. The story of John Frederic Oberlin. oice reiterated, Take her for your wife. That the wish wasfather to the voice is clear enough. The voicewas as evidently a real one. It was the voiceof his own heart, though Oberlin did not thenso interpret it. He decided at last that this indeed was theintimation of providence, and then he lost notime in obeying the divine will. It was a gladobedience. He sought the lady under the shadeof a tree which still stands in the garden, andhow his declaration has come down to us inwords I know not, but his original biographerand friend, who was assisted by Oberli
. The story of John Frederic Oberlin. oice reiterated, Take her for your wife. That the wish wasfather to the voice is clear enough. The voicewas as evidently a real one. It was the voiceof his own heart, though Oberlin did not thenso interpret it. He decided at last that this indeed was theintimation of providence, and then he lost notime in obeying the divine will. It was a gladobedience. He sought the lady under the shadeof a tree which still stands in the garden, andhow his declaration has come down to us inwords I know not, but his original biographerand friend, who was assisted by Oberlins daugh-ter in handing down the romance, writes thatOberlin said: You are about to leave us, mydear friend, but I have had an intimation thatyou are destined by divine will to be the partnerof my life. If you will resolve upon this step,so important to us both, I expect you will giveme your candid opinion about it before yourdeparture. Let us hope that his biographer and friend didnot get correctly all that was said on this occa- 66. MAKING A HOME sion, even if the young missionary may havebeen enabled to interweave these words intohis declaration. We know that Oberlin wasaccustomed to enter in his diary his dailythoughts, and it is quite possible that in the coolof the evening, with his pen in hand, in themental reaction after such an experience, hethought that he made these identical all events we may be sure that he asked thissweet girl, who had abundant humor and a senseof the ridiculous, to share his life in such a waythat she did not laugh at its putting, and with-out concealing from her that a life of sacrifice,solitude, and poverty went with it. The youngwoman did not need time to find out what mightbe the providential intimations for herself. Herheart was already in Oberlins ownership; shearose, placed one hand before her eyes, and with-out a word spoken held out the other towardhim. He clasped it in his own, and there isno record beyond this. Oberlin never
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