Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1903-12-09
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adjusting the Compass.


Adjusting the Compass.
l was crossing from Glasgow to
Belfast a little time ago, and found
myselfs rather unwillingly, in cabin
or state-room with two sea- -faring
men, who turned out to be the cap.
tain and first officer of steamer
which had been built for them in
Ireland, and which they were going
across to bring back to Glasgow. L
felt, however, that God meant me to
get into conversation with them with
the object of speaking to them for
him if the way opened, and so, when
we were all in our berthe, / began q
conversation. / told them what had
happened to me few months before
on my return from India. One Sun.
day evening at dinner young engi-
neer sat next to me, and we got into
talk about the effect which the great
mass of iron had upon the compass.
He told me that every iron chip was
full of magnetism, which was the
result of the heavy blows of the ham
mer in driving the rivets and bolts,
80 that the accumulation of all the
blows struck by hundreds of artisans
communicated to the vessel an
amount of magnetism which was it's
permanent possession.
1t seemed to me very interesting
that unknown, forgotten men, should
be able to communicate something
of themselves in this way which be-
came permanent part of the ships.
The men became interested in this,
which their calling enabled them to
appreciate, and they assented to the
moral which | drew, that actions live
after us for good or evil; that every
blow struck tends to produce the
aggregate of good or evil in the
world.
l then asked them how they were
able to allow for the operation of
this great magnetic force in their
reading of the compass, and they
told me an interesting thing. They
said it was the habit of the Glasgow
shipbuildera to tow some great ves-
sells into one of the great lochs which
indent the Scottish coast, and at the
four sides of the loohs, posts are
placed to denote the precise points
of the compass. The ship is then
moored in such way that it's bow
and stern point north and south, and
at once it is possible to see how far
the needle of the compass has been
turned aside from the pole-star by
the weight of metal and magnetism
which pervades it. The variation is
carefully measured and noted, 80
that in all after calculations it NAV
be allowed for.
This seemed to me an interesting
fact, and appealed to my imagina-
tion. There arose before me the
vision of the calm, beautiful loch.
with the silent mountains around,
far away from the noise of ship
building yard and from the hubbub
and turmoil of the great city, with
nothing to break the stiffness but
the leap of fish from the water, or
the distant lowing of the wild cattle,
whilst the great ship is silently wait
ing to have its bearings adjusted,
that its navigators may ascertain
how much its mass defects the sensi-
tive needle.
Is it not precise illustration of
what must happen in every human
life? Within each one OF us is put
the sensitive instrument called iudg-
ment, one of the greatest gifts en-
trusted to us by God. Whenever
we lift it into the pure light of His
Spirit, and desire to know His will,
the needle of our decision will point
accurately to the pole-star of His
choice. But alas so often our iudg.
ment is DETECTED by the mass of our
own selfshness--what we desire,
what we like, what we choose! 1t
is impossible to know Gods will
whilst our own will and way are so
predominant, and in making some
great decision it is necessary to get
into some quiet spot where the in
fluence of self is reduced to mini
mum, or carefully allowed for, that
we may be able to say with our
Lord, "My Judgment is just, because
1 seek not mine own will, but the
will of him that sent me.".--Rev. T..
b. Meyer, in The Christian En-