' If we turn to the
south, there we see the daughters of Arabia lamenting, 'In all this
desert, not one oasis yields the waters of life to quench our
burning thirst.' Eternity alone will suffice to praise Him who sent
you, the only heralds of his grace, to us sinners.
"But our southern journey is not finished. From one end of Africa to
the other our sisters lie wrapped in the shadows of death; and if we
turn to the east, all the way to China, the daughters cry, 'Wretched
is our unhappy lot: no cloud of mercy, such as surrounds you, lights
up the place of our abode. So on the west, as far as Constantinople,
our companions in suffering have no school to sound in their ears
the blessed name of Jesus.
"What are we, that the Lord should choose us from the midst of such
darkness, and send you to us with the message of life? Let all
nations, with wondering lips, praise the Almighty for his grace to
us, so worthless.
"Now that we go from you, we leave with you this our handiwork as a
token of gratitude. [A specimen of needlework now among the
curiosities at the Missionary House in Boston.] Receive it, though a
trifle.
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