The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1892-06-21
ON THE OCEAN.
DIR. TILMAGE SAILS FOR ENGLAND
TO DELIVER SERIES OF SERMONS.
The Text Of His Farewell Sermon Being
Timothy4, 6: "The limo of My De-
parture 10 at Hand"


DR.. Talmage is now on the Atlantic, hav-
ing sailed from New York on the 15th
instant for Liverpool, for preaching tour
In England, Scotland, Ireland and SWe-
den. Before visiting Sweden, DIR. Tai
mage 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 Petersburg. Previous to
his departure, he dictated to his stenogra-
pher the following farewell sermon, to
be read by the vast and widely scattered
audiences whom it is his wee privilege
to address through the meL.um of the
newspaper press He took his text from
III Timothy 4: 6: '"The time Of my depart
IRE is at hand"
Departure! That is q word used only
often used in the courtroom and means
the desertion of one course of pleading
for another 1t is used in navigation to
describe the distance between two merid-
fans passing through the extremities of a
course. 1t is n word I have recently
heard applied to my departure from Amer
lea to Europe for a preaching tour to last
until September. In q smaller and less
significant sense than that implied in the
text can say 1.-THE time of my departure
Is at hand" Through the printing press
I address this sermon to my readers all
the world over, and when they read it
will be midOcan, and unless something
new happens in my marine experiences
I will be in no condition to preach. But
how unimportant the word departure
when applied to the exchange of CONT
nents as when applied to the exchange
of worlds as when Paul wrote, 1.-THE
time Of my departure is at hand
Now, departure implies n starting place
and a place Of destination. When Paul
left this world, what was the starting
point? 1t was Il scene of great physical
distress. 1t was the ,Tealianum, the
lower dungeon of the Mamertine prison,
Rome, Italy. The top dungeon was bad
enough, 1t 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
mir and light received. 1t was q terrible
place-that upper dungeon; but the Tul-
Ganum was the lower dungeon, and what
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 earthly residence
] was i'll that lower dungeon in November
SO. 1t is made of volcanic stone | meas
ured it, and from 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
opelnng III the roof through which Paul
was let down was three feet wide. The
dungeon has q seat of rock two and q
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 fearful dungeon,
shivering, blue with the cold,
waiting for that old overcoat
which he had sent for up to
Iroas, and which they had not vet sent
down, Notwithstanding he had written
for it.
II some sElilful surgeon should go into tia t
dungeon where Paul IS Iucarcrra,cd, we
might lind out what are the prospects of
Pauis living through tha rough iInprison-
ment. In the first place, he is an old man.
only two years short of seventy. At hat
Very time when he most needs the warmth
and the sunlight and the fresh air, he is
shut out from the sun. What ar. those
scars on his ankles? Why, those wexc got
ten when he was fast, his feet in tae ste cks
Livery time he turned the flesh on his
ankles started. What are those scars on
his back! You know he was whipped five
times, each time getting thirty-nine strok IS
one hundred and ninety-five bruises on the
back tcount themD made by the Jews with
rods of elmwOod, each one of the one hun
dred and mnety-fiye strokes bringing blood
Look at PauPs face and look at his arms
Where dld he get those bruises? | think il
was when he was struggling ashore amidst
tie ShlFerlnS umberS of the shipwreck
See cash in Paul's side. Where did he get
thatf / 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 mechanic as We'll as an apostle and
l think the tents he made were as good as
his sermons.
There is a wanness about PauIs looks
What makes that? | think a part of that
came from the fact that he was for twenty
four hours on plank in the Mediterranean
sea, suffering terribly, before he was res
cued; for he says positively, II was n night
and day in the deep" Oh wornout, ena-
clated old man. surely you must be mclan-
chOly: no constitution could endure this and
be cheerful. But L press my way through
the prison until L come up close to where
he Is; and by the faint light that
streams through the opening I see on his
face a supernatural joy, and | bow before
him, and | say, Aged man, how can Won
keep cheerful amidst all this goom?' His
voice startles the darkness of the place as
he cries out, 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 invita-
ton to Il banquet, and he is going TO dine
today with the King. Those shutting feet
are the feet of the executioners. They
come, and they cry down through the hole
of the dungeon, Hurry up, old man. Come
now; get yourself readyu' Why, Paul was
ready. He had nothing to pack up. He had
no baggage to take. He had been ready a
good while. / see him rising up and
strengthening out his stffened limbs, and
pushing back his white hair from his GREY
iced forehead, and see him looking uT,
through the hole in the roof of the dungeon
into the face of his executioners and near
him say, L am now ready to be offered
and the time of my departure is at hand
Then they lift him out of the dungeon, and
they start with him TO the place of execu-
ton. They say, Hurry along, old man
or you will feel the weight of our spear
Hurry along" How far is it." says Paul
1--WE have to travel?' Three miles" Three
miles is good way for an old man to travel
after he has been whipped and crippled with
maltreatment. But they soon get to the
place of execution-Acquae Salvia--and he
is fastened to the pillar of martyrdom. i,
does not take any strength to tie him fast
Jp M a anil VIII moi