"AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA."
By Dr. E. P. Thwing
"Where would you have been if I had not met you?" asked a lady of a bright young lad. "At the bottom of the sea!" was the prompt reply. Both the lady and the lad spoke in Cantonese. The one spoke reprovingly; the other answered in a low, serious tone, that showed shame for having grieved the heart of one to whom he owed his life. Last May two missionaries were passing near the bank of the river that flows by the house where I am now writing, when they saw a man and woman about to drown a lad of thirteen. On inquiry they found that he was a bad boy, following in the steps of his father in dishonest gambling habits. His ugly temper grew more intolerable under cruelty; and so, as in other cases, this father and grandmother were to put him out of the way. It was not unknown to the neighbors. They would not object, nor would anybody else. When a parent is murdered by a son or daughter, crucifixion or decapitation is the punishment. Christmas week a woman was bound to the cross and sliced to death, in this city, for parricide. But "the stubborn and rebellious son," as in Deuteronomy 21, may be stoned or drowned without consulting "the elders of his city." To the protests of the missionaries the father replied, "Do you want him?" "Oh, no! We cannot take him." The stripped and pinioned lad must therefore be cast into the river, like a dog, to drown. These American ladies begged for two days' respite. It was granted. The boy was then brought to them. No longer delay would be granted. If they did not take him, he must die at once. There was no alternative. Papers were drawn, and he became theirs. He soon verified the description given. In his fits of ugliness he acted like a maddened animal. He had been used to flogging, having been tied up by the thumbs.508 One day, when shut up alone, he screamed so loud that the cook took the liberty to insert a gag. Compulsory silence led to willing submission. He began to improve, and to respond to loving approaches. He now goes to church and Sunday school, is quick to learn in his daily studies, and bright and capable in household duties. The better nature strengthens as the old one is suppressed. Surrounded by Christian influences, he bids fair to become a useful, good man. Now and then a tempest comes, but with diminished violence, and sooner followed by calm. Then, as in the response just quoted, the frankness of the lad is seen. He feels that he owes his life to those who rescued him at the last moment, and is trying to serve them faithfully. He also feels kindly towards those brutal kinsmen from whom he was taken. Recent improvements on the building where he lives necessitated the hewing of large timbers. He wished to write to his father, asking him to come and get the chips for fuel. These are hopeful signs. We who know him believe that God may yet make him a chosen vessel. He was "at the bottom of the sea" of heathenism, and can say of God, as did David: "He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from . . . . . them which hated me." Do missions pay? Yea, verily, every way. And are not gentleness and love more potent factors in the work of drawing reluctant souls, everywhere, to a better life, than are more drastic methods?—Sunday School Times.