Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1897-02-27

That Offers In Time of Peril.
De FUNLAK SPRINGS, Fla, Feb. 81
After many years Of invitation DR.. Tai
mage breaches today at this great Chau-
tauqua From all parts of the south the
people arc assembled. Tho sermon is
nightly helpful for those who find il
hard to holievo everything DIR. Tai
mage returns this week to Washington.
The subject of this sermon is "A Shat
tered Faith and the text Acts xvii,
A, "And somo on broken pieces of the
ship. F"
Never off Goodwin sands or the Skier
ries or Capo Hattcras was u ship Ill
worse predicament than, in the Mediter-
ranean hurricane, was the grain ship on
which 276 passengers were driven Oh
the coast Of Malta, five miles from the
metropolis of that island, called Citta
Vecchia. After two weeks tempest,
when the ship was entirely disabled and
captain and crew had become complete
" demoralizcd, an old missionary took
command of the vessel He was small,
crooked backed and sore eyed, accord
ing to tradition. 1t was Paul, the only
unsecured man aboard. Hc was no more
afraid of Euroclydon tossing tho Med
iterranean sea- DOW up to the gates OF
heaven and now sinking it to the gates
of hell, than lie was afraid of a kitten
playing with Il string. He ordered them
all down to take their rationS first ask
ing for them blessing. Then he insur-
ed all their lives, telling them they
would be rescued, and, so far from los
ing their heads, they would not lose sc
much of their hair rs you could cut oil
with one click of the scissors-nay, not
thread of it, whether it were gray
with age OF golden with youth "Thcrc
shall not n hair fall from the head OF
any of you.
Paul In Command.
Knowing that they can never get tc
the desired port, they make the sea on
the fourteenth night black with over
thrown cargo, so that when the ship
strikes it will not strike so heavily. AT
daybreall they saw creek and i'll then
cxigency resolved TO make for it. And
so they cut the cables, took i'll the two
paddles they had OH those old boats AND
hoistcd the mainsail so that they might
come with such force as to be driven
high up on the beach by some fortunate
billow. There she goes, tumblinS to-
ward the rocks, now PROV foremost,
now stern foremost, now rolling ove1
to the cardboard, now over to the lar
board; now Il wave dashcs clear ovc1
the deck, and it seems as if the old craft
has gone forever. But up she comes
again. Paul's arms around mast, he
cries: "All is we'll God has given me
all those that sail with me. " Crasl
went the PROV, with such force that il
broke off the mast. Crash went tho
timbers till the seas rushed through
from side to side of the vessel She
parts amidships, and into thousand
fragments the vessel goes, and into tho
waves ZIG immortals are precipitatcd.
Some of them had been brought up OIL
the seashore and had learned to swim,
and with their chins just above the
waves and by the strokes of both arm:
and propulsion of both feet they put
out for the beach and reached it. But
alas for those others They have never
learned to swim, or they were wounded
by the falling Of the mast, or the merry
Gus shock was too great for them. Alif
others had been weakened by long sea.
sickness.
Oh, what will become of them.
''Take that piece of a rudder," say:
Paul to one. ''Take that fragment of
spar, says Paul to another. "Talit
that image of Castor and Pollux.
"Talse that plank from the lifeboat >
''Take anything and head for the
beach," What struggle for life in the
breakersl Oh, the merciless waters
how they sweep over the heads of men,
women and children! Hold on there
Almost ashore. Keep up your courage.
Remember what Paul told you. There
the receding wave on the beach leave:
in the sand whole family. There
crawls up out of the surf the centurion
There another plank comes in, with
life clinging fast to it There another
piece of the shattered vessel, with it!
freightage of an immortal soul. They
must by this time all be saved. Yes
there comes in last of all, for he hat
been overseeing the rest, the old mis-
sionary, who wrings the water from hi:
gray beard and cries out, "Thank God
all are here!''
How They Escaped.