Louisa and Emma had often heard that life is short and uncertain; but it is not easy for young people to feel the truth of this while they are healthy and strong.  When Emma was about twelve years old she was taken very ill, so that there was from the first but little hope that she would recover.  Then she felt that it is an awful thing to die; and the thought of the soul, which cannot die, and of heaven and hell, were far more solemn than they had ever seemed to her before.  At first she was greatly afraid of death, for she knew she was a sinner, and deserving of the anger of God; but by degrees, as she lay on her sick bed, there came into her mind many sweet verses of the Bible, which she had learned in her days of health, and which gave her comfort, by telling her of the love of Jesus the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world.  Do you think she was sorry, now, that she had spent so many hours in reading that holy and blessed book?  No; for the promises of mercy and salvation which it held out to her was her only support through many hours of pain and suffering, when death seemed near, and eternity close at hand.  Though too ill to read, or even to listen to the words of life, she could remember many of them in her heart, and think of them to her comfort in this season of trial.  Sometimes she was able to talk to her mother for a few minutes, when it was plain that her mind was chiefly filled with thoughts of Christ and things divine.  And she often said that, if it should be the will of God to restore her to health, she hoped for grace to devote herself to his service, and to live more to his glory than she had ever done before.  She also spoke oftener to her sister, begging her to think of her soul, to read her Bible more, and to seek for the pardon of her sins; and Louisa, who was in great distress at the thought of losing her, was ready to promise anything that she asked.  But it did not appear that she was under any concern for her own state; and this was a great trouble to poor Emma, who now felt more than ever the need of preparing for the world to come.

It pleased God to spare her life, though she grew better very slowly, and it was many weeks before she could leave her room.  When her long and painful illness was over, she was again able to share with Louisa in her lessons and her pleasures, so that in time those weeks of grief and suffering seemed to be forgotten; but they were not forgotten by Emma:  she did not forget the mercies she had received, and the resolve which she had made of leading a holy life:  she daily prayed for an humble and watchful mind, and for grace to keep her from falling into sin; and, as you may suppose, she loved her Bible more and more for the comfort which it had given her in the time of trouble.  She still took pleasure in reading it alone, and prayed that she might have grace to obey its commands, so that it might be a lamp unto her feet and a light unto her path.  Psa. cxix, 105.