OCSS LIBRARY STRANGE TALES FROM HUMBLE LIFE, JOHN ASH WORTH o PENNY IT SHILLIN' PUBLISHED BY PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR 3^4 PHILADELPHIA : HENRY LONGSTRETH, Xo. 738 SANSOM STREET. rr variety of forms in which love manifests itself -- would be a very interesting study. No doubt we are so constituted that our highest felicity consists in our love travelling back to the Source of all love, then it becomes the purest, the holiest, and the most lasting. "Yes, love indeed is light from heaven, , 'A spark of that immortal fire With angels shared to mortals given, To lift from earth our low desires. Devotion wafts the mind ahove, But heaven itself descends in love." Wherever this love exists it will manifest itself in some form consistent with its nature. In Noah and Abra- ham, it was active obedience to God ; Jacob, in tithing his income to the Lord; David, in songs of praise; Solomon, in building the temple; the Apostles, in preaching the Gospel; and these in all ages have had their numerous successors. An illustration of this I remember in one of my neighbors, who in the latter part of her life was much impressed with the vow Jacob made on that memorable occasion when, alone and weary, he lay down to rest, with a stone for his pillow. Jacob that night dreamed of angels, and heard the voice of God, promising him (146) "PENNY IT SHILLIN'." 147 protection and temporal blessings; and Jacob replied, " Of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give a tenth unto thec." "And so will I, or somewhere near it," earnestly- observed this neighbor, evidently impressed with the beauty of Jacob's vow; and it will be seen that she fulfilled her promise. Amongst other worthy characters that attended our Church meetings was this poor but remarkably clean widow, we called old Mary. She always sat in one place, and was seldom or ever absent; she was civil, courteous, and modest; often took her part in the meeting, and her prayers and speeches, though short, were very pointed. One evening, in her prayer, she said, "Lord, I am a miracle of mercies; I am neither deaf nor dumb, blind nor crazy ; I have good use of both my hands and my feet ; I have a house to live in, a clean bed to rest on, food to eat, and raiment to wear ; and best of all I have Jesus Christ as my constant companion, to cheer me and comfort me every day. I have heaven on the way to heaven, and what more can I want. As for my bits of troubles, for they are bits compared with other's, I spread them before the Lord. I am a miracle of mercies ! a miracle of mercies ! Oh, bless the Lord for his goodness. Amen." But there was one peculiarity about this good old creature that we all noticed, and that did us all good. She seldom appeared at any service, Sunday or week- day, without bringing an " offering to the Lord," as she called it. Her income from all sources, was about 148 "PEXNY IT SHILLINV seven shillings per week, and out of this she gave seven pence. Knowing her small income, and her thrift and care to make ends meet, I ventured to say, "Mary, we know you are anxious to do what you can to help in all good things, and that you willingly bring your contributions, but suppose we take the will for the deed, then you will have a little more for home requirements." She rather sharply answered, " Did Jesus Christ say that to the poor widow that put her mite into the treasury? No, He did not; He spake well of her, and said she had given more than all the rich folks put together, though they had given much. I know what I am doing, and Jesus Christ knows. It has been my custom ever since I read Jacob's vow, for every shillin' God gives me to give Him a penny back; I give a penny it shillin'. This is one way of proving that I love Him, for if I cannot build churches I can help to keep them going; and if I cannot go into all the world and preach the Gospel myself, I can help to send others. I have neighbors poorer than I am, and there are some in this Church poorer, and sometimes I can give a little to them. No, no; I shall give my mite, my penny it shillin', as long as I live." The moment I suggested that Mary should not give out of her penury I found I had done wrong. Was she not giving on a right principle a principle laid down by the Almighty Himself in the first written code given to mankind a law to be a constant re- minder that all we have belongs to God, and that we ought to acknowledge this by returning to Him a dis- "PENNY IT SHILLIN'." 149 tinct and regular proportion. What a glorious arrange- ment this is; how it would keep us in daily remem- brance of God's goodness. So long as the nation to whom God first gave this order continued to observe it, so long they were the most prosperous people on the face of the earth; but when they refused to obey the command they became the poorest, and the most miser- able ; and when they cried to Him about the draught, the mildew and blight of their harvests, He told them what they had done. He said, " Will a man rob God ? yet ye have robbed me in tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse : for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed : for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts." Old Mary brought her tithe to the storehouse ; it was not quite a tenth, but it was her willing offering, and no doubt she got the blessing in her own soul. I have been, and still am, in