Democratic messenger., 1892-06-25
A SOULS DEPARTURE.
Or. TALMAeE SENDS FROM THE
OCEAN A SERMON TO HIS READERS.

BROOKLYN. June l9.-Rev DIR. Tai
mage is now on the Atlantic. having
sailed from New York ON the 18th inst.
England. Scotland. ireland and Sweden.
Before visiting Sweden DIR. Talmage
will go to Russia. there to witness the
reception and disposition of the cargo of
breadstuffs on board The Christian Her
aid relief steamship Leo. which sailed
last week for ST. Petersburg. Previous to
his departure he dictated to his stenog-
rapher the following farewell sermon.
to be read by the vast and widely scat
tered audiences whom il is his weekly
privilege to address through the medium
Of the newspaper press. He took his
text from u Timothy iv, 6. The time
OF my departure is Mt hand.
Departure! That is a word used only
twice in all the Bible. But il is word
often used in the courtroom and means
the desertion of one course of pleading
for another. IL is used in navigation to
describe the distance between two me-
ridians passing through the extremities
Of course. II is n word have recent
ly heard applied TO my departure from
America to Europe for preaching tour
to last until September. In smaller
and less significant sense than that i'm
piled in the text can say. The time Of
my departure is at hand"
Through the printing press | address
this sermon To my readers all the world
over. and when they read il will be
midoccan. and unless something new
happens in my marine experiences will
be in no CONDITION to preach. But how
unimportant the word departure when
applied to exchange Of continents rs
when applied TO exchang. of worlds as
when Paul wrote. The time Of my de.
parture is at hand.
Now departure implies starting
place and "A place Of destination. When
ing point: II was u scene of great phys.
ical distress. II was the Tullianum. the
lower dungeon of the Mamertine prison,
Rome. Italy The top dungeon was bad
enough. il having no means of ingress
or egress but through an opening in the
top. Through that the prisoner was
lowered, and through that came all the
food and air and light received. 1t was
terrible place. that upper dungeon;
but the Tullianum was the lower dun
geon, and that was still more wretched.
the only light and the only air coming
through the roof. and that roof the floor
Of the upper dungeon. That was Paul's
last earthly residence
was in that lower dungeon in No
vember. 1889. II is made of volcanic
stone. measured it, and from wall to
wall il was fifteen feet. The highest of
the roof was seven feet from the floor
and the lowest of the roof FIVE feet seven
inches. The opening in the roof through
which Paul was let down was three feet
wide. The dungeon has seat Of rock
two and half feet high and a shelf of
rock four feet high. 1t was there that
Paul spent his last days on earth. and it
is there that see him now. in the fear
full dungeon. shivering. blue with the
cold. waiting for that old overcoat which
he had sent for up TO Troas and which
they had not yet sent down. notwith-
standing he had written for it.
THE DUNGEON or ST. PAUL.
II some skillful surgeon should go into
that dungeon where Paul is incarceratetl
we might find ont what are the pros
poets Of Paul's living through the rough
imprisonment. In the first place he is
an old man. only two years short of sew
enty At that very time when he most
roaslc tl.s. uV,.l ha cf,t.ls,,hs
the fresh air he is shut out from the sun.
What are those scars ON his ankles:
Why. those were got when he was fast.
his feet in the stocks. Every time hc
turned the flesh on his ankles started.
What are those scars on his back: You
know he was whipped five times. each
time getting thirly-ninc strokes-one
hundred and ninety-tive bruises on the
back tcount themJ made by the Jews
with ross Of elmwood. each one of the
one hundred ami ninety-five strokes
bringing the blood.
Look at Paul's face and look at his
arms. Where did he get those bruises:
think il was VIII, u he was struggling
ashore amid the shivered timbers of the
shipwreck. see cash in Paul's side.
Where did he get that: think he got
that in the tussle with highwaymen. for
he had been in peril Of robbers and he
had money of his own. He was me-
chanic rs well rs AN apostle. and think
the tents he made We're AS good as his
sermons
There is wanness about Paul's looks.
yyk.s 4 ...l.
that came from the fact that he was for
twenty-four hours on plank IN the
Mediterranean sea. suffering terribly.
before he was rescued. for he says posi-
lively, Il was night and a day in the
deep. Oh. worE ont. emaciated old
man. surely you must be melancholy:
no constitution could endure this and be
cheerful. But press my way through
the prison until | come up close 10 where
he is. and by the faint light that streams
through the opening see on his face a
supernatural joy. and bow before him.
and | say. Aged man. how can you
keep cheerful.amid all this gloom" His
voice startles the darkness of the place
as he cries ont, Il am now ready TO be
offered. and the time of my departure is
at hand.
Hark! what is that shutting of feet in
the upper dungeon! Why, Paul has an
invitation to banquet. and he is going
to dine today with the king Those
shuffiing feet are the feet of the execu-
TONERS They come. and they cry down
through the hole Of the dungeon: "fIur-
~ mp. old man. Come now: get your
self ready" Why. Paul was ready. He
had nothing To pack up. He had no bag
gage to take. He had been ready good
while see him rising mp. and straight
ming out his limbs. and pushing back
his white hair from his crcviced fore
head. and see him looking MP through
the hole III the rooi al lnc ,!,;a-' '"n into
the face of his rxecuiiunrr>. ana tear
him say, IL am now ready to br offered,
and the time Of my departure Is Il, na.id.
Then they lift him out Of the dungeon,
and they start with him to the place Of