PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 / <^ '7/^ Division . . ..f. 1 . r.f . 5c>. 
 
 Section . 
 5/4^//" Number. 
 
 Vf.^f.'.l-'***"^ 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/christiansworkreOOrock 
 
■§- ~ p^' l?^"'- 
 
 ^U^7^ ^tli 
 
 a 
 
THE (CHRISTIAN'S WORK AND REST. 
 
 A SERMON 
 
 .T 
 
 I'KEACHBU IN THE 
 
 IPt4*$vi5i1hi'r 
 
 MAY 20 th, iSQO, 
 
 ON T H B O i: 
 
 WARREN R(>i..ivvvi:.jLL. 
 
 By Rev. J. E.^iOCF^^^'T^^LL, T). JJ. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY REQUEST, 
 
 TH« UNION STEAM TRESSES, 10 FRONT STKEET. 
 1866. 
 
^' 
 
 r 
 
THE CHRISTIAN'S WORK AND REST. 
 
 A SERMON 
 
 rBEACHEU IN THE 
 
 MAY 20th, 1866, 
 
 ON THB OCCASION OF THE DEATH OF 
 
 WARREN ROCKWELL. 
 
 By Rev. J. E.^OCKT^ELL, D. 33. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY REQUEST, 
 
 THE UNION STEAM PRESSES, 10 FRONT STREET. 
 1866. 
 
hEC. SEP ibbO 
 It. 
 
 SERMON. 
 
 Acts 13 : 36. — For David, after he had served his own generation, by the will 
 of God fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers. 
 
 These words, uttered by the Apostle in the course of 
 an argument concerning the resurrection of Christ, con- 
 tain the epitome of a Christian's life, fidelity to God, use- 
 fulness to the age in which he lives, and a serene and 
 hopeful death. No higher eulogy could have been pro- 
 nounced upon David than this, — he served his own gener- 
 ation by the will of God. Here was his crowning ex. 
 cellence and glory ; not that he was descended from a 
 long line of illustrious ancestors, or was the possessor of 
 untold wealth, or the occupant of a throne, but that he 
 fulfilled the duties of life cheerfully and faithfully, in 
 obedience to the will of God. 
 
 This was the great secret in his life, and in thus obey- 
 ing the dictates of his better and renewed nature, he as 
 cheerfully did his duty while feeding his father's flocks, 
 as when called to rule over the kingdom of Israel. As 
 the Shepherd boy of Bethlehem he was as faithful and 
 unrepining at his obscure condition, as when he was 
 hearing, after his triumph over the giant leader of the 
 Philistines, the songs of the maidens of Israel. 
 
 Nor when he had been annointed by the Prophet as 
 the future king of Israel, and felt kindling within his 
 soul the inspiration of the spirit, and had a dim fore- 
 
shadowing of vvliat he was to become, did he perform 
 with less fidelity his daily duties, nor allow the hopes of 
 the future to interfere with the work of the hour. Never 
 was there a more pure and disinterested fi'iendship, than 
 that which he cherished for the son and heir-apparent 
 of the throne; never was more loyal conduct than he 
 manifested even to the monarch who was cruelly hunting 
 his life. Nor did this great principle of fidelity to pre- 
 sent duty leave him, when seated on the throne. Wit- 
 ness his conduct when, after expressing his desire to build 
 a sanctuary for God, he was assured that he could never 
 attain to that distinguished honor, which must be re- 
 served for his son who should come after him. The check 
 to his generous impulses did not prevent him fi'om doing 
 what he could. But at once setting himself to the work 
 of gathering materials for the temple, he engaged there- 
 in as heartily as though he was himself to dedicate the 
 glorious structure that in coming years should rise in its 
 beauty upon the hill of Zion. These elements in the 
 character of David enter to a greater or less extent into 
 the life of every child of God ; and are the essential ante- 
 cedents to such a death as is described in our text. 
 
 I. The first thought which presents itself for our con- 
 sideration is his obedience to the will of God. His mor- 
 ality is all framed after the Divine Statutes, and is de- 
 veloped by a cordial submission and sincere love towards 
 him. He serves his generation, not in accordance with 
 the dictates of a worldly and lifeless philosophy that 
 makes man the centre of all its reasonings and activities, 
 but because he loves God supremely, and has yielded his 
 heart and soul to his service. This was the secret of 
 David's life — to serve God. He drew the grandest motives 
 of all his conduct fi'om Him, He stood in the hey-day of 
 life when the world was pouring its honors at his feet, and 
 said : Whom have I in Heaven but thee, and there is none 
 
upon tlie earth that I desire besides thee. It was because 
 he loved God supremely that he was a faithful subject, an 
 unfaltering friend, a wise and just monarch. His heart 
 was ever turning to God as his Father and Sovereign, and 
 his faith as a lost sinner took firm hold of the hope of a 
 Saviour, which in every age had been the support and 
 comfort of the people of God. Thus he sang amid all 
 the vicissitudes of life 'the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall 
 not want.' And when he had yielded for the time to an 
 overmastering and terrible passion, his sense of obligation 
 to God led his heart to the penitential outbreak, ' against 
 thee, thee only have I sinned,' while his faith took fast 
 hold of the great sacrifice which should be offered on 
 Calvary as he cried, — 'purge me with hyssop and I shall 
 be clean, wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.' 
 Thus is it ever with the Christian. He looks upon all 
 duty as having its origin in our relations to God. It be- 
 comes duty because He has commanded it. Nor are we 
 to pause and hesitate at its requii'ements. If we neglect 
 to improve the one talent we are no less guilty, because 
 he has given to others more and higher duties than he has 
 imposed upon us. And, if we are faithful we shall be no 
 less honored than he who has performed works more con- 
 spicuous and arduous. The poor widow who cast in her 
 two mites into the treasury, received even more of the love 
 and approbation of Christ, than the rich men who cast 
 in of their abundance. Her self consecration to God — 
 her performance of duty to the uttermost of her ability, 
 because she loved God and desired to obey him, drew 
 from Christ the blessed assurance, ' she hath done more 
 than they all. 
 
 The great measure of all our moral acts, is the extent 
 to which they are performed as a simple obedience to God. 
 The Christian is to do all to His glory. He looks upon 
 himself as not his own. He esteems himself as a poor 
 
sinner saved by grace, redeemed to God by the precious 
 blood of Jesus, and as fulfilling a part of tlie divine plan 
 in his salvation. He seeks to do the will of his heavenly 
 father not that he may be saved, but because he has been 
 saved, and delivered from death and sin, and made a 
 child of God, and a joint heir with Christ to a glorious 
 inheritance, for the enjoyment of which he is here to be 
 fitted, and to which he will be introduced at his death. 
 
 II. And thus obeying the will of God the Christian 
 is faithful to the duties of life, as they daily present them- 
 selves before him. This was the secret of the great life 
 of David. It was not one distinguished act that made 
 his name ever after to be remembered, but the faithful 
 discharge of the least and humblest duties of life as well 
 as the more prominent and important. And this is to a 
 greater or less extent the marked and emphatic feature in 
 the life of every Christian. It is the faithful discharge of 
 the duty of the hour that makes up the sum of his 
 moral life. It is thus that he forms habits of fidelity 
 that fit him for the higher spheres of usefulness to which 
 he may be called, and often unconsciously is setting in 
 motion a train of spiritual influences that may be felt 
 long after he has gone from his work to his reward. 
 Drawing his stimulous to duty from the Cross of Christ 
 and the oracles of God, he goes forth to the work of life 
 to serve his generation by the will of God. Wherever 
 work is to be done — there he may be found. He is 
 laboring for a master that he loves, and who has said to 
 him, ^go work to-day in my vineyard' — 'what thine hand 
 findeth to do, do it with thy might.' Without a thought 
 or care of what the world may say or think of him, he 
 labors as cheerfully in the shade, as in the more conspicu- 
 ous walks of useftilness, contented wherever God places 
 him, and grateful that in any way he may serve him. 
 
 Yet it is worthy of notice that the acts which a Chris- 
 
tian thus performs are by no means limited in tlieir re- 
 sults to what they immediately accomplish. David 
 served his own generation, but the influences he set in 
 motion are felt to-day, and will be felt forever. Robert 
 Raikes, without dreaming of doing more than a simple 
 act of duty toward the poor of his own city, accom- 
 plished a work whose blessed power and fruit can never 
 be fully estimated until all its history shall be unfolded 
 amid the record of eternity. 
 
 An humble and unpretending Christian engages in 
 some unobtrusive act of piety, never giving a thought as 
 to what the world will say, yet his example may have 
 been a stimulus to some halting heart that has sent it 
 cheerfully forward in a noble christian course. We are 
 not to imagine that our acts are unimportant or profitless 
 because they are unattended by any immediate brilliant 
 results, or because they are unknown to the world. The 
 o-randest movements in the natural and moral universe 
 are affected by silent and hidden influences. The vast 
 operations by which the world is made ft'uitful, and its 
 countless ranges of vegetable and animal life kept in order 
 are carried forward by processes which almost escape 
 our observation. It is not the volcano sweeping along 
 with its flood of fire, nor the deluge wrapping the earth in its 
 funereal shroud — nor the earthquake upheaving the moun- 
 tains — nor the avalanche falling like a thunderbolt of ice 
 upon Alpine valleys — nor the storm cresting the ocean 
 and scaring the land, that form the forces mth which 
 nature accomplishes its most beneficent designs. God 
 binds the universe together by a silent and unseen power 
 that sweeps outward to the verge of creation, and holds 
 the planets in its omnipotent and loving embrace, while 
 it draws a pebble to the earth, and brings the rain-drop 
 from the cloud. He sends the dew, and it moves with a 
 soft and noiseless tread over the springing corn and the 
 
opening flowers, and nature is revived as it passes. He 
 gathers tlie rain witliin his secret treasure houses, and it 
 wells up in the quiet mountain-spring, where the birds 
 drink and are refreshed, and flows down in silver streams, 
 by whose side the flowers 1)loom and the grass grows 
 rank and green, and then pours its tribute over the val- 
 leys, and mingles its waters with the majestic river and 
 the mighty ocean. Thus is it with the moral influences 
 by which God blesses the world. The acts of quiet, every 
 day duty which the Christian accomplishes are used by 
 him to save and bless. 
 
 The stone in the hands of David — and the arrow-shot 
 at a venture was guided by the hand that moves the 
 spheres — the words uttered by Luther and Calvin and 
 Knox and Edwards for their own generation were caught 
 up by the spirit of God, and are echoing still in the hearts 
 of men. The least act done for Christ is never unnoticed 
 by him, nor will it ever fail of accomplishing his own 
 glorious purposes. If he but serve God in his day — and 
 with a faithful and loving heart does the duty of the hour, 
 however humble it may be, the Christian accomplishes the 
 great purposes of his life. For the results he is not re- 
 sponsible. God whom he serves will care for them, and 
 he causes often even that which is sown in weakness to 
 be raised in power. 
 
 III. And this leads us to notice the solemn close of 
 the Christian's life as presented to us in the words of the 
 text. He fell on sleep, and was laid to his fathers, and saw 
 curruption. It is worthy of notice, the Apostles seldom 
 speak of the death of the Christian. Amid the ancient 
 Catecombs of Rome, where sleep the countless dead of 
 the martyr ages — no allusion to death is seen upon all 
 their monuments. To them the hour of full discharge 
 from work and suffering was invested with no terrors. It 
 was the calm repose of the soul after a life of toil and 
 
trial. Da\dd did not die. The soul yet lived — his body 
 indeed was laid aside and saw curruption — but he was 
 gathered to his fathers — not alone to the house appointed 
 for all the living, but to that house not made with hands, 
 eternal in the heavens. There he was brought to the 
 general assembly and Church of the first-born — to many 
 over whose graves his tears had fallen — to Jesse whose 
 venerable form had long mouldered in the grave — to the 
 spirit of the gentle Ruth and her noble husband — to 
 Jonathan and Samuel, Moses and Israel and Abraham — 
 to Christ his Shepherd and Saviour, <*md to God his father 
 and friend. To him dying was but going home — and such 
 is the death of the Christian. It is a sweet rest that fol- 
 lows a life of conflicts and tears and sadness. It is 
 
 A blessed sleep 
 
 From which none ever wakes to weep. 
 
 It is an entrance to the joy and rest of the better and 
 the higher land. 
 
 Such is the work and end of the Christian's life — fidel- 
 ity to God — and hope in death — followed by eternal 
 happiness and joy. And jou will permit me, my dear 
 people, to utter here the feelings not of a pastor, but of a 
 son lately called to watch by the d3nng bed of a beloved 
 father, and who feels that the theme on which he has 
 dwelt is an appropriate illustration of the life and death 
 of that dear servant of God, who has passed away from 
 his work to his reward. 
 
 Warre^st Rockwell was born in East Windsor, Conn., 
 October 31, 1787. His father, who for nearly 20 years 
 represented his native town in the Legislature of the 
 State, and his grandfather were both successively dea- 
 cons in the same church at East Windsor, and were des- 
 cended from a pious ancestry, who as early as 162(i came 
 from Yorkshire to the Colony of Massachusetts for their 
 
10 
 
 attachment to the Puritan faith.^* His father had an abid- 
 ing conildence in God's covenant with his people, and I can 
 now recall the fervor and solemnity with which that ven- 
 erable man, as he lead at times the devotions of onr 
 family, prayed that the God of his fathers would be the 
 God of his children and his children's children. In his 
 early manhood my father removed to Leicester, Vt., 
 whither his family had gone while he was absent on 
 business at Charleston, S. C. Here was a feeble congre- 
 gational church of which his father was made a deacon, 
 . and which as its inability to support a stated ministry, 
 appointed him its moderator, who conducted its worship 
 and read a sermon on the sabbath. In the year 1810 a 
 powerful revival commenced in the Church, during which, 
 with an occasional assistance from neighboring pastors 
 a few laymen, led by my grandfather, visited from 
 house to house, and directed inquiring souls to Christ. 
 Among the fruits of this work of grace, were numbered 
 nearly every member of the moderator's family, including 
 my father, and her, who being providentially on a visit 
 there was to be for more than 50 years the partner of his 
 life. 
 
 On the 3d of February, 1814, he was married to Miss 
 Sarah R. Wells, with whom he removed to the town of 
 Salisbury, Vt., where he engaged in mechanical pursuits 
 until the Spring of 1817, when he removed with his 
 family to Hudson, N. Y., connecting himself at once with 
 the Presbyterian Church, of which Rev. Mr. Stanton Avas 
 the pastor. Here, by his diligent attention to business, 
 by his sterling integrity, and by his exalted Christian 
 character, he soon gained the confidence and respect of 
 many of the most influential families of the town, and 
 although an humble mechanic was received and welcomed 
 by them as a friend and a guest. As his worldly cir- 
 
 * See Note on last page. 
 
11 
 
 cumstances, improved and he was able to give suitable 
 entertainment to liis friends, his house became the tran- 
 sient home of many whose praises was in all the churches. 
 
 Among my earliest memories of my home are the faces 
 of many a noble Christian minister and layman, now gone, 
 or still busy in his work. David Abeel, then a 
 pastor at Athens, N. Y., was a frequent guest in his fam- 
 ily, and in his quiet parlor conversed and consulted with 
 him concerning his hopes and aims as a Missionary to 
 China. There, too, the beloved Whiting, of Syria, was at 
 home, and many others like him who enjoyed his Chris- 
 tian sympathy and hospitality. In the year 1825, he was 
 ordained a ruling elder by Rev. Dr. Chester, then the 
 pastor of the Church, and who ever cherished for him 
 a warm affection. Soon after his removal to Windsor he 
 became interested in the Sabbath School, with which he 
 was long connected, either as teacher or superintendent, 
 and in the Tract and Bible Societies of the County held 
 active and responsible relations. 
 
 When the great movements in behalf of Temperance 
 commenced, he at once took a prompt, bold stand in its 
 behalf One day a number of gentlemen from the eastern 
 part of Columbia County were his guests, whom, as usual 
 he invited to his sideboard to furnish themselves with the 
 spirituous liquors which were the common beverage of all 
 classes. They declined to take any, adding that they had 
 been thinking it best for the friends of good morals, to 
 abandon the custom. He conversed with them freely on 
 the subject, and in a few days his decanters disappeared 
 forever from his table, and he became thoroughly and 
 warmly identified with the grand reform, by which thou- 
 sands have been saved from drunkards' graves. He gave 
 of his time, means and influence to the movement. He 
 rode over the country addressing large gatherings of tlie 
 people upon the subject, and directing and organizing 
 
12 
 
 societies for the promotion of tlie cause. When the Sons 
 of Temperance sprang up as an auxiliary to the work, 
 he soon identified himself with them, and was long an 
 efficient and honored member of their State and National 
 Councils. 
 
 Almost the last work he did in his annual visits to the 
 city with whose interests he was so long identified, was 
 to re-organize and revivify the Division which he had 
 himself first assisted in establishing. He also, for four 
 years edited and conducted a paper devoted to the cause 
 of Temperance, bringing to the work the powers of a 
 vigorous and clear mind, and good practical sense and 
 judgment. He was also deeply interested in the cause 
 of popular education, and while holding a seat in the 
 city councils, rendered efficient service in the establishment 
 of a complete system of common schools, and in the 
 erection of suitable buildings for their accommodation. 
 
 Durino; all these years of earnest labor in the o-eneral 
 cause of public morals, he did not neglect his own family ; 
 nor was he without precious evidence of God's blessing 
 upon his labors. While conducting a mechanical business 
 which required the aid of a large number of men and 
 apprentices, he expected all who were bound to him, and 
 who were members of his family, to attend morning and 
 evening worship, supplying each one with a Bible, out of 
 which he read in turn at the daily service of prayer. He 
 watched carefully over their morals and lives, insisted on 
 their regular attendance at the worship of the sanctuary, 
 and conversed with them familiarly and faithfully on the 
 great subject of a personal interest in the great salvation. 
 
 During one of the periods of revival experienced in the 
 church at Hudson, and while his family was unusually 
 large, all but one of those who then composed it 
 became hopefully pious. His heart was at that time 
 greatly exercised for those who were then for a time 
 
IB 
 
 committed to liis care. Among them was one young 
 man who had during all the revival manifested no 
 special interest for his soul. One day, while speaking 
 of his case to two of his intimate friends and co-laborers, 
 it was resolved that one of them should endeavor to 
 bring the subject of religion before him, while the other 
 two should continue in prayer for God's blessing upon 
 the interview. My father invited the young man into 
 his office, fi-aukly telling him for what purpose. One of 
 the three friends, a godly and earnest man, met him and 
 opened to him the matter of his soul's salvation. The 
 other two retired to pray. The interview lasted nearly 
 two hours. The young man has been for nearly thirty-five 
 years a consistent and faithful member of the church, and 
 dates his conversion from that office and that interview. 
 He knows of no other time when he became a child of 
 God. Those three friends are now united in a better world, 
 while he still lives to admire the wonders of redeeming 
 love. 
 
 Towards the close of the year 1856, Mr. Rockwell was 
 invited to act as a distributing agent for the Brooklyn 
 City Bible Society, for the purpose of having the city 
 fully explored and supplied with copies of the word of 
 God. The work, though arduous, was an inviting one to 
 him, who having declined the business that had thus far 
 employed his time and energies, did not care to spend 
 the remainder of his days unemployed. He removed at 
 once to this city, where he has ever since been actively 
 employed in labors among the poor and needy. His 
 heart soon became deeply interested in the work of ex- 
 ploration and supply as a Bible agent. He was thoroughly 
 systematic in his work, which continued for more than 
 two years, at the end of which time the Society suddenly 
 determined to give up its plan of distributing the Scrip- 
 tures by means of an agent. During the period of his 
 
employment in tliis work lie visited more than 26,000 
 families, and circulated among the destitute nearly 
 4000 copies of the Word. The fruits of his labors 
 here were abundant, and his works still follow him. 
 His journal is rich in its relations of interviews with the 
 poor, the afflicted, the ignorent, the bigoted and the 
 vicious. His kind and gentle manner of approach, his 
 venerable appearance, his quiet dignity, his strong com. 
 mon sense, his tact in dealing with every variety of 
 character, and his true Christian courtesy and spirit won 
 for him an entrance, and gained for him a respectful hear- 
 ing where others might have met with insult and rebuff. 
 It was always a matter of regret that he had not been 
 permitted to finish the exploration and supply of the 
 city, learning as he did by a rich experience the necessity 
 and the benefit of such a work. 
 
 In one of his reports he remarks : " Sometimes I meet with 
 bigotry, often with nature in her untutored coarseness, but 
 rarely with designed rudeness and insult. In some sec- 
 tions of the city I have discovered a lower strata of de- 
 gredation, guilt and poverty, than I had supposed could 
 exist in any Christian or even civilized community, and 
 certainly lower than outcast humanity with all its ap- 
 palling depravity could ever teach without the aid of 
 strong driiik. Yet in such dens of infamy I have some- 
 times seen the eye that was blackened by violence fill 
 with tears, and the bruised and battered face of woman 
 in her de2:redation show marks of tenderness and con- 
 trition, as the Bible, so long neglected has been held up 
 to her view, and her attention called by a few words of 
 kindness to Him who said to one, and who will say to all 
 who come to him ''go^andsinnomore.'''''' 
 
 When his labors for the Bible Society were terminated 
 Mr. Rockwell was appointed a Missionary by the Brook- 
 lyn Tract and Mission Society, in which work he con- 
 
15 
 
 tinned until his death. Here in this blessed field of labor 
 he has continued year after year, visiting the poor and 
 the ignorant, the afflicted, the sick and the dying, faith- 
 fully and lovingly, bearing to them temperal relief and 
 comfort, and the richer blessings of the Gospel of peace. 
 
 Year after year he has labored on, with an untiring- 
 zeal, and an ever deepening interest in the work. Many 
 a child of poverty and want — many a suflPei-er upon a 
 bed of pain and anguish — many a family in affliction and 
 sorrow, has looked for his daily visits with a growing 
 interest, and has welcomed him as a minister of mercy 
 and comfort. Many a member of this and of other 
 churches in this city has been brought into the fold by 
 his efforts and prayers, which a faithful God has owned 
 to the conversion of their souls. It has been to me often 
 a source of rich instruction, to sit down with him at 
 evening, and listen to his account of the work of the day. 
 Almost the last work he performed was to assist in the 
 funeral services of a soldier, whom he had found in his 
 visits, dying from exposure in one of the prisons of the 
 South, and who was under God, led by his instructions, 
 to Christ, and died in a blessed hope in him. 
 
 When it seemed probable that the remainder of his 
 days would be spent in this city, he renewed his relations 
 to this church ; ever retaining, however, a deep and 
 abiding affection for the church in Hudson, which he had 
 for more than thirty years served as an elder and trustee. 
 One of his last requests upon his dying bed was that I 
 should write a letter to his old pastor, Mi-. Leavitt, and ex- 
 press his sincere pleasure and joy at hearing of a revival 
 which had lately blessed and strengthened his church. 
 
 Althouojh he came to a conerreiration where he was hence- 
 forth to be only a private member, he was by uo means 
 disposed to be an inactive or useless one. Many a Chris- 
 tian here will remember long his fervent prayers and his 
 
16 
 
 earnest exhortations. Few will forget his earnest exercises 
 on the day of prayer for colleges, at the commencement 
 of the recent work of grace among us. With what 
 seriousness and solemnity he urged us to fidelity ; Mdth 
 what unction and fervid importunity he plead with God, 
 his own precious covenant and promises. 
 
 Soon after his coming among us, the young mens' Bible 
 class was organized, of which he became the teacher, and 
 in which, to the last, he retained the deepest interest. 
 
 Two of that noble band of beloved youth. Smith and 
 Fox, left the class at the commencement of the late war, 
 and fell, the one at Bull Riui, and the other at Charleston. 
 He mourned for them like a father, and their likenesses 
 were cherished ornaments of his room. One of which 
 he bequeathed to his class — his dying legacy — that of the 
 noble and lamented Smith. 
 
 Even in his hours of partial delerium that dear class 
 was ever on his heart. One morning while I was sitting 
 by his side he started from an uneasy slumber, saying 
 " what a triumphant conclusion of Paul's argument is the 
 close of the eleventh chapter of Romans" — seeing me by 
 him he said ' I thought I was preparing my lesson for my 
 Bible class. 
 
 On the 7th of March last, having assisted his feeble 
 wife to the female prayer meeting he passed on to fulfil 
 an appointment with the Missionaries of the Tract So- 
 ciety. He hesitated somewhat about going on account 
 of his infirm health and the unprepitious weather, but 
 duty and his love of his work decided him to go. He 
 returned home with a severe chill, and with the disease 
 fiistened upon him which was in a few weeks to loose the 
 silver cord of life. His suiferings were intense, often ris- 
 ing to an agony that seemed intolerable. Yet all was 
 borne with a wonderful patience and resignation to the 
 divine will that none but the Christian could exhibit. 
 
17 
 
 After a long life of more than 78 years, 56 of which had 
 been spent in the service of Christ and his Church, he 
 came to look upon death as an event near at hand. My 
 interviews with him were daily and most precious, and 
 if I draw aside the curtain that you my hearers may look 
 upon the chamber where a venerated and beloved father 
 met his fate, it is to give you one more evidence of the 
 power and value of the gospel of Christ. Among my 
 earlier conversations with him in view of his possible de- 
 cease, he spoke of his thankfulness for a Godly ancestry, 
 and a pious education and training in the great doctrines 
 of the gospel as taught in the scriptures, and re-affirmed 
 in the Westminster Catechism. ' I have never,' (said he) 
 had a doubt of the Bible nor of the power and willingness 
 of Christ to save all who come to him. His blood needs 
 to be applied daily. When he sent forth his disciples to 
 preach the gospel he said " Lo ! I am with you to the end 
 of the world." In that premise, if I am a child of God 
 I have a personal interest and Christ is with me and will 
 be with me to the end. I know that I am a great sin- 
 ner, every heart knows best its own bitterness, and hence 
 Paul said "I am the chief of Sinners." But my only 
 hope is in the blood of Jesus. I am in God's hand and 
 am content, whatever may be the issue of this sickness." 
 
 He enjoyed greatly a hospital chart on which were 
 printed in large type many precious promises, and which 
 I had hung upon the wall so that he could read it. Even 
 when his eyes were blinding with the mists of death 
 they still wandered towards those words, and when he 
 could no longer read them he asked to hear repeated the 
 promise " Though thou walkest through the fire it shall 
 not kindle upon thee." 
 
 He had for a long time read with great comfort out of a 
 volume called " Sacred Lyrics from the German " which I 
 had presented to him on the occasion of his Golden 
 
18 
 
 Wedding. One day as I entei'ed Ms room I found him 
 with the work in his hand. He turned to the hymn en- 
 titled " Submission, " as expressive of his feelings in view 
 of being laid aside from the work in which he had so 
 long been engaged. 
 
 He felt a sadness in thinking that he could no longer 
 minister to the poor and afflicted among whom he had 
 labored ; and that he must be laid aside from active 
 Christian effort. Yet, rallying from his dejection, by the 
 thought that all was the ordering of a loving and sover- 
 eign God, he read to me with a touching emphasis I shall 
 never forget, the whole hymn, the first verse of which was 
 peculiarly descriptive of his feelings : 
 
 " Thus saith the Lord, 'Thy days of health are over,' 
 
 And like the mist my vigor fled away, 
 Till but a feeble shadow was remaining — 
 
 A fragile frame, fast hastening to decay 
 The May of life with all its blooming flowers, 
 
 The joys of life in colors bright arrayed, 
 The hopes of life in all their airy promise ; 
 
 I saw them in the distance slowly fade. 
 Then sighs of sorrow in :iiy soul would rise ; 
 Then silent tears would overflow my eyes ! 
 But a warm sunbeam fi'om a higher sphere 
 Stole through the gloom and dried up every tear. 
 In this thy will, good Lord ! the strife is o'er, 
 Thy servant weeps no more." 
 
 During one of the visits from his former pastor. Dr. 
 Waterbury, from which he derived great comfort, he 
 handed him the volume, that he might hear the same 
 from the lips which had often ministered to his soul, the 
 the promises and blessings of the gospel. A few days 
 before his death, we gathered in his chamber for family 
 worship. As he lay propped up in his bed, he called to 
 him each member of the household, and taking them by 
 the hand, gave them his blessing. To one he said, " My 
 
19 
 
 child, live near to God and put your wliole trust in him ; 
 do not allow yourself to be drawn aside by the fashions 
 and pleasures of life ; use the world as not abusing it ; en- 
 joy the blessings of life, but do not set your highest affec- 
 tions upon them. When you come to lie where I now do, 
 you will see that the world is nothing compared with the 
 soul and its interests. May Grod bless and lift up the 
 light of his countenance upon you." 
 
 Thus, like a dying patriarch, he addressed to each in 
 turn some parting counsel, thanking them for their kind- 
 ness to him, and speaking with evident satisfaction of the 
 years of happiness we had sj)ent together ; and then 
 commending to their aifection and sympathy, her who 
 would soon be a lonely widow, dependent on them for the 
 care that she should need for her comfort and happiness. 
 
 I asked him what passage from God's Word, I should 
 select, and he said the 14th chapter of John ; and there, 
 in the hush of evening, I read the blessed words of Jesus, 
 "Let not your hearts be troubled, ye believe in God, 
 believe also in me ; " and then kneeling by his bed, we 
 prayed for the presence of him who said " I will never 
 fail thee nor forsake thee." 
 
 One day when he was feeling an unusual degree of 
 pain and weakness, I supported him from his chair to his 
 lounge. He spake greatfully of the comfort he received in 
 my assistance, and then said : " Now for strength to trust 
 wholly in God — then the end. O, Lamb of God, that 
 taketh away the sins of the world, grant me thy help." 
 
 The Sabbath but one before he died, after giving me 
 some directions in regard to matters to be attended to 
 after his death, he said as I laid him down upon his bed, 
 and he heard the peal of the church bell, " Now, I feel 
 that I want to hear the songs and worship of heaven. 
 
 Speaking of his confidence in God he said : " If he gives 
 me to have joy in Christ I shall be thankful, and if not I 
 
20 . 
 
 sliall rest content witli the simple knowledge tliat Jesus 
 saves mey In the afternoon lie woke from a short slumber 
 and began to give thanks to God for his mercies toward 
 him for the kindness of his children and friends and then 
 prayed that when he came to pass through the waters of 
 the river they might not overflow him and that he might 
 have an entrance to the rest of God's people. One day 
 as I read to him the hymn from the German called Haven- 
 ward, he said as I finished " O can such glory be for such 
 a poor sinner as I, blessed Jesus grant me thy grace and 
 mercy ! 
 
 As we were once liftino; him into his bed he said God 
 bless you my dear children. You have now to lift me 
 like an infant. Feeling his great and growing weakness 
 he added after a pause, " I have no wish to live — there are 
 many things I would like to see. But our blessed inter- 
 terview with the Lord Jesus is worth more than they all." 
 I asked him if Jesus was with him now and he replied — 
 " Oh yes, and he comforts me. But w hen I have these 
 severe spasms I cannot so fully realize his presence. Yet 
 I have peace." Early on the morning of the 27th of 
 April, the family were summoned to his bedside to 
 witness the departure of his Spirit. There in that cham- 
 ber where he had in long weeks of patient sufi:ering 
 borne his precious testimony to the power of the gospel, 
 we stood by his bed and wept, as we knew that the hour 
 of parting had come. His mind was still clear and cloud- 
 less. He said to me, as I leaned over his bed, " Now one 
 brief prayer that Jesus may be with me." I bent down to 
 his ear, and whispered all of words that I could command 
 amid the pressure of sorrow that was filling my own 
 heart : " Lord Jesus, receive his spirit," and again recalled 
 to him the promise which was written upon the leaf of 
 the Hospital chart, hanging upon the wall : " Fear not, 
 for I am with thee ; when thou walkest through the fire, 
 
21 
 
 it shall not kindle upon thee, and through the waters and 
 they shall not overflow thee." He caught them as they 
 fell upon his dying ear and they comforted him. He 
 breathed again the name of Jesus ; turned one dying look 
 upon his dear wife and family, then lifted his eyes to 
 heaven and closed them forever upon the scenes of earth. 
 
 Was it an unwarranted fancy that thought of him as 
 being joined to his fathers— not alone in the grave where 
 their bodies and his see corruption — but as being wel- 
 comed by them to that blessed rest where together they 
 see the King in his beauty, and walk in their blissful 
 re-union the streets of the city whose gates are pearl, and 
 enter the temple whose light is the Lamb ? Have 
 not those who for years were fellow servants in the church 
 upon earth, met again in the service of the upper and 
 better sanctuary? Have not children and children's 
 children, over whose graves his tears have fallen, met him 
 on the confines of the better land, and caused him to 
 know that the family is still unbroken, though they have 
 for years been nearer than we to their Father's House, 
 where are many mansions. 
 
 In the grave-yard at Hudson, through whose grand old 
 pines the soft airs of Spring were sighing their requium 
 over the dead, and amid the graves of the loved and 
 honored who had passed away before him, we laid him 
 down in his dreamless slumber, and felt that of him it 
 might be said, through the grace given unto him, "He 
 served his generation by the will of God." 
 
 If I have seemed in this imperfect sketch of one so 
 dear to me, to have intruded upon you, my beloved peo- 
 ple, private grief, it has been that I might, in delineating 
 his character, magnify the grace of Christ, and present to 
 you an example of what a private christian may accom 
 if he be Init faithful to God. 
 
 He rests from his labors, but his works do follow him. 
 
22 
 
 Almost tlie last message I bore to liim from enquiring 
 fi'iends, was one from a poor widow wliom he had found 
 in his mission work, and whom he had assisted in obtain- 
 ing a position where she was earning a comfortable sup- 
 port. As I repeated to him her expressions of gratitude, 
 he lifted his hand and said, "Thanks be to God, that he 
 has made use of such a poor sinner as I am, to accomplish 
 any good." Not long after he ceased from his work in the 
 Bible cause, a city missionary found a family in which he 
 became interested, and on asking the husband and wife 
 how they became Christians, was told that a venerable 
 man, tall and gray haired, called with Bibles, and finding 
 them neglecters of religion, conversed with them upon 
 their souls' salvation, and pointed them to Christ as their 
 Saviour. That conversation was blessed to their conver- 
 sion. They knew not the name of the stranger, but their 
 blessings and their prayers followed him. 
 
 On one occasion he brous^ht to the sesion of the church 
 five converted catholics, to be examined for admission to 
 church ordinances, whom he had instructed and led to Christ. 
 
 Let us seek to imitate his example, so far as he follow- 
 ed his Saviour. 
 
 My brethren, Grod has of late called home to himself 
 many of our most faithful and honored members. Let us 
 seek to stand in their lot, and like them serve our genera- 
 tion by the will of Grod. 
 
 And, O, that you who knew and honored the departed 
 — even while you have not yet trusted in the Saviour, 
 whom he loved, would bear in mind that his character was 
 moulded and developed by the gospel. When speaking 
 to hiiu of his death, and of what I should say to you 
 after his decease, he replied : " Make but little of my 
 poor life. I am only a lost and guilty sinner, saved by 
 the grace of Grod, and dependent wholly upon the blood 
 and righteousness, of the Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
23 
 
 Bear with you this precious message as his legac}^ for 
 you all. In our dying hour all our philosophy and the- 
 ology, if we are God's children, will be narrowed down 
 as was his, to this one point, " This is a faithful saying, 
 and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into 
 the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." 
 
} 
 
 The family of Rockwell is of Norman origin. The first of the name in England 
 was Sir Ralph de Rocheville, one of the knights who accompanied the Empress Maiide into 
 England when she claimed the throne of the realm against Stephen. Sir Ralph ultimately 
 joined the eldest son of the Empress Henry 11. Plantagenet, and had a grant of three knights 
 fees of land in the county of York, npon which estate the Rockwells have continued until 
 the present time, James Rockwell Esq., of Rockwell Hall, Boronghhridge Co., York, being 
 the representative of the family in Great Britain. 
 
 The last great act of the ancester of this family recorded in English history— is the rescu- 
 ing of the Earl of Northumberland and Lord Percy, the celebrated Hotspur from the party 
 of the Earl of Douglass at the battle of Halidou Hill, in the reign of Henry IV, by Sir John 
 Rockwell. 
 
 The first of the name who settled in America was Wm. Rockwell who arrived at Ply- 
 mouth, Mass., by the ship Mary and John, in the year 1626. He came with several Yorkshire 
 gentlemen who had become converts to the Puritan faith — and was admitted a freeman of 
 Dorchester, May 18, 1631. He also was one of the first two deacons of the Dorchester Chnrch. 
 
 He afterwards removed to East Windsor, Conn., and died May 16, 1640. 
 
 Of his descendants, his 2d son Samuel married Mary Norton, of Saybrook, Conn., Apri' 
 7,1660. Of their children, John married Anna Skinner. Her son Daniel was born Mav 30, 
 ITOT : married Margaret Loomis, of Lebanon ; died March 1, 1789. 
 
 He was a deacon of the church in East Windsor, and on his tombstone is spoken of as "one 
 who honored his Holy profession living and dying." Of his children, Daniel was born Sept. 4, 
 1746. He was a deacon, also, in the church of his fathers. He married Esther Bingham. His 
 children are Irene, Noah, Daniel, Esther, Mary Ann, Hannan, Eleazer B., Elvira, Warren, 
 Lora, Alfred, Clarissa. 
 
EyvvoRiAL A:dd:^ess 
 
 DELIVERED AT 
 
 STAPLETON, N. Y. 
 
 JUL Y 10th, 1876, 
 
 By REV. J. E. ROCKWELL, D. D, 
 
 MRS. SARAH W. ROCKWELL, 
 
 (Born Sept. lo, iy88. (Died June qj , i8y6. 
 
 STATEN ISLAND : 
 JOHN BALE, PRINTER, AT THE STAPLETON POST OFFICE. 
 
 1876. 
 
E/viORiAL Add i\e s s 
 
 By REV. J. E. HOCKWEEE, D. D. 
 
 The following Address, in memory of a beloved Mother, was made in the ordinary pulpit 
 ministrations of the Pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Edgewater on the 16th day of July, 
 from the words—-' He that doeth the will op sit Father which is in Heaven, the same 
 
 IS MT brother, and SISTER, AND MOTHER." 
 
 You will not I trust regard it as an inappropriate introduc- 
 tion of personal feelings into m j pulpit ministrations that I 
 add a few words in affectionate memory of a beloved and 
 honored mother, whose life just closed on earth was a beauti- 
 ful exemplilication of Christian principle and experience. 
 
 Sarah R. Wells was born of respectable Quaker parents at 
 Claverack, X; Y., September 10, 1788. In her childhood she 
 passed a short time in Xew York, and then removed with her 
 familj' to East Windsor, Conn. While yet young she was 
 brought, under the ministry of Rev. Mr. Bartlett, to see the 
 need of a Saviour and to consecrate her life to the service of 
 Christ. Several of the years before her marriage were spent 
 in teaching, for which she had an exceeding fondness and 
 adaptation. While thus engaged she was thrown into the 
 family of Mrs Brown, whose writings — especially the Hymn 
 " 1 love to steal awhile away " — have endeared her memory 
 to all devout Christians. Their friendship lasted through 
 life, and my mother's recollections of this friend of her youth 
 were vivid and pleasant. 
 
 In the year 1814 she was married to Warren Rockwell, 
 
then of Salisbury, Vt., where they resided iintil the Spring 
 of 1817, when they removed to Hudson, N. Y. Here they 
 entered the Presbyterian Church, then under the pastoral 
 care of Rev. B. F. Stanton, and soon became actively engaged 
 in Christian work in that congregation. Among my earliest 
 recollections are the ordination of my father to the Eldership, 
 and the appearance of my mother as she sat under the pulpit 
 of the old sanctuary surrounded by a group of young ladies, 
 who formed the Bible Class of the Sabbath School in which 
 her husband was Superintendent. I recall also their frequent 
 gatherings at her own modest parlour, when she sought to 
 interest them more fully in their study of the Scriptures and 
 their own soul's welfare, occasionally inviting some clergy- 
 man to assist her in the work. She was active and interested 
 in all that promoted the growth of the Church and the 
 progess of the Master' s cause. 
 
 For many years she held the office of President of the Fe- 
 male Bible Society of Hudson, long a most valuable auxiliary 
 to the Parent Institution. 
 
 Her house was the home of Ministers and other Christian 
 gentlemen, and she entered heartily into all plans that fur- 
 thered reform in morals and the promotion of the Master's 
 Kingdom. 
 
 In the year 1854 she and my honored father removed to 
 Brooklyn and made their home at my house. • There she re- 
 newed her Christian labors and co-operated with her husband 
 in works of Christian activity and benevolence. Among her 
 papers I find memoranda of a mothers' meeting in which she 
 was deeply interested, and where she with other Christian 
 ladies of my congregation held weekly interviews with poor 
 and ignorant women whom they thus sought to benefit and 
 save. 
 
 She was a woman of warm sympathies, and stopped at no 
 self-denial or labour which they called her to put forth. 
 Some of the histories of her deeds of Christian benevolence 
 would, if fully told, seem almost like the pages of romance. 
 More than one man in the Ministry has been lai'gely indebt- 
 ed to her for the encouragement and sympathy which cheered 
 
5 
 
 liim in his early struggles to reacli that work, and in her 
 parlour such men as Abiel, of China, and Whiting, of Pales- 
 tine, and Canlield, of Africa, spoke of the Missionary work to 
 which they were looking as their future field of service for 
 their Master, and shared in her intelligent sympathy with 
 their coming labour. Twelve years ago she met with an acci- 
 dent which henceforth made her a cripple. After months of 
 suffering, patiently endured in her own room, she was again 
 jDermitfced to visit the house of God by the aid of crutches 
 and the supporting arm of her husband. Two years after 
 she became a widow, after more than fifty years of wedded 
 hap^^iness, spent with one whose Christian life was in full 
 harmony with her own. Yet, amid all her afflictions, she 
 possessed an unceasing confidence in her covenant God, 
 which wonderfully sustained her, and enabled her to endure 
 trials with calmness and loving resignation to the divine will. 
 Although laid aside very much from active duty she always 
 did what she could, and never lost her interest in the Church, 
 nor her cheerful and hopeful spirit. That remained with her 
 to the very end. Her love for the sanctuary was deathless. 
 When detained by sickness she always read or listened to 
 my sermon which had been preached on that day, and usual- 
 ly read and re-read it during the week. 
 
 Though stricken down by paralysis a few months ago she 
 rallied again and manifested her unabated interest in the 
 work of the Church, retaining her wonderful patience and 
 her strong and characteristic hopefulness. 
 
 On the morning of June 20th, while going up to her room 
 after breakfast, she fell backward from the upper stair, 
 which she had reached. I was summoned to her aid in a 
 moment and bore her to her bed from which she was never 
 again to rise. Surgical aid was immediately called, and it 
 was found that there was a fracture of the collar bone and a 
 re-fracture of the thigh. 
 
 Although the shock to her system was very great she 
 maintained her wonderful calmness and equanimity and her 
 unfaltering trust in God as her Saviour and friend. By a 
 kind Providence she suffered but little. Her invariable 
 
6 
 
 answer to my inquiries after her health was " perfectly com- 
 fortable." She enjoyed our daily morning and evening 
 worship around her bed. On Tuesday morning I read to her 
 the 23rd Psalm and the 14tli Chapter of John, (the last Chap- 
 ter I had ten years before read to my dying father at his re- 
 quest) ; I spoke to her of Him who had said "In my Father's 
 house are many mansions," and knelt in prayer by her pil- 
 low. She seemed to enjoy that morning service with a 
 peculiar interest. It was the last j)rayer she ever heard, for 
 at five o' clock that evening she fell peacefully asleep without 
 a struggle or a groan. 
 
 And as I look back over that beautiful life, now closed on 
 Earth to open in the life to come, I recall every where illus- 
 trations of the Christian character as described in the words, 
 "doing the will of my Father." Among them was her love 
 of the Bible. It was her daily food, and I think of her now 
 as she used to sit in her old arm chair bending over the 
 precious volume, sometimes lifting up her eyes as I entered 
 the room to smile out a welcome and then to draw my atten- 
 tion to some passage which had peculiarly attracted her no- 
 tice. One of the last sermons I read to her was written upon 
 a text which she had repeated to me, and which had struck 
 me with new force as she had uttered it. I hardly need say 
 that she was full of the spirit of prayer. How often, when 
 going noiselessly into her room, have I found her upon her 
 knees wrestling with God for blessings on her children and 
 children's children. And how memorable now was her 
 repetition of the prayer, which she taught me in my child- 
 hood, and every Christian child has learned, — "Now I lay 
 me down to sleep" — on the evening before she died. 
 
 Although her faith in Christ as her only Saviour was un- 
 doubted, she had frequently great distrust of herself, and the 
 most abasing views of her own unworthiness and sinfulness. 
 And yet I never knew one whose whole life was more com- 
 pletely under the direction of a competent and enlightened 
 conscience. Her character seemed to be thoroughly saintly. 
 But her estimate of herself was so modest and humbling that 
 she was often led to express a wonder how such a sinner 
 
could be saved. Yet when Christ was presented to her mind 
 her faith seemed to grasp Him with a deathless power and 
 undying love. She was wonderfully forgetful of self in her 
 desire to promote the good and happiness of others. They 
 who have known her best will most appreciate that intense 
 sympathy which was continually manifesting itself in acts of 
 kindness and attention to the wants of others. She never 
 wearied in seeking to promote the welfare of all who needed 
 help. 
 
 With all the great interests of the Church she was in full 
 and intelligent accord. She read with ceaseless interest 
 the daily history of the work of Christian enterprise, and 
 kept herself fully informed of what was done for the ad- 
 vancement of the Redeemer' s Kingdom, and of all the great 
 movements of the Spirit in reviving and refreshing the 
 Church. If she ever indicated a thought of regret at her 
 afflictions it was because she was laid aside from the activi- 
 ties of Christian life. Yet it needed but to remind her that 
 God reigned, and that she could reach Him by faith and 
 prayer, to give her comfort and to re-awaken her cheerful 
 resignation to God' s will. When she was brought down to 
 her dying bed she retained all the calmness and hopefulness 
 of her life. We did not care to worry her by explaining 
 to her the full extent of her injuries. So long as she did 
 not suffer we had no wish to produce any needless anxiety 
 or distress. She spoke with her usual serious, tender man- 
 ner of her hope in Christ alone ; talked cheerfully and kind- 
 ly to the dear ones whom she loved, and who tenderly 
 loved her ; spoke with gratitude of the pleasant visit she had 
 enjoyed from her grand-daughter and her little one, who had 
 played upon her knee ; listened, on the morning of her death, 
 to a letter from an absent grandson then in the far West ; 
 recognized those who stood about her bed ; smiled a welcome 
 to her oldest grandson and his wife as they came in ; respond- 
 ed to my words that brouglit the name of Jesus to her mind — 
 and so gently fell asleep and went to see the face of her 
 Saviour and to join the dear ones who had long been waiting 
 
8 
 
 for her in the better land. Her memory is that of the just, 
 and it is blessed. 
 
 Her sun shall no more go down, and the days of her 
 mourning are ended. Her remains sleep among the repre- 
 sentatives of five generations in the beautiful Cemetery upon 
 the Hill, at Hudson, N. Y. There we bore her after the sol- 
 emn services which were held in this Church, conducted by 
 Rev. Dr. Kip and Messrs. Sinclair and Frazer. When we 
 reached her old home we found that the Elders and members 
 of the Presbyterian Church of which she had long been a 
 member had arranged for a service there. It was a touching 
 and spontaneous tribute to the respect and affection with 
 which she had been regarded. In the Sanctuary where she 
 and her family had often sat, her remains were laid. Servi- 
 ces were conducted by Rev. Dr. Holmes, of the Reformed 
 Church, and Rev. Mr. Yiesley, the Pastor of the old congre- 
 gation ; and then we bore her to her last resting place, where, 
 in the midst of scenery of almost unequaled beauty, repose 
 the generations who have gone before her, waiting with her 
 the signal that shall call forth the dust to a new life, under 
 the workings of Christ' s mighty power, whereby He is able 
 to subdue all things unto himself. 
 
CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 
 3f ipst 3^^'f^'^S^^fPifln ^|nrr|, 
 
 EDGEWATER, STATBN ISLAND, 
 
 By REV. J. E. ROCKWELL, D. D., 
 
 JULT 2, 18 7 0. 
 
 STATEN ISLAND : 
 JOHN BALK, PRIKTEK, AT THE STAPLETON POST OFFICE. 
 
 187C. 
 
Centennial Piscourse. 
 
 Text.— Psalm 44: 1. "We have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us what work 
 Thou didst in their days, in the times of old." 
 
 History is best studied in the liglit of God's word and 
 providence, and with the distinct purpose in view of gaining 
 a clearer insight into the principles of God's government ; 
 of strengthening our confidence in His gracious help, and of 
 stimulating our gratitude for His favours and blessings. 
 
 National history is mainly important in its bearings upon 
 the Church of God, and the attentive student thereof will 
 find that while nations have risen and flourished and de- 
 cayed, the Church has never been destroyed — has never lost 
 its power — and still lives as in the strength and vigour of 
 immortal youth. 
 
 Principles never die. God's truth is immutable, and 
 although human institutions may perish, the living embodi- 
 ment of the Oracles of God, and the conservator of His word 
 and promises, has never disappeared since Jehovah first 
 gathered His people together and set them apart as distinct 
 and peciiliar from all the families of the earth* And he who 
 studies most attentively the history of the world will observe 
 that those nations have flourished most, and have been most 
 secure from change, who have most faithfully conserved His 
 truth, and guarded and honored His Church. The Lord's 
 portion is His people, and He raises up or destroys nations 
 
just as they accept or resist the progress of His kingdom, and 
 the advancement of His Church. Hence, while the merely 
 worldly philosopher recalls and notes the political, financial 
 and social causes which have been concerned in our national 
 history, the christian identifies it with the developments of di- 
 vine providence on behalf of the Church, and rejoices to recall 
 what wonders God has here wrought for His people, and what 
 w^ork He hath done in the times of old. Hence it is no im- 
 pertinent introduction of the Church into the history of our 
 nation, which sets apart this day as a time for reviews of the 
 way that God has led us, and a history of the individual 
 churches with which we are severally associated. No one can 
 read the history of America and not see all the way through 
 the hand of God engaged in opening here a way for His people, 
 not only as a refuge from their enemies, but as the theatre for 
 some of the grandest movements of the Church in subduing 
 the world unto Himself. And while in this work all denomi- 
 nations of Christians are having a part, and while in the es- 
 tablishment and maintenance of free and republican institu- 
 tions all have been concerned, there seems to be a peculiar 
 fitness in the act of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian 
 Chiirch, which requires of all Pastors that tliey set apart the 
 first Sabbath in July of this centennial year in our national 
 history to the preaching of historical discourses, which shall 
 collect together and embody the facts which more especially 
 concern their own congregation. 
 
 The principles of Presbyterianism are republican ; its form 
 of government, which we believe to be scriptural and apos- 
 tolical, and which was simply modelled after the plan of the 
 Synagogue, is a representative government. Where enough 
 of its people are found to support the institutions of religion, 
 they elect elders to have the charge of theii' spiritual concerns, 
 and a Pastor to break to them the bread of life. 
 
 When three or four churches are found adjacent to each 
 other they organize into a Presbytery or Classis, in which there 
 is an equal representative of elders and ministers. And when 
 these Churches and Presbyteries have increased they unite 
 again into Synods and Assemblies, where the Church or peo- 
 
pie is still represented by elders, who have an equal voice with 
 the ministers in all their deliberations. 
 
 This principle will be recognized as lying at the foundation 
 of our republican institutions, and as manifesting itself in 
 our civil and political arrangements. The rights of every in- 
 dividual are recognized not only in his privilege as a citizen, 
 but in his responsibilities to government and law. The town 
 has its representative in the County, the Count}' in the State, 
 and the State in the Union, The humblest individual has the 
 right of appeal from the decisions of an inferior court to the 
 judgment of the higher, and so may secure justice b}" a resort 
 to judicatures which are exempt from the prejudice or igno- 
 rance which may have worked injury to him in the first pro- 
 cesses of the law. This is the principle which distinguishes 
 Presbj^terianism as a government, and it was this element 
 which was largely concerned in the early settlement of our 
 country, in the strife for liberty in the great struggle of the 
 Revolution, and in the ultimate organization of our national 
 republican institutions. This form of government, with the 
 exception of England, is that which the Church of the Refor- 
 mation adopted in its more important features. The Church 
 of Holland, which was the first reformed church that began its 
 work on this continent, was Presbyterian as much as we. The 
 Churches of Geneva, of Switzerland, of Germany, of Bohemia, 
 of Scotland, of France and of Italy, were fully Presbyterian. 
 This was the type of government which the vast majorit}' of 
 the reformed churches assumed, except where kingi}' power 
 interfered to keep back this great principle that would inevi- 
 tably work out freedom and popular institutions. Long be- 
 fore the war of the Revolution, the Presbyterian church was 
 established in America. Some of the congregations under tlie 
 charge of the General Assembly have already celebrated or 
 passed their second centennial, while the Dutch type of the 
 Presbyterian family, as represented in New York, numbers 
 already two hundred and fifty years in the enjoyment of 
 church ordinance. It would hardly be doing justice to the 
 history of Presbyterianism upon this Island to commence 
 and end with the brief review of what this single church has 
 
6 
 
 done within the simple score of years of its individual ex- 
 istence. Justice to the theme before us requires a brief sur- 
 vey of vt^hat we have heard from our fathers of the work which 
 God has done for them in the times of old. 
 
 The early settlements of this Island date back to the year 
 1638, when amid the snows of the winter the first cabins were 
 erected by a small colony which came out from Holland, under 
 the auspices of the Dutch West India Company. The early 
 colonial records of the State present to us only a few outlines 
 of the events which marked those early attempts at settling 
 the Island with colonists. We can but imperfectly picture 
 to ourselves the appearance of this magnificent bay and its 
 surroundings when these familes first landed upon our shores ; 
 those beautiful hills covered with primeval forests ; bold head- 
 lands which have now disappeared before the pick and the 
 spade of modern industry and improvement ; the waters filled 
 with the light canoes of the Monaton Indians, the first lord of 
 this Island ; the woods alive with deer and with wild fowl, 
 and sheltering the wigwam of the savage, soon to disappear 
 forever before the advancing tide of civilization. It was not till 
 the year 1661 that any real progress was made m the settle- 
 ment of the Island. There was here, as elsewhere, the struggle 
 for a foothold with the Indians, who several times made mur- 
 derous assaults upon the infant co]on3\ Among the first who 
 came hither from the old world was a small colony of Walden- 
 ses, who after the last and dreadful persecution of the Papal 
 church, in which thousands of their people were butchered 
 by the hirelings of Rome, first found a shelter and protection 
 in Holland, and at length embarked for America and es- 
 tablished themselves upon this Island. In the year 1656 three 
 hundred of this interesting and wonderful people, by the ap- 
 probation and help of the states of the Hague, to whose pro- 
 tection they had fled, were sent to the New Netherlands in 
 company with several families of the Dutch. And these per- 
 secuted Christains formed a home at Oude Dorpe, near the cen- 
 tral part of our own beautiful Island. Soon after the Hugue- 
 nots, who long before the terrible massacre of St. Bartholomew 
 had been oppressed and persecuted by the Papal authorities 
 
of France, came hither and received from the West India 
 Company grants of land also near the central part of the 
 Island, a few miles south of the Narrows, where a settle- 
 ment was commenced and a block house built for protection 
 against the savages. This is a most interesting and import- 
 ant fact, that this Island should have thus early in the settle- 
 ment have furnished a shelter and a home to the persecuted 
 Waldenses of Piedmont and the Huguenots of France, and 
 that thus its earliest church should have been constituted in 
 accordance with the Presbyterian model, since the Waldensian 
 church and the Huguenots were both in their doctrine, order 
 and discipline, Presbyterian. To this little band of christians. 
 Dominie Drisius, of the Dutch Church of ±sew York, made a 
 monthly visit, preaching to them in the French language, and 
 administering to them the sacraments. It would be pleasant 
 to be able accurately to picture to ourselves these early Pres- 
 byterians of the French, Italian and Dutch type, as they ap- 
 peared in these occasional services ; the joy with which they 
 welcomed the Dominie as he landed from some quaint looking 
 vessel or boat that had brought him down from the City, and 
 the serious and attentive congregation which gathered to hear 
 him, perhaps in some barn or log house, or perhaps beneath 
 some broad spreading tree. We can at least know that many 
 of his hearers came together with hearts full of gratitude and 
 joy, because they had found here freedom to worship God, 
 and had the assurance of protection from the enemies that 
 had sought their destruction. By the earnest and scholarly 
 investigation of Hon. Henry C. Murj^hy, while holding the 
 office of United States Minister to Holland, an exceedingly 
 interesting manuscript was brought to light and published 
 under the auspices of the Long Island Historical Society, 
 which enables us to form some clear conception of the social 
 condition of our Island in those early days of its settlement. 
 In the year of 1679 and 1680 Jaspar Dankei's and Peter Sliuy- 
 ter left Holland for America to find a home for a sect known 
 as the Labadists, who for a number of years had created an 
 unusual excitement amid the Reformed churches. On their 
 way southward through New Jersey they passed over Staten 
 
Island, and have given a full and entertaining description of 
 three days over its hills and through its forests. Their 
 journal reads thus : — 
 
 "Oct. 10; Tuesday. — Finding no opportunity of going to 
 Staten Island we asked our old friend Symon, who had come 
 over from Gouanes, what was the best way for us to get there, 
 when he offered us his services to take us over in his skiff, 
 which we accepted. 
 
