Connecticut western news., 1901-08-29


 ] ock. IL d.d net seem of much impor. tance whether tie sailor continued to holl the book in his teeth 1T let 1t fall in the breakers, but upoL what small circumstance depended what mighty results!
 Practical inference: There are no in- slgnificances in life. The minutest Is made up of intinitesimals; great thinrs an aggregation of small things. Bethlehem manager prlling on star in the eastern sky. One book In drench- ed sailors mouth the evangelization of a multitude. One boat of papyrus on the Nile freighted with events for all ages. The fate of Christendom In a basket let down from q window on the wall. What you do, do well. If you make a rope, make 1t strong and true, for you know not how much may de- pend on your workmanship. If you fashion boat, let it be waterproof, for you knew not who may sail In 1t. If you put Bible in the trunk of your boy as he goes from home, let 1t be re- membered in your prayers, for 1t may have a mission as farreaching as the book which the sailor carried In his teeth to the Pitcairn beach. The plain est mans life Is an island between two eternities-eternity past rippling against his shoulders, eternity to come touch ing lis brow. The casual, the acciden- tai. that which merely happened so, are parts of great plan, and the rope that lets the fugitive apostle from the Da- mascus wall is the cable that holds to its mooring the ship of the church in the storm of the centuries.
 Again, notice unrecognlzed and unre- corded service. Who spun that roper Who tied 1t to the basket? Who stead jed the inustrious preacher as he step ped into .t? Who relaxed not a muscle of the arm or dismissed an anxious look from his face until the basket touched the ground and discharged its magnificent cargo? Not one of their names has come to us, but there was no work done that day In Damascus oI In all earth compared with the impor- tance of their work. What if they had in their agitation tied knot that could slip? What If the sound of the mob at the door had led them to say, Paul must take care of himself, and we will take care of ourselves?" No, no! They held the rope and In doing so did more for the Christian church than any thou sand of us will ever accomplish. But God knows and has made record of their undertaking. And they know.
 Cause For Exultntion.
 How exultant they must have felt when they read his letters to the Ro- mans, to the Corinthians, to the Gala tians, to the Ephesians, to the Philip plans, to the Colossians, to the Thessa. lonians, and when they heard how he walked out of prison, with the earth quake unlocking the door for him, and took command of the Alexandrian corn ship when the sailors were nearly scared to death and preached sermon that nearly shook Felix off his judg ment seat! I hear the men and women who helped him down through the window and over the wall talking in private over the matter and saying: How glad I am that we effected that rescue! In coming times others may get the glory of Paups work, but no one shall rob us of the satisfaction of knowing that we held the rope"
 Once for SC hours we expected every moment to go to the bottom of the ocean. The waves struck through the skylights and rushed down into the hold of the ship and hissed against the boilers. It was an awful time, but by the blessing of God and the faithful ness of the men in charge we came out of the cyclone, and we arrived at home. Each one before leaving the ship thanked Captain Andrews. I do not think there was man or woman that went off that ship without thanking Captain Andrews, and when years aft CT heard of his death I was lmpelled to write q letter of condolence to his family in Liverpool. Everybody recog- nized the goodness, the courage, the kindness, of Captain Andrews, but 1t occurs to me now that we never thank ed the engineer. He stood away down in the darkness amid the hissing fur naces, doing his whole duty. Nobody thanked the engineer. but God recog- nized his heroism and his continuance and his fidelity, and there will be just as high reward for the engineer, who worked out of sight, as for the captain. who stood on the bridge of the ship in the midst of the bowling tempest.
 There are said to be about 10000 ministers of religion In this country. About S0,000, warrant, came from early homes which had to struggle for the necessaries of life The sons of rich bankers and merchants generally be- come bankers and merchants. The most of those who become ministers are the sons of those who had terrific struggle to get their everyday bread. The collegiate and theological educa- tion of that son took every luxury from the parental table for eight yeara. The other children were more scantily ap- while got bundle from home. In 1t were the socks that mother had knit sitting up late at night, her sight not IS good as once it was. And there also were some delicacies from ythe sisters 8 hand for the voracious appetite of a hungry student. The fakher swung the heavy cradle through the wheat, the sweat rolling from his chin bedewlng every step of the way, and then sitting down under the cherry tree at noon, thinking to himself, 'I am fearfully tired, but 1t will pay if I can once See that boy through college and If I can know that he will be preaching the gos- pei after I am dead" ahe younger children want to know why they can't have this and that as others do, and the mother says, "Be patient, my chil- drcn, until your brother graduates, and then you shall have more luxuries, but we must see that boy through"
 Good Reason For Rejoicing. e
 The years go by, and the son has been ordained and Is preaching the glo rious gospel and great revival comes and souls by scores and hundreds nc. cept the gospel from the lips of that young preacher, and father and moth