circumstances that enable me to judge of the operations and blessed effects of proportionate and systematic giving to the Lord, and give the following additional illustra- tions' 150 "PENNY IT SHILLIN'." " Have you removed to your new house ?" I asked a gentleman at one of our railway stations. " Not yet," was the reply. " Will twenty thousand clear the cost ?" " About that. I have this day been thinking if that twenty thousand had remained in business it would have produced a thousand per annum, and the tithe, or tenth, the Lord's portion, would have been one hun- dred pounds." " Do you tithe all your profits ?" "Yes. When I began business I began on that principle, and have always carried it out." "Then your new house will undoubtedly have to pay into the Lord's treasury the one hundred pounds, and you will be better content to admire and enjoy it ; but I rather think that all who live in large houses do not think of this." " Perhaps not ; but it is their misfortune. What have we that God does not give us ? The gold and silver is all His ; we are merely stewards ; and if the Lord trusts us with a thousand pounds, it is easy, and chight to be pleasant to return him one hundred. They that honor Him He will honor ; and if we honor Him with our substance, He promises to fill our barns with plenty." " Have you many objects or recipients for your givings ?" " Yes," he replied, with a smile, " it comes in in one channel, and flows out in about ten : churches, schools, missions, hospitals, orphan-houses, widows, temperance societies, poor neighbors, &c." " PENNY IT SHILLIN'." 151 "Well, sir, if it be more blessed to give than re- ceive, you are no doubt a happy man." A short time after talking with this gentleman, I witnessed another happy effect of this self-tithing. While attending a meeting of Sunday-School teachers, in Exeter Hall, London, I met with Mr. Charles worth, head master of Mr. Spurgeon's Orphanage, Stockwell, who requested I would meet Mr. Spurgeon at the Or- phanage at four o'clock the following day. Arriving at the Lodge of the beautiful and interesting establish- ment, I saw several well-dressed boys standing at the gate. One of them very civilly asked, " Have you got a box, please ?" " Let the gentleman pass, and if he has not a box, he will see one before he returns," said another boy, laughing. On I went, and found several other visitors, and about one hundred well-dressed, healthy-looking boys at full play ; Mr. Spurgeon, cheerful and happy, walk- ing about amongst them, talking and shaking hands with everybody. Amongst the visitors was a tall, ruddy-faced man, who requested a private interview with Mr. Spurgeon ; the request was granted, and in about fifteen minutes both emerged from the private room, bowed to each other, and parted, evidently both well pleased. Mr. Spurgeon then rejoined me, his face radiant with joy, holding in his hand three one-hundred pound notes, and exclaiming, "See, Mr. Ashworth, these are works of art, and this strong mark in the corner tells their value. When I came to the Orphanage, about three o'clock, I found 152 " PENNY IT SHILLIN'." that our monthly bills, due to-day, could not be paid ; we had not the money. Three of my deacons were here, and I told them of our poverty, and .aaid unto them, 'Let us go into the office, and pray over the matter.' Before we knelt down I observed, ' That if we all give something to begin with, we should then be more consistent in asking the Lord to induce others to give. Now, what do you say, friends ? I, myself, will give twenty-five pounds/ to begin with.' " ' I will second that,' replied one of the deacons. " ' What do you mean ? Do you second that I give the twenty-five pounds, or that you give twenty-five?' " ' That I give twenty-five.' " ' Good ; who thirds it the same way ?' " ' I do/ says a third ; and also a fourth. "Having ourselves given one hundred to stan oft with, we knelt down, and the Lord verily heard our prayers; for here comes a man of whom I know nothing, and who will not give his name, and puts these notes into my hand, saying, as he does so " ' I give systematically ; give, at least, a tenth of all the Lord gives me ; and I have very great pleasure in handing you these three hundred pounds.' " The Lord hears prayer, my friend, and the Lord knows where the money is." " If the man had not tithed his income, the proba- bility is he would have had nothing for you," I re- plied. "Just so; and very likely naught for anybody else," rejoined Mr. Spurgeon. This last observation from one who knows something "PENNY IT SHILLIN'." 153 of mankind, reveals a deplorable fact; for there are thousands of wealthy men who, because they do not give a tithe, or a proportion, give the little they do give very grudgingly ; to such it is a positive torture to give. I knew two of these characters. When any person asked one of these for help, he would invaria- bly reply, " I never give anything to old beggars." If the applicant said Jie was not in the habit of beg- ging, and that he had never begged before, the reply was, " I never take on new ones." When the other gentleman was waited upon for any purpose whatever, he always answered, "My custom is never to give until I have made inquiry." If he were furnished with reports or reference, he would refuse them, or lay them aside, saying, "I really have not time to make inquiry." A third gentleman, whose