Newport weekly independent., 1901-08-30
PAUL IN A BASKET.
Dr. Talmage Draws His Sermon
 from This Bible Incident.
Story of the Disciples ProyidentiaI Escape from the Infuriated Mob and the Lesson 1t
 Teaches.
[Copyrighted, 1901, by Louis Klopsch, N. Y.l
 Washington, Aug 9.

here used by Dr. Talmage to set forth practical and beautiful truth; text, II.
 Corinthians 11:33: "Through window in basket was let down by the wall"
 Sermons on Paul in jail, Paul on Mars hill, Paul in the shipwreck, Paul before the sanhedrin, Paul before Felix, are plentiful, but in my text we
 have Paul in basket
 Damascus is a city of white and glis-
 tenlng architecture, sometimes called
 the eye of the east" sometimes called
 "a pearl surrounded by emeralds," at one time distinguished for swords of the best material, called Damascus
 blades, and upholstery of richest ia bric called damask. A horseman of the name of Saul, riding toward this city, had been thrown from the saddle. The
 horse had dropped under flash from the sky, which at the same time was 80 bright 1t blinded the rider for many days, and, l think, so permanently ln- Jured his eyesight that his defect of vision became the thorn in the flesh he afterward speaks of. He started for Damascus to butcher Christians, but after that hard fall from his horse he was changed man and preached Christ in Damascu till the city was shaken to its foundation.
 The mayor gives authority for his arrest, and the popular cry is: Kill him! Kill him!" The city is surround ed by high wall and the gates are watched by the police lest the Cilician preacher escape. Many of the houses are built on the wall, and their balco- nies projected clear over and hovered above the garden outside. It was GUS tomary to lower baskets out of these balconies and pull up fruits and flow CTS from the gardens. To this day vis- ltors al the monastery of Mount Sinai are lifted and let down in baskets. De- tectives prowled around from house to house looking for Paul, but his friends hid him, now in one place, now in another. He is no coward, as 50 in cidents in his life demonstra te, but he feels his work is not done yet, and so he evades ssassination. "Is that preacher here?" the foaming mob shout at one house door. 'Is that fa- natic here?" the police shout a anoth- er house door. Some times on the street incognito he passes through a cloud of clinched fists and somet times he se- cretes himself on the house top.
 Atlast the infuriated populace get on sure track of him. They have positive evidence that he is in the house of one of the Christians, the balcony of whose home reaches over the wall. Here he is! Here he is!" The vociferati tion and blasphemy and bowling of the pursu- CTS are at the front door. They break in. Fetch out that gospelizer and let us hang his head on the city gate. Where is he?" The emergency was ter rible. Providentially there was good stout basket in the house. Paul's friends fasten a rope to the basket. Paul steps into it. The basket is lifted to the edge of the balcony on the wall, and then, while Paul holds the rope with both hands his friends lower away, carefully and cautiously, slowly but surely, farther down and farther down, until the basket strikes the earth and the apostle steps out and afoot and alone starts out on that fa- nous missionary tour the story of which has astonished earth and Heav- en. Appropriate entry in Paul's diary of travels: "Through window in basket was let down by the wall"
 I observe first on what slender ten ure great results hang. The rope maker who twisted that cord fastened to that lowering basket never knew how much would depend upon the strength of it. How if it had been brok- en and the apostles life had been dashed out? What would have become of the Christian church? All that mag nificent missionary work in Pamphylia, Cappadocia, Galatia, Macedonia would never have been accomplished. All his writings that make up so indispensa- ble and enchanting a part of the New Testament would never have been written. The story of the resurrection would never have been so gloriously told as he told it. That eXampleof hero- ic and triumphant endurance at Philip pi, in the Mediterranean Euroclydon. under f1agellation, and at his behead- ing would not have kindled the courage of 10000 martyrdoms. But that rope holding that basket, how much depend ed on it! So again and again great re- suits have hung on slender circum- stances.
 Did ever ship of many thousand tons crossing the sea have such an impor- tant passenger as had once boat of leaves, from taffrail to stern only three or four feet, the vessel being water proof by coat of bitumen and floating | on the Nile with the in f. nt Ia nuniunr of f |