ome measure of
purity, yet before it is finished I am at a loss to discern the true
principle by which I am actuated. Lord, help me; hast thou not
promised to work in me both 'to will and to do of thy good pleasure?'
Is it not the grand end of thy death, that thou mightest purify to
thyself a glorious church, 'not having spot nor wrinkle, nor any such
thing;' and shall not I be a partaker? Art thou not made of God unto
thy people, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption?

"O Lord, my heart pants for redemption from indwelling sin. This
depravity of my nature, this opposition, this evil that is ever
present with me when I would do good, this indolence, this
listlessness, this want of zeal, or else self-will, keenness of
temper, impatience, haste: O Lord, there is a host of enemies; gird
me, arm me, shield me, lead me forth under thy banner; be my
victorious King. 'I will go in thy name, trusting in thy promised
strength and grace to help in every time of need.' Glory be to God,
Father, Son, and blessed Spirit, for the grace in which I stand. But
for grace I had been a willing slave to sin to this hour. By that same
grace I shall one day attain to victory. I cast my burden on the Lord,
he will sustain until he deliver; I will go up through the wilderness,
trusting in the promises, and continue fighting in his strength. 'My
soul waits for thy salvation.' Lord, enable me to keep 'looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of faith.' O give faith in every part
of his mediatorial character. May I feed upon him and be strong for
this sore fight. Give courage, O Lord; press me forward: may I
resolve, and keep the resolution, to resist unto blood, striving
against sin.

"I have been a slothful servant in thy family, an idle laborer in
thy vineyard, 'an unfruitful branch,' a poor dwarfish member in thy
body. Grant, O grant a little fruit on the topmost bough. O, at the
'eleventh hour' may I begin to work, to bear some fruit, to the glory
of that grace by which my soul is saved from the wages of sin, death,
and hell, and made heir, by free gift, of the wages of righteousness,
eternal life, and glory. I wait for thy salvation."

There being no public, free, or Sabbath-schools in the city, Mrs.
Graham used her endeavors to promote such as would at least furnish
education to the children of the widows under her care; and several
young ladies offered their services, which she thus notices: