A STREET SINGER | AdventAI

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jan 30, 1901

A STREET SINGER.

ON a cold, dark night, when the wind was blowing hard, Conrad, a worthy citizen of a little town in Germany, sat playing the flute, while Ursula, his wife, was preparing supper. They heard a sweet voice singing outside:—

“Foxes to their holes have gone, Every bird into his nest, But I wander here alone, And for me there is no rest.”

Tears filled the good man’s eyes as he said: “What a pity that voice should be spoiled by being tried in such weather! I think it is the voice of a child.”

“Let us open the door and see,” said his wife, who had lost a little boy not long before, and whose heart was open to take pity on the little wanderer.

Conrad opened the door and saw a ragged child, who said, “Charity, good sir, for Christ’s sake.”

“Come in, my little one,” said he; “you will rest with me for the night.”

The boy said, “Thank God!” and entered. The heat of the room made him faint, but Ursula’s kind care soon restored him. They gave him some supper, and then he told them that he was the son of a poor miner, and wanted to be a priest. He wandered about and sang, and lived on the money people gave him. His kind friends would not let him talk much, but sent him to bed. When he was asleep, they looked in upon him, and were so pleased with his countenance that they determined to keep him if he was willing. In the morning they found that he was only too glad to remain. They sent him to school, and afterward he entered a monastery. There he found the Bible, which he read, and from which he learned the way of life. The sweet voice of the little singer became the strong echo of the good Word. “Justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Conrad and Ursula, when they took that little street singer into their house, little thought that they were nourishing the great champion of the Reformation. The poor boy was Martin Luther.—Word and Way.