 "11th ; Wednesday. — We embarked early this morning in 
 his boat, and he rowed us to Staten Island, where we arrived 
 about eight o'clock. He left us there and we went on our 
 way. This Island is about thirty-two miles long and four 
 broad. Its sides are very irregular, with projecting points 
 and indented bays, and creeks running deep into the country. 
 The eastern part is high and steep, and has few inhabitants. 
 It is the usual place where ships ready for sea stop to take in 
 water, while the captain and the passengers are engaged in 
 making their arrangements and writing letters previous to 
 their departure. As regards the hilly or middle part of the 
 Island, it is uninhabited, although the soil is better than 
 the land around it ; but in consequence of its being away 
 from the water, and lying so high, no one will live there ; 
 the creeks and rivers being so serviceable to them in enabling 
 them to go to the City, for fishing and catching oysters, and 
 for being near the salt meadows. The woods are used for 
 pasturing horses and cattle, for being an island none of them 
 can get off. Each person has marks upon his own, by which 
 he can find them when he wants them. When the popula- 
 tion of the country shall increase, these places will be taken 
 up. Game of all kinds is plenty ; twenty or thirty deer are 
 sometimes seen in a herd. A boy, who came in a house 
 where we were, told us he had shot ten the last winter him- 
 self, and more than forty in his life ; and in the same man- 
 ner other game. We tasted here the best grapes. There are 
 now about a hundred families on the Island, of which the 
 English constitute the least portion, and the Dutch and 
 French divide between them about equally the greater por- 
 tion. They have neither church nor minister, and live rather 
 
9 
 
 far from each other and inconveniently to meet together. 
 The English are less disposed to religion and inquire little 
 after it, but in case there were a minister they would con- 
 tribute to his support. The French and Dutch are very de- 
 sirous and eager for one, for they spoke of it wherever we 
 went, and said in event of not obtaining Dominie Tessemaker 
 they would send or had sent to France for another. The 
 French are good Reformed Churchmen, and some of them 
 are Walloons. The Dutch are also from different quarters. 
 We reached the Island about nine o'clock, directly opposite 
 Gouanes, not far from the watering place. We proceeded 
 southwardly along the shores of the high land on the east 
 end, where it was sometimes stony and rocky and sometimes 
 sandy, supplied with line constantly flowing springs, from 
 which at times we quenched our thirst. We had now 
 come nearly to the farthest point on the south-east, behind 
 which I had observed several houses when we came in with 
 the ship. We had also made inquiries as to the village 
 through which we would have to pass, and they told us that 
 Oude Dorp would be the first one we would come to ; but my 
 comrade finding the point very rocky and difficult, and be- 
 lieving the village was inland, and as we discovered no path 
 to follow we determined to clamber to the top of the steep 
 bluff through the bushes and thickets, which we accom- 
 plislied at great difficulty and in a perspiration. We found 
 a little of a road above and below, and nothing but woods 
 through which one could not see. Having wandered an hour 
 or more in the woods, now in a hollow and then over a hill, 
 at one time through a swamp and then across a brook, with- 
 out finding any road or path, we entirely lost our way. We 
 could see nothing except a little of the sky through the thick 
 branches of the trees above our heads, and we thought it 
 best to break out of the woods entirely and regain the shore. 
 AVe made our way at last out of the woods and struck the 
 shore a quarter of an hour's distance from where we began to 
 climb up. We were rejoiced as there was a house not far 
 from the place where we came out. We went into it to see 
 if we could find any one who would show us the way a little. 
 
10 
 
 There Avas no master in it, but an English woman with negroes 
 and servants. We first asked her as to the road, and then for 
 something to drink, and also for some one to show us the road ; 
 but she refused the last although we were willing to pay for 
 it. She was a cross woman ; she said she had never been in 
 the village, and her folks must work, and we would certainly 
 have to go away as wise as we came. She said however we 
 must follow the shore, as we did. We went now over the rocky 
 point, which we were no sooner over than we saw a pretty lit- 
 tle sand creek and not far from there cattle and horses. 
 We also saw the point to which the little path led from the 
 hill above where I was when my comrade called me. We went 
 on to the little creek to sit down and rest and cool ourselves, 
 and then proceeded to the houses which constitutes the Oude 
 Dorp. It was now about ten o' clock ; there were seven houses, 
 but onl}^ three in which anybody lived. The others were aban- 
 doned and their owners had gone to live in better places on 
 the Island. We went into the first house, which was inhabit- 
 ed by English, and there rested ourselves, and eat, and en- 
 quired after the road. The woman was cross and her husband 
 not much better. We had to pay her for what we eat, which 
 we had not done before ; we paid three guilders in zeewan, 
 though we had only drank water. We proceeded b}' a toler- 
 ably good road to the JS^ieuwe Dorp, but as the road was in 
 the woods, we got astray again in them. It was dark and we 
 were compelled to break our way out through the woods and 
 thickets. We saw a house at a distance to which we directed 
 ourselves across the bushes. It was the first house of INTieuwe 
 Dorp. We found there an Englishman who could speak 
 Dutch, and who received us very cordially into his house, 
 where we had as good as he and his wife had. She was a 
 Dutch woman from the Manhatans, who was glad to have us 
 in the house. 
 
 12th ; Thursday. — Although we had not slept well we had to 
 resume our journey with the day. The man where we slept 
 set us on the road. We had now no more villages to go to, 
 but went from one plantation to anotlier, for the most part 
 belonging to the French, who showed us every kindness, be- 
 
11 
 
 cause we conversed with them in French, and spoke of the 
 ways of the Lord according to their condition." 
 
 The journal gives the account of one more day's journey 
 through the western part of the Island to the Elizabeth ferry, 
 making constant and grateful notice of the kindness received 
 b}'^ the F'rench and the Dutch. His narrative gives a pleasant 
 picture of our Island two hundred years ago, and conlirms 
 the statement that its original settlers were distinctly and 
 clearl}^ of the Reformed Faith as it was held in Holland, 
 Piedmont and France, which was pure and simple Presby- 
 terianism. In the year 1680, two years after this journal was 
 written, a church was built by the Huguenots at Fresh Kill, 
 in which services were conducted in French. Of this early 
 church only a few stones in the little graveyard around it are 
 left. iS^ot long after a church was built by the Waldenses 
 from Oude Dorp, not far from what was known as the Black 
 Horse Tavern. Rev. Dr. Brownlee, to whose scholarly and 
 patient research we are largely indebted for the church his- 
 tory of our Island, states in his Anniversary Address, that 
 the first traces of a Reformed church on the north side lead 
 back to the year 1680, and that these three churches thus 
 built by Waldensian, French and Dutch Presbj'terians, 
 having no settled pastor, were suj^plied by the Dutch Minis- 
 ters of Xew York and New Jersey. In 1697 the Huguenot 
 church at Fresh Kill obtained as a pastor the Rev. Dr. Bon- 
 repos. In 1717 the French and AValdensian churches united 
 with the Dutch and organized a church and built a house of 
 worship at Richmond, which I am told was standing at the 
 time of the Revolution, probably in a little grave-yard not far 
 from the Court House. After this union was formed an Eng- 
 lish Presb3'terian Church appeared to have been organized at 
 Stony Brook, the first site of the Waldensian congregation, 
 for in 1769 a deed was given to the session of this church, and, 
 Consistory of the Reformed church at Richmond, for some 
 land in Richmond on wliich a church was to be built. "The 
 deed" (says Dr. Brownlee) "mentions the names of Jacob 
 Rezeau and Samuel Broome as the present Elders of the Eng- 
 lish Presbyterian Church according to the Westminster Con- 
 
12 
 
 fession of Faith, Catechism and Directory agreeable to the 
 present established Church of Scotland. The deed conveyed 
 a small lot, 65 feet by 55, to these parties, as far ! is I can under- 
 stand it, the ground on which the present Reformed Cliurch 
 in Richmond stands. The church then standing at Stony 
 Brook was to be removed and rebuilt on this lot." From these 
 historic statements it is evident that Presbyterianism is no 
 novelty on this Island, but was the earliest type of Church 
 order and organization. 
 
 If we were called upon to show our Genealogical Tables we 
 might write them somewhat in this form : A colony of Wal- 
 denses, the known and admitted successors of the Apostolic 
 church in Italy, came to Staten Island and organized a church 
 at Stony Creek between the years 1656 and 1680, In the same 
 age the Huguenots, fresh from persecutions for Christ' s sake 
 and the Gospel' s, came from Rochelle and established a church 
 of the same order at Fresh Kill. I^ear the same town the 
 Dutch (who had fought out the great principle of Religious 
 Liberty before England practically knew what the word meant) 
 established in connection with these Christians a church on the 
 North Side of the Island. In 1717, or a little later, an English 
 Prsbyterian church was organized in the place of the Walden- 
 sian church at Stony Brook, and in 1769 built a house of wor- 
 ship in Richmond, whose successor still stands on its old site, 
 and is now the Reformed church at that place. From these 
 united Christian families came the Reformed church at Fort 
 Richmond, Brighton, Huguenot and Stapleton ; hence sprang 
 our own. Before leaving this early history of Presbyterian- 
 ism on Staten Island it is but proper to glance at the relations 
 of our own order to other church organizations. In the year 
 1704 Rev, Mr. McKenzie came hither as a missionary of the 
 Episcopal Church ; thougli finding but few of his own faith 
 and order he was kindly welcomed by both the Dutch and 
 the French, and was permitted to hold service in the Hugue- 
 not church for seven years, until St. Andrew's was built. In 
 order to bring into the pale of the English Cliurch the Dutch 
 inhabitants, prayer books translated into their language 
 were freely distributed, and so they were gradually intro- 
 
13 
 
 duced to this new form of worship and order. In 1712 the 
 Justices of Richmond County, the High Sheriff, and the 
 Commander in-Chief of Her Majesty's Militia in this County, 
 as well for themselves as in the names of the other inhabit- 
 ants of the County, members of the Church of England, re- 
 turn thanks to the Societj^ in London for the supj)ort of their 
 worthy pastor. "Upon his first induction there were not 
 above four or five in the whole County who knew anything 
 of our excellent liturgy and form of worship, and many of 
 them knew little more of any religion than the common notion 
 of a Deity. And as their ignorance was great so was their 
 practice irregular and barbarous. But now by the blessing 
 of God attending his labours our church increases ; a consid- 
 erable reformation is wrought and something of the face of 
 Christianity is seen around us." 
 
 Dr. Brownlee, with a mild sarcasm, calls this "delicious," 
 and speaks of this intolerant ignorance as "celestial com- 
 placenc}^." I may be permitted to add that it is " magnifi- 
 cent brass," without alloy, and stupendous impudence of 
 which only a miserable bigot could be guilty ; wiiich deserves 
 a monument of lead, on which should be engraved "We are 
 the peoj)le, wisdom will die with us." With what cool as- 
 sumption and outrageous bigotry do these men ignore the 
 very existence of the church which for seven years had given 
 them shelter and a home. With what monstrous arrogance 
 do they sj^eak of Cliristians who for forty years had been 
 enjoying the ordinances of the church of Waldenses, (the 
 true successors of the Apostolic Church in Italy), whose 
 fathers were preaching the Gospel over Europe when Eng- 
 land's priests and people were slumbering in the arms of the 
 liarlot of Rome ; of the Huguenots, who had waded through 
 seas of blood and persecution for the Gospel of Christ ; and 
 of the Dutch, among whom were these magnificent symbols, 
 the Catechism of Heidelburg, and the Confession of the 
 Synod of Dort, who had wrought out the idea of true re- 
 ligious freedom when England was sending out its brutal 
 Claverhouse to Scotland to murder her confessors of Christ 
 in cold blood, and was trying the dreadful but hopeless ex- 
 
:vl4 
 
 periment of seeking to dragoon Scotch Presbyterianism into 
 Prelacy and Kingcraft. 
 
 It is worthy of notice that the Moravian Church, which was 
 established a hundred years after the Waldenses and Hugue- 
 nots had come hither, owes its ministry and its origin to the 
 Waldenses, who carried the Gospel into Bohemia long before 
 tlie days of Huss and AVickliil ; and in this respect that 
 venerable and truly missionary church, though now having 
 Bishops, though it largely limits their power, had a truly 
 Presbyterian origin and parentage. Among the archives at 
 Bethlehem is the original letter, dated in 1762, desiiing that 
 a church might be established at New Dorp, as you will 
 notice not far from the early home of the Waldensian Colony. 
 Among the signers are the names of Richard Conner, Stephen 
 and Cornelius Martino, Tunis Egbert, Jacob, John and Cor- 
 nelius Vanderbilt, Mary Stillwell and Peter Perine. The 
 history of this Island then as to its early settlers is a history 
 of Waldensian, French, Dutch and English Presbyterians, 
 who had enjoyed the ordinances of the Gospel here two hun- 
 dred years ago. Many of the names yet familiar to the inhab- 
 itants of this county are the representatives of those continen- 
 tal presbyterianism, who here sought and found Freedom to 
 worship God. 
 
 The brief history of our own church, occupying as it does 
 but a space of twenty years, lies within the memory of most 
 who hear me to day. In the year 1849 a Sabbath School was 
 commenced at Stapleton, by members of the Reformed Church 
 at Tompkinsville. From that time religious services were held 
 in the school room with an evidently growing interest on the 
 part of the people. June 25, 1851 ; thirty-two Christian de- 
 ciples were organized into a church by the South Classis of 
 New York, and in Sept. of the same year Rev. A. R. Thomp- 
 son became its pastor, under whose ministry this house was 
 erected in 1852, enlarged in 1854, and a large and flourishing 
 congregation built up. In the year 1856 the Gore Street 
 Chapel was built as a Mission School. This year also wit- 
 nessed the beginning of a new church which, though styled 
 the First Presbyterian Church of Staten Island, was really 
 
15 
 
 the successor of three, which had been established in the first 
 fifty years of the settlement of the Island. In the Spring of 
 1856 a number of members of the Reformed Church of Sta- 
 pleton, believing that the time had come for the organization 
 of a new church in Clifton, which then gave promise of a 
 rapid increase in population, met for preliminary deliberation 
 and prayer in the house of Mr. J. D. Dix, and after several 
 meetings and earnest and serious consultation agreed to unite 
 in a new church enterprize, the centre of which should be 
 near the dividing line of the towns of Middletown and South- 
 field. On the 14th of May, 1856, the church was duly organ- 
 ized at the house of George M. Gerard, in Townsend Avenue, 
 by a committee of the Third Presbytery of New York, con- 
 sisting of Rev. S. D. Burchard, D. D., A. E. Campbell, D.D., 
 Rev. Washington Roosevelt, D. D., and T. McLaughlin, 
 with Elder David Stevens and J. C. Hines. After religious 
 services, conducted by Dr. Burchard and Mr. McLaughlin, 
 twenty-six persons presented letters from other churches, 
 chiefly the Reformed church of Stapleton, and were duly con- 
 stituted a church of Christ, under the name of the First Pres- 
 byterian church of Clifton, S. I. At the same time Messrs. 
 John D, Dix, E. L. Sexton and G. W. Gerard were installed 
 as Elders, and E. A. Ludlow and R. Davidge were made 
 Deacons. In the evening of the same day Mr. Roosevelt 
 preached a stirring sermon from the words — " The people had 
 a mind to the work." On the following Sabbath the first 
 communion was administered by Mr. Roosevelt. Until the 
 Chapel at Clifton was built services were regularly held at 
 the house of Mr. Dix, or some other equally convenient 
 dwelling. On the 3rd of August, 1856, the Chapel in Town- 
 send Avenue was dedicated to the worship of God ; the ser- 
 vices being conducted by Rev. Wm. Whittaker, of Green- 
 port, L. I. 
 
 On the 1st of October, 1856, Rev. Alonzo Brown was duly 
 installed Pastor of the church. But in consequence of ill 
 health his services were interrupted, and his connection 
 with the church was severed on the 30tli of November, 1857. 
 
 In April, 1858, Rev, Samuel W. Crittenden was installed 
 
16 
 
 Pastor, and continued in this relation until Nov. 29th, 18;")9, 
 when he was compelled to ask for a dismission in conse- 
 quence of increasing ill health. January 25th, 1860, a call 
 was presented to Rev. Wm. H. Taylor, for his j)astoral ser- 
 vices, and he was duly installed on the 22nd of February, 
 1860, by the Presbytery of JSTew York, to which body the 
 church had now transferred its relations. After a pleasant 
 and successful pastorate, Mr. Taylor resigned his charge 
 April 18, 1864, and was succeeded by Rev. David R. Prazer, 
 who was installed April 1st, 1865, and after a service every 
 way useful and profitable, was at his own request dismissed 
 on the 1st of November, 1867, that he might accept a call 
 tendered him b}^ the church in Hudson, N. Y. Soon after 
 his dismission the Rev. Dr. Skinner, the pastor of the Re- 
 formed church in Stapleton, also resigned his charge, and the 
 way seemed to be opening for a reunion of the two churches. 
 After several preliminary meetings held in each separate con- 
 gregation, it was agreed that the churches unite under the 
 corporate name of the First Presbyterian Church of Edge- 
 water, S. I. That the property at Clifton be sold and the 
 proceeds used for liquidating the debt upon this proj^erty ; 
 that the officers of each congregation form the session of the 
 united churcli. In the month of September, 1868, I took the 
 charge of tliis people ; and these eight years of pastoral 
 service have been to me years of happy labour. During the 
 pastorate of Mr Brown, ten were added to the church by let- 
 ter. Under Mr. Crittenden seven joined by letter, and four- 
 teen by profession of their faith. Under Mr. Taylor twenty- 
 nine were added by letter, and eight by profession. During 
 the pastorate of Mr. Frazer twelve were received, and four- 
 teen by profession. 
 
 Up to the time of the reunion, embracing a period of twelve 
 years, there had been a sure and steady growth. The total 
 added to the church being fifty-eight by letter, and thirty-six 
 by profession. At that time there was in actual communion 
 forty-eight only out of the .one hundred and tAventy-two who 
 had been members of the church. This fact shows the 
 changes and depletion in population, which made necessary 
 
17 
 
 the uniting of the two churches. In June, 1868, at the con- 
 summation of the union, thirty-six names were added from 
 the Reformed church. Since then there have been added to 
 the church by letter ninety- six, and seventy -four b}^ profession 
 of faith ; in all, one hundred and seventy. 
 
 At the union of the two congregations the Session was com- 
 jiosed of the following members : Mr. John D. Dix and Mr. 
 E. C. Bridgeman, of the Clifton church, and Mr. Wm. Shaw 
 and Dr. Thos. C. Moffatt, of the Reformed church, Elders ; 
 and Mr. Francis McDonald and Mr. Howard Parmele, of the 
 Clifton church, and Messrs. Charles H. Morris and William 
 Standerwick, of the Reformed church. Deacons. Since then 
 Mr. Shaw has left us to reside in Ireland, after a useful and 
 honoured service of eighteen years on this Island. And Dr. 
 Moffatt and Mr. Bridgeman have gone to their heavenly rest 
 from lives of loved and honoured work for the Master, leav- 
 ing behind them a fragrant and precious memorj^^. Mr. Par- 
 mele and Mr. Morris have gone West, where they are still 
 labouring to build up the interests of religion in their respec- 
 tive homes. The places of these brothers have been filled by 
 Mr. Wm. Standerwick and H. L. Butler in the Eldership, 
 and Messrs. Alfred Parmele, B. T. Jacobs, H. L. Butler, Jr., 
 and E. C. Bridgeman in the Deaconate. In the beginning of 
 the year 1872 the congregation adopted as its plan of meeting 
 its yearly expenses what is known as the Belief ont or envel- 
 ope system, which has as its fundamental principle the sup- 
 port of the Gospel by voluntary offerings, and which only 
 needs tlie hearty co-operation of all to prove an ample suc- 
 cess. 
 
 In the year 1874, while I was absent in Europe as the rep- 
 resentative of our General Assembly to the Church of Scot- 
 land, the Chapel in Broad Street, where our Sabbath School 
 had long found a pleasant home, was burned to the ground 
 by the torch of the incendiary. The event appeared to be one 
 that was every way unpropitious ; it seemed largely to inter- 
 rupt our work as a church, especially among the poor and 
 those who were not in the habit of attending upon the ordin- 
 ary services of the Sabbath. But the devellopements of 
 
18 
 
 God' s providence have shown iis that He who could bring 
 order out of confusion could make even the wrath of man to 
 praise Him, The large and commodious room which will 
 soon be completed, the expences for the erection of which 
 have been provided, by the munificence of a single Christian, 
 in a manner which God only could have arranged, is to us an 
 earnest of His power to bless and to build up, which should 
 give us a strong and abiding trust in Him. It has been 
 already a stimulus to our efforts in gathering in the poor and 
 the neglecters of religion to our church, which God has man- 
 ifestly approved, and on which His blessing has rested. 
 
 And now as I close this history I have but to call your at- 
 tention to the need which is already apparent of a new and 
 more commodious and durable house of worship for this 
 congregation, or at least a thorough repair and enlargement of 
 this. What a memorable celebration of this grand centennial 
 year would it be to begin and complete such a work. I know 
 that the times are dark, yet it may be remembered that the 
 Tabernacle was built, with all its costliness, while God' s peo- 
 ple were escaping from the long servitude in Egypt, and were 
 yet unsettled in the wilderness, and that the second Temple 
 was rebuilt in the troublous times which followed the long 
 captivity in Babylon. We may not renounce God' s service 
 and work whatever are our surroundings. The faith which 
 plans and executes work for Him, even in times of trial and 
 darkness, will secure His abundant blessing. At least let us 
 labour and pray with unceasing earnestness for His spirit to 
 be shed upon us, and for His grace that is able to build us 
 up, to give us an inheritance among all them that are sancti- 
 fied. 
 
THE DAY AT HAND 
 
 %\\ g^^kess 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE THE SYNOD OF NEW YORK, 
 
 BT ITS APPOINTMENT, 
 
 m THE SCOTCH OHUKCH, NEW YGEE, OOTOBEE 23d, 1862, 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. J. EDSON ROCKWELL, D.D., 
 
 MINIBTEB OF THE CENTSAL PB£BBTTXBIAM CHURCH, BBOOKLTK, H T. 
 
 ^udlis^el) bg iScqtust. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 MISSION HOUSE, 23 CENTRE STREET. 
 
 1862. 
 
IStinttr ant Sttrcotsptr, 
 • So ^•^ 
 
ADDRESS. 
 
 Fathers and Brethren: 
 
 Standing as we do in the midst of commotions and agitations 
 that are stirring our souls to the very depths, and surrounded 
 as we are by the great sea of public and political strife whose 
 angry surges follow us even to the closet and the sanctuary, it 
 is a grateful work to turn our hearts and thoughts away from 
 the dreadful picture of carnage and strife to those holier scenes 
 of joy that await the Church of God, and to those wondrous 
 promises, hastening to their fulfilment, which assure us that 
 all these vast up-heavings are but the necessary preliminaries 
 to the coming of the Prince of Peace, and will eventuate in 
 the enlargement and stability and glory of the Church. 
 
 The promises of God to his people are designed for them 
 not alone when all is calm and peaceful, when the sea is smooth 
 and the winds are hushed ; but they meet them when the tem- 
 pest rages, when the ocean is convulsed, and the mountains 
 shake with the swelling thereof. They assure us that Christ 
 our King is walking upon the waters, that he rides upon the 
 whirlwind, and that his voice even the winds and the sea obey. 
 And they point us forward to the ultimate triumphs of his 
 Church, against which, no weapon shall prosper, nor even the 
 gates of hell prevail. "WTiile then, as watchmen ujion the 
 walls, we look out upon a dark night, and through thick mists, 
 and see the play of the lightnings, and hear the mutterings of 
 the tempest and the crash of the thunder, we may here and 
 
4 THE DAY AT HAND. 
 
 there through the rifting clouds see the precursors of coming 
 day, and rejoice to know that its dawning is at hand. Hitherto, 
 for wise reasons, God has permitted sin to enter into the grand 
 experiment which has been going on in the great laboratory of 
 the moral world, that its influence and power may be fully 
 tested. But we have the assurance that eventually he will 
 change the ingredients, and show to the universe what Holiness 
 can do, when by his Grace, all shall know the Lord, and his 
 Church shall everywhere triumph, and infidelity, and super- 
 stition, and error, and oppression, and darkness shall have fled 
 away before his coming, whose light is the glory of the upper 
 temple, and whose Kingdom shall stretch from sea to sea, and 
 from the river to the end of the earth. To this great event the 
 eyes of God's people have been turned in every age. They have 
 been taught to pray " Thy Kingdom come," and tha wondrous 
 proj^hecies becoming more and more luminous ' in the lapse of 
 ages, and the developments of Divine Providence have encou- 
 raged them to hope for the dawnings of a day of glory upon 
 this long night of sin, when Christ shall reign over all the 
 earth, and this world, long groaning beneath its load of sin 
 and sorrow, shall rejoice in his supremacy. Daniel in his 
 glorious visions beheld that day, and heard the promise that 
 " the kingdom and dominion and greatness of the kingdom 
 under the whole Heaven shall be given to the people of the 
 saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting 
 kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." And 
 when our faith languishes and grows dim as it looks forth upon 
 the elements of evil and anarchy everywhere prevalent, and 
 beholds the nations still hostile to God, and sees the evil appa- 
 rently triumphing over the good, it is re-assured by God's 
 own promise, " I will overturn, overturn, overturn it, until he 
 shall come whose right it is." Here, on these promises, we 
 may confidently rest and know that the Church is safe, that 
 God is on the throne, and that Christ in all his divine power 
 and wisdom is King as well as Prophet and Priest, and that 
 
THE DAY AT HAND. 5 
 
 he is Head over all things to his Church which he has pur- 
 chased with his blood. 
 
 Nor are we left to walk alone by faith, but here and there 
 the glimmerings of ^ blessed light appear like the precursors 
 of the dawn of day, and wondrous changes seem to re-echo the 
 words of the Apostle, " the night is far spent, and the day is at 
 hand." 
 
 Amid much that is dark, and surrounded by scenes of peril 
 and trial, we may yet look out upon the great field of Christian 
 labour, and feel that the signs of the times are giving promise 
 of good. In all the history of the past, the Church has never 
 had so much to encourage her. God's people have never seen 
 so much to strengthen their faith, and to call forth their full 
 and united eiforts for the extension of the Kingdom of Christ. 
 The Bible is now translated into every tongue, and is waiting 
 to be sent to .every creature with all its precious messages of 
 mercy. More than forty-eight millions of copies of the holy 
 Scriptures have been published during the present century, 
 which are being circulated, not alone by all the varied agencies 
 in Christian lands, but by more than sixteen hundred mission- 
 aries, and more than sixteen thousand native preachers and 
 teachers, who have been converted to God and educated for 
 his service from the midst of heathen degradation. Divine 
 Providence has in the most wonderful, and often in the most 
 unlooked-for manner, removed out of the way obstacles which 
 seemed to be insurmountable in the ]3rogress of Christian 
 missions, so that there is now free access to every j)art of the 
 heathen world. The silence of the remotest sea is now broken 
 l)y the plash of the steamer, the herald of civilization, and the 
 agent of Christian nations in bearing their influence to every 
 land and nation. Commerce and the intrepid zeal of science 
 liave broken in upon African* wilds and Asiatic solitudes, and 
 opened to the world vast regions, peopled with teeming mil- 
 lions which have been hitherto unvisited and unknown. The 
 walls of China are broken down, Japan is opening to the 
 
6 THE DAY AT HAND. 
 
 Gospel, Africa is already feeling the influence of commerce 
 in elevating her people, and is opening vast mines of wealth 
 hitherto unknown, which will attract to her shores not the 
 ships of the slave-trader, but merchant fleets, engaged in honor- 
 able and civilizing traffic, under whose influence that mighty 
 continent may regain her ancient prestige, when Carthage was 
 the empire of commerce, and Egypt the mother of science, 
 Mahomedan prejudices against Christian nations are fast giving 
 way before the influence of national intercommunion and the 
 fierce fanaticism with which the Turkish, and Persian, and 
 Moorish nations have met the advances of Christian kindness 
 and courtesy, is yielding before the advance of light and truth, 
 while amid the millions of the Papal world there is going on 
 a wondrous change which is rapidly opening their minds to 
 the blessings of civil and religious liberty. 
 
 And when we turn from these evident indications for good, 
 as found in the wonderful openings which God's j^rovidence is 
 making for the advance of Christian missions, we find that 
 while the Church by no means comes up to the full measure 
 of its strength and duty, yet the last fifty years have witnessed 
 a most wonderful and gratifying progress in this direction. 
 
 Much as men who are disposed to look at the dark side may 
 declare that the world is only growing worse — who would be 
 willing to blot out what has been done, and return to the 
 position which the Church was in at the commencement of the 
 present centmy ? Who can trace the progress of modern mis- 
 sions from the hour when the little band of youths at Williams' 
 College began to pray for the conversion of the world, and 
 consecrated themselves to the work of preaching the GosjDel 
 to the Heathen until the j^resent hour, and not feel that the 
 Lord hath done great things for his Church ? Long before 
 that time, indeed, had the seeds been planted, and were already 
 germinating and shooting upward and giving signs of a coming 
 harvest. 
 
 We may trace the great work back to the glorious revivals 
 
THE DAT AT HAND. 7 
 
 which crowned the last century, and which marked the beginning 
 of the present. From that time it was evident that the spirit 
 of missions was awakening throughout the Church. Early in 
 the history of our own beloved Zion we find the principle 
 taking deep hold of the minds of her ministers, that the work 
 of preaching the Grospel to the Heathen was the work of the 
 Church, and although in those days of small things it was 
 evident for a time that there must be a union of all evangelical 
 Christians for the furtherance of the cause — yet that great 
 principle was never lost sight of, and is now manifest, as we see 
 every great division of the Church assuming this work for 
 itself and identifying it with its most cherished movements 
 and operations. And as we go back to the early history of the 
 missionary work, and follow down these few and feeble streams 
 as they enlarge and multiply, and widen and deepen, until they 
 have become a mighty flood, bearing on its bosom the blessings 
 of the Gospel to almost every land, who shall either despise 
 the day of small things, or doubt that the Church has made 
 encouraging progress since it first entered in earnest upon the 
 fulfiJ.ment of Christ's command, "Go preach my Gospel to' 
 every creature !" 
 
 It is not alone upon the arrangements which are made to 
 send out Christian ministers and teachei's to the heathen that 
 we are to look, when we would make an estimate of what is 
 now doing for the conversion of the world. This is but apart 
 of the vast system of agencies which God is using for the ac- 
 complishment of his purposes and the fulfilment of his gracious 
 promises. 
 
 His armory is full of weapons for the destruction of his 
 enemies. His providence has most ample resources for the 
 enlargement and upbuilding of his kingdom. We are not to 
 expect that the institutions of religion will l)e planted in any 
 nation simply by a few isolated missionaries. God did not so 
 build up his Church in Canaan, but sent there a whole colony 
 that had been fitted for their work amid the discipline of 
 
8 THE DAY AT HAND. 
 
 Egypt aud tlie wilderness. He did not so plant his Cliurch here, 
 but brought hither his people from the shores of the old world 
 where he had prepared them for their work by trials and perse- 
 cutions. And do we not see this same process going on, by 
 which our Pacific coast has been filled with churches and 
 Christian institutions, and Australia is becoming' the home of 
 a vast Christian population, and parts of Africa are already 
 rising to the dignity of a free and enlightened country wdth 
 all the institutions of our holy religion diftusing their influence 
 far and wide. And it may be that the multitudes which God 
 has been bringing to our own shores are, in his time, to be sent 
 forth with all the institutions of the Gosj)el that they may 
 make some other lands, now sitting in darkness, the home of 
 the Church and the dwelling place of the Most High. 
 
 And then again, God is evidently intending to make the 
 great machinery of commercial enterprise tributary to the up- 
 building of his kingdom. It cannot have escaped the student 
 of prophecy how, that many of the exceeding great and pre- 
 cious promises which refer to the latter day glory, connect 
 with it the sea and its inhabitants. As the Church is pointed 
 to her future greatness and glory, she sees the wealth of the 
 nations poured at her feet, and lending her their aid. 
 
 But with the multitude of the camels of Midian and Ephah, 
 she beholds the abundance of the sea converted unto God, 
 while .the ships of Tarshish come first to bring her sons from 
 far, her silver and her gold with .them. Aud as the provi- 
 dences of God are unrolling his plans, it is evident that he in- 
 tends to use the sailor as one of the foremost agencies in 
 extending his kingdom. More than three millions of men, 
 chiefly the representatives of Christian nations, are doing busi- 
 ness u])on the great waters. With an increasing interest and 
 zeal the Church has been turning her attention to this once 
 neglected class of men, and the results of her labour are already 
 manifest. The voice of prayer and praise now ascends from 
 ,mauy a ship that spreads her sails to the ocean breeze, and 
 
THE DAY AT HAND. 9 
 
 thousands of men are going forth to distant lands upon the 
 peaceful errands of commerce, who are carrying with them all 
 the warm and generous impulses of the sailor, and the manly 
 and unselfish devotion of those whose hearts have felt the love 
 of Christ, and the power of his Spirit ; and their influence is 
 felt for good wherever they go. Some of the most encourag- 
 ing and hopeful aspects of the missionary work abroad, are 
 connected with the fact that so many pious sailors are now 
 representing Christian nations upon heathen shores. Those who 
 have studied most the indications of Providence, and who have 
 most thoroughly understood the character of the Christian 
 sailor, have most wondered that the Church has been so slow 
 to enter upon the work of caring for those who go down to 
 the sea in ships ; and of using with them the means that under 
 God may be blessed to their conversion to Christ. The 
 amount of good already accomplished by the scattering of 
 Bibles and tracts among catholic and pagan nations through 
 the means of seafaring men, whose hearts are full of love to 
 Christ, can never be estimated until the records of time are 
 I'eviewed in the light of eternity. 
 
 And when looking over all the appliances which the Church 
 possesses for preaching the Grospal, we ask, What are the results 
 already accomplished ? We have no reason to faint or be dis- 
 couraged, or to doubt whether God intends to use his Church 
 as his agent for spreading over the earth the knowledge of the 
 truth as it is in Jesus. 
 
 The representatives of the Church, and even of the Amer- 
 ican church alone, are found in almost every heathen nation, — 
 amid the coral islands of the Pacific — upon the shores of 
 Africa — on the mountains and plains of Asia, and the hills and 
 valleys of Palestine where prophets and apostles lived and 
 preached. In India and China and Turkey and the Isles of 
 Greece, the American missionary stands as the herald of salva- 
 tion, — preaching by the press or in the school, or by the way- 
 side, or in the chapel, or from house to house — the news of 
 
10 THE DAY AT HAND. 
 
 pardon by the Redeemer's blood. Churclies have been gath- 
 ered amid lands long shrouded in heathen darkness, and many 
 precious souls have been converted and saved by means of 
 those whom we have sent forth to preach the Gospel. Even 
 the catholic world is fast opening to the truth and the light. 
 A wonderful change is evidently going on in Italy. From their 
 mountain fastnesses where they have long hid themselves, the 
 Waldenses, (these ancient witnesses for the truth,) are coming 
 forth and planting their churches and their school of the pro- 
 phets almost under the shadow of Rome, — while in France the 
 truth is gaining ground, and the precious doctrines of the Gospel 
 are oj)ening upon the minds and hearts even of men who have 
 ministered at the altars of the Papal Church. And with these 
 considerations, may we not look forth hopefully, and with a 
 strengthening faith upon the great field in which we are called 
 to labour ? Surely never were the appliances for work so great, 
 never had the Church more encouragement to go forth and 
 thrust in the sickle and reap. Let us then seek to awaken our 
 hearts to the duty of a full consecration to the work of mis- 
 sions in all its varied departments, at home and abroad — in 
 the raising up and education of labourers and in sending them 
 forth to the field. Let us stand by the seashore and give the 
 sailor as he leaves his home some token of Christian love and 
 care. Let us meet the mighty tide of population that is pour- 
 ing in upon us from the old world, and supply the emigrant 
 with the means of religious instruction and education. Let us 
 send forth the colporteur with his messages of love, to visit 
 every neglected hamlet and desolate home, and leave them 
 some leaf from the tree of life. Let us send forth the embas- 
 sador for Christ to obey the last command of the Master, " go 
 preach my Gospel to every creature." We cannot doubt the 
 result. The enemies of God may make war upon the lamb, 
 but the lamb shall overcome them. The Church will triumph. 
 The ark is safe. The final victory may even now be near at hand. 
 Everywhere we look we find the precursors of the day. 
 
THE DAY AT HAND. 11 
 
 and seem to hear the echo of God's word, "The night is 
 far spent," Let us then take courage even while surrounded 
 by trials. We are engaged in a work, the success of which 
 there is no possible doubt. We are labouring for a cause dear 
 to the heart of God himself — for the extension of the Church 
 to which he has said " Thy walls are ever before me. I have 
 graven tliee upon the palms of my hands. He that toucheth you 
 toucheth the apple of mine eye." Times of trial and darkness 
 have and may come, but they shall only serve in the end, to 
 manifest more fully the great love wherewith Christ has loved 
 his Church. The promises of God cannot fail, and they all point 
 us forward to the year of jubilee, and bid us labour and pray 
 for its coming. It will surely come. The hour is approaching 
 when there shall be heard the shout of the hosts of God's 
 elect rising from the valleys, — ascending the hills — rolling on 
 in streams ever deepening, over mountains and plains, and 
 seas, sweeping round the world in one mighty and majestic 
 anthem, whose echoes shall be caught by angels and borne 
 heavenward, — " We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, 
 who art, and wast, and art to come, because thou hast taken 
 to thee thy great power and hast reigned." 
 
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 A SERMON. 
 
 PREACHED IN THE 
 
 February 12, 1865, 
 
 ON THE FOURTEENTH ANNIVERSARY OP HIS INSTALLATION, 
 
 By Rev. J. E. ROCKWELL, D. D. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. 
 
 BROOKLYN : 
 
 'THE union" steam PRESSES, NO. 10 FRONT STREET, BROOKLYN. 
 
 1865. 
 
SERMON 
 
 First Corinthians, 4 : 1 — Let a man so account of us as of the Minis- 
 ters of Christ, and Steioards of the Mysteries of God. 
 
 The First Epistle to tlie Cliurcli at Corintli is eminent- 
 ly practical in its character and design, having been writ- 
 ten in answer to certain questions addressed from the 
 Cliiircli to Paul, and being intended to rebuke and clieck 
 certain disorders wliicli had arisen among them, ])artly in 
 consequence of a neglect of discipline on the part of the 
 authorities of the Church, which ought to have been a]:)- 
 plied for the correction of oifences and the good of the 
 offender. 
 
 Corinth was to the world in the time of Paul what 
 Paris is now, a gay and brilliant city, where existed a 
 strange mixture of refinement and corruption, of wisdom, 
 philosophy, wit, fashion, splendor, and wealth. Out of 
 these elements a Church had \)qq\\ gathered, under the 
 ministry of Paul, into which, since his absence, divisions 
 and corrupt practices had entered, in the process of which 
 his own rights and prerogatives as an Apostle and minis- 
 ter of Christ had been called in question. The earlier 
 part of his Epistle is therefore, to some extent, an apology 
 and a defence of the Christian ministry, with a statement 
 of its prerogatives and its authority. His design, in the 
 opening chapters of his argument, is to set forth the wis- 
 dom of God, as shown in the Gospel, in contrast with 
 liuman wisdom, as it has appeared in every age, often 
 leading to a rejection of the scheme of mercy through 
 
Jesus Christ, and when manifesting itself in the Church, 
 leading to the formation of sects and parties, and creating 
 serious dissensions among the professed followers of the 
 Lord Jesus. That he might plainly rebuke and thoroughly 
 heal such divisions in the Corinthian Chui'ch, he sets forth 
 plainly the distinctive features of the Christian religion, 
 recalling to their minds that in all his ministry among 
 them he had known nothing but a crucified Saviour; 
 that avoiding the discussion of any question of merely 
 worldly wisdom and human philosophy, he had set before 
 them Jesus Christ as the only hope of guilty and lost sin- 
 ners. Remembering the words of the Saviour, ''And I, if 
 I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me," he had held up 
 the cross as the grand rallying point for saved sinners, 
 around which the high and the low, the rich and poor, 
 the mse and the unlearned, might gather and feel that 
 they were all one in Christ. In the consciousness that 
 in this respect he had performed his great duty as an 
 Apostle and minister of the Gospel, and that for the 
 fidelity with which he had met his obligations he was re- 
 sponsible to God, and not to man, he plainly declared 
 that ^vith him it was of very little importance what the 
 world, or even the Church, thought of him. Human 
 judgment, whether it came in the form of praise or of 
 censure, of approbation, or scandal and reproach, was 
 nothing to him, who judged not even himself, but left all 
 for the decisions of the Great Day, looking then for ac- 
 ceptance not in his own righteousness, but in the perfect 
 obedience and sacrificial sufferings of the Son of God. 
 It is in this connection that the words of our text occur : 
 " l,et a man account of us as of the servants of Christ, 
 and stewards of the mysteries of God." 
 
 In the words which follow he notices the fidelity which 
 is required of those who are set apai-t to dispense to men 
 
the messages of tlie Grospel ; and in a few brief aucl em- 
 phatic passages, whicli seem to be l)otli historical and 
 prophetic, sets forth the toils and trials of the ministry 
 in a manner so graphic and emphatic that it would seem 
 that none but he who was fully persuaded that it was 
 his duty to preach the Gospel would ever seek to enter 
 that sacred office. He seems to have before his mind a 
 picture of a Roman amphitheatre, with its vast crowd of 
 spectators gathered to witness its inhuman sports, where 
 gladiators were l;)rought out to contend with each other, 
 or with wild T)easts, when every other means of enter- 
 tainment had heen exliausted. The world had been in 
 every age the theatre in which God's people had been 
 subjected to sore trials. Patriarchs and prophets and 
 priests have been compelled to bear witness for the truth 
 often amid fiery trials. Christ, the great Captain of our 
 salvation, was made perfect through suffering ; and now 
 his ministers were to be called to follow him who had 
 sent them forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Hence, 
 the Apostle declares : " I think that God hath set us the 
 Apostles last, as it were, appointed unto death, for we are 
 made a S23ectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. 
 Even unto this present hour we both hunger and thirst 
 and are naked, and are ]:)uftetted, and have no certain 
 dwelling-place, and labor, working with our own hands ; 
 being reviled we bless, l)eing persecuted we suffer it, 
 feeing defamed we entreat ; we are made as the filth of 
 the earth, and are the oftscouring of all things unto this 
 day." Such was the Apostles' view of the experience of 
 the Christian ministry, and yet he who wrote these words 
 declared that when called to this work he conferred not 
 with fiesli and blood. He it was who blessed God that 
 he had counted him worthy, putting him into the minis- 
 try ; and wlio, when writing to his youthful friend and 
 
companion, said : " He that desiretli the office of a bishop 
 desireth a good work." 'These statements, so strangely 
 discordant, may be all harmonized l)y the words of onr 
 text, which link them in a golden chain of precious min- 
 isterial experience : Let a man so account of us as the 
 servants (or the purchased slaves of Christ) and stewards 
 of the mysteries of God. 
 
 These woi'ds present- us for our consideration the di- 
 vine authority and the special work of the Christian 
 ministry. 
 
 1st. Paul everywhere sj^eaks of himself, and through 
 himself, for all who are called to the work of preaching 
 the (Tros])el as the servants of Christ, using the word 
 " Donlos^^'' which was selected to represent a slave or 
 bondman, ^vho either by inheritance or purchase was 
 held to the service of his master. He recognized him- 
 self as not his own, but as belonging wholly to Christ. 
 He declared : " Necessity is laid upon me, yea, woe is me 
 if I preach not the Gospel." He felt that he had l)een 
 called to a work, which, however onerous and painful 
 and self-den3ang it might be, he could not decline. 
 And although the Holy Ghost witnessed to him that in 
 every city bonds and imprisonments awaited him, 3^et in 
 his consciousness that he was serving his Mascer, he de- 
 clared : " None of these things move me, neither count I 
 my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course 
 with joy, and the ministry that I have received of the Lord 
 Jesus to testify the Gospel of the grace of God." Lie re- 
 garded himself as bought with a price. He had been 
 purchased at the amazing expense of the death of the 
 Lord Jesus, from all the claims of divine justice and law, 
 from sin and eternal death. Christ, who had loved him 
 with an everlasting love, had rescued him from the bond- 
 age of Satan and sin, and had redeemed him from their 
 
hands by his great work of atoneiuent, and through his 
 own perfect obedience and spotless rigliteousness had 
 brought him into acceptance with God, and made him 
 his own servant. Hence, the Apostle looked upon him- 
 self as not his own. All that he had and was belonged 
 to Christ, and he recognized His right to his full and 
 constant service. What he possessed of talent, ov virtue? 
 or influence, or thought, or aifection had by that great 
 deed of purchase been transferred from himself, or the 
 world, or Satan, or sin, to whom it had once been ap- 
 propriated, to the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 And that transfer had received the cordial acquiescence 
 of his own conscience and will and affection. He was 
 not ashamed of these marks of his new Master which he 
 bore about with him. He felt that it was no dishonoi- 
 to be the willing and faithful servant of such a Master. 
 He saw no evidence of a loss of manhood in freely calling 
 himself, before all men, the servant of the Lord Jesus. 
 He was not ashamed, as an Apostle and minister of the 
 Gospel, to confess that the credentials of his office were 
 only placed in his hands when Christ had made him his 
 bondman. All this had been the result of that grace 
 which is in common imparted to all true l)elievers. It 
 was the out- working of that everlasting love which God 
 had cherished for his people before the foundation of the 
 world. It was part of that everlasting covenant in which 
 God had pledged to his Divine Son, that he should see of 
 the travail of his soul aiid be satisfied. It was the de- 
 velopment of God's glorious purposes of grace and 
 mercy, in which Christ had, on behalf of his people, mag- 
 nified and honored the law — suffered in their stead — risen 
 for their justification, appeared in Heaven as their Inter- 
 cessor, and in due time, sent down his Holy Spirit to 
 convince them of sin, to lead them to Clirist for mercy, 
 
to renew their hearts, and to conimeuce in them the great 
 work of sanctiiication l)y*wliich they shouhl be made to 
 perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord. And the Apostle 
 when setting forth the estimation due to the ambassadors 
 of God, wrote therefore, " Let a man account of us as the 
 ministers or servants of Christ.'" It was in full accordance 
 with the words of the Master himself. " Ye are my ser- 
 vants; ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, 
 and ordained you that ye should go and bring forth fruit, 
 and that your fruit should remain. He that receiveth 
 you receiveth me." The servant of Christ ! Who would 
 not gladly labor and suffer for such a master? The 
 Servant of Christ ! That name will be a glorious title 
 of honour, when bonds and fetters, and all the badges 
 of human servitude, with all the tears and sufferings of 
 the oppressed, shall have l^een lost and forgotten in the 
 resistless progress of Truth, Liberty, and Righteousness, 
 and when Christ shall make all men free, by holding 
 them in bondage to Himself alone, and then giving them 
 the privilege of those whom the truth makes free. 
 
 H. But there is a special w^ork imposed upon the 
 Christian ministry, distinct from all others, and separat- 
 ing them l)y a Divine ordinance from all other employ- 
 ments to which the servants and disciples of Christ are 
 called. As among the servants of Abraham, born in his 
 house, or bought with his money, one was appointed his 
 steward, to whom the interests and affairs of his house- 
 hold, and the custody of liis large wealth were 
 committed, so Christ has chosen from his people 
 those to wdiom he has given a special work which 
 calls them away from the ordinary pursuits and business 
 of life, and in the immediate and full discharge of which 
 they have no opportunity for attention to those objects 
 which ordinarily engross the minds and energies of the 
 
world. Their office and duties are here alluded to under 
 the peculiar title of Stewards of the Mysteries of God. 
 
 The Gospel, witli all its great and glorious truths and 
 histories, and the ordinances of the Church, with all 
 their hlessed confirmations of the covenants and promises 
 of God to his people, are evidently here alluded to undei- 
 the name of Mysteries. The term as used in connection 
 with the Gospel does not imply what is unintelligible or 
 incomprehensible, but in every instance in which it oc- 
 curs in the Old Testament or the New, refers to some- 
 thing revealed or explained, or which may be understood. 
 Thus Christ said to the Apostles, whom he was train- 
 ing for the Ministry, " Unto you it is given to know the 
 Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven." So the Spirit 
 explains to John the Mystery of the Seven Stars and the 
 Golden Candlesticks, and the Mystery of the Woman 
 upon the scarlet-colored beast. In the Apostolic writings 
 the term mysteries is usually applied to the doctrines of 
 the Gospel, once imperfectly known or understood, but 
 now fully explained by Christ and his Apostles. Thus 
 Paul says to Timothy, "great is the Mystery of Godli- 
 ness," which he immediately explains in his concise but 
 ■wonderfully accurate description of the incarnation and 
 death of Christ ; so he calls the Gospel the " Mystery of 
 Faith," the mystery now made known through, or by 
 means of the Church. " The Mystery of God, and of the 
 Father, and of Christ." With these examples we may 
 easily understand what is meant by the term " Stewards 
 of the Mysteries of God." It is evident that the Apostle 
 would have men regard the ministers of Christ as divine- 
 ly commissioned to preach the Gospel and administer its 
 ordinances. He thus recalls to their minds the truth 
 that in the Christian as well as the Jewish Church there 
 was a class of men selected and set apart for the work of 
 
10 
 
 religious instruction, and which Christ gave to his 
 Church as his ascension gift, when he said, " Go preach 
 my Gospel to every creature." 
 
 That sacred work was to be perpetual in the Church. 
 The gift was committed from one generation to another. 
 Paul, who had himself trained the youthful Timothy for 
 the office, warned him " not to neglect the gift which was 
 given him ^vith the laying on of the hands of the Pres- 
 bytery," and counseled him how to perpetuate his office 
 as a Minister of Christ, when he said " the things which 
 thou hast heard (^f me, the same commit thou unto faith- 
 ful men, that they may be able to teach others also." 
 This is the work of all who are called to the office of the 
 Christian Ministry. They are the Stewards of the Mys- 
 teries of God, to whom God has committed this trust, the 
 treasure of the Gospel. They come, not as priests, to 
 oifer sacrifices, for Christ has offered himself a sacrifice 
 once for all. But with a divine commission in their 
 hand, and with authority bestowed upon them l)y the 
 great Head of the Church. They come with all the glad 
 tidings of salvation, through the Redeemer, to declare to 
 lost and sin-ruined man, the terms on which he may 
 be saved ; to urge him to reconciliation with God ; to an- 
 nounce to him the news of pardon and peace ; and to call 
 him to repentance. All his work is summed up in the 
 great commission which he holds in his hand from the 
 Master, " Go preach my Gosj^el to every creature." The 
 doctrines, the invitations, the ordinances, the promises, of 
 that Gospel are committed into his hands, together with 
 all needful care and discipline and watch over the Church, 
 essential to its peace, its order, and its purity. As a 
 steward provides the things necessary to the family, so 
 the Minister of Christ, receiving at His hands the Gospel, 
 dispenses such instruction, warning, counsel, comfort, and 
 
11 
 
 guidance, as may l)e needful, to edify the body of Christ, 
 and to huild u]:) tlie Cliurcli. His business is to set forth 
 tlie claims of tlie law, the guilt of man and his exposed- 
 ness to Divine wrath, and the means by which he maybe 
 rescued from eternal Death ; to lead inquiring sinners to 
 Christ, to point men to the Lamb of God that taketh 
 away the sin of the world; to instruct and guide, and 
 comfort God's people, by a full display of their covenant 
 relations to Christ and his Church, and 1:)y a repetition of 
 all these exceeding great and precious promises, on which 
 their hopes are built, and to which their faith must be 
 fully given. He is to do this in season and out of season ; 
 in the sanctuary, and in the family ; wherever God's pro- 
 vidence l)rings him a hearer ; whether it be in the great 
 assembly on the Saljbath, or l;)y the way, or in the house, 
 he is to dispense the Mysteries of God ; he is to feed the 
 Flock, to care for the Lambs, to bear on his soul an ever 
 a1;)iding, and ever present sense of responsibility to 
 Christ, and to labor as one that must give account. 
 This is his mission, the work for which God has set him 
 apart, and to which his whole life must be given. 
 
 And with these plain and obvious facts l)ef()re us we 
 see, 
 
 I. That the Ministry is a work of awful responsibility, 
 and he Avho is called to it, may well ask " Who is suffi- 
 cient for these things V The j)astor is not responsible 
 for results, but for the manner in which he discharges 
 his duty, Christ has not sent him to conve/'t souls, that 
 is the work of the Holy Spirit, and Paul or Gabriel could 
 no more perform it than the humblest minister of Jesus. 
 Christ has not made him responsible for the enlargement 
 and upbuilding of the Church, that is His work. He 
 represents himself as the Builder. And men err often in 
 judging of a Minister by the immediate success which 
 
12 
 
 may crown his efforts. Christ has not made him respon- 
 sible for the estimation in which the world may hold him. 
 All that lies in the providence of God. Bat He does re- 
 quire him iaithfully to dispense His truth and ordinances, 
 faithfully to warn men to be reconciled to God. And 
 this simple work might fill and angel's hands. It is 
 when the pastor thinks of meeting his hearers at the 
 Judgment, where no mistakes or short-comings can be 
 rectified, and wonders if he have done his whole duty to 
 every soul committed to his care, whether in the discharge 
 of his office he has fully dispensed the Mysteries of God, 
 that his heart sinks within him. And when the Apostle 
 was alludinof to this o:reat work he desired those who 
 would form a correct estimate of the Christian Ministry, 
 that they should account of them as Stewards ; intrusted 
 with these awful responsibilities, 
 
 " ( ) who can e'er suffice, 
 What mortal for this more than angel task, 
 AVinning or losing souls, thy life-blood's price? 
 The gift were too divine to ask. 
 Dread searcher of the hearts ! 
 Thou who didst seal by thy descending dove, 
 Thy servant's choice, O, heljD us in our hearts, 
 Else helpless found, to learn and teach thy love." 
 
 n. It is o1)vious, again, that the Ministry need and de- 
 serve the earnest prayers and the hearty co-operation of 
 God's people. Paul himself, overwhelmed with a weight 
 of care, and a sense of solemn responsibility, cried, 
 "Brethren pray for us."" The minister is but a man, 
 poor, fallilde, weak, and erring ; subject to all the pas- 
 sions and infirmities of his fellow-men; tempted at all 
 points as they are ; feeling as much as they, the cares, 
 anxieties and afflictions of life. And 3^et, with all these 
 pressures and anxieties upon him, which often rol) him 
 
13 
 
 of rest, lie must comfort others, though his own heart is 
 full of sorrow ; he must bring forth from the treasure- 
 house things new and old, whatever distraction may be 
 hindering the full and free operation of his own mind ; 
 he must prepare for the services of the sanctuary " beaten 
 oil," food for babes, and for strong men, instruction 
 for the ignorant and the wise, and intelligent, warn- 
 ings for the impenitent and obdurate, and comfort for the 
 penitent and 1>roken-hearted. All this may seem easy to 
 the man who flatters himself that because he can occa- 
 sionally deliver an exhortation to his brethren, to which 
 they listen with patience if not with profit, he could as 
 readily take the place of the minister of Christ : yet when 
 we rememl)er that this work is to be done Sabljath after 
 Sabl)ath, and year after year, we may well ask, Who is 
 sufiicient for these things ? and say, " Brethren, pray for 
 us, that utterance may be given unto us." 
 
