“Mr. C. R. D.: _Dear Sir_—Yours of the 17th, with the money enclosed, reached me, for which please accept my best thanks.
“Due inquiries for the letter were made at the post-office here at the time, but without success, and of course I concluded that it had been opened and money stolen by some post office official. Even now there is some mystery, which perhaps might be removed if the (original) envelope could be found.
“The amount at the time was designed for a good cause, in connection with Sunday-school work, and I feel, after what has happened, that the Lord, having delivered it from the jaws of the paper mill, has an additional claim upon it, and so I propose that your little boy (with your help, if necessary) name an object to which he would like it applied.
“Jonah, when appointed to do certain work, was disobedient and, you know, soon found himself in the ‘fish’s belly.’ From this uncomfortable situation, however, he was soon delivered, and _one more_ opportunity given him to obey orders—with better results. Now, suppose we call our dollar and twenty cents the _disobedient Jonah_, and our little friend the _fish_; and now that our Jonah has landed safely, suppose we give him one more opportunity for obeying his orders?
“Please say to my little friend that I appreciate what he has done in this matter, and congratulate the son on having a good adviser, and the father on having a son inclined to take good advice.
“Should you reply to this note, please give me the boy’s name and age, and photograph likeness if you have one.
“Mr. D. O.: _Dear Sir_—Your very happy acknowledgement of the receipt of that money (or I might, say, of that ‘Jonah’), which went so far astray from the first direction given to it, was duly received, and the reaching of it listened to by our little boy, or the ‘fish’ with much delight.
“Our son’s name is Edwin H. He is ten years of age. He is quite pleased that the money is going to be used to do missionary work and that you have given him the privilege of deciding what direction it shall take in starting on a second trip.
“Now, Eddie thinks that if this Jonah has not done the work which he was first directed, and has had such a wonderful escape from a terrible death, that, he can do no better than to follow the directions given to the Prophet Jonah, who was saved by a much bigger ‘fish’ than himself, and those directions are found in Jonah iii. 2, viz.: ‘Arise; go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.’ Therefore, this Jonah must go and sell himself for as many good little papers as he can, and be distributed among the little boys and girls of some mission Sunday-school; and may the good resulting be proportionate to that accomplished by Jonah of old.