ing eyes told me that her daughter had died of yellow fever but a short time before. I asked if she had her Bible. She replied, 'No; I put her Bible in her coffin, as she loved it so much, and it was buried with her.'" Orders came now for dozens of Bibles at once, accompanied by money to pay for them.
Miss Rankin was greatly aided in her labors by a traveling German portrait-painter. While attending to his business he visited the homes of many wealthy people far in the interior, in many places so remote that they knew comparatively little of the great struggle which was then going on over Protestantism, or, if they did, had those about them who were thirsting for the word of God. It was among the poor his message was most gladly received. He often, however, encountered violent opposition, but his heart was burdened with the spiritual needs of distracted Mexico, and he was willing to suffer the loss of all things—even of life itself—for Christ's sake. He finally lost his life in Mexico; whether he was killed as a Bible-distributor or for the purposes of robbery was never ascertained.
In 1859 a light finally dawned upon the long night of darkness in Mexico. On Christmas day the liberal army under Juarez entered the capital in triumph; only the night before, Miramon and his defeated forces had fled away. It was a glorious victory for those who advocated religious freedom. The great change was heralded over the land by ringing of bells and firing of cannon. Matamoras, on the northern border, was illuminated, and joined in the general rejoicing. Miss Rankin says, "As the noise from Matamoras broke on my ear I thought I never had heard more delightful sounds, and my heart bounded in joyful anticipation that God's word could
