s he had 'lifted axes upon
the thick trees.' This man was ranked among the leading characters in
that region. He could bear up with fortitude under all trials and
privations, except those of a religious kind.

"Before his removal to the west, he had enjoyed the privileges of a
large and well-regulated church, in which he had for years been a
prominent member. To be thus suddenly deprived of those blessed means
of grace caused him many painful feelings, and at times almost
incapacitated him for ordinary duties. This subject pressed so heavily
on his mind, that he often sought relief in laying his wants before
God in prayer. One day he enjoyed near access to the throne while on
his knees in a secluded part of the forest. He prayed earnestly that
God would make that wilderness and solitary place glad with the sound
of the gospel. He asked for the church privileges to which he had
been accustomed, and he felt assured that God could grant them. So
much was he engaged in pleading for this blessing, that he forgot his
work. His family looked for his return to dinner, but he came not.
They were alarmed, and, making search, found him on his knees. To this
man of God there was something peculiarly pleasant in the memory of
that approach to the mercy-seat. He loved the spot on which he had
knelt, and determined to mark it. It was by the side of a beech tree.
He 'blazed' it, so that in after years it might remind him of the
incident that I have related.

"That prayer was speedily answered. God put it into the hearts of the
people of that region to build a sanctuary in the desert. They have
now the stated means of grace. That pioneer is one of the officers of
the church. The membership is near eighty. The cause of religion seems
to be flourishing among them. Not long since it was my privilege to
preach in their house of worship; it was filled with an intelligent
congregation. At the close of the services, the old man gave me a
history of his praying under the beech tree, and, with tears in his
eyes, closed by saying, 'That tree stood only about five feet from the
very spot where you stood while preaching for us to-night.'"

"There," said she, at the conclusion of the narrative, "I felt that
this was a word in season to me. I fell upon my knees, and, with
increased earnestness, pleaded for the privileges of the gospel, and
rose feeling, as did the pioneer, that God would grant the request.
But how did my heart leap with glad surpr