The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-06-24
THE LAPSLEY HAS
BEEN DEDICATED
CONTINUED from First Page.)

DLLiN ULDlIA L LII
Continued from First Page.)
the southern Presbyterian, Church for the
work OF Christ IN Africa. The great We
man who originated the plan by which the
funds-were raised for its construction, my
old friend, Mrs. John r. Sampson; of Pan
tops, and her daughter, WHO took the first
ST share of stock. are here this afternoon
to witness its dedication. Greeting you all,
who have come to express your interest
in what this boat represents. We give 10
them our special and most hearty greeting.
To the William r. Trigg Company, and
to Lieutenants Smith and Groesbeck the
inspectors, we wish to express our
Church's appreciation of the work they
have done for US. Those of US who have
had to represent the Church in business
relations with them in the building of the
boat have been delighted with their cour-
tesy, reasonableness and fairness al the
way through, and we are satisfied that,
from proprietors down to riveters. they
have given US the best that was in their
shop. and as good, If not better, than we
could have gotten in any other shop IN the
round world.
1t will be the first American built boat
to sail on African river, but when it has
once shown itself on the great Congo it
viii furnish such an exhibition of Ameri-
can skill and honesty of workmanship that
the Trigg Company will have to enlarge
their plant still further to fill the orders
that will come to them in the opening up
OF that great undeveloped continent to the
worlds commerce and civilization.
The name of this boat, the Samuel ~
Lapsley, is that of the young hero and
martyr over whose grave at Borna the
Virginia creepers, planted there by DR..
~ AS f,1J1n oh q
martyr was he as any of those whose
names are given in that honor roll of the
old-tfme church in the eleventh of he
brews and far more lovely and Christ
like character than some of them. 1t was
not unnatural that he should be. for they
had not been blessed with the centuries of
Christian heredity and the fitness of New
Testament privilege. and the old Scotch
Irish Presbyterian training that he was
blessed with. By faith, when he was called
to go out to that far-of land OF darkness,
with ready obedience he went 1t mat
tered not to him and his noble black bro
Their, Shepherd. that they sojourned there
as strangers, dwelling in tents and having
no certain resting place, for Africa was
their land Of promise. and they looked for
the building there of the city of God, which
already begins to appear. and one of the
stones which shall never pe moved in the
foundation of that city is the young life
he laid on the altar there as a free and
willing sacrifice.
NOBLE WORKERS
Two noble women of our mission, Mrs.
Adamson and the first Mrs. Snyder, have
also given their lives for Africa, and those
three graves-one at Borna, one at Stanley
Pool and one at Luebo-are what must
ever make that whole region of Central
Africa holy ground for us, and no matter
what difficulties and discoura gements may
come in the future, must make the very
thought OF abandoning that work impossi-
bic.
Time would fail me to speak Of the
twelve living representatives of our
Church that are there now-six OF them
white and six coloreG-Iiving together in
Christian brotherhood and sistefhood. as
Southern white Christians and Southern
coiored Christians know now to live to-
gether, with no friction and no problem
about their social relations; every one of
them hero or a heroine: every one of
them in the very act of going there having
offered himself or herself living sacri-
fee to God, ready to live or ready to die
for Africa-or rather, I should say, for
Christ, our Lord-that He may see the
travail of His soul in Africa's redemp-
ton.
It is to help such these in their
noble work: to contribute something to
their comfort and to the safety of their
iistS NIiiC tpiiis H. tii1t tiiiS ppdL lbs
been built by our children, and now, after
years of patient waiting On their part,
is at last ready to be sent out. And now
let us all try to imagine ourselves for
a few moments at Stanley Pool with this
boat all put together and painted white
the fire burning in the engine and the
flags unfurled, ourselves on deck, waving
our farewells as the wheel turns and the
waters of the Congo splash behind it.
The denizens of the river flee to right
and left as our crew plunges in among
them, all except that graceful and poetic
survival of antedeluvian times, the hip
popotamus, who resents our intrusion on
his siesta, who waliops his huge body to-
wards US, his black eyes shining just at
the water surface. ready to show US fight.
1t is no good to shoot him anywhere eX-
cept right in the eye, but if there is a
marksman with good rifle board
who can hit that target. We may have for
breakfast what Mr.. Shepherd declares
is the most toothsome piece of steak that
ever tickled the human palate.
There are many sunken rocks which our
steersmen must know how to avoid, or
the boat may go suddenly down, and the
hippopotamus may breakfast on as instead
of our breal1fasting on the hippopotanus.
FAR UP THE CONGO.
We steam Oh UP the Congo, about 800
miles northeast across the Equator, then
100 miles east, then about 200 miles south
east across the Equator again to the
IL s~e 10 L ft,1,,