The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1889-11-21

eurOclydons have their latr. Ne fOundered
on the sea, while all hell echoed at the roar OF
the wreck: Lost Pacificsl Lost Paciicsl
Another lesson from the subject Is that
Christians are always safe
There did not seem to be much chance for
Paul getting out of that shipwreck, did thereg
They had not, in those days, rockets with
which tssthrow ropes over foundering YES.
sells. Their lifeboats were of but little
worth. And yet, notwithstanding all the
danger, my text says that Paul escaped safo
to land. And so II will always be with Gods
children. They may be plunged into dark
ness and trouble, but by the throne OF the
eternal God, l assert it, they shall all es-
capo safe to land'
Sometimes there comes a storm of com,
mercial disaster. The cables break The
masts fall. The cargoes are scattered over
the sen. OH what struggling and leaping
on kegs and hogshcads and cornbins and store
shelvesl And yet, though they may have il
so very hard in commercial circles, the good,
trusting in God, all come safe 90 land.
Wreckers go out on the oceans beach and
find tho shattered hulks OF vessels and on tho
streets OF our greot cities there Is many
wreck. Mainsail slit with bankers pen
Hulks abeam's end on insurance counters
Vast credits sinking, having suddenly sprung
n leak. Yet oil Of them who arc Gods chill
dren shall at last, through His goodness and
Wan warriors used to drink wine out Of the
skulls of the enemies they had slain. Even
50 God will help us, out of the conquered ills
and disasters OF life, TO drink sweetness and
strength for our souls.
You have, my friends, had illustrations In
your own life of how God delivers His peo.
pie have had illustrations in my own
life OF the same truth. | was once in what
ON your Mediterranean you call n Eurocvi.
don, but what on the Atlantic we call n
Syclone, but the same storm The steamer
Greece, OF the National line, swung out into
the river Mcrsey at Liverpool, bound FOR
New York We had on board Seyeu
hundred crew and passengers. We cnn,
together strangers Italians, Irishm,n, En;.
lishmcn, Swcles Norwegians Amnri.
cans. Two flags foatcd from tho
lnasts-British and American cusigns We
had n new vessel, or one 80 thoroughly r..
modelled that the voyage had around il All
the uncertainties Of n trial trip. The great
steamer felt Ms way cautiously out into the
sea. Tho pilot was discharged and commit
ting ourselves TO the care of Him who hold
eth the winds in His fist we were fairl,
started on our voyage of three thousand miles
IL was rough nearly all the way-the sea with
strong buifeting disputing our path
But one night at If O'Clock. nftni
the lights had been put out, a cyclone-a
wind just made 10 tear ships 10 pieces
caught us in its clutches. IL camo down 80
suddenly that we hal not time to take in the
sails or to faston the matches. You may know
that the bottom of the Atlantic is strewn
with tho ghastly work of cycloncs Oh
they are cruel winds. They have hot
breath, os though they came up from
Internal furnaces. Their merrlment il
the cry of afrrighted passengers.
Their play Is the laundering of steam.
ers And, whom ship gocs down, they laugh
until both continents hear them They 20
| ilaa
hand-rolling on! rolling on with finger of
terror writing on the white sheet OF tho
wave tins sentence of doom: "I.et all that
come within this circle perish! Brigantines.
go uownl Clippers go down. Steamships
90 down" And the vessel, hearing the ter
rible voice, crouches in the surf. and rs the
waters gurglc through the matches and port
nolcs II lowers away, thousands of
ieet down, farther and farther, until at last
II strikes the bottom: and all is peace. for
they have landed Helmsman, dead at the
WHEEL Engineer. dead amidst the extin.
guished furnaces! Captain, dead in tho
gangway! Passengers, dead in the cabin!
bur,ed IN the great cemetery OF dead steam
ers, beside the City of Boston the Lexington
the President the Cambria-waiting for the
nrchangels trumpet to split up tho decks
and wrench open the cabin doors, and unfast-
en- the matches.
thought that had seen storms on the sca
come under one wing of that cyclone. We
We're only eight or nine hundred miles from
nome, and III high expectation of soon seeing
our friends, for there was no one on board
SO poor rs not TO have n friend. But IL seemed
rs If we were 10 bc disappointed. The most
of us expected then and there To die.
There were none who made light of the peril,
save two. One was an Englishman, and no
was drunk, and the other was an Ameri-
"a. sa::.... and - he was a fool! oh! what
tmc it was! \ night to make onei
hair turn white. We came out Of the berths
and stood in the gangway, and looked into tho
steerage, and sat in the cabin. While seated
there, we heard overhead something like
minute guns. IL was the bursting Of the sails
We held ON with hoth hands To keep our
places. Those who attempted 20 cross
the floor came back bruised and
gashed Cups and glasses were dashed
TO fragments; pieces OF the table getting
loose, swung across the saloon. IL seemed
rs il the hurricane took that great
ship OF thousands of tons and stood
II on end, and said: shall | sink
It, or let IL go this oncep And then il came
down with such force that the pillows tram
pied over II, each mounted of fury. Wo
felt that everything depended on the pro-
pehing screw. II that stopped for an in
slant we knew the vessel would fall off into tho
trough OF the sea and sink; and 80 we prayed
that the screw, which three times since loav-
ing Liverpool had already stopped, might
not stop now. Oh! how anxiously we
listened for tho regular thump of the ma
chinery, upon which our lives seemed
TO depend. After while somo ono
said: "The screw is stoppedw No;
its sound had only been overpowered
by the uproar of the tempest and We
breathed easier again when we heard the re-
gular pulsations of the overtasked machinery
going thump thump, thump. At O'clock
In the morning the water covered the ship
from PROV TO stern, and the skylights gave
way 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 for
ward in the cabins and dashed against tho
wall, It sprang half way up tO the ceiling.
Rushing through the skylights as it
came in with such terrific roar, there
went up from the cabin q shrek of horror
which pray God | may never hear again.
i have dreamed tho whole scene over again,
but God has mercifully kept me from hear.
ing that one cry. Into i seemed 70 bo com.
pressed the agony of expected shipwreGk.
III seemed TO say: II shall never get home
again! My children shall be orphaned, and
my wife shall be widowed! AM launching
meet my Godw
There were about five hundred and fifty
passengers in the steerage, and as the water
rnshed IN and touched the furnaces, and he
gan violently 10 hiss, the poor creatures in