The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1893-10-27
UNSAFE LIFEBOATS.
REV. DR.. TALMAGs STILL FINDS NEW
SUBJECTS AND NEW THOUGHTS.

The Recent Yacht Race-Importance OF
the ufeboats-One That Can Live In
Any sea--A Sure Refuge In the Storm
of Life.
BROOKLYN, Oct. 22.-After preaching
on nearly 1900 different subjects and
being closely followed by the printing
press for about % years Rev. DIR. Tai
mage still seems to find new subjects
that have never been preached on. This
forenoon he chose for his subject "Un-
safe Lifeboats," the text being Acts
xvii, 80, "Then the soldiers cut off the
ropes of the boat and let her fall off,"
While your faces are yet somewhat
bronzed by attendance on the interna-
tional boat contest between the Vigilant
and the Valkyrie l address you. Good
things when there is no betting or dissi-
patton, those outdoor sports. We want
more fresh air and breeziness in our
temperaments and our religion. A stale
and slow and lugubrious religion may
have done for other times, yet will not
do for these. But my text calls our at
tention to boat of different sort, and
instead of the Atlantic it is the Mediter-
ranean, and instead of not wind enough,
as the crews of the Vigilant and Vall1y-
RE the other day complained, there is
too much wind and the swoop of Eu-
roclydon.
am not calling your attention so
much to the famous ship on which Paul
was the distinguished passenger, but to
the lifeboat of that ship which no one
seems to notice. For a fortnight the
main vessel had been tossed and driven.
For that two weeks, the account says,
the passengers had continued fasting"
suppose the salt water, dashing over,
had spoiled the sea biscuit, and the pas
sengers were seasick anyhow.
The sailors said, "Itis no use; this ship
must go down." and they proposed
among themselves to lower the hfeboat
and get into it and take the chances for
reaching shore, although they pretended
they were going to get over the sides of
the big ship and down into the lifeboat
only to do sailors duty. That was not
sailorlike, for the sailors that l have
known were all intrepid fellows and
would rather go down with the ship
than do such mean thing as those Jack
Tars of my text attempted.
When on the Mediterranean last June
the Victoria sank under the ram of the
Camperdown, the most majestic thing
about that awful scene was that all the
Sailors staid at their posts doing their
duty. AS class all over the world sail
ors are valorous, but these sailors of the
text were exceptional and pretended to
do duty while they were really preparing
for flight in the lifeboat. But these "ma-
rines" ON board--sea soldiers-had in es-
pecial charge little missionary who
was turning the world upside down, and
when these marines saw the trick the
sailors were about to play they lifted the
cutlasses from the girdle and chop! chop!
went those cutlasses into the ropes that
held the lifeboat, and splash! it dropped
into the sea.
My text describes it, 1.-THE soldiers cut
off the ropes of the boat and let her fall
off," AS that empty lifeboat dNopped
and was capsized on sea where for two
weeks winds and pillows had been in
battle think that many on board the
main vessel felt their last hope of ever
reaching home had vanished. In that
tempestuous sea small boat could not
have lived five minutes.
My subject is "Unsafe Lifeboats."
We cannot exaggerate the Importance of
the lifeboat. All honor to the memory
of Lionel Lukin, the coach builder of
Long Acre, London, who invented the
first lifeboat, and do not blame him for
ordering put upon his tombstone in Kent
the inscription that you may still read
there:
| This Lionel Lukin was the first who
| built lifeboat and was the original in
ventor of that principle of safety by
which many lives and much property
have been preserved from shipwreck,
and he obtained for it the kings patent
in the year 1885,"
| WORD OF CAUTION.
All honor to the memory Of Sir Will
| liam Hillary, who, living in the isle of
Man, and after assisting with his own
hand in the rescue of 305 lives of the
shipwrecked, stirred the English parlia-
ment to quick action in the construction
/ of lifeboats. Thanks to God for the
sublime and pathetic and divine mission
of the lifeboat No one will doubt its
important mission who has read of the
wreck of the Amazon in the bay of Bis
cay, of the Tweed running on the reefs
of the gulf of Mexico or of the Ocean
/ Monarch on the coast of Wales, or of the
| Birkenhead on the Cape of Good Hope,
or of the Royal Charter on the coast of
| Anglesea, or of the Exmouth on the
Scotch breakers, or of the Cambria on
the Irish coast, or of the Atlantic on the
rocks of Nova Scotia, or of the Licking.
ton on Long Island sound.
/ To add still further to the Importance OF
the lifeboat, remember there are at least
100000 men following the sea, to say
nothing Of the uncounted millions this
moment ocean passengers. We Gland
lubbers," as sailors call us. may not
know the difference between MARINE
spike and ringbolt, or anything about
heaving log, or rigging out flying
| jibboom, or furling topsail, but we all
realize to greater or less extent the i'm
portance of lifeboat in every marine
equipment.
But do we feel the Importance of 9
lifeboat in thematter of the souls rescue
There are times when we all feel that we
are out at sea- and as many disturbing
and anxious questions strike us as wave.
struck that vessel against the sides o.
which the lifeboat of my text dangled
Questions about the church. Questions
about the world. Questions about God
Questions about our eternal destiny
Every thinking man and woman has
these questions, and in proportion al
they are thinking people do these ques
tions arise.
There is no wrong in thinking. If Coz
had not intended us to think and keel
on thinking, he would not have bull
under this wheelhouse of the skull thi
thinking machine, which halts not In it
revolutions from cradle to grave. Eve,
the midnight does not stop the thinkin
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