The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1912-03-08
THE PORT on MISSING NHIPS.

times Then came tuIliIlm"ui when
numbers OF CuptiNCS were sent ha'N
by sea To the bondage and mrShncss ot
Egypt They were sold for slaves ~
vile price. Thousands persisted from
want \ multitude were never heard
from again. CaStawuys Of iHilh they
were Recently saw that book OF
unique title, "Thc Port OF Missing
ships" The bureau Ncritas' ct Par.
is with its accurate record OF cnSuni-
ties mt sea shows l,lOl steam and sail
ing vessels lost each year, the seas
toll of over three n day. Some go out
from port with flags dying ANA crews
cheering. They're never heard from
again. missing" Is the sad message
to waiting ones. They are somewhere
yes. at the port of missing ships.
We talk with wonder Of occurs treas.
urcs buried beneath the waves, but
who can tell the treasures hidden in
the deeper. darker sea of human HE
gone down in the waters of defeat ana
death, Oh. the wasted gifts. long lost
hopes that are now buried beneath the
surface of our better selves, Now and
then we get n glimpse of them when
the reefs are left bare 10y r"rcdtng
tides. sQuaudcrcd treasures, prnrls and
gems of life that have gone down in
the sen of our past
Tho Voyage Of Life.
We are not ut rest. but on Jour
ncy. Life is a movement. n CcaSclrSS
progress toward an unseen harhOr.
What is our haven? Where is that
port? What is the end toward which
we are either steering or drifting?
Since our ife's ship was first launch
ed on its sea we have been sailing
somewhere. but where? I've watched
vessels leaving Now York harbor tor
Scandinavia, Britain. southern Europe.
I've watched them go out the Golden
Gate on to the bosom Of the great
Pacific. Some arrived at their dcStlna-
ton: some are missing.
Where are those comrades Of boy.
hood. those friends OF youth? Where
are tn" honor men Of your class at
school or college. those brilliant fellows
who carried of medals and prizes:
Some have arrived; some have diSap.
prurrd. Your alumni catalogue does
not bear their name. out Of your bust.
ness friends only per cent arrived;
% per cent failed. Some weakness, in.
temperance. dishonesty, instability,
some unconuurrcd sin, has wrecked
their course. Like Hartley CO'eridge,
they write their own eptaph:
have lost the race never ran.
NapolconS pacing the beach of tncir
81. Helena with their Waterloo lost.
Lies Lost Ports.
In one SENSE all life is losing.
Every autumn says 50. But to lose K
nobIy. The most pitiful sob hear
from the wrecks in the aImShouses,
insane aSyIums. prison cells, is, My
life has been failure" Men who've
missed the mark. Some who are stop.
ping in times purgatory on the way
to ctcrnity'S hadrS. However not ev.
cry storm tossed craft fails for ctcrni-
ty. Looked rs If Jonah had reached
his last port when he was lung over
the GunWalc but Nineyrh was yet his.
Moses stood on piSgah'S lofty height,
ifu's dream unrraliHcd. Failed of his
port. We know now twas far more
important to max" EOdlike character
than the land Of milk aud honey. Many
another has been called by death be-
fore he has made what he intended to
be the port Of earthly success. There's
pathoS in Robert T.. Lees teaching
school after the Army OF Northern Nir-
ginia is no more. stood. hat in hand,
tear stained cheek. before the monu
ment marked "AppomatioX" in the old
Virginia town OF Alexandria. Some
thing in the sad weary, detected face
of the Confederate private made me
think OF my own lost causes. On the
day the eXecutioner's TX fell on John
the Baptist and Paul the Christian it
looked like failure. Friday afternoon,
April I, A. ID. 80, the man on the cross
gaSpcd, 1T is finished" Failed OF his
port?
The Last Port.
God pity the derelict. I've met him
on the high seas mastlcsS half sub
merged, menace to navigation. no
eye on the compass, no hand Oh the
helm, driven with wind ana tossed.
no" urItlug. his craft lHt UhTh OI
skepticism No freight reaches his
port No passenger deScendS gang.
plank to greet joyous friends "Dyua.
mite the dereict' is the order from
every nations capital. Without tufh
it is impossible to please cod or bless
man Say. mariner. don't drit INTO
that unmarked. unchurtcd wilderness
Of Yates that infdelty spells D,n't
drift out of track of home ships away
from Bible, prayer church. God. Say.
sinner, have you been sailing away
from God off toward the cold north ~
sin and unhelief? Turn home. its grr-
ting late, eight bells, dog watch. Start
home though colOrS torn ragged sails.
battered huIkS. Make port. There Will
be waving of hands and tears Of JOY.
What boots ii if start of journey nr
pleasant, middle portion smooth auu
sunny, II In end craft Is wrecked. car.
go sunken, crew drowned Too mrr
nowt No; send out the $50 =" of DIS
tress. Gods mercy will find You. The
pilot Of Galilee will steer Won home
out beyond the sky line lies the sun H
land OF heaven. Make your port. ur..
your anchor; you've reached your sou. :