Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1872-10-26

ter while some one said ''1he screC
is stopped !" No; its sound had only
been overpowered by the uproar of the
tempest, and we breathed easier again
when we heard the regular pulsations OF
the overtasked machinery. going thump,
thump, thulnp. AT three o'clock in the
morning the water covered the ship
from prov 10 stern, and fhe skyHghis
enue may The deluge rushed in. and
we felt that one or two more waves like
that must swamp US forever. As the
water rolled back and forward in the
cabins, and dashed against the wall, it
sprang half way up to the ceiling. Rush
ing through the skylights as it came in
with such terrific roar, there went up
from the cabin a shrek of horror which
l pray God may never hear again. l
have dreamed the whole scene over
! again, 5ut God has mercifully kept me
from hearing that one cry. Into 1t
seemed to be compressed the agony OF
expected shipwreck. 1t seemed to say:
Il shall never get home again My
children shall be orphaned, and my wife
shall be widowed | am launching
now into eternity In two minutes l
shall meet my God J"
There were about five hundred and
fifty passengers in the steerage and as
! the water rushed in and touched the
furnaces, and began violently to hiss,
| the poor creatures in the steerage imag
ined that the boilers were giving away.
Those passengers writhed i'll the water
and in the mud, some praying, some
crying, all terrified. They male rush
for the deck. An officer stood on deck
and beat them back with blow after
blow. 1t was necessary. They could
not have stood an instant on the deck.
Oh! how they begged to get out OF the
hold of the ship One woman with
child in her arms rushed up and caught
| hold of one of the officers, and cried
''Do let me out l will help you! do let
me out! l can not 6ehere!" Some got
down and prayed to the Virgin Mary,
saving 30 blessed Mother keep us |!
Haye mercy on us" Some stood with
whitelips and fixed gaze, silent in their
terror. Some wrung their hands and
cried ont 80 God what shall do =!
what shall do?" The time came when
the crew could no longer stay on the
deck, and the cry of the officers was
sBelow !. all hands below y Our brave
and sympathetic Captain Andrews
whose praise shall not cease to speak
while | live-had been swept by the
hurricane from his bridge, and had es-
capped very narrowly with his life. The
cyclone seemed to stand on the deck,
waving its wing, crying "This ship is
mine | have captured it Ha ha l
will command it If God will permit, |
sink it here and now BY thousand
shipwrecks, swear the doom of this
vessel - There was lull in the storm;
bnt only that it might gain additional
fury. Crash went the lite-boat on one
side. Crash, went the life-boat on the
other side. The great booms got loose,
and as with the heft Of thnnderbolt
pounded the deck and beat the mast
the iib-boom, studding-sail boom, and
square-sail boom, with their strong
arms, beating time to the awful march
and music of the hurricane.
Meanwhile the ocean became phos-
phorescent. The whole. scene looked
like fire. The water dripping from the
rigging, there were ropes of fire; and
there were masts of fire; and theres~was
deck of fire. A ship of fire, sailing on
sea of fire, through night of fire. 20
my God let me never see anything like
it again !
Everybody prayed. A lad of twelve
years of age got down and prayed for
his mother III | should give up" he
said, Il do not know what would sbe-
come of mother" There wero men
who, l think, had not prayed for thirty
years, who then got down on their knees
When 7asiaan who has neglected God
all his life feels that he has come to his
last time, ii makes dSvery busy night
All of our sins aud shortcomings pass
ed through our minds. My own life
seemed utterly unsatisfactory. L could
only say: "IIere, Lord, take me as | ann
] can not mend matters now Lord
Jesus. thou didst die for the CHIEF OF
sinners. That's me Into thy hands l
commit myself, my wife, my children at
home. the Tabernacle, the College-all
the interests of thy kingdom. 1t seems,
Lord. as if my work is done, and poorly
done, and spon thy infinite mercy cast
myself, and in this hour OF shIpwreck
and darkness commit myself and her
whom I hold by the hand to thee, .
Lord Jesus praying that it may be a
short struggle in the water and that at
the same instant we may both arrive in
glory !" Oh, / tell you man prays
straight TO the mark when he has cl y
cone above him, an ocean beneath him,
and eternity SO close to him that he can
feel its breath on his cheek.
The night was long. AT last we saw
the dawn looking through the port
holes. As in the olden time, in the
fourth watch of the night, Jesus came
walking on the sea, from waye-cliff to
.wave-cliff; and when he puts his foot
upon billow, though it may be tossed
up with might, it goes down. He cried
to the winds. hush They knew his
voice. The waves knew his foot. They
died away. And in the shining track
of his feet read these letters on scrolls
of foam and fire-"The earth shall be
filed with the knowledge of God as the