Southern Christian Advocate

AN INCIDENT IN MISSIONARY LIFE
As I was engaged in hunting up Sabbath-school children, a German woman came running to me to ask the cost of interment for a child in our vaults, saying, that there was close at hand a poor German Catholic family, who had lost a child by death; that the priest refused to allow it burial in their grave-yard unless the usual fees were paid; and that the parents being too poor to do that, the mother's heart was almost broken at the idea of having her child buried in the Potter's Field. "Will you show me the place?" asked I; which, being instantly done, I proposed to the bereaved and much afflicted mother to assume all the expenses of the burial of her child in our vaults myself—which being very thankfully accepted, the rumour of the matter brought presently a number of persons together, among whom was an Irish woman, who, finding a jug of holy water upon the table, sprinkled herself and others: and upon hearing what I had proposed to do for the afflicted family, she said to me, "Och. good sir, and I think a blessing from you would be as good as from any priest!" at which she fell down upon her knees before me; and crossing herself, she begged me for my blessing! "Good lady,' said I, "understand me, we don't bless the people ourselves; but I tell you what we do: we kneel down with them, and pray that the Lord may bless them." "Och!" said she, "and I think that's a very good way, too. So I collected together a company of Germans and Irish, and prayed with them, first in the one language and then in the other, and then left them wiping their eyes.

Jno. C. Lyon, German Missionary
New-York, Nov. 1, 1844.