166 MEMOIRS OF 



ther and instructress ; in short, every thing : her 

 zeal has extended still further ; for, like a true 

 apostle of the Lord, she has gone to the villages 

 where I have sent her, to gather the children 

 round her, to instruct them in the will of God, 

 to sing hymns, to show them the w^orks of their 

 all-powerful and paternal Maker, to pray with 

 them, to communicate to them all the instruc- 

 tions she had received from me and your own 

 excellent mother. The innumerable difficulties 

 she met with in these holy occupations would 

 have discouraged a thousand others ; the surly 

 tempers of the children, their patois language, 

 bad roads, inclement weather, rocks, water, 

 heavy rain, freezing winds, hail, deep snow, no- 

 thing has daunted her. She has sacrificed her 

 time and her person to the service of God. 

 Judge, my dear children, of the debt you have 

 contracted to her for my sake. Once more, I 

 bequeath her to you ; let her see, by your cares, 

 the respect you feel towards the last will of a 

 father, — r. I am sure you will fulfil my wishes, 

 you will in your turn be to her all together, 

 and each individually, that which she has been 

 to you.' Messieurs and Mesdemoiselles Oberlin, 

 faithful to the wishes of their father, were de- 

 sirous of bestowing on Louise the inheritance of 