 Nor is this view of their work as the Stewards of God's 
 Mysteries diminished when we recall the daily and con- 
 stant j^ressure of pastoral and ministerial duties which 
 are laid upon them. They are to visit their flock fi'om 
 house to house ; all their deepest sympathies are often 
 awakened at the sick and dying bed of those whom they 
 love, and for whom they cherish a deej) afl:ection ; house- 
 holds in which they have been welcome guests in times 
 of prosperity, are clouded with gloom and aflliction and 
 heavy bereavements : and they are called to minister to 
 these comfort, while their own hearts feel the deep pres- 
 sure of sorrow, and their own eyes are filled with tears. 
 And when we add to all this the watch and care, which 
 they must have over the Church, the anxieties that press 
 upon them, because of all its varied interests, the duties, 
 often many and onerous, which are laid upon them 1)y 
 the Church in its associated capacity, the part they are 
 
14 
 
 to perform in caring for the general interests of religion 
 throughout all the Churches with which they are connect- 
 ed, and the labors which they must undertake in their be- 
 half, we have some faint estimate of what is involved in 
 the ^vords " Servants of Christ, and Stewards of the 
 Mysteries of Grod." Nor should it be matter of wonder 
 if amid these varied duties a pastor should sometimes 
 seem to fail. Nor need the ministers of Christ think that 
 some strange thing happened to them, when they find 
 themselves the objects of censure and the mark of cruel 
 suspicions and slanders. Against the Master even, false 
 witnesses arose, and men called him Beelzebub. The 
 Apostles were persecuted and put in peril from false 
 brethren. Even a minister as meek and pure as John, 
 wrote " Diotrophes, who h )veth to have the pre-eminence 
 receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember 
 his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with ma- 
 licious words." If such ministers were subject to such 
 trials, can he hope to be exempt who finds himself com- 
 passed al;)Out with many infirmities : and may he not ask 
 for the earnest prayers of his people, and that they, labor- 
 ing with him, become " fellow helpers for the truth." 
 
 III. Again, it is evident, from the considerations be- 
 fore us, to whom the Ministry is responsible for the 
 fidelity ^vitli which their work is discharged. As Christ 
 is their Master, they are to render in their account to 
 Him. The principle that a shepherd belongs to the flock, 
 and is immediately amenable to them, is at variance wdth 
 all the instructions of the Word of God. Under Christ, 
 The Head, he is accountable to the Church as represented 
 in its Courts. The call of the Spirit to the Ministry, is 
 recognized and sealed by the act of the Presbytery, or 
 whatever representative of the Church stands in its stead, 
 to set him apart formally and authoritively to the ^vork 
 
15 
 
 of tlie ministry. There, and tliere only, under Christ 
 does liis official responsibility rest. There every error 
 and wrong, whether in life or doctrine, which he commits 
 may be judicially examined and reproved. There the 
 injury which he may do to others, or they to him, may 
 be fairly criticised and condemned, censured or acquitted. 
 And this leads us to notice the great criterion by which 
 to judge of the ministers of Christ. Their work is to 
 open to men the Mysteries of the Grospel, to edify the 
 body of Christ, to instruct, rebuke, and exhort, with all 
 long-suffering, to beseech men in Christ's stead to be re- 
 conciled to God. And the judgment of them by the 
 Church is not to be on the principle, and too often mani- 
 fested in congregations, on which a show-man judges of 
 his wild beasts and puppets, as to the attractions they 
 possess in filling his coffers ; nor how far they may seem 
 successful, as a speculation, for the business men of a con- 
 gregation, in disposing of pews at the highest possible 
 valuation ; nor how much revenue they may be al:)le to 
 raise by their varied attractions, but how faithfully and 
 how plainly they preach the Word of Life. Any other 
 estimate than this is unjust and uuscriptural. And yet, 
 how many a minister of Christ has been hunted down 
 and persecuted because in some way he has not met the 
 demands of men who have been disposed to estimate him 
 by another standard than that of a Steward of " the Mys- 
 teries of God." To this one test should the ministry be 
 brought — Does it meet the requirements of the great 
 commission ? Men who complain that they are not edified 
 by this and that preaching, should first ask : Is it God's 
 truth ? Is it Christ's Gospel ? and if that be admitted, 
 should seriously question their own hearts whether they 
 are in a right state to be profitted by the Word of Life. 
 He who cannot profit by a presentation of Christ, how- 
 
evt'i- plain it iiiav l>e, -^lioiiUl l)t.>o-iii to cxaiuiiu' liis own 
 lioart for the difficulty. He who truly 1o\h>s Christ, His 
 Gospel, and the doetrines of His wonl, will find jn'otit in 
 any discourse, however huniMe or un])retendinii\ that sets 
 forth Christ as the only \\o\)e of the sinner, or that dis- 
 plays any one truth, that lias the Cross for its aim and 
 illustration. llett> whom the simplest preacliino' of Christ 
 is protitless and nninterestino-, should ask himself whether 
 he may not be like the deaf adder that stoj^peth lier ears 
 to the voice of the charmer, charminsi' never so wisely. 
 
 IV. Again, it is abundantly evident that he \vlio de- 
 siretli the office of a hishop, desireth a good ^vork. With 
 all its toils and trials and annoyances, it is a blessed and 
 glorious office to \\ hich he is called who is made a minis- 
 ter of Christ, and a Steward of the Mysteries of God. 
 ^^'hat is jHnerty ^ What are the struggles and anxieties, 
 and afflictions, and ])ersecutions, ^vhich attend the work, 
 to the j)recious truths with which their minds are fa- 
 miliar, with the sweet and holy comnuinion which they 
 have with God in His woril and ordinances, and with the 
 coniirmation of Christ's own promise, "Lo I am with you 
 alway, even unto the end of the world." That promise 
 never fails. When all is dark and forbidding; when the 
 ministers of Christ have stood amid storms of persecu- 
 tion ; when wicked and unreasonable men have risen up 
 against them; when, like Luther, they are called to bear 
 witness to the truth in the very tace of malii>"nant ene- 
 mies ; or like Calvin or Edwards have been luuited down 
 and banished from their Avork for a time, God has vin- 
 dicated their cause, and Christ has never forsaken them. 
 Nay, he has raised up and surrounded tliem "with kind 
 and faithful friends, who have nobly stood up witli, and 
 for them, making their burdens light and their work 
 easy and pleasant. 
 
17 
 
 V. And witli the (1('('|) juid cjinicst hikI (;.\|)<'i-iiii('iit.'il 
 convection that tin; vvoi'k of tlu^ Miiiisti-y in a ^ood woi-k, 
 vvitli many a- pi-ccious and uralcl'ul memory of tlic, years 
 that we have lahored toi/;(!tli(ri', I conn! h(M"e to-(hiy, on the 
 foui'teenth annivei'saiy of my Hettlement amoni^ y^"^ ^^ 
 your pastor, to testify to God's faithfulness to liis prom- 
 ises. Of th(r 12<) vviio vv(!re members of this Church 
 wlien I was called from another field of labor to take the 
 cliarii^e! of this peoj)h^, but 47 are now even nominally 
 conn(M;t(Ml with us; and of that numluir but 24 are now 
 actually membcn-s of this congregation, and statedly wor- 
 8hip])ing with us. During the last 14 years, there have 
 be(Mi add(Ml to us r»7'> members, of whom 250 hav(^ been 
 received upon a pul)lic [)rofession of their faith 
 in Christ. During the last year, which has b(M;n 
 to most of the churches a year of dearth and darkness, 
 29 have been added to our number, of whom (10) ten 
 were on a profession of their faith. With n(?arly all who 
 during all these years have thus pul)licly united with 
 Christ's visible peojde, I have had {)ersonal intercourse, 
 })ecoming as far as possible familliar with their religious 
 experience, and giving them such instruction and counsel 
 as their several cas(;s re([uire(l. Within the past year I 
 have preached 107 sei-mons and 80 weekly lectures ; at- 
 tende(l ()~) meetings for prayc^r ; performed 14 marriage 
 ceremonies, and 2H funeral services; adniinistf^-ed the or- 
 dinance of Baptism to 24, and made 430 pastoral calls 
 visiting as far as ])ossible every family once, and usually 
 twice during the year, and failing in these attentions only 
 where removals of resid(;nce or absence at the time of 
 my call hav(^ ])r(n'ented th(i accomj)lishm<Mit of my pur- 
 pose, liemembering also tliat the Master has committed 
 to my care the Land)s of the Flock, I have scarcely ever 
 j)ermitted a Sab})ath to pass without visiting the Sabbath- 
 
18 
 
 Scliool, tliougli seldom feeling that it ^vas i)roper to inter- 
 rupt the work of tlie teachers by any remarks. While on 
 every Communion SabLath I have taken tlie whole 
 work of instruction upon me, and have given to the 
 School my pastoral counsels and instruction in connection 
 with their recitation of the Assembly's Catechism ; I have 
 commenced also the same work with the Border Mission 
 School, and have been gratified with the j^rompt and gen- 
 eral answers made to that admiral^le compend of truth, 
 which is one of the standards of our Church, 
 
 Nor has this congregation failed in its evidences that 
 it accounts of us as the Ministers of Christ and Stewards 
 of the Mysteries of God. Their acts of kindness and 
 the tokens of their affection have fallen upon me like the 
 dew and the blessed sunshine. Month after mouth some 
 new act of love, and confidence, and sympathy has come 
 to me. Now in the form of private munificence, supply- 
 ing my wants in the very time of my greatest need ; then 
 in the shape of some anonymous gift, handed in at my 
 door by some unknown friend, or coming as a New 
 Year's Gift ; or in timely addition to my wardrobe from 
 kind and loving hands; and always in words of cheer 
 and sympathy, amid scenes of trial and sorrow, and in 
 unmistakable demonstrations from the congregation of 
 unwavering attachment to their pastor. 
 
 For all these I can only say, May all who have thus 
 given their proofs of their respect for Christ's ministers, 
 find the blessing which is contained in his words, " He 
 that receiveth you receiveth me." God is my witness 
 that I have prayed that you all may at last hear fi'om His 
 lips the words, " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one 
 of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done unto 
 me." 
 
 And now, brethren, while anticipating another year of 
 
19 
 
 labor, and asking your 2:)rayers and your co-operatiou, 
 permit me to add, tliat while now, as ever, regarding my- 
 self as tlie Servant of Christ, and ready, whenever his 
 providence shall plainly call me to go where that pro^d- 
 dence leads, this Church is bound to my heart by a 
 thousand tender cords. Fourteen years of mutual co- 
 operation and sympathy, have bound me to you with bonds 
 which nothing but Christ can sunder. Here among you 
 are buried the children whom God has already called from 
 my arms to Himself Here our tears have fallen together 
 over afflictions which we have been called to meet. 
 
 We have passed through many a scene of trial and 
 joy together. We have met amid tears and sorrows ; at 
 the death-bed and the grave. We have rejoic'ed together 
 over those who have been heard saying, " Come and I 
 will show you how great things God hath done for my 
 soul." We have met in blessed seasons of communion 
 around the table of our Lord. Here let us again rally 
 around that Cross where he purchased for us pardon, and 
 taught us by His own example the great lesson of for- 
 giveness, as He prayed for his murderers. Here let us, to. 
 day, re-consecrate ourselves to the service of Christ, and 
 the upbuilding of His Church. 
 
 Let all uncharitableness, and pride, and ambition, and 
 malice, and wrath, and evil speaking, and anger cease as 
 we open the treasures of the Gospel, and the Mysteries 
 of God, and find we have one Saviour, and one hope, one 
 work, one blessed tie, that binds us to each other and to 
 Christ. Let us labor for the building up of the Church, 
 and earnestly pray the Holy Spirit may rest upon us, 
 and make among us rich and wonderful displays of His 
 saving grace and Almighty power, in the conversion of 
 souls to Christ. Rememl^ering that the Church is to be 
 built up, and souls saved, not by might or by power, but 
 
20 
 
 !)}• the Holy Spirit, let our united prayers go up that He 
 would revive and bless us, and give His word success, and 
 put honor upon his own appointed ordinance — the 
 Stewardship of the Mysteries of God. 
 
FRUITFDLNESS IN OLD AGE. 
 
 A SERMON 
 
 T 
 
 PREACHED IN THE 
 
 OF BEOOKLYJSr, 
 ]N" ovember 12, 1865, 
 
 ON THE OCCASION OP THE DEATH OK 
 
 JOHN MORRIS. 
 
 By Rev. J. E. ROCKWELL, D. D 
 
 PUBTjISnEJ) BY REQUEST, 
 
 BROOKLYN : 
 
 'THE UNION" STEAM PRESSES, 10 FRONT STREET. 
 1865. 
 
SERMON 
 
 " The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree : he shall grow like a 
 cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall 
 flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old 
 age."— P^a^m 92 ; 12-14. 
 
 These words are a vivid and beautiful description of 
 a righteous man. They are part of a psalm which 
 celebrates the goodness and grace of God, as manifested 
 in his works, and most especially in his works of Provi- 
 dence and Redemption. They appear in contrast with 
 the transient prosperity of wicked men, who spring up 
 as the grass, and are as suddenly destroyed ; who ap- 
 pear for a time to flourish and prosper, but who soon 
 pass away to be seen no more. They are a distinct 
 statement of the work of grace as it is developed in 
 the life and character of the christian. They present 
 him to us under the figure of a palm-tree, which con- 
 tinues green and vigorous all the year through, and 
 whose leaves remain amid the frosts of winter, as well 
 as the more genial heat of the summer months, and 
 whose age is counted not by years, but by centuries. 
 They set forth the aged christian as bearing rich and 
 precious fruits of piety and faith, even while drawing 
 near to the grave, and as giving ample testimony to 
 the power and glory of the Gospel amid the infirmities 
 of life's decline, and while his bodily strength is daily 
 
• weakening under the influence of age and decay. 
 Taking these words as our guide on the present occasion. 
 
 I. Let us enquire first into the Scriptural meaning of 
 the word righteous, as it occurs in this and similar 
 passages. There are evidently but two ways in which 
 a man may become righteous : first, by his own perfect 
 and sinless obedience ; and, secondly, by the im23utation 
 to him of the righteousness of anothei". In the first 
 form Adam was righteous until he fell by transgres- 
 sion. Since that hour, neither he, nor his posterity 
 who fell with him, have ever been able to present to 
 God a righteousness of their own which he could 
 accej)t. 'All have sinned, and come short of the glory 
 of God.' ' By the deeds of the Law, there shall no flesh 
 living be justified. ' 
 
 It is only therefore in the second form that any child of 
 Adam can become a child of God, and an heir of heaven. 
 
 To meet this . want of our fallen nature, Christ be- 
 came flesh ; and, having magnified and honored the 
 Law, bore in his own body the tremendous penalty due 
 to our transgression, and thus ' became sin for us, who 
 knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness 
 of God in him.' 
 
 In the arrangements of his grace, and the provisions 
 of mercy, he who accepts of Christ by faith secures to 
 himself the benefits of his merits and death. Thus 
 ' Al)raham believed God, and it was counted unto him 
 for righteousness.' And all the way through the 
 Scriptures we meet with the statement, that ' the just 
 by faith shall live.' Christ has taken the place of the 
 believing sinner — he has l^orne the stripes that he must 
 otherwise have suftered. He has obeyed the law in 
 his behalf, and when he is brought to receive Christ by 
 faith, power is given unto him to become a son of God. 
 
There is no lono-er to him any condemnation. The 
 law ceases to pursue its claims against him. The per- 
 fections and government of Grod are honored even 
 while he accepts and justifies the sinner. The righteous 
 man, then, is one who, though by nature a sinner, and a 
 child of wrath, and exposed to all the terrors of the 
 second death, has been pardoned for the sake of Christ. 
 He stands acquitted of all legal claims against him. 
 He is clothed upon with the righteousness of Christ, and 
 thus has secured to him the favor of God, and the 
 crown and joy of the heavenly inheritance. This was 
 the righteousness of the saints of old. This was the 
 boast and glory of Aj^ostles and martyrs. This alone 
 is the hope of any sinner, that he may be found in 
 Christ, justified in his merits, washed in his blood, and 
 accepted as righteous for his sake. And this leads 
 us to notice, 
 
 H. The fact that the life and character of the Christ- 
 ian is the result of a work of grace in and wpon him. 
 The words before us, and those which precede and fol- 
 low, are a celebration of God's power as indicated in 
 the destruction of his enemies, and in the holiness and 
 joy and salvation of his people. His loving kindness 
 and faithfulness are the themes with which the Psalmist 
 would awaken the chords of his harp, and which he 
 would celebrate upon the psaltery and an instrument 
 of ten strings. And when he turns for illustrations of 
 his theme to the righteous, he speaks of them as plant- 
 ed in the house of the Lord. The sovereignty and 
 providence and grace of God are all concerned in the 
 salvation of the sinner. He is taken in the fulfillment 
 of a divine and gracious purpose, which formed a part 
 of God's eternal counsels. He is led to see his lost 
 and guilty estate, and under the eye of an ever- watchful 
 
Providence is brought within the reach of sacred influ- 
 ences, which exert upon his mind and heart a healthful 
 control, until the Holy Spirit renews his heart, brings 
 him into a cordial reception of the Gospel, and fills him 
 with peace and joy in believing. From this hour a 
 work is begun v/hich will be fully completed amid the 
 joys and holiness of heaven. Yet this work is to be 
 accomplished by the use and enjoyment of the means 
 of grace. As the tree cannot grow without a proper 
 soil in which to stand, or without the rain and the 
 sun — so the Christian cannot flourish except in the 
 midst of those divinely appointed ordinances, which 
 are designed to fill his mind with heavenly truths, and 
 to strengthen his faith, and develop all his graces. 
 Hence he is said to be planted in the house of the 
 Lord. He is brought into the visible Church, where 
 he is fed and nourished by the truths and ordinances 
 of the Gospel. He is surrounded by sacred influences 
 which are ever at work upon his heart and life. He 
 enters his closet, and the word of God opens to him its 
 treasures ; while in ^^rayer and holy communion with 
 his Maker, he draws into his soul the richest blessings 
 of Heaven. He enters the house of God, and is fed 
 by the sacred truths of the Gospel as they fall fi'om the 
 lips of Christ's embassadors. He sits down at the ta- 
 ble of his Lord, where he commemorates his sufterings 
 and death, and his heart is refreshed and strengthened 
 and comforted by the sacred ordinance which sets 
 vividly and sensibly before him the great sacrifice of 
 Calvary. He looks upon the administration of Bap- 
 tism, and receives new impressions of the grace of God 
 in his covenant with his people, and their seed after 
 them, of which it is the seal. He visits the place of 
 prayer, and his spiritual strength is renewed by the 
 
precious communion and fellowship of the saints. 
 While with all these means of grace the Holy Spirit 
 sheds his own blessed influences upon his heart, 
 strengthening his faith, increasing the pow'er of his 
 gracious aifections, enlightening his mind, confirming 
 his hope, and giving him the ability to overcome sin, 
 to walk in the fear of God, and to manifest in all his 
 life the beauty and glory of the Gosj)el. 
 
 HI. And the results of this work of grace in the 
 soul are set forth in the words before us with great 
 clearness in three important particulars. 
 
 1. The first result is Growth. When true grace is 
 given to a soul — more is given. When there is the 
 blade — then follows the ear, and then the ripening corn 
 in the ear. The righteous, says the Psalmist, shall 
 grow like a Cedar in Lebanon. All the imagery of the 
 Scriptures which are used to describe the character and 
 life of the child of God, represents him as increasing 
 in all his spiritual graces. He is first the new born 
 babe, desiring the sincere milk of the word, that he 
 may grow thereby, and then passing upward through 
 the successive stag-es of the Christian life, becomes the 
 perfect man in Christ Jesus. Nor has any man a right 
 to believe that he has been made an heir of heaven 
 who is not conscious of an increase in faith, and all the 
 graces that are the fruit of the spirit. The law of the 
 Kingdom is 'he that hath clean hands shall grow 
 stronger and stronger.' 
 
 2. The second result of grace is Spiritual Prosperity. 
 ' The righteous shall flouiish like a palm tree. Those 
 that be planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish 
 in the Courts of our God.' The natural and normal 
 state of the Christian is one of peace and joy, and 
 spiritual comfort and happiness. 
 
All the provisions of the Gospel look toward this 
 result. Soul prosperity is the proper condition of him 
 who lives near to God. His experiences are not evan- 
 escent frames and feelings, now mounting to extacies 
 and intense excitement, and then relaj)sing into cold- 
 ness and declension, but they are the steady, calm, and 
 sure effects of faith and love, and clear apprehensions of 
 divine truth, and of all the great and essential doc- 
 trines of the Gospel. His spiritual life is hid with 
 Christ in God. The world cannot tell why the lamp 
 always burns brightly. But the word of God shows 
 us the secret pipes from the olive tree, which are ever 
 feeding it with oil. He lives in communion with God 
 in his closet, and the ordinances of the Sanctuary. He 
 builds up his hopes and his character upon Christ 
 alone. His faith takes hold of his truths and prom- 
 ises. His heart clings to him with a growing love. 
 His soul feeds upon his word as heavenly manna, and 
 drinks daily drafts from the overflowing fountain of 
 his grace. Every dispensation of divine Providence, 
 whether it be joyous or sorrowful, l)riugs with it some 
 new experience of the love and grace of Christ. ' All 
 things work together for his good.' Every event of 
 life, ordered as it is by his Heavenly Father, is part 
 of the process by which his graces are strengthened, 
 his passions subdued, and his nature made the more fit 
 for heaven. 
 
 3. And with this growth and prosperity there comes 
 also Fertility. Nor is this a temporary result. His 
 fruit drops all the way through life, even down to old 
 age. The means of grace, and the influences of the 
 Spirit are given to man, not that he might simply have 
 joy in his own heart, but that he might thereby be 
 fitted to glorify God here in the upbuilding of his king- 
 
dom and the good of men. Hence our Saviour com 
 mands his disciples ' let your light so shine before men, 
 that they, seeing your good works shall glorify your 
 Father which is in heaven. ' The true Christian has 
 not alone the leaves of a profession. His sj^iritual life 
 is not a mere outward show. But all his walk and 
 conversation testifies that he is under tlie control of 
 true Christian principle, and that his noblest life is 
 drawn from Christ. As he professes to have been 
 born of the Spirit, so he manifests the fruits of the 
 Spirit. His passions and appetites are all controlled 
 and regulated by the law of God. He is kind, and for- 
 giving — unselfish in his motives and acts. He never 
 gives utterance to a slander — nor acts the part of a 
 tale beai-er, or a busy body in other men's matters. He 
 has no malice or envy in his treatment of his fellow 
 men. He would rather suffer wrong, than injure either 
 in reputation or person his neighbor. He seeks the 
 peace, harmony and prosperity of the community, and 
 especially of the Church. He does good to all men as he 
 has oppoi'tuuity. He seeks in every way that the 
 Providence of Cod points out to him, the upbuilding of 
 the Kingdom — the enlargement and extension of the 
 Church, and the promotion of Truth, Temperance and 
 Righteousness throughout the world. Thus his fruit 
 drops I'ich and ripe through all the years of Ms life. 
 Nor when the tree becomes old, and broken by the 
 storms of age, does the leaf yet wither or the fruit dis- 
 appear. As gray hairs come upon — his ripe christian ex- 
 perience is every way developing itself in judicious 
 counsels, in the administration of comfort to the af- 
 flicted, in kindness to the needy, and in the encourage- 
 ment of the young to an earnest pursuit of knowledge 
 and the attainment of a well-grounded Christian hope ; 
 
10 
 
 and in a godly walk and conversation, which becomes 
 more and more spiritual and heavenly as he draws near 
 to etei'nal realities. Thus, in a calm and serene old age, 
 do the righteous bear the fruits of faith and holiness, un- 
 til they come down to the grave like a shock of corn 
 fully ripe in its season ; and when death comes to take 
 down their earthly tabernacle they fall asleep in Jesus, 
 leaving behind them the savor of a good life, and pass- 
 ing upward to the light and joy and worship of the 
 New Jerusalem. 
 
 Such is a brief and imperfect view of the truths set 
 before us in the words of our text. Your own minds 
 will already have recalled, as a vivid illustration of the 
 description here given, the life and character of that 
 venerable servant of God whose grey -hairs were a 
 ' crown of glory, because they were found in the ways 
 of righteousness,' and who has but lately passed away 
 from our midst, to join the general assembly and 
 Church of the First-Born, whose names are written in 
 heaven. 
 
 John Moeeis was born in the City of Philadelphia, 
 Oct. 13, 1775. His father lost his life with the army 
 at the Battle of Brandywine, leaving him thus at a 
 tender age to the care of a pious mother, to whose in- 
 structions he was greatly indebted for many salutary 
 impressions, which never lost their hold upon his mind. 
 
 His memory went back with great vividness to the 
 closing scenes of the revolutionary struggle — to the 
 splendid festivities which were held at the declaration 
 of Peace, and to the imposing ceremonies which fol- 
 lowed the adoption of the Federal Constitution, and 
 the inauguration of our present form of government. 
 It was pleasant and instructive to hear his reminiscen- 
 ces of -those days, and of the great men who were ac- 
 
11 
 
 tors in those scenes, and uj)on whom he had often 
 looked with a boyish delight and wonder. And one 
 almost felt as if he had witnessed the scenes himself 
 when he listened to his minute and graphic description 
 of pageants in which Washington and Franklin and 
 other heroes of the Revolution were the central fio-ures 
 
 o 
 
 and prominent actors. 
 
 In April, 1798, he left his Philadelphia home, 
 and came to the city of New York to enter into busi- 
 ness. His journey thither was by stage to the then 
 little hamlet of Paulus Hook, now known as Jersey 
 City, and containing only a population of 10 or 12 
 persons, where was a single tavern and a ferry, whence 
 sail and row boats took jDassengers across the river. 
 New York had extended only to the Park, and the 
 City Hall and other public buildings stood in Wall 
 street, around wliich the wealth and fashion of the 
 metropolis were gathered. The number of inhabitants 
 was less than 60,000. On this side of the river was a 
 small hamlet, at the ferry, built under the hills, then 
 extending to the Wallabout, and reached by sail and row 
 boats, from which a road passing up thi'ougl\ farms and 
 orchards to a settlement, the centre of which was the 
 present City Hall, containing, with that at the river, a 
 population of 2,000 or 5,000 souls. 
 
 Hills and meadows and forests were seen on every 
 hand, where now a vast citv is stretchino; forth its 
 arms, and covering the land with its beautiful monu- 
 ments of civilization and art, and taste and wealth. 
 Such was the appearance of these two cities when Mr. 
 Morris came to New York to engage in l)usiness ; and 
 where for 70 years he was destined to be identified with 
 its interests, and to witness its growth and prosperity. 
 Although not yet a member of the Church, he had en- 
 
12 
 
 joyed religious instructions which had left ineffacable 
 influences upon his mind. A single fact will show 
 what was the early training he had received whose 
 fruits were to appear after many days. While yet a 
 child his mother was once reading to him a story from 
 the Bible. As he stood by her knee listening with 
 childish delight and interest to the narrative, he inter- 
 rupted her with the question 'Is this true.' Yes, my 
 child, was the answer : ' All that you read in the Biljle 
 is truth.' Those words he never forgot. Nor did he 
 ever from that hour have one doubt as to the veracity 
 of God's Word. In all his after years he came to its 
 study with entire confidence. His mother's words 
 were ever sounding in his ears, like the echo of Christ's 
 declaration, ' thy word is truth.' Soon after coming to 
 New York he attached himself to the ministrations of 
 the venerable Dr. John Rogers, the pastor of the Wall 
 Street Church. There he was, by the Grace of God, 
 converted, and in June, 1799 was admitted to the fellow- 
 ship of the Saints. His reminiscences of that eminent 
 . servant of God were many and pleasant. Under his 
 instructions he was fed and nourished, and fitted for 
 the long life of usefulness which ha& just closed its 
 earthly mission. His intercourse with his aged pastor 
 was pleasant and intimate, and when he passed away 
 he assisted the devout men who carried him to his 
 burial. The Churches of New York were at that time 
 blessed with the ministration of men whose names 
 have never ceased to be borne in afi^ectionate and 
 honored remembrance. Oar veneral>le father was per- 
 mitted to sit at the feet of such men as Drs. Miller and 
 McKnight, and Milledollar and Mason, and from their 
 lips often to hear the precious messages of the Gospel, 
 and he also listened to the first sermon which the ven- 
 
erable Dr. Spring preached, when called to the charge 
 of the Church where he is still a pastor. 
 
 With the commencement of his Christian profession 
 began his life of active piety. He found his way to 
 the meetings for prayer, and engaged with his brethren 
 in works for the enlargement and upbuilding of the 
 Church. As early as the year 1 809, in connection with 
 the late John Mills, whose name he always mentioned 
 with great affection and respect, he established a meet- 
 ing for prayer in Spring street, which was then just 
 beginning to be built up in the advance and growth 
 of the city. Beyond it were only scattered houses, 
 standing in the country and surrounded by farms and 
 forests. The whole population of the city at that 
 time ^vas 90,000. A large pond of water, of great 
 depth, then occupied the spot where now the Tombs 
 stand, and its water flowing through Canal street to 
 the North River was crossed by a substantial bridge 
 on Broadway. Hills and valleys and groves eveiy- 
 where met the eye above this, and meadows stretching 
 down to the river's brink, were sweet with new-mown 
 hay, or alive with flocks and herds which there found 
 pasturage. Making their way over many a vacant 
 square, and along streets not yet thoroughly paved or 
 lighted. Father Morris, and his friend John Mills, 
 looked around for a place in which to establish a meet- 
 ing for prayer. Their first selection proved an unfa- 
 vorable one, and but few persons could be gathered 
 there for worship. Another site was tried with little 
 more success. But these pioneers of the Church were 
 not to be easily discouraged. One more place was 
 tried', and here a permanent meeting for prayer was es- 
 tablished. The proper centre for a new Church was 
 found. Here month after month, these fast friends 
 
14 
 
 made dieir way at evening, to meet their hretliren in 
 social worship. During these labors in the outskirts 
 of the city, the old Wall street Church was demol- 
 ished to make way for a new and more commodious 
 edifice. At the request of these brethren the pews 
 and pulpit were given to them, and carted up and 
 stored in a shed in Spring street. A few wealthy mem- 
 bers of the Church, among whom was the late Col. 
 Rutgers, then bought four lots of ground, on which tlie 
 first edifice of the Spring Street Church was built. 
 Here a congregation was soon gathered, and a Church 
 organized under the ministrations of Rev. Mr. Perrine, 
 and Mr. MoitIs was ordained a Ruling Elder therein. 
 Here he labored with earnestness and zeal, and had the 
 privilege of seeing his own daughter Mary, afterwards 
 Mrs. Moon, brought into the Church as one of the 
 precious fruits of a revival with which it pleased God 
 to visit his people. 
 
 He used often to refer to thes e happy days, and to 
 the communion immediately preceding that work of 
 grace, at which but a single person was admitted to 
 the Church. His pastor, Rev. Dr. S. H. Cox, in his 
 prayer, at that time alluding to the fact, prayed that 
 it might be the drop which preceded a plentiful 
 shower. The wish seemed to be prophetic, and the 
 blessing came in answer thereto. 
 
 During the administration of President Jefl^erson, 
 Mr. Morris was appointed to a position in the Custom 
 House, which he retained for thirty years, discharging 
 its duties with singular fidelity, and retaining the 
 good will of all with whom he came into official con- 
 tact, by the urbanity and kindness with which he 
 tempered the strict and unbending integrity by which 
 he conserved the interests of the government. His re- 
 
15 
 
 ligion was illustrated and set forth in his business, as 
 well as in all tlie walks of life. It made him a 
 thoroughly honest man in his dealings with the world, 
 as well as an active and efficient member of the 
 Church of Christ. 
 
 In the year 1824, Mr. Morris removed to the city of 
 Brooklyn, and connected himself with the First 
 Church, then under the pastoral care of Rev. Mr. 
 Sandford. The tree lost neither leaf nor fruit in its 
 transplanting. He at once resumed his earnest labors 
 in the work of his master. Hitherto the efforts in be- 
 half of the religious education of the young, in which 
 he had always been deeply interested, had been con- 
 fined to a single Union Sabbath School, conducted by 
 . members of all the various Churches, and held for con- 
 venience in the building used by the Methodists in 
 Sands street. Mr. Morris soon saw that this was not 
 enough to meet the spiritual wants of Brooklyn, even 
 though it was then but a village of only 8,000 or 9,000 
 inhabitants. He consulted with his pastor as to the 
 propriety of establishing a Sabbath School in their 
 own Church. He was met with doubts and misgiv- 
 ings as to the success of his plan, but determined to 
 try the experiment. Notice of the intention to form 
 such a school was given, and in a few months the lec- 
 ture room was filled with scholars, and the enterprise 
 was established l)eyond a question or fear. At the 
 same time, while giving to this work his constant at- 
 tention, he was busy in establishing and conducting 
 neighborhood prayer-meetings, going with his brethren • 
 from house to house, and esj^ecially caring for those 
 portions of the village which were most scattered and 
 distant from the Church. 
 
 In this work he never wearied. Year after year he 
 
16 
 
 was still busy in tMs way of doing good. Neither 
 cold nor heat, nor storm nor darkness, kept him from 
 fulfilling the appointments thus made from week to 
 week. He had the names of all the praying members 
 of the Church who attended these services, and saw 
 that they were each called to take their part at proper 
 times. He was careful also to bring forward as leaders 
 in these meetings such men as he thought proper for 
 the work, and Avould pla.ce them in the chair while he 
 sat by to counsel and aid. Many there are who bear 
 with them still the memory of these precious scenes, 
 and who recall those golden days of labor and of suc- 
 cess in the master's work. 
 
 As the population of Brooklyn began to increase, 
 and it became evident it was soon to become a large 
 and important city, Mr. Morris and some of his breth- 
 ren saw the importance of erecting another Pi'esbyter- 
 ian Church, to meet the demand of the times. Con- 
 sulting with his pastor, Mr. Carroll, and the session of 
 whom he had been made a member, the project was 
 soon matured, and a colony was sent forth in the year 
 1831 to form the Second Presbyterian Church. Mr. 
 Morris was one of the number, and as usual he gave 
 his whole heart to the work. He was at once selected 
 as one of its Elders, and he brought into his new field 
 of labor also the ripe experience of a life* which now 
 had reached its noon-day. 
 
 His advice and counsel were of great value in an en- 
 terprise like that, and his labors were of acknowledged 
 value both in the conduct of its spiritual and its tem- 
 peral concerns. The services of Kev. Dr. Spencer were 
 secured as its first pastor, and between him "and our 
 venerated friend a strong and lasting friendship grew 
 up, which was never abated, however much they might 
 
17 
 
 diifer in judgment as to the propriety of measures 
 proposed. 
 
 Altliougli tlie shadows of age were now beginning 
 to lencj-tlieu, and liis locks to whiten with the frosts of 
 life's winter, he never lost his vigor or tired of his 
 Avork. It never seemed to enter his thoughts tliat he 
 should retire from active service and leave hard work 
 to younger men. His heart and spirits never grew old. 
 He seemed as young and vigorous now as when he 
 fii'st avouched the Lord Jehovah to be his God. His 
 eyes still bright and busy, wei^e looking over all the field 
 to see what there was for him to do. He had no dis- 
 position to sit down unemployed or idle. Out in 
 what was then the eastern part of the village, under 
 the shadow of Fort Greene, crowned at that time only 
 with grass-grown fortifications thrown up in the war 
 of the Revolution, were a few clusters of houses, built 
 amid half graded streets, and unsightly hills of stones 
 and sand. Farms and orchards and forests were just 
 beyond, where now stands this Sanctuary, with many 
 others which have since been erected. 
 
 Groups of neglected children were wandering here 
 and there uj)on tlie Sabbath with none to care for their 
 souls. Poverty or vice were seen on every hand. Here 
 was the very spot in which Mr. Morris felt there should 
 be establislied a Sabbath School. What he proposed 
 he ever had the energy to carry through. Applying 
 to a few of the men of wealth in his Church for means 
 to erect a suitable house, he soon had an earnest and 
 efficient band of teachers at work; and so the first 
 Mission School of the City was established in Prince 
 Street, on the 19th of July, 1834. 
 
 The success of this enterprise soon drew attention to 
 the importance of establishing a new Presbyterian 
 
IS 
 
 Church in this part of the City. It was evident that 
 the tide of population must roll on and cover all this 
 territory with houses and families. Mr. Morris often 
 conversed with his pastor on the matter, and the pro- 
 position was at length made that he should himself go 
 forth with a colony, and lay the foundation for a new 
 Church. It was asking of him what many a one in 
 his circumstances would have felt at liberty to decline. 
 Twice already he had broken away from pastors and 
 friends whom he loved, to engage in the work of Church 
 extension. He was warmly attached to Dr. Spencer, 
 both as an able preacher and faithful pastor and a per- 
 sonal friend. He was surrounded by men with whom 
 he had long labored, and with whom he had taken 
 sweet counsel, as they went to the house of God 
 in company. He was now 72 years old, and might 
 well have asked to be excused fi^om the arduous 
 labors which this new work would impose upon 
 him. Yet none of these things moved him. The 
 tree that had breasted the storms of three score 
 and ten winters was still green and flourishing, 
 and its rich fruit was hanging ripe and fair upon its 
 branches. He yielded to the request of his pastor, and 
 came forth with a colony to form this Church, to which 
 his last labors were given, and in the bosom of which 
 he breathed his last breath. The new congregation was 
 organized in the month of April, 1847, under the pas- 
 toral care of Rev. N. C. Locke. Fifteen years ago, at 
 the close of brother Locke's connection with the 
 Church, I became its pastor, and was at once brought 
 into pleasant relations with our venerable father — as 
 the senior Elder of this Church. He was then 75 
 years of age, but his step seemed as elastic and his 
 spirits as buoyant, and his heart as warm, as a youth's. 
 
19 
 
 In all these years lie had never lost the energy and in- 
 terest he had before manifested in this work of ad- 
 vancing the interests of Christ's Kingdom. His place 
 in the Sanctuary and in the meetings for prayer has 
 ever been filled when his health permitted. With an 
 unflagging zeal he has gone about doing good, assist- 
 ing the poor, comforting the afflicted, admonishing the 
 erring, and seeking to reclaim those who were gone 
 out of the way. Often in the Sabbath School has his 
 venerable form been seen, as he has watched with an 
 unabated interest the work which was then going on, 
 and .on the occasion of the gathering of the children 
 at the anniversaries of our Sabbath or Mission Schools 
 his face has beamed with pleasure, and his voice has 
 often been heard giving some word of encouragement 
 to the teachers, or recalling to the youth there assem- 
 bled some scenes of his earlier years, the memory of 
 which had been revived by their presence. Neither 
 personal afflictions nor the growing infirmities of age 
 could dampen the ardor with which he engaged in his 
 work. Five times since I have been his pastor have I 
 been called to minister to his stricken household. 
 Early in my connection with this Church a beloved 
 daughter was called away to her rest, and then a son, 
 and successively three of his children's children. He 
 felt these losses deeply, for he had a warm and loving 
 nature, that clung largely for happiness to his family. 
 Yet he never faultered in his work. The more sorely 
 the tree was pressed and crushed, the sweeter and 
 richer seemed to be the fi'uit it yielded. Amid all 
 these painful bereavements he found strong consolation 
 in the promises of God, and, like David arose from his 
 sorrow and tears and went into the Sanctuary, and re- 
 sumed the duties of life, chastened and purified and 
 
20 
 
 bi'ouglit neai'er heaveu hy liis affliction. And even 
 when his aged eyes were blinded, and he could no 
 longer distinguish even the features of his dearest 
 friends, he nevei' lost his clieerfulness or activity. 
 Leaning upon his staff he still went forth for his daily 
 walks of usefulness, making his way from the house 
 of one friend to another, and still visiting the Sanc- 
 tuary and the place of pi'ayer. On the Sabbath l)e- 
 fore he died he was in his wonted seat in this House 
 of God. As he turned away at the close of the ser- 
 vices he walked along with a dear young brother 
 whose wife was, after along illness, just lingering upon 
 the shores of time, and who has since then been called 
 home. His heart beat in strong sympathy with him, 
 and he sought to comfort him by recalling to his mind 
 the precious promises of the Word of God, which had 
 often given his own heart peace amid its sorrows. On 
 the next day he suffered some little inconveniences 
 fi'om a cold which he had taken on the Sabbath. But 
 no alarming symptoms were developed until Friday. 
 Even then he had dressed himself and was about to go 
 down as usLial for his morning meal, but was prevailed 
 upon to keep his room. Toward noon it became evi- 
 dent that the end was approaching. And his family 
 and friends gathered around his bedside to witness his 
 departure. I entered his room when made aware of 
 his sickness, and found the dying patriarch literally 
 falling asleep. He was just passing into a state of 
 apparent unconsciousness. Once or twice in response 
 to a question whether Jesus was with him, his lips 
 parted as if he were making an effort to answer. And 
 so he lay during most of the night, gently breathing 
 his life away. There was no struggle — it did not 
 seem like Death. All was so peaceful and calm. The 
 
21 
 
 wheels of nature, worn out liy constant action, through 
 90 years, stopped at length, and he was at rest. He 
 left but few sayings as his dying testimony. Nor 
 were they needed, except as precious mementoes of a 
 dying saint. When, early in the day, a member of the 
 family was speaking to him of his increasing illness, 
 he simply expressed a willingness to leave all to God, 
 repeating the words of scripture, " My times are in thy 
 hand. " " All the days of my appointed time will I 
 wait till my change come." To another he said, " I am 
 a great sinner, but the grace and blood of Jesus is suf- 
 ficient to save me, and my trust is in him alone." To 
 his son who, as he saw he was soon to pass away, asked 
 him to give them his blessing, he simply replied. " The 
 Saviour's blessing is better than mine." Thus gently 
 did the aged patriarch fall asleep in Jesus. And his 
 history as it has thus been briefly given, and his Chris- 
 tian character as we have all seen it, are beautiful and 
 striking illustrations of the words whicli we have 
 chosen for the theme of our remarks. The foundation 
 of the character of Father Morris was a firm faith in 
 God, and reliance upon Christ as his only Saviour. He 
 depended solely upon the merits of his Divine Re- 
 deemer as his ground of justification in the sight of 
 God. The prominent traits of his character are fami- 
 liar to all. 
 
 H^ was consistent in his life mth all the professions 
 he had made. He loved the Sanctuary, and was never 
 absent from it when his health permitted him to at- 
 tend its services. He was eminently an honest man. 
 There was nothing like deception in either his word 
 or his acts. His Religion was not a mere act of the 
 head, but a work of the heart and life. It diffused it- 
 self over his whole character. It made him thoroughly 
 
9.9. 
 
 earnest and devoted to his master's business. It con 
 trolled and regulated liis thoughts and appetites and 
 passions. No one could fail to see that he was truly 
 a godly man. His Religion made itself felt in his 
 family, and in all his social relations. It made him a 
 faithful and affectionate husband and father, a warm 
 friend, a loyal citizen, an active officer and member of 
 the Church. It made him set a constant watch over 
 the door of his lips. He was never known to speak ill 
 of his neighbor, nor to backbite with his tongue, nor 
 to circulate an ill or evil report. He had a warm and 
 generous and sympathizing heart. No one who knew 
 him can ever forget the genuine kindness of his nature, 
 which was ever welling up in some kind and loving 
 action or word, and which made hun, even in old age, a 
 pleasant companion even for the child. He did not 
 hesitate to speak plainly and frankly his sentiments 
 even to one with whom he most differed. But when 
 speaking of such an one to others it was always with 
 kindness and approbation. 
 
 His cheerfulness often manifested itself in a dry hu- 
 mor and a playful manner, that seemed more like the 
 expressions of youth than the more sober feelings of 
 old age, and that threw a wonderful charm over his 
 whole conversation, and set forth his relis:ion with a 
 peculiar grace and loveliness. This manner often was 
 used to impress some special truth or expression ^ith 
 great power. But a few days before his death some 
 old friend who had not seen him for years said to him : 
 ' Why • Father Morris I did not know that you were 
 yet in the land of the living.' No, said he, I am in 
 the land of the dying, and then pointing upward he 
 added with a smile, 'The land of the living is up 
 there, I am expecting soon to go to it.' 
 
23 
 
 He did not care rnucli to speak publicly of his own 
 personal experience. He evidently regarded this 
 habit as one which often tended to spiritual pride. His 
 addresses were earnest appeals to Christians to be 
 faithful, and touching allusions to Christ as our only 
 dependence. But he always kept himself and his 
 works out of sight. He gloried only in the Cross of 
 Christ. For many years he had evidently looked 
 upon his great change as near at hand. It was his 
 habit, until his sight failed him, to take the lead of the 
 last prayer-meeting of the year. And his presence and 
 his words of counsel made these seasons occasions of 
 great and solemn interest to all. Every worshipjier 
 felt that possibly he was listening for the last time to 
 the counsels of the aged and venerable patriarch. He 
 always spoke of his coming change with calmness, nay 
 with the pleasure of a pilgrim who felt that he was 
 dramng near to his home. In all the long and frequent 
 interviews I have held with him as his pastor, I have 
 felt that he was a living and beautiful illustration of 
 Bunyan's description of the land of Beulah, to which 
 he brought his jDilgrims before they crossed the river, 
 ' whose air was very sweet and pleasant,' and ' where 
 they heard the singing of birds, and saw every day the 
 flowers appear in the earth,' and ' had no want of corn 
 or wine.' There he stood for years, waiting until his 
 chansfe should come. One after another of those he 
 loved passed over the river before him, and then the 
 summons came to him, ' set thine house in order, for 
 thou shalt die.' He heard it without a fear. But a few 
 days before, he had been speaking to some fi-iends of 
 the difterence in the deaths of young and aged Christ- 
 ians, and quoted the words of one who accounted for it 
 in this wise : The young Christian is full of strong 
 
24 
 
 emotion, aud when lie nears the heavenly world, is 
 often full of joy and extacy at the sight, but with the 
 aged believer the whole is a matter of life-long experi- 
 ence. Death and Heaven have been themes familiar to 
 his mind for years, and so when his time comes he sim- 
 ply falls asleep, and says nothing about what he feels 
 or sees. It was so with our venerable friend. The 
 scene was not strange or new to him. His thoughts 
 had long dwelt upon it. And when the hour of de- 
 parture came he yielded up his spirit to God, and gently 
 passed fi^om earth to heaven. What a blessed exchange, 
 from cares and sorroAvs to eternal joy and peace, fi'om 
 the ordinances of the visible Church to the worship of 
 the Redeemed. And he, being dead, yet speaketh. He 
 has left behind him to his family the precious legacy of 
 a good name and a godly example. He has left to 
 the Session with which he was so long connected, the 
 memory of a life consecrated to Christ, and to the up- 
 building of his kingdom, for he was an Elder that ruled 
 well, and who was accounted worthy of double honor, 
 and who by faith obtained a good report. He has left 
 to this Church a long record of prayer and efforts for 
 its prosperity, and of devotion to its interests. And 
 he has taught you who are yet without a hope in 
 Christ, that Religion fits a man to live as well as to 
 die. He left not the work of preparation for death to 
 the closing hours of life. In his youth he consecrated 
 himself to Christ, and was by his grace planted in 
 the house of the Lord, where he long flourished and 
 bore fruit even to old age. 
 
 Take, then, the lessons of God's Providence and 
 Grace, as they are here presented to you. Remember, 
 ye children and youth, the words which he often spake 
 while yet was with you ; recall his godly walk and life, 
 
25 
 
 and seek the Saviour while lie is near. And, ye men ot 
 maturer years, will you not receive instruction in this 
 record of a good man's life and death, and ' Seek first 
 the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.' Our ven- 
 erable friend left for you this great lesson of the Gos- 
 pel as his dying message, which spoke of the blood 
 and grace of Christ as his only hopes. O let it be 
 yours. Turn from the world and its pursuits, and 
 make it your great business to make your calling and 
 election sure. 
 
 Would you have a useful life and a serene and 
 happy death, trust in him who hath taken the sting 
 from Death and robbed the grave of its victory. Oh, 
 by faith 
 
 "So live that when thy summons comes to join 
 The innumerable caravan, that moves 
 To that mysterious realm, where each shall take 
 His Chamber in the silent halls of death, 
 Thou go not like the quarry slave, at night 
 Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothed 
 By an unfaultering trust, approach thy grave, 
 Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
 About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 
 
T H K 
 
 ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 ^ 
 
 i[e^l|ti|riHi I l!iri[l, 
 
 WILMINGTON, DEL., 
 
 CELEBRATED THURSDAY OCTOBER 24, 1872. 
 
 SERMONS, ADDRESSES, MEMORIAI, SERVICES, ETC. 
 
 WILMINGTON: 
 
 FROM THE "commercial PRESS " OF JENKINS & ATKINSON. 
 
 1872. 
 
At a meeting of the members and friends of the Hanover Street 
 Church, held in the lecture room, on the evening of the 24th of Octo- 
 ber, John C. Patterson, Esq., presiding, the following resolution was 
 unanimously adopted. 
 
 Resolved, That the addresses and exercises of this Anniversary 
 occasion be published in permanent form as a valuable contribution 
 to the history of the church, and of the community in which it is 
 located. 
 
 The Pastor of the church, in connection with Jno. H. Adams and 
 S. Floyd, were appointed a committee to cany this resolution into 
 effect. 
 
HANOVER STEEET CHURCH. 
 
 PASTOR. 
 REV. LAFAYETTE MARKS. 
 
 FOEMER PASTORS. 
 REV. JOSEPH SMITH, 
 " WILLIAM R. SMITH, 
 " THOMAS READ, D. D., 
 " E. W. GILBERT, D. D., 
 " ARTHUR GRANGER, 
 " WILLIAM HOGARTH, D. D., 
 " J. E. ROCKWELL, D. D., 
 " A. D. POLLOCK, 
 " WM. C. DICKINSON, 
 " WILLIAM AIKMAN, D. D., 
 
 ELDERS. 
 HON. WILLARD HALL, 
 JAMES T. BIRD, 
 SAM'L BARR, 
 JNO. C. PATTERSON, 
 WM. M. PYLE. 
 
 SABBATH SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT. 
 SAMUEL FLOYD. 
 
 ASSISTANT. 
 D. W. HARLAN. 
 
 CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE. 
 JNO. H. ADAMS. 
 S. FLOYD, 
 R. P. JOHNSON, 
 WM. M. PYLE, 
 H. P. RUMFORD, 
 Dr. J. DERRICKSON, 
 THOMAS McCOMB. 
 
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT. 
 
 The Centennial Anniversary of Hanover Presbyterian Church 
 was celebrated on Thursday, the 24th of October, 1872. The 
 weather was somewhat unpropitious during the entire day; neverthe- 
 less the exercises were largely attended throughout, and the occasion 
 was one of great interest to all present. Services were held in the 
 morning, afternoon, and evening, concluding with a social re-union in 
 the lecture room of the Church. 
 
 The audience room was handsomely and appropriately decorated 
 for the occasion. Beautiful bouquets and century plants were ar- 
 ranged in front of and around the pulpit, while a long line of ever- 
 greens spanned the whole altar and dropping in graceful folds on either 
 side, was extended entirely around the gallery, hanging in festoons in 
 the arches, in which were painted upon white surface, encircled with 
 evergreens, the names of the former pastors of the Church, in regular 
 order, four on each side. The names of Rev. Messrs. Smith and Marks, 
 the first and present pastors of the Church were also to be seen in 
 wreaths above the pulpit. Large oil paintings of Judge Hall and Dr. 
 Gilbert were placed in windows on either side of the pulpit, represen- 
 tative of the Elders and Clergy of the Church. Upon the rear wall 
 were the dates 1772-1872, the former of autumn leaves, the latter in 
 evergreen. Evergreens were also entwined about the lamps in the 
 pulpit, which were kept dimly burning. Much taste was displayed 
 in the decorations, and nothing was omitted that the proprieties of 
 the occasion seemed to demand. 
 
 Many who had been former worshippers in the Church were pres- 
 ent to participate in the memorial services of the day. The pro- 
 gramme was as follows ; — 
 
OEDEE OF EXEEOISES. 
 
 lvfl:oI?,3S^Il^TC3■. 
 
 DOXOLGGY. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 MUSIC. 
 Historical Address, by the Pastor, Rev. Lafayette Marks. 
 
 SINGING. 
 Address, by Rev. J. P. Conkey, Pastor of the Central Presbyterian 
 Church. 
 
 SINGING. 
 
 BENEDICTION. 
 
 .A-FTE piisro o ]sr . 
 
 MUSIC. 
 PRAYER. 
 Address, by Rev. Wm. W. Taylor, of Shippensburg, Pa. Subject, 
 " Recollections." 
 
 SINGING. 
 
 Address, by Rev. J. E. Rockwell, D. D., of Stapleton, Staten Island, 
 
 N. Y. Subject, " Events of the Century." 
 
 MUSIC. 
 
 BENEDICTION. 
 
 E^VEisriisrc3-. 
 
 MUSIC. 
 
 READING OF THE SCRIPTURES. 
 
 SINGING. 
 
Address, by Rev. C. W. Adams, of Waterville, N. Y. Subject, 
 " Elders of the Church." 
 
 SINGING. 
 
 Original Ode, written for the occasion by E. T. Taylor. 
 [s. M.] Hail ! bright auspicious day 
 Hail ! glad memorial hour, 
 We come, with heart and voice to bless 
 
 God's guarding, guiding power ; 
 With grateful, happy hearts 
 
 Our gladsome song we raise, 
 Children, and children's children join 
 Our fathers' God to praise. 
 
 We praise Thee, O, our God, 
 
 For what Thy hand hath done ; 
 For garnered fruit, within these walls, 
 
 The trophies grace hath won. 
 We bless Thee for the truth, 
 
 Proclaimed these hundred years ; 
 For the rich covenant of Thy love. 
 
 Through sunshine, and through tears. 
 
 Anthem. " Bless the Lord, O, my soul," &c. — Ps. ciii. 
 
 [c. M.] Our honored fathers, where are they? 
 And mothers, who of old 
 First taught our infant lips to pray. 
 And led to Jesus' fold. 
 
 Hidden from sight, but safe with God ; 
 
 We treasure all they taught. 
 Striving to tread the path they trod, 
 
 Seeking the God they sought. 
 
 [l. m.] We saw them droop, and fade away, 
 But mem'ry pictures them to-day ; 
 Faces and forms, to us so dear, 
 Claim the sad tribute of a tear. 
 
 Chant. " Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations," &c. 
 — Ps. xc. 
 
 [88. & 7s.] Sweeping through the silent ages. 
 
 Rolls time's rapid, ceaseless stream ; 
 Human life, in changeful stages. 
 
 Passes like a fitful dream ; 
 But while men and nations perish, 
 
 God, from age to age the same. 
 Will His church forever cherish. 
 
 And preserve Himself a name. 
 
8 
 
 Discourse, by Rev. James M. Crowell, D. D., of Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 MUSIC. 
 BENEDICTION. 
 
 In the afternoon, at the close of Dr. Rockwell's address, the Rev. 
 Noah Price, who was reared in Hanover Church, but now of Philadel- 
 phia, was also introduced, and made a brief and touching address to the 
 congregation. He alluded to his former connection with the Church 
 and Sabbath School, and spoke feelingly of the changes which had 
 occurred since his removal from the Church. Although he had wan- 
 dered from the fold in which he had been brought up, into another de- 
 nomination, yet he remembered with pleasure that Calvin and Luther 
 both contended for the same great truths, the same Lord and baptism. 
 He concluded by exhorting all to be faithful unto death to the same 
 principles, that they might at last receive the crown of life. 
 
 The closing discourse in the evening was delivered by the Rev 
 Jas. M, Crowell, D. D., of Philadelphia, from the words, "Thy ser 
 vants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof." The 
 address was a beautiful and appropriate close of the services of the 
 day, showing why the christian should love the Church, and what re- 
 sults flow from that love. The Choir then sang very sweetly the hymn, 
 
 "When shall we meet again — 
 Meet ne'er to sever ?" 
 
 The pleasure of the occasion was much enhanced by the tasteful 
 manner in which the music for the day was rendered by the Choir of 
 the Church. The singing of the original ode written for the occasion 
 by E. T. Taylor, formerly a member of Hanover, but now an Elder 
 in the Central Church, was one of the attractive features of the even- 
 ing. Dr. Rockwell, in a letter to the New York Observer, descriptive 
 of the Centennial, says : — 
 
 " At the close of these services the present and former members of 
 the Church adjourned to the lecture room, w;hich was tastefully draped 
 and ornamented with flags and flowers, where a bountiful collation 
 had been provided by the ladies of the congregation. Here, until a 
 late hour, old friends met in pleasant and glad re-union. That scene 
 will not soon be forgotten. But one of the former pastors was pres- 
 ent ; but he found, after twenty years absence, many an old friend, 
 and received as warm and grateful a welcome as when he first came 
 among that people. They have had a noble record of fidelity to the 
 truth, of earnest labor for Christ, and of respect, afiection, and hearty 
 co-operation for those who have ministered to them in the gospel. 
 Although three colonies have gone out from them to form other 
 
9 
 
 churches, they are still a strong, active, united people, and under 
 their present pastor are increasing in numbers and ability. 
 
 "The memorial services of which this notice is made are tobe 
 published in a permanent form, and will make a valuable contribution 
 to the historic treasures of the Church. J. E. R." 
 
