Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-11-21


seemed to be compressed the agony of ex-
pected shipwreck. It seemed to say: Il
shall never get home againl My chill
dren shall be orphaned, and my wife
shall be vidowedl / am launching now
into eternityi In two minutes / shall
meet my Godl'
There was about Ave hundred and fifty
passengers in the steerAge, and as the
water rushed in and touched the furn-
aces, and began violently to hiss, the
poor creatures in the steerage imag-
ined that the boilers we're giving way.
Those passengers writhed in the water
and in the mud, some praying, some
crying, oil terrified. They made a rush
for the deck. An officer stood on deck
and beat them back with blow after
blow. II was necessary. They would
not have stood an instant on the deck.
OH how they begged to get out of the
hold OF the shipl One woman, with q
child in her arms, rushed up and caught
hold Of one of the officers and cried:
DO let me outl will help you'll Do
let me ontl Icannot die herel' Some
got down and prayed to the Virgin
Mary, saying: 20 blessed mother! keep
usl" Some stood with white lips and
fixed gaze, silent in their terror. Some
MIuHB tuolI uhuub anu Cflou Out. "
God! what shall do2 What shall dor"
longer stay on deck, and the cry of the
officers was: "Belowl all hands belowl"
Our brave and sympathetic Capt. An
drews-whose praise Ishall not cease to
speak while live-had been swept by
the hurricane from his bridge, and had
escaped very narrowly with his life.
The cyclone seemed to stand on the
deck, waving its wings, crying: This
ship is minel | have captured it! Hal
hal will command itl If God will
permit will sink it here and now! By
thousand shipwrecks, Iswear the doom
of this vessell" There was a lull in the
storm; but only that it might gain addi-
tional fury. Crash! went the life boat
on one side. Crashl went the life boat
on the other side. The great booms got
loose, and, as with the heft OF a thun-
derbolt, pounded the deck and beat the
masts-the jib boom, studding sail
boom, and square sail boom, with their
strong arms, beating time to the awful
march andmusic OF the hurricane.
Meanwhile the ocean becams 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 there was
deck Of fire. A ship Of fire, sailing on
a sea of fire, through night Of fire.
May l never see anything like it again!
Everybody prayed. A lad of 10 years
OF age got down and prayed for his
mother. IF should give up, he said,
L do not know what would become of
mother" There were men who, think,
had not prayed for thirty years, who
he, 49, kkas H., n
man, who has neglected God all his life
feels that he has come to his last time,
it makes very busy night. All of our
sins and shortcomings passed through
our minds. My own life seemed utterly
unsatisfactory. could only say, Here,
Lord, take me as l am. cannot mend
matters now. Lord Jesus, thou didst
die for the chief of sinners. That's me!
1t seems, Lord, as if my work is done,
and poorly done, and upon 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, o Lord Jesus! praying that it may
be short struggle in the water, and that
at the same instant we may both arrive
in glory!" Obi I tell you man prays
straight to the mark when he has q
Cyclone 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 wave cliff to
wave cliff; and when He puts His foot
upon biflow, 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 tracks
of His feet read these letters on scrolls
OF foam and fire. "The earth shall be
filled with the knowledge of God as the
waters cover the sea. The ocean calmed.
The path of the steamer became more
and more mild; until, on the last morn
ing out, the sun threw round about us
o glory such as I never witnessed be-
fore. God made pavement of mosaic,
reaching from horizon to horizon, fol
all the splendors of earth and heaven
to walk upon--a pavement bright
enough for the foot of a seraph bright
enough for the wheels Of the archangel's
chariot. As parent embraces q child,
and kisses away its grief, so over that
sea, that had been writhing in agony. in
the tempest. the morning threw its arms
of beauty and OF benediction, and the
lips of earth and heaven met.
As came on deck-it was very early.
and we were nearing the shore-I saw 9
few sails against the sky. They seemed
like the spirits of the night walking the
billows. leaned over the taffrail oi
the vessel, and said, aThy way, o God
is in the sea, and Thy path in the great
waters.
It grew lighter. The clouds we're
hung in purple clusters along the sky
and, as If those purple clusters were
pressed into red wine and poured Out
upon the sea, every wave turned into
crimson, Yonder, FIRE cleft stood oppo.
site to fire cleft; and here, cloud, rem
and tinged with light, seemed like /
palace, with flames bursting from tn,
windows. The whole scene lighted VI
until it seemed as IL the angels of Goo
were ascending and descending upor
stairs of fire, and the wave-crests
changed into jasper, and crystal, ant
amethyst, as they we're flung toward the
beach, made me think Of the crowns o
Heaven cast before the throne of th,
great Jehovah. leaned over the taft
rail again, and said, with more emotion
than before: Thy way, o God, is in tn,
sea, and Thy path in the great waters?
So, thought, will be the going of
of the storm and night Of the Chris
tian's life. The darkness will fold it's
tents and away! The golden feet of the
rising morning will come skipping upol
the mountains, and all the wrathfu
y a n ~ i -. r. 4.