Milford chronicle., 1901-08-30
VOL. XIV. NO. Is. WHOLE NUMBER 1910

If you fashion a boat. let it be water
proof, for you know not who may sail
In it. If you put a Bible In the trunk of
your boy as he goes from home, let it be
remembered in your prayers, for it may
have a mission as farreaching as the
book which the sailOr carried in his teeth /
to the Pitcairn beach. The plainest mans j
life is an island between two eternities |
eternity past ripping against his |
shoulders. eternity to come touching his |
brow The casual, the accidental, that |
which merely happened so, are parts Of
a great plan. and the rope that lets the |
fugitive apostle from the Damascus |
wall is the cable that holds to its moor |
ing the ship of the church in the storm of
the centuries.
The Humble spinners.
Again. notice unrecognized and unre- |
corded service. Who spun that rope? |
Who tied it to the basket? Who stead |
led the illustrious preacher as he stepped
into itI 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 magnif-
cent cargo? Not one Of their names has
| come TO us. But there was no work done
that day in Damascus or in all the earth
compared with the importance of their
work. Whit if they had in their agita-
| ton tied a 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 our
selves" No. no! They held the rope
and in doing so did more for the Chris
tian church than any thousand Of us will
ever accomplish. But God knows and
has made record Of their undertaking.
/ And they know.
How exutnnt they must have felt when
they read his letters to the Romans, to
the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the
| Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Co
lossians, to the Thessalonians. and when
they heard how he walked out Of prison,
with the earthquake unlocking the door
for him, and took command of the Alex
andrian corn ship when the sailors were
nearly scared to death and preached
sermon that nearly shook Felix off his
judgment seat. hear the men and
women who helped him down through the
window and over the wall talking in pri-
vate over the matter and saying: How
glad / 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 SO 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 Kissed against the boilers. 1t was an
awful time; but by the blessing OF God
and the faithfulness of the men in charge
we came out of the cyclone and we ar
] rived at home. Each one before leaving
the ship thanked Captain Andrews. do
not think there was a man or woman
that went off that ship without thanking
: Captain Andrews, and when years after
heard of his death was impelled to write
a letter Of coincidence to his family in Liv-
erpOOl. Everybody recognized the good
ness the courage, the kindness Of Captain
! Andrews; but 1t occurs to me now that
. we never thanked the engineer. He stood
e away down in the darkness amid the hiss
e ing furnaces doing his whole iuty. No
(! body thanked the engineer, but God recOg
nized his heroism and his continuance and
5 his fidelity, and there will be just as high
/. reward for the engineer who worked Out
2 Of sight as for the captain, vino stood OIL
= the bridge of the ship in the midst Of the
+ bowling tempest.
u Early Struggles and Sacrifices.
e There are said to be about a hundred
g and fifty thousand ministers of religion in
+ this country. About $4,000, l warrant
e -eaine from early homes which had t.
5 struggle for the necessaries of life. Tit
+ sons of rich bankers and merchants gener
n ally become bankers and merchants. Tn,
$ most of those who become ministers ar
d the sons Of those who had terrific strug
IS gle to get their everyday bread Th
IS collegiate and theological education o
, that son took every luxury from the pa
5: rental table for eight years. The 0the
children were more scantily apparelled
The son at college every little while go
e a bundle from home. In it were til
% socks that mother had knit sitting u
r late at night, her sight not as good a
d once it was. And there also were som
II delicacies from the sisters hand for tn
e voracious appetite of a hungry student
e The father swung the heavy cradl
II through the wheat, the sweat rolling froT
IN his chin believing every step Of the way
e. and then sitting down under the cherr
a. tree at noon thinking to himself, 81 al
Up fearfully tired, but it will pay If l ca
TT once see that boy through college, an
fe if l can know that he viii be preachin
IN the gospel after / am dead" The yOul
Id ger children want to know why the
I'D can't have this and that, as others d
he and the mother says, "Be patient, n
g. children. until your brother graduate
OF and then you shall have more luxurie
r. but we must see that boy through"
IS The years go by, and the son has bee
IN ordained and is preaching the glOriOl
on gospel, and a great revival comes, al
souls by scores and hundreds accept Il
ms gospel from the lips of that young preac
ut err and father and mother, quite old nov
ns' are visiting the son at the village parse
ur age, and at the close of a Sabbath
a mighty blessing father and mother reti
lie to their room, the son lighting the W;
on and asking them if he can do anything
ia make them more comfortable, saying
tie they want anything in the night just
II! knock on the wall, and then. all alone, +
ms Their and mother talk over the gracious
10 huences Of the day and say: "Well,
my ,gas worth all we went through to ed
,be cate that boy. 1t was a hard pull, /
lo5 we held on till the work was done. I
world may not know It, but, mother,
held the rope, didn't weT And I
| VOICE. lEELuAluue Win JOg AuA EllOlAuAg
: Is spends: Eyes, father, we held the ro
ieu | feel my work is done. Now, 10
his lettest thou thy servant depart
'.u peace, for mine eyes have seen thy sal
III ton" "Pshaww says the father.
me- never felt so much like liSing In my
llu as now. l want to see what that fell
lnu is going to do, he has begun so we'll"
'ou- Something occurs to me quite persOI
1 i was the youngest Of q large family
uVI children. My parents were neither I
YOU nor poor. -Four of the sons wanted
NAT legiate education, and four obtained
VI but not without great home struggle.
ASH ASH never heard the old people say once t
'ne they were denying themselves to eff
nus this, but l remember now that my
uer' ents always looked tired. l don't ii
Nv they ever got rested until they lay d.
in the Somerville cemetery. MOI
li would sit down in the evening and
llu- ''Well. don't know what makes me
sen so tired" Father would fall immedi
OF " to sleep, seated bysthe evening ST
mes, me overcome with the days fatigues. Al
MA 30 years ago the one and about 81 Y
u no ago the other put down the burden
lere' this life, but they still hold the rope.
ri Of Recognition of blessings.
ship o men and women, you brag 81
ilOrs, times how you have fought your wa
o his the world, but l think there have
l his helpful influences that you have Il