Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-07-31

bait and swim away. In the meantime
| was admiring the curvlng waves;
was watching the winds pile IN the
clouds into valleys and mountains and
domes and arches and fortrcsees and
obclisks; was watching the sea guls
take their morning baths or swoop
down to clutch Il fish In their talons.
and then with wild cry start away
for the nests where their young were
clamoring for food. And as watched
those sea gulls my mind wandered on,
and / solioquizcd: What if death
had slain my father and mother when
| was young just as cruel marksman
for mere sport might shoot yondcr
bird? Would | then have died rs the
bird 1lcdgclinCs would die of starva-
ton, or would I have lived to grow
up Il Christian man or have fallen into
crime and finally been put behind iron
bars as Il convict" And thus |
dreamed the whole day away and only
caught one small fish, But right along
side of me was a man who had the
same kind of bait, the same kind of
line and practically the same position.
He differed from me only in the fact
that he put his whole body and mind
into his work. He did not go down
/ New Norl; harbor TO watch the clouds
or the birds or the waves. He went TO
| fish, and hc nshcd until the parspira-
| ton rolled OFF his face in streams; ho
| fshcd until his hands were dirty and
| till his clothes were dirty. He fishcd
until he forgot everything but his line.
/ But the result of putting his whole
| force into his work was "A baskctful Of
/ at least fifty or sixty big founders.
/ So my brother, If you and | are to
become one purposed Christians, if We
want to live to save mon, we must
/ surrender ourselves. body, mind and
soul. to the service of the Lord Jesus
| Christ. We must leave our worldly
nets down by the shores of Lake Gal
/ lice and follow him. Jesus demands
that we make his service a life'S con-
sccration, not II Sabbath's recreation.
He demands unccasng toll, not a sum
mer's sport.
The True Gospel Fisherman.
The true gospel fisherman is u brave
man. We have been taught TO regard
the soldier as among the bravcSt OF
men. True. it needs Il brave heart TO
stand unbldnchcd amid storm of Shot
and shell and TO walk up to the cam
mons mouth when the bullets are fall
iug around like hail FACTORING upon
the paycmcnts. But tie soldier never
has to face great dangers continuously
like those the fisherman has to meet.
| suppose that among ali the different
classes of men there is not one among
which the destruction OF life proper
tionatcly is SO great as among the men
! who make the harvest of the sea their
avocation or life work.
During Il recent journey across the
Atlantic and after we had been out a
couple of days from New York har-
Dor | saw two men pointing to Il dari.
cloud ahead. | heard one of them
say: we are going to have bad
night. That is the Newfoundland foe
bank" Soon the thick mistS began tC
settle around us. All that night tho
gloomy fog horn blow. | said to ihC
commander of the Cuu2rdcr. Captain
why do you blow that terrific fog horn
Surely the danger of collision will
Il passing steamer is comparatively
small All" answered the captain
eve are blowing the fog horn ell ely
10 warn the fishermen. All about these
waters are hundreds of little fishing
smdrkS. The fishermen come here and
anchor. They stay month in anJ
month out until they catch their cargo
ana scores ana scores OF these poor i'l
lows are run down every year, We
want to warn them If possible, tha
we are coming along. GO TO any al
the little fishing towns along the rocky
coasts Of old Scotland. There you vii
find women who have lost fathers am
brothers ana husbands and sons in Tho
awful dangers Of Il il>hernan's lie
Every seaman Will tell YOU that THE
pcrilS of sailors life are compare
lively nothing if there are only siXt,
fathoms of water under the ships Keel
But the herman rarely puts out tt
the deep sea. He must fish compare
lively near The shore. Then the storm!
come up and threaten to drive the frai
craft upon the rocks. Then TIE fog
settle so thiclily that the stcorsmal
can hardly see the prov Of the boa
from the stern. Yes. tho true fisher
mans life, whether it is found on LAX
Jaw ~ Or- -. W ~ '''|il" =