 Some of the former pastors and ministerial members of the 
 Church, who had been expected to take a part in the memorial ser- 
 vices, were unable to be present. Of the pastors. Dr. Rockwell, now 
 of Staten Island, N, Y., was the only one present. Rev. C. W. 
 Adams, of Waterville, N. Y., and Rev. Wm. W. Taylor, of Shippens- 
 burg, Pa., were both brought up in Hanover Church and Sabbath 
 School. In addition to these, quite a number have gone out from the 
 Church, who are now engaged in preaching the Gospel in this and in 
 other lands. The following letters deserve a place in this introductory 
 notice : — 
 
 LETTER FROM REV. ENOCH THOMAS. 
 
 Craigsville, Augusta Co., Va., October V)th, 1872. 
 Rev. L. Marks — Dear Brother : — 
 
 Your favor of the 8th inst. came duly to hand. I was sick abed, 
 but was much cheered by its reception and its kind and fraternal 
 spirit. I have just risen from my sick bed, to make an effort, the 
 best I can, to ansAver it. 
 
 I have much that I would like to say, especially because I know 
 now that I cannot be present on the interesting occasion of your Cen- 
 tennial Anniversary of our dear old Hanover Street Church. 
 
 May the Lord Jesus, her adorable head, continue to smile upon 
 her and make her to prosper for many hundred years to come. How 
 many of the old members whom I once knew are living now, I do not 
 know, but I suppose very few. May they flourish as the palm tree, 
 and grow as a cedar in Lebanon, and still bring forth fruit in old 
 age. I would like much to have their names. If I should not come 
 you will please send me a printed roll of the members. I can know 
 from it. 
 
 One item in yours was of special gratification. In giving a list of 
 invited and expected guests, the names of Dr. Ellis Newlin and Rev. 
 William Taylor occur. I had not heard from either of these dear 
 brethren for many years. They and I, though marching under the 
 same banner of Presbyterianism, were nevertheless enrolled on the 
 minutes of different Assemblies. Ecclesiastical divisions, with all 
 their different asperities have given place to re-unions, but these after 
 
10 
 
 the long interval of thirty years, have not been of such a nature as to 
 bring us yet into the same ecclesiastical body. 
 
 How much, alas ! how very much are the pleasures of the past 
 sadly mingled with regrets! Notwithstanding all this, it is, my dear 
 brother, pleasing to know that in the approaching anniversary of old 
 Hanover all hearts can unite, all voices join in chorus, and all 
 hands can clasp in fraternal greetings, freely ! freely ! freely ! as they 
 will on the blissful shores of the better land. 
 
 Brother William Taylor started with me and we both went to- 
 gether to pursue our studies in an Eastern State. He was one of 
 Christ's sincere and amiable disciples. Please tender to him my very 
 kind, cordial, and fraternal greetings. Dr. Newlin was a junior 
 brother, I suppose now in his prime. We were in different institu- 
 tions, and seldom met, except a few times in Wilmington. To him 
 likewise tender my kindest regards. 
 
 Yours, in Christian Love, 
 
 E. THOMAS. 
 
 LETTER FROM REV. WM. C. DICKINSON, A FORMER PASTOR. 
 
 Lafayette, Ind., July 10th, 1872. 
 H. P. RuMFORD, Esq. — Dear Sir : — 
 
 I take pleasure in acknowledging the receipt, in May last, of 
 the kind invitation of a Committee of Hanover Street Presbyterian 
 Church, to attend the exercises with which its hundredth anniversary 
 is to be commemorated in October next. I should greatly enjoy being 
 present with you on so interesting an occasion, and show my respect 
 and veneration for the dear old Church, and my warm personal regard 
 for its members. My stay among them was a brief one, but it created 
 strong attachments on the part of both Mrs. Dickinson and myself to 
 the place and the people, which it would be a great pleasure to both of 
 us to renew. 
 
 But I fear we must deny ourselves that pleasure on the occa- 
 sion proposed. We are to be at the East a few weeks this Summer, 
 and I shall hardly be able to make another journey there in the Fall. 
 I shall be with you in spirit, however, at the time, joining in the bene- 
 dictions invoked upon the Church, and rejoicing in the honorable 
 record of its century of usefulness and prosperity which will be pre- 
 sented on the occasion. 
 
 With very kind regards to all friends in the congregation, and 
 
11 
 
 thanks to the gentlemen of the Committee for the courtesy of their 
 invitation, 
 
 I remain, very truly, Yours, 
 
 WM. C. DICKINSON. 
 
 LETTER FROM REV. WM. AIRMAN, D. D., FORMERLY PASTOR OF THE 
 
 CHURCH. 
 
 Detroit, July 31, 1872. 
 Messrs. John H. Adams and Dr. R. P. Johnson : 
 
 GeiJtlemen: — I received your kind invitation to be present at 
 the Centennial Celebration of the Hanover Street Church, next Octo- 
 ber. I have delayed answering positively, hoping that it would be 
 possible for me to attend, but it now seems highly improbable that I 
 shall be able to do so. 
 
 You have done well, it seems to me, to make arrangements for 
 such a Centennial Celebration. The history of the old Christiana 
 Church, of which Hanover Church is the legal successor, is full of in- 
 terest, reaching back as it does beyond Revolutionary times, and con- 
 necting itself in a very important way with the history of Presbyteri- 
 anism in the State of Delaware. The history, too, of late years is full 
 of hallowed memories of revivals of religion, and of the lives of those 
 who have walked with God in her communion. 
 
 May the gathering of her sons be most pleasant and memorable. 
 Very Respectfully, Yours, 
 
 WILLIAM AIKMAN, 
 25 W. Elizabeth Street, Detroit. 
 
 On the Sabbath following the Centennial of the Church, the Sab- 
 bath School held its o8th anniversary. The exercises on this occasion 
 were of a very interesting character. The singing by the children, 
 who had been under the training of Mr. Lichtenstein, was very fine. 
 The reading of the " Changed Cross," by Miss Annie Grier, a Bible 
 exercise on the Life of Christ, conducted by the Pastor, and addresses 
 by Rev. E. L. Boing, of Federalsburg, Md., the Pastor, and Dr. R. 
 R. Porter, were among the items on the programme. The large audi- 
 ence dispersed at the close well pleased with what they had seen and 
 heard. The Sabbath School of the Church was organized in 1814, 
 and has been kept up without any interruption from that time to the 
 present. Its present Superintendent, Mr. S. Floyd, has been filling 
 that position for upwards of twenty years. The record of the School 
 has been a long one. The work which it has done has not been in 
 
12 
 
 vain. The fruits may be seen on every hand. If time would permit, 
 there is much- interesting history that might be introduced in this con- 
 nection. We regret that the Rev. Dr. Ellis Newlin, of Newark, 
 N. J., was unable to be present at our Centennial. He was expected 
 to give us an address on the history and work of the Sabbath School, 
 which, as a former pupil of the School, he could have done with much 
 interest. 
 
 These anniversary exercises have thus been brought to a close, and 
 according to a resolution passed by the congregation on the evening 
 of the Centennial, we have endeavored to put them in permanent form, 
 as matters of history, and as fraught with interest to those who shall 
 come after us. When another hundred years shall have rolled away, 
 we, of this generation will all be sleeping in the dust. 
 
 "As for man, his days are as grass ; as a flower of the field so he 
 flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it and it is gone, and the place 
 thereof shall know it no more, but the mercy of the Lord is from 
 everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and his righteous- 
 ness unto children's children." 
 
 L. MARKS, 
 S. FLOYD, 
 J. H. ADAMS, 
 Committee of Fublication. 
 
HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 
 
 BY THE PASTOR, REV, L. MARKS. 
 
 " And of Zion it shall he said, this and that man was born in her, 
 and the highest himself shall establish her. The Lord shall count when 
 He writeth up the people that this man was born there. As well the 
 singers as the players on instruments shall be there. All my springs are 
 in thee." Ps. Ixxxvii., 5-7. 
 
 In introducing the services of this Anniversary occasion, we ex- 
 tend to you all, as members and friends of this venerable Church, a 
 cordial greeting. Your presence here sufficiently indicates the inter- 
 est which you take in the past history of this Church. We welcome 
 you all, and rejoice that you have come to participate in these memo- 
 rial exercises. May the King and Head of the Church command His 
 blessing, life that shall never end ! 
 
 The God of our creation has endowed us with memory, but not 
 with foreknowledge ; we can recollect the past, we cannot disclose the 
 future. When we plant a seed in the earth we know nothing of its 
 future developments. We can only conjecture and hope for the best. 
 Whether it shall develop into a vigorous, long-lived plant, or be sud- 
 denly cut down and destroyed, depends upon a great variety of con- 
 tingencies. Little could the founders of Presbyterian ism upon this 
 Peninsula, — which marks its proper commencement upon this continent, 
 — little could they forsee of its subsequent growth and development. 
 But the work which they began in faith and prayer has been blest 
 and continued unto this day. The little seed that was planted by 
 Rev. Francis Makamie, long ago, has grown to be a great tree, whose 
 branches cover the wide extent of our national domain. 
 
 The various forms of Protestantism were planted upon this conti- 
 nent by its choicest representatives from the Old World. The storms 
 of persecution which shook the stately tree of the kingdom on the 
 other side of the Atlantic, caused its best and ripest fruit to fall on 
 these western shores, and left the green and the withered to stick to 
 their native branches. 
 
14 
 
 When we dig down to the oldest roots of Presbyterianism we find 
 them underlacing the soil of Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. The 
 region of country in which we live is rich in historic interest as con- 
 nected with the growth of Presbyterianism. When these States were 
 dependent colonies of Great Britain ; when these cultivated fields 
 were a wilderness ; when these cities and towns had scarcely an exist- 
 ence, Presbyterianism had its home here. It must have landed upon 
 this Peninsula sometime previous to the close of the 17th century, for 
 we find that Rev. Francis Makamie, the pioneer of Presbyterianism 
 in this region, died in the year 1708, and previous to his death he had 
 succeeded in establishing several churches in Maryland and Virginia. 
 And here, if time would permit, we might dwell upon a long list of 
 historic names. We might consume all the time allotted to this occa- 
 sion in reviewing the holy and consecrated lives of men whose praise 
 is in all the churches. Dr. Samuel Davies, — one of the most illustrious 
 men in the history of our country ; author of a standard volume of 
 sermons which bears his name ; President of Nassau Hall ; the man 
 whose cultivated and earnest preaching won the admiration of King 
 George II., — was born in the County of New Castle, near where 
 the Church of Drawyers now stands. His academic education was 
 received at Faggs Manor, in Chester County, Pa., and his licensure to 
 preach the gospel was given him by the old historic Presbytery of 
 New Castle. Dr. Waddell, the blind preacher of Virginia, whom 
 Wirt has immortalized, received his early training in the academy at 
 Lower West Nottingham, Cecil County, Maryland. Besides these we 
 might make mention of Witherspoon, and a host of others, whose in- 
 fluence has been largely felt in the religious history of our country. 
 
 The history of Presbyterianism in this city and in the surrounding 
 region has not, we regret to say, been carefully preserved. In those 
 early days, especially during the excitement of the Revolutionary 
 War, the records of congregations were not carefully kept, so that to 
 give a connected and detailed history of Presbyterianism from its ear- 
 liest introduction would be impossible. The chain has been broken ; 
 the links lie scattered about upon our sessional records, while some of 
 them have been lost altogether. Presbyterianism, however, was es- 
 tablished in Wilmington at a very early period of its history. The 
 antiquated structure at Tenth and Market bears upon its northern 
 wall the date of 1740, from which it is clear that there must have 
 been an organization here previous to that time, or more than 132 
 years ago. Subsequent to that time there is a gap which is not sup- . 
 plied by any records or data with which I am acquainted. Moreoveri; 
 
16 
 
 it is not ray purpose to give a detailed history of Presbyterianism in 
 this community, even if such a thing were possible. I shall only have 
 time to touch upon the leading points as connected with our own or- 
 ganization. No feeling or interest should control us in this matter, 
 except the desire to know what are the facts of history. 
 
 According to the best information that can be obtained, a new and 
 distinct enterprise was commenced in the Eastern part of our city 
 about the year 1772, popularly known at the time as the Second Pres- 
 byterian Church, and this continued to be the name of the Church until 
 the year 1787, when, by virtue of an act passed by the Assembly of 
 the State of Delaware, it received the corporate name of the Christiana 
 Church. This is the first fact recorded on the sessional records now 
 in our possession. Subsequent to that time it was generally designa- 
 ted as the "Second Presbyterian Church," but it never received that 
 name by any act of incorporation. This enterprise grew out of the 
 preaching of the Rev. Joseph Smith, a man of great popularity and 
 influence, who is presented to us on the Presbyterial records as the 
 first pastor of the Second Church. This worthy man, whose name is 
 so largely associated with the history of Presbyterianism, both in the 
 East and in the West, was born in 1736, in Nottingham, Maryland, 
 not far from the Susquehanna River. He was educated at Princeton, 
 and was licensed by the Presbytery of New Castle, in 1767. His first 
 charge was the congregation of Lower Brandywine, from which he 
 accepted a call in 1768. It appears that he began occasional preach- 
 ing in Wilmington in 1772, and on the 12th of August, 1773, a call 
 was put into his hands by the Presbytery, from the Christiana or Sec- 
 ond Church of Wilmington ; this and the Church of Lower Brandy- 
 wine being afterwards united in one pastoral charge, Mr. Smith ac- 
 cepted the call, and became their pastor October 27th, 1774. In these 
 churches he labored until April 29th, 1778, when the relation was dis- 
 solved at Little Britain. Mr. Smith is represented as a man of great 
 force of mind, and possessed of a peculiarly attractive manner in the 
 pulpit. There is much that might be said of his character and labors, 
 if time and space would permit. The history of the origin and growth 
 of the Second Church under the ministry of Rev. Joseph Smith, cov- 
 ers a good many pages of the records of the New Castle Presbytery. 
 Mr. Smith's record, in the main, lies West of the mountains. He and 
 the apostolic McMillan were among the first to lay the foundations of 
 our Western Zion. In 1779 he accepted a call from the united con- 
 gregations of Buflfalo and Cross Creek, Western Pennsylvania, where 
 he continued to labor the remainder of his life, twelve years. The 
 
16 
 
 churches which he established are still among the most flourishing in 
 that region. He died in the faith on the 19th of April, 1792. The 
 stone that covers his mortal remains may be seen in the graveyard of 
 Upper Buffalo, Washington County, Pa, Those whowould read the 
 story of his trials and triumphs are referred to an exceedingly interest, 
 ing article in the volume entitled " Old Redstone," on the " Life and 
 Times of the Rev. Joseph Smith." 
 
 Our present sessional records, which carry us as far back as the 
 year 1781, make mention of subscriptions that were given for the sup- 
 port of the church, in the list of which we find the historic name of 
 Gunning Bedford, Esq. 
 
 The Rev. Joseph Smith was succeeded by the Rev. Wm. R. 
 Smith, for whom a call was made out October 27th, 1779. This call 
 was accepted, and on January 12th, 1780, he was ordained as stated 
 pastor of the Second Church and Lower Brandywine. The connec- 
 tion between these churches was dissolved October 29th, 1785, after 
 which Mr, Smith became pastor of the Second Church, alone. The 
 pastoral relation continued until April 7th, 1795, when it was dis- 
 solved for " weighty reasons," the congregation reluctantly concurring. 
 Of the labors of Mr. William Smith, we have but a meagre record. 
 The results of his ministry, running through a period of fifteen years, 
 are now " hid with Christ in God." Its impress has been left upon 
 hearts that have ceased to beat. There is still living and present here 
 this morning one whose infant brow received the water of baptism 
 from his hands. 
 
 Passing on to the year 1797, we meet with the pastorate of Dr. 
 Thomas Read, of blessed memory. This eminent servant of God was 
 chosen pastor of the Church on the 7th of August, 1797. He entered 
 upon his labors in January, 1798. It was the distinction of this ex- 
 cellent man to enjoy a long and fruitful ministry. For thirty years 
 previous to his removal to Wilmington, he ministered to the Presby- 
 terian Church of Drawyer's Creek, and under his ministry it is said 
 to have been the most influential and flourishing church in the State. 
 Before his removal to Wilmington, he had passed through the stirring 
 scenes of the Revolution, and was brought into intimate association 
 with General Washington, having assisted the General in laying his 
 plans for the battle of Brandywine, which his perfect knowledge of 
 the country enabled him to do. His labors while in connection with 
 the Church at Fifth and Walnut, and afterwards in connection with 
 what is known as the First Presbyterian Church, are well known 
 and remembered. There are many yet living who can testify to his 
 
17 
 
 worth as a man, and to his fidelity as a minister of the gospel. Fifty- 
 five years of his history were spent in " holding forth the word of 
 life ;" twenty-five of these were spent in Wilmington, nineteen in 
 connection with the Church at Fifth and Walnut, the remainder, or 
 part of it, in connection with the First Church, at Tenth and Market. 
 The long and successful pastorate of Dr. Read in connection with the 
 Church terminated, owing to declining health, in the year 1817. 
 Those nineteen years of labor were marked with great spiritual power. 
 There were precious ingatherings from time to time of such as shall 
 be saved. I have in my possession now a printed narrative of a re- 
 markable revival that occurred in this Church in 1814. There are 
 still living those who may be claimed as the fruits of that great revi- 
 val, in connection with which the names of Patterson, Joyce, and 
 Blackburn have become historic. There are present here this morn- 
 ing some whose memory will carry them back, not only to the stirring 
 scenes of 1814, hut beyond that into the earlier labors of Dr. Read. 
 He was released from his work in the Church below on the 14th of 
 June, 1823. 
 
 There is a fact worthy of notice connected with the first settlement 
 of Dr. Read ; it is the amount of salary voted to him in the call. It 
 was fixed at two hundred pounds. This was in the last decade of the 
 eighteenth century. Looking at the mere statement we might fancy 
 that we had fallen upon a time when ministers were handsomely sup- 
 ported, according to the exigencies of the times, but it appears that 
 those were not genuine old English pounds sterling, but a sort of Penn- 
 sylvania and Delaware arrangement, representing two dollars sixty- 
 six cents and a fraction, making the salary a trifle over five hundred 
 dollars, instead of a thousand, as might be supposed. Verily, there is 
 nothing new under the sun ! and the fashion plate of one generation 
 is equally suited to the next, and the next. And yet we have not 
 outgrown our forefathers in the grace of giving. Those were times 
 when the gospel was appreciated, and men were willing to deny them- 
 selves for the Lord's sake ; ten, twenty, thirty, and even a hundred 
 pounds were freely subscribed by persons of moderate means in those 
 early days of Presbyterianism. The Church has grown richer, but it 
 can hardly be said that her members have opened their hearts and 
 hands as the Lord hath prospered them. 
 
 Immediately after the retirement of Dr. Read, steps were taken to 
 secure another pastor. Accordingly a call was made out for the Rev. 
 E. W. Gilbert, on the 19th of January, 1818. The call was accepted, 
 and on Sabbath, the 15th of February, he commenced his labors, and 
 
18 
 
 on Wednesday, the 20th of May, was ordained and installed by the 
 Presbytery of New Castle. At the first meeting of session after the 
 settlement of Rev. Mr. Gilbert, we find the names of Dr. George 
 Monroe, Mr. John Fleming, Mr. David Harbison, and James Smith, 
 as Elders. 
 
 The ministry of Dr. Gilbert marks a new era in the history of our 
 beloved Church. I trust it is doing no injustice to others to say that 
 no one has left such an impression upon the Church, or has been su 
 prominently connected with the history of Presbyterianisra in this 
 community, as the Rev. Dr. Gilbert. The reasons for this are appa- 
 rent. His pastorate was a long one, and so far as I have been able to 
 ascertain, it was successful from the commencement to the close. 
 Through it all his hands were upheld by an active, praying people. 
 It is said that the Dr. frequently made the remark, that he could 
 always tell when the people were praying for him ; it gave him a 
 power in the study and in the pulpit, little short of an inspiration. 
 Every minister of the gospel needs the encouragement of a praying 
 people. The consciousness of such support becomes his right arm of 
 power. Gospel hearers are but too ready to complain of a stale, 
 drawled-out sermon, but it might not be difficult to make out the con- 
 nection between that and a fastidious, fault-finding, prayerless, drowsy 
 congregation. " Pray for me," says Paul, " that utterance may be 
 given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the 
 mystery of the gospel." 
 
 And here, on the scene of his industrious and beneficent life, among 
 his fellow-citizens and parishioners, who knew his virtues so well, and 
 who honor his memory so faithfully, it is not for me, a comparative 
 stranger, to eulogize the man whose time and powers were so largely 
 given to the spiritual welfare of this Church. The labors of Dr. 
 Gilbert are well known in this community. He has written his 
 record upon human hearts and lives. The words which fell from his 
 lips were spirit and life to many now in Christ, and to many more 
 now in glory. 
 
 Dr. Gilbert was a man of the greatest simplicity and transparency 
 of character. He was never regarded as a good judge of human na- 
 ture, inasmuch as he was too unsuspecting for that, but as for himself 
 he was easily read and understood by all who knew him. 
 
 He is represented as a man of small stature, quick, nervous habit, 
 and of bright intellect; a man fond of his study, fond of his books, 
 and thoroughly in love with his profession. As a speaker, he was 
 possessed of a rapid utterance, and a shrill, penetrating voice. His 
 
19 
 
 tongue was as the pen of a ready writer. His mind was discursive, 
 gathering information from every source, with a decided leaning 
 towards theological and scientific discussion. He excelled as a debater, 
 and never declined the opportunity to measure his strength with an 
 adversary. The sword of truth in his hands was a trenchant blade, 
 that struck fire in many a couflict. Some of his theological and con- 
 troversial works have been handed down to us in permanent form. 
 From all that we can learn, Dr. Gilbert never excelled as a pas- 
 tor. He loved his study better than he loved the street, and that im- 
 plies no disparagement. He excelled in the use of his pen and his 
 tongue. It was in the pulpit, on the rostrum, and amid the excite- 
 ment of public discussion, that this worthy man of God found a field 
 for the display of his peculiar tastes and talents. Here was his van- 
 tage ground, and he never surrendered it to suit the choice or dicta- 
 tion of his people. And Dr. Gilbert was wise. The pulpit is the 
 preacher's throne. It is there that the sceptre of his power is mainly 
 wielded, and all experience goes to show that it is less injurious in all 
 ways to fail in pastoral work than in pulpit work. It is a notorious 
 fact that the ministry of Dr. Gilbert was such as to command the 
 respect of the entire community in which he lived. He was a work- 
 man that needed not to be ashamed. He was in the habit of making 
 thorough and conscientious preparation for the pulpit, hence his min- 
 istry was one of power in your midst. " He that hath no sword let 
 him sell his garment and buy one." The garment of ease and indo- 
 lence must be exchanged for the sword, if we would be thoroughly 
 equipped for the ministry of modern times. He that professes to be a 
 preacher of the word must be something more than a door-bell ringer 
 or a pious perambulator. Pastoral work, important though it be, should 
 never be allowed to trench upon the claims of the pulpit ; in case it 
 should, the inevitable result is that the Rev. Dr. Windy hitches into 
 the same old rut from Sabbath to Sabbath, and the Rev. Mr. Slender 
 in a marvellously short space of time preaches himself out, and goes 
 away to fascinate some new people with his soft voice and animated 
 manner. 
 
 I cannot dwell further upon the labors of Dr. Gilbert in this com- 
 munity. He was twice installed as pastor of the Church. He re- 
 signed his charge the first time about 1832. A second call was made 
 out for him on the 10th of October, 1835. This call was accepted 
 and he was re-installed in November, 1836. This last pastorate con- 
 tinued until the 8d of May, 1841, when he was finally dismissed by 
 the Presbytery to accept the Presidency of Newark College. 
 
20 
 
 It was duriog his ministry that the building in which we now wor- 
 ship was ejected. The old stone Church at the corner of 5th and Wal- 
 nut, though improved from time to time, was found too small for the 
 comfort of the congregation, hence it was found necessary to build 
 elsewhere. The corner of King and Sixth, then called Hanover 
 Street, was chosen as the site of the new Church. 
 
 The present building was dedicated on the 12th of March, 1829, 
 and in 1831 the congregation was chartered under the name of the 
 Hanover Street Church ; the name of Christiana being changed to 
 that of Hanover Street. The erection of so large a building was no 
 small undertaking for those days ; the people were comparatively poor, 
 yet they devised liberal things for those who were to come after them. 
 So far as the audience loom is concerned, no more capacious or com- 
 fortable Church has yet been erected in our city. 
 
 About one-third of the members remained in the old stone Church, 
 at Fifth and Walnut, and were for a time under the ministry of Rev. 
 Robert Adair, now of Philadelphia; subsequently under that of Rev. 
 Jas. Pickands. The church was continued till the year 1837, when 
 the church building was disposed of to the Baptists, and the congre- 
 gation dissolved. There is a good deal of interesting history con- 
 nected with the old building which sheltered the congregetion for so 
 many years, and in which Smith, Read, and Gilbert all ministered. 
 
 One of the oldest members of the church has handed me a pecu- 
 liar memento of the early labors of Dr. Gilbert ; it is a small piece 
 of pewter with the letters E. W. G. stamped upon it. Some of our 
 younger Presbyterians may be curious to know what it was for ; it 
 was used as a token of admission to the Lord's table. These tokens 
 were distributed to the communicants on Saturday preceding the com- 
 munion, and were collected by the elders on Sabbath, as the members 
 of the Church were seated at the table. What purpose these pewter 
 tokens answered we have never been able to ascertain, nor can the 
 origin of the custom be definitely determined ; it still prevails in some 
 parts of the Presbyterian Church. There are those yet living who 
 believe in the " divine right" of tokens. It would be thought sacri- 
 lege, almost, to omit them. We have known churches to be almost 
 rent asunder, and worthy elders to take mortal offence, over the dis- 
 cussion of tokens. They would contend for it as earnestly as though 
 it were the little stone of Revelation, with the new name written 
 upon it. 
 
 The next name on the list of pastors is that of Rev. Arthur Gran- 
 ger. When he entered upon his labors the records do not show ; it 
 
21 
 
 was probably in 1832, or immediately after the first retirement of Dr. 
 Gilbert. The account we have of this brother is very meagre. He 
 filled the pulpit of the Church during the time which elapsed between 
 the first and the second pastorates of Dr. Gilbert. He resigned his 
 charge in September 28th, 1835. 
 
 We now come to the pastorate of Rev. William Hogarth. A 
 unanimous call was made out for him on the 20th of September, 1841. 
 At this time he was a licentiate of the Geneva Presbytery, of N. Y. 
 This call was accepted, and his ordination and installation took place 
 on Monday, December 6th, 1841. He entered upon his labors under 
 the most favorable auspices, and with all the ardor of a young man. 
 Mr. Hogarth was a man of no ordinary talent, and threw himself 
 heart and soul into his work. It is only just to say that Mr. Hogarth 
 filled a very important place in the history of this Church. The con- 
 gregation was strong and united, and during his stay among them, 
 many were brought into the church, who have filled prominent posi- 
 tions in it ever since. Some of them are members of this Church to- 
 day, others have gone out and are engaged in doing the Lord's work 
 elsewhere. He still preaches the gospel of the Son of God in a prom- 
 inent pulpit of Detroit, Michigan. We regret that he is not present 
 with us to-day to take a part in these memorial services. The rela- 
 tion between him and the congregation was dissolved on the 21st of 
 October, 1846, when he was released to take charge of the Presbyte- 
 rian Church, in Geneva, N. Y. His farewell sermon was preached on 
 Sabbath, the 8th of November. 
 
 Soon after the retirement of Dr. Hogarth, the congregation ex- 
 tended a unanimous call to the Rev. Joel Edson Rockwell, of Valatie, 
 N. Y., on the 15th of February, 1847. His installation by the Pres- 
 bytery took place on May 4th, of the same year. The congregation 
 was in much the same condition at this period, that it had been du- 
 ring the time of Dr. Hogarth, — strong and harmonious. They rallied 
 around their new pastor and gave him every token of respect and 
 confidence. We need not dwell upon these latter pastorates, because 
 they are yet fresh in your memory. They can scarcely be considered 
 as legitimate matters of history. 
 
 The labors of Dr. Rockwell closed on the 23d of January, 1851, 
 when he was dismissed by the Presbytery to take charge of the Cen- 
 tral Church, Brooklyn. His ministry was a pleasant and useful one, 
 both to himself and to his people. None of the former pastors have 
 shown a more abiding interest in the congregation than Dr. Rock- 
 well, who has come to rejoice with us on this anniversary occasion. 
 
22 
 
 This is as it should be ; there may be good and sufficient reasons why 
 a minister should be separated from his people, even where the rela- 
 tions between them are of the most pleasant character ; and how pleas- 
 ant it is to revisit them, feeling that he still retains their love and 
 confidence. 
 
 As soon as practicable the congregation took steps to call another 
 pastor. Accordingly a call was made out for the Rev. A. D. Pollock, 
 of Virginia, on the 22d of April, 1852. Mr. Pollock entered upon 
 his labors soon after. The pastorate of this brother was not a long 
 one; it closed some time in the fall of '55. All who knew him unite 
 in testifying to his talent as a preacher and a writer. For freshness 
 and vigor of thought his superior, perhaps, has never appeared in any 
 of the pulpits in this city. His intellect was of a peculiar order, and 
 at times shone with great brilliancy. He is the author of the recent 
 work " Life in the Exode," and still exercises his ministry, though in 
 declining health, in the town of Warrenton, Virginia. 
 
 It was at the close of Mr. Pollock's ministry that the Central 
 Presbyterian Church was organized. A large number of the congre- 
 gation felt it to be their duty to lay the foundation of a new enter- 
 prise. This effort was encouraged by a resolution unanimously passed 
 by the session of Hanover Street Church, approving the separation, 
 and bidding those engaged in it God speed. The history of that en- 
 terprise is familiar to you all. The building now known as the Cen- 
 tral Church, was dedicated to the worship of Almighty God on the 
 10th of November, 1857. 
 
 On the 31st of December, 1855, Rev. Wm. C. Dickinson was 
 chosen pastor. This young brother, however, was never installed. 
 Unwilling to assume the responsibilities of so large a pastoral charge, 
 he remained less than a year. He remained long enough, however, 
 to win the love and esteem of all who knew him, and to attach him- 
 self to the congregation with links of remembrance that shall never 
 be broken. The people parted with him sincerely regretting that he 
 felt it to be his duty to decline their call. The paper which he read 
 from the pulpit, assigning his reasons for this step, has been entered 
 upon the Session Book, as a model of Christian courtesy and candor. 
 
 The Rev. William Aikman, of Newark, N. J., was chosen pastor 
 on the 2d of June, 1857, and was installed October 30th of the same 
 year. The ministry of Mr. Aikman is the longest which this congre- 
 gation has been permitted to enjoy since the days of Dr. Gilbert. It 
 covers a period of eleven years. Of the ministry of Dr. Aikman, it 
 is unnecessary to say much ; his virtues as a man, and his labors as a 
 
23 
 
 pastor are well known, and need no comment at my hands. It is but 
 just to say, however, that the period during which he filled the pulpit 
 of this Church was the most stormy and trying ever known in the 
 history of the Church. During five years of his ministry, the coun- 
 try was involved in a terrible civil war, when there was much excite- 
 ment and much diversity of interest and opinion, making it exceed- 
 ingly difiicult for a minister to discharge his duty to the satisfaction 
 of all parties. " We speak that we do know." Yet, during all this 
 time, Dr. Aikman remained in his place and continued to discharge 
 his duties under a sense of his responsibility to the King and Head of 
 the Church. He was released on the 19th of May, 1868. He now 
 ministers to a Church in the city of Detroit, and sends his regrets that 
 he cannot be with us on this occasion. 
 
 It was during the ministry of Dr. Aikman that Olivet Chapel was 
 built and dedicated. A Sabbath School was organized in the Western 
 part of the city by some members of the congregation, as early as 
 1849. The first sermon in connection with that enterprise was preached 
 by Rev. Wm. W. Taylor. This continued to grow in size and inter- 
 est until it was thought best to plant a church in that locality. Ac- 
 cordingly a neat and commodious chapel was erected at the corner of 
 Chestnut and Adams Streets, and dedicated to the worship of God 
 February 7th, 1864, where the preaching of the gospel has been reg- 
 ulai'ly supplied ever since. At the present time the church and Sab- 
 bath School are doing a good work under the faithful pastorate of 
 Rev. Alfred J. Snyder. 
 
 Immediately after the retirement of Dr. Aikman, a number of 
 persons who had hitherto been connected with Hanover Church, 
 deemed it their duty to withdraw to engage in a new enterprise, and 
 certificates of dismission were granted them for this purpose. These 
 uniting with a number who had already gone out from the Central 
 Church, and with some from the First Presbyterian Church, formed 
 what is now known as the West Church, whose new and beautiful 
 house of worship was dedicated in December last. 
 
 Hume, the historian, says that no one can speak long of himself 
 without being egotistical. My connection with the Church as pastor 
 began in January, 1869. I came among you as a stranger from 
 another branch of the Presbyterian family, and with what measure 
 of success and acceptability my work has been done, it is for you to 
 judge. It is but just to say that I have been most cordially received 
 and treated by the people of my charge. We shall leave it to those 
 who come after to write the history. 
 
24 
 
 The history of every Presbyterian Church is largely the history of 
 its pastors, but we might couple with this statement also, the lives of 
 its elders. It has been the distinction of this Church almost from its 
 beginning to be under the supervision of a faithful corps of elders. 
 In this respect it will not suffer in comparison with any church 
 within our knowledge. The first mention of a meeting of Session oc- 
 curs about 1796; no names however are given. The first election of 
 which we have any account, took place in 1803, when Alex. Fimester 
 and David Harbison were chosen elders. These, together with the 
 names of Dr. George Monro, Mr. James Smith, Mr. Cooke, Watson, 
 Dickson, John Fleming, Matthew Kean, George Jones, Peter Alrich, 
 Thomas Alrich, Jno. B. Porter, Robert Porter, Jno. Patterson, and 
 Wm. Clark, (all now dead and gone,) are familiar to you all, and 
 their record covers a large part of the Church's history. Justice will 
 be done to their memory by another. Of the old members of Ses- 
 sion, but one survives, the Hon. Judge Hall, who has already passed 
 his 90th year. 
 
 The Sabbath School of the Church was organized in 1814, and 
 has been aiming to do its proper work from that time to the present. 
 Time would fail me to speak of the results which it has accomplished. 
 So far as we can learn, it has never had more than five superinten- 
 dents. Quite a number of its former pupils are now engaged in 
 preaching the gospel in this and in other lands. 
 
 Such, in brief, is the history of this venerable Church. It would 
 be impossible in the limits of an ordinary discourse to go more fully 
 into detail. The salient points have all been set before you. Your 
 own recollection will supply much that I have been obliged to omit.' 
 And what means this long and interesting history? Truly, this is a 
 vine of the Lord's planting. We come to-day to bless His guiding, 
 guarding power. These labors of love which cover the wide expanse 
 of a century will never be forgotten. The results of the past are hid 
 with Christ in God, only to appear when we shall appear with Him in 
 glory. It cannot be that so much earnest work; that so many prayers, 
 so many sermons and appeals ; that so much teaching and instruction ; 
 that so much outlay of time, energy, and talent ; it cannot be that 
 all this should go unblest and unrewarded. No! no! "It shall be 
 said that this and that man was born there, and the Highest himself 
 shall establish her." This Church has been blest of God from its 
 beginning until now. You have seen His presence and His power in 
 the sanctuary from time to time. Very little of turmoil or trouble hss 
 marked your past history, as little we believe as can be shown in the 
 
25 
 
 history of any like Church in the land. Those who have been called 
 to take charge of the congregation from time to time, have not been 
 many, considering the age of the Church, and none of these, so far as 
 known, have ever stained their record, or been sej^arated from the 
 Church without leaving substantial results for good behind them. For 
 this we praise God. 
 
 If time would permit, there is much that might be said of the in- 
 fluence of Presbyterianism in the communities where it has flourished, 
 and of its bearing upon the civil and political affairs of our country. 
 It has been, both in this and in other lands, the main bulwark of civil 
 and religious liberty. It is a notorious fact, that in its form it is 
 closely allied with the structure of our civil government. The Revo- 
 lution of 1776, so far as it was affected by religion, was largely a 
 Presbyterian measure. It was the natural result of those principles 
 implanted in her sons by the English Puritans, the Scotch Covenant- 
 ers, the Dutch Calvinists, and the French Huguenots. Our Presbyte- 
 rian ancestry were among the first to set their seal to that immortal 
 document, the Declaration of Independence. Chief Justice Tilghman 
 has remarked that the framers of the United States Constitution 
 borrowed very much of the form of our Republic from that form 
 of church government developed in the constitution of the Presby- 
 terian Church of Scotland. Moreover, Presbyterianism erects around 
 itsself no barrier of exclusiveism ; it unchurches none ; its hands have 
 never been stained with the blood of persecution ; it inscribes upon 
 its banner of truth, forbearance and love ; it welcomes to a fellowship 
 in Christian labor all who " call upon the same Lord, both theirs and 
 ours." We take a just pride therefore in her history, and challenge 
 the respect of all that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. 
 
 In this review of the past we are reminded that our period of op- 
 portunity and service for the Master hastens to a close. Very soon 
 we shall be gathered to the sepulchers of our fathers. These walls 
 will contain us no more. Others will fill these pews, and others will 
 come forward to receive baptism at this altar. Where will be the 
 congregation of to-day a hundred years hence? I hold in my hand 
 a printed roll of the members of this Church in 1831, and should I 
 proceed to call it now, two-thirds of the answers would be a voice 
 from the tomb. For the destiny that awaits us all, there is but one 
 preparation ; the atoning blood of Christ. Seek this and you are 
 safe. Seek this and come joy or sorrow, life lingering long or sud- 
 denly fading away, the Abdiel greeting of a well done thou faithful 
 one, shall be your welcome to the tearless scenes of that city that hath 
 
foundations, where the leaf never withers and the light never fades. 
 Fix your eye upon the cross and the crown, and remember that 
 
 " Not enjoyment and not sorrow 
 Is our destined or way, 
 But to act, that each to-morrow 
 Find us farther than to-day." 
 
 At the closeof the historical address, and after singing " The Lord 
 is King," a brief address was made by Rev. J. P. Conkey, pastor of 
 of the Central Church, in which he said that he was there simply as a 
 representative of Presbyterianism, and to express the sympathy of his 
 Church, in behalf of his congregation, with its progress. He spoke, 
 also, of the sadness connected with the idea of age, but felt assured 
 that Hanover Church had no reason for sadness in the gladness of 
 this anniversary day. Looking forward into the future its record 
 should not be viewed by the century, but on, on and on, down the 
 vista of time. 
 
 We regret that we are unable to present a more extended report 
 of this address, inasmuch as the author has found it inconvenient to 
 furnish us with a manuscript for publication. 
 
REGOLLEOTIONS OF HANOVER 
 STREET CHURCH. 
 
 BY REV. WM. W. TAYLOR. 
 
 " / was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the 
 Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, Jerusalem. Whither 
 the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, to give thanks unto the name of 
 the Lord. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem ; they shall prosper that 
 love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. 
 For my brethren and companion's sake, I will now say: Peace be within 
 thee ! Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good." 
 Ps. cxxii. 
 
 I would have you expect nothing from these " Recollections'" but 
 just what the word naturally indicates ; nor let it be a drawback on 
 your interest, that I come not down to the modern days of this sanc- 
 tuary, but date back fifty years, and linger around the old, original 
 building, where Hanover Street Church lived when it was called the 
 Second Church. 
 
 It is still standing on the old spot. Fifth and Walnut, and you 
 may see its stony material and thick walls, though now enlarged over 
 its original size and shape. At first it was square, and I used to hear 
 people say it had been used as a stable by the British, in the Revolu- 
 tionary War, when it was probably in an unfinished state ; at least it 
 needed some repairs after they were done with it. The pulpit was 
 placed on the west side, fitted only for one Preacher at a time, with a 
 small enclosure at its foot, shut in on the front with a railing ; a brick 
 paved aisle running in front, North and South, and another shooting 
 at right angles to this, going Eastward to accommodate a large door, 
 set in the East wall, the only way of incoming and outgoing. This 
 was a large two-leafed circular-topped door, the inside fastening con- 
 sisting of long iron bolts, shooting into grooves at the top, with shorter 
 ones at the bottom ; which I have good reason to be acquainted with, 
 
28 
 
 and to remember from a somewhat unpleasant and alarming occur- 
 rence. On one lecture or prayer meeting night, Wednesday or Friday, 
 when I was a lad of seven or eight, my youthful piety took me to the 
 service, but did not keep me from going to sleep. In company with a 
 much older person, Sammy Young, I had taken my seat in the gallery, 
 whilst everybody else was below, who, at the close of the* service, very 
 properly left the house and went home, not seeing, for there was no 
 gas in the Church, nor dreaming that two of the worshippers, prob- 
 ably in that condition, were up stairs. I wakened first, and coming 
 to a sense of my condition, lost no time in rousing my companion, 
 and together we groped our way down to the door and so escaped ; 
 and this is about the first time I have ever confessed to the sin of 
 sleeping in Church. 
 
 How they heated the house in those days I do not remember, or 
 whether any attempts were made, but I can almost see old John An- 
 derson, the sexton, or his poor idiot son, bringing coals in a foot stove 
 for some of the old ladies, every Sabbath morning. 
 
 A gallery was built on three sides of the Church, as high as the 
 pulpit, furnished with one row of large square pews all around, having 
 entrance from a little aisle running around the inside of the wall, 
 and finished in front with an open breastwork, made of little turned 
 rods. Right opposite the pulpit, in the gallery, was the pew of old 
 Capt. Geddes and family ; on the right of pulpit was my father's pew, 
 shared by the family of Mr. Johnston ; the adjoining pew being occu- 
 pied by the Kirkpatrick's. The pews below were long, rather than 
 square, with straight high backs. 
 
 About 1820, the old building was enlarged by advancing the 
 North wall fifteen or twenty feet, into its present size and shape, 
 when a complete transformation was made in pews, pulpit, galleries, 
 and doors, the old windows probably remaining as they had been, on 
 account of the solidity of the walls. 
 
 This was thought to be an important event, and a large work 
 among us young folks, who paid our visits from time to time, to enjoy 
 both the demolition and the reconstruction, and I suppose the same 
 views of the importance of the improvement were entertained by the 
 old people. The usual history of such movements, in the conflict of 
 opinion, whether the old building was not sufficient, and the enlarge- 
 ment extravagantly great as to the mode of finishing and furnishing, 
 with the probable expense and the ways and means of raising the 
 funds might doubtless be written, but I recollect nothing, but that 
 everybody that I knew was engaged in it. The elders would go to su- 
 
29 
 
 perintend the work and tell stories, and the older boys were ready at 
 the time of plastering to sit up all night and keep the fires going, to 
 facilitate the drying. 
 
 One of these stories which I heard from my brother-in-law, Thomas 
 C. Alrich, long afterwards, had respect to some one, who, in relating 
 any matter, had the habit of closing every period by rubbing his 
 hands and saying, " So far, so good." Well, the sight of scaffolding 
 reminded him of an accident that had happened to some acquaint- 
 ance, who, in climbing or working, lost his balance and fell to the 
 ground and broke his leg ; at which point of the story forward come 
 the hands rubbing with the bland expression, " So far, so good." 
 
 About the same time that the Church was enlarged, a new lecture 
 room, then called a conference room, was built on Queen, now Fifth 
 Street, adjoining the Church, but some years ago it was removed, and 
 the the spot is now occupied with dwelling houses. 
 
 The conference room was brick, having one entrance, in the mid- 
 dle of the wall on Fifth Street, and another door on the opposite side 
 of the house, opening into the back yard. The room was commodious, 
 plastered, and painted white, and furnished with benches with com- 
 fortable backs ; having a platform on the West end, with a little square 
 recess in the East end wall, made, we boys understood, for a clock, 
 but I do not remember that the clock ever got there ; and a little 
 square opening in the ceiling for a ventilator excited much curiosity. 
 This house was used for religious service through the week, and also 
 for the Sabbath School, and I have no recollection of attending Sab- 
 bath School anywhere else. 
 
 Mr. James Simpson, a shoemaker, living what was then out Front 
 Street, and a most worthy man, was the only teacher I can call to 
 mind, and elder Robt. Porter was the Superintendent, assisted by Mrs. 
 Anna Maria Jones, then Mrs. McMullen, Miss Maria Smith, Miss 
 Catharine Ocheltree, Mrs. Gilbert, and the Misses Munro. To this 
 day I can recall an exhortation made to the School, by Mr. Porter, 
 who urged us to be moral and regular in all our ways, not because 
 good habits of themselves would save us, but would keep us in a po- 
 sition where we would be more likely to receive the converting grace 
 of God's spirit, which I have often thought of as an important con- 
 sideration. 
 
 On another occasion, I remember some stranger, a gentleman, ad- 
 dressing us, by which my feelings were greatly moved, but I am sorry 
 to say such a sense of shame came over me for the tears I shed, that 
 before going into Church I went to a pump standing over on Walnut 
 
30 
 
 Street, and still there, to wash the marks from my eyes and face. Our 
 boyish sense of propriety, at this time, was much shocked by seeing 
 Solis, a Jew, at the corner of Hanover and French streets, clarifying 
 quills and cleaning windows on the Sabbath day. 
 
 In those days our Sabbath School labors were rewarded with tick- 
 ets, blue and red, four blue securing one red, and four of these pur- 
 chasing a religious tract, every twenty-four tracts being bound for us 
 by the Superintendent into a handsome volume, and how many of 
 themjl became master of, memory fails to recall. 
 
 I fancy I saw old Rev. Dr. Read, the predecessor of Rev. Dr. Gil- 
 bert, once at least, as he officiated in the Church, and once at a wed- 
 ding in my father's house. When he died, I was a boy of twelve, at- 
 tending school in a large, gray stone academy, then standing back of 
 Market Street,on the East side, between what are now Eighth and Ninth 
 streets, and taught by Mr. Allstou. He was buried inside the brick 
 Church, on the grounds of the First Church, still standing on the 
 corner of Tenth and Market, and when the ground was opened before 
 the funeral, I entered the building, leaving our play ground for that 
 purpose, and looked down most seriously into the open grave, and I 
 earnestly wished I was to lie there, provided I could have his place in 
 the better world, which I had no doubt was his glorious dwelling place. 
 
 The Rev. Eliphalet W. Gilbert was the pastor of the Church and 
 the minister of the word, about whose ministrations my memory is 
 most completely drawn, from my earliest days, to whom my heart 
 warmly and justly clings, with fond aijd grateful tribute, for through 
 his preaching I was brought, as I hope, to Christ, then into the 
 Church, and my feet helped into the ministry. 
 
 Dr. Gilbert was born in New York State, and educated in the- 
 ology at Princeton. He was a great reader of books, of which he 
 would master a volume a week. He did not, however, take time to write 
 his sermons, but commenced preparation for Sabbath on Thursday and 
 preached extemporaneously without notes in the pulpit and without 
 writing much, if any, in his study. He lived to regret that he had 
 not preserved his thoughts on paper, as I heard him say, when he was 
 pastor of Western Presbyterian Church, in Philadelphia, where he died 
 in the Summer of '52 or '53. He possessed a fine mind, well culti- 
 vated and furnished. He was an excellent sermonizer, a good preacher 
 and scholar, and a man of influence ; well established in the love and 
 reverence of his people, leaving his post at Hanover Street Church, 
 at his own prompting, to become President of Delaware College, at 
 Newark ; which, however, he left and returned to his pulpit, — which 
 
31 
 
 a second time he relinquished to resume the Presidency ; this resigna- 
 tion of the College being occasioned by its having accepted a lottery 
 scheme to raise funds. Dr. Gilbert visited his people, but in a formal 
 manner. 
 
 I remember him from very early days, more vividly by his favorite 
 gesture, than the words he said, as he would throw out his arms, 
 bending them in the shape of a W., and when he wound up with some 
 remarks, he would introduce the conclusion by saying, " If these 
 things be true," so and so follows. This gives a good idea of the 
 logical character of his mind at the same time that it expresses his 
 candor and modesty ; for he entertained no doubt of the Scripture 
 doctrines he preached, but only of his own argumentative powers. 
 Our pastor's shutting up the Bible was a signal of bringing his re- 
 marks to a close. 
 
 Our dear old Church has, ever since ray recollection, possessed a 
 stout bench of Elders ; of whom, in old times, I can recall Robert 
 Porter, John Fleming, Matthew Kean, Thos. C. Alrich, David Har- 
 beson, and George Jones ; Judge Hall and Wm. Clark coming in at 
 a later day ; and of later members of Session, I need not remind you. 
 
 Mr. Porter died in the year 1839, and a published sermon of Dr. 
 Gilbert's occasioned by the event was forwarded to me, in which ha 
 was compared wiih the old High Priest Jehoiada, in the time of Joash, 
 King of Judah ; the verse eulogizing him forming the text : that he 
 had done good in Israel, both toward God and toward his house, for 
 which they buried him in the City of David among the Kings, and 
 this was true of Mr. Porter. 2 Chron. xxiv. 
 
 I felt very warmly towards Elder Matthew Kean, and Mr. Alrich 
 I loved like a brother, as indeed he was. I loved, because I knew 
 him, and the longer I knew him, and the more I saw him, the stronger 
 grew my respect and affection. He was a man of prayer and main- 
 tained a high example of piety. Years did not harden his character 
 and make his heart sharp and angular, but matured him into a mellow 
 ripeness, that showed a preparation for that glory into which he was 
 suddenly drawn, dying in Philadelphia, under a midnight summons, 
 in the Spring of 1865. 
 
 Besides the Elders, the Church was blessed in early times with 
 many earnest, believing, and praying Christians, male and female, 
 that set others in motion and became the channel of divine blessing 
 to many, of whom a few names have been given. At one time it 
 would seem there was no christian physician in the Church, nor per- 
 haps in the community, when this praying band of ladies selected a 
 
32 
 
 young man, Dr. Thomas, and made him the subject of their earnest 
 and successful prayers. 
 
 The same was true of a young editor, Mr. Wm. Mendenhall, of 
 the Wilmingtonian, who long lived an exemplary Christian. 
 
 Many old names could I recall, as David C. Wilson, and Allen 
 Thompson, the Geddeses, Porters, Hamiltons, Sellars, Hendricksons, 
 McClurgs, Joneses, Cochranes, Mahaffys, Pattersons, Bushs, Moodys, 
 Monroes, and Smiths, old Mr. Hogg, Guyers, Hendricks, McClarys, 
 and Browns. 
 
 I can just remember the death of old Dr. Smith, which was the 
 occasion of great perplexity to my reasoning powers, how a doctor 
 could die ; that the physician, who was called in to give me pills and 
 jalap, on which I quickly recovered, did not heal himself. 
 
 Old Mr. Hendrickson was a fine looking, large made man, tall and 
 broad, the cast and complexion of his face reminding you of what a 
 real Swede should be, and who was proably a descendant of that race, 
 who are ranked among the original settlers of Delaware. 
 
 Since my mind has been called to think back, in preparation for 
 these Recollections, a sentiment lodges and presses upon my reflections, 
 like this: The large beneficence and wise outlay of means, in building 
 a church edifice where it is needed, and organizing a Church of Christ. 
 
 A church's life may be like that of one of the old Patriarchs, the 
 first century only bringing it through its infancy, that shall continue 
 through the days of Heaven, flourishing like trees of righteousness ; 
 its blessed history symboled by the clambering and flowering plant, 
 that holds on and propagates its life from year to year, in growing 
 strength and spreading verdure. If old Hanover is a true sample of 
 all, how long they last, and what a source of blessing of the richest 
 type and largest measure do they become ? 
 
 And are not we believers who have come up to this celebration, or 
 dwell here and round about, ready to say of our spiritual mother, 
 " The Lord bless thee out of Zion," being ready to give thanks to God 
 for those who laid these foundations, material and spiritual, and have 
 since sustained them ? 
 
 The old organization still lives and flourishes, though dwelling 
 under another and more commodious roof. The First Church has 
 been resuscitated out of its roots, and its branches have been spread 
 in the shape of the Central, the Olivet, and the West. 
 
 For a century the gospel of our Lord Jesus has been preached, 
 and the light thereby maintained against outside error ; morality has 
 been cherished with the virtues that make communities quiet, orderly, 
 
33 
 
 and prosperous, besides the saving grace, that in every generation, and 
 from year to year, has found its way to dead consciences and worldly 
 hearts, to give hope, sanctity, and joy ; to enter the household and 
 take hold even of the children's minds ; sanctifying the scenes of care 
 and affliction ; making the early death in the family a treasure of 
 good ; preparing and lifting over into the kingdom of God, our 
 brother, our sister, our father, our dear departed mother ; for this has 
 been a living Church, marked by revivals, with praying hearts and 
 working hands, acting as a fountain that sends forth sweet and life- 
 giving waters. 
 
 In my early boyhood days I recall a time of excitement in the 
 Church, that affected young and old. We young persons held prayer 
 meetings among ourselves, and exhorted one another to hold on. We 
 were sent round by the older ones to collect missionary money, furnished 
 with little cards, on which was printed, " God loveth the cheerful 
 giver ; " Freely ye have received, freely give," and similar passages 
 of scripture. How many were received into the Church at this revi- 
 val, I do not know, but some of us younger were taken under the 
 care of the Session. I thought myself a christian at that time, but I 
 am now persuaded otherwise, for I fell away greatly, and had no deep 
 convictions of sin. I still recall to memory a young man, an active 
 member of the Church in those days, by the name of McCall, who 
 tried to help us on. In the work of the revival, our pastor, Mr. Gil- 
 bert, had assistance from the Princeton theological students, one of 
 whom, the late Dr. Henry Ludlow, was quite effective. An exhorta- 
 tion from him, which must have been delivered in the old unaltered 
 Church, I have never lost from my recollections, as he spoke of Noah 
 building the ark and warning his fellows of what would come, when the 
 graphic young preacher made the sound of every hammer stroke as 
 it fell upon the nail-head, resound and enforce the Patriarch's cry, 
 Prepare to meet thy God ! 
 
 The revival of the Winter and Spring of 1827, is most memorable 
 to me, when the same faithful Church members were abundant in 
 their labors, and the pastor was again helped by young Princeton 
 men, among whom were a Mr. Eastman and Mr. Hervey, who after- 
 wards went to India as a Missionary, and died there of cholera ; Rev. 
 Mr. Danforth, of New Castle, Dr. Skinner, of Philadelphia, old Dr. 
 Dickey, and probably other neighboring ministers also assisted. With 
 the state of the Church immediately before this revival, and the means 
 to bring it forward, I am unacquainted. I probably was not aware 
 of what was going on among the good people, till ray attention was 
 
34 
 
 arrested by a sermon of the pastor's, and my fears of God's anger for 
 my sins vividly awakened thereby, on Sabbath, February 4, 1827, 
 and I could, perhaps, point out the very seat I occupied in the old 
 edifice, as I could certainly tell the text used on that Sabbath day, so 
 blessed to me. " I pray thee have me excused." 
 
 I strangely lost my impressions upon stepping outside the door of 
 the Church after the morning service, but they returned the next Mon- 
 day evening with great pungency, and I was numbered among the 
 anxious and prayerful, until I found hope in Christ. Christian friends 
 came around me to counsel and urge me. Mr. Alrich encouraged me 
 by the thought that I might be the means of winning many souls. 
 Mr Hervey sought me behind the counter, where I was for the time 
 employed, and Mrs. Anna M. Jones put into my hands Doddridge's 
 Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul, by the reading of which I 
 seemed to be led, step by step, into the kingdom of God. Upon find- 
 ing relief, my emotions at first were not very vivid ; I hoped that God 
 had heard my incessant prayers, and christians appeared like friends, 
 but the reading of the Scriptures, especially the New Testament, soon 
 led me into the sweetest fields of thought and feeling. Christ was in 
 my heart, and I knew that I had never known happiness before. 
 
 During the period of my convictions my whole previous life ap- 
 peared but one lengthened sin, because I had never acted from a sense 
 of God's glory, but Jesus cleansed my sins away ; I needed no arguments 
 to convince me of original sin and total depravity, for I saw it in my 
 own heart, yet Christ, the second Adam, stood in my, behalf, against 
 all the evil wrought by the first, unto whose service in the ministry, 
 from the first I devoted myself. 
 
 I have allowed my own experience in this revival to be made so 
 prominent in these recollections, because it may give a true recital of 
 what happened to many others at the same time, for on the commu- 
 nion Sabbath, that gathered in the fruits of the work, thirty-seven 
 stood up to together to take the vows of God. 
 
 Those who approached me in christian love doubtless labored for 
 others, and the same good work that was wrought of God for me, made 
 many others glad. I now renewed my acquaintance with the Sabbath 
 School and became a teacher of little boys, the Superintendent at this 
 time being, probably, Mr. Belknap, a school teacher. 
 
 In connection with the revival, our meetings in the conference 
 room were frequent through the week, at night, and were seasons of 
 great interest and religious ardor. There was much singing and ex- 
 hortation, and the trouble many a time of our pastor was to get the 
 
35 
 
 people to break up and go home. He was much afraid of anything 
 bordering on the irregular, and ten o'clock was an hour__beyond which 
 he did not feel easy to stay ; but as fast [as he dismissed them the 
 fragmentary parts would heal up for further exercises, and this would 
 happen again and again. 
 
