For several months I have wished that the whole world might know of the wondrous freedom Truth has brought to my consciousness, and it bids me tell the story.
From the cradle I was considered very delicate, and, throughout the years of childhood, was constantly cautioned in regard to the food I should eat and the amount of work and study I might undertake; so that I grew up with the thought of insufficient strength as a part of my very being.
In my early teens, I developed a decided tendency towards weakness of the eyes. This was a great grief to me, as it interfered with the gratification of my natural love for reading and study. The thought of physical weakness may have driven me nearer to God, for, from early childhood, my earnest desire was ever to serve the Master; and visions of a missionary of some great work for God, filled my childish fancy. I was not content with the thought of small daily duties, but wanted my life set apart for His service in some unusual way. With Browning's Theocrite, I said,—
