One day, a man was seen to take a silver coin out of his purse; and
as the missionary went on to describe more of the condition of the
heathen world, a second and a third was taken out, and held in
readiness for the collection. At another time, a woman, whom she had
not seen before, asked for a private interview with one of the
ladies of the mission; and when alone, besides requesting prayer
that she might become a Christian, she took out a gold ornament, the
only one of any value that she possessed, which had been handed down
as an heirloom in her family for several generations, and said she
wanted to give that to send the gospel to others, only no one must
know who gave it. The ornament was sold for four dollars and fifty
cents, and the woman, in less than a year, became a useful
Christian. Sometimes the amount of interest might be measured by the
number of silver coins manufactured into buttons that were found in
the contribution box; for when their feelings were aroused, the
women cut off the fastenings of their outer garments, and cast them
into the Lord's treasury.
But the most remarkable revival of benevolence occurred in April,
1861; and we condense the following account of it from a long letter
of Yonan to Miss Fiske and Mrs.
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