 Nor shall I ever forget a certain evening when 'a young convert 
 besought her sister to come to Jesus, throwing her arms about her, 
 hanging on her neck and crying, " do, sister, do ;" " do, sister, do 
 come !" with a paroxysm of importunity, love, and gushing tears. 
 For my own part, such was my interest that I was impatient for the 
 meeting time, and literally ran through the streets to the dear confer- 
 ence room, and to show the earnestness of others in the great work, 
 I heard at the time of two young women who were so engaged that 
 they determined not to sleep on a certain night till they had found 
 the Saviour, and before the morning light they rejoiced in the light of 
 His countenance. 
 
 The young Princeton brethren were desirous of bringing out the 
 young converts to take a part in the services, and one evening I was 
 invited, and perhaps urged to mount the little platform and say some- 
 thing about my feelings. I felt that I was among friends and had no 
 fear, but by the time I stood up and faced the room full, they proved 
 too many for me, and I could not speak a word ; the moisture of my 
 tongue was entirely dried up, and the tongue clave to the roof of my 
 mouth, nor could I even move my jaws, and there remained nothing 
 for me but to leave the platform and sit down ; yet I had no sense of 
 shame, I thought I had tried my best ; I could not do worse, and 
 hoped I would do better the next time, and indeed I did speak shortly 
 afterward, I hope to edification. 
 
 In connection with this revival a young men's prayer meeting was 
 established and held Sabbath evening's before Church, in the confer- 
 ence room, and missionary labors, in the shape of Sabbath Schools, 
 and prayer meetings, and tours of tract distribution on Sabbath after- 
 noons were entered upon, in Brandywine village, and in other direc- 
 tions and up the Brandywine, in which excursions I was permitted to 
 take a part, in company with Judge Hall, Thomas Mahaffy, and others. 
 
 At the communion in the Spring of 1827, to which I have referred, 
 many united with the Church whose names I have forgotten, and of 
 whom I have known little or nothing for many years. Judge Hall, I 
 believe united at that time, and Thomas McCorkle, my brother James 
 Alexander Taylor, James Porter, son of Alexander Porter, Archibald 
 Robertson, a Mr. W. Hendrickson, Miss Margaret Bowers, and Miss 
 
36 
 
 Frances Thompson. The pastor's house on French Street above Sev- 
 enth, seemed then out of town. 
 
 I am quite sure Rev. Mr. Danforth was present on this communion 
 Sabbath, but Dr. Skinner, then of Philadelphia, preached the sermon, 
 whose text was the language of the crucified thief: "Lord, remember 
 me !" That Sabbath night, after the services, as we lingered in the 
 sanctuary, James A. Taylor, James Porter, long since Capt. Porter of 
 the merchant service, and myself were standing together when Dr. 
 Skinner, after conversing with us, expressed the desire that he might 
 know, after ten years, that we held on in the good way. 
 
 I hope this is the case with us all, my dear brother having been 
 for many years an Elder in the Presbyterian Church, but Captain 
 Porter, though living, I have seen but once or twice since that day. 
 How many have passed away since my recollections have dated them- 
 selves ! embracing all of that generation, of whom the Church has 
 been the nurse, through Christ's grace, training up sons and daughters 
 for glory, and introducing them into the kingdom of God ; and how 
 few remain, lingering but ready to pass over ! Some, who were of my 
 own age are still among you, and of the older, Judge Hall, you still 
 hold, and Mrs. Hall, Miss Martha Kirkpatrick, the Misses Hamilton, 
 Miss Harbeson, and others with whose names I am not so familiar. 
 Mr. Enoch Thomas, a convert, accompanied me to Andover, Massa- 
 chusetts, to fit for College, both having the ministry in view, whom I 
 had hoped to meet after years of separation, with others who went 
 forth into the ministry, and the dear ex-pastors, only one of whom is 
 present on this animating occasion. 
 
 In conclvsion, I profess my warmest love for this Church, and give 
 thanks to God continually for throwing me, in my early days, by His 
 wondrous providence, under its sacred influence, and for inspiring the 
 brethren and sisters of the Church in years gone by, with so much love 
 for our souls, and giving them so eminently the spirit of grace and 
 supplications. 
 
 And if one, long ago of you, and still so in heart, but of late 
 years not much among you, may give an exhortation to the Church, 
 it is this; the faith of those who have gone before you, /o^fow ; hold to 
 their love of souls and love of revivals, devise liberal things, expect 
 great things, attempt great things, be forward in every department of 
 Christ's work, nor wait for others, but take the lead, as is your pre- 
 rogative and privilege, and continue to be the mother examplar to all, 
 the children you have sent forth ; by your Godliness to cherish ours ; 
 by your light to guide us, in every good word and work. 
 
THE EVENTS OP THE CENTURY. 
 
 BY REV. J. E. ROCKWELL, D. D. 
 
 No one century, perhaps, since the Christian Church was established 
 has had a record so full of marked and important events as that which 
 has passed since this Church was organized. Changes which have 
 hitherto been the growth of ages, and revolutions which have altered 
 the whole face of society, have been accomplished in a day, and as 
 by the stroke of the enchanter. 
 
 One Hundred Years ago! We look back to that period, and 
 think with wonder how events that are now matters of history, were 
 then beyond the wildest visions of philosophers, patriots, and sages. 
 
 The awful solitudes of the heathen world were as yet unbroken 
 by the voice of the living teacher. Mighty bulwarks of darkness, 
 ignorance, and superstition stood as apparently insurmountable bar- 
 riers to the gospel. Italy, Spain, Austria, and the South American 
 States were under the complete dominion of papal superstition, that 
 bade defiance to all efforts to bring their people to a knowledge of the 
 truths as preached by Paul, and re-echoed by Luther, Calvin, and 
 Knox. Turkey, Egypt, Arabia, and the Holy Land were under the 
 dark and cruel power of Mohammedan imposture, that would brook 
 no attempt to offer to its devotees the doctrines of salvation by the 
 cross of Christ. India, China, and Japan, were closed to all efforts 
 to teach their benighted millions a purer religion than that of Bud- 
 dha, or Confucius, or Brahma. The vast regions of our now teem- 
 ing West were as yet unvisited by the advancing tread of modern 
 civilization. The wealth of the Pacific was yet unknown. Our 
 mighty rivers and lakes, and the mighty waters of the ocean had 
 not yet quivered under the dash of the swift steamer. The world had 
 not dreamed of our modern appliances of locomotion, that are now 
 carrying population to regions that were but lately the home of the 
 wild beast and the red man of the forest. 
 
 This Church began its life just as the stirring scenes of which we 
 
38 
 
 are to speak were commencing. America was about to throw off its 
 allegiance to the old world, and begin a new and more brilliant era as 
 a separate and independent nationality. The great mass of the people 
 were undergoing those preliminary agitations, which were to result in 
 the union of the Colonies — the Declaration of Independence, and the 
 war of the Revolution, in which the citizens of this State were to have 
 no unimportant part. Almost within the hearing of the people of 
 Wilmington was fought one of the memorable battles of that eventful 
 struggle. On the night which preceded it, Washington sat in his 
 tent near Stanton, doubtful as to the safest route for his army to 
 take, and unable to obtain from his officers any well defined outline of 
 tbe roads leading across the State; one of his staff suggested the name 
 of Dr. Read, then at Newark, and afterward the honored pastor of 
 this Church, as one most likely to give him the desired information. 
 The officer was directed to bring him to the camp as speedily as pos- 
 sible. Long before morning the Doctor was with Washington, draw- 
 ing out a map of tbe country. Following his directions, the army 
 crossed the State, and the next day met the British troops upon the 
 banks of the Brandywine. 
 
 It was in the midst of these exciting scenes, and in such troublous 
 times that the walls of this Zion were built. The very names which 
 we meet with in history, one hundred years ago, will suggest many of 
 the events which mark this century. 
 
 Hume, Rousseau, and Voltaire were preparing the way by their 
 infidel literature for the scenes of the French Revolution and its re- 
 sultant influences. Carnot, St. Just, and Robespierre were busy fo- 
 menting those terrible passions that were to make the close of the 
 eighteenth century so fearfully memorable. The first Napoleon was 
 a child of four years, when this Church was beginning its peaceful 
 mission. Blackstone was writing his great commentaries on the laws 
 of England, that are still the instructor and guide of jurists. Hunter 
 was making his memorable discoveries in physiology. Dr. Samuel 
 Johnson was sending forth his magnificent thoughts, that are still an 
 important and brilliant part of English classical literature. Burke, 
 and Pitt, and Fox, and Sheridan, were electrifying the British nation 
 by their fervid eloquence. Howard was doing his noble work as a 
 philanthi'opist, and awakening the attention of the world to the suffer- 
 ing, and devising plans for their relief. Sir Joshua Reynolds and 
 Benj. West were preparing for themselves an immortality of fame by 
 their works of art. Wesley was working out grand and much needed 
 reforms in the Church. America was everywhere feeling the result 
 
39 
 
 of the labors of Whitefield, who had died two years before at New- 
 buryport, but who, though dead, was yet speaking. 
 
 As we look over a century filled with the influences of such men, 
 we hardly know where to begin our enumeration of the events which 
 claim our attention. The philosopher would seize upon those facts 
 that illustrate most clearly the progress of science. The politician 
 would look at the mighty changes which have been wrought among 
 the peoples and governments of the world. The economist would pre- 
 sent a vast amount of facts that show the mighty progress made in 
 art, science, agriculture, and social and commercial life. But the 
 christian grouping all these together as only means to a more glori- 
 ous end, would see with wonder and gratitude how God has been using 
 them all in his wondrous providence, for his own glory, for the spread 
 of the everlasting gospel, the upbuilding of his Church, and the 
 growth and enlargement of his kingdom. Look where we may, we see 
 in every revolution and event an illustration of the truth that the 
 only proper light in which to read history, is that which God's word 
 and providence sheds upon it, as connected with the fulfilment of his 
 great purposes of redemption and grace. All the vast changes 
 which have been wrought in the social and political world have been 
 preparatory to some more important advance of the Church toward 
 its final victory over the enemies of God and the Lamb. Inventions 
 and improvements have trod upon the heel, the one of the other, only 
 to prepare the way for some other revolution in the social world, 
 whose resultant influence should be seen in the advance of the Church 
 of God to some new stage in its progress, or some new vantage ground 
 in its conflicts with error and sin, or some fresh victory over its great 
 enemies. 
 
 The perfection of the steam engine by Watt, in 1774, was the pre- 
 paratory step to an entire revolution in the commercial world, that 
 was to link the most distant nations into a common brotherhood, and 
 divest the ocean of half its terrors and perils. 
 
 The invention of the spinning jenny, by Arkwright, was the 
 dawn of a new era in manufactures. The discoveries of Galvani 
 were the first important steps in the progress of science and art to- 
 ward the crowning wonder of the age, the magnetic telegraph. All 
 these changes, begun and completed in a single century, have opened 
 new fields for the Church, and have given it new appliances for carry- 
 ing on its work, and preaching the gospel to every creature. 
 
 Never has any one century seen so many vast changes begun and 
 completed as that whose events we are recalling. There is not a nav- 
 
40 
 
 igable river or lake in the civilized world that has not its system of 
 steamers carrying with them population and wealth, and opening new 
 fields of successful labor to the multitudes that are seeking to subdue 
 the Earth to the behests of our race. 
 
 Scarcely a generation has passed since the first railroad was built, 
 and now the whole world seems bound together by these vast links of 
 iron, and the ponderous engine, dragging after it countless treasures 
 of life and commerce, moves without hindrance from the Lakes to the 
 Gulf of Mexico, and from the Atlantic coast to the waters of the 
 Pacific. While to complete the grand ideas of physical life, the elec- 
 tric wires, that are the nerves of the great system, cover this conti- 
 nent with a vast network, and even beneath the ocean are thrilling 
 with thought, and bearing over the world messages of love and peace, 
 and records of mighty revolutions, or ministering to the behests of 
 Commerce, of Science, and of Government, As an essential aid to 
 civilization great improvements have been made in printing, by which 
 the diffusion of knowledge has been immensely increased, and yet all 
 these advances and revolutions have been but the preparatory pro- 
 cesses for a still greater work in the extension and enlargement of the 
 Church. 
 
 What a succession of wonders has been witnessed during the last 
 century. How marvellously God has been carrying on his work in 
 the world. What stupendous changes, wrought out by the Truth, 
 have been everywhere going on. With what celerity have ideas 
 sprung into life, and become clothed with form, and body, and power. 
 How emphatic and marked has been the progress of the world in 
 all its highest and noblest interests. Science has sounded the depths 
 of the ocean ; brought its solemn mysteries to light ; discovered the 
 laws which regulate its currents ; analyzed the storms which sweep its 
 surface, and taught the sailor how to evade their influence, or warned 
 him of their approach. Human enterprise has boldly entered the 
 awful solitudes and icy portals of the Polar seas ; has explored the 
 interior of Africa, so long an unknown region ; disemboweled the 
 earth of its treasures, and revealed to the devout student of nature 
 the wonders of the heavens. 
 
 Russia has been shorn of her military glory at Sebastopol, but has 
 yet made wonderful strides in civilization by releasing millions of serfs 
 from bondage, and investing them with the rights of citizens. Austria 
 has shaken off" the shackles of a fearful despotism, and awakened to a 
 new life. China and Japan have opened to the world their commerce 
 and their busy ports. Wonderful discoveries have been made in Cen- 
 
41 
 
 tral Asia, which have thrown fresh light upon Revelation, while busy 
 scholars^have been reading the marbles of Egypt, Assyria, and Baby- 
 lon, and confirming thus the histories and prophecies of the word of 
 God. 
 
 It were idle to attempt the enumeration of events so numerous and 
 so important. We can only arrange in three general classes, among 
 which we place. 
 
 First. Those changes that have been connected with the removal 
 of obstacles to the spread of the gospel. 
 
 For long ages the great adversary to God and his Church has 
 entrenched himself behind fortresses that seemed impregnable. In 
 China, Japan, India, Central Europe, and Southern America, stood up 
 mighty walls of Heathenism, Mohammedanism and corrupt forms of 
 Christianity that appeared to bar all progress of the true gospel. 
 There stood India with her teeming millions, all under the power of 
 grand but false systems of religion, that would admit no light from 
 God's word to shine upon them. But England wanted India for her 
 commerce, and entered and took possession, and the Church followed 
 in her wake upon its peaceful and blessed mission, and sent in its ser- 
 vants to open to the millions of that country the blessings of the gos- 
 pel. Commerce made its way by war and subsequent treaties to China, 
 without a thought of aiding the Church in her work. But devoted 
 missionaries, headed by Morrison, and Gutylaff, and Abeel, followed 
 with the gospel, and its attendant blessings. And so Japan, long 
 closed against the Church, has thrown down her barriers and sent forth 
 her young men to learn the great lesson of Christian civilization from 
 England and America. A series of wonderful revolutions amid the 
 islands of the Pacific, broke the hold of idolatry upon the minds*of 
 of the people even before the living teacher came, and so the mis- 
 sionary found the way prepared for the gospel. Thus, wherever we 
 turn we find that the barriers of Heathen superstition have been broken 
 down, and a great and effectual door is opened through which the 
 Church may enter for its work of preaching the gospel to every 
 creature. 
 
 And so too the strength of Islamism is weakening and waning. 
 Some of its strong holds have become subject to christian powers. 
 Greece struggled to be free, and in her successful conflict struck a 
 blow at Turkey, that palsied her arm, and now she exists only by the 
 sufferances of Europe. Egypt is a weak and effete nation. Africa is 
 open to the gospel, and the Arab is waiting for the dawning light. 
 Commerce and civilization have in all these nations been breaking 
 
42 
 
 down the barriers that have long resisted the progress of the 
 truth. 
 
 And so it is with the Papal Church. Its political power is waning, 
 and its ability to interrupt or embarrass the work of evangelizing the 
 world is largely destroyed. Its inquisitions are destroyed ; its control 
 over monarchs and princes weakened. France desired to be free, 
 and though mistaking the way to true liberty, and wading through 
 troubled seas of blood and revolution, she yet struck a deadly blow 
 at the papacy and gave to her people a taste of religious freedom. 
 By a wonderful train of providences the way has been preparing for 
 the progress of the gospel and protestantism in Mexico and South 
 America. Wars and revolutions and commercial schemes have been 
 the instruments of removing obstacles which seemed almost hopelessly 
 to prevent all efforts at giving to these nations the written word of 
 God, and the instructions of christian pastors and teachers. And more 
 wonderful than all has been the chain of events by which the power 
 of the papacy has been broken in Italy and Austria. Napoleon in his 
 insane attempts to become the arbiter of Europe, if not of the world, 
 is an exile from his country ; his array shattered ; his bayonets with- 
 drawn from Rome, and Protestant Germany has risen to be the de- 
 fender of liberty and the oppressed. Victor Emanuel holds his court 
 in Rome under the shadow of the Vatican, where the Pope is his own 
 prisoner, uttering childish anathemas and silly bulls, which even his 
 own priests and bishops no longer fear, and despite which they are 
 seeking to purify the Catholic faith, while the Bible and the protest- 
 ant Church have every where free course among the people. Even in 
 Spain wonderful revolutions have removed out of the way obstacles to 
 to the truth, and have broken up the influence of the papacy as it has 
 been hitherto felt through the government ; so that this ancient home 
 of the fearful and bloody inquisition now welcomes the Bible and the 
 preaching of the gospel, and witnesses the establishment of Churches 
 framed after the apostolic model, with bishops set over each congrega- 
 tion, and ordained to their work by the laying on of the hands of the 
 Presbytery. 
 
 These are some of the wonderful systems of Providence, by which 
 the great obstacles that were opposing the progress of the gospel when 
 this century began, have been removed out of the way. Human 
 agencies have been used, which at the time seemed to have no 
 connection with the work. Nations and Monarchs, and commercial 
 institutions were seeking their own ends and purposes. Wars and rev- 
 olutions were regarded as merely the human outworkings of some great 
 
48 
 
 political principle; but God was overruling all and preparing the way 
 for his Church to enter upon its great work of preaching the gospel to 
 every creature. 
 
 Second. And this leads us to notice as a second group of events, 
 those which have been immediately connected with the development 
 of modern missions. In 1789, William Gary proposed in a meeting 
 of ministers to consider the duty of the Church to send the gospel to 
 the heathen, and was for his proposition looked upon as a wild vis- 
 ionary. Yet four years after, the Baptist Missionary Society was or- 
 ganized, and its establishment was followed by the formation of the 
 London and Scotch Societies three years after. From that time the 
 Church began to awake to its great work of sending the gospel to a 
 dying world ; and the close of the eighteenth century and the first 
 quarter of this witnessed the uprising of God's people for the conquest 
 of the world to Christ. The organization of mission and kindred socie- 
 ties are the grand events of the century. To the American christian 
 the year 1810 will be memorable as the birth year of the Board of 
 Commissioners for foreign missions. The laborers which they sent 
 forth needed the printed page to aid them in their work, and hence 
 arose Bible societies in Europe and America, which have sent forth 
 one hundred millions of copies of the word of God. They needed a 
 sanctified literature, and then came tract and other religious publica- 
 tion societies. They needed more laborers in the field, and education 
 societies were formed. Africa needed christian men and women, and the 
 Colonization Society arose. They needed religious instructions for the 
 young, and Sabbath Schools sprang into life, when Robert Raikes first 
 obeyed that magic word " Try,'' which seemed to be angels' whispers 
 answering his questions, what he might do for the neglected children 
 of his native city. Prophecy had declared that the abundance of- the 
 sea should be converted to God, and societies were organized to care 
 for the spiritual and temporal wants of the sailor. Finally the Church 
 felt that each division of the army of Christ could best do its work in 
 its own way, and hence arose separate denominational Missionary 
 Boards, and the result has been most marked and beneficent, and the 
 results accomplished have shown the wisdom of Church associa- 
 tions for doing the work of the Church. Thus in a multitude of forms, 
 whose history goes largely to make up the events of the century, has the 
 Church arisen to enter the fields which providence has opened before 
 it, and to do the work of whose results there can be no doubt, and at 
 whose consummation the shout shall go up, The kingdoms of this world 
 have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ. 
 
44 
 
 Third. And this brings us to notice the events which have marked 
 the progress of the Church in its work of evangelizing the nations, or 
 which have been for the furtherance of the spread of the gospel. 
 
 We go back a hundred years and meet with that grand uprising 
 of America, which was the outworking of the truth, " He hath made 
 of one blood all that dwell upon the face of the earth," and which 
 found its re-affirmation in the declaration that all men are created free 
 and equal. The war of the revolution was largely the result of the 
 principles of freedom which our fathers learned in that blessed Bible 
 which they loved and valued, and which they were not afraid to have 
 taught to their children in the common schools. 
 
 Ten years after the world had learned one of its great lessons con- 
 cerning liberty — as it had seen the results of the conflict in America — 
 it was taught that there could be no true freedom where God was not 
 recognized, and his word and Sabbaths honored. In 1792, France 
 was declared a Republic, and early in the next year her king was put to 
 death, and the Feign of Terror commenced. In October the queen was 
 murdered by a brutal mob ; a few days later the christian religion 
 was renounced ; the Bible buried publicly, and the Sabbath abolished. 
 
 Two years were enough to satisfy the people that anarchy was not 
 liberty, and Robespierre and his guilty, infidel associates were brought 
 to the guillotine. Then followed the wonderful career of the first 
 Napoleon, with all his strange alternations of success and defeat, 
 spreading anxiety and alarm through Europe ; defeating the Aus- 
 trians at Lodi ; marching into Egypt with thirty thousand men 
 and conquering the Mamelukes in the battle of the Pyramids ; in- 
 vading rSyria and being foiled by the gallant defence of Acre ; re- 
 turning to France and suppressing the Directory and taking the 
 Consulate of the Empire ; entering Italy and defeating the Aus- 
 trians at Marengo ; forming a treaty at Luneville by which the Rhine 
 was made the border of France ; forsaking the cause of liberty and 
 seeking to concentrate all power in himself; made Emperor of France 
 and King of Italy ; making Ulm and Austerlitz, and Vienna memo- 
 rable for his victories ; invading Spain and compelling Ferdinand to 
 abdicate; divorcing Josephine and marrying Maria Louisa ; annexing 
 Holland to France ; entering Russia with four hundred and eighty 
 thousand men, and retiring at length with forty thousand men from 
 burning Moscow ; taking the head of a fresh army of three hundred 
 and fifty thousand soldiers ; defeated by the allied powers of England, 
 Austria, Spain, and Portugal, and sent to Elba a dethroned Monarch ; 
 appearing again in France and taking the field against the Allies ; 
 
45 
 
 suffering a final and total rout at Waterloo, and sent to St. Helena ; 
 and finally dying on that lone and barren isle, amidst the war of the 
 elements, recalling in his last hours his eventful life, and uttering as 
 his last words the significant Tete d'Armee, which showed that the 
 ruling passion was strong in death. The terrible scenes of this grand 
 drama were prolific of good to the world. 
 
 The truth began to be seen that God was the arbiter of nations. 
 Evangelical religion began to revive. France felt its influence in the 
 enjoyment of liberty of conscience ; the signal rebuke of infidelity ; 
 the weakening of the papacy as a political power ; the uprising and 
 growth of protestantism, and the difi'usion of light and education. 
 
 Since that momentous era, with what wonderful and constantly ac- 
 celerating rapidity have great and important revolutions been affected, 
 which have been either the result of the spread of the truth or provi- 
 dential arrangements for new victories over error and evil. 
 
 The islands of the Pacific have cast away their idols, renounced 
 their heathen practices, and become christian nations. Churches, and 
 schools, and printing presses, and happy homes, are the marked and 
 emphatic evidence, in the Sandwich Islands, of the success of the 
 gospel. 
 
 Among the Feejees cannibalism has ceased, fearful and desolating 
 wars are ended, and polygamy and infanticide are unknown. Ninety 
 thousand of the inhabitants attend worship, conducted by six hundred 
 and sixty-three preachers. Thirty-six thousand children are gathered 
 in schools, and one-half the population are in possessession of the 
 Holy Scriptures ; and all this has been accomplished within the last 
 forty years. 
 
 In China missionaries can freely traverse the whole country, and 
 are successfully laboring in many of the great cities along the coast. 
 
 In India one thousand stations are opened for Missionary work 
 among the Brahmins, and mighty changes have been wrought in the 
 convictions of that people. At every point Hindooism is giving way 
 before the advancing tide of religious knowledge. 
 
 In Madagascar, where the early missionaries were driven away by 
 a pagan and persecuting queen, more than one hundred houses of 
 worship are now filled with attentive hearers. In some of these sanc- 
 tuaries two thousand persons may be seen gathered on the Sabbath 
 for the worship of the triune God. 
 
 In Africa, the colony of Liberia has become an important power 
 on the Western coast, and all along that vast shore are seen the grow- 
 ing lights of the christian Church. 
 
46 
 
 These are but specimens of the wonderful events which have marked 
 the efforts of the people of God to preach the gospel among the 
 heathen. Wherever we turn we see the precursors of the coming day. 
 
 Every movement of the political world has eventuated in some new 
 advance of the truth. And it is remarkable how every change has 
 been connected with the removal of some obstacle to the spread of 
 the gospel. 
 
 Louis Phillippe, who ascended the throne of France as a liberal 
 Prince, came at length so much under Jesuitical influence as to use his 
 power for the advancement of their purposes. He sent his ships of war 
 to Tahiti, where protestant missionaries were doing a noble work, and 
 opened the way for French brandy and Catholic priests by the mouth 
 of the cannon. He used his power in Greece, and Dr. King was exiled 
 for the time from his home and his labors. He permitted protestant 
 missions to be crippled, and almost destroyed, at the behests of in- 
 trigueing and wily Jesuits. Then came the avenging Nemesis in the 
 uprising of his people, and his dethronement and banishment, while 
 the works he assailed were all resumed with fresh power and vitality. 
 
 Louis Napoleon tried the same experiment, and filled with the in- 
 sane hope of revivifying the Roman power was throwing a cordon of 
 French influence and authority around the world. 
 
 Taking advantage of our intestine troubles he set his foot upon 
 Mexico and placed his unhappy creature, Maxmillian, upon the impe- 
 rial throne. Sending his armies to Italy he sought to uphold the totter- 
 ing power of the Pope, whose predecessor, his uncle had imprisoned. 
 He gained by his efforts the unenviable title of " the youngest son of 
 the Church." He set his foot upon every project that was designed to 
 spread liberty and the truth ; and then his fall came, and from being 
 the arbiter and the dread of Europe, he is an exile and a ruined man, 
 while a protestant Emperor takes his place in the grand movements of 
 European politics, and freedom and truth and religion have achieved a 
 noble triumph. Italy, so long crushed under the iron heel of Popery, 
 and whose " beauty was her funeral dower," has been the theatre of 
 mighty revolutions. Again and again her people have risen up to 
 assert her rights and liberties. Amid alternate successes and defeats 
 the truth has been silently making its way, and freedom is dawning 
 upon them. The Pope while pompously declaring his infallibility has 
 only shown his own weakness and folly. His reign as a temporal 
 prince is over, and a wise and temperate monarch sits amid the palaces 
 of the Caesars, and rules over united Italy. Above all, the Bible, so 
 long a prohibited book to the Italian, is now publicly sold and distrib- 
 
47 
 
 uted, and freely read, while the ancient and long persecuted Church of 
 the Waldenses, in its simple and sublime faith, and with a long record 
 of suffering and martyrdom at the hands of papal priests and rulers, 
 is stepping forth from its mountain fastnesses to offer to the nation 
 a pure gospel and an apostolic ministry. 
 
 And now, turning from the old world to the new, what a wonderful 
 and eventful era has this century been. In the years 1803 and 1815 
 the United States paid their tribute to the Corsairs of Algiers (who 
 had hitherto exacted from the commerce of the Mediterranean a tax 
 for its safety) in the form of a naval assault, which compelled the 
 miscreants to renounce their claims, and finally to abandon their dep- 
 redations. 
 
 In the year 1812 began the second war with England, which in a 
 series of brilliant naval victories established our rights upon the 
 .ocean, and rebuked the arrogant claims of Britain to her subjects, 
 when protected by the flag of the republic. Then began the 
 growth of our commerce ; the rapid enlargement of our territory ; 
 the addition of star after star to the banner of our Union ; the flow 
 of that vast tide of immigration which has brought to our shores the 
 representatives of every nation to mingle with the original races that 
 formed the old Thirteen States, and which seemed to show the 
 Church that providence, no longer waiting for her to enter on the 
 work of evangelizing the world, was bringing the world to our own 
 door, and re-echoing the words of Christ, Preach my gospel to every 
 creature, beginning at Jerusalem. 
 
 To meet the demands of this mighty influx of population ; to open 
 rivers in the desert, and highways across our plains and mountains, 
 the land has been crossed and re-crossed with canals, and railroads, 
 and telegraphs. To supply the wants of the people, schools and col- 
 leges and seminaries have been established, and Churches built, and 
 supplied with the living teacher. And then to the work, with the di- 
 vine sanction, glorious revivals of religion have been sent through the 
 power of the Holy Ghost, whereby multitudes have been born to God 
 and made to feel the power of a new life in the soul. To warn the 
 nation not to trust in uncertain riches, fires and floods have at times 
 swept away untold millions of property, and cities and villages have 
 fled before them like a vision. To admonish the nation not to rely 
 upon man, the highest office in the gift of the people has thrice been 
 vacated by the sudden death of the President. To prepare the way 
 for the extinction of great evils a fearful intestine war has gathered 
 its blackness over our land, and in its progress the system of slavery, 
 
48 
 
 whose extinction none could have foreseen has disappeared forever. 
 Out of that great horror what glorious results have issued ! what 
 a vast awakening of national love ! what a purifying of the polit- 
 ical atmosphere ! what a union of heart and hand in mitigating the 
 terrors of war by means of the Sanitary and Christian Commissions ! 
 what sacrifices and offerings for the country and its defenders ! what a 
 consecration of time and influence and property for the spiritual well- 
 being of the soldiers who were engaged in the defence of the Union ! 
 and when Peace at length waved her olive branch over the nation, 
 what lessons were learned by the world of the self-preserving power of 
 a free people, and of the strength and stability of a Republic with a 
 free church, a free press, free schools, and jree men ! And when this 
 fearful war was over, and the nation was resuming its great work of 
 opening this continent to the world, the Church has been making a 
 wonderful advance towards the fulfilment of the j)rayer of its great 
 head that they might all be one. During the late civil war, it had 
 been found that when christians of various names were working to- 
 gether for Christ among the soldiers, there was a wonderful drawing 
 together of heart to heart, and a consequent disposition to lay aside 
 those distinctive marks which were unessential to a common Christian- 
 ity. The spirit thus awakened was not lost when these brethren re- 
 turned to the peaceful pursuits of life, and to their own churches. 
 Then the question arose whether there could not be a closer union of 
 christians, especially of those who in all essential features were alike- 
 
 In enumerating these efforts to effect a visible union, it would be a 
 strange omission to leave out of our notice the successive steps by Avhich 
 our own Church has advanced to its present position. This Peninsula 
 witnessed some of the earliest efforts to establish Presbyterianism on 
 this continent. The Dutch type had appeared in New York as early 
 as 1626 ; the Scotch form was not fully introduced until 1690, when 
 Francis Makemie and John Hampton began to labor on the Eastern 
 Shore of Maryland and planted numerous churches, among which were 
 those of Rehoboth, Snow Hill, and Manokin. 
 
 In 1698 the first Presbyterian church of Philadelphia was organ- 
 ized ; the date of the venerable structure in which the Presbyterians 
 of Wilmington first worsiiipped is 1740. In 1741 there was a rupture 
 in the only existing Synod of Philadelphia, arising out of the differ, 
 ence of views in regard to the revival then in progress under the min- 
 istrations of Whitefield. This rupture was healed after seventeen 
 years, and the two bodies were united under the name of the Synod of 
 New York and Philadelphia. At the close of the Revolution four 
 
49 
 
 Synods were organized ; the General Assembly came into existence in 
 1789, two months before the adoption of the Federal Constitution. 
 The Assembly was opened with a sermon by Dr. Witherspoon, and 
 Rev. Dr. Rogers, of New York, whose first settlement was in St. Georges 
 in this state, was chosen the first Moderator. 
 
 In the year 1802, the plan of union was adopted, by which Con- 
 gregational and Presbyterian churches were enabled to work together 
 in newly settled districts of the country. Although meant to meet an 
 immediate want, this plan was found to be defective, and too product- 
 ive of serious evils which at last eventuated in the division of the 
 Church. 
 
 In 1812, Princeton Theological Seminary was founded, — the first 
 of those schools of the prophets which have since been increased in 
 numbers and influence as the exigences of the Church have demanded. 
 
 In 1816, the Board of Domestic Missions originated, — whose work 
 has so increased that it has been supplemented by the Board of Church 
 Extension and Sustentation. 
 
 In the year 1819 the Board of Education was organized. In 1837 
 the Church assumed the work of foreign missions, by the erection of a 
 Board for this special purpose. The Board of Publication was estab- 
 lished in 1838 ; in 1853 the Church assumed the care of aged and in- 
 firm ministers and their families. 
 
 Thus it became fully equipped for its work, and though after 1838 
 divided into two bands, carried on its great plans with increasing zeal 
 and with a growing disposition for a re-union, until in God's good prov- 
 idence the end was happily accomplished. Long before any direct 
 overtures were made for bringing together the two branches of our 
 Church, it was evident the spirit of christian fraternity was gradually 
 increasing. Pulpit exchanges between brethren of the old and new 
 schools, — transfers of ministers from one branch to the other, — co-op- 
 eration in the work of christian benevolence, — the better understand- 
 ing of each other's views by frequent interchange of thought and feeling, 
 — and above all the presence of God's spirit among the churches, and 
 united labors among the soldiers of our army in the Christian Com- 
 mission, were teaching brethren on either side that there were no real 
 barriers to the re-union of the Church. At length overtures were made 
 upon the subject, which, though at first meeting with difiiculties and 
 
 embarrassments, resulted in the formation of a committee of re-union 
 
 > 
 
 which proposed terras that, with some few subsequent amendments, 
 were received by the churches as the proper and substantial basis on 
 which all could meet in harmony. Those who took part in, or wit- 
 
50 
 
 nessed these scenes, will never forget them. On the 10th ef Novem- 
 ber, 1869, at Pittsburg, the two streams, so long divided, met together 
 in one broad, deep current, flowing on, we trust, evermore as one of the 
 streams of that river that shall make glad the city of our God, — the 
 holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. 
 
 Such is but a meagre outline of the events which have marked the 
 lifetime of this Church. As we look over all these years, pregnant 
 with changes and revolutions, we exclaim with wonder. What hath 
 God wrought ! How plainly do we see every where his hand at work 
 for his Church, his own great namesake ! And while we stand and gaze 
 with wonder at the vast movements of divine Providence which have 
 opened the world to the gospel, which have thrown down vast barriers 
 to the truth, which have made the fields ripe for the harvest, caused 
 the sower and the reaper to rejoice together ; we are to listen to the 
 summons that calls the Church to earnest and united labor, and says. 
 Thrust in the sickle and reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. 
 Wherever we look we see the precursors of the coming day, and seem 
 to hear angel chimes and angel voices joining in the song of joy, and 
 in hallelujahs of praise, while on every side are the clear echoes of 
 God's word, " The night is far spent, the day is at hand." 
 
 Solemn and grand events in the jiast are to be followed by events 
 more momentous and glorious in the future. God is every where at 
 work, fulfilling his wise and wondrous purposes, 
 
 " We are living, we are dwelling 
 In a grand and awful time ; 
 In an age on ages telling, 
 To be living is sublime." 
 
 The promises of God cannot fail, and they all point to the year of 
 jubilee, to the conversion of the world to Christ, to the destruction of 
 Satan's kingdom, to the redemption of the world from sin, darkness 
 and sorrow, and bid us labor and pray for the coming of Christ's 
 kingdom. 
 
 In the glorious future, the Church is to have a grand and most im- 
 portant part. Then God shall take to himself his great power, and 
 the hallelujahs of his people shall be caught up by angels and borne 
 heavenward, and their burden shall be "The Lord God omnipotent 
 
 REIGNETH." 
 
65 
 
 characteristics. Grace was ever manifest in his life. He had a sym- 
 metry of character that was beautiful to behold. While not indifferent 
 to the things of this world, no man ever impeached his integrity. His 
 gains were all honest gains. The taint of dishonor did not mar the 
 value of any of his possessions. He was conscientious in the discharge 
 of all his duties; he never permitted his worldly affairs to prevent the 
 discharge of the duties of his eldership. He was chosen a member of 
 Session not long after he became a member of the Church. That he 
 might discharge the public duties of his office to edification, he gave 
 himself to the study of models of prayer. I remember well how fer- 
 vent his supplications ; how well chosen his language, when he led the 
 congregation in social worship. It was both a pleasure and a profit 
 to all who joined with him in this exercise. 
 
 His call to leave the earth was unexpected. He had no fears. 
 The words of St. Paul were his words, " For I know whom I have be- 
 lieved, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have 
 committed unto him against that day." 
 
 John B. Porter closes the list of these revered men who have de- 
 parted this life. He was the son of elder Robert Porter He was 
 well named John, for he was a disciple who leaned upon his Master's 
 breast. He was possessed, both by nature and by grace, with a lovely 
 disposition. Calm and discreet in his words, even in disposition, 
 pleasant and kind to all, positive in his opinions, firm in his friend- 
 ships, wise in counsel. In very early life he mas made an officer in 
 the Sabbath School, and for forty years was never absent from his 
 post of duty, save a single Sabbath, because he was absent from the 
 city. 
 
 In a church yard in England there is a monument with this in- 
 scription : " Here lies one who never caused but one regret to his 
 friends, and that was that he died." The same words might be in- 
 scribed upon the monument of this beloved elder. 
 
 I cannot close this brief notice of these good men who have rested 
 from their labors, without speaking of one who was their contempo- 
 rary, and who with the burden of ninety-two years resting upon him, 
 still abides on the earth. 
 
 Williard Hall is a name known and honored of all men. Forty- 
 three years he has been a ruling elder in this Church, and for forty 
 years a successful teacher of young men in the Bible class.^ When he 
 heard the call of the master he threw himself with all his learning, his 
 legal attainments, his social position, at the foot of the cross, and made 
 a thorough consecration of them to the service of God, to be used for 
 
66 
 
 his glory. In every department of christian and benevolent effort he 
 has been a constant worker. Not only the Church, but the State has 
 been the better for his living and his doing. He is not with us this 
 day because bodily infirmity forbids it. He is with us in spirit. He 
 has sent rae this note, written this day with his own hand, with the 
 request that I would read it this evening. 
 
 " Will the members of the Hanover Presbyterian Church of Wil- 
 mington, assembled in Centennial worship, hear a word from one who 
 has partaken oft and much with them in the sweet communion of our 
 adorable and worshipped Redeemer ? ' Be ye steadfast and immov- 
 able, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you 
 know your labor is not in vain in the Lord.' 
 
 Yours in Christ, under the hand of sickness. 
 
 WILLIARD HALL." 
 
 This afternoon he expressed to a former pastor his satisfaction and 
 happy trust for the future, in that Saviour who has been his chief joy 
 in the past years of his life. With him in the evening time it is 
 light. 
 
 The great work of life with these ruling elders was a success. They 
 lived and labored to build up this Church. An hundred years have 
 passed and the Church still continues in vigorous life, with a future 
 rich in its promise of strength and usefulness. 
 
 Other prosperous Churches have been reared by those who have 
 gone out from her, and so it will be until the end of the ages. Let 
 us all learn this lesson : Whatever may be our providential position 
 in this life, if we live to bless the world, by working through the 
 Church and for the Church, our labor cannot be in vain. 
 
 Then, neither in one century of years, nor in a thousand, will our 
 work or the blessed results of it perish. 
 
ELDERS OF THE CHURCH, 
 
 AN ADDRESS BY REV. CARSON W. ADAMS. 
 
 A young wife, the mother of two lovely children, once said, " My 
 friends tell me that other parents have as good and as beautiful as my 
 own ; I suppose it is so ; but I cannot make myself believe it." 
 
 I confess to a state of mind very much the same in respect to this 
 city, which is the place of my birth and has been the home of my an- 
 cestors for many generations. There are doubtless other cities as beau- 
 tiful for situation and as tasteful in arrangement as this city ; there 
 are other streams as romantic as the Brandywine, and walks as pleas- 
 ant as those on the margin of its sparkling waters ; there are other 
 rivers as lordly as the Delaware, upon whose broad surface I have 
 sailed, and in whose genial waters I have, in youthful days, so often 
 bathed. But there is no city, stream, or river so dear to me, and so 
 comely in my eyes, as these, which were the joy of my early years, and 
 grow in interest and affection as life rolls on. 
 
 There are other churches, more grand in proportions, more striking 
 in architecture, more venerable with age, richer in historic interest and 
 importance than this edifice in which we are gathered this evening; 
 but there is no temple of the living God on this earth invested with 
 80 much inter&st to me as this one. It was within these walls that I 
 first began to be interested in the preaching of the gospel. It was 
 within these walls that I found peace in believing in a crucified Saviour. 
 It was at this altar that I made confession of Jesus Christ before men. 
 It was under the influence of the grace of God, given through this 
 Church, that life to me was all changed, and an impulse given that 
 has touched everything with which I have had to do with an eternal 
 interest. Her very stones are precious in my sight. 
 
 I am glad to be with you this day and participate with you in this 
 Centennial Anniversary. You have already heard from the eloquent 
 lips of Dr. Rockwell of the many and great changes that have taken 
 place both in church and state during these hundred years. In the 
 
52 
 
 few years that my recollection spans, great have been the changes in 
 the appearance of the church edifice, greater still the changes in the 
 congregation which found a spiritual home beneath its roof. 
 
 As I look down the broad aisle this evening, I am reminded tbat 
 with a single exception, every one who sat at the head of these pews 
 has gone to the better country. They were a noble company of men 
 and women, who served well their God and their generation. 
 
 You have requested me to speak of that portion of the elect who 
 were called to the honors and responsibilities of the oflBce of ruling 
 elder, and whose labors on the earth have ceased. 
 
 Some of these men have rested in the grave more than three-quar- 
 ters of a century, and there is no record left to tell the story of their 
 lives. 
 
 Alexander Femister, Lucas Alrich, William Cook, John Fleming, 
 Eleazer McComb, and James Smith, are names found upon the books 
 of the Church, showing that they were members of Session in the 
 early days. Nothing, is now known of them save a few traditionary 
 anecdotes, which show that they were men well known in their own 
 day as successful in the aflfairs of this world, and regular and consci- 
 entious in the discharge of religious duty. 
 
 George Monroe, M. D., was contemporary with some of these men 
 whose names have just been alluded to. He was a well read physi- 
 cian. After having exhausted all the means of medical education in 
 this country, he completed his preparation for the practice of his pro- 
 fession in Edinburgh. He became a devout christian, and served this 
 Church in the eldership with zeal and discretion until the day of his 
 death. He was a man of , well cultured mind, open and hearty in his 
 intercourse with his brethren, and known of all men as one who hated 
 all dishonesty and deceit. Death came to him as a thief in the night; 
 he retired in his usual health ; when his wife awoke in the morning 
 she found her husband dead by her side. He married the daughter 
 of Col. Hazlett, who was killed at the battle of Princeton. His 
 daughter Lydia married Dr. Gilbert, who was pastor of the Church 
 at that time. Mrs. Gilbert was honored and loved for her zeal and 
 her labors of love among this people. 
 
 David Harbison served the Church for some years as an elder. 
 He came to the city from Chester County, Pennsylvania, after he had 
 passed middle life. He did what he could to promote the spiritual 
 good of the people over whom he was called to rule. 
 
 John Patterson served the Church with great acceptance for many 
 years. He came to this town from Ireland when a boy. He was 
 
68 
 
 through his business life a dry goods merchant. He always valued 
 the privileges of the Church, though he did not connect himself with 
 it till he was past middle life. He opposed the call of Mr. Gilbert, 
 because he let it be known that he would not baptize children neither 
 of whose parents were members of the Church. 
 
 Upon this point the new pastor was right, and his faithfulness had 
 its reward. Mr. Patterson was among the first who came forward to 
 confess Christ before men under Dr. Gilbert's ministry. An aged 
 member of the Church told me that she distinctly remembers that 
 Mr. Patterson rose at the communion table and expressed his gratifi- 
 cation and thanks to Almighty God that he was permitted to sit with 
 his people and partake with them in the feast of commemoration. He 
 was spared the pains of death. While engaged in his business, in the 
 twinkling of an eye, he was not, for God took him. 
 
 His son, John C. Patterson, Esq., now worthily succeeds him as an 
 elder in this Church. 
 
 Robert Porter is the next name that appears. He was a man, who 
 in his day, was a power in the Session and in the congregation. He 
 was a printer, a bookseller, and the publisher of " The Delaware Jour- 
 nal," the most influential newspaper in the State at that time. 
 
 Like most men of mark, he had strong points of disposition and 
 character. But in him grace abounded. Certain traits of mind and 
 will natural to him would have made him unpopular with men, but 
 under the influence of divine grace, they made him more effective as a 
 christian, and more useful to the Church. 
 
 Dr. Gilbert described him as a bold and decided christian ; sound 
 in the faith ; a man of prayer ; a keeper of the Sabbath with Puritan 
 strictness. He loved the sanctuary, and delighted to hear the preaching 
 of the word. Revivals were his greatest pleasure, ever willing to make 
 any personal sacrifice to promote them. He was fully in sympathy 
 with the spirit of the age. He lived at a time when the great Benev- 
 olent Societies were founded. He began at once to promote their int- 
 erests by giving with liberality himself, and urging others to do the 
 same. He was an elder in whom his pastor trusted, and upon whom 
 he leaned. He died at the age of sixty-one. Devout men carried 
 him to his grave, amid the tears of a mourning congregation. 
 
 Matthew Kean is a name that brings to the mind many pleasant 
 recollections. He was a man of noble presence, and with him were 
 the instincts of a gentleman and the graces of a christian. He had a 
 well informed mind and a large heart. While he loved his Church and 
 her doctrines, (for he was an intelligent Calvinist,) he was a man 
 
64 
 
 of catholic feeling, and loved all who were believers in Jesus. He 
 ever manifested a great interest in young men ; he had a love for them ; 
 the magnetism of this love was felt in the pressure of his hand, with 
 which he always greeted them. He was a man of prayer, and constant 
 in his study of the word of God. He was a man of sterling honesty. 
 In early life he entered into mercantile business and was unfortunate, 
 but by untiring industry and self-denying economy for many years, he 
 was enabled to discharge all his pecuniary obligations. He fulfilled 
 the injunction of the Scripture, " Owe no man anything, but to love 
 one another." He departed this life at the ripe age of eighty-three. 
 He was gathered to his Father's like as a shock of corn cometh in his 
 season. The memory of this good man is fragrant with the odors of 
 heaven. 
 
 The name of William Clark suggests the words of our Lord in 
 respect to Nathanael, " Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is 
 no guile." Elder Clark was a man of great amiability of disposition 
 and Christ-like in spirit. He was gifted in prayer, always dwelling 
 much in supplication upon the mercy of God to His children. There 
 was one expression which he used frequently in his supplications at 
 the throne of grace, " Indulgent Parent." The fatherhood of God 
 and his long suffering patience was a constant source of wonder and 
 gratitude to this humble believer. 
 
 In my earliest Sabbath School experience he was my Sabbath 
 School teacher. He loved to teach the children the word of God, and 
 continued in this work down to the eighty-third year of his age. His 
 only surviving son, B. S. Clark, serves this Church now as its 
 Treasurer. 
 
 George Jones was for most of the years of his life a member of 
 this Church, and also an elder. His life was a quiet one, spent in the 
 diligent pursuit of his business, in which he was very successful. He 
 was an amiable, genial man, a great favorite with his friends. When 
 this Church edifice was erected he had his fortune still to make, but 
 like his contemporaries, he made great sacrifices to secure the comple- 
 tion of the building. He had a love for the walls of this sanctuary ; 
 within it many of the happiest hours of his life were spent. He was 
 punctual in the duties of his office as a member of Session. He died 
 in the good hope of a blessed immortality, after he had passed four 
 score years on the earth. 
 
 Thomas C. Alrich was an elder, who had a good report of those who 
 were without, and he had also the confidence and the love of all who 
 knew him intimately. He was a man of strong will and other marked 
 
DISOOTJKSE. 
 
 BY REV. JAMES M. CROWELL, D. D. 
 
 " For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dvist 
 ikereof." Psalm cii : 14. 
 
 It is the doctrine of the word of God that there is a living sym- 
 pathy among christians as those who make up one body and are ani- 
 mated by one spirit. The ground of this appears in the fact that they 
 are all members of Christ's visible body, which is the Church. And 
 this sympathy not only extends to particular persons ; it flows out 
 also, and perhaps especially towards the Church, and all that relates 
 to its good. This has been so in every age. When the king of Israel 
 was bowed in deep contrition before God because of his sins and 
 poured out his supplication for mercy in the fifty-first Psalm, he did 
 not forget the Church, even in the absorption of his own sorrow. " In 
 thy good pleasure, O Lord, do good unto Zion !" And though his 
 heart was broken, yet he cried out as earnestly for the building of the 
 walls of Jerusalem, as he did that his own poor broken heart might 
 be bound up and healed. And when again exalted upon the throne 
 in perfect prosperity, he still prayed for the " peace of Jerusalem." 
 And so in the context here. The allusion to this sentiment is most 
 beautiful and touching. " My days are like a shadow that declineth, 
 and I am withered like grass." But it matters not what becomes of 
 me. Let me languish and wither away, provided Zion flourish. 
 Though I myself even pass away, yet thou wilt arise and have mercy 
 upon Zion, and I am content, that satisfies me. 
 
 It is very likely, brethren of the Hanover Street Church, that 
 during this day of centennial memories and celebration, while your 
 minds have been surveying the past, and you have looked along the 
 way in which God has led you, it is quite probable that some such 
 feeling as this has been in the minds of many among you. Especially 
 have thoughts of tenderest affection to this dear old Church been re- 
 kindled upon the altar of your hearts, who have the longest been fa- 
 
58 
 
 miliar with it and have met with God most often in this hallowed spot. 
 And above all do they who feel like the Psalmist that their " days are 
 like a shadow that declineth" cling with most ardent love to this 
 house of God. 
 
 Let me then speak to you a little while. 
 
 I. Oj the reasons which should induce us to love the Church. And 
 
 II. Of the good results which follow fro^n such a love. 
 
 1. As to the reasons for loving the Church. The first is because 
 of the great elements of power that are lodged in it. 
 
 The Church is one of God's great agencies for bringing men to 
 Himself. There are other institutions which tend in this direction, 
 and which are of divine appointment. The agency of home influence 
 is largely instrumental in preparing us for the duty of this life, and 
 for the glory of the life to come. It is to parental training, — to a 
 father's counsel, or a mother's teaching, — that a great many are, under 
 God, indebted for the character they possess, and for their hope of 
 heaven. 
 
 By the familiar fireside, beneath the welcome shelter of one's early 
 home, an impression and direction are given to the future destiny. 
 " Although grace does not come hy succession, it commonly comes in 
 succession. 
 
 The destiny of children is in a very great measure determined by 
 household influence, and the Bible lays great stress upon this fact and 
 gives most urgent and solemn warnings on the ground of it. 
 
 But the matter of which I wish now to speak is the Church as a 
 divine institution. The Church in her organized capacity, as an in- 
 strument for the establishment and continuance of God's kingdom in 
 the earth. Guarded by God's watchful providence for nearly six 
 thousand years, Zion still has salvation written upon its walls, and 
 praise upon its gates. Look at the many good things that are in it. 
 
 1. As the Church of the living God " it is the pillar and ground 
 of the truth.'' 
 
 The sacred oracles belong to Zion and in no place does God's truth 
 
 carry more authority to the consciences of men than in the sanctuary. 
 
 2. As the special guardian of the Sabbath too, the Church provides 
 for its proper spiritual improvement. Children trained to come to 
 the sanctuary associate solemnity and reverence with its acts of wor- 
 ship, and often catch impressive glimpses of the meaning of its ordi- 
 nances ; the world on this day suspends the busy operations of its 
 secular industry, and with one accord the people come to hear. 
 
 3. Then again God has given to the Church " apostles, prophets, 
 
69 
 
 evangelists, pastors, and teachers," and for a purpose nobler and grander 
 than our highest thought, " for the perfecting of the saints ; for the 
 work of the ministry ; for the edifying of the body of Christ." 
 
 It is a plan of divine contrivance that has ordained the Gospel to 
 be preached. 
 
 There is something in the voice of the living minister that gives 
 the truth itself a deeper and more earnest meaning. 
 
 Ministerial influence, great as it is in the sanctuary, pervades also 
 the scenes and relations of domestic life. The faithful pastor mingles 
 with his people as far as his human strength allows, and his other 
 duties permit. He counsels and warns the thoughtless ; he tries to 
 stand between them and the great gulf of a lost eternity ; he directs the 
 thoughtful mind, and the troubled soul, and the weary heart to Him 
 to whom alone they -should go, even to Christ; he edifies christians; 
 he comforts the moui'ner ; he bears in some measure, as if it were his 
 own, the heavy burden that oppresses the sorrowful ; he prays with 
 his people ; he is alive to every good work ; he visits the sick ; he 
 goes with the dying to the border-land, and he stands among the weep- 
 ers as they bury their beloved dead out of their sight. 
 
 4. But above alLiide special promise of the Holy Spirit is given 
 to the Church. Grace visits the household, but it is chiefly in the 
 Church that God displays His saving power. " He loves the gates of 
 Ziou more even than the dwellings of Jacob," The work of grace is 
 carried on and perfected amidst the Sabbath and week-day assemblies 
 of the Church. God in a peculiar manner " dwells in Zion," and is 
 the glory in the midst of her. 
 
 II. We have reason to love the Church again, because it is our 
 spiritual home. 
 
 The right spirit of the christian is that of " a stranger in the earth." 
 He has no real home here but in the Church, and in it he finds a fore- 
 taste, and an emblem of the Church above where his rest and his 
 home shall be forever. And this home-love is a most healthy feeling 
 in reference to the Church. It is just the very state of mind in which 
 we should abide. It will induce a quietness, a satisfaction, a repose, 
 which will be found most favorable to real soul prosperity, and the 
 surest token of an approaching blessing. 
 
 The text speaks of God's servants taking pleasure " in the stones 
 of Zion." Does not that mean that they love it very much as we love 
 the dear spot of our childhood's days, the place of our birth, where we 
 grew up into life ? So the Church is the birthplace of souls. " This 
 and that man was born there" should be said of it. Oh, how tenderly, 
 
60 
 
 how profoundly do men love the home of their early days. Long 
 years of separation from it in the cold world do not alienate them 
 from the tender memories that gather around it. When far away from 
 it, in the wanderings of this strange life, whithersoever their steps 
 may lead them, their thoughts will turn with living gentleness and tear- 
 ful remembrance to the place where they were little children, and the 
 dearest place on earth to them will be the home where their parents 
 died. There everything keeps fresh and beautiful, though the old 
 doors creak upon their hinges, and the very porches round the house 
 decay ; there the old trees fling out their arms as if in loving wel- 
 come, and there the brook leaps gaily along as if it were singing of 
 the happy past.' 
 
 " The sunshine steals through the hanging boughs, 
 
 With a softened holy light, • 
 And the silent stars gleam purest there, 
 
 In the hush of the Summer night." 
 
 Now it seems to me, my brethren, that the true idea of the Church 
 is, that it is our home — our spiritual home — the home of the heart, 
 where we are to live and stay, and grow up, and get ready for our 
 everlasting home. There is the idea of perma->P,^cy about it. It abides: 
 we pass away. The Church stands. It is a place, not in which we 
 are to tarry for a season only ; not in which we are to be transient 
 guests, but in which we are to spend our life as christians ; where our 
 names are to be recorded, and our children are to be given to God ; 
 where we are to wait and seek for the blessings of the covenant ; at 
 whose communion table we are to expect to have our beloved sitting 
 some day, and from whose sweet and solemn and endearing ordinances 
 we are to go up to heaven. 
 
 There is nothing to me more beautiful and impressive than this 
 strong devoted attachment which we often see in the case of those who 
 have been worshipping God for many years in the same Church. How 
 delightful to see the tender, clasping affection with which they take 
 pleasure even " in the stones thereof." 
 
 II. And now, as to the happy results of such a love to the Church, 
 one is 
 
 First. An increasing spirit of kindness and conciliation and for- 
 bearance towards those who worship with us. 
 
