th. Legacy of the late T. N. S., Hsq., £100. — February 26th. From Sussex £189 17s. 8d.
March 6th. From Weston-super-Mare £60. — March 11th. From one of the Midland Counties £50. — March 13th. From Ventnor £53 18s. for the support of four Orphans for one year.
April 1st. From Yorkshire £200. This kind donor, whom God has raised up for the Institution within the last eight years, has helped us again and again in a similar manner in our need, without knowing of it — April 8th. From E. F., two Argentine bonds of £100 each. From Edinburgh £25, “A widow’s mite, an intended legacy, paid during life.” — April 16th. From one of the Midland Counties £70. — April 19th. From Wotton-under-Edge £100.
May 13th. From Mhow, Central India, 300 rupees and 100 rupees. — May 15th. By sale of dentist gold £41. — May 17th. From St. Marychurch £50. From Edgbaston £200. — May 21st. From Rockleaze £104 9s. 6d. — May 26th. Though many times during our past financial year all our money was gone, yet the Lord allowed us to see the close of the year, as the result of continued believing prayer, with a balance of £421 16s. 33d. in hand for the Orphans.
May 26th, 1884, to May 26th, 1885.
The balance in hand was only enough to last six days for the average expenditure for the support of the Orphans, though sometimes we pay away more than double this amount in one day. There was therefore again much need to stay ourselves upon God, in order that our hearts might be in peace. This, however, by His grace, we were able to do.
Legacy of £11,034 prayed out of Chancery.
June 7th. Legacy of the late G. J. Esq. £11,034 6s. This is the largest amount I have ever received at one time. This legacy had been above six years in Chancery, and year after year its payment was expected, but remained unsettled by the Chancery Court. I kept on praying, however, and for six years prayed day by day that the money might be paid, believing that God in His own time (which is always the best) would help at last; for many legacies in Chancery I had prayed out of the Court, and the money was eventually paid. In the present case, too, after faith and patience had been sufficiently exercised, God granted this request likewise. In addition to the £11,034 6s. paid on June 7th, 1884, £1,000, as part of this legacy, had by the Court been paid to me a long time before. The following points are also further to be noticed regarding the payment of this legacy : — (1) When the money was paid, our balance in hand was only £41 10s., a very little more than one-half of the average expenses for the Orphans for one day. How kind it was, therefore, of the Lord to give us this money when He did! (2) There were before us sanitary improvements to be carried out, which we were strongly advised to adopt, as, within the last ten years, so much scientific progress has been made in reference to sanitary operations connected with dwelling-houses, etc. It was therefore so kind of the Lord to give us the means to meet expenses which would amount to upwards of £2,000.
A former Orphan becomes a Missionary.
June 11th. Received from one of the former Orphans the following letter, with £1 1s. : —
“Dear Sir,
“Enclosed you will find Postal Orders for £1 1s., being the contents of my little box for the Orphans since last summer, the sum being chiefly made up of odd pence and half-pence, and occasionally silver, as we were able to give, or from relatives visiting us. It is wonderful how this little effort has prospered, I believe by asking the Lord to bless it. What a large sum of money might be raised, if all the Orphans, as they leave the Orphan-Houses, were to start a little box and ask God to bless it.
“I heard from Mr. W. that he had told you of my dear sister (also a former Orphan) leaving for the Congo River Mission, Africa. You will be glad, dear Sir, to know that they (that is, the Missionary party) reached Sierra Leone safely, and were all well at that time. Dear Mary was very happy, feeling deeply how great is her privilege of carrying the glorious Gospel message to the dear heathen. We little thought how the Lord was leading us when He took our parents, and then sent us to the dear Orphan-House, where we continually heard of His great love, and were constrained to give Him our hearts and lives. I bless and thank Him for all the way in which we were led, though at times it seemed dark enough. I pray that He will prepare me, and open up the way, that I too may go out to Africa as a Missionary in His own good time.”
June 14th. From Wotton-under-Edge £100, with £25 for myself.
July 5th. Legacy of the late Mrs. M., £200. — August Ist. From a Bristol donor £75 for the Orphan girls, and £50 for the Orphan boys. — August 11th. From Yorkshire £200. — August 13th. To-day a Christian brother from the United States of America called on me, and stated that he had been greatly blessed spiritually through my publications; also, that having obtained possession of some property through the death of his sister, he had come from America to know me personally, to see the Orphan-Houses himself, and to hand over the whole of the legacy from his sister to the Institution. He subsequently paid me £694, and stayed about ten days in Bristol. See, esteemed reader, how God works for those who trust in Him ! — August 14th. From Wotton-under-Edge £200, from a Christian gentleman on whose heart the Lord had especially laid this Institution of late years. — August 18th. From “G.,” Preston, £146 17s. 6d.
