Monongalia mirror. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1855, 1854-06-03
DIR. DUFF AND HIS BIBLE.

DR.. Duff, as it is we'll known, was
the first missionary ever sent to heather
lands by the Church of Scotland in its
organized capacity. Up to the time of
his sailing for his foreign field, all things
seemed to have been propitious. The
winds aud the waves, however, were
permitted to test his resolution and to
try his faith. The following incident,
from which he educed lessons ofpracli.
cal instruction, will be found interesting:
No aooner had he embarked, than
that gracious God who has "the times
and the seasons" engraven in the roll of
Providence. caused the day of visitation
and oftrial to arise. Seldom has there
been a voyage. from first to last, SO
fraught with disaster and discipline;
within the "floating home" of the deep,
a fiery furnace from the combustion of
evil tongues and wicked hearts; without,
unusual yicissitudes of tempest and of
danger. These, however, were but the
beginnings oftrouble-the first wayings
of the rod of chastisement, to prepare
for the crushing stroke. On Saturday
night, the 18th Of February, the vessel
violently struck on the rocks of an un.
inhabited barren strand, about thirty
miles north'of Cape Town. With the
utmost difficulty, the passengers and
CREW escaped with their lives. The no.
bic vessel soon went to pieces, and al
most every thing on board perished
The losses of the missionary were such
as could not easily be recovered. Be-
sides the loss of personal property, from
q collection of books. in every depart
ment of knowledge, amounting TO up
wards of eight hundred distinct works,
only few odd volumes were picked up
on the beach; most of them SO shattered
or reduced to state ofpulp, as to be of
little or no value. But what was felt
most. as being to him irreparable, was
the entire loss ofall his journals, notes,
memorandums, essays, &c-the fruits.
such as they were, of the reflection and
research of many years, when he pos
sessed special opportunities which he
could never expect again to realize.
"But they are gone" was his own writ.
ten declaration at the time, "they are
gone; and blessed be God can say
'goone' without murmur. So perish
all earthly things; the treasure tha, is
laid up in heaven alone is unassaila6le.
God has been to me, God full of mer-
cy; and not the least Of his mercies do |
find in the cheerful resignation with
which he now enables me to feel and to
say, The Lord gave, and the Lord hath
taken away; blessed be the name ofthe
Lord"
The only article which was.recovered
in wholly unchanged state, was a
quarto copy of Bagster's Comprehen-
sive Bible aud Psalm Book; which as
the parting memorial of few dear
friends, had been carefully wrapped up
in leather, and thus escaped unipjnred
by the waters of the briny deep. Ah!
the lesson and the schooling Of mys-
terious Providence seemed now com.
plete, and its designs and intentions per.
fectly developed. He who had thought
that he had "sifted" his heart "as
wheat" and could find no engrossing
idol lurking there, now discovered. that
he had been, to degree never previ.
ously imagined, wholesale idolater Of
books aud written papers 1t seemed
as if the heavens had suddenly opened
and a voice from the Holy One had
sounded with resistless emphasis in his
ears, "Fool that you are, to have cen
tered so unduly your cares, and ankle.
ties, and affections, on books and papers!
So intense and devoted was the homage
of your heart towards these, in the eyes
of the heart.searching God, that, as
there seemed no other method of wean.
ing you from them, your Heavenly
Father, to save you from the doom of
an idolater, has, in mercy to your soul,
removed the idols-sinking them all to
the bottom of the deep, or scattering
them in useless fragments on this desc.
late shore, all. all, save one, and that is
the ever.bessed Book of Life. Here
is the Bible for you; grasp it as the
richest treasure of infinite wisdom and
Infinite love-a treasure which, in the
balance Of Heaven, would outweigh all
tho books and papers in the universe.
Go, and prayeriully consult that unerr.
ing chart, that infallible directory; hum.
bly, trust to it, and to your God; and
never, never will you have reason to
regret that you have been violently sew
cred from your idols, as thereby you be-
come more firmly linked by the golden
chain Of grace to the throne Eternal"
Assureslly, had Jehovah himself, in
terms such as these, addressed the poor
trembling, convicted idolater, in accents
of thunder, when standing apart on that
dreary African strand, the gracious de.
sign of Providence could not have been
more distinctly interpreted, nor the pre-.
cious lesson more ineffaceably engra.
ven on the inner table of the soul.