 It must needs be in this world of imperfection and varied temper- 
 aments and character, that any association of persons continued from 
 year to year will develop some tendencies to alienation from one 
 another. This is so in churches as well as anywhere else. But where 
 
61 
 
 the feeling exists among christians, that their Church is their home, 
 where they intend to live and die if possible ; there gradually grows 
 up a spirit of tender kindness and mutual conciliation and forbearance, 
 which goes very far to smooth away any unpleasant feeling which may 
 arise, and to remove roots of bitterness and banish unjust suspicions 
 and unkind misunderstandings. The members of the Church are 
 members of the same family, and the Church is theirs, their home, 
 their place for labor. The life of the Church is in its members, not 
 in its officers, not in its pastor. They may die, or be taken away, 
 the Church in its organic life, remains. And it is a sad fact in the 
 case of any Church, when its life resides in its pastor, or is so con- 
 nected with him, that no earthly hand but his can hold it together. 
 
 The only right theory on this subject is that the vitality of the 
 Church is in the living members of it, and their seed after them. 
 Then, through all changes and through successive generations, it will 
 abide, and grow, and flourish, and bear fruit. 
 
 Great changes come to us all in this uncertain world. When any 
 one of mature or advanced life goes back to the scenes of his child- 
 hood, he feels that this is so. He knows no one, and no one knows 
 him. Strange little children are playing around him, and new people 
 occupy the houses ; many of the names even upon the tombstones are 
 unknown to him. But it is a joy for us to know that God's covenant 
 stands, and the Church abides, and the promise of God, is unto even 
 " the generations to come." 
 
 Second. Another good result of this home-love to the Church, is 
 that it leads parents to cling to the Church where their children were 
 baptized. 
 
 The passing years as they roll on exert a great influence in draw- 
 ing away the children of the Church. Worldliness and fashion, and 
 social connections, and systems of religion more outwardly attractive, 
 throw their snares and temptations around the paths in which our 
 children go. And, therefore, it is of the first importance that they 
 should be trained to love the Church in which they were brought up ; 
 to love the Church I say, not so much the Minister, for if I may use 
 the expression so as to be understood, ministers are emphatically 
 human institutions, i. e., they are only earthen vessels ; they are full 
 of weakness and error ; are very imperfect and very frail. They 
 change and pass away also. Their strength gives way beneath the 
 pressure of their work ; they grow weary and fall by the roadside ; 
 but the Church abides; its identity holds on ; its name and place con- 
 tinue from age to age. " The workmen perish but the work goes on." 
 
62 
 
 And, therefore, it is a good thing to be rooted ourselves, and to 
 have our children rooted in that which will survive; in that which 
 holds on while the years pass away : in the Church of our love and 
 choice through which, amidst all human changes, that river keeps 
 flowing whose streams make glad the city of God. Oh, there is a 
 power in this attachment to the Church of our fathers, as a means 
 of leading the soul to God, which we sadly fail to recognize. Some- 
 times after years have passed away, and the covenant seems almost to 
 have been forgotten by God Himself, it turns out at last that He has. 
 not forgotten the children whose parents were long in heaviness, be- 
 cause they wandered from the instructions of their childhood ; even 
 some whose parents went down to the grave in sadness because of 
 their distance from God, — yea, even some who seem not to have been 
 won back to God by the death of those that nourished and brought them 
 up, even such children are reclaimed and brought to Christ through 
 the ordinances of that Church in which their parents worshipped God. 
 They themselves go up from the courts of God below, and serve Him 
 in His temple, but God is still in the Church. 
 
 He has said it, " This is my rest forever, here will I dwell," and so 
 it often comes to pass that those prayers and tears of christian parents, 
 which seem to be stored away somewhere in the heavens as of no ac- 
 count, if they even entered at all through the veil, turn out by and by 
 to have been laid away only as in the time of drought the summer 
 clouds are laid up, and then like them they pour down a more 
 abundant treasure. 
 
 Third. Another good result of this feeling of affection for the 
 Church as our spiritual home is, " That it leads to a regular and con- 
 scientious attendance upon its stated means of grace." 
 
 And this too, both for ourselves and for those over whom we have 
 authority or influence. The worship of God above everything else, 
 should be attended to as a matter of principle, not of impulse, or of 
 fancy, or of fickle taste ; not as that from which we are to gather only 
 entertainment or pleasure, even though it be of a religious kind. 
 God's worship, when correctly considered is the discipline of our na- 
 ture ; it is our soul's food ; we are to grow by it, to get strong upon it, 
 to be developed into "men in Christ Jesus." And, therefore, the very 
 best and most healthy feeling that we can have about it is, that it is 
 the regular, stated, constant service of our spiritual home. It is one 
 of the evil tendencies of our day that people crave that form of en- 
 joyment which can be found away from home. The calm and mode- 
 rate pleasure of the domestic circle is not stimulating enough to them, 
 
68 
 
 and 80 they seek what can be found elsewhere. And what is worse 
 still, this same unhappy loss of sympathy, — this same painful separa- 
 tion of parents and children takes place in the matter of religion, and 
 in regard to the Church. Children are permitted to go according to the 
 leading of their own foolish fancies, and fall into a state of religious 
 dissipation before their parents are aware of it, Avhile the natural op- 
 position of their hearts to God early makes them crave indulgence in 
 the matter of His worship. When children are left to go to Church 
 where they want, and just when they want, it seems to me that the 
 likelihood of their conversion is very much diminished. And if they 
 are brought to Christ, they will indeed be " miracles of grace" 
 
 Oh, how much more beautiful and holy is the sight when parents 
 and children go up for years together to the same sanctuary, as in 
 that most Church going of all lands — Scotland ; where the dear kirk 
 is the spiritual home of all the family ; where children walk in the 
 same ways of the covenant along which their fathers went, and where 
 the blessings of the covenant seem, so to speak, to come down the 
 generations so naturally and so easily ; where, like Abraham, the ser- 
 vants of God " command their children after them to keep the way of 
 the Lord ;" where with firm yet gentle hand and with patient untiring 
 prayer, the children are taught to love their spiritual home ; and where 
 the beauty of grace in childhood does not fade, and the fragrance does 
 not die. 
 
 Oh it is not strange that they who thus love Zion, see their child- 
 ren's children coming into the Church, and that " peace is upon 
 Israel.-' 
 
 And now, as a fitting close to the impressive services of this me- 
 morial day, let me appeal to those before me, who are to take the 
 places in which these venerable fathers of this Church have stood. 
 
 The passing years have gathered them up to the great host of the 
 glorified. Does it not become therefore the great duty of those that 
 survive to take pleasure in the very stones of this beloved Zion, and 
 favor the very dust thereof? 
 
 You have, every one of you, some work to do in building up the 
 Church. Its grand mission is to glorify God, and to bless and save 
 the world. There are some, alas, that call themselves God's servants, 
 but they are not serving. They profess to be in the vineyard, but 
 they are not working. They say they are soldiers, but they are not 
 fighting. Yet one thing is certain — The Church will he built. If yuu 
 sit still it will be built. But you shall miss the satisfaction of helping 
 in its building. Every stone shall be put into its place, and the pinna- 
 
64 
 
 cle shall soar aloft towards the sky, but every stone from the founda- 
 tion to the pinnacle will say to you, " Thou hadst nothing to do with 
 this, — thou hadst no hand in this." 
 
 It is said that when Cyrus took one of his guests round his garden, 
 the guest admired it greatly, and said he had much pleasure in it. 
 " Ah !" said Cyrus, " you may enjoy it, but you have not such plea- 
 sure in it as I have, for I have planted every tree in it myself." 
 
 One reason why the glorious sufferer of Calvary has so much 
 pleasure in His Church, and rejoices over it with joy, is because He 
 did so much, and endured so much for it. 
 
 And so shall it be in some humble measure with all His followers 
 who watch, and toil, and pray, and build for Zion. 
 
 May God make you faithful and steadfast. 
 
 This is no time for idleness in the Church ; there is no room for 
 idlers ; it is no time for spasmodic piety ; such piety is spurious ; it is 
 no time for the mere semblance and form of religion ; no time for rit- 
 ualistic formalism, or sentimental dreaming; it is the time for worifc 
 and for service. 
 
 Blessed are they who are faithful to duty and steadfast all the 
 time. For the time itself is short. The Master Himself said that 
 " the night cometh when no man can work." 
 
 God's workmen are gathering to rest; the curfew-bells are ringing 
 across the weary years ; the shadows of the evening time are falling ; 
 the blessed ones that do His commandents, that they may have right 
 to the tree of life, are enteriog in through the gates into the city^ and 
 soon for us, those gates shall all be shut ! 
 
THE 
 
 Vol. 36. 
 
 NOVEMBER, 1863. 
 
 IVo. 3. 
 
 Pastors their own Agents. 
 
 Much has been written upon the ques- 
 tion of Agencies for benevolent Socie- 
 ties — how far they are needful, or may 
 be dispensed with ; how far pastors may 
 be relied on to do their work, &a. 
 
 Without any desire to agitate this 
 question, we take pleasure in calling 
 the attention of our readers to the fol- 
 lowing sermon by the Kev. J. E. Rock- 
 well, DD. of Brooklyn. It is the third 
 sermon with which he has favored us, 
 at our request, in the last three years, 
 each having been preached to his own 
 congregation on the occasion of their 
 annual collection for the American 
 Seamens' Friend Society. 
 
 Dr. Rockwell's opinions respecting 
 the worthiness of this Society have the 
 more value inasmuch as he is one of its 
 Board of Trustees, and so well acquaint- 
 ed with its operations ; while his well 
 established character for honesty and 
 frankness vouches for their fidelity to 
 bis convictions. 
 
 We commend this sermon, and the 
 fact that a busy city pastor can find 
 time and interest enough to enable him 
 to preach annually for our cause,to other 
 pastors ; hoping that his example may 
 incite some of them to go and do like- 
 wise. 
 
 We believe all Agents, who are wor- 
 thy of their position, would gladly 
 
 retire from congregations where the 
 cause which they love may have such 
 advocates. One Secretary, who has 
 given the earnest labors of the best 
 sixteen years of his life to the work of 
 sustaining evangelical societies, desires 
 to bargain with any pastor or people 
 who will do this work within their own 
 bounds, that, on this condition, he will 
 cheerfully yield the field to him. 
 
 Brethren in the ministry ! our appeal 
 is to you. 
 
 " Go UP NOW ; Look towards the 
 Sea. " 
 
 A PLEA FOR THE SAILOR. 
 
 A Sermon preached in'tlie Central Pres- 
 byterian Church of Brooklyn, Sept. 13</t, 
 1863, at the Anmial Collection for the A. 
 S. F. Soc. bjiRev. J. E. Rockwell, D. D. 
 
 1st Kings, 18. — 43. — Go itp note, look 
 toioards the Sea. 
 
 These words were the command of 
 Elijah to his servant when, at the close 
 of the long drought which had fallen 
 upon the land during the reign of Ahab, 
 he was praying that the windows of 
 Heaven might be opened, and the parch- 
 ed earth revived. Desirous of seeing 
 the first indications of the answer to 
 his prayer, the Prophet, who had re- 
 tired to the top of Carmel to pray, de- 
 sired his servant to advance a little 
 nearer to its precipitous sides as it faces 
 the Mediterranean, and look toward the 
 sea, and bring him tidings of the ap- 
 pearance of the sky in the direction 
 
66 
 
 SAILOR'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 [November, 
 
 whence he knew the rain would ap- 
 proach the land. Six times did the 
 servant bear back to the Prophet the 
 message that '■ there is nothing ; "' once 
 more he went, and returned with the 
 news " behold there ariseth a little 
 cloud out of the sea like a man's han, ." 
 
 Elijah well understood that sign, 
 and saw in it the harbinger of a plenti- 
 ful shower. 
 
 Without pausing to pursue the nar- 
 rative immediately connected with the 
 words we have chosen for our present 
 contemplation, we propose to make 
 them the guide to our thoughts as we 
 present to you some comideiutions upon 
 the Sea, and those who dwell upon its 
 mighty waters. 
 
 To the thoughtful mmd the Ocean 
 alwaj's has its solemn lessons. Who 
 can even look forth upon that 
 
 " Gl'irious mirror where the Almighty form 
 " G^assei- itself in tempests" 
 
 and not think of him who gave the sea 
 its bounds, and who " measureth the 
 waters in the hollow of his hand." 
 What a lesson it reads to us in all its 
 vast npheavings, and the wild roar of 
 its billows, of the power and wisdom 
 and glory of Him who by a word call- 
 ed the waters together and said, " Hi- 
 therto shalt thou come but no further, 
 and here shall thy proud waves be stay- 
 ed." — What an image and emblem is 
 the sea of God's own immensity and 
 eternity. Through how many ages has 
 it rolled on unchanged. The storm 
 sweeps over it but leaves no trace of 
 its fury. Time has been busy; but 
 though the marble monument has crum- 
 bled beneath its touch, and the mighty 
 fortress has fallen, and cities and pala- 
 ces lie in ruins, and the Earth itself 
 shows the marks of its busy fingers, — 
 the sea bears no trace of age or decay. 
 — Generation on generation have risen 
 and stood by its shores, and listened to 
 the music of its ripples and the thun- 
 der of its surf. — and have passed away. 
 — Yet its dark waters swell and flow, 
 and its wild billows sing their requiem 
 over the dead. 
 
 " Time writes no wrinkles on its azure brow, 
 "Such as Creation's dawn beheld, it rolleth now." 
 
 And who can stand and look upon the 
 sea and feel no emotions of wonder and 
 awe and no thoughts of Him who made 
 the Ocean what it is. — What a lesson 
 of our own insignificance and of God's 
 
 greatness and glory do we learn as we 
 ride upon its heaving billows, or see 
 them breaking at our feet. Its waves 
 instruct us ; and its voice joining in the 
 great Anthem of the Universe declares 
 that God onl}' is great. 
 
 Its boundless expanse, whose extent 
 no human eye can measure, is a faint 
 image of the infinitude of Him whose 
 power and essence have no limit. And 
 in all its words of peace or wild com- 
 motion, of rest or storm, it tells us 
 that He who made it is Almighty and 
 Eternal. 
 
 But aside from these general and 
 more obvious lessons of the Sea let us 
 notice 
 
 1. The prominence which is given to 
 it in the history of the world. The 
 sea has been and still is the great high- 
 wa}' of Nations, while at the same time 
 it has served to divide them one from 
 another. Its waters roll as mighty 
 walls between the Eastern and West- 
 ern Continents, and they set in between 
 the various portions of the old world 
 and the new, to divide nations that dif- 
 fer from each other in laws, customs 
 and religion. Hence in times of peace, 
 in the ordinary exchange of commerce 
 it is whitened with the outspread wings 
 of ships, bearing the fruits of Art and 
 of Agriculture. — And in times of war 
 it is covered with the fleets of contend- 
 ing nations, and upon its broad bosom 
 often the fate of a belligerent peuple is 
 decided. When the Persian Monarch 
 who had determined to extend his 
 control over Greece, had marched to 
 Athens flushed with his success at 
 Thermopylae, he saw his career check- 
 ed and his power weakened at Salamis, 
 where his fleet of one thousand galleys, 
 carrying each two hundred and thirty 
 men, was defeated and routed by the 
 Greeks with only three hundred and 
 eighty ships. So too the dominion of 
 Rome and the reign of Augustus and 
 bis successors was secui ed at Actium, in 
 the sea-fight between Octavius and 
 Mark Anthony ; and the decline of the 
 Ottoman Empire dates from the battle 
 of Lepanto, when the Turkish fltet was 
 destroyed ; while Navarino and Tra- 
 falgar are recognized in modern history 
 as turning points in the history of 
 Greece and England. These allusions 
 to the past will serve to illustrate the 
 pre-eminence which the Ocean has had 
 
1868.J 
 
 SAILOR'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 67 
 
 in the history of the world, and in de- 
 ciding the fate of nations. — And when 
 we "look toward the Sea" we cannot 
 but recall the mighty struggles for Con- 
 quest or Liberty, which have there de- 
 cided the destinies of millions of the 
 human race, and on whose results the 
 interests of the world were suspended. 
 
 We look out upon that miglity mass 
 of heaving waters and think that they 
 are mingled with all the mighty strug- 
 gles of the nations for conquest, or glo- 
 ry, or power, or liberty, and have ofien 
 seen the oppressor and the tyrant dri- 
 ven back and defeated, when his legions 
 on the land seemed destined to carry 
 woe and misery among the people 
 whom they sought to conquer. The 
 history of all nations has, as one of its 
 most essential and important elements, 
 their work upon the sea eith-r with 
 the peaceful wings of commerce or the 
 migUty struggle for naval supremacy. 
 And when the sea shall give up its 
 dead, a vast multitude, swelling out 
 into untold numbers shall come forth 
 from the silent caverns of the Ocean, 
 who have gone down amid the roar of 
 battle, or the wrath of the tempest — 
 sent forth by the hand of commerce or 
 in the protection of a nation's rights 
 and liberties. 
 
 II. Let us notice, again, the frequent 
 mention which is made of the Sea in 
 the Scriptures. Aside from the allu- 
 sions to the Ocean as an indication of 
 the power and mnjesty of Jehovah which 
 we every where meet, we iiud fre- 
 quent mention made of it as in some 
 way connectAid with God's gracious 
 purposes towards the Church and the 
 world. It was the sea which he used 
 as his mighty instrument in overthrow- 
 ing the armies of Pliaraoh ; — when its 
 walls stood up like adamant until the 
 people of God had passed through, and 
 re-tlowing at his word covered the 
 hosts of Egypt and swallowed them 
 up in one common grave. — The Psalms 
 and the Prophecies are full of allusions 
 to the sea as one of the Divine agents 
 in the accomplishment of his de-igns 
 for the destruction of his enemies, and 
 the upbuilding and glory of his Church; 
 Isaiah, when beholding the future tri- 
 umphs of the Messiah's kingdom, sees 
 among the wonders of that day the 
 abundance of the sea c diverted to 
 him, ^and her mighty hosts flocking 
 
 to him as clouds and as doves to their 
 windows ; and Jeremiah beholds the 
 sea u-ed asGod's agent in the destruc- 
 tion of his enemies and those of his 
 people, as Bibylon is covered with the 
 multitude of her waves ! While many 
 of Ouri-,t's most mighty works were 
 done by and upon the sea. There he 
 often gathered the people to hear him, 
 and from its hardy sons he selected 
 some of his noblest and most faithful 
 A|)Ostles. 
 
 in. With this brief notice of the 
 historical and prophetic interest which 
 is connected with the Ocean, let us 
 turn to some of the lessons of practical 
 importance which we may learn as we 
 look towards the '^ea. 
 
 1st. Let us think of the multitudes 
 who make it their home in the ordinary 
 avocations of commercial or national 
 life. It is estiuiated that between two 
 and three millions of men are engaged 
 as sailors, either upon the broad Ocean, 
 or upon the great inland waters of 
 the Eastern and Western Continents. 
 These men go forth as the heralds and 
 mes.sengers of civilization, or the de- 
 fenders of their nation's honor and li- 
 berty, or as the agents of commerce 
 without whom the inhabitants of the 
 great continents and islands of the 
 globe would be as utterly separated 
 and insulated as though occupying dif- 
 ferent planets. Ever since the Earth 
 was peopled the sea has thus been the 
 path \ay ot intercommunication. Even 
 when there was no compass to guide 
 the mariner, there were vast fleets 
 which, following the coasts and watch- 
 ing the stars, bore the products of Art 
 and Agriculture, and ai<led largely in 
 the enriching of the nations by whom 
 they were sent forth; — while as Science 
 in her progress, mapped the trackless 
 Ocean and went before the sailor with 
 her unerring directions, the sea became 
 white with the wings of commerce, 
 until her hardy sons form, now, a na- 
 tion by themselves. 
 
 And this thought reminds us that 
 the dwellers upon the land owe a large 
 debt of gratitude to the sailor for the 
 part he performs in increasing the 
 wealth or in supporting the honor and 
 liberty and adding to the comfort of 
 the nations for which he is engaged. 
 The multitude who have perished on 
 the sea have mainly died iu the service 
 
68 
 
 SAILOR'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 [November, 
 
 of those who live upon the land- 
 Those who are now undergoing the pe. 
 rils of the Ocean, breasting its storms 
 and battling with its billows, or are 
 meeting the enemies of their country in 
 the deadly strife, are serving those 
 who are at home, who are in some 
 way reaping the benefit of their toils 
 and hardships. 
 
 If Science and Literature are to be 
 enriched by valuable additions to the 
 stores of knowledge, the sailor must 
 be emploj^ed to aid in the work. The 
 gift of the new world to the old, and 
 the peopling of these vast Continents 
 with Colonists from the Eastern He- 
 misphere, was accomplished by means 
 of the sailor. He it is who enriches 
 the stores of national literature by the 
 volumes which he brings from beyond 
 the sea. He it is who bears to us the 
 fabrics of the looms of other lands in 
 exchange for the products of our 
 farms or the wealth of our mines ; or 
 who standing beneath the broad folds 
 of the flag that floats as the symbol of 
 his nation, sustains its honor or dies in 
 its defence. 
 
 2ud. Again let us consider the inti- 
 mate relations that exist between the 
 dwellers upon the sea and the land. 
 Far out upon the deep we behold the 
 lessening sails of a ship, soon to vanish 
 from our sight. Another and another 
 passes away from the land under the 
 pressure of the freshening breeze, and 
 every gallant ship that sweeps away 
 from our sight contains husbands, bro- 
 thers and sons, the comfort and support 
 of many a household. 
 
 How many AYives and Mothers and 
 Sisters will watch each gathering cloud, 
 and as they hear the howling of the 
 tempest, will think of those loved ones 
 far out at sea, and tremble with fear, 
 and watch for the hour that shall re- 
 store them to kindred and home. Eve- 
 ry noble and manly tar that looks out 
 upon the wild war of the elements, 
 and climbs the tapering mast, or hangs 
 out on the swaying spar over the yawn- 
 ing gulph, and hears the roar of the 
 waters and the sighing of the wind, 
 and knows not how soon the sea may 
 be his grave, has in these long hours 
 of darkness and storm man}- an anxious 
 thought of mother or wife or children, 
 who keep their vigils for him and daily 
 send up their prayers for his safety. 
 
 We can never read of a wreck at sea 
 without knowing that there are those 
 on shore on whom that event will fall 
 a blight to all their hopes. 
 
 All around us are those who have 
 special and intimate relations with the 
 sea, and whatever sympathy we mani- 
 fest for the sailor, whatever we do for 
 his s-piritual or temporal welfare, is felt 
 by many a heart that is bound to him 
 by every tie that makes home and 
 friendship dear and sacred. 
 
 3d. Again the sea reminds us, as we 
 stand and look forth upon it, of the 
 perils of those who, for our sake, go 
 down upon its waters and make it 
 their home. Yonder lies a wreck, fast 
 bedded in the sand ; the waves play 
 madly and freely around it, and on 
 its huge timbers the sea has hung its 
 green mantle of weeds and slime. 
 What a story could that desolate ruin 
 tell, had it but a tongue to speak. 
 How often since it first glided into the 
 treacherous clement, which was to be 
 its home, had its broad wings been 
 outstretched to the freshening gale as 
 it sped along its trackless path. 
 
 Many an eye, wet with the parting 
 tear, watched the receding vessel un- 
 til the last sail had sunk below the ho- 
 rizon. — Then came day, and night, and 
 sunshine, and cloud, and the dream of 
 home, until the gale awoke the Ocean 
 from its slumbers and the ship, like a 
 frightened bird, fled before its wrath. 
 
 The landsman reposed in peace upon 
 his pillow, and as the voice of the 
 storm howled by his casement, felt 
 only a pleasing sense of his own secu- 
 rity. But far out upon the Ocean 
 there was tje long struggle with the 
 elements, — the night of watching and 
 fear and despair, the convulsive mo- 
 tions of the staggering vessel as the 
 waves broke over it, the strange and 
 unearthly moaning of its huge timbers 
 as they yielded to the power of the 
 tempest, and the closing scene when, 
 a rugged and shapeless mass, it is swall- 
 owed up amid the waters, or is thrown 
 upon the beach to tell, in voiceless elo- 
 quence, its sad and impressive story. 
 There it lies amid its solitude and de- 
 solation, with the ceaseless roar of the 
 surf and the sighing of the wind for its 
 solemn requiem. The tempest has ac- 
 complished its work — the waters are 
 lulled to rest, the moon looks forth in 
 
1863. 
 
 SAILOR'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 69 
 
 beauty upon tbe scene ; but where are ! 
 the brave men who made that vessel ; 
 their home ? How many desolate and i 
 an*] widowed hearts will mourn long in i 
 bitter grief and agony over the loved : 
 and the lost who may never more come j 
 back to them. 
 
 And yet this is but a faint shadow ■ 
 of the more fearful perils of the soul : 
 to which the sailor is exposed. His i 
 return in safety to the land may be : 
 followed by storms of temptation be- j 
 neatb whose power he falls a hopeless 
 victim. Ha-dly have his feet touched 
 the shore ere he is beset by crowds of : 
 the vile who seize upon him as their 
 prey, and who, if he be not surrounded 
 by Divine influences, will leave him a 
 wreck of health and property and lie- 
 nor and soul. 
 
 4. Lastly let us consider the final 
 meeting at the bar cf God, when the 
 sea shall at length give up its dead. 
 The Ocean is the grave of untold mul- 
 titudes. Ever since the first frail ves- 
 sel trembled upon its faint ripple as it 
 died upon the shore, it has been ga- 
 thering in its harvest of death, — and 
 its currents have borne them down to 
 unknown depths, and its weeds and 
 shells and caverns have been their 
 windingsheet, their coffin and their 
 grave. Amid the peaceful pursuits of 
 commerce, in exploration of unknown 
 seas, and in the fearful shock of battle, 
 thousands have sunk down to their fa- 
 thomless graves ; and every year is 
 adding to their countless numbers. 
 
 But the day is hastening when we 
 shall come forth from the long sleep 
 of deaih, and the dead of the sea shall 
 meet the dead of the land, all again 
 instinct with life and together meeting 
 around the throne of judgment. What 
 a scene will that be ! What memories 
 will then be awakened ! What solemn 
 meetings will occur between friends 
 long separated — between the sailor 
 who perished as the victim to the 
 temptations of the land that lured him 
 to his ruin, or from the neglect of 
 those who might have stretched out a 
 hand to save him, and who cruelly 
 turned from him, and permitted iiim 
 to pass on to ruin unchecked by the 
 Christian influences which, if properly 
 thrown around him, would have saved 
 him. 
 
 And now gathering up these threads 
 
 of thought, let me take them as the ba- 
 sis of a plea for the sailor. 
 
 For obvious reasons the work of 
 the Church among seamen must be a 
 special and separate branch of Chris- 
 tian benevolence requiring a special 
 and distinct agency. This agency is 
 the " American Seamens' Friend So- 
 ciety," which carries on its operations 
 1st. By means of Chaplains for sea- 
 men in all the various ports where 
 they most abound. 
 
 2nd. By the establishment of Ship 
 Libraries. 
 
 3d. By means of Sailors' Homes. — 
 The results of the working of this sys- 
 tem form a most unanswerable argu- 
 ment for the Society whose claims I 
 present to-day. 
 
 1st. The Sailor evidently needs the 
 sustaining power, the sure guidance, 
 and the blessed comforts of the religion 
 of Jesus Christ. He needs them as we 
 all do in our poor fallen nature — and 
 his peculinr trials and temptations are 
 such as religion can alone meet and 
 overcome. 
 
 2d. The Church owes a special debt 
 of gratitude to the sailor, which can 
 best be shown by eff'orts for his moral 
 and spiritual improvement. As Com- 
 merce, Art, Science and Literature are 
 all under obligation to him, so also he 
 aids the Church in her Missionary 
 work — bears abroad her agents and 
 teachers, and printing presses and 
 books, and becomes in many ways the 
 representative of the Church and of 
 Christianity among the Heathen. 
 
 3d. The sailor justly claims the sym- 
 pathies and gratitude of all who dwell 
 upon the land. There is no household 
 however poor which has not some com- 
 fort or luxury for the possession of 
 which they are indebted to the sailor. 
 The oil that supplies the lamp is ob- 
 tained by the sailor. The luxuries of 
 the table, are many of them, brought 
 by him from foreign climes — the rai- 
 ment that we wear was wrought in 
 the looms of the old world, and never 
 could have reached us but for the sai- 
 lor. The vast cities rising upon our 
 seaboard, and growing in wealth and 
 power, owe their increasing wealth to 
 the sailor. The flag that we rever- 
 ence, and that has been honored in 
 every clime, has been borne and pro- 
 tected by the sailor. It was a sailor's 
 
70 
 
 SAILOR'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 [November, 
 
 heart that prompted the utterance of 
 those memorable words which bave 
 become the watch-word of our nation 
 — "Don't give up the Ship," — And 
 shall we refuse to give to him a sub- 
 stantial proof of our sympathy and re- 
 gard, by providing for him those moral 
 and religious influences that may save 
 his soul, and make him in all his influ- 
 ences a blessing and not a curse ? 
 
 4th. Lastly, I plead for the sailor, 
 because of the good he is capable of 
 doing when his character is moulded 
 and influenced by the Gospel of Christ. 
 The history of the Church and the Pro- 
 vidence of God seem to point to him as 
 one of the most potent agents to be 
 used for the conversion of the world. 
 There was a wonderful significance in 
 the choice which Christ made of his 
 Apostles to whom he was to commit 
 the great work of establishing his 
 Church. When the mind of a sailor 
 receives the truth, he does not hesitate 
 to make known his convictions and ex- 
 perience. He is an earnest man, and 
 when he gives himself to Christ he 
 will make his influence felt, and that 
 for good. 
 
 And among the most hopeful signs 
 of the times we now behold, we find 
 coming to us from the sea the voice of 
 pra3'er and praise as the liarbinger of 
 better things, and the foreshadow of 
 the day when the abundance of the 
 S';i siiiii' DC ct.nv( jted to God and the 
 isles shall wait for his law. On almost 
 every vessel that now leaves our ports 
 may be found some, at least, that are 
 the followers of Christ. On many 
 vessels no spirituous liquors are allow- 
 ed to be used, and no profane swearing 
 is heard. On others many of the oflB 
 cers are religious men, or the sailors 
 conduct meetings for prayer in the 
 forecastle ; and so the voice of prayer 
 and thanksgiving arises from the soli- 
 tudes of the Ocean, amid the shrill 
 piping of the wind and the deep diapa- 
 son of the surging sea. 
 
 As these men return home, or enter 
 a foreign port, they no longer carry 
 with them those corrupt and demora- 
 lizing influences which have too long 
 attended the sailor, but often act as 
 missionaries for Christ, bringing bless- 
 ing and not a curse. 
 
 Who can estimate the value of such 
 a work as may be accomplished by the 
 
 sailor when his heart is wholly given 
 to Christ. We have seen living illus- 
 trations of the power of a Christian 
 sailor which no man could gainsay. 
 The life of Commodore Hudson, who 
 never hesitated to bear his testimony 
 for his Saviour, and who recognized the 
 hand of God in every event of life, was 
 a precious evidence of the power of a 
 sailor when his heart is under the in- 
 fluence of religion. 
 
 He was often the Chaplain of his own 
 ship — and never hesitated to throw all 
 his influence, both as a man and an 
 Officer, in favor of morality, benevo- 
 lence, righteousness, temperance and 
 truth. 
 
 And who that ever knew the late 
 gallant and lamented Admiral Foote, 
 will forget what an immense power for 
 good he every where carried with him. 
 What a noble specimen of a man he 
 was ! With all the generous impulses 
 of a Sailor subdued and refined and 
 moulded bj' the grace of God, fearless 
 of dangers, standing unmoved amidst 
 the iron hail that poured upon his 
 ship from the enemies of his Country, 
 trusting wholly in God even with the 
 simplicity of a child, ever thoughtful 
 of the wants and the necessities of 
 others, and especially devoted to the 
 great interests of benevolence and re- 
 ligion, to-day fighting the battles of his 
 Country, and to-morrow entering a 
 house of prayer and acceptably leading 
 the devotion of God's people., wearing 
 himself out in the service of his country 
 and dying the calm and blessed death 
 of the Christian Hero. What an ex- 
 ample he was to others ! — What an evi- 
 dence of the power of a holy life, and 
 of the influence of a Sailor when his 
 heart is filled with the love to Christ. 
 
 And these illustrations are but two 
 of the many of the hopefulness of the 
 Cause which looks to the Sea as the 
 chief theatre of its operations. When 
 we reach a sailor's heart with Christian 
 influences, we touch an electric chord 
 which may communicate saving truths 
 to men who are now sitting in darkness 
 and the shadow of Death. When you 
 place in his hands the Lamp of God's 
 word, you will soon see that light shin- 
 ing amid other scenes undimmed and 
 unwasted, upheld by a hand that never 
 wavers, and borne onward under the 
 impulses of a heart that never knows 
 
1863.J 
 
 SAILOR'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 71 
 
 fear or shame, and that will not falter 
 even amid persecutions and trials. 
 
 Lifes's Answer. 
 
 BY THE DEAN OF CANTEKBURT. 
 
 I know not if the dark or bright 
 
 Sliiill be my lot ; 
 If thiit wherein my hopes delight 
 
 Be best or not. 
 
 It miiy be mine to drag for years 
 
 Toil'? heiivy chain : 
 Or day and iiiglit my meat be tears 
 
 On bed of pain. 
 
 Pear faces may surround my hearth 
 
 With smiles and glee ; 
 Or I may dwell alone, and mirth 
 
 Be strange to me. 
 
 My bark is wafted to the strand 
 
 By hre Uh divine ; 
 And on the helm there rests a hand 
 
 Other than mine. 
 
 One who has known in storms to sail, 
 
 I have on board ; 
 Above the raving of the gale, 
 
 I hear my Lord. 
 
 He holds me when the billows smile — 
 
 I shall not fall. 
 If sharp 'tis short; if long 'tis light; 
 
 He tempers ali. 
 
 Safe to the land, safe to the land— 
 
 The end is this : 
 And then with Him go hand in hand, 
 
 Far into bliss. 
 
 Macm.illan's Magazine. 
 
 George Whitefield on the 
 Atlantic ; 
 
 OR THE POWER OF CHRISTIAN KINDNESS 
 AND CONSISTENCY. 
 
 A voyage to America, during the 
 last century, was not the comparative- 
 ly easy thing which, through the on- 
 ward march of modern science, it has 
 now become. For many long and wea- 
 ry weeks, even months, the sailor to 
 the Western Hemisphere might be kept 
 tossing on the deep by unfavorable 
 winds, or lying in the deep calm, as idle 
 
 ' As a paintod ship 
 Upon a painted ocean.' 
 
 The very length of the voyage, how- 
 ever, which tried their patience, in- 
 creased the opportunities of usefulness 
 to those who watclied for every occa- 
 sion of doing good to others ; and bless- 
 ed are they that ' .sow beside all waters.' 
 The noble evangelist who could say, 'I 
 want more tongues, more bodies, more 
 souls for the Lord Jesus, — had I ten 
 thousand, He should have them all' — 
 
 and who was going to America to lay 
 out his time and strength in preaching 
 Christ, found in the ship in which he 
 sailed, and which did not reach her 
 haven for four months, a wide door and 
 effectual for the prosecution of the 
 work to which he had devoted himself 
 A more unpromising outset, and yet a 
 more happy end of labor, perhaps no 
 watchman in the Lord's vineyard ever 
 experienced. To Whitefield the scene 
 was new. He was on board a ship full 
 of soldiers, proverbially a hardened and 
 careless set of men. The naval and 
 the military officers were all determin- 
 edly set against religion, and looked on 
 the man of God as a hypocrite and im- 
 postor. 'The first Lord's day one of 
 them played on the hautboy, and no- 
 thing was to seen but cards, and little 
 heard but cursing and blasphemy. ' 
 Mild reproof he made use of, when he 
 heard his Lord's name profaned, yet 
 the effects were at first discouraging. 
 ' I could do no more,' he says, 'for a 
 season, than, while I was writing, now 
 and then turn my head by way of re- 
 proof to a lieutenant of the soldiers, 
 who swore as though he was born of a 
 swearing constitution. Now and then 
 he would take the hint, return my nod 
 with a " Doctor, I ask your pardon," 
 and then to his cards and swearing a- 
 gain.' 
 
 From the cabin occupants Whitefield 
 turned to the steerage passengers, a- 
 mong whom he moved with so much 
 gentleness and love, that he quite won 
 their hearts, disarmed their prejudices, 
 and was eventually gladdened by ob- 
 taining a hearing from the soldiers, 
 whom he styles his ' red-coat parish- 
 ioners,' and to whom he read and ex- 
 pounded th^ Bible between decks, 
 twice a day. 
 
 No service was as yet allowed to be 
 
 held in the great cabin ; but gradually 
 
 : a way was opened up for this also. The 
 
 captain of the ship slept in the ' round 
 
 ; house.' On Whitfield's solicitation, he 
 
 ; gave him permission to retire to it oc- 
 
 ; casionally for devotional purposes, a- 
 
 1 long with a few companions. In the 
 
 ; neighborhood of this, the weather-bea- 
 
 j ten skipper might be seen standing, 
 
 I and overhearing the words of prayer 
 
 \ sent up to the throne of God on high. 
 
 j Who can tell the effect produced on 
 
 bim by listening, it may be, to supplica- 
 
72 
 
 SAILOR'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 [November, 
 
 tions on his own behalf, poured forth 
 by the very man whose godly ways, on 
 Lis first embarking, he had so heartily 
 disliked? 
 
 Some time afterwards, being invited 
 by the military captain to take a cup 
 of cofiFee with him, Whitfield embraced 
 the opportunity of telling him 'that 
 he thought it a little odd to pray and 
 preach to the servants, and not to the 
 master.' adding, 'that if he thought 
 proper, he would make use of a short 
 collect now and then, to him and the 
 other gentlemen, in the great cabin.' 
 To this an ominous shake of the head 
 was given, followed up with the re- 
 mark, ' I think we may, when we have 
 nothing else to do.' It was not, how- 
 ever, till they had experienced a 
 month's detention, from cross winds off 
 Deal that the evangelist's hopes of 
 speaking a word for hiis Master in the 
 main cabin were gratified. A visible 
 change had come over the ship's cap- 
 tain after his perusing a religious book 
 which Whitfield one day placed on his 
 pillow, in exchange for one on politics 
 which he found lying there, and of 
 which he courteously begged the sail- 
 or's acceptance, when next morning, 
 with a smile, he asked if he knew who 
 had made the exchange. About the 
 same time the military captain met 
 him one day, as he came from his wont- 
 ed work among the common soldiers, 
 and told him that he ' might have pub- 
 lic service and expounding twice a day, 
 in the great cabin.' 
 
 The scene on board the ship was 
 now greatly changed. The soldiers, 
 who saw from Whitfield's daily efibrts 
 for their good, that he was in earnest 
 in seeking their souls' welfare, had 
 been greatly melted under the word 
 faithfully proclaimed in their hearing; 
 and the declaration of the Lord's mess 
 age of mercy to fallen sinners, was now 
 reverently and attentively listened to 
 on the part of the very officers of the 
 cabin who had at first so hotly opposed 
 the preacher. How true it is that, 
 when a man's ways please the Lord, 
 He maketh even his enemies to be at 
 peace with him ; and how often is a 
 consistent and holy walk the instru- 
 ment of recommending the Gospel to its 
 most inveterate opposers! A patient 
 continuance in well-doing on the part 
 of Christian professors, attests the re- 
 ality of that which is their animating 
 
 principle, and proves it to be indeed a 
 thing tangible, and not, as many sup- 
 pose, 'the baseless fabric of a vision.' 
 
 The ship touched at Gibraltar to 
 take in more troops, and here Whit- 
 field had an opportunity of preaching 
 on shore, in a place ' in which, being, 
 as it were, a public rendezvous of all 
 nations, he thought he saw the world 
 in epitome.' His preaching hero was 
 accompanied with a blessing from a- 
 bove. ' Samson's riddle,' says he, ' was 
 fulfilled here : out of the strong came 
 forth sweetness. Who more unlikely 
 to be wrought on than soldiers ! And 
 yet, among any set of people I have 
 not been where God has made His 
 power more known. Many that were 
 blind have received their sight, many 
 that had fallen back have repented and 
 turned to the Lord again: many that 
 were ashamed to own Christ openly, 
 have waxen bold, and many saints had 
 their hearts filled with joy unspeakable 
 and full of glory.' 
 
 Once more afloat on the mighty deep, 
 Whitfield realized a blessed answer to 
 his prayers. Instead of having to 
 preach, as formerly, both in the cabin 
 and between decks, the drum was now 
 beat by order of the officers, morning 
 and evening, and all the ship's company 
 assembled on the deck. He now 
 preached, supported by a captain on 
 each side, while the companies of other 
 two ships sailing along with them, be- 
 ing ' now in the trade winds, drew near 
 and joined in the worship of God.' 
 'The great cabin was now become a 
 Bethel : both captains were daily more 
 and more affected, and a crucified Sav- 
 iour, and the things pertaining to the 
 kingdom of God, were the usual topics 
 of their conversation.' 
 
 How altered the whole aspect of the 
 vessel ! ' Cards and profane books 
 were thrown overboard. An oath be- 
 came a strange thing. The soldiers 
 began to learn to read and write, and 
 the children to repeat their prayers 
 regularly.' The good impressions made 
 were deepened by the breaking out of 
 a fever on board during which Whit- 
 field was unintermitting in his atten- 
 tion to the sick, — crawling on his 
 knees between decks, administering 
 medicines or cordials to them, and such 
 advice as seemed suitable to their cir- 
 cumstances.' 
 
 At length they came in sight of thei 
 
1863. 
 
 SAILOR'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 73 
 
 desired baven. All on board were ua- ^ 
 turally joyful at the close of so tedious ) 
 a voyage; 'but how infinitely more 
 glad,' is the remark of Whitfield on > 
 the occasion, 'will the children of God < 
 be, when, having passed through the s 
 waves of this troublesome world, they \ 
 arrive at the haven of evi rlasting rest !' 
 We cannot close this rapid sketch of 
 the effects produced by the power of ; 
 kindness, and the force of Cliristian < 
 consistency during a single voyage a- > 
 cross the great Atlantic, without re- 
 minding our readers that in the circum- \ 
 stances now narrated, Georgk Whit- I 
 FIELD displayed a higher amount of s 
 moral heroism than perhaps on any \ 
 other occasion of his eventful life. | 
 Those of the Lord's people reading 
 these lines, who may have had long sea | 
 voyages, well know the peculiar diffi- \ 
 culties which have to be encountered \ 
 on board ships when the captain and | 
 officers are opposed to what is good, 
 and will readily appreciate the tact | 
 and courage bj^ which the noble evan- \ 
 gelist of last century was distinguished \ 
 in the first passage to America. Of 
 the months then spent on the broad 
 ocean, Whitfield, writing many years 
 after, takes the following pleasing re- \ 
 trospect : — ' Even at this distance of 
 time, the remembrance of the happy 
 hours I enjoyed in religious exercises 
 on deck, is refreshing to my soul : and 
 although nature sometimes relented at 
 being taken from my friends, and I was 
 little accustomed to the inconveniences 
 of a sea-life, yet a consciousness that I 
 had the glory of God and the good of 
 souls in view, afforded me from time 
 to time unspeakable satisfaction.' 
 
 The success of those labors, by God's 
 blessing, on which a floating hell was 
 turned into a Bethel, may well stimu- 
 late all who are working for the souls 
 of others, to persevere in spite of everj^ 
 discouragement. On the question be- | 
 ing put to Judson, when laboring in 
 Burmah, whether he thought the pros- \ 
 pects bright for the speedy conversion < 
 of the heathen, his answer was, 'As \ 
 bright as the j^Tomises of God.'' Laborers | 
 in God's vineyard, in any sphere ! it is 
 on the strength of these very promises | 
 that you are to cast j'our li,ne as spirit- > 
 ual fishers for men's souls. Have you ) 
 labored long without seeing much fruit, 
 and you are sometimes ready to yield j 
 
 to despair? Still let Gideon's charac- 
 teristic of old be yours. — Though 'faint,' 
 be ' yet pursuing. And among the 
 many means you may employ, forget 
 not to make trial of the law of Chris- 
 tian kindness, and your experience 
 may be that of Henry Martyn, on In- 
 dia's shores, ' The power of gentleness 
 is irresistible.' 
 
 " Thou must be true thyself, 
 
 If thou the truth would'st teach. 
 
 The Russian Navy. 
 
 The appearance in our bay of a small 
 fleet of Russian men-of-war, and the 
 presence in our streets of a number of 
 the sailors of the Czar, naturally ex- 
 cite a desire for some knowledge of the 
 naval strength which the Emperor of 
 all the Russias has at his command. 
 
 The war in the Crimea acted as a 
 boundary line between the Russian 
 navy of the past and that of the present, 
 and the fleet as it is found to-day 
 knows but little history beyond the 
 date on which was concluded the treaty 
 of Paris. The last aggressive act of 
 the old navy was the destruction of the 
 Turkish fleet in the Asiatic harbor of 
 Sinope — an undertaking which did not 
 add much glory to the prowess of the 
 Russian Empire. After this display 
 of maritime strength the Russian ships 
 in the Black Sea were sunk in the har- 
 bor of Sevastopol ; while those of the 
 Baltic sought shelter under the forti- 
 fications of Cronstadt ; and a few in 
 the north lay rotting under cover of 
 the guns of Archangel. 
 
 THE RUSSIAN FLEET BEFORE THE 
 CRIMEAN WAR. 
 
 Before this war, Russia possessed 
 two squadrons of about equal power ; 
 one stationed in the Black Sea, the 
 other in the Baltic. Each carried about 
 20.000 seamen, and about half the 
 number of marines and marine artillery 
 men, and the aggregate number of 
 guns was betwen 8.000 and 9.000. 
 These two fleets comprised respective- 
 ly about 25 ships of the line, 18 friga- 
 tes, 40 corvettes, and about 20 to 23 
 steamers. At the Northern ports, in 
 addition to the above preparation of 
 ships, there were about 250 gun-boats. 
 Of this large army of ships in the Baltic, 
 not more than 16 or 18 ships of the 
 
74 
 
 SAILOR'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 [November, 
 
 line, 10 frigates, and as many corvettes, 
 beside half the number of steamers 
 enumerated, were in a fit condition tc 
 put to sea. An official list, indeed, 
 dated 1853 , shows the available 
 strength of the Black Sea fleet at that 
 time, to have been composed as follows : 
 
 5 Line of-Bittle sliips, each carrying 120 guns. 
 
 13 Lme-of-battle ships, each carrying 80 guns. 
 
 7 Line-of-hattle aliips, each carrying 54 guns. 
 
 3 Line-of B.ittle ships, each carrying 
 
 friim 40 to ,. 80 guns. 
 
 25 Brigs, corvettes, &c., amounti./^ toge- 
 ther to . 170 guns. 
 
 2 Steam corvettes, each carrying 6 guns. 
 
 But of these, probably the innjority 
 would, by an experienced Naval Sur- 
 veyor, have been condemned as nearly 
 worthless for war purposes. Russian 
 ships were, for the most part, built of 
 pine, the worst material that could be 
 selected, both as regards durability 
 and its liability to splinter in action ; 
 the workmanship was usually very bad. 
 A remarkable example of this was af- 
 forded .some time ago by a new first- 
 rate line-of-battleship, theOasarewitcU 
 on her way from the Dnieper to the 
 North, putting into Malta for repairs, 
 almost in a sinking condition, propped 
 round and round her hull with cables 
 and hawsers, and yet breaking so fast 
 that her crew were well nigh exhaust- 
 ed with their exertions in keeping her 
 afloat. 
 
 THE RUSSIAN FLEET AT THE PRESENT 
 TIME. 
 
 Great activity has for some time 
 been prevalent in all the Russian dock- 
 yard, and the most strenous efforts 
 continue to be made to repair the loss 
 of their fleet sunk in the harbor of 
 Sevastopol. In 1854, Russia could only 
 number in her navy two or three pro- 
 pellers. Since 1857, .several have been 
 constructed. The Baltic fleet has 
 rapidly received re-enforcements, and 
 the squadron in the Amoor on the 
 eastern coast of Asia has been consider- 
 ably augmented. According to the 
 latest official statement which we have 
 at command (June, 1862), the Russian 
 fleet then stood as follows : 
 
 STEAMSHIPS. 
 
 Ships of the line 9 
 
 Frigates — jiropeilers 12 
 
 Frigates— paddle 8 
 
 Corvettes .... ........22 
 
 Clippers ... . .. .12 
 
 FloaijMsr battfifies — arnfior-cl.jd.... ........ 1 
 
 Sloops — armor-clad . . 1 
 
 Sloops, gun-boats, &c 79 
 
 Yachts 2 
 
 Schooners . .... 25 
 
 Transp;irt slii|>s.. 9 
 
 Small pad<lle wheel steamers.... 
 
 Totai 248 
 
 The above are propelled by a force 
 of 37,007 ho."se power, and carry 2,387 
 guns, 
 
 SAILING VESSELS. 
 
 Ships of the Line ....... 9 
 
 Frigates 5 
 
 Corvettes 3 
 
 Brigs 3 
 
 Schooners 13 
 
 Gunboats with rams - 2 
 
 Tenders 2 
 
 Transport ships 13 
 
 Yachts 12 
 
 Total 62 
 
 These sailing vessels carry 1,304 
 guns. 
 
 The above give a total naval strength 
 of 310 vessels, armed with 3,691 guns. 
 In addition to these, there are three 
 floating doc'^s, and about 300 vessels 
 for harbor service, &c. 
 
 THE PERSONNEL OF THE NAVY. 
 
 Stood as follows at the beginning of 
 the year 1861. 
 
 Admirals and Generals.... ....... C5 
 
 Officers of the staff and subalterns. 3,245 
 
 Civil functionaries 966 
 
 8'>ldiers and Sailors 65,216 
 
 Marine Guards and Conductors 189 
 
 Total 59,691 
 
 The Grand Duke Constantine is the 
 Admiral- General of the fleet. Under 
 him are a commandant of the fleet in 
 the Baltic, five commandants of squa- 
 drons, one commandant of the squadron 
 in the Black Se?., and one commandant 
 of the squadron in the Caspian Sea. 
 These offices are filled by Vice or Rear- 
 .Admirals. ' 
 
 The Ministry of Marine, which is 
 presided over by the Minister, is divid- 
 ed into eight departments, under the 
 surveillance of Directors and Vice-Di- 
 rectors. These are : 1. The Chancel- 
 lar}'. 2. The Department of the Per- 
 sonnel. 3. Ilydrographical Depart- 
 ment. 4. Commissariat Department. 
 
 5. Department of Naval Construction. 
 
 6. Audit Department. 7. Medical 
 Directory. 8. Directory of Artillery. 
 In addition to these there are several 
 minor depaFtments, which are charged 
 with the equipment of the Navy, the 
 training of sailors, the superintendence 
 of naval fortresses, &c. 
 
1863.J 
 
 SAILOR'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 75 
 
 The expense of the Russian Nav}' for 
 1862, according to the official budget 
 of that year, was 20,589,831 roubles, 
 or S^15,U2,^7 '6.— Tribune. 
 
 Slarers in the South Sea. 
 
 Recent English papers furnish par- 
 ticulars of the kidnapping of South 
 Sea Islanders b}^ Peruvian slavedealers, 
 which has excited so much horror and 
 indignation in ttie Australian colonies. 
 At a recent meeting in Sydney, a 
 clergyman who was for many years a 
 missionary in Western Polynesia, said 
 that early this year as many as from 
 one thousand five hundred to two 
 thousand hapless beings, collected from 
 ♦he different islands, had been convey- 
 ed to South America, and at this date 
 the traflBc is being carriel on with 
 unabated vigor. 
 
 It is knowp that twent5^-five vessels 
 have been fitted out in Callao, under 
 pretext that they were going to the 
 South Sea Islands to hire laborers, but 
 in every case they have been used to 
 carry off" the natives who fell into their 
 clutches. The dealers have a depot 
 at an island called Easter Island. This 
 island is about thirty-six miles in cir- 
 cuit. It lies in longitude 109 W. and 
 latitude 27 S. It is said that they 
 have completely swept the island of 
 its inhabitants. Seven vessels assembl- 
 ed on the island, sent on shore most 
 of their crews, no doubt thoroughly 
 armed, surrounded the natives, and 
 carried them off". Having carried off" 
 the people, they took hogs, poultry, 
 and whatever else they desired, ond 
 burned the houses, reserving, no doubt, 
 as many as they wanted for their own 
 purposes. To this island the slavers 
 carry the wretched beings whom they 
 manage to seize, and a schooner plies 
 between the island and the coast, car- 
 rying cargo after cargo to slavery and 
 death. These vessels are said to be in 
 whole or in part owned by a mercantile 
 house in Callao, and this house is 
 further said to be connected with a firm 
 of Liverpool. 
 
 On board one vessel that called off" 
 Samoa there were three hundred na- 
 tives of different islands, and the cap- 
 tain wished to obtain four bund -ed 
 more to complete his cargo. It is said 
 that the dealers express a determina- 
 
 tion to increase the number of their 
 victims to ten thousand. The follow- 
 ing incident of the kidnapping opera- 
 tions is given : 
 
 A vessel loaded with captives, on 
 the second day alter they bad been got 
 on board, stood in toward the shore. 
 Some natives, ignorant of the character 
 OS the ship, and of what had transpired, 
 went on board. Those in confinement 
 recognized the well-known sounds of 
 their native tongue. Tliey shouted 
 for help, but of course in vain. By 
 desperate efforts they succeeded in 
 breaking a hole in the door large enough 
 to let one through at a time. A num- 
 ber succeeded in reaching the deck, 
 and rushed over the ship's side into 
 the sea, but there were only two or 
 three small canoes, land was a long 
 way off", and some were not able to 
 swim well. The wretches on board 
 fired from the deck upon the helpless 
 natives in the canoes and the water. 
 A boat was lowered, and many were re- 
 captured. Seven only escaped. Among 
 those carried off' were thirteen Church 
 members and many candidates. Eight- 
 een wives are left without husbands, 
 and sixty-three children are deprived 
 of their fathers. — N. Y. Evmmg Post. 
 
 Quarantine. 
 
 If a hundred persons were asked the 
 meaning (?f the word quarantine, it is 
 highly probable that ninety-nine would 
 answer, " Oh ! it is something con- 
 nected with shipping — the plague and 
 yellow fever." Few are aware that it 
 simply signifies a period of forty days ; 
 the word, though common enough at 
 one time, being only known to us 
 through the acts for preventing the 
 introduction of foreign diseases, direct- 
 ing that persons coming from inlected 
 places must remain forty days on ship- 
 board before they can be permitted to 
 land. The old military and monastic 
 writers frequently used the word to 
 denote this space of time. In a truce 
 between Henry I. of England, and 
 Robert, Earl of Flanders, one of the 
 articles is to the following eff'ect : " If 
 Robert should depart from the treaty, 
 and the parties could not be reconcil- 
 ed to the king in three quarantines, 
 each of the hostages should pay the 
 sum of 100 marks." 
 
76 
 
 SAILOR'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 [November, 
 
 From a very early period, the foun- 
 ders of our legal polity in England, 
 when they had occasion to limit a short 
 period of time for any particular pur- 
 pose, evinced a marked predilection 
 for the quarantine. Thus, by the laws 
 ofEthelbert, who died in 616, the li- 
 mitation for the payment of the fine 
 for slaying a man at an open grave was 
 fixed at forty nights, the Saxon rec- 
 koning b}' nights instead of days. The 
 privilege of sanctuary was also confin- 
 ed within the same number of days. 
 The eighth chapter of Magna Charta 
 declares that a " widow shall remain in 
 her husband's capital messuage for for- 
 ty days after his death, within which 
 time her dower shall be assigned." 
 The tenant of a Knight's fee, by mili- 
 tary service, was bound to attend the 
 king for forty days, properly equipped 
 for war 
 
 According to Blackstone, no man 
 was in the olden time allowed to abide 
 in England more than forty days, un- 
 less he were enrolled in some tithing 
 or decennary. And the same authority 
 asserts that, by privilege of Parliament, 
 members of the House of Commons 
 are protected from arrest for forty days 
 before the next appointed meeting. 
 By the ancient Costumale of Preston, 
 about the reign of Henry II, a condi- 
 tion was imposed on every newmade 
 burgess, that if he neglected to build 
 a house within forty days, he should 
 forfeit forty pence. 
 
 In ancients prognostications of wea- 
 ther, the period of forty days plays a 
 considerable part. An old Scotch 
 proverb states : 
 
 "Saint Swithin's day, gin ye do rain, 
 For forty days it will remain ; 
 Saint Swithin's day, and be ye fair, 
 For forty days 'twill rain nae mair," 
 
 There can be no reasonable doubt that 
 this precise time is deduced from the 
 period of Lent, which is in itself a 
 commemoration of the forty days fast 
 of Christ in the wilderness. The pe- 
 riod of forty days is, we need scarcely 
 say, of frequent occurrence in the 
 Scripture. Moses was forty days on 
 the mount; the diluvial rain fell upon 
 the earth for forty days ; and the same 
 period elapsed from the time the tops 
 of the mountains were seen till Noah 
 opened the window of the ark. 
 
