Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1891-11-05
REV. DIR. fALMAGE.
TIE BROOKLYN DIvINEs SUN.
DAY SERMON.
Subject: Sailing Up the Nile"

Subject: Sailing Up the Nile"
TExT: 'Ihe River Is Mine and 1 Hupe
Made N.n-Ezekiel xxx,
Anal This is the River Nile A brown or
yellow or silver cord on which are hung
more jewels of thrilling interest than on any
river That was ever twisted in the sunshine
It ripples through the book of Ezekiel, and
nasnes IN the books Of Deuteronomy and
Isaiah and Zecharia and Nahum, and on its
banks stood the mighties of many ages 1t
was the crystal cradle of Moses, and OH its
nanks, Mary, the refugee, carried the infant
Jesus. 10 find the birthplace of this river
was the fascination and defeat OF expedi-
tioIs without number.
Not many years ago Bayard Taylor our
gieib American traveller, wrote, 'Since Co
luu bus first looked upon San Salvador the
EARN mas but one emotion of triumph left
Tor der bestowal, and that she reserves for
MIN who shall first drink from the fountains
OF the White Nile under the snow fields of
klllma-Njaro." But the discovery of the
sources of the Nile by most people was CON
sidered an impossibility. The malarias, the
wild beasts, the savages, the unclimable
Sleeps the vast distances, stopped all the ex-
petitions for ages.
An Intelligent native said to Sir Samuel
w. Baker and wife as they were on their
way to accomplish that in which others had
failed: ''Give up the mad scheme of the Nile
source. How would it be possible for a lady
young and delicate to endure what would
XIII the strongest man? Give it up," But
the work went on until Spoke and Grant and
haser found the two lakes which are the
source OF what was called the White Nile
ana tnaptized these two lakes with the names
OF Victoria and Albert. These two lakes.
hlled by great rainfalls and by accumulated
SHOWS from the mountains, pour their
waters, laden with agricultural wealth such
as tlesses no other river, on down over the
catiracts, on between frowning mountains
on netween cities living and cities dead, on
LOT Iour thousand miles and through a con-
tinent
But the White Nile would do little for
| Egypt 1t this were all. It would keep its
banks and Egypt would remain a desert.
But from Abyssinia there comes what ia
called the Blue Nile which, though dry or
nearly dry half the year, under tremendous
rams about the middle of June rises to great
momentum, and this Blue Nile dashes with
consequence rises thirty feet and their com.
bined waters inundate Egypt with a rich soil
which drops on all the fields and gardens as
tits conducted by bitches and sluices and
canals every whittier.
| Inc greatest damage that ever came to
Egypt came by the drying up Of the River
Nile, and the greatest blessing BY its health.
| sepl,'s time came from the lack of sufficient
inundatiop from the Nile Not enough Nile
| Is drought; too much Nile is freshet and
| plague. The rivers of the earth are the
mothers of its prosperity. If by some con-
vulsion OF nature the Mississippi should be
taken from North America, or the Amazon
from South America, or the Danube from
Europe, or the Yenisei from Asia-what
| hemisphere calamity! Still, there are other
rivers that could fertilize and save these
| countries
AS we start where the Nile empties into
che Mediterranean Sea, we behold q won
| derful fulfllment of prophecy. The Nile in
very ancient times used to have seven
mouths As the great river approached the
sea at seven different places. Isaiah prophe-
sled, 1.-THE Lord shall utterly destroy the
tongue Of the Egyptian sea and shall smite
| 1t III the seven streams" The fact is thsy are
| all destroyed but two, and Herodotus said
these two remaining are artificial Up the
Nile we shall go; part of the way by
! Egyptian rail train and then by boat, and
| we shall understand why the Bible gives such
prominence to thisriver, which is the largest
river of all the earth with one exception.
| But before we board the train we must
take look at Alexandria. 1t was founded
| BY Alexander the Great, and was once the
New York, the Paris. the London of the
| world. Temples, palaces, fountains, gar
dens pillared and efhorescent with all archi-
tectural and Edenic grandeur and sweetness
Apollos, the eloquent, whom in the New
Testament times some people tried to make
| rival to st. Paul, lived here. Here Mark
the author of the second book Of the New
Testament, expired under Nero's anathema.
From here the ship sailed that left Paul and
the crew struggling in the breakers of
| Malta Pnn,naU1a v,t1lor 10 tora oh
hundred feet high, its base surrounded by Sc
| much filth and squalor was glad to escape
| into an air that was breathabie.
| But Alexandria, fascinating for this or
| that thing, according to the taste of the Wis
itor, was to me most entertaining because it
| that the world ever saw, considering the
| fact that the art of printing had not been
! invented. Seven hundred thousand volumes
| and all the work of slow pen. But down
1t all went under the torch OF beseigers.
Built again and destroyed again. Built
again, but the Arabs came along for its
final demolition and the four thousand baths
of the city were heated with those volumes,
the fuel lasting six months, and were ever
fires kindled at such fearful cost? What
holocausts of the worlds literature! What
martyrdom of books How many OF them
have gone down under the rage Of nations.
Only one book has bean able to Withstand
eoC boAOuA QAnCut, 1uQ u1ap nAo SOuo uuXOukl
without smell of fire on its lids. No swori
on spear or musket for its defense. An un
armed New Testament. An unarmed Ole
Testament. Yet invulnerable and tri
nnlphant. There must be something super
natural about it. Conqueror of books
Monarch of books! All the books of all the
|, az IS in all the libraries outshone by this one
| book which you and carry to church in a
pocket. So methought amid the ashes OF
Alexandrian libraries.
But all aboard the Egyptian rail train
| going up the banks of the Nilel Look out
| Of the window and see those camels kneeline
| for the imposition of their load. And
think we might take from them a lesson
and, instead Of trying to stand upright in
| our own strength, become conscious of our
| weakness and need OF divine help before we
| take upon us the heavy duties of the year OF
the week or the day, aud so kneel for the
burden. We meet professions OF men and
beasts on the way from their days work
| but alas, for the homes to which the poor
| inhabitants are going, for the most part
novels of mud. But there is something in
the scene that thoroughly enlists us. 1t il
tho novelty Of wretchedness and . scene Of
| picturesque rags. For thousands OF year.
| this land has been under q very damnatior
to taxes. Nothing but Christian civilization
will roll back the influences which ara
spelling the Egyptians" There are gar
dens and palaces, but they belong to ths
| rulers.
This ride along the Nile is one Of the most