The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1886-09-08
For the HERALD AND NEWS,
The {.cSSOn OF the VF0ur

from Il symposium Of sermons bv Il
oody OF learned and piOuS prclates and
olher clergy the c0nccnSllS OiODinion on
this appalling tclluric effort of na-
turc, whose cataclySmS have rocked the
continent from ocean to ocean, is the
voice of Jehovah speaking to the assem-
Died nationS OF the world through the
centre OF its activity. Guided by the
lights and shadows of the past, the
voice OF prophecy, the teachings of rcve-
latlOn, ana reasoning, far as We can, by
analaGy, this sad Surmisc must be true.
Not that Summcryillc and dear old
Charleston needed so severe discipline
above other communities, for those who
suffered ut Sloan were perhaps better
tllah those that were preserved ut Jcru-
salem. The Creator OF worlds and
prcScrvrr OF men can lo what sccmcth
best with his own in the unqucstioncd
exercise OF his pcrmissivc and special
providcnceS. And one OF the most thrill
ing and impressive lessons of the hour
Is the intervention Of Il special proyi-
tcnce in the preservation Of individual
human life from pcrils in which it ap-
pcarcd impossible to have escaped. This
| Is one OF the luminous lesson which that
Sovereign viii would have us learn:
"That lie who bids The planets swccp,
Cares for the Inicst babe asleep"
We shall mention but one of those mi
raculous escapes: When the on-rushing
excursion train with its precious freight
of women and children, all unconscious
OF danger, on the fatcful night, flashed
upon the still more rapidly approachin
and ascending wave, which either pre-
cipitated itself upon the Carolina coast
from the sub; ;crrancan passages connect
ing it with volanic centres in the Mcdi-
tcrrancan and the adjacent coasts, or
SpranG its cruel conclusion from untold
depths beneath the foundations of the
sleeping city. ami radating towards the
North, the Northeast and the North
west, the train carcrnrd to an angle less
than f"rty-iivc degrees, and fcarfully
oScilatinG upon the vertical and hOriZOn-
tai waves OF the earthquake, fell TO the
other side n The same angle, and then
assuming \ somewhat normal position
plun@ch downward upon the descend
ing wave To be riGhtcd in time, in the
language OF a passenger, only to go
SallOping over the warped and winding
track like some mad and frantic thing
Of life. The tlain kept the track and
not Il liic WAS lost. We would cmpha-
size this most signal evidence Of the
protecting care of that Special Proyi-
dcncc which can place Everlasting Arms
beneath the beautiful and heroic city
and bid his holy angels to cncamp round
about its dcSolatc walls, and whisper of
sweet rest to the Quivcring nerves Of
dear ones who are weary, so weary Of
waiting and weeping and watching for
The Joy that lomclh in the mornings!
Perhaps in the annals Of earthquakes
there have been noHc so sweeping in its
vibrations, but very many vastly more
destructive both Of life and property. lie
whose mcrcytcndurcth forever, doth not
willingly anlict and still more rarely
does h.. visit the same place il second
time, rs notably The beautiful little city
OF ficurS (toars) iii France. The features
OF the convlll>iom III our State are some
what similar TO those Of the earthquake
at New Madrid, in the Mississippi valley
in lSll-.i2. Mud, sand and water GuSh-
cd through iiohurcs and chaSmS, &c, and
the earth Wa> elevated and depressed.
1t was some time before the dctonations
were discontinued and the openings
closed. But thC earth assumed its nor
NAL condition except in t., conligura-
| tion. Let uS clare not presume to charge
| Deity wilhHn evil thing, nor cast about
us for the cause. The saved are simply
| monuments OF mercy. The effects are
all with which Wchayc to do. Our intel
| lcCtlal price amd reason and science can
| not enter the pcnCtralia where the de-
| terminate cause is known only and alone
in the councils OF the Eternal and Tri.
unc G0lhcAd. The mighty hand that
| moves the matchlcss machinery OF this
worlds phenomenal play is in the grand
| and awful beyond, and we are but spec