 Even the Pagans observed the same 
 
 space of time in the mysteries of Ceres 
 and Proserpine, in which the wooden 
 image of a Viigin was lamented over 
 during forty days ; and Tertullian re- 
 lates as a fact, well known to the Hea- 
 then, that for forty days an entire city 
 remained suspended in the air over 
 Jerusalem as a certain presage of the 
 Mill nniura. The process of embalm- 
 ing used b}'' the ancient Egyptians 
 lasted forty days ; the ancient physi- 
 cians ascribed many strange changes 
 to the same period ; so, also, did the 
 vain seekers after the philosopher's 
 stone and the elixir of life. 
 
 Book of Days. 
 
 National Thanksi^ivin^. 
 
 The following eminently fit and 
 beautiful Proclamation has just been 
 issued by our beloved President, whom 
 may God continue to ble^s ! 
 By the President of the United States of 
 America. 
 A PROCLAMATION. 
 
 The year that is drawing toward its 
 close has been filled with the blessings 
 of fruitful fields and healthful skies. 
 To tliese bounties, which arc so con- 
 stantly enjoyed that we are prone to 
 forget the source from which they 
 come, others have been added, which 
 are of such an extraordinary nature 
 that they cannot fail to penetrate and 
 soften tVvi heart which is habitually 
 insensible to the ever-watchful provi- 
 vidence of Almighty God.. 
 
 In the midst of a civil war of une- 
 qualled magnitude and severity, which 
 has sometimes seemed to provoke the 
 aggression of foreign States, peace has 
 been preserved with all nations, order 
 has been njaintained, the laws have 
 been respected and obeyed, and har- 
 mony has prevailed every where ex- 
 cept in the theatre of military con- 
 flict ; while that theatre has been great- 
 ly contracted by the advancing armies 
 and navies of the Union. 
 
 Needful diversions of wealth and 
 of strength from the fields of peace- 
 ful labor to the National defence have 
 not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or 
 the ship. The axe has enlarged the 
 borders of our settleteients, and the 
 mines as well of iron and coal as of 
 
1863.J 
 
 SAILOR'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 77 
 
 the precious metals, have yielded even 
 more abundantly than heretofore. 
 
 Population has steadily increased, 
 notwithstanding the waste that has 
 been made in the camp, the siege, and 
 the battle-field ; and the country, re- 
 joicing in the consciousness of aug- 
 mented strength and vigor, is pennit- 
 ed to expect a continuance of years 
 with a large in' rease of freedom. 
 
 No human council hath devised, nor 
 hath any mortal baud worked out 
 these great things. They are the gra- 
 cious gifts of the Most High God, who, 
 while dealing with us in anger for our 
 sins, has, nevertheless, remembered 
 mercy, [t has seemed to me fit and 
 proper that they should be solemnly, 
 reverently, and gratefully acknowledg- 
 ed as with one heart and voice by the 
 whole American people. 
 
 I do therefore, invite my fellow-citi- 
 zeusin every part of the United States, 
 and also those who are at sea, and 
 those who are sojourning in foreign 
 countries, to set apart and observe the 
 last Thursday of November next, as a 
 -day of thanksgiving and prayer and 
 praise to our beneficent Father, who 
 dwelleth in the heavens ; and I recom- 
 mend that while offering up the ascrip- 
 tions justly due to him for such singu- 
 lar deliverances and blessings, they do 
 also, with humble penitence for our 
 national perverseness and disobedience, 
 commend to his tender care all those 
 who have become widows, orphans, 
 mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable 
 civil strife in which we are unavoidably 
 engaged, and fervently implore the in- 
 terposition of the Almighty hand to 
 heal the wounds of the nation, and to 
 restore it, as soon as may be consistent 
 with the divine purposes, to the full 
 enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranqui- 
 lity, and union. 
 
 [l. s.] In testimony whereof, I have 
 hereunto set my hand and caused the 
 seal of the United States to be affixed. 
 
 Done at the city of Washington, 
 this third day of October, in the year 
 of our Lord, one thousand eight hund- 
 red and sixty-three, and of the inde- 
 pendence of the United Statess the 
 eighty-eighth. 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 
 By the the President, 
 Wm. H. Seward, Secretj.ry of State. 
 
 FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 Korway. 
 
 F. L. Rymker, Chaplain. 
 
 Our Chaplain reports his return from 
 a visit to Denmark, where he remain- 
 ed for some time laboring in the work 
 of the Gospel, with great joy to himself 
 and the friends who gladly welcomed 
 him back to his former field. 
 
 As Paul wrought for his own support 
 in his former occupation of tent-making, 
 so does our chaplain, occasionally, in 
 the making of artificial legs, by which 
 means, like the good physician, caring 
 for the bodies of men, he sometimes 
 finds access to their souls. 
 
 He mentions G. Huberth, a sailorj 
 who was converted in this country, but 
 returned to Norway to tell his kins 
 folk how great things the Lord had 
 done for him, having mercy upon him, 
 as having commenced his labors in his 
 native place. 
 
 For the last quarter's labor, he re- 
 ports 408 miles travelled, 53 sermons 
 preached, 4 prayer- meetings attended, 
 6 books, and 2,000 pages of tracts dis- 
 tributed, 3 believers baptized, 91 visits 
 made, of which 5 were to ships or sea- 
 men ; 6 Bibles and 15 Testaments 
 sold, &c. 
 
 Denmark. 
 
 Rev. p. E. Ryding, Chaplain. 
 
 This servant of God has furnished us 
 full accounts of his labors in Copenha- 
 gen and elsewhere in Denmark. He 
 says of the last quarter : — 
 
 " I have visited a great number of 
 vessels, and have had the opportunity 
 to speak to many seamen. Eternity 
 will manifest the fruits of these labors. 
 There is a great desire among seamen 
 to hear the word of God, and a great 
 number of books have been sold to 
 them. It appears that the Spirit of 
 God breathes on these sons of the sea." 
 
SAILOR'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 [November, 
 
 He has visited Sweden also. Speaking 
 of Nelmo, be says : — 
 
 " It is a considerable seaport, and 
 consequently a number of seamen are 
 there. I held several meetings in the 
 houses, but they were not well attend- 
 ed. Among the seamen, however, on 
 board vessels and in the harbor, I had 
 better success. I visited many vessels, 
 and tliere was a great desire to get 
 books and tracts." 
 
 Here he had access to a number of 
 Poles, who had taken shelter here, on 
 account of Russian cruisers. They 
 were Greek catholics, caring little 
 about religion. 
 
 Copenhagen. 
 
 Rev. p. E. Ryding, Chaplain. 
 
 Speaking of Ronne in Bornholm, he 
 says : — 
 
 " At this place there continues to be 
 a good field for labor, and it appears 
 that the Lord has a great people there 
 to bo saved, for which reason the ene- 
 my shews great opposition. In the 
 northern pare ol the island, where some 
 time ago great darkness prevailed, seve- 
 ral individuals have been awakened. 
 Among these is a man who used to be 
 a most ungodly person ; drinking, play- 
 ing at cards and swearing, were his 
 principal employments, and he was a 
 terror to many. This man attended a 
 meeting, and the word reached his con- 
 science, and his soul was much troubled. 
 He nevertheless pursued his former 
 c;jurse, but at the same time he attend- 
 ed the meetings. He began to pray, 
 and at lengtu he found favor in tiie 
 sight of God, and he is now an humble 
 follower of Christ. The conversion of 
 this man has produced a great sensatiou 
 in a wide circle — people wonder that so 
 ungodly a person could be converted. 
 Ma}'^ the Spirit of God use him as a 
 mean^ to the conversion of many poor 
 sinners. 
 
 In the worst quarters of Ronne, 
 where the seamen live, a little spiritual 
 lite appears to have commenced. A 
 daughter of one of the seamen, who was 
 out at service, came home to visit her 
 parents ; she attended the meeting, and 
 it pleased God to apply his word to her 
 
 heart. At length she found peace 
 through the blood of Christ. Having 
 found peace herself, her chief concern 
 was about her mother. God has gra- 
 ciously listened to her prayers. Her 
 mother was induced to attend the meet- 
 ing ; and although she hardened her 
 hear't for some time, yet the word of 
 God found entrance into her heart, and 
 she is now sitting like Mary at the feet 
 of Jesus. Mother and daughter are 
 now much concerned about the father. 
 He is out at sea, but they frequently 
 write to him. When he left home 
 they supplied him with tracts and a 
 New Testament. He is a hard-hearted 
 ungodly man, and has lived in sin a 
 great number of j'^ears — but they are 
 now sending up their prayers on his be- 
 half to the Throne of Grace, and they 
 entertain the hope that God will gra- 
 ciously listen to, and answer their 
 pra5'ers. There is a considerable reli- 
 gious movement in this quarter — many 
 pray, the one for the other. There is 
 much inquiry after the Word of God, 
 and the desire for reading is very great. 
 My labors in Boi'nholm are very exten- 
 sive. Many visit me in my lodgings, 
 both from the town and the country, 
 who inquire after the way to heaven j 
 and there are many places I have to go 
 and teach poor sinners the way of sal- 
 vation. Lord, may thy Spirit be pour- 
 ed out on this people, and save tbem 
 from destruction who are strangers to 
 everlasting life. 
 
 At Nexo, I visited several families, 
 whom I encouraged to steadfastness. I 
 labored in the neighborhood — spoke to 
 several persons about the one thing 
 needful, and was glad to find several 
 individuals whose joy it was to walk in 
 the ways of the Lord. I then left for 
 Svanike, where I made several house 
 visits, and preached to a few persons, 
 who seemed to hunger after rigliteous- 
 ness. From thence I went to Bolshaon, 
 where I visited and preached. A wo- 
 man who attended the meeting, was 
 seized by the Spirit of God, and con- 
 vinced of the truth of the word of God. 
 She attended several meetings I held 
 in various places, and I believe she has 
 found favor in the sight of God. 
 
 I went to Ankjier, made visits and 
 preached to a good assembly, and there 
 were many who received the word with 
 joy. I conducted a prayer-meeting, and 
 
1863.J 
 
 SAILOR'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 79 
 
 great grace was upon us. I visited the 
 neighboring parts, encouraged the peo- 
 ple of God, and conducted a prayer- 
 meeting. 
 
 In the parish of Aakirke, I spoke 
 with a female, who is now a sincere 
 believer. She told me that about nine 
 years ago, she had been with some rela- 
 tions where I had come, and has given 
 her two tracts. She took them, and 
 put them in her pocket — but when she 
 went home she read them, and they 
 made a deep impression on her heart 
 which was never eradicated. Never- 
 theless, it was not strong enough to 
 draw her mind entirely from the world. 
 The seed was however sown ; and some 
 years after that, when she heard the 
 word of God being preached faithful!}', 
 she was powerfully reminded of what 
 she had read, and the Spirit of God 
 carried on his work in her heart, and 
 she has now for several years found her 
 only comfort in the blood of Jesus, and 
 walks as an humble believer. 
 
 God has looked in mercy upon me, 
 poor sinful creature, and permitted me 
 to be an instrument in his hand to pro- 
 mote his kingdom and glory. 
 
 I have preached 37 sermons, conduct 
 ed 12 prayer-meetings ; visited about 
 422 vessels ; disposed of 170 Bibles and 
 New Testaments, and 197 religious 
 pamphlets, and distributed about 2,135 
 tracts." 
 
 The Sailor's Magazine. 
 
 The American Seamen's Friend So- 
 ciety publish an exceedingly interesting 
 Magazine with the above title, which 
 we commend to the perusal of landsmen 
 as well as seamen. It ought to be widely 
 circulated and extensively read. Men 
 of means could do much good by send- 
 ing money to the Society for its gratui- 
 tous circulation on the land and on the 
 sea. It would be casting bread upon 
 the waters. 
 
 N. Y. Observer, Nov. 15. 
 
 Marine Disasters in September. 
 
 The total losses to American sea 
 going craft reported during September 
 are comparatively light, notwithstand- 
 
 ing the severe gales that prevailed in 
 the month. The raids by the Confe- 
 derate privateers, which have formed 
 such an impressive feature in our 
 monthly reports for a long time, were 
 confined during September to the des- 
 truction of but one vessel — the ship 
 Anglo Saxon. 
 
 The fotal losses in the month were 
 15, namely, 4 ships, 2 brigs and 9 
 schooners. Of these 7 were wrecked, 
 3 abandoned, 2 burn, 1 ibundered, 1 
 capsized, and 1 is missing. 
 
 The following are their names, &c., 
 including nearly an equal number of 
 foreigners, bound to or from an Ame- 
 rican port. 
 
 [The ualure of the disaster is iiuJicateii as follows. 
 w for \vreckt;U ; a., abanduueil ; 6., burnt ; _/"., 
 fuundereU ; c, captized ; 7?i.| missing ] 
 
 SHIPS. 
 
 B. R. Miilan, a, from New York for Cadiz. 
 Ahghi S.ixuii b, [*| from Liverjioul for New Ycrk. 
 Santa CliUi.-. a, troni Oallao for Uanil'Urg. 
 Anderson (Iial ) w, fioiii Lisbon lor JSew York. 
 TrOi.il-, lit , frmn Pliiladeli hia lor San F lancisco. 
 Loussiana, (Nor.) a., from New York lor Autweip. 
 
 Barks. 
 Gaspar, (Cliil )/, from Pisagua/oi New York. 
 Geo. Sands, (H.im) w., from San Fianciseo for 
 Hong Kong. 
 
 BRIGS. 
 
 Gitana, (Br.) u>, from New York for Kingston, Ja. 
 Trad Wnid, w, trom Matanioras lor New York. 
 Helen Jane (Hi.) w, from New York for Oporto. 
 Clarence vlir.) w, from New York for Barbadoes. 
 Ennly/, Irmn New York fur Boston. 
 iiiita Ann McAdams,(Br.) if, from Susrua for New 
 York. 
 
 SCHOONBBS. 
 
 Marthe, w, from Musquash, N B. for Boston. 
 A. O. Bnia I, w, (Fi lung vessel of ProvincetowD.) 
 Bujan, w, fi om E.izabeinport for New Haven. 
 Golden ilod, b, \]] 
 
 Spray (lir.) w, from Boston for Cornwallis. 
 Leader, c, Irom F.ill Kivcr for New York, 
 Winona, w. from Elizabethport,.for New Haven. 
 Jessie [lir.] w, IVoni liio Gianuefor New Y. rk. 
 licHlerie K.indom, [Br.l lo, from Inagu,, lor Boston. 
 Wave, w, from B.mjjor or UartlbrU. 
 K. E. Cock, w, [Fishing \ e.-.se. ol Provineetown.] 
 Rush, u, from Boston lor Beaulort, N O. 
 Clifton (LJr.) tp, Irom New York tor St. Johns, N. F. 
 Partial losses are not included in the list. The 
 total valui- of the above domestic craft is estmiated 
 at $-J10,UOO. 
 
 [*J Burnt by Confederate steamer Florida. 
 [tj L>eslroyed rebels in Chesapeake Bay. 
 
 — Journal of Commerce. 
 
 Vessels. Value. 
 
 Total losses for January 44 $l,e86,300 
 
 Toial losses for FtbiUary.. SO l,39e,500 
 
 Total losses for March „41 l,6o4,(JOO 
 
 Total loss.;s f.ir April 44 2 l.il,500 
 
 Total losses for May 26 2,Mi,iiOO 
 
 Toial lo.-ses for June 49 ii,(ibtj,;j00 
 
 Total losses for July 30 2,031,000 
 
 Total losses for August 28 1.5uO,300 
 
 Total for seven mouths 352 $15,636,560 
 
80 
 
 SAILOR'S MAGAZINE. 
 
 [November, 
 
 IVotice. 
 
 Subscribers to the Sailors' Magazine, 
 who are not in the habit of binding 
 them, will confer a favor by returning 
 the following numbers by mail, viz : — 
 January, April, June, July, September 
 and October, all of 1863. «A.ddress 
 Sailors' Magazine, New York. 
 
 Receipts for September, 1863. 
 
 New Hampshire. 
 Boscaweii, Estute of Q-eorge Cofflag for 
 
 Peter Coffliig. 10 00 
 
 Harrisville, Children, 5 50 
 Vermont. 
 
 Fairfax, Coiisr. Ch., (in part.) 4 55 
 
 Fayetteville, Cong, Ch , 4 00 
 
 Georgia, Cong. Ch., Ships Library, 12 65 
 
 " Bapt. " " " 13 15 
 
 Montpeliei, Congregational Church, 19 88 
 
 Pittsford, •' " 12 00 
 
 St. Albans, " « 30 25 
 
 Wells River, " " H 00 
 Westford, Congregational Church const 
 
 Rev. C. C. Toney, L. M., 20 Sg 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Andover, Late B. F. Punchard's Estate 
 
 .closed, 62 20 
 
 Attleboro, Ladies Seamen Friend Soc'y, 15 00 
 Dudley, Congregational Church, 10 00 
 
 Fall River, Rev. Mr Thurstons Church, 97 80 
 Georgetown, Ladies Benev. Soc'yj 6 00 
 
 Hamilton, Congrogatioual Church, 6 75 
 
 Mattapoisett, " " 4 11 
 
 Medfleld, Mrs. Sarah A. Goodale, 2 00 
 
 North Bridgewater, First Cong. Ch., 10 60 
 
 North Chelmsford S. Sch Ships Library 27 62 
 " " Mrs. T. F. Wood, self, 
 
 L. M. 20 00 
 
 Orange S. School, 5 18 
 
 South Hadley, Dea. Geo F Camp, First 
 
 Cong. Ch , per Rev R. Knight, 22 00 
 
 Tewsbury, Cong. Ch., $20 from Geo. Lee, 
 
 Ship Library, 40 00 
 
 Woburn, Rebecca Rogers, Ships Library, 10 00 
 
 CONNEOTICUT. 
 
 Ansonia, First Congregational Church, 34 00 
 Bristol, Cong. Ch , const. Dea. Frederick 
 
 Allen, col. Edw. L. Dunbar, L. M's., 43 13 
 Chester, S. School, Cong. Ch., by Four 
 
 Young Ladies, for Ships Library and 
 
 const. Miss Ella S. Pratt, L M., 31 00 
 
 Columbia, Cong. Church, $10 from Daniel 
 
 Holbrook, Ships Library, 21 00 
 
 Coventry. First Cong. Church (in part.) 5 00 
 
 Enfield, ' " " " 53 00 
 
 " Second " " 21 42 
 
 Griswold, First " " 26 00 
 
 " " " " S. School, 
 
 Ships Library, 12 00 
 
 Lebanon, Eleazer Huntington, 10 00 
 
 Morris, S. School, Congregational Church 
 
 Ship.s Library, 12 00 
 
 New Haven, College St. Cong. Church, 63 05 
 " " Third Cong. Church, $20, 
 
 from R S. Fellows, const. Saml. M. 
 
 Fallows, L. M 117 71 
 
 New Preston, Cong Church, S. School 
 
 (on the hill), Ships Library, 12 00 
 
 Norwich Town, C. W. Denison, Jr., for 
 
 Ships Library, 10 00 
 
 Plymouth Hollow, Cong. Ch , const Rev. 
 
 Jas. B. Pearson, L. M., 30 60 
 
 " « S. Schooll, L. M. Ships 
 
 Library, 12 00 
 
 Ridgefield, Union S. Sch., Cong. Sc Meth. 
 
 ('hurches. Ships Library, 10 00 
 
 Simsbury, Congregational Church, 18 04 
 
 Scotland, 8 School, Cong. Church. Ships 
 
 Library, 12 00 
 
 Washington, First Cong. Church, 7 10 
 
 Watertown, S. School, Cong. Ch., Ships 
 
 Library, 13 7 i 
 
 " Congregational Church, 50 ia 
 
 Windsor Lock, Cong. Church, 26 20 
 
 Winsted, First Cong. Ch. 'in part.), 15 B5 
 
 Willimantic. Baptist Church, 7 45 
 
 New York. 
 
 Bridgehampton, Pres, Church, 20 84 
 
 Cask II. Pres. Church, additional, 30 00 
 
 Champlain, Congregational Church, 22 65 
 
 Chazy, " " 8 03 
 
 East New York, Refd. Dutch Church, 16 98 
 
 Fishkill, " '■ " 36 50 
 
 '' J. V. W. Vandervoort, Ships 
 
 Library, 10 00 
 
 " S. School, do Ships Library, 10 00 
 
 New Paltz, Rev. C. H. Stitt, 5 00 
 
 New Hackensack, S. School Ship Libr'y, 12 00 
 
 New York City, A. Friend, const., John 
 
 C V mdervoort, L. M., 20 00 
 
 Madison Square Presb. Church, 258 95 
 
 Sale of clothes Sailors Home, 8 00 
 
 G. G Williams, 5 00 
 
 Cash, 5 00 
 
 " 1 to 
 
 " 5 00 
 
 Wm Curtis Noyes, 25 (0 
 
 Wm. Alex. Smith, 25 00 
 
 D. Olyphant, additional to collection of 
 Presb. Church, Morristown N. J., ^ 200 00 
 
 J. L. Merrill, 5 CO 
 
 Jno. H Ormsbee, 5 00 
 
 J. H. Reed, 60 00 
 
 H. D. Carlile, 20 00 
 
 E. V. H., 6 09 
 Cash, 2 00 
 Geo. A. Townsond.— Sub , 5 00 
 Geo. W. Lane, additional to collection 
 
 in Rev. Dr. Adams Church, 10 00 
 
 Cash, 2 00 
 
 P. Perit, 100 00 
 
 Cash, 10 00 
 
 Pokeepsie, S. School, Miss'y Soc'y.Second 
 
 Refd. Dutch Church, S.iips Library, 12 00 
 New Jersey. 
 
 Newark, Friend, Ships Library, 
 
 11 00 
 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 
 , Rev. J. R. Agnew, 
 
 1 00 
 
 Iowa. 
 
 
 Lorano, Jas. K. Barlow, 
 
 1 00 
 
 $2,120 03 
 
 Robert Carter & Brothers, upwards of $50 worth 
 of well si-lected books for Shi|).s Libraries. 
 
 Barrel of religious papers and pamphlets for the 
 Navy, from W. S. Hyer, Ne>vburgh. 
 
 Bundle of New York Ob,<ervers for S. Snug 
 Harbor, from Miss Palmer, Newtown L. L 
 
 For Sailors Home. 
 
 From Miss M. C. Gay, Suffleld, Connecticut, 1 
 quilt. 
 
 Mrs Cloe Lamson, Jasper, N. Y., 12 prs. wooll- 
 en socks. 
 
 Receipts into the Treasury of the Boston Seamen 
 Friend Society. 
 
 J C. Tyler, 10 00 
 
 William Ropes, 10 00 
 
 H Chickeriug, 10 00 
 
 A. Kingman, 520 06 
 
 Estate of Harriet Sherburne, 47 50 
 
 $95 50 
 
THE 
 
 SAILORS' MAGAZINE. 
 
 Vol. 38. 
 
 JANUARY, 1866. 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 ANNO DOMINI, 
 ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SIX. 
 
 Through the Divine goodness, we 
 enter with this number upon another 
 year of christian work. 
 
 The one just closed has been won- 
 derfully eventful. Its review is cal- 
 culated to excite the devoutest grati- 
 tude, and to encourage a stronger 
 faith in that word, which assures us 
 that all human affairs are administer- 
 ed of God, in the interests of His 
 Christ's kingdom. 
 
 Probably no previous year has sus- 
 tained any closer relation to our na- 
 tional development. It is certain that 
 none has ever equally disclosed the 
 ability and resources of the Church 
 for the work assigned her. 
 
 Students and writers upon the sub- 
 ject of prophecy have been singularly 
 agreed in fixing on the present year as 
 the beginning of a new spiritual era, 
 the latter-day dispensation. 
 
 There is something significant in 
 the wide-spread expectation among 
 Christians of every name, that a time 
 of refreshing is at hand. Perhaps the 
 Lord himself is at hand. Not a few 
 devout and scholarly men, in Great 
 Britain as well as in this country, 
 think so. In a sense, it is true for 
 every one that " the Lord is at hand." 
 Many who began the last year with a 
 
 fair prospect of seeing its end, have 
 been called to behold the King in his 
 glory. Their work is done. It is not 
 so with us. "We are spared, becaase 
 the Master who honors us in penmit- 
 ting us to serve him, and whom we 
 love to serve, has something for us 
 yet to do. 
 
 Without indulging in needless spec- 
 ulation, we should therefore come 
 up to the particular work providen- 
 tially allotted us, and strive to make, 
 with God's blessing, the year whose 
 threshold we stand upon the most use- 
 ful year of our life. 
 
 Surely, the enlargement of com- 
 merce, incident to the happy return 
 of peace in our borders, imposes the 
 responsibility of corresponding effort, 
 and a greater self-sacrifice in our en- 
 deavors to promote the temporal and 
 spiritual welfare of the sailor. Pray- 
 er, also, should constant!}' ascend 
 that, while quickening and accepting 
 our charities, God would graciously 
 bless the chaplains and missionaries of 
 the Society, whether laboring in port 
 or on shipboard, and use them in sav- 
 ing a multitude of souls. 
 
 Our work is one which God has 
 deigned to regard with peculiar favor. 
 
132 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE. 
 
 He is with us, not only bj liis pro- 
 mise, but according to his promise ; 
 and we have it to record, with thanks- 
 giving and praise, that many a hardy 
 son of the ocean has been led, through 
 our agency, to the experience of a 
 Saviour's love. 
 
 Wo rejoice, also, to know that the 
 cause of God amon-r seamen is gradu- 
 
 ally rising to its proper dignity and im- 
 portance in the eyes of the Church. 
 
 May this year be one of conquest 
 for the Prince of Peace ; and from the 
 abundance of the sea conversions be so 
 continuous, as to keep the arches of 
 Heaven ringing with the song of jubi- 
 lant angels ! 
 
 THE GIFTS OF COMERCE TO THE CHURCH.— A SERMON, 
 By Rev. J. E. Rockwell, D. D., 
 
 PASTOR OF THE CENTRAL PRES. CHURCH, BROOKLYN, N. Y. 
 
 " And the daughter of Tyre shall be there 
 with a gift."— Psalm 45.— 12. 
 
 The forty-fifth Psalm is a celebra- 
 tion of the majesty, grace, and tri- 
 umph of Christ, and a description of 
 the glory of the Church in its union 
 with him, as its head and Saviour, 
 when he shall come to be admired of 
 all his saints. This union is celebra- 
 ted in all the glowing imagery and 
 scenery of Oriental poetry, and is set 
 before us with all the attendant 
 circumstances of a wedding feast, when 
 the friends of the Bride are. present 
 with their gifts and congratulations. 
 
 Among those who appear on- this 
 occasion to pay their tribute to the 
 Church, is specially mentioned the 
 " daughter of Tyre," (which in the 
 Hebrew idiom is a personification of 
 the people of that city.) 
 
 In the age of Solomon, Tyre was 
 the symbol of commercial greatness, 
 although it has now fallen to utter 
 decay, and is a sad evidence of the 
 results of sin in bringing down upon 
 cities or nations the divine wrath. 
 
 But in the time when this Psalm 
 was written, and the future glories 
 of the Church celebrated. Tyre was 
 renowned for its arts, manufactures 
 
 and wealth, and its wide extended 
 commerce. Its situation was such 
 as to secure for it the traffic of the 
 world. The sea washed its sides and 
 front. The forests of Lebanon fur- 
 nished timber for its navy. 
 
 Egypt was near at hand to supply 
 it with sails and cordage. Its harbor 
 was capacious and secure, and its 
 fleets became the great means of 
 transportation for the produce of the 
 world. From the overstocked popula- 
 tion colonies were sent forth, which 
 made their way along the shores of the 
 Mediterranean, and even passing be- 
 yond Gibraltar, it is said, discovered 
 the British Isles. 
 
 As the natural result of their com- 
 mercial enterprise, the citizens of 
 Tyre became exceedingly opulent. — 
 Their streets were lined with palaces 
 and splendid works of art. Science 
 and Philosophy there found a home. 
 Artists and architects abounded, and 
 were often called upon to assist in 
 the adornment of other cities, not 
 yet so far advanced in civilization and 
 1 uxury . 
 
 Hence when Solomon was about to 
 erect a magnificent temple for the 
 worship of Jehovah, he sent to Tyre 
 
THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE. 
 
 133 
 
 for the men who should carry out his 
 plans, and received from the king large 
 and costl}'- gifts to further his work. 
 Perhaps it was a recurrence to this 
 fact, that led the Psalmist to speak 
 of what commerce should do for the 
 Church in the great day of her es- 
 pousals, when she should be brought 
 to .the King in glorious apparel, and 
 shine forth in the splendours of her 
 royal state. 
 
 Nor is this the only hint which the 
 Scriptures give us of the influence 
 which commerce is to exert on the 
 future enlargement and glory of the 
 Church. Moses when he is setting 
 before his people their destiny, as he 
 looks down the tide of time, says of 
 Zebulon and Issachar, " They shall call 
 the people unto the mountain, there 
 they shall offer sacrifices of righteous- 
 ness, for they shall suck of the 
 abundance of the seas, and of the 
 treasures hid in the sand." This 
 Zebulun was he of whom Jacob has 
 declared " he shall dwell at the haven 
 of the sea, and shall be for an haven 
 of ships." 
 
 Thus have we set before us a com- 
 mercial people, mingling with all na- 
 tions, and calling them to the moun- 
 tain of the Lord, for the purpose of 
 sacrifice and worship, and thus aiding 
 the Church in its mission of spread- 
 ing abroad the knowledge of the 
 Lord. 
 
 The gifts of commei'ce were thus 
 early given to the Church, and it is 
 evident that even in the time of 
 Solomon the close connection between 
 the mariners of Zebulon and their 
 maratime friends resulted in giving to 
 them some knowledge of Jehovah, 
 and of his laws, and thus in exerting 
 a healthful influence upon them and 
 the world. 
 
 And the influence of commerce in 
 aiding and enlarging the Church is 
 pointed at in other portions of the 
 Scripture with such plainness as to 
 leave no room to doubt what is the 
 meaning of the phrase — " the daugh- 
 ter of Tyre shall be there with a 
 gift." 
 
 The prophet Isaiah in his magnifi- 
 cent description of the future glories 
 of the Church, addresses to her such 
 language as this : " Then thou shalt 
 see, and flow together, and thine 
 heart shall fear and be enlarged, be- 
 cause the abundance of the sea shall 
 be converted unto thee." And, again 
 turning her eyes towards the sea 
 upon which vast fleets are sweeping 
 towards her like clouds, he adds : 
 " Surely the isles shall wait for me, 
 and the ships of Tarshish first, to 
 bring thy sons from far, their silver 
 and their gold with them, and to the 
 name of the Lord thy God, and to the 
 Holy one of Israel, because he hath 
 glorified thee." The import of such 
 passages cannot be mistaken, and we 
 can see in them, and in similar ones 
 from the word of God, that in the 
 coming glory prosperity and enlarge- 
 ment of the Church, it is the design 
 of its great head, to make commerce 
 largely tributary thereto, and to use 
 all its mighty resources of wealth and 
 men in extending its influence, in 
 promoting all the great interests of 
 religion, and in spreading over all the 
 earth, the light, knowledge, and bles- 
 sings of the Gospel. 
 
 When the Church shall be publicly 
 recognized as the Lamb's wife, and is 
 set forth in all her beauty and grace 
 before the King, the daughter of Tyre 
 shall be there with a gift. Commerce 
 shall bring her rich treasures all sanc' 
 tified and appropriated for the glory 
 and enlargement of the Church. 
 
134 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE. 
 
 "We will not pause to consider 
 among these gifts, the wealth which 
 is even now poured in upon the Church 
 from those who are engaged in commer- 
 cal enterprises, and adding, perhaps, be- 
 yond any other one class of men to the 
 opulence of Christian nations. Though 
 even this fact is worthy of considera- 
 tion, the Church feels as much as the 
 nation the results of a prosperous and 
 enlarging commerce. Even now there 
 are multitudes of her sons who are 
 laying upon her altars the gifts which 
 they have brought up from the sea ; 
 and with an enlarged benevolence 
 and increasing ability are nobly con- 
 secrating to the Church, and its in- 
 terests, the wealth which God is giv- 
 ing them. 
 
 And, as the spirit of Christ is more 
 largely diifused among the men who 
 ai'e touching the great springs of com- 
 mercial life, these gifts will be amaz- 
 ingly increased, as the Church comes to 
 be loved and honored as God's in- 
 strument in the conversion of the 
 world, and as the chosen bride of the 
 King of Kings. 
 
 But aside from all this, let us notice, 
 among the gifts of commerce to the 
 Church : 
 
 1st. The binding together the na- 
 tions in a common brotherhood. 
 
 It is recorded of Alexander the 
 Great, that he esteemed the cultiva- 
 tion of commerce to be useful not 
 merely " because she was the procurer 
 of luxuries, but that the interchange 
 of commodities might produce a re- 
 ciprocation ofsentiment and affection, 
 and that the free, equal and unob- 
 structed communication among men 
 of different countries, might remove 
 the local prejudices which prevented 
 them from viewing each other as 
 brothers." 
 
 Who can doubt that this is the na- 
 tural result of commerce, and that the 
 nations are thus yearly brought nearer 
 and nearer to each other, and the pre- 
 judices and barriers which have separ- 
 ated them, thus broken down ? 
 
 And, it is to this end, that the prom- 
 ises of God's word all point, reveal- 
 ing to us as the grand result of the 
 spread of the Gospel to all nations, 
 the establishment of a common bro- 
 therhood among them. 
 
 "We are seeing the development of 
 this fact every year, as commerce en- 
 larges the sphere of its operations. 
 "We cannot walk the streets of our 
 own metropolis without seeing the 
 representatives of almost every nation 
 of the globe. They come hither for 
 the purposes of business or pleasure, 
 and they return to their homes again, 
 having with them new impressions of 
 what Christianity can do for a people. 
 And so, too, in all the great marts 
 of commerce in Asia, and Europe, and 
 Africa, and the islands of the sea, may 
 be found the representatives of all 
 Christian nations, mingling for pur- 
 poses of business or curiosity, with 
 the people of China and India, and 
 Egypt, and sharing with them the in- 
 fluences of a common Christianity. 
 Now the result of all this inter- 
 communion of nations cannot but be 
 for the furtherance of the Gospel. It 
 follows commerce and its extension is 
 thus largely aided. 
 
 2d. Commerce is to aid largely in 
 carrying to the nations of the earth 
 the influences and appliances of the 
 Gospel. 
 
 Before the final conquest of the 
 world by the Head of the Church, the 
 Gospel is to be preached to all na- 
 tions. The word of God and the 
 teachers of our holy religion, are to be 
 distributed over the earth. 
 
THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE. 
 
 135 
 
 But, between the mighty continents 
 and the islands of the sea, which are 
 the dwelling places of man, vast oceans 
 arc rolling which cover nearly two 
 thirds of the earth's surface. These 
 form the great highways of commerce, 
 and over them she holds an undisputed 
 sway. None pass over them without 
 her consent and aid. Her servants are 
 the masters of the sea ; her swift 
 ships bear the products of every clime, 
 the manufactures of every people, and 
 are the channels through which all 
 the great currents of emigration ebb 
 and flow. To her, then, is the Church 
 to look as the agency by which her 
 sons and daughters are to be brought 
 from far, and their silver and their 
 gold with them. It was a ship of 
 commerce that bore the first mission- 
 aries of the Gospel from Palestine to 
 Italy. By the same means was Paul 
 borne along the coasts of the Mediter- 
 ranean, preaching Christ to the Hea- 
 then, and so enlarging the bounds of 
 the Church. 
 
 And to this same powerful agency 
 is the Christian religion now indebted 
 for the spread of its missionaries and 
 its varied means of instruction over 
 the world. 
 
 And with the growth of commerce 
 has there been a proportionate en- 
 largement of the misionary work. 
 The opening of traffic with any nation 
 prepares the way for the entrance 
 •f the Gospel. It follows in the track 
 of commerce, and every new avenue 
 of trade, is a gift of a new people to 
 the church of God. It opens a new 
 field for its operations, and the ships 
 of the merchant must soon bear thi- 
 ther the living teacher and the varied 
 auxiliaries that he needs in his work. 
 Thus does commerce become the 
 handmaid of the Gospel, and as it be- 
 comes more and more permeated with 
 the spirit of Christianity, will it con- 
 
 fer larger and nobler gifts upon the 
 Church, which shall be for its glory and 
 enlargement among nations now sit- 
 ting in the region and shadow of 
 death. 
 
 And we may believe, in this con- 
 nection, that all the great appliances 
 of commerce for her extension and con- 
 venience are gifts which are prepar- 
 ing, in the providence of God, to be 
 laid at the feet of Christ and his 
 Church. 
 
 The telegraphic wire that now 
 thrills to every thought that is con- 
 nected with public interest ; the press 
 that now teems with the varied re- 
 cords of human affairs ; the vast sys- 
 tems of roads now groaning beneath 
 the fierce tread of the iron horse, 
 and the pressure of freight and pas- 
 sengers ; the immense fleets that are 
 covering our seas, lakes and rivers, and 
 whitening every sea ; the complicated 
 operations of the financial world 
 with its stocks, and banks, and insur- 
 ances ; the growing powers of manu- 
 facturers, with the hundreds and 
 thousands who are identified with 
 them; all these vast and varied in- 
 terests of commerce Mnll be her gifts 
 which she will at length consecrate to 
 Christ and to his Church. 
 
 Even now we can see here and there 
 an earnest of what she can do as one 
 and another of her sons come and lay 
 their gifts upon the altar. 
 
 But when Christ shall come in his 
 glory to subdue the nations to him- 
 self, and when the Church shall be 
 recognized as his chosen and honoured 
 bride ; when his light and glory shall be 
 seen in her, and the day of her re- 
 cognition as the Lamb's wife shall 
 come, then will commerce lay these 
 gifts at her feet as the wedding 
 present which the daughter of Tyre 
 bestows upon her. 
 
136 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE. 
 
 All her wealth and the means and 
 appliances of her power shall then be 
 consecrated to the glory of Christ, 
 and the interests of his church, and a 
 sanctified commerce shall become one 
 of the noblest instrumentalities for 
 the extension of Christ's kingdom, 
 and the promotion of peace on earth 
 and good will among all nations. 
 
 3d. Again, among the gifts of com- 
 merce to the Church, will be that of 
 men, fearless earnest and devoted to 
 Christ and his cause. 
 
 The evil influences which have been 
 exerted upon the heathen by means 
 of godless and unprincipled men who 
 have visited their shores for the purpose 
 of traffic, show what may also be done 
 for this same class when they shall be 
 brought under the power of the Gos- 
 pel. Among the most untiring and 
 earnest of Christ's followers whom he 
 called to the ministry, were those 
 whom he chose by the sea shore, the 
 hardy sailors of Galilee. The same 
 fearless and adventurous spirit which 
 they had acquired by long familiarity 
 with danger and toil, they bore with 
 them into the apostleship. And this 
 fact aftbrds us a hint of what aid the 
 Church is to expect from commerce 
 when the abundance of the sea shall 
 be converted unto God. Her offerings 
 then will be not merely the gold and 
 the silver, but her own brave and 
 hardy sons, who will be found con- 
 secrated to the glory and extension of 
 the Church. And, whereas, once they 
 aided in introducing vice and misery 
 and crime among the people where 
 they found entrance, they will then as 
 earnestly engage in making known the 
 Gospel of Christ to the heathen. — 
 Their influence will and must be great 
 either for good or for evil. What ever 
 they do, they do earnestly, and the 
 
 sailor carries his ideas into his Christ- 
 ian course when his heart has been 
 renewed by the Holy Spirit. Accus- 
 tomed to scenes of peril, that require 
 steadiness, energy, obedience to com- 
 mand, fearlessness and sleepless vigi- 
 lance, he carries into the Christian life, 
 these peculiar habits of thought and 
 action. 
 
 And who can estimate the good the 
 sailor may accomplish when under the 
 influence of divine grace, he gives up 
 his life to the work of extending the 
 Church ? 
 
 There are now, probably, nearly four 
 millions of men engaged in a sea-faring 
 life. They visit every shore and clime, 
 are intimate with all peoples and na- 
 tions, and when commerce shall be- 
 stow all these gifts on the Church, 
 and consecrate them to her glory and 
 advancement, who shall estimate the 
 rapidity with which the light and 
 blessings of the Gospel shall be com- 
 municated to all nations. 
 
 In the work which is even now be- 
 ing accomplished under the influence 
 of Christian sailors, we may see a 
 presage of what is yet to be done. 
 And it is strange that the Church 
 has been so slow to recognize the use- 
 fulness of this class of men in spread- 
 ing among the heathen a knowledge 
 of the Gospel. But drawing our in- 
 struction from divine revelations as 
 already interpreted in the light of 
 history, we may confidently anticipate 
 the da}' when the Church shall find in 
 commerce, one of her noblest auxiliar- 
 ies in the spread of the Gospel among 
 nations. 
 
 When that day shall come, and 
 every ship shall be a Bethel, and every 
 sailor a true and devoted missionary of 
 the cross, as he leaves his home, he 
 will carry with him his Bible and his 
 closet ; and as he reaches lands now 
 
THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE. 
 
 137 
 
 lying in darkness, he will bear with 
 him the light and sacred influences of 
 our blessed religion. In him the mis- 
 sionary already seeking to bring the 
 heathen to a knowledge of the truth, 
 will find a faithful auxiliary and living 
 epistle, known and read of all men. 
 To him he can point as an illustration 
 of the power of the Gospel, and 
 he will become the trusty agent of the 
 Church in its blessed mission of evan- 
 gelizing the nations. 
 
 We may, therefore, look forward 
 with confidence, to the day, when at 
 the wedding feast of the Lamb, tlie 
 daughter of Tyre shall come with her 
 gift, and commerce shall lay her oft'er- 
 ings before the Lord, her noblest 
 present being that of millions of faith- 
 ful men who shall labor for the con- 
 version of the world to God. They 
 will be found on every sea, and in 
 ever}"^ land, earnestly laboring to 
 spread the knowledge of Christ. The 
 islands of the Pacific will welcome 
 them, the shores of China and India 
 will hail them as the active coadjutors 
 of the missionary in his blessed work. 
 They will form the living links of 
 a chain which shall bind all nations 
 in a common brotherhood. They will 
 bear aloft the banner of the Cross, 
 and shout aloud to the dwellers in 
 distant lands the news of salvation, 
 and the glad tidings of peace on earth, 
 good-will toward men. They will 
 watch for the dawn of the latter-day 
 glory, and its rising beams streaking 
 the ocean, will be the harbingers of 
 peace and joy to the nations, who, 
 taking up the chorus, shall bear it 
 over the earth, " Hallelujah, for the 
 Lord God omnipotent, reigneth." 
 
 These considerations should teach 
 the Church the vast importance of 
 that work which has for its direct ob- 
 ject and tendency, the conversion of 
 the abundance of the sea to God. 
 
 They seem to direct attention to 
 one of the most important auxiliaries 
 which is to be used in the spread of the 
 Gospel among the nations of the earth. 
 
 The work to which we are thus in" 
 vited claims the interest, attention 
 and sympathies of all who value the 
 Church, and hope for the coming of 
 the latter-day glory on the earth. 
 
 Any work that cares for the tem- 
 poral and moral wants of the sailor, 
 deserves our heartfelt sympathy. He 
 is an immortal being, and his soul is 
 infinitely precious. He is surrounded 
 by peculiar dangers and trials, both 
 by sea and land. He belongs to a class 
 of men who are continually under- 
 going fearful hazards and perils for the 
 comfort and happiness of society. 
 Art, science, literature, and social 
 and political life, are alike indebted 
 to him for the means of intellectual 
 culture and personal enjoyment. Even 
 common gratitude would claim a share 
 in our kind thoughts and active 
 benevolence, 
 
 " For the brave men that climb the mast, 
 When to the billow and the blast 
 It swings and stoops with fearful strain 
 And bind the fluttering mainsail fast, 
 Till the tos't bark shall sit again. 
 Safe as a sea bird in the main." 
 
 The sailor forms a distinct and spe- 
 cial class to which the word of God 
 often alludes in terms there is no mis- 
 taking, and which leave us in no doubt 
 as to the part he is yet to perform, 
 when the day of Millenial glory shall 
 rise upon the Earth. 
 
 Catching the spirit, then, of the word 
 of God, and taught by his Providence, 
 let us do our duty toward those who 
 do business upon the great waters. 
 
 Let us furnish them with chapels, 
 and comfortable homes where they 
 shall be free from the terrible tempta- 
 tions which have hitherto beset them. 
 Let us teach them how to husband 
 
138 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE. 
 
 their liard earned wages, which vice is 
 urging them to squander in riotous 
 living. Let us follow them upon the 
 sea with the blessed influences of 
 Christianity, suppl3ing their chests 
 with religious reading, and sending 
 after them earnest prayers, that God 
 would have them in his holy keeping. 
 Let us provide for them religious 
 instruction, and kind and faithful 
 chaplains, who shall meet them on 
 foreign shores and give to them a 
 brother's welcome even in a land of 
 strangers. They claim this at least 
 from our hands. And what is thus 
 done for them, will be repaid a thous- 
 and-fold in the influences they will 
 exert upon the world. 
 It is the duty of the Church to see 
 that commerce is sanctified, and made 
 to lay its tribute at the feet of Jesus. 
 Its work in this respect is hopeful. 
 What has already been accomplished, 
 is an earnest of what may be done 
 when Christians awake to the vast 
 importance of this great work. Every 
 sailor converted to God, is henceforth 
 a distributor of tracts, bibles, and 
 religious influences from clime to clime, 
 from shore to shore. Every such heart, 
 filled with the grace of Christ, beats 
 with a love that prompts to efforts 
 for the Church, which stop at no 
 sacrifices and faint at no labor nor 
 perils. 
 
 And in this connexion I can most 
 appropriately speak to you of the 
 American Seamen's Friend Society : 
 
 I am persuaded, that aside from 
 the great special work of the Church 
 in the direct preaching of the Gospel, 
 tliere is no agency so well calculated 
 to eftect wide and lasting good, as this 
 society. It is Catholic in its spirit ; 
 and its aims and influences are world- 
 wide. It needs a larger and nobler 
 support from churches and ministers 
 
 than it has ever yet received. Here 
 and there a congregation does its duty 
 in this respect, yet by man}"- the cause 
 is seldom if ever noticed ; and yet 
 there is not a town or hamlet that is 
 not indebted to the sailor, or that has 
 not some personal interest in him. 
 We need more chaplains and homes. 
 Even our own city, so long distin- 
 guished as a city of churches, has no 
 suitable and decent provision made 
 for the sailors who are now finding 
 here a temporary home. We need an 
 attractive chapel, with its bethel flag, 
 and a preacher of recognized ability, 
 who can address the sailor earnestly 
 and lovingly, and in such language as 
 shall attract his attention and enlis 
 his sympathies. Our docks are now 
 lined with ships. Commerce invites 
 the sailor to our wharves and board- 
 ing houses, but the Church extends 
 him no hand of greeting or fellow- 
 ship. Surely it is not too much to 
 ask of these who are in their com- 
 mercial pursuits, adding largely to the 
 wealth of our city l^y means of the 
 sailor, that they aid the Society in 
 finding for him (and that speedily,) a 
 suitable chapel in which to worship 
 God. Shall not the daughter of Tyre 
 present this gift to the Church ? 
 Am I too sanguine in believing that 
 our noble and generous citizens, who 
 have never faltered at any sacrifice 
 for the good of the countr)'-, or tlie 
 prosperity of our city, would heartily 
 respond to an appeal, which should 
 ask them to provide for the sailors 
 who throng our streets, a home and a 
 house in which they may pay their 
 vows to the God, whose is the sea, 
 and by whose watchful providence, 
 they have been kept amid its perils. 
 The work is worthy our earnest and 
 practical sympathy. Let us do if, and 
 do it now. 
 
THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE. 
 
 139 
 
 Lights and Lighthouses. 
 
 At a very remote period, when the 
 early mariners of the world first ven- 
 tured to extend their sea-voyages be- 
 yond the few hours of daylight, or of 
 moonlit nights, the want must have 
 been felt of warning and guiding 
 lights, and the more especially as 
 those primitive voyagers, who were 
 the first pioneers of commerce, must 
 have perpetually "hugged" the 
 shore, their chief fear being, that they 
 should be cari'icd away by an " off- 
 shore" wind into the great unknown 
 region of waters extending they knew 
 not whither. 
 
 There can be no doubt that all the 
 earlier lights were simply fires of 
 wood. The Tour de Corduan, when 
 completed in IGIO, was provided with 
 an iron chauffer or cage, in which fag- 
 gots of wood were burned ; and in 
 Great Britain, where coal is more 
 abundant than in most others, open 
 coal fires were sometimes adopted, a 
 light of which description was act- 
 ually in use at the Isle of May, on the 
 coast of Scotland, from the time of the 
 erection of its light tower, in 163G, 
 imtil so late as the year 18 IG, when a 
 new tower was built, and was pro- 
 vided with oil-lamps and reflectors. 
 No less than 400 tons of coal were 
 latterly burnt each year in maintain- 
 ing this liglit. 
 
 The disadvantages of this primitive 
 mode of illumination were manifold. 
 The degree of intensity, size, and 
 even color of the light must have 
 been very variable, the distance at 
 which it could be seen being equally 
 so; it did not admit of any distinctive 
 marks b}- which one light could be 
 distinguished from another ; the quan- 
 tity of fire consumed was enormous, 
 and its supply must, in proportion, 
 have involved great labor and ex- 
 pense; while the waste of light was 
 
 likewise great, since it shone in all 
 directions, towards the land as well 
 as towards the sea, and upwards to 
 the sky. It is, however, recorded of 
 the wood and coal fires as an advant- 
 age, that, in wet and foggy weather, 
 their reflection was distinguishable 
 high up in the air when they were 
 not themselves visible. 
 
 The next change appears to have 
 been first adopted at the Eddystone, 
 at which, from its isolated position, 
 being several miles from the land, it 
 would have been very difficult to 
 maintain a sufiicient supply of fuel in 
 the winter months. Its illuminator 
 was accordingly composed of twenty- 
 four wax candles, surrounded by a 
 glass lantern, but without reflectors, 
 or any other artificial means of in- 
 creasing or concentrating the light ; 
 and insignificant as it must have been, 
 compared with the splendid lights of 
 the present daj'-, the plan was yet a 
 considerable step in advance of the 
 open fires. 
 
 The next great improvement in sea- 
 coast lights was the adoption of re- 
 flectors, which, like many other im- 
 provements in the various departments 
 of art, science, and manufactures, ap- 
 pears to have been the immediate 
 result of accident rather than of de- 
 liberate design and forethought. 
 
 Before, however, proceeding to de- 
 scribe the successive advances in the 
 science of pharology, or the branch of 
 " Optical Engineering," as it has been 
 termed, which applies to sea-coast 
 illuminations, it will be desirable that, 
 without going deeply into optical de- 
 tails, we should briefly explain the 
 principles on which science is made 
 available to produce such truly valu- 
 able practical results. 
 
 Rays of light travel through space 
 in all directions, and in straight lines, 
 unless diverted therefrom by reflec- 
 
uo 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE. 
 
 tion from the surface of an opaque 
 body, such as silvered glass or polish- 
 ed metal, or by refraction in passing 
 through transparent bodies, as glass 
 or water. If then two diverging rays 
 of light, or bundles of rays, can be 
 thrown, either by reflection or refrac- 
 tion on one point, thus occupying the 
 space of one ray or bundle of rays, the 
 intensity or brightness of the light on 
 that point will be doubled : if twenty 
 rays are thus made to converge into 
 the space of one ray, the brilliancy at 
 the point of convergence or focus will 
 be increased twentyfold. A familiar 
 instance of this principle, by refrac- 
 tion, exists in the common glass lens, 
 vulgarly called a " burning-glass," 
 which, by throwing a large number of 
 rays of light on one point, produces an 
 intense light and heat, capable of ex- 
 ploding gunpowder and igniting in- 
 flammable bodies. In the same man- 
 ner, the shape of a mirror or reflector 
 may be so arranged as to collect the 
 rays of light emitted on one side of a 
 luminous body, and to throw them 
 forward, so that they shall converge 
 in a point, or series of points, on the 
 opposite side, and thus being added to 
 the direct rays, increase the intensity 
 of the light on that side. 
 
 A concave mirror, the curve of 
 which is a parabola, is found to be the 
 necessary form to eff'ect the object in 
 view, and a series of such reflectors, 
 attached to lamps suitably adjusted, 
 thus collect the useless rays of light 
 from above, below, and behind, and 
 throw them forward in a horizontal 
 direction. As stated abovfi, this sys- 
 tem, which has been denominated the 
 catoptric or reflector system, from the 
 Greek word signifying a 'mirror,' was 
 the first that was employed in the 
 improvement of beacon lights. It is 
 essentially the English system, both 
 from its having been originated and 
 
 been longer retained here than in 
 other countries. The credit of first 
 introducing it has been claimed both 
 by England and France. Undoubt- 
 edly, however, the earliest application 
 of reflectors was made in England, 
 whilst to France belongs the honor of 
 very greatly improving them. 
 
 Somewhere between the year 1763 
 and 1767, Mr. William Hutchinson, 
 the dockmaster at Liverpool, first ap- 
 plied a parabolic reflector to his flat- 
 wicked lamps. The idea is stated to 
 have thus originated. A convivial 
 company of scientific men met at 
 Liverpool, when one of the company 
 present wagered that he would read a 
 book by the light of a farthing can- 
 dle, at a distance of 200 feet from it. 
 The wager was won by means of a 
 wooden bowl, lined with putty, in 
 which facets of looking-glass were 
 embedded, forming a reflector. Hutch- 
 inson was present, and seizing the 
 idea, utilized it for his lighthouses. 
 His reflectors were formed of tin 
 plates, or of wood lined with looking- 
 glass, the largest, 13 feet in diameter 
 with six feet focus, being placed be- 
 hind a "spreading burner mouth- 
 piece " 14 inches broad. The Rid- 
 stone, Iloylake, and Leasowe light- 
 houses were thus illuminated, and 
 they were undoubtedly excellent 
 lights for the period. 
 
 In the year 1786, the Northern 
 Lights Board fitted reflectors and 
 lamps of a similar description at the 
 Isle of May and Cambrae Isle Light- 
 houses in the Firths of Forth and 
 Clyde. These were said to have been 
 the invention of Mr. Thomas Smith) 
 the engineer to the Board ; but 
 whether or not he was aware of sim- 
 ilar reflectors having been adopted 
 elsewhere is not known. 
 
 On the other hand, in France, a M. 
 Tealere, a member of the Royal Corps 
 
THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE. 
 
 141 
 
 of Engineers of Bridges and Roads in 
 that country, is said to have first pro- 
 posed the use of parabolic reflectors ; 
 and the celebrated Corduan light- 
 tower was illuminated in that man- 
 ner, about the year 1780, by M. Le- 
 noir, under the direction of the Chev- 
 alier Borda. The reflectors were 
 made of sheet copper, plated with 
 silver, and the lamp then just invented 
 by M. Argand, of Geneva, since 
 known as the Argand lamp, was 
 adopted. 
 
 These great improvements then be- 
 came general in other countries, and 
 at once advanced the system of light- 
 house illumination into a science 
 
 The reflectors of the present day are 
 made precisely in the same manner as 
 M. Lenoir's, of copper thickly plated 
 with silver, very highly polished, and, 
 like his, lit by Argand burners, hav- 
 ing a cylindrical flame of about one 
 inch in diameter. The form of those 
 now in use is that calculated by Cap- 
 tain Huddart, an Elder Brother of the 
 Trinity House, in 1791. They are 
 very durable, many of the reflectors 
 still used remaining unimpaired after 
 30 or 40 years' continual service. 
 
 The size adopted by the Trinity 
 House is 21 inches diameter for light- 
 houses, their sectional area being 
 346-3 square inches, and 12 inches 
 diameter for light vessels, with an 
 area of 113 square inches. Soine re- 
 flectors are said to multiply the bril- 
 liancy of a light as much as 450 times. 
 Catoptric lights are capable of nine 
 distinct variations, viz., fixed reA'olv- 
 ing white, revolving red and white, 
 revolving red with two whites, revolv- 
 ing white with two reds, flashing, in- 
 termittent, double-fixed, and double 
 revolving. The first exhibits a steady 
 and uniform appearance. The reflect- 
 ors used for it are of smaller dimen- 
 sions than those employed in revolv- 
 
 ing lights, and which is necessary in 
 order to allow of their being ranged 
 round a circular iron frame, with their 
 axes inclined at such angles as to en- 
 able them to illuminate every part of 
 the horizon. The revolving light is 
 produced by the revolution of a frame 
 with three or four sides, having re- 
 flectors of a large size grouped on 
 each side, with their axes parallel ; 
 and as the i-evolution exhibits a light 
 gradually increasing to full strength, 
 and in the same gradual manner de- 
 creasing to total darkness, its appear- 
 ance is extremely well marked. 
 Eighteen, twenty, and even thirty re- 
 flectors are thus arranged on the faces 
 of the revolving framework. 
 
