now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins
be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool." Then she glanced at a verse above,
"Wash ye, make you clean: put away the evil of your doings from before
mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well."

These verses conveyed to her dark, unin-structed mind two very clear
ideas. One was that she was to forsake every thing that appeared to
her like sin, and to do right in future; and the other, that she was
permitted to reason with the Lord about the sins she had committed; both
which she at once resolved to do.

Her prayer now was changed. Before she had begged, entreated the Lord
to forgive her sins; now she brought arguments. "Am I not a poor slave,
Lord," she cried, "that never has known nothing at all. I never heard no
preaching, I never had nobody to tell me how to be saved. I have done a
good many wicked things, but I didn't know they were wicked then; and
I have left undone many things, but I didn't know I ought to be so
particular to do them. And, Lord, out of your own goodness and kindness
won't you forgive this poor child. You are so full of love, pity me,
pity me, O Lord, and save my poor soul. I will try to be good. I will
try to do right. I'll never, never dance no more. I'll try to bear all
the hard knocks I get, and I won't be hard on them that's beneath me,
and I will pray, and try to read the Bible, and I'll talk to the rest of
the people; only, Lord, forgive my sins, and take this load off that's
breaking my heart, and make me feel safe and happy, so I won't be afraid
when I die."

Thus the sick girl prayed with clasped hands upon her bed of pain; but
still her mind was dark. There was no one to tell her of the way of
salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. Had she never heard of Jesus?
She had heard his name, had sung it in her hymns; but she imagined it
to be another name for the Lord, and had never heard of the glorious
salvation that blessed Name imparts.

One night, while in this state of distress and perplexity, Tidy dreamed
a dream. She thought she saw the Lord, seated on a majestic throne, with
thousands and ten thousands of shining angels about him, and she was
brought a guilty criminal before him. Convicted of sin, and not knowing
what else to do, she again commenced pleading in her own behalf, using
every argument she could think of to move the Lord to mercy. There wa