The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-07-06
DEPARTURE.
a Short Journey From Darkness to
Heavenly Light.
4 Beautiful Transition From a Troublous
Abode to Court Paved With Love
and "A Palace Lighted by Kind
ness-Dr. Talmages' Sermon.


lantic, having sailed from New York on
the 18th inst. for Liverpool, for preach
ing tour in 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 Herald relief steamship Leo,
which sailed last week for st. Peters
burg. Previous to his departure he die
tated to his stenographer the following
farewell sermon, to be read by the vast
and widely scattered audiences whom 1t
is his weekly privilege to address
through the medium of the newspaper
press. He took his text from ii. limo
thy iv. 6: "The time of my departure is
at hand"
Departure! This is word used only
twice in all the Bible. But it is word
often used in the courtroom and means
the desertioI of one course OF pleading
for another. 1t is used in navigation to
describe the distance between two
meridians passing through the ex-
tremities of course. 1t is word
have recently heard applied to my de-
parture from America to Europe for
preaching tour to last until September.
In a smaller and less significant sense
than implied in the text l can
say, 1.-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 it l
will be in mid ocean, and unless some
thing new happens in my marine ex-
periences l will be in no condition to
preach. But how unimportant the word
departure when applied to change OF
continents as when applied to exchange
of worlds as when Paul wrote, 1.-THE
time of my departure is at hand"
Now, departure implies a starting
place and place of destination. When
Paul left this world, what was the
starting point? 1t was scene of great
physical distress. 1t was the Tullia-
mum, the lower dungeon of the Manner
tine prison, Rome, Italy. The top dun
geon was bad enough, it 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 a terrible place, that
upper dungeon, but the Tullianum was
the lower dungeon, 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 dun
geon. That was Paurs last earthly
residence. / was in that lower dun
geon in November, 1889. 1t is made of
volcanic stone. / measured it, and
rom wall to wall it 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 open
ing in the roof through which Paul was
let down was three feet wide.
The dungeon has a seat of rock two
and a half feet high, and 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 fearful
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 that he had written for it.
If some skillful surgeon should go
INTO that dungeon where Paul is in
generated, we might find out what are
the prospects of Paul's living through
the rough imprisonment In the first
place, he is an old man, only two years
short of 70. At that very time when
he most needs the warmth and the SUM-
light and the fresh air, he is shut out
from the sun. What are those
,cars on his ankles? Why those
were gotten when he was fast,
his feet in the stocks. Every time
he turned, the flesh on his ankles start
ed. What are those scars on his back?
You know he was whipped five times,
each time getting thirty-nine strokes
one hundred and ninety-five bruises on
the back count themD made by the
Jews with rods of elm-wood, each one
Of the 1876 strokes bringing the blood.
Look at Paurs face and look at his
arms. Where did he get those bruisesi
l think it was when he was struggling
ashore amidst the shivering timbers o.
the shipwreck. see cash in Paul:
side. Where did he get that? / think
he got that in the tussle with highway
men, for he had been in peril of rob
bers, and had money of his own. He
was mechanic as well as an apostle
and think the tents he made were as
good as his sermons.
There is a wanness about Paurs looks
What makes that? think part o
that came from the fact that he was fol
twenty-four hours on plank in thu
Mediterranean sea, suffering terribly
before he was rescued; for he says posi-
lively, 81 vas night and day in thu
deep" Oh, worn-out old man! surely
you must be melancholy; no constitu
ton could endure this and be cheerful
But press my way through the prison
Until / come up close to where he is
and by the faint light that stream
through the opening see on his face ;
supernatural joy, and bow before hin
and say: Aged man, how can you keel
cheerful amidst all this gloom?' Hi
voice startles the darkness of the plac
as he cries out: 81 am now ready to b,
offered, and the time of my departure
is at hand" Hank! what is that shut
fling of feet in the upper dungeon
Why, Paul has an invitation to
banquet, and he is going to dine witt
the King. Those shutting feet are tn
feet of the executioners. They come
and they cry down through the hol
Of the dungeon: Hurry up, old man
| Come NOW get Yourself rnadvn Why