Of course such hours of
rapture as the last two persons describe are mystical
experiences, of which in a later lecture I shall have much to
say. Meanwhile here is the abridged record of another mystical
or semi-mystical experience, in a mind evidently framed by nature
for ardent piety. I owe it to Starbuck's collection. The lady
who gives the account is the daughter of a man well known in his
time as a writer against Christianity. The suddenness of her
conversion shows well how native the sense of God's presence must
be to certain minds. She relates that she was brought up in
entire ignorance of Christian doctrine, but, when in Germany,
after being talked to by Christian friends, she read the Bible
and prayed, and finally the plan of salvation flashed upon her
like a stream of light.
<69> "To this day," she writes, "I cannot understand dallying
with religion and the commands of God. The very instant I heard
my Father's cry calling unto me, my heart bounded in recognition.
I ran, I stretched forth my arms, I cried aloud, 'Here, here I
am, my Father.' Oh, happy child, what should I do? 'Love me,'
answered my God.
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