ing him up from the depth. It was that of his little brother. The boatmen had warned him of the danger, but following only the impulse of his heart, he had seized his brother, whom the rising waves had thrown up again, by the hand, and held to him with convulsive strength; and when the weight drew him down upon the ice he would not loose his hold of the hand, even when the ice cut his face and arm so that the blood flowed; yes, even when he was himself up to his waist in water, and the warm blood was coming out of his wet clothes, then he cried aloud and wept, but still he held tight to his brother's hand; and when the fishermen cried out, "You see that you can't save him, leave him to God's mercy," he cried out all the louder, and wept and prayed more fervently, but he did not let the hand go, till the fishermen came with hooks and poles, and drew out both the brothers. And when Johannes recovered his consciousness he asked his brother why he was bleeding so? He gave no answer, but fell weeping upon his neck, kissed and caressed him, and was only too happy that he was again alive; and in the night he often got up from his own bed and went to his brother's, drew aside the curtains, put his ear close to the face of the sleeping one to hear if he breathed, and then joyfully announced to his parents, "Yes, he still lives!" All praised God for this wonderful deliverance; but his aunt, Anna Martens, who, like his mother, belonged to the Moravians, said, "Johannes, God has been with thee again. He will not leave thee nor forsake thee, if

thou forsakest not Him, for I know and am certain in my mind that the Lord hath chosen thee for His service."

When Falk experienced this deliverance, he had already been relieved from the servitude which was so obnoxious to him. A master of the English language, named Dromwert, and his mother, had at last persuaded his father that he must allow Johannes to study. He consented at last, under the condition that the boy should still work a couple of hours daily, in his shop. Happy indeed was the son that he was now permitted to learn. Twice a week he went to be taught by Dromwert. The sons of the nobility, with their swords by their sides and feathers in their hats, turned up their noses at their poor fellow-scholar, but the boy quickly getting far ahead of them in knowledge, soon put them to shame. He studied half the night, worked so hard and made such progress, that at Easter 1785, he was able to enter the high school of the town and begin the study of theology. He often shed bitter. tears on account of his poverty, which obliged him to depend upon the charity of others, who supplied the means for his education.

Now came the time when he was ready to enter the university. The town council of Danzig offered him the necessary funds, and when the day for his departure drew near, he was summoned before the mayor and council at the town hall. Here the venerable men sat in their robes of office, and before them, in dignified modesty, with tears of gratitude in

his eyes, stood Johannes Falk. The councillors gave him their hands, and blessed him, and while one of the old men held the youth's hand in his own, he said these significant words: "Johannes! you are now going from hence. May God be with you! You remain our debtor, for we have adopted you, and as a poor child, have supported you by our charity. You must pay this debt. Wherever hereafter God may lead you, and whatever may be the future destiny of your life, never forget that you were a poor boy. And if ever, in the course of your life, a poor child knocks at your door, remember that it is we, perhaps long since dead, the old grey-haired Burgermaster and councillors of Danzig, who are knocking, and do not drive them away from your doors!"

It was in his youthful years that Falk's life received that germ of charity, which bore such abundant fruit in his maturer age. The assistance he had received from the benevolent, the words of the kind councillor, made an indelible impression on his soul, and God's wonderful help to him, was as a revelation of the eternal Love, which always drew him back to Himself, and which he praised in his words and deeds.

It was in the year 1787 that Falk went to the university of Halle to study theology. In those days there was a great want of depth and sincerity in religion, especially among learned men, and it was probably this unreality which induced Falk, like

several other earnest minds, to leave theology, and seek other branches of knowledge. He appears to have devoted himself mostly, to classical literature. He remained three years at the university, supported partly by the benevolence of the Danzigers, partly by his own industry, in giving private lessons, for which he was well paid.

He devoted himself much to poetry, of which, in these days, he wrote a good deal himself; he was enthusiastic, mystical; he had evidently lost some of the deep child-like faith of his youth, and had become imbued with the rationalistic errors of the age. But the time of darkness and unbelief did not last long. It was Charity, the love of God, and the desire to help and to save others, which brought him back into the right way.

In 1797 Johannes Falk married Caroline Elisabeth Rosenfeld of Halle. In 1801 we find him at Weimar, which henceforth became his home. In this little town all the great men of Germany-poets and philosophers had taken up their residence; here he learned to know Herder and Schiller, in their declining years; to Goethe he attached himself with all the devotion of an enthusiastic disciple, but of one who still knew how to maintain his own steadfast opinions.

So great and varied was his knowledge, so well informed was he on every possible subject, that an old citizen of Weimar, who for a long time had served as a soldier, once said of him, "Yes, Herr Falk could well serve both in the infantry and cavalry, and

if a gunner was wanted, he might just as well take his place in the artillery."

The gradual change which took place in Falk's inner life was no theoretical, but a thoroughly practical one. It was not accomplished by a train of thought, but by the fate of the nation in which God was declaring to the generation of that day, that however much He might be forgotten, He was still the eternal Ruler among them. Falk was a fiery patriot before he became a living Christian. It was the sufferings of the patriot, which led to the awakening of the spiritual life within him. The scourge of satire with which he had hitherto in his writings lashed humanity, was now, under Napoleon's tyranny in Germany, changed into a preaching of repentance to his fatherland.

Those were evil days which Falk had now to experience. In 1806 the Prussian army was utterly defeated at Jena and Auerstadt, and the whole of Germany lay at the mercy of the French invaders. After the battle of Jena, Falk gave up writing for acting. His warm, loving heart made him turn all his attention towards helping and delivering his oppressed and impoverished fellow-countrymen. The French had taken possession of Weimar and all the surrounding districts, and imposed upon them, as was their custom, the heaviest war contributions. To collect these taxes and to obtain provisions, the French officials required an intelligent interpreter. The poet Wieland advised Falk to offer himself as secretary to the French commission. He accepted the post, that by it he