Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1854-03-05
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Who i. the Lamps?

=
IL. T. Who Ii. the Lamps? Ag- irs
. lgsUpon the rocky coast of Cornwall, there sto,
some years age. and may be standing yet, an oil
+ fashioned lighthouse 1t was placed amid son
8 dangerous rocks, and was found great blessing
mariners .frequenting that coast, in directing the
= in dark and stormy nights. Many were the shi
wrecks it prevented, and many were the blessin!
that were breathed forth to heaven by the sailo
for its guiding and cheering light. tr5l ~ :
fou would have thought that every body woul
have been glad that the lighthouse stood upon thos
rocks and rejoiced in the good it did. But the
did not
There was q set of wicked men no looked upo
that lighthouse with very angry eyes, and ofte
wished some storm would come aud sweep it quit
away. They longed to see the vessels wrecked, tina
they might gather some of the spoil that came from
their destruction and they therefore hated the light
house that thus deprived them of their treasures
These wiched men were called 'wreckers;' and wher
stormy nights come on, they might be seen looking
out for their prey, and kindling large lights
upon the shore to deceive the ships, lead them on
OF the way, and get them dashed to pieces on the
rocks. -s.5 -. f.. -.
Still the lighthouse stood watched over and Kept
by the mereiful eye and arm of kind protecting
| God. - .l~ - -a1
| 1t was inhabited at the the time 1 am writing
about, by good man and his little girl; and il is
about this little girl my story must be told. She
had had very pious mother, who as she died, had
given her holy counsels, and left her large favor
te Bible as her property. You may be sure the
last words of her dear mother were not soon for
gotten; while the Bible she had left was looked up
on with no little reverence and love-
The lighthouse was so placed upon the rocks that
at low water, when the tide was out, you could
walk from it to the shore; but at high water no.
body could get to it, boat could ride ia safe
ty among the breakers and the rocks. All the food
the inmates needed, and other things they used
were thus brought to them, or fetched by them at
low water, and the good man of the lgh thouse had
often to go on shore for them. One day he had
gone usual, leaving his little girl alone in the
lighthouse, when some Of the 'wreckers seized him
and determined to prevent his going back to light
his lamps, in the hope that some ship would be
wrecked. The poor man was in great distress when
he found he was the prisoner of these wicked men.
and he begged hard to be allowed to return. But
in vain; there they kept him till long after the tide
came in, and the dark night had gathered, and it
became impossible for him to return. AT last they
let him CO. and he stood upon the shore in great
distress. The night was gradually becoming
very stormy one. The wild winds roared furiously.
The rain fell in torrents The lightning flashed
The thunder rolled terrifcally. The sea dashed
furiously around the lighthouse, sometimes cover
ing it entirely with its waves. What was be to
do? The lantern at the top of his house was yet
all dark. He could see some ships in the distance,
and he trembled lest they should be wrecked for
want of his lamps being lighted. He knew his
little girl was all alone, and too little to do any
thing to help the difficulty; so there he stood in
deep distress while around him were the savage
wreckers gorying in the success of their wicked
scheme, and looking for large booty by the morn
ing, when all of sudden, the lantern of the light
house was lighted up, and its bright and glowing
rays shot far across the dark and troubled sea-
The wreckers were filed with astonishment and
anger as they saw it. The sailors, far of in the
ships were delighted they caught its beams; and
the good man himself was overcome with surprise
and joy, while he exclaimed, "Who has lit the
lamps!" - 81
Very distressed indeed was the little girl when
she found her father did not return as she expected
She watched the tide come rolling up and covering
the rocks, cutting off all the way to shore. She
heard the wind get up, and trembled she felt it
rock the lighthouse. She noticed the dark night
setting in, and saw the storm beginning to rise
She looked out, and there she caught o glimpse of
the ships in the distance and knew if the lamps
were not lighted they would probably be wrecked
and in her distress began to think what could she
do. At last a text of Scripture one of her mo-
theirs last words, came to her mind " Call upon
me in the day of trouble and win deliver thee"
So down she knelt, and prayed earnestly to God to
help her in her trouble, and rising, walked up to
see if she could light the lamps herself She saw
the long stick with which her father lit them, but
she was far too little TO reach them. Down stairs
accordingly she went, and with great labor dragged
up table, and climbed on to it, and tried again,
but still she could not reach the lamps. Down
again she went to get something more to stand on
when her eye fell on her mothers large Bible,
which she carried up with great labor into the
lantern, and laid it on the table But now she
thought perhaps it would be wrong to stand
upon the Bible she so much reverenced, and she
paused a little before she did it, and to pray to
God to help her light the lamps. Then climbing
up she stood tip-toe on the book, and to her joy
found she could just reach the lamps. In minute
all the lamps were lighted, and the lantern blazed
out to the joy of the sailors in the ships, the
prise and gladness of her father, and the shame
and disappointment of the wicked wreckers on the
shore. --....... .. ....
Such is my little story. 1t is quite true and as
/ have told you, 1 have been thinking OF other
mariners and wreckers than those on the coast of
Cornwall have been thinking Of world of
people all in danger of missing their way, and
being forever ruined by the results Of folly and Of
sin. have thought of wreckers in the shape Of
wicked men and youths, who would fain blight and
destroy those by whom they are surrounded. And
| have thought of the Church of God, with the
light of truth and the means of presenting the
way of peace and safety in her possession, as
lighthouse for the world, in which even child
may help to kinde the lamps, and save some poor
voyager for eternity from destruction and from