The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1897-11-05

And il the spirit of this sermon is
rue, then we ought not to go around
signing and grooming when another
year is going, but we ought to go down
on one knee by the milestone and see
the letters and thank God that we are
S65 miles nearer home. We ought not
to go around with morbid feelings about
our health or about anticipated demise
We ought to be living not according to
that old maxim which | used to hear in
my boyhood that you must live as
though every day were the last; you
must live as though you were to live
forever, for you will. Do not be nerv-
GUS lest you have to move out of shan
ty into an Alhambra.
One Christmas day | witnessed some
thing very thrilling We had just dis
tributed the family presents Christmas
morning when | heard a great Cry of
distress in the hallway. A child from
neighbours house came in to say her ia
ther was dead 1t was only three doors
off, and think in two minutes we were
there. There lay the old Christian sea
captain, his face upturned toward the
window, as though he had suddenly
seen the headlands, and with an illumi-
mated countenance, as though he were
lust going into harbor. The fact was he
had already got through the Narrows.
In the adjoining room were the Christ
mas presents waiting for his distribu-
ton Long ago, one night when he had
narrowly escaped with his ship from
4 I,xya
er, he had made his peace with God,
and kinder neighbor or better man
than Captain Pendleton you would not
find this side of heaven, Without mo-
ment's warning the pilot of the heaven
ly harbor had met him just off the
lightship.
Faith In God.
He had often talked to me of the good
ness of God and especially of time
when he was about to enter New York
harbor with his ship from Liverpool
and he was suddenly impressed that he
ought to put back to sea. Under the
protest of the crew and under their very
threat he put back to sea, fearing at
the same time he was losing his mind,
when they could get into harbor that
night they should put back to sea. But
they put back to sea, and Captain Pen
dleton said to his mate, "You call me
at 10 o'clock at night. " At IL O'Clock
at night the captain was aroused and
said: "What does this mean? | thought t
told you to call me at 10 O'clock and |
here it is 10. " why" said the mate,
Il did call you at 10 o'clock, and you
got up, looked around and told me to
keep right on the same course for two
hours, and then to call you at 10
O'Clock" Said the captain: SIS it pos
sible? l have no remembrance of that. "
At 10 O'Clock the captain went OH
deck, and through the rift of a cloud
the moonlight fell upon the sea and
showed him shipwreck with 100 strug-
Cling passengers. He helped them off.
Had he been any earlier or any later at
that point of the sea he would have
been of no service to those drowning
people. On board the captain S vessel
they began to band together as to what
they should pay for the rescue and what
they should pay for the provisions.
"Ah, says the captain, my lads, you
can't pay me anything All | have ON
board is yours. ! feel too greatly hon
ored of God in having saved you to take
any pay " Just like him He never got
any pay except that of his own applaud
ing conscience.
Oh, that the old sea captain S God
might be my God and yours Amid the
stormy seas of this life may we have al
ways some one as tenderly to take care
Of us as the captain took care of the
crew and the passengers. And
may we come into the harbor with as
little physical pain and with as bright a
hope as he mad, and if it should happen
to be a Christmas morning, when the
presents are being distributed and we
are celebrating the birth Of him who
came to save our shipwrecked world, all
the better, for what grander, brighter
Christmas present could we have than
heaven?