PART 1
Long ago a wood-chopper by the name of Robert H. and his six sons lived at the bonder of a large dense forest. William, the youngest son, a boy of five, was left to himself: his mother had died soon after his birth, and his father and his brothers, who were much older than he, were engaged in chopping wood in the forest.
The owner of the forest land selected the trees and charged a small fee for the privilege of cutting them. William’s father, who was an industrious man, had always made a good living by chopping and selling the wood. When the sons grew up, they were able to handle the ax as well as their father, and prosperity increased yearly in the old log cabin.
Were those who lived there happy? Ah, no; one thing was lacking to make this family really happy. The wood-chopper was altogether unconcerned about his soul’s salvation, and never spoke to his children about God or ever thought of taking them where they could hear the Word of God. Schools were very poor then, and few people could read or write; so the sons were allowed to grow up in utter ignorance, their only desire being to earn money and have an easy life.
This condition of things was so much sadder, since the father had, in his young years, been shown the way of salvation by his own clear God-fearing mother, and had heard many earliest words from her lips, but he had not, for many years, thought about the Lord Jesus, the salvation of his soul, or of his clear mother’s teachings, till God Himself brought him to think about these things through a serious accident.
One day while he was chopping down a tree, it fell unexpectedly to the ground, just in the direction where the old roan was standing. Although he quickly stepped aside, one of the strong branches struck him to the ground, hurting him so badly that his sons had to carry him home. William, who was helping his brothers to gather the dry sticks and bind them into bundles, was looking on when the accident happened, and, crying aloud, he followed the sad procession home. When their father became conscious he complained of intense pain. The older sons bound him up as well as they knew how, and left him alone with William as they went back to the woods, where they stayed for a week.
The poor man suffered a great deal, and the thought of death came with great power over his soul. The sins of his whole life seemed to awaken and condemn him. One thing, especially, troubled him much—the thoughts about his poor mother, whom he had secretly left many years before, and about whom he had never bothered since. What might have become of the poor and lonesome widow? Was she still alive, or had she died of a broken heart, sorrowing over her prodigal son?
ML 01/08/1939