St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-02-14
The SHARES Of South Winds and
smooth Seas.


port of Fair Ravens. There the vessel
ought to have remained IN spite OF
some disadvantages and Paul, who
was an old mariner, warned the centu-
rion and the captain that, if they ven
tured to sea in that dangerous season,
the voyage would be attended with
loss to ship, cargo and life. But that
gambling element in human nature,
which stakes everything on a risk, i'm !
PEELED the master and the owner to 7
urge start and their advice carried !
il against the wiser counsels of the
veteran apostle. So, one bright day, |
when the south wind blew softly, the
captain weighed anchor, and swung
ont upon the blue waters of the Medi- |
terranean, heading for Cape Matala.
All that gentle wind was singing a
siren song that lured them INTO the
Jaws of destruction for, no sooner
had they passed the Cape, than a
tremendous tyPhoon burst upon them,
which never loosed its grip for fort
night until it hurled them in shattered
wreck on the beach of Malta.
The contrast between that ship sail
ing out with south wind and a smooth
sea. and the same vessel rent with the
hurricane, affords II vivid parable of
human life. Fair appearances are not
always to be trusted We often leave
home for AN excursion under golden
sky, to he caught in Il drenching storm.
Is there not many business man who
has been tempted by the promise of
great profits into Il great spread of
canvas. which a sudden gale has swept
from the spars and left under the "bare
poles" of bankruptcy These are the
DAYS of rash ventures in business with
sangune hopes of sudden wealth
"sluw. safe and sure' is the wiser
motto. And how many IA Young pair
have | seen float out into wedlOck,
while the warm wind of fair promise
blew softly nobody fOresaw the
tempests ahead nor would their bark
true love and trust in God had "under
girdcd the ship" Married life is not
all smooth sailing; the head winds
which Providence sends can he wealth
cred out it is the rough weather of
your own making which wrecks home
and hearts.
The real danger of every sinful
temptation is that it always presents
the attractive side and cOnceals the
consequences. 1t promises a smooth
sea aud IA prosperous voyage. No
young man is ever tempted to his first
glass bv the spectacle of drunkenness
in its last horrors. He sees nothing
in that glass but good time" and a
pleasant excitement but beyond his
Cape Matala' is a wrecked life, and
no easy thing does he find it to put
back into the safe harbor of sobriety.
The only etfcctual place to stop drunk
enues- is to stop before the first glass.
What is true of the bottle and of the
gaming table is fearfully true in regard
to lascivious indulgences. First sins
against chastity, whether by young
man or woman, are committed with no
other thought than present gratitica-
ton. just this once only" whispers
the tcmpter. Sensual lust is wildly
pictured in that line of Holy Writ
"With her much fair speech she causeth
him to yield, and with the hattering of
her lips she fOrceth him. If | could
lift the curtain and reveal to the young
the remorse and the shame and the
slavery that are sure to come, it seems
To me that they would cut off their
the first violation of chastity TO put
back into that fair haven" of purity
is no holiday business after you have
let the gales of passion loose.
Sin, ever since its first entrance into
this world, has owed its chief power to
the fact that it presents alurements
and conceals consequences. Satan, in
the garden of Eden, promised only
outh winds and smooth seas. "The
serpent said unto the woman, ye shall
not surely die We shall be as gods,
knowing good and evil" So, when
the woman saw that the tree was
pleasant To the eyes, and to be desired
to make one wise, she took of the fruit
thereof and did eat. So has it ever
Il. Il. IL.
of sin lies in its deceittulneSs. When |
was in the Orient, ! saw most attract
i've tree laden with blossoms of a most
delicate lilac tint. The beauty of the
flowers attracts insects, and bees are
drawn to them to gather honey. But
from the blossoms the insects extract a
fatal poison, and often drop dead under
the branches. 1t is called the Judas
tree. and is vivid emblem of the de-
cettulness of sin. For sin always has
two aspects the one is that which she
assumes before the deed is done, the
other is that which she puts on after
she has enSuared her dupe and is ad.
miulStering the retributiun. She ap.
proaches with her allurements as Jae
came TO Sisera, bringing "butter i'll
lordly dish = but the hammer and til,
nails she keeps out of sight until he
victim is fast asleep i'll her power. Tn,
wages OF sin are paid promptly the,
are death Rev. Z. L. Cuyler, ID
in Independent.
Lincoln in the Hospital.