PUT me down,” said a wounded Prussian at Sedan, to his comrades who were carrying him; “put me down; do not take the trouble to carry me any farther; I am dying.”
They put him down, and returned to the field. A few moments after, an officer saw the man weltering in his blood, and said to him, “Can I do anything for you?”
“Nothing, thank you.”
“Shall I get you a little water?” said the kind-hearted officer.
“No, thank you, I am dying.”
“Is there nothing I can do for you? Shall I write to your friends?”
“I have no friends that you can write to. But there is one thing for which I would be much obliged. In my knapsack you will find a Testament; will you open it at the fourteenth chapter of John, and near the end of the chapter you will find a verse that begins with ‘Peace’? Will you read it?”
The officer did so, and read the words,
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give unto you. . . . Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
“Thank you, sir,” said the dying man, “I have that peace; I am going to that Saviour; God is with me; I want no more.” These were his last words, and his spirit ascended to be with Him he loved.
ML 09/06/1903