name I do not know, ordered a dinner for twelve at one of the London clubs. They had many dainty dishes, finishing with the roe of the herring laid on dry toast, quite a genteel finish. The dessert consisted of strawberries at six shillings, and grapes at fourteen shillings per pound, choice wines, &c. The cost was thirty-six pounds, three pounds per head. The following day a member of the same club asked this same gentleman for a sub- scription to provide a dinner and a tea for the poor children of a ragged school, but the answer he got was, 154 "PENNY IT SHILLIN'." " I really cannot afford it." I believe no man honoring the Lord with the first- fruits of his increase would ever have been foolish enough to order a dinner like that. Mr. Spurgeon's deliverance reminded me of one of my own mercies. The funds for the Chapel for the Destitute, the School for poor children, the Missionary and Bible Women, were quite exhausted, and for several weeks nothing came. . The Missionary was de- jected, and we laid our case before the Lord, asking Him, if we had not been faithful to our trust, to show us, and show us why His face seemed turned away from us. On visiting a Yorkshire town the same week, a gentleman placed a letter in my hand, request- ing I would not open it until I got on the train. The moment the train started I broke4he seal, and read, " DHAE SIB, May I ask you to pray for me, that I may be faithful to death in giving that portion of my income that I have purposed in my heart before God. My Heavenly Father has greatly increased my power of doing good since I resolved to give systematically ; may I never fall into the error of consuming it on myself." The letter contained what Mr. Spurgeon called a work of art, with a strong mark in the corner that told its value. The following morning, in handing it over to my fellow-laborer who had joined me in prayer, as he took the book to enter it, I watched his counte- nance; it was first white, then red, then his eyes moistened, and his pen trembled. Evidently there was great joy and thankfulness. There is one important sentence in that railway "PENNY IT SHILLIN'." 155 letter, " My Heavenly Father has greatly increased my power of doing good since I resolved to give syste- matically." Did he-give like old Mary, a " penny it shillin'," or the exact tenth; or, as the Lord had prospered him, the true Bible standard? Probably the latter ; and what followed ? Why, that the Lord according to His promise poured down blessings upon him, and filled his barns with plenty. He, like Mary and the gentleman that tithed his big house, just regarded himself as a mere steward of the Lord, ren- dering unto God the things that are God's. Perhaps few men who did so much made so few mistakes as John Wesley ; but in his admirable sermon on "The Use of Money," he puts a man's needs, the requirements of his wife, children, and servants the first, "and if there be an overplus left, then do good to them that are of the household of faith." This is not giving the first-fruits, but is putting the Lord's portion last, and is more likely to leave Him entirely without portion than in regularly giving out of all his income. Again, Wesley says, " Do not stint yourself like a Jew more than a Christian, to this or that pro- portion ; render God not a tenth, not a third, not half, but all that is God's, be it more or less." Would not this be crippling the power to trade, and killing the goose that lays the eggs, and in the aggregate leave the Lord's portion less? The scriptural advice to "lay by him in store as God hath prospered him," touches the whole income, and would produce a constant revenue, without affecting the capital necessary "to produce it. We know the Jews had by command three definite 156 "PENNY IT tithes : one for the Levites ; one for the Temple service ; and every three years one for the poor; making in all about twenty-three per cent. And we also know that so long as they brought these offerings God opened the windows of heaven, and blessed them with abundance. To give a proportion is a blessing yet, for perhaps nothing will better help a prosperous man to " carry corn/' or a poor man to feel thankful that he can do a little. I know a mechanic, whose wages are thirty shillings per weekj who weekly puts three shillings into an old tea-pot in the cupboard, and his wife often says, " I am always glad to hear the three shillings drop into the tea-pot ; I am sure the Lord knows it is for Him, and we can trust Him." And this is the way to look at this question, whether the income be more or less, the Lord knows. And the Lord requires an acknowledgment from all, that He only is the proprietor of all, and that to whom much is given of him much shall be required? This is the way the Lord reckons ; for a man with five hun- dred a year who can well live on two hundred, has a greater proportion to give from, and ought to give a greater proportion than the man with one hundred who almost requires it all. Of course, persons in this day, as in former days, may tithe themselves, and be defective in other Chris- tian duties. Tithing, though good in itself, is not saving grace. Our Saviour rebuked the Pharisees for attaching less importance to justice, mercy, and faith, than the paying of their tithes, telling them, and so far "PENNY IT SHILLJN'." 