The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-01-04
REVERSING
AN ADAGE
BY HARVEY DALTON
Copyright, 1910, by American Press
Association.

And, strange to say, force is the basis
of Christianity. Perhaps what mean
will be palmer when l have told my
story.
1 had been a clergyman of the Sec
ond Presbyterian church in our town
for several years when began to be
doubter. I first doubted the miracles.
That's the way all skeptics begin, and
they think that If the miracles were
out of the way they could believe all
the rest. 1t was hard to get up in the
pulpit every Sunday and preach what
I didn't believe myself. Finally l ap-
piled for a leave on the usual clergy
mans ground-a bad throat--and went
on sea voyage.
The ship l sailed in was a tramp.
was told that they had had fine wealth
| er for three months. Some of them
said they'd be glad to see hurricane,
they had got so tired of sunshine and
light breezes. But the day after 1 got
aboard the weather changed, and, sure
enough, the hurricane they wanted
broke on us furiously. We were three
days fighting seas set going by wind
travelling at the rate of a hundred
miles an hour. We had everything bat
tened down, but the waves pounded
out the glass over the cabins and so
much water poured into the hold that
J all hands-passenger and all-were
called upon to man the pumps.
During all this never did a sailor
pass me but he scowled at me, and oc-
casionally they would gather in knots,
talking and shooting malignant glances
at me. l didn't know what it meant,
and before found out the wind died
down. But it came up again, and we
went through three more days of much
the same kind of weather. When this
second storm was over l was standing
on the deck one afternoon looking at
a rainbow which seemed to me bow
of promise when a number of sailors
headed by an old salt with rings in his
ears came up to me, and the old fellow
said:
"Parson, we've come to the conclu-
sion that you're bringing these storms
on us, and we don't want no more OF
'em. We're goih' to pitch you over
board"
Seeing capstan bar near me, I seiz-
ed it to use as a means of defense,
but a man behind me was toe quick
for me, and l was held in a titanic
grip. This gave the others a chance.
They closed and over l went.
The men continued to look over the
side of the vessel to see what became
of me- especially as that place was
alive with sharks, and / had scarcely
struck the surface when big fellow
gave a slow flap of his tail and float
ed toward me. I'm a good swimmer
and had no difficulty in keeping on
the surface. Besides, had hung on to
the capstan bar, which was enough to
float me anyway. The shark came
slowly up to me, turned on its side
with a view to taking me in, opened
wide its scissor jaws and
Here the turning point of my story
comes in. l put one end of the cap
stan bar on his lower jaw, and, just
as the two started to get together, I
wedged the other end in just back Of
his teeth on his upper jaw. And there
he was.
I was floating about between the
two rows of teeth, hanging on to the
middle of the bar. Then when l was
satisfied the shark could not bite l
Just floated out and up to the sur.
face.
Nothing succeeds like success. The
sailors who watched what had done
iY,n To ho1 1o1
up again on deck.
The first thought that came into my
head was the miracle had most doubt
ed-that of the prophet Jonah. l saw
it in a different light than ever before.
Hadn't just been through more re-
markable occurrence? And how had
I escaped? By the same way as
had been tossed overbOard-force.
made up my mind to stop doubling and
90 to work. 1 saw that the sailors
after my experience with the shark,
were afraid of me, and l resolved to
profit by their fear. l proposed there
after to preach the gospel peaceably
when I could, forcibly when 1 must.
every man Jack of you," l thunder
ed, "come aft to prayersr'
led them to the after deck, not a
man refusing to follow, and gave them
half an hours service. l established
two services a day, and at every serv,
ice I read them the story of the
prophet Jonah, at the end asking them
If any one of them disbelieved it, The
first day one nan said it was all lie
l knocked him down. He got up, and
I knocked him down again, and he
, kept getting up and l knocking hin
down, till at last he said, 81 believe
= you, parson, and l reckon you're the
man that lived three days in the
whales belly yourself"
Since then I have believed that force
even in our calling is better than per
, suasion. At any rate, there are cases
/ where persuasion won't work, but force
= will. And if there is any place where
force will work better than persuasion
It's among q ships crew. | remained