Page:In Memoriam. Matthew Fontaine Maury.djvu/27

 for he had taken no nourishment for several hours. And he again continued:

"Lord Jesus, Thou Son of God and Redeemer of the world! Have mercy upon me—that's one. Pardon my sins—that's two. Teach me the errors of my way—that's three. Give me a new heart, and a right mind; enable me and all mine to do Thy will, and in all things to keep Thy law." (Here he paused from exhaustion.) "Teach me that I may ask the things necessary for eternal life!" Then he seemed to forget that he was dictating, and his utterances became short, ejaculatory petitions; and these were followed by fragments of the prayer he was endeavoring to leave with his children—repeating at times the same petition, and then adding, "Lord, pardon my sins, for Thine be the Power, and the Kingdom, and the Glory, forever and forever."

He repeated with great distinctness and precision the first part of the prayer, pausing between each petition to enable his amanuensis to keep up, and waiting for the catch word, as was his habit in dictating his letters. He counted the petitions himself, saying after each, "that's one" "that's two;" but when he got to four, he had begun to get weary, and forget that he was dictating, and then pass away into a doze. Then he would