The daily Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1855, 1854-12-02
An Eloquent Extract.

Henry Ward Beecher delivered sermon on the
Sunday following the Of the loss OF the Arctic,
in which occurred the following singularly eloquent
passage!
1t was autrimn Hundreds had wendell their way
from pilgrimages: from Rome and its treasures Of
dead art, and its glory Of living nature; from the sides
OF the Swtzer mountains, from the capitals of the
rous nations; all of them saying in their hearts, we
will wait Tor the September gales to have done with
their equinoctiai fury, and then we will embark we
Will slide across the appeased ocean and in the gor-
geOus month of October will greet our longed-for
native land, and our heart loved homes. And so the
throng streamed along from Berlin, from Paris, from
the Orient convergins upon London, still Fastening
towards the welcome ship, and narrowing every day
the circle Of their engagements and preparations
They crowded on board. Never had the Arctic
borne such host of passengers, persons 50 near
ly related to many among us.
The hour come. The signal ball fell at Green
WIGHT was noon also at Liverpool. The anchors
were weighed, the great hull swayed to the current,
the national cOOrs streamed abroad, as themselves
instinct with life and national sympathy. The bell
strikes, the wheels revove, the signal gun beats its
echoes upon every structure along the shore and the
Arctic glides ioyfy forth from the Mersev and turns
her PROV to the winding channel, and begins her
homeWard run. The pilot stood at the wheel, and
men saw him. Death sat upon ne PROV and no eve
behed him. s'"oever sto"-. at the wheel in all that
voyage. death the pilot that scered the craft and
none knew it. He neither revealed his presence nor
whispered his errand. And SO hope effugent,
and 1.-THE gayey disported itself, and joy was with
every guest.
Amid all the Inconvenience Of the voyage, there
was still tina. which hushed every murmur-home
was not far away. And every morning it was still
one night near r home! Eight days had passed.
They beheld that distant bank of mist that forever
haunts the vast shadows of New Foundand. Boldly
they made at it, and pungng in, its plant wrcathcs
wrapt them about. They emerge, the last sun
light has flashed from that deck. The last voyage
Is done-tO ship and passengers. At there
came slowly stealing from the north that faed instru
nent OF desruction In that mysterious shroud, that
vast atmosphere of mist, both steamers holding
their way with rushing PROV, aud roaring wheels,
but invisible. At leagues distance, Unconscious,
and at nearer approach, uiwarred, within hail, and
bearing right ards each other, unseen, unielt till
in moment more, emerging from the gray mist, the
'-omened Vesta dealt her deadly stroke to the Arc
tic.
The death-bow scarcely felt along the mighty
huh. She neither reeled nor shivered. Neither
commander nor officers deemed they had suffered
harm. Prompt upon humanity, the brave Luce (let
his name be ever spoken with admiration and respecD
ordered away his boat with the first officer to see il
the stranger had suffered harm. As Gourlie went
over the ships side, o, that good angel had
called the brave commander, in the words of Paul,
on like occasion, ''except these abide in the ship
ye cannot be ssved." they departed, and with them
the hope OF the ship, for now the waters gained upon
the no d, and rising upon the fires revealed the fatal
blow. y, had now that stern, brave mate, Gourlie,
been ON deck, whom the sailors were wont to mind
had he stood to execute efficiently the commander
wiIl-we may believe that should not have to
blush for the cowardly acts Of the crew, wep for
the untimely dead. But, apparently, each subordin-
ate officer lost all presence Of mind, then courage,
and so honor In a wild scramble, that ignoble mob
oil hremen, engineers, walters and crew, rushed for
the boats, and abandoned the helpless women, chill
dren and men, to the mercy Of the Deep Four hours
there were from the time Of the catastrophe of the
collision to the catastrophe Of sinking. In that time
nearly two hundred able bodied men, well directed,
might have built ample raft stored it for the pres
ent necessity, filled the boats with discretion, and put
off from the sinking ship with foa that many
hours would have been hailed by some OF the many
craft that pass and re-pass that i'll fated spot 1t
was not SO to be. All command lost. The men
needed but one impulse, and that the selfshness
of an aroused and concentrated love of life They
abandoned their posts. They deserted their duty
They betrayed their commander. They yielded up
to death more than two hundred souls committed to
their charge.