The Yale expositor., 1897-11-05

enough to let passengers go up and see
the barracks of Napoleons captivity,
and then hoist sail for the port OF their
own native land. They only took this
world in transitu. 1t is hard for us,
but it is blessed for them.
And IL the spirit of this sermon Is
true, then we ought not to go around
signing and grooming when another
year Is going; when we ought to go
down on one knee by the milestone and
s~S the letters and thank God that we
arc three hundred and sixty-five miles
nearer home. We ought not
to go around with morbid feel
ings about our health or about
anticipated demise. We ought to be
living not according to that old maxim
which l used to hear in my boyhood,
that yen 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 nervous lest you have to
move out of shanty into an Alham-
| bra.
One Christmas day / witnessed some
thing very thrilling. We had just dis
tributed the family presents Christmas
morning, when heard great cry OF
distress in the hallway. A child from
a neighbours house came in to say her
father was dead. 1t was only three
doors off, and 1 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 illuminated countenance, as though
he were just going into harbor. The
fact was he had already got through
the "Narrows." In the adjoining room
were the Christmas presents, waiting
for his distribution. Long ago, one
night, when he had narrowly escaped
with his ship from being run down by
great ocean steamer, he had made his
peace with God, and kinder neighbor
or better man than Captain Pendle-
ton you would not find this side Of
heaven. Without a moments warn
ing, the pilot of the heavenly harbor
had met him just off the lightship.
He had often talked to me Of the
goodness of God, and especially of a
time when he was about to enter New
York harbor with his ship from Liver
pool, and he was suddenly impressed
that he ought to put back to sea. I'm
der 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, for it did seem so unreason-
able that when they could get into
harbor that night they should put
back to sea. But they put back to
sea, and Captain Pendleton said to his
mate. "You call me at ten o'clock at
night" At twelve o'clock at night the
captain was aroused and said, What
does this mean? l thought l told you
to call me at ten o'clock, and here it
is twelve" why" said the mate, II
did call you at ten 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 twelve o'clock
Said the captain, rs it possible?
have no remembrance of that"
At twelve o'clock the captain went
on deck, and through the rift of cloud
the moonlight fell upon the sea and
showed him a shipwreck with one
hundred struggling passengers. He
helped them off. Had he been any
earlier or later at that point of the
sea he would have been of no service
to those drowning people. On board
the captains vessel they began to band
together as to what they should pay
for the rescue and what they should
pay for provisions. "Ah," says the cap
tain, my lads, you can't pay me any
thing; all have on board is yours. l
feel too greatly honored of God in hav-
ing saved you to take any pay" Just
like him. He never got any pay ex-
cept that of his own applauding con-
science.
Oh that the old sea captains God
might be my God and yours! Amid
the stormy seas of this life may we
have always some one as tenderly to
take care of us as the captain took
care of the drowning crew and the pas
sengers. And may we come into the
harbor with as little physical pain and
with as bright hope as he had and
If 1t 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 pres
ent could we have than heaven?