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such as are worthy of the work, and competent to accomplish it.'
'Those are few in number, and difficult to discover.'
'You say truly; but when found, it is right to stir them up- to
urge and exhort them to the effort- to show them what their gifts are,
and why they were given- to speak Heaven's message in their ear,- to
offer them, direct from God, a place in the ranks of His chosen.'
'If they are really qualified for the task, will not their own
hearts be the first to inform them of it?'
I felt as if an awful charm was framing round and gathering over
me: I trembled to hear some fatal word spoken which would at once
declare and rivet the spell.
'And what does your heart say?' demanded St. John.
'My heart is mute- my heart is mute,' I answered, struck and
thrilled.
'Then I must speak for it,' continued the deep, relentless voice.
'Jane, come with me to India: come as my helpmeet and
fellow-labourer.'
The glen and sky spun round: the hills heaved! It was as if I had
heard a summons from Heaven- as if a visionary messenger, like him
of Macedonia, had enounced, 'Come over and help us!' But I was no
apostle,- I could not behold the herald,- I could not receive his
call.
'Oh, St. John!' I cried, 'have some mercy!'
I appealed to one who, in the discharge of what he believed his
duty, knew neither mercy nor remorse. He continued-
'God and nature intended you for a missionary's wife. It is not
personal, but mental endowments they have given you: you are formed
for labour, not for love. A missionary's wife you must- shall be.
You shall be mine: I claim you- not for my pleasure, but for my
Sovereign's service.'
'I am not fit for it: I have no vocation,' I said.
He had calculated on these first objections: he was not irritated
by them. Indeed, as he leaned back against the crag behind him, folded
his arms on his chest, and fixed his countenance, I saw he was
prepared for a long and trying opposition, and had taken in a stock of
patience to last him to its close- resolved, however, that that
close should be conquest for him.
'Humility, Jane,' said he, 'is the groundwork of Christian virtues:
you say right that you are not fit for the work. Who is fit for it? Or
who, that ever was truly called, believed himself worthy of the
summons? I, for instance, am but dust and ashes. With St. Paul, I
acknowledge myself the chiefest of sinners; but I do not suffer this
sense of my personal vileness to daunt me. I know my Leader: that He
is just as well as mighty; and while He has chosen a feeble instrument
to perform a great task, He will, from the boundless stores of His
providence, supply the inadequacy of the means to the end. Think
like me, Jane- trust like me. It is the Rock of Ages I ask you to lean
on: do not doubt but it will bear the weight of your human weakness.'
'I do not understand a missionary life: I have never studied