The Methodist locomotive engineer had died joyful. “I am so glad to go,” he said. “I am like a boy when there’s a circus in town; I’ve got the price, and my baggage is checked clear through.”

I was holding a memorial service for him in his old home town, and at the close a big, broad-shouldered man came forward to the altar rail and quietly said, “You did not know that man.”

The remark startled me a little, for I had been acquainted with him for many years; in fact, had once been his pastor.

“I thought I did,” replied I.

“No, you never really knew him,” was the insistent rejoinder; “let me tell you something about him. Years ago I was not living as I ought, and I had all sorts of 60 trouble. My wife was very sick, and we were living in a bit of a shack back here a little way where she finally died. I was down and out. The fellows wanted to be good to me, and they were––in their way of thinking––but it did me no good. They would say, ‘Come, brace up, old fellow, have a drink and forget your troubles.’ But there are some troubles drink will not drown; mine was one of them.

“One night our friend came up to my shack, and having visited a while he said: ‘Old man, you’re up against it hard, ain’t you?’ I replied, ‘Yes, I am, just up to the limit.’ ‘Well, let’s pray about it.’ I told him I didn’t believe in prayer. ‘All right,’ said he, ‘I do, and I’ll pray any way.’ You should have heard the prayer he made. It was about like this: ‘God, here’s my friend, Charley; he’s in an awful fix. We’ll have to do something for him. I’ve done all I can; now, it’s up to you to see him through. Amen.’

“Then he arose from his knees and, handing me his check book, he said, ‘My wife and I ain’t got much, only a couple o’ thousand in the bank; but here’s this 61 check book all signed up; take it and use it all if you need it, and God bless you!’

“But,” added the narrator of the story, “I couldn’t use money like that.”

The tears were fast falling over his bronzed cheeks as he told with tenderness the story, and as I looked into his eyes I knew that through knowledge of the dead engineer’s kingly kindness had come to him the knowledge of the new life.