The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-10-13

Ring all the bel1ss Yea. open all the
portfolios. Unlimber the guns and load,
and fire one great bfoadside that shall
shake the continents In honor of q
and the eternity Of the American I'm
iont But I lift my hand. and the
scene has vanished. Many Of the ships
have dropped under the crystal pave
ment OF the deep, sea monsters SWIM
ming in and put the forsaken cabin,
and other old craft nave swung into
the w yards, and man. Of the brave
spir y who trod their decks are gone
up to -he Eternal fortress, from whose
easements and embrasures may we
o hope they look down today with
| joy upon a nation In reunited brother
hood?
FOOTE AND FARRAGUT.
All those OF you who were in naval
sersic, IL, = the war OF 1867 eIe pov
in the afternoon or evenlns- OF lie.
| With so'ae of YOU it is 2 o'closx, :
| O'Clock, 4 o'clock 6 o'clock, and it Will
soon be sundown If you were Of age
when the war irCke out, you are Row
at least 60. Many of you rave passed
into the SO. cnt,eS. While in our Gu
ban war there were more Christian
commanders or sea and land than in
any previous conflict, I would revive
in ycEr minds the fact tina at least
W great admirals of the civil war
were Christians, Foote and Farragut.
Had the Christian religion been a cow
ardly thing they would have had moth
ing to do with it. In it's faith they
| lived and died. In Brooklyn navy yard
Admiral Foote held prayer meetings
| and conducted a revival on the receiv-
ing ship North Carolina and on Sab
baths, far out at sea, followed the
chaplain with religious exhortation. In
early life. aboard the sloop-of-war
Natchez, impressed by the words of a
Christian sailor, he gave his spare
time for two weeks to the Bible and at
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: II hank God for all His
goodness to me. He has been very
good to me-" When he entered heaven
it was amid the cheers of a great
welcome. The other Christian admiral
will be honored on earth until the day
when the fires from above shall lick
up the waters from beneath, and there
I shall be no more sea.
Oh, while old oceans breast
Bears a white sail
And Gods soft stars to rest
Guide through h gale,
Men will him ne'er forget,
Old heart of oak
Farragut, Farragut-
Thunderbolt stroke!<
According to his own statement, Far
ragut was very loose in his morals i'll
early manhood and practiced all kinds
of sir. One day he was called n
the cabin of his father. who was a
shipmaster. His father said, David.
what are you going to be, anyhow"
the sea- Follow the sea-" said the
father, and be kicked about the world
and die in a foreign hospital?" mo"
said David; 81 am going to
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.
CHRISTIAN SAILORS.
Captain Pennington, an h,4iored eld-
er 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 Far
ragut was a good Christian. In ev-
cry great crisis of life he asked and
obtained the Divine direction. When
in Mobile bay the monitor Tecumseh
sank from a torpedo and the great war
ship Brooklyn, THAT was Ito lead the
squadron, turned back, he said he was
alt a loss to know whether ito
or retreat, and he says: Il prayed, %
God, wtho created MAN and gave him
reason, direct me what to do. Shall l
go ON? And a voice commanded me,
Go on And I went on" Was There
lever a more touching Christian letter
than THAI which he wrot ito his wife
from his flags dip Hartford? my dear
est wife, I write and leave this letter
for YOU. I am going into Mobile bay
in the morning if God is my" leader,
and l hope he lis, and in him I place
my trust. If he thinks 1T Ills the proper
place for me ito die, I am ready to sub
NIT to his will i'm THAT ais all other
Things. God bless and preserve you
my darling, and my lear boy it any
timing should happen to me. May hls
blessings rest Upon you and your dear
mother
Cheerful ito the end, he said ON boarc
the Tallapoosa i'm the Iast voyage ne
ever took, cit would be we'll il ] dice
NOW i'm harness." The sublime Episco-
pal service for the dead was nevel
, more appropriately rendered than ove0
his casket, and wei did all the forts od
!, New York harbor thunder as his EodJ
was brought TO THE wharf and Wsl d1t
, the minute guns sound and h bells
toll as in a procession having IN its
l