BIRTH OF NIELS—OBSCURE CHILDHOOD—CRIPPLED, HELPLESS CONDITION—GOSPEL PREACHED—TAUGHT NEEDLEWORK—TRAINING IN BIBLE AND LUTHERAN CREED—A PROPHETIC PRIEST—REMARKABLE PREDICTION CONCERNING NIELS.

Perhaps no better example of unselfish service in the interest of others, of patience and forbearance under the burden of a serious physical handicap and courage and persistence in a labor of love and sacrifice can be found than is afforded in the life of the hero whose portrait is herewith presented.

Niels P. L. Eskildz was born May 31, 1836, at Lindholm, County of Aalborg, Denmark, only a few miles from the city of Aalborg, which is celebrated as being the birthplace of President Anthon H. Lund. The parents of Niels were unassuming, country folks, with nothing to distinguish them from their industrious and respectable neighbors except their rather unusual size and a certain pride of bearing and correctness of speech, due to their superior education, and the fact that they were both descendants in a direct line from noble, titled families.

They had a small farm, the cultivation of which furnished them little more than a modest living, and the father combined the occupation of butcher with that of farmer, by slaughtering animals and selling meat in the village market place every Wednesday and Saturday.

Plate as described below

Niels P. L. Eskildz

Niels was the youngest of the family, having two brothers of almost gigantic stature and a sister who, when grown, was the largest woman in that part of Denmark. Niels also, would doubtless have grown to be an unusually large man had he not met with an awful accident when ten years of age.

Denmark is a country almost without fences, the farms being separated one from another by imaginary lines. Instead of the cows and sheep owned by the farmers being allowed to range at will in pastures, the custom was and still is to stake them out individually, and lead them in at night. As a rule the cows are models of decorum, and one of the prettiest as well as commonest sights of the country is to see a boy or girl marching a number of cows, like so many soldiers, in double file and close rank from the pasture to the barn.

Niels, having been sent by his parents to thus bring a cow in from the field, the creature, though usually docile, suddenly became fractious and, running around the boy, tangled him up in the rope, and then frantically dragged him through a grain field and against numerous obstructions before she could be stopped. When released the poor boy was found to have a broken thigh and other serious injuries, from the effects of which he was bedfast for more than three years. It was feared he never would recover, but his patient mother gave him the most devoted attention and relieved the tedium of his helplessness by teaching him needlework, at which she was an adept, and by reading to him. In course on time he grew strong enough to be propped up in a chair and thus carried into the open air, but the exertion was probably too much for him, as he soon had a relapse, and during the ensuing two years spent most of his time in bed. His spine by degrees became so curved and deformed that, while his legs were nearly of normal length, his body had the appearance of having been crumpled down thereon, and his large, well-shaped head crowded down between his shoulders.

In the year 1850 Apostle Erastus Snow arrived in Denmark as a missionary. He had not been there long when the Gospel influence began to be felt and converts to flock to his standard. One family among the residents of Lindholm embraced the Gospel, and soon found themselves somewhat notorious because of the attention they received from the local Lutheran priest, near whose chapel the family lived, and his frequent public comments on their abandonment of the Lutheran faith and acceptance of the unpopular doctrines of "Mormonism."

In those days the Lutheran church held almost undisputed sway throughout Denmark, and the invariable rule was for children to be diligently taught the Bible and drilled in a knowledge of the Lutheran creed from their infancy. When the children attain the age of about thirteen years they are required to appear before the priest for a series of examinations, as to their knowledge of these subjects before being confirmed as members of the Lutheran church.

When Niels was fourteen years old, and was barely able to hobble about a little on crutches, he was cited to appear with a class of dozen or more children before the priest, to be catechised. This they did many times until they were able to answer satisfactorily all the questions propounded to them. At about the first of these meetings a young girl asked to be excused from the examinations, because her parents had joined the "Mormons," and she expected to. She cited in support of her plea, that the King of Denmark had granted religious liberty. Her request was complied with by the priest, who proceeded to comment on "Mormonism" then and at every subsequent meeting in a way that indicated that he must have been studying "Mormon" literature, and Niels very strongly suspected that the priest was really converted to "Mormonism," although he either lacked the courage to embrace it, or considered it impolitic to do so. Whether this surmise was correct or not, the priest seemed to have "Mormonism" constantly in his mind, and his frequent allusions to its doctrines and the scripture supporting the same had the effect of converting Niels to "Mormonism." Though he did not then declare his belief in the Gospel, he had not from that time a doubt of its truth.

That priest, whose name was Holger Christopher Kongslev Thryde, was a very peculiar man, a thorough scriptorian, a keen reasoner and withal quite inspirational. When the class of which Niels was a member had received sufficient training by him to appear for public examination and confirmation as members of the Lutheran church, they were all notified to be present at the regular Sunday service in the chapel. There they were separately catechised by the priest in presence of the congregation. Their answers being satisfactory, he asked each in turn as to his willingness to enter into covenant to serve God. On being told that he was, the priest said "then give your heart to God and your hand to me." Holding the child by the right hand, he then placed his left hand upon the youthful head, confirmed him as a member of the Lutheran church and exhorted him to faithfulness or indulged in predictions concerning his future, apparently as the spirit prompted him. Of one boy he expressed regret that he had been confirmed a Lutheran, for he would soon abandon the faith. The sequel proved this prediction to be true, for the boy soon left his birthplace to live among relatives who were Baptists, and accordingly became a Baptist.

When Niels was confirmed, the priest proceeded to say: "The Lord has laid a heavy hand upon you in your youth, which will be a hard cross for you to bear through life; but it was for a wise purpose—to prepare you for a great work that you do not understand now. After you have traveled thousands of miles to a strange land you know not, you will there eventually have a chance to go into the sanctuary of the Lord to do a work for your father's family and your ancestors that they did not understand or know anything about."

This prediction made a deep impression upon the mind of Niels, who remembered every word of it, and felt that somehow it would be fulfilled, though he could not then conceive how or when. That he, a helpless cripple and confirmed invalid; without money or influential friends, should ever travel thousands of miles over land and sea, seemed very improbable; indeed, it seemed very unlikely that he would live long enough to make such a journey if he were financially able.