September Ist. From a gentleman at Hanham £80 14s. 11d. Received 10s. 6d., with the following letter : —
“Dear Mr. Müller,
“I received your Report on Saturday, for which I return my sincere thanks, and must acknowledge that the reading of your Reports and the two volumes of the Lord’s dealings with you (which you presented to my dear wife, when she was leaving the Orphan-Houses in her seventeenth year) has done my soul more real good than anything I ever read, except the Book of hooks. I hold the position of lay preacher and leader of a class, consisting of 40 members, in a little mining district in the Methodist Free Church Connection. Had not the Lord strengthened my faith through the reading of your works, I feel sure that neither I, nor yet the class under my care, would be in the healthy, spiritual condition, which we enjoy to-day. I just mention this to show that your work and publications are accomplishing all that you intended, and very much more. It truly is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. I am still hoping that you may see your way clear to have a Missionary Tour through England, should your years and health permit; for there are many Orphans in this district, who have little families now growing up around them, whose hearts would rejoice greatly could they but once more see their kind benefactor; and not theirs only, but their children’s also. I enclose Postal order for 10s. for the Orphans, and 6d. for the Report.”
September 16th. From the neighbourhood of Tenby £50. — September 19th. From Yorkshire £100. A former Orphan in the Civil Service.
October 9th. Received £1 from one of the former Christian Orphans, with the following letter : —
“Dear and honoured Sir, “Please accept the enclosed on behalf of the Orphans. I have now been away from the Home over 19 years, and can testify to God’s exceeding mercy and kindness to me. The enclosed handbills will show how I am able to employ my evenings; and although I did not learn shorthand at the Orphan-Houses, yet I received a thoroughly sound education which helped me on, and gave me the desire to learn shorthand. I have at my different classes nearly 100 pupils. Then, too, as you may already know, I was able successfully to pass the open competitive examination for the Civil Service eleven years ago, and am now receiving £200 per annum, rising gradually to £350. I feel, therefore, that I have special mercies for which to thank God; and lastly, for a goodly measure of health and strength through all these years. “Your obedient servant and old Orphan, * * * *,”
October 11th. Received £1,098 19s. 11d. as the legacy of the late J. G., Esq. This legacy. has been in Chancery since 1869. Continually I prayed about this legacy also, and at last, after faith and patience had been long exercised, and much prayer had been offered to the Lord, this legacy too was brought out of the Court, and thus twenty legacies, at least, I have been enabled to pray out of Chancery within the last forty-five years. I relate this for the encouragement of Christian friends.
November 6th. From a Christian in business, who gives as the Lord prospers Him, £97 15s. 8d. — November 8th. Legacy of the late Mrs. F. 8. 8. £100. — December Ist. Legacy of the late Mrs. C., after having been three years in Chancery, £329 lls. 4d. Here is another legacy, a third during this year, which T have prayed out of Chancery. Received from the neighbourhood of London £100, with the following letter : —
“My dear Mr. Müller,
“I have much pleasure in handing you the enclosed £100 from my dear wife, in aid of your great and good work. She had intended leaving this amount in her Will; but, on consideration, she is led to think that it is more in accordance with the Lord’s mind that she give it in her lifetime. She is thus her own executrix, and in every way I quite feel with her that it is the better course. With our Christian love, and begging your prayers,
“I remain, yours in the Lord, * * * *,”
December 22nd. From near London £190, with £10 for
myself. — December 30th. From Westmoreland £100.
January Ist. From London £25. From Manchester £20. — January 6th. From an hotel proprietor 10s., “being one penny per night for each visitor occupying a bed during the past quarter.” — January 27th. Received £3 15s., with the following letter : —
Dear Sir,
“It has pleased God to spare me to reach the age of 75 years, in better health than I have been for several years at this season. This is a cause of very great thankfulness, and I now send you a cheque for £3 15s., being a shilling for every year of the number I have attained. I esteem it a great privilege to be able to send you the enclosed to help some of your little ones, and that you may train them in the fear and love of Him whom to know is life eternal.”
January 28th. Legacy of the late F. R. Hsq., £1,000. This gentleman I never saw. — January 31st. From Maidstone £73 5s. — February yd. Received £35, “Instead of paying the same to underwriters for insurance of a steamer.”
March 12th. From a Bristol donor £90 for the support of Orphan girls, and £35 for the support of Orphan boys. — April 25th. From the neighbourhood of Manchester £100. — April 30th. From Wotton-under-Edge £100.
A former Orphan becomes Manager of a Branch Post Office.
May 15th. Received the following letter from one of the former Orphans : —
“Dear Mr. Müller,
“It is now nearly ten years since I left your fatherly care. I was nine years an inmate of your Home, and most sincerely thank you for the excellent education I received while under your care, which has enabled me to fill a very important and responsible situation. I have gradually risen from one stage to another, and am now managing entirely a Branch Post Office. I thought you would be pleased to hear of my success in life. Will you please accept my warmest thanks for your past fatherly care?
“Believe me, yours respectfully, * * * *.”
May 23rd. From a Bristol donor £100. — May 26th. This last day of our financial”year a number of donations came in, amounting altogether to £82.
In the course of the last year £14,647 Os. 4d. came in by way of legacies, a greater amount than we have ever had during any similar period. If donors desire that legacies left by them to the Institution should really be received by us, they must kindly have the legacy inserted in the Will minutely, according to the form which will be found on the last page of the Reports.