The Penn's Grove record., 1899-10-06

phia, Admiral D~ahlgren commanding; yon-
der, the flagship San J~acinto, Admiral
Bailey commanding; yonder, the flagship
Black Hawk, Admiral Porter commanding,
yonder, the flaR steamer Benton, Admiral
Foote commanding; yonder, the flagship
Hartford, David G. Farragut command
ing; yonder, the Brooklyn, Rear Admiral
Schley commanding; yonler, the Olympia,
Admiral Dewey commanding; yonder the
Oregon, Captain Clark commanding; yon-
der, the Texas, Captain Philip commando
ing; yonder, the New York, Renr Admiral
Sampson commanding; yonder, the Iowa,
Captain Robley d, Evans commanding.
All those of you who were In tho naval
service during the war OF 1865 are nov in
the afternoon or evening of life. With
some Of you 1t Is Q O'Clock, 8 O'Clock, 4
o'clock, 6 O'Clock, and 1t will soon be- sun
down.. If you were OF age when the war
broke out, you are now at least GO. Many
of you have passed into tho seventies.
While In our Cuban war there were more
Christian commanders on sea and land
than in any previous conflict, | would re-
vive in your minds the fact that Mt least
two great admirais of the civil war were
Christians, Foote and Farrngut. Had
the Christian religion been u cowardly
thing they would have had nothln ; to do
with 1t. In its faith they lived and died.
In Brooklyn navy yard Admiral Foote
held prayer meetings and conducted II re-
vlval on the receiving ship North Carolina
and or Sabbaths, far out Mt sea, followed
the chaplain with religious exhortation.
In early life, aboard the sloop-of-war
Natchez, impressed by the words OF a Chris
tian sailor, be CAV his spare time for two
weeks to the Bible, and Mt the end OF that
declared openly, "Henceforth, under all
circumstances, / will act for God" His
last words while dying at the Aston House,
New York, were: 81 thank God for all His
goodness to me. He has been very good
to me-" When he entered heaven, he did
not have to run a blockade, for 1t was
amid the cheers of Il great welcome. The
other Christian admiral will be honored
on earth until the days when the fires from
above shall lick up the waters from be-
meath and there shalt be no more sea.
Oh, while old oceans breast
Bears a white sail
And Gods soft stars to res'
Guide through the gale,
Men will him ne'er forget,
Old heart of oak
Farragut, Farragut-
Thunderbolt stroke!
According to his own statement, FAR
rA gut was very loose in his morals in early
manhood and practlced all kinds OF sin.
One day he was called into the cabin of his
father, who was a shipmnster. His father
laid, David, what are you going to be
anyhow" He answered, II am going to
follow tho sea-" Follow the sea" said
the father, land be kicked about the
world and die in u foreign hospitalP"
NO." said David; 81 am going to com
mand like you" "No," said the fnther;
81 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 n 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 l had
heard elsewhere, that Farragut WAS good
aud Christian. In every great crisis of
life he asked and obtained the Divine dt-
r~ection. When in Mobile bay the monitor
Tecumseh sank from u torpedo and the
great warship Brooklyn that was to lead
the squadron, turned back, he said he
was at a loss to know whether to adj
vance or retreat, and be says; Il prayed.
% God, who created man and gave him
reason, direct me what to do. r-SA6h1 rs
onf' And n 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 flagship
Hartford? MY dearest wife, l write and
leave this letter for you. l am going into
Mobile bay In the morning If God is my
leader, and I hope He is, and in Him I
place my trust. II He thinks 1t is the proper
place for me to die, / am ready to submit
10 His will in that as all other things. God
bless and preserve you, my darling, and
my dear boy, II anything should happen to
me. May His blessings rest upon you and
your dear mother"
Cheerful to the end, he said on board the
T%allapoosa In the last voyage he ever took,
ut would be we'll ii / died now in harness."
The sublime Episcopal service for the dead
was never more appropriately rendered
han over his casket, and well did all the
forts OF New York harbor thunder as his
baI,, x,anf hrarr~hf 20 fhn uybnrf and wall
did the minute guns sound and the bells
toll as In n procession having In Its ranks
the President of the United States and his
cabinet and the mighty men OF land and sea
the old admiral WAS carried, mid hun
dreds OF thousands of uncovered heads on
Broadway, and laid on his pillow OF dusS'n
beautiful Woodlawn, September 80, amid
the pomp of our autumnal forests.
ID We hail with thanks the new generation
of naval heroes, those of the year 1898. We
are too near their marvellous deeds to fully
appreciate them. A century from now
poetry and sculpture and painting and his
tory will do them better justice than we
can do them now. A defeat at Manila would
have been an Infinite disaster. Foreign
nations not over fond OF our American in-
situations would have Joined the other side,
and the war so many months past would
have been raging still, and perhaps n hum
dred thousand graves would have opened
10 LHkt uOWn our sluiu SOiutClo IN
1t took this country three years to get
over the disaster at Bull Run at the open
ing 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 l cannot say. God averted
the calamity by giving triumph to our
navy under Admiral Dewey, whose coming
up through the Narrows OF New York har-
hor day before yesterday was greeted by
the nation whose welcoming cheers will
not cease to resound until tomorrow, and
next day in the capital OF the nation the
jeweled sword voted by Congress shall be
presented amid booming ~cannonade and
~embannered hosts, and our autumnal
nights shall become a e~onnhgration oil
s%plendor, but the tramp OF these process
stons ana the fash OF that sword and the
huzza of that greeting and the roar OF
those guns and the illumination OF those
nights will be seen and heard as long MS a
page OF American history remains inviolate:
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,
unassuming, almost bashful person that
they went to school with and with whom
they sported on the playground. The hon
ers of all the world cannot spoil him. A
few weeks ago at a banquet In England
some of the titled nobiemen were az
fronted because cur American minister
plenipotentiary associated the name OF
Dewey with that OF Lord Nelson. As well
might we be affronted 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
The other. SO this day sympathizing with
al the festivities and celebrations OF the
past week and with all the festivities and
celebrations TO come this week, let us
anew thank God and those heroes OF tho
American navy who have done such great
things for our beloved land. Come aboard
the old ship Zion, ye sailors and soldiers,
whether still in tho active service or hon
orably discharged and at home having re-
sumed citizenship. Ant We men OF the
past, your last battle on the seas fought.
take IRON me, in Gods name, salutation
and good cheer. For the few remainipg
fights with sin and deaths and hell make
ready. Strip your vessel for the fray. Hang
the sheet chains over the side. Send down
the topgallant masts. Barricade the wheel.
Rig in the flying jib boom. Steer straight
for the shining shore, and hear the shout
OF the great Commander OF earth and
heaven as He cries from the shrouds. ITO
him that oyereometh will | give TO eat OF