The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-10-02

the end of that declared openly, Hence
forth, under all circumstances, will act
for God" His last words while dying at
the Astor House, New York. were: Il
thank God for all his goodness to me. He
has been very good to- me-" When be
entered heaven, he did not have to run a
blockade, for it was amid the cheers Of a
great welcome. The other Christian i'd
miral will be honored on earth until the
day when the fires from above shall lick
up the waters from beneath and there
shall be no more sea.
Oh, while old oceans breast
Bears white Mil
And Gods soft stars to rest
Guide through the gale,
Men will him ne'er forget,
Old heart Of oak
Faragut Farragut-
Thunderbolt strokei
Farragut's New Life.
According to his own statement, Far
ragut was very loose In his morals in
early manhood and practiced all kinds Of
sin. One day he was called into the cab
in Of his father, who was a shipmaster.
His father said, "David, what are you
going to be anyhow" He answered, II
am going to follow the sea-" Follow
the sea-" said the father, "and be kicked
about the world and die in foreign hos
pital?" "No." said David; II am going
to command like you" "No." said the
father; "a boy of your habits will never
command anything" And his father
burst into tears and left the cabin. From
that day David Farragut started on a
new life.
Captain Pennington, an honored elder
of my Brooklyn church. was with him in
most of his battles and had his intimate
friendship, and he confirmed, what ! had
heard elsewhere. that Farragut was good
and Christian. In every great crisis Of
life be asked and obtained the Divine di.
rection. When in Mobile bay the monitor
Tecumseh sank from a torpedo and the
great warship Brooklyn, that was to lead
the squadron turned back. he said he
was ut loss to know whether to ad.
vance or retreat. and he says:"I prayed.
% God, who created man and gave him
reason, direct me what to do. Shall ! go
on?' And voice commanded me. Go
on and | went on" Was there ever a
more touching Christian letter than that
which he wrote to his wife from his flag.
ship Hartford? my dearest wife, |
write and leave this letter for you. | am
going into Mobile bay in the morning II
God is my leader, and hope he is. and
in him place my trust. Ii he thinks it
Is the proper place for me to die, am
ready to submit to his will in that as all
other things. God bless and preserve
you, my darling, and my dear boy, il any.
thing should happen to me. May his
blessings rest upon you and your dear
mother"
Cheerful to the end. he said on board
the Tallapoosa in the last voyage he ever
took, 1T would be well If | died now in
harness." The sublime Episcopal service
Tor the dead was never more appropriate
ly rendered than over his casket, and well
did all the forts of New York harbor
thunder as his body was brought to the
wharf, and well did the minute guns
sound and the bells toll us in II procession
having in its ranks the president of the
United Suites and his cabinet and the
mighty men of land and sea the old admi-
ral was carried, amid hundreds Of thou
sands of uncovered heads on Broadway,
and laid on bis pillow of dust in beauti-
full Woodlawn, Sept. 80, amid the pomp
of our autumnal forests.
But just us much am l stirred at the
scene on warships deck before Santiago
last summer, when the victory gained for
our American flag over Spanish oppres-
sion the captain took off his hat and all
the sailors and soldiers did the same and
silently they offered thanks to Almighty
God for what had been accomplished. and
when on another ship the soldiers and
sailors were cheering as a Spanish vessel
sank and its officers and crews were
struggling In the waters and the captain
of our warship cried out. Don't cheer;
the poor fellows are drowning" Prayers
on deck! Prayers in the forecustle! Pray
ers in the cabin! Prayers in the ham
mocks! Prayers on the lookout at mid
night! The battles of that war opened
with prayer, were pushed on with prayer
and closed with prayer, and tod the
American nation recalls them with
prayer.
Reception to Dewey.
We hail with thanks the new genera
ton of naval heroes, those Of the year
1898. We are too near their marvellous
deeds to fully appreciate them. A cen
fury from now poetry and sculpture and
painting and history will do them better
justice than we can do them now. A, de-
feat ut Manila would have been an inf
mite disaster. Foreign nations not over
fond of our American institutions would
have Joined the other side. and the war
SO many months past would have been
raging still. and perhaps hundred thou
sand graves would have opened to take
down our slain soldiers and sailors. 1t
took this country three years to get over
the disaster at Bull Run at the opening
of the civil war. How many years it
would have required to recover from a
defeat at Manila in the opening Of the
Spanish war ] cannot say. God averted
the calamity by giving triumph to our
navy under Admiral Dewey, whose COM
ing up through the Narrows of New
York harbor day before yesterday was
greeted by the nation whose welcoming
cheers will not cease to resound until to-
morrow, and next day in the capital of
the nation the jeweled sword voted by
congress shall be presented amid boom
ing cannonade and cmbannered hosts,
and our autumnal nights shall become
conflagration of splendor, but the tramp
of these professions and the flash of that
sword and the huzza of that greeting and
the roar of those guns and the illumina-
ton Of those nights will be seen and
heard as long as page OF American his.
tory remains inviolnte.
Especially let the country boys of
America join in these greetings to the
returned heroes OF Manila. 1t is their
work. The chief character In all the
scene Is the once country lad, George
Dewey. Let the Vermonters come down
and find him older, but the same modest,
almost bashful person that
they went to school with and with whom
they sported On the playground The hon
Ors of all the world cannot spoil him. A
few weeks ago at n banquet In England
some of the titled noblemen were af-
fronted because our American minister
associated the name of
Dewey with that of Lord Nelson. As well
might we he afronted because the name
Of Nelson Is associated with that of cur
most renowned admiral. The one man in
all the coming ages will stand as high as
he other. So this day, sympathizing with
Ill the festivities and celebrations Of the
past week and with all the festivities and
to come this week, let us