157 approving of tithes, that they ought to pay their tithes, and also do justice, love mercy, and have faith, or piety, towards God : " These ought ye to have done, and not left the other undone." Let not anything be given grudgingly, but cheer- fully and willingly. For does not God say, that " he which soweth bountifully shall also reap bountifully ;" and, " With what measure you mete, it shall be mea- sured to you again;" and "He that deviseth liberal things, by liberal things shall he stand;" and that " The liberal soul shall be made fat." " A gentleman, hearing of Mary's " penny it shil- lin'," was so pleased with it that he sent her a sovereign. She looked at the gold for a moment, and then said, " Well, I am a miracle of mercies ! a miracle of mer- cies ! But will you please to let me have it in silver. If I ask anybody to change me a sovereign, they will wonder where I have got it from ; they may think I have been stealing." Silver was obtained in exchange ; she turned it over and over in her hand, and said, "One shilling and eightpence of this belongs to the Lord. To be sure it is all His, but He lets me have the far greatest part, and I will give Him back a penny it shillin' very gladly, for He gave Himself for me." There is another advantage in this systematic and proportionate giving. We know what we do give, and are not tormented with the idea that we give too much. I remember once going with another visitor of the Kochdale Good Samaritan Society to V58 ''PENNY JT SHILLJN'." collect the annual subscriptions. Amongst otner places, we called at the counting-house of old Mr. Brignt. His son John, now the Right Honorable John Bright, was in the office. Looking over our book, he said to his father, " Father, had thou not better double thy subscrip- tion this year? These men have many very poor cases." " Double thine, John, and never mind me," said the old gentleman, smiling. They both doubled their usuai subscription, and as John Bright handed us the money, he observed, " I rather think many of us give much less than we think. When I was married I put a small cash book into my pocket, in which 1 entered all my givings for religious and charitable purposes. At the end of twelve months I took out the book to see how much I had given, making a guess at the same time how much I was certain it would be. When I had reckoned all, I found to my astonishment I had not given one- half." The mistake made by Mr. Bright is not uncommon, and the consequence is, a double loss, a blessing lost to the giver, and lost help where it was required. Old Mary, like all percentage-givers, would not be likely to make this mistake, and it was amusing to hear her say, as she often did, " I get an extra blessing with every penny I give, for I am a miracle of mercies. I am very sorry I began so late, and I would advise all you young folks, and everybody, to give a penny it shilling and more, if PENNY IT SHILLIN'." 159 can, and to do it regularly. That is the way regularly. God will bless you for it, if you give to His cause. Giving to the poor, you lend to the Lord. He says so, and God will never be in debt to any- body." Old Mary was right j God is good to us all, and constant gratitude for this goodness is one of tL;; greatest luxuries of this life. When the heart is given to God, and when we love Him, how easily all other gifts follow. We are not our own, neither body nor soul. All we have we have on trust ; and to show our thankfulness according to our means, pleases God, whether it be by statedly giving out of our abundance ; or> like old Mary, giving out of our poverty a " PENJJ rr SHILLIN'." UUSB LIBRARY STRANGE TALES FROM HUMBLE Iffi BY JOHN ASHWORTH. Fine Edition, Four Series, cloth, limp. The First and Second, bound in one volume, cloth, boards, or extra cloth, gilt edges, with steel portrait of the Author ; alss Third and Fourth in one volume, gilt edges. These remarkable Tales are still kept as Tracts, of which nearly Three Millions have already been sold. FIRST SERIES. 1. Mary; a Tale of Sorrow. t. The Dark Hour. [Men. 8. A Wonder ; or, The Two Old 4. Sanderson and Little Alice. 6. Wilkins. [and II. 647. The Dark Night. Parts I. 8. Joseph ; or, The Silent Corner. 9. My Mother. 10. Niff and his Dogs. 11. My New Friends. 12. My New Friends. IS. My New Friends. Part I. Part II. Part III. SECOND SERIES. 14. Mothers. [Prayer. 15. Twenty Pounds; or, The Little 16. All is Well, 17. My Uncle; or, Johnny'a Box. 18. Old Adam. 19. Ellen Williams. 20. Trials. 21. Answered at Last. 22. Priscilla. [Step. 23. Julia ; or, The First Wrong 24. No Cotton. 25. My Young Ragged Friends. THIRD SERIES. 26. The Lost Ourl. 27. Emmott. 28. The Widow. 29. Sarah ; or, " I Will have Him ! ' 30. My Sick Friends. Part I. 81. My Sick Friends. Part II. 32. George. 33. James Burrow*. 34. John and Mary. 35. A Sad Story. 36. Lucy's Legacy. 37. Edmund. FOURTH SERIES. 38. The Golden Wedding. 39. William the Tutor. 40. Fathers. 41. Little Susan. 42. Old Matthew. 43. Old Abe. 44. Milly. 45. The Fog Bell. 46. Mrs. Bowden. 47. Happy Ned. 48. Harry. 49. A Dancer. WALKS IN CANAAN. By same Author. 304 pages, with 7 full-page illustrations. Cloth, oe extra cloth, gilt edges. %" Mr. Ashworth's Tales and Books are above my praise ; they are circulated I believe, not by thousands, but by millions, and the result is, that the name of John Ashworth is a Household Word, not only in the lordly halls, but in the lowly homes of England." Dr. Guthrie.