The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1891-11-25

some p,Sor pilgrim on his way. That
island of Cyprus has enough to set an
antiquarian wild. The most Of its
glory is the glcry Of the past, and the
typhoid fevers that sweep its coasts and
the clouds of locusts that often blacken
its skies Though 100000 were expend-
ed by the British empire in the year for
the extirpation of these noxious insects,
vet failing TO do the work., and the fire.
quent change of governmental masters,
binders prosperity But when the
islands of the sea come to God, Cyprus
will come with them, and the
agricultural and commercial opulence
which adorned it in ages past will be
eclipsed by the agricultural and COM
mercial and religious triumphs of the
ages to come. Why is the world SO
stupid that 1t can not see that nations
are prospered in temporal things in
proportion as they are prospered in re-
ligious things. Goodness is profitable
not only for individuals, but for ma
tions.
Night came down on land and sea
and the voyage became to me more
and more suggestive and solemn. II
you are pacing it alone, ships deck
in the darkness and at sea is weird
place, and an active imagination may
conjure up almost any shape he will,
and it shall walk the sea or confront
him by the smokestack, or meet him
under the captains bridge. But here
was alone on ships deck in the Gospel
archipelago, and do you wonder that
the sea was populous with the past. and
that down the ratlines Bible memo.
ries descended? Our friends had all
gone to their berths. Captain" said.
"when will we arrive at the Island OF
Rhodes?" Looking out from under his
glazed cap, he responded in sepulchral
voice, about midnight"
Though it would be keeping unrea-
sonable hours, concluded to stay on
deck, for l must see Rhodes. one of the
islands associated with the name of the
greatest missionary the world ever
saw or ever will see. Paul landed
there, and that was enough to make II
famous while the world stands and IA
nous in Heaven when the world has
become charred wreck.
This is and has had wonderful his.
tory. With 6, 900 Knights Of St. JOHN
it at one time stood out against 900 DOC
warriors under "Solyman the Magnifi-
cent" The city had 5000 statues, and
statue to Apollo called Colossus,
which has always since been considered
one of the seven wonders of the world
1t was twelve years in building and
was seventy cubits high, and had a
winding stairs to the top. 1t stood
fifty-siX years. and then was Frustrated
by an earthquake.
After lying in ruins for nine hundred
years. it was purchased to be converted
to other purposes, and the metal weigh
ing seven hundred and twenty thou
sand pounds, was put on nine hundred
camels and carried away.
We were not permitted to go ashore,
but the lights all up and down the hills
show where the city stands, and nine
boats come out to take freight and to
bring three passengers Yet all the
thousands of years of its history are
eclipsed by the few hours or days that
Paul stopped there. AS stood there
on the deck of the Minerva, looking out
upon the place where the Colossus once
stood, bethought myself of the fact
that the world must have God Of
some kind.
1t is to me an infinite pathos-the
Colossus not only of Rhodes, put the
colossi in many parts of the earth.
This is only the worlds blind reaching
up and feeling after God. Foundered
human nature must have super
natural arm to help it ashore All the
statues and images of heathendom are
attempts to bring celestial forces down
into human affairs. Blessed be our
ears that we have heard of an ever
present God, and that through Jesus
Christ He comes into our hearts and oul
homes, and with more than fatherly
and mothcrly interest and affection He
is with us in all our struggles and be-
reavements and vicissitudes Rhodes
needs something higher than the Colos
sus and the day will come when the
Christ, whom Paul was serving wher
he sailed into the harbor of Rhodes
shall take possession of that land.
AS we move on up through this archi
pelago l am reminded of what an i'm
portant part the islands have taken ii
the history of the world. They arc
necessary to the balancing of The
planet The two hemispheres mus
have them. AS you put down upon ,
scale the heavy pound weights, ant
then. the small ountes, and no one
thinks of despising the small weights
so the continents are the pounds anC
the islands are the ounces. A cont
nent is only larger island and ar
island only smaller continent Some
thing of what part the islands hav,
taken in the worlds history you viii
see when l reminded you that the isl
and of Salamis produced Scion and tn,
island of Chios produced Homer, ant
the island of Samos produced Pytha
goras, and the island of Coos produced
Hippocrates.
But there is one island that I longet
to see more than any other. can't af
; ford to miss the prince among tn,
islands, but Unjust see the king of the
Archipelago The one l longed to Sc,
is not so many miles in circumference,
as Cyprus, or Crete, or Paros, or Naxos
or Scio, or Mitylene, but had rather il
this sail through the Grecian Archipel
ago, see that than all the others, TO
more of the glories of Heaven land