(from Christian Treasury, 1st January, 1868)
Two men came one night to Mr Ellis, the Missionary of Madagascar. They had walked a hundred miles out of their way to visit him.
‘Have you the Bible?’ asked Mr Ellis.
‘We have seen it, and heard it read,’ one man said, ‘but we have only some of the words of David, and they do not belong to us, they belong to the whole family.’
‘Have you the words of David with you now?’ asked Mr Ellis. They looked at each other, and would not give answer. Perhaps they were afraid; but Mr Ellis spoke kindly to them. Then one of the men put his hand into his bosom, and took out what seemed to be a roll of cloth. He unrolled it; and, after taking off some wrapping, behold, there were a few old, torn dingy leaves of the Psalms, which had been read, passed around, lent, and re-read, until they were almost worn out! Tears came to Mr Ellis’s eyes when he saw them.
‘Have you ever seen the words of Jesus, or John, or Paul, or Peter?’ asked the Missionary. ‘Yes,’ they said, ‘we have seen and heard them, but we never owned them.’
Mr Ellis then went and brought out a Testament, with the book of Psalms bound up with it, and showed it to them. ‘Now,’ said he, ‘if you will give me your few words of David, I will give you all his words; all the words of Jesus, and John, and Paul, and Peter besides.’ The men were amazed and delighted, but they wanted to see if the words of David were the same in Mr Ellis’s book; and when they found they were, and thousands more of the same sort, their joy knew no bounds. They willingly gave up their poor tattered leaves, seized the volume, bade the Missionary goodbye, and started off upon their long journey home, rejoicing like one who has found a great spoil. Did not these men prize the Bible? And had not they found a Treasure?