 The succession of red and white 
 lights is caused by the revolution of a 
 frame whose different sides present 
 red and white lights, and these, as 
 already mentioned, aftbrd three sep- 
 arate distinctions, viz., alternate red 
 and white, the succession of two 
 white after one red, and the succes- 
 sion of two red after one white. The 
 flashing light is produced in the same 
 manner as the revolving light ; but, 
 by a different construction of the 
 frame and greater quickness of the re- 
 volution, a totally different and very 
 striking appearance is produced. The 
 brightest and darkest periods being 
 but momentary, the light is charac- 
 terized by a rapid succession of bright 
 flashes, whence it derives its name. 
 The intermittent light is distinguished 
 by bursting suddenly into view, and 
 continuing steady for a short time, 
 after which it is eclipsed for many 
 seconds, ordinarily in English lights 
 for about half a minute. Its peculiar 
 and striking appearance is effected by 
 the perpendicular motion of circular 
 shades in front of the reflectors, by 
 which the light is alternately con- 
 cealed and displayed. The double 
 
142 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 lights, which are commonly only used 
 
 where there is a necessity of a leading 
 
 line, for taking some channel, or 
 
 avoiding some danger, are exhibited 
 
 from two towers, one of which is 
 
 higher than the other, and the two 
 
 lights, when seen in one vertical line, 
 
 form a direction for the course of 
 
 shipping. 
 
 ■^'••^ 
 
 Missionary Statistics. 
 
 The whole number of Protestant 
 missionary operations in the world, 
 as carried on by American, British, 
 and Continental Christians, is 48 socie- 
 ties, 9,418 agents or missionaries, etc., 
 518,000 church members, 2;^o,000 
 pupils in the different schools, and an 
 annual income of ^4,481,000. 
 
 With such a machinery for opera- 
 tion in readiness and at active work, 
 what is needful but the Holy Spirit 
 to be poured out mightily from above, 
 to go with the word, thus scattered 
 abroad on its way to all the world 
 and to every creature? Ask, and je 
 shall receive. — ChriMmn Instncctor. 
 
 A Magnificent Spectacle. 
 
 ( From Hall's Arctic Kesearches.) 
 
 The day had been fine, with a mode- 
 rate wind from the northwest. "When 
 the sun went down behind the ridge of 
 mountains limiting the bay, a perfect 
 calm followed, with a sky absolutely 
 cloudless. At 4 p. m., there had been 
 seen one solitary and peculiar cloud 
 hanging in the heavens to* the north 
 about fifteen degrees above the hori- 
 zon. This at last disappeared, and 
 the night set in, still beautiful and 
 mild, with myriads of stars .shining 
 with apparently greater brilliancy 
 than ever. 
 
 I had gone on deck several times to 
 look at the beauteous scene, and at 
 nine o'clock was below in my cabin, 
 going to bed, when the captain hailed 
 me with the words, " Come above, Hall, 
 at wice ! The world is on fire ! " 
 
 I knew his meaning, and quick as 
 thought, I re-dressed myself, scram- 
 bled over several sleeping Innuits close 
 to my berth, and rushed to the com- 
 panion stairs. In another moment I 
 reached the deck, and, as the cabin 
 door swung open, a dazzling, overpow- 
 ering light, as if the world was really 
 ablaze under the agenc}^ of some gorg- 
 eously colored fires burst upon my 
 startled senses ! How can I describe 
 it? Again, I say, no mortal hand can 
 trutlifully do so. Let me, however, in 
 feeble, broken words, put down my 
 thoughts at the time, and try to give 
 some faint idea of what I saw. 
 
 My first thought was, " Among the 
 gods there is none like unto thee, 
 Lord ! neither are there any works 
 like unto thy works ! " Then I tried 
 to picture the scene before me. Piles 
 of golden light and rainbow light, 
 scattered along the azure vault, ext- 
 ended from behind the western hori- 
 zon to the zenith ; thence down to the 
 eastern, within a belt of space twenty 
 degrees in width, where the fountains 
 of beams like fire-threads, that shot 
 with the rapidity of lightning hither 
 and thither, upward athwart the great 
 pathway indicated. No sun, no moon, 
 yet the heavens were a glorious sight, 
 flooded with light. Even ordinary print 
 could have been easily read on df-k. 
 
 Flooded, with rivers of light. Yes, 
 flooded with light ; and such light ! 
 Light all but inconceivable. The gold- 
 en hue predominated ; but, in rapid 
 succession, prismatic colors leaped forth. 
 
 We looked, we saw and trembled ; for? 
 even as we gazed, the whole belt of 
 aurora began to be alive with flashes. 
 Then each pile or bank of light became 
 mvriads : some now drooping down the 
 great pathway or belt, others sprin- 
 ing up, others leaping with lightning 
 flash from one side, while more as 
 quickly passed into the vacated space; 
 
THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE. 
 
 143 
 
 some twisting themselves into folds, 
 entwining with others like enormous 
 serpents, and all these movements as 
 quick as the eye could follow. It seem- 
 ed as if there was a struggle with 
 these heavenly lights to reach and oc- 
 cupy the dome above our heads. Then 
 the whole arch above became croicded. 
 Down, down it came ; nearer and near- 
 er it approached us. Sheets of golden 
 flame, coruscating while leaping from 
 the auroral belt, seemed as if met in 
 their course by some mighty agency 
 that turned them into the colors of 
 the rainbow, each of the seven pri- 
 mary, three degrees in width, sheeted 
 out to twenty-one degrees — the pris- 
 matic bows at right angles with the 
 belt. 
 
 While the auroral fires seemed to be 
 descending upon us, one of our number 
 could not help exclaiming : 
 
 '•Hark ! hark ! such a display, almost 
 as if a warfare was going on among 
 the beauteous lights above — so near — 
 seems impossible without noise." 
 
 But no noise accompanied this wond- 
 erous displaj-. All was silence. 
 
 After we had again descended into 
 our cabin, so strong was the impres- 
 sion of awe left upon us that the cap- 
 tain said to me : 
 
 " Well, during the eleven years 
 which I have spent mostly in these 
 northern regions. I never have seen 
 any thing of the aurora to approach 
 the glorious vivid display just witness- 
 ed, and to tell you the ti-uth^ friend 
 Hall, I do not want to see the like ever 
 agian.'''' 
 
 Mining Inder the Sea. 
 
 Mining can hardly be a pleasant oc- 
 cupation. The absence of sun and all 
 natural light, the dripping sides of 
 the shaft, and danger of explosion 
 from the fii'e-damp, of jutting rocks 
 and numerous other perils, invest it 
 
 with vague terrors to active imagina- 
 tions. But when the shafts run un- 
 der the sea, and the swell of the ocean 
 is distinctly audible, it must suggest 
 many fears to the diligent miners. 
 The following graphic description is 
 taken from an English paper : 
 
 " We are now four hundred yards 
 out under the bottom of the sea, and 
 twenty feet below the sea level. Coast- 
 trade vessels are sailing over our 
 heads. Two hundred and forty feet 
 below us men are at work, and there 
 are galleries yet below that. The ex- 
 traordinary position, down the face of 
 the cliff, of the engines and other 
 works on the surface, at Bottallie, is 
 now explained. The mine is not ex- 
 cavated like other mines under the 
 earth, buc under the sea. Having 
 communicated these particulars, the 
 miner tells lis to keep silence and lis- 
 ten. We obey him, sitting speechless 
 and motionless. If the reader could 
 only have beheld us now, dressed in 
 our copper-colored garments, huddled 
 close together in a mere cleft of sub- 
 terranean rock, with a flame burning 
 on our heads, and darkness envelop- 
 ing our limbs, he must certainly have 
 imagined, without any violent stretch 
 of fancy, that he was looking down 
 upon a conclave of gnomes. 
 
 " After listening a few minutes a 
 distant and unearthly sound becomes 
 faintly audible — a long, low, myste- 
 rious moaning that ne^er changes, 
 that is full on the ear as well as heard 
 by it, a soimd that might proceed from 
 incalculable distance, from some far 
 invisible height, a sound unlike any 
 thing that is heard on the upper ground, 
 in the free air of heaven, a sound so 
 sublimely mournful and still so ghostly 
 and impressive when listened to in the 
 subterranean recesses of the earth, 
 that we continue instinctively to liold 
 our peace as if enchanted by it, and 
 
144 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE. 
 
 think not of communicating to each 
 other the strange awe and astonish- 
 ment which it has inspired in us from 
 the very first. 
 
 '• At last tlie miner speaks again, 
 and tells us that what we hear is the 
 sound of the surf la^shing the rocks a 
 hundred and twenty feet above us 
 and of the waves that are breaking on 
 the beach beyond. The tide is now 
 at the flow, and the sea is in no extra- 
 ordinary state of agitation, so the 
 sound is low and distant just at this 
 period. But when storms are at their 
 height, when the ocean hurls moun- 
 tain after mountain of water on the 
 cliffs, then the noise is terrific; the 
 roaring heard down here in the mine 
 is so inexpressibly fierce and awful 
 that the boldest men at work are 
 afraid to continue their labor ; all 
 ascend to the surface to breathe the 
 upper air, and stand on firm earth, 
 dreading — though no catastrophe has 
 ever happened yet — that the sea will 
 break in upon them if they remain in 
 the cavern below. 
 
 " Hearing this, we got up to look 
 at the rock above us. We are able to 
 stand upright in the position we now 
 occupy ; and flaring our candles hither 
 and thither in the darkness, can see 
 the bright, pure copper streaming 
 through the gallery in every direction. 
 Lumps of ooze, of the most lustrous 
 green color, traversed by a natural 
 net- work of thin, red veins of iron, 
 appears here and there in large irre- 
 gular patches, over which water is 
 dripping slowly and incessantly in 
 certain places. This is the salt wa- 
 ter percolating through invisible cran- 
 nies in the rock. On stormy daj'^s it 
 spurts out furiously in thin continuous 
 streams. Just over our heads we ob- 
 served a wooden plug, of the thick- 
 ness of a man's leg; there is a hole 
 there, and that plug is all we have to 
 keep out the sea. 
 
 " Immense wealth of metal is con- 
 tained in the roofs of this gallery 
 throughout its entire length, but it 
 will always remain untouched ; the 
 miners dare not take it, for it is a 
 part (and a great part) of the rock 
 which is their only protection against 
 the sea, and which has so far been 
 worked away hero that its thickness 
 is limited to an average of three feet 
 only between the water and the gal- 
 lery in which we now stand. No one 
 knows what might be the consequence 
 of another day's labor with the pick- 
 axe on any part of it." 
 
 Theory of the Earth. 
 
 Mr. John Calvin Moss, of England, 
 contests the much vexed theory that 
 the center of the earth is a mass of 
 fire and molten rock, over which a 
 crust has formed, proportionately a 
 mere shell, on which we live. " The 
 idea that the interior of our globe is 
 a vast fiery ocean doubtless arose," 
 says Mr. Moss, " from the idea that 
 heat was a material substance, and 
 would have to pass ofl into space be- 
 fore the earth could cool ; whereas the 
 modern researches of science show 
 that heat is no more a material sub- 
 stance than motion, gravitation or 
 magnetism, but that it is merely a 
 condition of matter ; and that, in the 
 case in question, instead of passing off 
 from the earth, it would only become 
 by a gradual chemical action fixed or 
 latent. 
 
 " But even supposing that cooling 
 would or did take place, it is a well 
 known fact that all substances — wa- 
 ter in the stars of iee alone excepted 
 
 increase in density or weight as 
 
 their heat is diminished, so that the 
 cooler portions would be the first to 
 sink from the surface toward the cen- 
 ter. Is it not quite evident that those 
 substances most diffionlt of fusion and 
 
THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE. 
 
 145 
 
 possessing the greatest specific gravity 
 would, therefore, be the first to find 
 their way to the centre ? Now gold, 
 platinum, and a few of the precious 
 metals possess these qualities in a 
 high degree above all others known 
 substances, and though we believe 
 them to be scarce on the surface of the 
 earth we have no assurance that they 
 are not abundant in Nature. I believe 
 that the interior of the earth is abun- 
 dantly supplied with, if not mainly 
 composed of them." 
 
 The specific gravity of the earth 
 has been variously calculated at 4.95, 
 5.54, 5.48 and 6,56; while that of 
 platinum at 2.15 and gold 19.3. The 
 specific gravity of the rocks which 
 mainly compose the crust, which is 
 under our observation, does not ex- 
 ceed 2.5; and supposing that the aver- 
 age density of all the constituents of 
 the earth, except the metals named, 
 is no higher, about one-fifth of the 
 earth may be composed of gold and 
 platinum — a globe four or five thous- 
 and miles thick. The value of such a 
 deposit may be dimly imagined when 
 it is remembered that five million 
 dollars will go in a box two and a half 
 feet cube. Certainly no safer place 
 for such a deposit could be found than 
 the heart of the earth. 
 
 The Army and IVavy. 
 
 President Johnson, in his most ad- 
 mirable message, presents the condi- 
 tion of these two departments as fol- 
 lows, viz: 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF WAR. 
 
 In the report of the Secretary of 
 War, a general summary is given of 
 the military campaigns of 1864 and 
 1865, ending in the suppression of 
 armed resistance to the national au- 
 thority in the insurgent States. The 
 operations of the general administra- 
 tive bureaus of the War Department 
 
 during the past year are detailed, and 
 an estimate made of the appropriations 
 that will be required for military pur- 
 poses in the fiscal year commencing 
 the 30th day of June, 1866. The na- 
 tional military force, on the 1st of 
 May, 1865, numbered 1,000,516 men. 
 It is proposed to reduce the military 
 establishment to a peace footing, com- 
 prehending 50,000 troops of all arms, 
 organized so as to admit of an enlarge- 
 ment by filling up the ranks to 82,- 
 600, if the circumstances of the coun- 
 try should require an augmentation of 
 the army. The volunteer force has 
 already been reduced by the discharge 
 from service of over 800,000 troops, 
 and the department is proceeding rap- 
 idly in the work of further reduction. 
 The war estimates are reduced from 
 ^516,240,131 to ^33,814,461, which 
 amount, in the opinion of the depart- 
 ment, is adequate for a peace estab- 
 lishment. The measures of retrench- 
 ment in each bureau and branch of the 
 service exhibit a diligent economy 
 worthy of commendation. Reference 
 is also made in the report to the ne- 
 cessity of providing for a uniform mil- 
 itia system, and to the propriety of 
 making suitable provision for wounded 
 and disabled officers and soldiers. 
 
 THE NAVY. 
 
 It appears, from the report of the 
 Secretary of the Navy, that while, at 
 the commencement of the present 
 year, there were in commission 530 
 vessels of all classes and descriptions, 
 armed with 3,000 guns and manned by 
 51,000 men, the number of vessels at 
 present in commission is 117, with 830 
 guns and 12,128 men. By this prompt 
 reduction of the naval forces the ex- 
 penses of the government have been 
 largely diminished, and a number of 
 vessels, purchased for naval purposes 
 from the merchant marine, have been 
 returned to the peaceful pursuits of 
 
146 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE. 
 
 commerce. Since the suppression of 
 active hostilities our foreign squadrons 
 have been re-established, and consist 
 of vessels much more eflQcient than 
 those employed on similar service pre- 
 vious to the rebellion. The suggestion 
 for the enlargement of the navy -yard, 
 and especRilly for the establishment 
 of one in fresh water for iron-clad ves- 
 sels, is deserving of consideration, as is 
 also the recommendation for a differ- 
 ent location and more ample grounds 
 for the Naval Academy. 
 
 Tbe Staunch old Sbip. 
 
 " Sail on, sail on, Oh. ship of state ; 
 Sail on, Oh Union, strong and great ! 
 Humanity, with all its fears, 
 With all the hopes of future years. 
 Is hanging breathless on thy fate. 
 We know what master laid thy keel, 
 What workmen wrought thy ribs of steel ; 
 Who made each mast, each sail, each rope ; 
 What anvils rang, what hammers beat, 
 In what a forge and what a heat 
 Were shaped the anchors of thy hope. 
 Fear not each sudden sound and shock, 
 'T is of the wave, and not the rock ; 
 'T is but the flapping of the sail, 
 And not a rent made by the gale. 
 In spite of i-ock and tempest roar. 
 In spite of false lights on the shore. 
 Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea : 
 Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee. 
 Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears, 
 Our faith triumphant o'er our fears. 
 Are all with thee, are all with thee." 
 
 LONGFELLOW. 
 
 Sea Depths. 
 
 The Baltic, between Germany and 
 Sweden is 120 feet deep, and the 
 Adriatic, between Venice and Trieste 
 is 130 feet. The deepest part of the 
 Channel between France and England 
 is 300 feet deep. Ofi" the south-west 
 coast of Ireland, in the open sea, the 
 depth is 2000 feet. The narrowest 
 part of the Strait of Gibraltar is 1000 
 feet, and a little to the east of this the 
 depth is 3000 feet. On the coast of 
 Spain the depth is 6uOO feet; 250 
 miles south of Nantucket no bottom 
 was found at 7,800 feet. West of the 
 Cape of Good Hope 16,000 feet have 
 been measured, and west of St. Helana 
 27,000 feet. 
 
 The flfew Webster. — 1 Mw Work. 
 
 We have commended this edition 
 warmly already, on the faith of our 
 first examination of it. It has grown 
 upon us, in every day's farther study. 
 We did not, at first, comprehend how 
 entirely new a work this is, as com- 
 pared even with the last preceding 
 edition ; and how important had been 
 the etymological revision which it has 
 received, making it, for substance, a 
 rewritten volume, with all that was 
 admirable and superior in the previous 
 contributions of a generation to its 
 pages, preserved and augmented by 
 a thorough concentration upon it of 
 the best skill and widest research of 
 the present. As it stands, — in its 
 etymologies, in its definitions, in its 
 synomyms, and in its (real) illustra- 
 tions,^t is far in advance of any 
 other manual which offers itself to 
 the aid of the student of the multife- 
 rious wealth of the composite English 
 tongue. 
 
 The man who will buy and habitual- 
 ly and properly use Webster's Una- 
 bridged Illustrated Dictionary, in its 
 latest and noblest form, has no excuse 
 for not using the English language 
 with intelligence, accuracy, and force 
 
 It is not a sectarian dictionary. We 
 do most sincerely believe that all sects 
 will find their especial phrases of faith 
 more exactly, and fairly, and fully 
 given in Webster, than in any or all 
 others put together. — Boston Congre- 
 gationalist. 
 
 We most cordially endorse the 
 above notice. When the " New Webs- 
 ter" first came out, about a year since, 
 we had leisure for its, careful exami- 
 nation. From that time until now, it 
 have grown upon us, as an indispensable 
 book. — We shall speak of this matter 
 again. Ed. Mag. 
 
THE 
 
 SAILORS' MAGAZINE, 
 
 AND 
 
 SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 
 
 Vol. 39. 
 
 JANUARY, 1867. 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN SAILOR. 
 
 A SERMON PREACHED IN THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF BROOKLYN, 
 
 IN BEHALF OF THE AMERICAN SEAMEN's FRIEND SOCIETY. 
 
 BY REV. J. E. ROCKWELL, D.D. 
 
 Matthew iv. ; 18, 20. — And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon, called 
 Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. And he said uot« 
 them : Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their neti 
 and followed him. 
 
 his Church. Not many wise or 
 mighty were called. Here and there 
 one like Nicodemus, or Joseph of 
 Arimathea, sought him, and sat at 
 his feet, and believed his words. 
 Yet those whom he selected to be his 
 apostles, on whom the great work of 
 establishing his Church was to b« 
 laid, were men who, for the time, 
 were unknown to the world, but who 
 were fitted by their habits to endure 
 hardness, and toil, and privations, and 
 promptly and boldly to defend the 
 religion which he well knew would 
 be everywhere spoken against. 
 
 Among those whom he thus called, 
 and who were destined to act the 
 most prominent part in the work as- 
 signed them, were Peter and John, 
 whom he found with their brothers, 
 engaged in their work as fishermen 
 along the shores of the Galilean Sea. 
 There is a wondrous significance in 
 this ckoice, which, when viewed in the 
 
 "We have in these words, and those 
 which immediately follow them, the 
 history of the calling of the apostles 
 who were to bear a prominent and 
 important part, in the preaching of 
 the Gospel and the establishment of 
 the Christian Church. Our Saviour, 
 in his Divine omniscience and power, 
 had the wisdom and ability to select, 
 from all classes of society, those who 
 should be his immediate followers and 
 disciples, and, had he chosen to do so, 
 might have surrounded himself by 
 the wise and the noble as well as by 
 those who were poor and despised. — 
 We cannot doubt that the same grace 
 which made Peter and John his will- 
 ing ser^nts, could have turned the 
 hearts even of Caesar or Herod, or 
 the priests of the Jewish Church, to- 
 ward himself, and to have made them, 
 as he afterwards made Saul, chosen 
 vessels to declare his glory. Yet he 
 did not thus lay the foundations of 
 
130 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 light of the promises and the Provi- 
 dence of God, serves to point out to the 
 Church one of the great moral agen- 
 cies which it is to use in the conver- 
 sion of the world to God. In many 
 of the most remarkable prophecies 
 which point to the latter day glory, 
 we find the future prosperity and in- 
 crease of the Church, connected in- 
 timately and inseparably with those 
 " who do business upon the great wa- 
 ters." When the kings of the earth 
 are to come and present their offer- 
 ings at the great marriage feast of the 
 Lamb and his bride, the daughter of 
 Tyre (the symbol of commerce) is to 
 be there with a gift. When the 
 Church is called to look forth upon 
 the multitudes which are coming up 
 with their treasures to add to her 
 power and glory, she is pointed to 
 the sea, and beholds the navies of the 
 world flocking to her ' as a cloud,' 
 bringing her sons from afar, their 
 silver and their gold with them. 
 When the abundance of the sea is 
 converted to God, the forces of the 
 Gentiles are also brought to submit 
 to his authority. Thus do we find 
 the sea and its inhabitants identified 
 in prophecy with the coming glory 
 and prosperity of the Church ; and, 
 interpreting the words before us in 
 the light of these promises, we may 
 see the uses which Christ is yet to 
 make of the sailor in the extension of 
 his kingdom and the upbuilding of 
 his Church. 
 
 1. In the first place, the sailor is 
 peculiarly susceptible to religious in- 
 tiuenees and impressions. Notice the 
 promptness with which the fishermen 
 of Tiberias left their nets and follow- 
 ed Christ when they were made 
 aware of his Divine claims, and heard 
 his summons that called them to be 
 bis disciples. There was no hesitan- 
 cy — no questioning of doubt and 
 
 unbelief — no conferring with fiesh 
 and blood. Observe their conduct 
 when amid the storm and darkness 
 which shut in upon them while toss- 
 ing upon the waters of the Sea of 
 Galilee, they beheld a form walking 
 upon the waves, and at length heard 
 the voice of Jesus saying, " It is I, be 
 not afraid." With what readiness 
 did they acknowledge his divine 
 claims. They had no doubt that he 
 was God manifest in the flesh, and at 
 once fell down and worshipped him. 
 Nor are they any less disposed to re- 
 ceive the truth now when it is pre- 
 sented to them ; and when they have 
 fully embraced, they are bold to pro- 
 fess it, and prompt in making it 
 known to others. The character of 
 Peter and John and their brethren 
 has often been reproduced in the 
 sailor who has felt the drawings of 
 this love of Christ. He is not the 
 stolid and unthinking wretch that 
 many fancy him to be. He is, like 
 all men, a sinner. He needs, as do 
 all men, the grace of Christ and the 
 renewing influences of the Spirit. — 
 He is exposed to peculiar temptations, 
 and under them is often led into gross 
 sins. Yet perhaps no one will so 
 gratefully welcome the hand that is 
 stretched out to save him from ruin, 
 no one more readily listen to the 
 counsels of a Christian friend who 
 warns him of his guilt and danger, 
 and points him to the means of his 
 recovery therefrom. Use with him 
 the imagery with which he is most 
 familiar ; speak to him of the blessed 
 Jesus, "who once pressed a sailor's 
 pillow, and can feel a sailor'fwoe," 
 and you have a direct communication 
 with his heart. He listens with a 
 fixed attention, and is at no pains to 
 conceal the tears that tell you how 
 deep is the feeling that is stirring 
 within him. Secure his attention 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 
 
 131 
 
 when it is his watch below, and draw 
 out from him the history of his life, 
 and in all probability you will find in 
 his heart the traces of early religious 
 impressions, or the memory of a mo- 
 ther's love and prayers, which time 
 and temptation have never etfaced, 
 and which will aflbrd 3'^ou arguments 
 and motives with which to make your 
 most potent appeals to his heart and 
 conscience, lou will often find that, 
 however far he may have drifted 
 awaj'^ from his mooring upon the great 
 sea of life, and however fearfully the 
 waves of temptation and sin have 
 risen around him, there is an under- 
 current of gentle influences, of warm 
 affections, of grateful and tender 
 memories of childhood and home, 
 which will greatly aid you in your 
 efforts to lead him back to the paths 
 of virtue and safety, and to bring him 
 to Christ. 
 
 2. And again, the character and 
 habits of the sailor are such as to 
 wonderfully qualify him to take an 
 active and important part in the ex- 
 tension and upbuilding of the Re- 
 deemer's kingdom. The choice which 
 our Saviour made by the Sea of Gali. 
 lee, of haidy fishermen to be his dis- 
 ciples, was significant, as pointing to 
 one of the great instrumentalities he 
 is to use in the conversion of the 
 world to himself. Those men who 
 so promptly left their nets and their 
 ship at his intimation were bold and 
 fearless, full of warm and generous 
 impulses, and they brought to their 
 vt'ork all the ardor and energy, and 
 noble daring and love of toil which 
 marked their former course of life. — 
 He often left them, to see that with- 
 out him they could do nothing. He 
 often rebuked their misguided zeal, 
 and showed them the better way, but 
 he never discouraged their noble and 
 daring traits of character. Even 
 
 when the impulses of Peter had been 
 subdued and chastened by his sad 
 experience of his own weakness, and 
 by the aid of divine grace, he exhib- 
 ited still the same manly and fearless 
 qualities which marked him while 
 following his early profession. His 
 hasty zeal gave way to a wonderful 
 dignity and firmness of purpose ; to 
 great sagacity ; to an earnest love of 
 active labor ; to patient and self-de- 
 nying toil ; and to a fearlessness of 
 danger and suffering which left the 
 impress of his character wherever he 
 went. He became a bold and cour- 
 ageous herald of the Gospel ; planted 
 churches over all the land; and was 
 the first to break over the ancient 
 prejudices of the Jewish mind, and to 
 preach to the Gentiles the unsearcha- 
 ble riches of Jesus Christ. He who 
 had in his early life often braved the 
 perils of the sea, and faced a thousand 
 dangers, had in those years of toil ac- 
 quired a fearlessness which projected 
 itself into his after life, and enabled 
 him, with the early companion of 
 his seafaring life, to say to the Jewish 
 Sanhedrim, when they would forbid 
 them to speak in the name of Jesus, 
 " We ought to obe}' God rather than 
 man. The God of our fatuei"S raised 
 up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged 
 on a tree. Him hath God exalted 
 with his right hand to be a Prince 
 and a Saviour, for to give repentance 
 unto Israel and forgiveness of sins. 
 And we are witnesses of these things, 
 and so also is the H0I3' Ghost, whom 
 God bath given to them that obey 
 him." And how nobly did the early 
 habits of the fishermen of Galilee in- 
 dicate themselves in their unflinching 
 courage as thej'^ went forth from the 
 Jewish Council yet smarting with 
 their wounds, rejoicing that they 
 were counted worthy to suHer shame 
 for the name of Jesus. 
 
132 
 
 TUE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 And it is evident that they who 
 are to bear the most important part 
 in the work which yet lies before the 
 Chnrch must possess these same ele- 
 ments of promptness, obedience, fear- 
 lessness, and self-denial, which are 
 the certain results of a life spent 
 amid the duties and perils of the 
 sailor. There is that in his life, hab- 
 its, and work which seems eminently 
 to qualify him, when grace has made 
 him a new creature, to do a noble 
 work for Christ and his Church. It 
 is no overstrained utterance which 
 one of Nature's great limners put 
 into his lips, as his own soul felt the 
 inspiration of the scene, with which 
 he is familiar : 
 
 *' And I have loved thee, Ocean ! and my joy 
 
 Of youthful spirits was on thy breast to be 
 Borne like thy bubbles onward. From a boy 
 
 I wantoned with thy bredkers ; they to me 
 Were a delight ; and if the freshening sea 
 
 Made them a terror, 'twas a pleasing fear. 
 For I was, as it were, a child of thee, 
 
 And trusted to thy billows far and near. 
 And laid my hand upon thy main, as I do hure." 
 
 When a man thus bold and daring be- 
 comes a servant of Christ, he goes 
 forth, not tamely to check and conceal 
 his feelings, nor to deny his profes- 
 sions, but bravely and nobly to bear 
 testimony to the grace that hath 
 saved him from sin and hell, made 
 him a child of God, and renewed his 
 nature, and called him to be an heir 
 of eternal life. 
 
 3. Nor are we left simply to vague 
 conjecture, or analogical reasoning as 
 to what the sailor can do when his 
 heart has been subdued and moulded 
 by the influences of the Gospel and 
 the grace of God. Divine Providence 
 as well as the Holy Scriptures has 
 pointed to him as one of the impor- 
 tant instruments yet to be n^ed in 
 the conversion of the world. He 
 forms the great connecting link be- 
 
 tween the nations, which but for him 
 would be as widely separated as 
 
 though occupying different worlds 
 
 He bore the first messages of the 
 Gospel to the Gentiles. He still is 
 the agent by which the Bible and 
 the Missionary is carried to the hea- 
 then. Nor has he been a silent and 
 uninterested actor in this work. Con- 
 verted sailors have been everywhere 
 making their interest felt, in distrib- 
 uting Bibles and tracts, and in mak- 
 ing known the Gospel of the grace of 
 God. The efforts which have been 
 put forth for the salvation of those 
 who go down to the sea in ships have 
 met with a success which has attend- 
 ed no similar effort towards the evan- 
 gelizing of the world. It may be 
 safely declared that, when wc con- 
 sider the amount of the agencies em- 
 ployed in behalf of sailors, and con- 
 trast them with those which are used 
 for the conversion of heathens or the 
 spread of the Gospel at home, the 
 work of benefitting and saving sea- 
 faring men is every way the most en- 
 couraging. It is now about a half 
 century since the first organized effort 
 was made for the benefit of this class 
 of men. Fifty years ago the first 
 Bethel flag was raised as the signal 
 for the assembling of the seamen of 
 the Thames for religious worship. A 
 society for the moral improvement of 
 sailors had already been established 
 in America, though it was short-lived. 
 It was not long before a deep and 
 powerful work of grace commenced, 
 and sea captains and sailors were 
 heard speaking of the wonders which 
 God had wrought for them ; wjjile on 
 many a vessel far out upon the sea, 
 worship and the voice of prayer and 
 praise was heard. And, though it 
 can never be known until the histo- 
 ries of life shall be all summed up in 
 the eternal world what an amount of 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 
 
 133 
 
 good has been accomplished by con- 
 yerted sailors, as they have passed 
 around the world in their arduous and 
 dangerous profession, yet we may 
 form some idea of what they have 
 done, and may accomplish, by con- 
 sidering the few facts which have 
 come to our knowledge. It was a 
 sailor in one of Captain Cook's ships 
 who first told the Sandwich Islanders 
 that their idols were vain things, and 
 that by-and-by men would come to 
 tell them of the God in Heaven who 
 alone claimed their worship. A Chris- 
 tian sea captain, as he passed down 
 the coast of South America, distrib- 
 uted Bibles and tracts as he had op- 
 portunity, and thus sowed good seed, 
 which may be reaped after many days. 
 A sailor, ordained as a preacher, or- 
 ganized a church with eighty or nine- 
 ty converted Catholics upon an island 
 on the South American coast. When 
 the priest came to reclaim them, be 
 was met with arguments which he 
 could not gainsay or answer. Three 
 converted sailors formed a prayer- 
 meeting upon tbeir ship, at which 
 six of their mates were converted ; 
 and when they reached their destina- 
 tion in India, continued their services, 
 at which sailors from other vessels 
 found peace in believing. Among the 
 heralds of the Cross, some of the no- 
 blest and most successful preachers 
 have been converted sailors, who have 
 brought to their work all the prompt- 
 ness and energy, and courage and 
 deathless zeal which entered into their 
 characters "while doing business upon 
 the great waters." 
 
 A single fact, recently brought un- 
 der my own observation, while pass- 
 ing over the great lakes which form 
 the northern boundary of our coun- 
 try, will serve to illustrate the power 
 for good which such men possess, and 
 the results they may achieve : 
 
 At the point where the waters of 
 Green Bay unite with those of Lake 
 Michigan, stands a cluster of islands 
 of singular and romantic beauty, 
 known as the Washington Group, 
 which have for years been the resort 
 of fishermen, and which, in the in- 
 crease of their business, have become 
 filled with a population now amount- 
 ing to more than a thousand souls. 
 For years these hardy and enterpriz- 
 ing men have lived in these wild 
 scenes, without any form of religious 
 instruction, and, as a natural result, 
 spent their hours of leisure in idle- 
 ness and dissipation. The money 
 which they obtained in the summer 
 during the fishing season was spent 
 in the winter in drinking and gam- 
 bling, and the whole population 
 seemed debased and ruined by vice. 
 Among the men who occasionally 
 stopped for business at these islands 
 was an old sea captain, in command 
 of a lake vessel, who had for many 
 years been a servant of the Lord Je- 
 sus. The condition of these people 
 so affected the heart of Capt. Kitwood 
 that he made an appeal in their be- 
 half to the agents of the Wes- 
 tern Seamen's Friend Society, and 
 requested them to appoint a chap- 
 lain for this post. After an earnest 
 but fruitless inquiry for a minis- 
 ter whom they might send thither, 
 it was suggested to the captain 
 that he should himself undertake 
 the work. The call came to him like 
 the voice of Providence and his an- 
 swer was as cheerful and promp't as 
 that of the disciples who were hence- 
 forth to become fishers of men. He 
 had received only the ordinary rudi- 
 ments of an education, but had long 
 been a learner in the school of Christ, 
 and he resolved to do what he 
 could for the salvation of that people. 
 When he appeared among them, and 
 
134 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 made known his determination to re- 
 main with him, and preach to them 
 the Gospel, he was met with bitter 
 hostility, and even with threats to 
 take his life. They consulted together 
 what should be done to arrest him in 
 his purpose. Some counselled to 
 drown him, and others to set him on 
 the nearest mainland, and thus rid 
 themselves of him and his religion. 
 But their threats of violence could 
 not move him from his purpose, and 
 he assured them that he intended to 
 remain among them and preach the 
 Gospel. Gaining the ear and the 
 confidence of one of their number, 
 whose natural virtues had not wholly 
 been marred by intemperance, he 
 prevailed upon him to give him the 
 use of his house for religious service ; 
 and when this was known, threats 
 were made to bum the house, if 
 preaching were allowed therein. Yet 
 all these things did not move him 
 from his purpose. He was a bold and 
 resolute man, whose former life and 
 habits had prepared him to meet dan- 
 ger, and to face his enemies with a 
 bold front. With his own hand he 
 prepared some rude seats for the ser- 
 vice, and sent out an invitation for the 
 people to attend religious service on 
 the coming Sabbath. A few women 
 and children accepted the invitation ; 
 but the men, like the sons of Belial 
 of old, gathered their dogs together 
 in front of the house, having stimu- 
 lated themselves by the free use of 
 whiskey for their work of disturbing 
 the worshippers within. When the 
 captain began to preach, they set 
 their dogs to fighting, and at the 
 noise which they set up, most of the 
 people left the house. When the 
 fight was over thej returned again, 
 and the captain, who had patiently 
 waited for them, resumed his dis- 
 course, and invited them, at its close. 
 
 to meet again on the next Lord's day. 
 During that week, he visited the mo- 
 thers of the island, and talked with 
 tiiem plainly concerning their duties 
 to their children, and invited them 
 to bring them together, and form a 
 Sabbath-school upon the next Sun- 
 day. They came together at the ap- 
 pointed time, and their children were 
 arranged into classes and provided 
 with books and papers. Gradually 
 did the opposition to his work die 
 away, as the people saw his earnest- 
 ness and zeal, and felt the power of 
 his kindness and love, and saw what 
 he was doing for their children. One 
 and another of those who had met 
 him with threats and abuse dropped 
 in to hear him preach, and some 
 " Who came to seofif, remained to pray." 
 Among the first who began to feel 
 the power of the truth, was the man 
 in whose house he had first held re- 
 ligious worship, and soon he and his 
 wife were hopefully converted to God. 
 Before the close of the summer, a 
 work of grace commenced among them 
 by which a goodly number were 
 awakened, and brought to a saving 
 knowledge of the truth. The place 
 where they had met had already 
 become too small for them, and a 
 large saw-mill was fitted up for wor- 
 ship, and filled every Sabbath with a 
 crowd of eager attentive listeners. — 
 Under the auspices of the Western 
 Seamen's Friend Society, a church 
 was organized, and Captain Kitwood, 
 having been ordained, at a meeting of 
 the Methodist Conference, by a bish- 
 op, who recognized in him one who, 
 though not regularly educated for the 
 ministry, had been evidently called of 
 God, was fully and duly set apart to 
 his work. A score or more of per- 
 sons, who had been converted under 
 his short ministry, were organized 
 into a church, among whom was a 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 
 
 135 
 
 man sixty-five years of age, with his 
 wife and five children ; and an aged 
 woman, who had already attained the 
 age of four-score years ere she had 
 found a Saviour. 
 
 It now became desirable to erect a 
 suitable chapel ; and although it was 
 in the midst of the fishing season, 
 those hardy and earnest men. though 
 wholly unacquainted with architec- 
 ture, went into the forests, and cut 
 down the timber and hewed it into 
 shape, and erected the frame of a com- 
 modious building. Just before it was 
 fully set up, and when they were won- 
 dering how to obtain the materials for 
 its covering, a vessel loaded with lum- 
 ber passed b}" the harbor, when it was 
 caught in a heavy gale of wind, and 
 in order to save it from destruction, 
 was lightened of its deck load, which 
 floated ashore within half a mile of 
 the site of the new chapel. Every- 
 thing that was needed was thus by a 
 remarkable Providence landed upon 
 the island^ and was sold to the people 
 by the agent who came in search of it 
 at a price scarcely one-tenth of its 
 market value. A mechanic was sent 
 for from below, who completed the 
 edifice ; and so a plain and comforta- 
 ble chapel, which only needs a tower 
 and bell to perfect it, was before the 
 winter finished, and dedicated to the 
 worship of Almighty God. 
 
 Just before the close of navigation, 
 and when these islands are shut in by 
 a vast sea of ice, and all travel is ne- 
 cessarily suspended, Captain Kitwood 
 visited Green Bay, where he was met 
 by a business man, who was leaving 
 the islands for the winter, as was his 
 custom, who expressed his surprise 
 at his determination to return and 
 winter among that rude and vicious 
 people. Though himself a careless 
 and irreligious man, he had been in- 
 terested in the captain and his work ; 
 
 and when told that the only obstacle 
 Avhich he then feared was a number 
 of barrels of whiskey, which were 
 then going on board his boat for the 
 islands, promptly ordered them on 
 shore, adding, in a half jocular way, 
 " We are going to try the Gospel at 
 the Washington Islands this winter, 
 and if that does not succeed, then we 
 will go back again to the whiskey." 
 
 The captain returned to his people, 
 and the winter was passed in almost 
 continuous services, either in the 
 chapel or from house to bouse. With 
 the absence of intoxicating drinks, 
 disappeared the gambling and the 
 quarreling which had for years dis- 
 graced these islands ; and better than 
 all, the Holy Spirit was manifested in 
 their midst, and many precious souls 
 were converted to God. Three years 
 have now passed since this work com- 
 menced, and the reformation is so 
 complete and undoubted, that the 
 most sceptical must see in it the 
 mighty power of God. 
 
 As, during my recent summer vaca- 
 tion, I was passing down from Buffialo 
 to Green Bay, we came to this beau- 
 tiful group of Islands at the close of 
 a calm and lovely Sabbath, which had 
 been spent on board the steamer in 
 public religious services, and in de- 
 lightful converse with Christian 
 friends, from whom I heard the 
 story of God's work among this peo- 
 ple. As we landed on the wharf, we 
 were met by a crowd who had come 
 down to welcome some of their Chris- 
 tian brethren, and it was ray pleasure 
 to grasp l)y the hand the Christian 
 sailor by whose efforts this great 
 work had, by God's blessing, been ac- 
 complished. I heard among them not 
 a profane word. I was assured that 
 so great had been the change on the 
 island, that in three years the amount 
 of strong drink which was needed for 
 
13ti 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 the supply of the people had been re- 
 duced from fifty barrels to less than 
 one. I spoke with a number who 
 had been the subjects of this work of 
 grace, and felt assured that they un- 
 derstood the language of Zion. 
 
 Guided by Captain Kitwood and 
 one of his people, I visited the chapel, 
 which stands in the midst of a forest, 
 and whose white walls were shining 
 in the light of a cloudless moon. I 
 was struck as I walked by the side of 
 that brother, and heard his storj^ 
 with his simple faith, and his death- 
 less zeal, and untiring energy ; and I 
 felt a freshened interest in the work 
 that cares for the sailor, and that 
 looks to him as one of the instruments 
 to be ased in the conversion of the 
 world. It is a work whose results 
 are not uncertain. It is one which 
 has its claims upon all classes of soci- 
 ety. Who is not indebted to the 
 sailor? He it is who brings to us the 
 luxuries and the various products of 
 other lands. The fruits of the trop- 
 ics, the fabrics of India and China, of 
 France, and Holland, and England, 
 the gold and ivory of Africa, the 
 spices of Ceylon, the carvings of 
 Italy, the lore of every land, are all 
 brought to us by the sailor. He de- 
 fends our coast, and guards the honor 
 of our flag. He is the great link that 
 binds the nations together ; and with 
 our obligations to him, shall we not 
 care for his moral and religious wants, 
 and remember that he has a soul to 
 save, and that the same promptness. 
 
 and energy, and fearlessness which 
 he exhibits in his profession will, if 
 sanctified by the grace of God, do a 
 noble work for Christ and his Church. 
 I thank God for the light which is 
 dawning upon him, and for the whole- 
 some laws which are now giving him 
 a measurable protection from the har- 
 pies who have long fed upon his very 
 life-blood. It is a matter of grati- 
 tude that legal provision has been 
 made by which the vile men who for 
 years have boarded every ship as it 
 entered our port, and have seduced 
 him to enter their dens of infamy, are 
 now restrained in their operations, 
 and prevented by severe penalties 
 from engaging in their work of ruin. 
 Let us, then, with fresh ardor and 
 zeal, engage in the blessed enterprize 
 of elevating seamen by religious in- 
 fluences, and bringing them within 
 the reach of the light and blessing of 
 the Gospel. This we may best do 
 through the agency of the Seamen's 
 Friend Society. Its sole *tvork is to 
 care for the sailor. It does this by 
 means of chaplains and homes, and 
 religious reading placed on board the 
 vessels which leave our ports. God 
 has blessed these means to the salva- 
 tion of many souls. Let us aid it in 
 its work by a generous and noble 
 supply of the means essential to its 
 success, and by earnest and importu- 
 nate prayer to God without whom all 
 our efforts are vain, that he would 
 cause the abundance of the sea to b» 
 converted to Him. 
 
 STEAM AROUND THE WORLD. 
 
 The beginning of the new year will 
 witness the inauguration of unbroken 
 steam communication around the 
 globe, to be thenceforth prosecuted 
 as regularly as the arrival and depar- 
 
 ture of European steamships at our 
 wharves. The steamship Henry 
 Chauncy which sailed on the 11th of 
 December, for the Isthmus ; will con- 
 nect with the Golden City, for San 
 
AND SEAMEN'S PRtENI). 
 
 137 
 
 Francisco, and from Sen Francisco, on 
 the 1st of January, the steamship 
 Colorado will sail for Yokohama, in 
 Japan, and Hong Cong, in China. If, 
 arrived at the latter port, the passen- 
 ger wishes still to journey westward, 
 he can proceed by the boats of the 
 Peninsula and Oriental Company to 
 Bombay, and onward through the 
 Red Sea, to the Isthmus of Suez, 
 which, crossed by rail, conducts to 
 the British line of Mediterranean 
 steamers, touching at Malta and Gib- 
 raltar, and arrive in England, where 
 a few hours of railway will enable 
 passage to be taken in one of the 
 dozen lines of steamships for this 
 country — the supposed point of de- 
 parture. 
 
 So wonderful are the achievements 
 of our busy age, and such is the pro- 
 gress of a century which bears every 
 progress along with it. It is now 
 barely 365 years since the Cabots dis- 
 covered North America; only 353 
 since Vasco Nunez de Balboa 
 
 " With all his men, 
 
 Stood wondering on the heights of Darien." 
 
 as the Pacific was first revealed to 
 European eyes, and but 345 years 
 since Magellan first crossed the Paci- 
 fic and sketched its gigantic propor- 
 tions. It is, indeed, but a day in the 
 chronology of nations since this coun- 
 try, which unites the extremes of the 
 old world, was organized, and hours 
 count the period since Fulton found 
 the power which is about being ap- 
 plied to such important results. And 
 now we are at the very threshold of 
 an event which is among the wonders 
 of the ages, and which, coupled with 
 the progressing Russian telegraph, is 
 annexing Asia to our western borders 
 as the same instrumentalities have al- 
 ready annexed Europe to our eastern. 
 What results will grow out of the 
 enterprise so soon to be inaugurated 
 
 remains to be seen. Congress has 
 believed them to be valuable and im- 
 portant enough to warrant a heavy 
 subsidy to the line which is being be- 
 gun. The country has believed them 
 to be useful, and has watched the 
 progress of the undertaking with ex- 
 treme interest. The Pacific Railroad, 
 so rapidly building, and of which a 
 new section is even now being formally 
 opened at the eastern end, while the 
 western end is advancing, and the in- 
 terior being graded at several points, 
 acts on and is acted upon by this Asi- 
 atic correspondence, so that all who 
 have an interest in the railroad have 
 a proportioned interest in the steam- 
 ships, the two, indeed, being but parts 
 of one harmonious whole. The dawn- 
 ing manufactures of the Pacific slope 
 see that they are involved, and our 
 manufacturers at the East cannot 
 avoid perceiving that now the door is 
 opened by which they can assume to 
 rival the business of Great Britain in 
 the East. It is plain, too, that when 
 the exchanges contemplated by this 
 line have gone into effect, the com- 
 merce of all the American coast of the 
 Pacific will be vitally affected, from 
 Peru and Chili to Russian America, 
 and that while their commerce will do 
 much for the Asiatic, it will also in 
 itself gain from it. 
 
 The important feature of the open- 
 ing is, that it brings the exchanges of 
 Eastern Asia to the American seaboard 
 of the Atlantic, and makes New York 
 and Philadelphia the accompting 
 houses of the world's greatest trade, 
 rather than London. All successful 
 commerce, from the time of Tyre and 
 Sidon, through the eras of Egypt, 
 Greece, Rome, the Byzantine Empire, 
 Italy, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Eng- 
 land — all has been created or magni- 
 fied by the grasp which it had upon 
 Asia, There was the market for pur- 
 
138 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 cliase — there for sale. Whatever na- 
 tion could sell most into Asia, and 
 draw most from it, has prospered 
 most ; and whenever, from neglect or 
 defeat, a country which had grown in 
 Asiatic trade lost it, then that coun- 
 try descended in influence and its 
 successor arose. The fact is inscribed 
 in every page of history, and needs no 
 elucidation. "We are now just begin- 
 ning to realize these advantages. TJie 
 newly opened opportunities will ad- 
 vance us more than they did our pre- 
 decessors, because we are in a better 
 condition for growth, aud shall have 
 a more vigorous hold, and because ex- 
 ceptional causes give us an advantage 
 which others have not had. "We hold 
 no fear that any irruption of Asiatics 
 will flood the "West, but cannot doubt 
 that our people will found " factories" 
 in China, which will do as much as 
 any of the long-established houses 
 there. 
 
 "Without entering, however, upon 
 any of the details of what may be ex- 
 pected from this new opportunity, it 
 is sufficient to observe that this enter- 
 prise is one which promises to head an 
 era in our afi'airs — an era, too, which 
 may be as signally successful as the 
 one just passed. It begins with the 
 close of the civil war, when we are 
 prepared for unaccustomed exertions. 
 It begins when a spirit of enterprise 
 penetrates every class, and when our 
 manufactures are so started that we 
 shall be able to meet more and greater 
 demands than ever ; when our wants, 
 too, are beginning to expand, and 
 when, freed from many domestic 
 risks, we can with safety make ven- 
 tures which would have been danger- 
 ous before. Its growth and its end, 
 if it ever comes, defy the dreams of 
 the most visionarj'. — United States 
 Gazette. 
 
 A STAR ON FIRE. 
 
 BY EDWIN DUNKIN, OF 
 
 About the middle of !May last, as- 
 tronomers were startled by the an- 
 nouncement that a new star of con- 
 siderable brightness had suddenly 
 burst forth in the constellation Coro- 
 na Borealis (the Northern Crown). — 
 Its increase of magnitude must have 
 been extremely rapid, for on the 9th 
 of May an observer, who was occupied 
 on that day in scrutinizing that por- 
 tion of the heavens, felt certain that 
 no object comparable to it was visible. 
 On the 12th, three days afterward, 
 the star shone with the brilliancy of 
 one of the second magnitude, or equal 
 to three well-known stars in the belt 
 of Orion. The important results ob- 
 tained from the observation of this 
 truly extraordinary astronomical ob- 
 ject are sufficient reasons for our giv- 
 
 THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY. 
 
 ing a brief and popular account of its 
 short history, which we are sure will 
 be duly appreciated by our scientific 
 readers. 
 
 The first person who appears to 
 have noticed this new variable star 
 was Mr. J. Birmingham, of Tuam, 
 Ireland, who observed it May 12th. 
 Subsequently, it was seen on the 
 13th, at Rochefort, by M. Courbe- 
 baisse, and on the same day at Athens, 
 by M. Schmidt ; on the 14th it was 
 noticed at London, Canada "West, by 
 Mr. Barker, and on the 16th, at Man- 
 chester, by Mr. Baxendell. These 
 observers saw it independently, with- 
 out any previous notification. Atten- 
 tion being now drawn to the star, it 
 has since been regularly observed, 
 either for position or for the inquiry 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 
 
 139 
 
 into its physical constitution, at most 
 of the public and private observato- 
 ries in Europe and America. Its 
 brightness rapidly diminished after 
 discovery, but probably not in the 
 same ratio as it had increased before. 
 The relative magnitudes, determined 
 by comparison with neighboring 
 known stars, are as follows : 
 
 May 12, 2 magnitude. 
 
 " 15, .3 5 " 
 
 " 18, 4 8 
 
 " 21, 6 7 
 
 " 24, 7 8 » 
 
 " 30, 8 8 " 
 
 Very little change had taken place 
 from May 30 to June 22. On the 
 evening of the latter day, the magni- 
 tude was reckoned as the ninth. 
 
 So far, this discovery would not, 
 probably, have attracted any greater 
 attention than that of any ordinary 
 variable. The new star would most 
 likely have been followed very closely 
 only till the extent and period of its 
 variability were satisfactorily estab- 
 lished. Of such objects the firma- 
 ment contains many extraordinary 
 examples ; stars whicli appear for a 
 season and then disappear, again re- 
 appearing, performing in the mean 
 time all their changes of brightness 
 with perfect regularity. While there 
 are some which complete their period 
 in days, there are others occupying 
 months, or perhaps years, between the 
 intervals of maximum magnitudes. If 
 our new star had been, therefore, sim- 
 ply one of this class, interesting though 
 it might have been from the abrupt- 
 ness of its first appearance, it would 
 merely have added one to the list of 
 those known variables, which are to 
 be found scattered here and there 
 among the fixed stars. 
 
 But astronomical observations have 
 unfolded other properties peculiar to 
 this star, giving us an insight into 
 
 physical composition different from 
 that of others around it. This has 
 been attained from the observation of 
 its spectrum, as viewed through a 
 spectroscope attached to an astrono- 
 mical telescope. 
 
 On looking at an ordinary star 
 through a spectroscope, its spectrum 
 is seen with transverse dark lines 
 across it, similar to Fraunhofer's lines 
 in the solar spectrum. Some of these 
 are common, or nearly so, in most 
 stellar spectra ; while each star has 
 generally, in addition, its own pecu- 
 liar dark lines. This would seem to 
 show that, whereas certain metals or 
 gases are indicated as being present 
 in the majority of stars, each one 
 contains materials peculiar to itself. 
 Now, this marvelous star in Corona 
 Borealis, which has so astonished us 
 all, has not only the ordinary stellar 
 spectrum with the dark lines across 
 it, but there is also a second spec- 
 trum, apparently superposed upon the 
 other, in which four or five bright 
 lines have been observed. Mr. Hug- 
 gins, who has devoted his whole as- 
 tronomical attention to this class of 
 observation, has, in conjunction with 
 Dr. W. A. Miller, concluded that the 
 light of the star is compound in its 
 nature, and that it has really ema- 
 nated from two different sources. Mr. 
 Huggins remarks that " each light 
 forms its own spectrum. The princi- 
 pal spectrum is aualagous to that of 
 the sun. The portion of the star's 
 light represented by this spectrum 
 was emitted by an incandescent solid 
 or liquid photosphere, and suffered 
 partial absorption by passing thi-ough 
 an atmosphere of vapors existing at 
 a temperature lower than that of the 
 
 photosphere The second 
 
 spectrum, which in the instrument 
 appears on the one already described, 
 consists of five bright lines. This or- 
 
140 
 
 THE SATtOHS' MAGAZINE 
 
 der of spectrum shows that the light 
 by which it was formed was emitted 
 by matter in the state of gas rendered 
 luminous by heat." Independent ob- 
 servations, made at the Royal Obser- 
 vatory, Greenwich, principally by Mr. 
 Stone and Mr. Carpenter ; and at the 
 Imperial Observatory, Paris, by MM. 
 Wolf and Rayet, gave results confirm- 
 atory of those made by Mr. Huggins 
 and Dr. Miller. 
 
 Such, then, is a brief account of the 
 analysis of the light emitted from 
 this temporary but brilliant visitor to 
 our sky ; showing, with little doubt, 
 that, from some cause unknown to us, 
 it must have been the subject of a 
 terrible catastrophe, at a period per- 
 haps distant ; for it must be borne in 
 mind that, owing to its immense dis- 
 tance from us, we may be only wit- 
 nessing the calamity of a past age. — 
 From the sudden blazing forth of this 
 star, and then its rapid fading away, 
 Mr. Huggins and Dr. Miller have sug- 
 gested that, in consequence of a great 
 internal convulsion, probably a large 
 quantity of hydrogen and other gases 
 were emitted from it, " the hydrogen, 
 by its combination with some other 
 element, giving out the light repre- 
 sented by the bright lines, and at the 
 same time heating to the point of 
 vivrid incandescence the solid matter 
 of the photosphere. As the hydrogen 
 becomes exhausted, all the phenome- 
 na diminish in intensity, and the star 
 rapidly wanes." That hydrogen gas 
 in a state of combustion was present 
 is very probable ; for, by comparing 
 simultaneously the bright lines of the 
 stellar spectrum with those of hydro- 
 gen produced by the induction spark, 
 taken through the vapor of water, it 
 was found that two of the lines sen- 
 
 sibly coincided. During a discussion 
 on this star, at a meeting of the Royal 
 Astronomical Society on June 8, the 
 astronomer royal expressed his firm 
 belief that this wonderful object was 
 actually in flames. 
 
 If we were inclined to speculate on 
 this unique astronomical phenomenon, 
 or the probable consequences arising 
 from such a sudden outburst of fiery 
 gas, what an extensive subject for 
 contemplation is opened to us. As- 
 tronomically, we have known this 
 minute star for years without suspi- 
 cion ; it has been classified with 
 others of similar magnitude ; it has 
 been one of many millions of such 
 while now it will be remembered by 
 all future generations as one of the 
 most extraordinary among the most 
 celebrated stars of the universe. Or 
 let our speculations be carried a little 
 further, and let us reasonably suppose 
 this small and hitherto nearly invisi- 
 ble object to be an immense globe 
 like our own sun, and surrounded 
 probably with planets and satellites 
 depending upon their center for light 
 and heat, what would be the effect of 
 this sudden conflagration on them? 
 It makes one almost shudder at the 
 idea of a system of worlds being an- 
 nihilated at once without warning. — 
 But such must doubtless be the fact. 
 We, however, in this quiet world of 
 ours, can scarcely, perhaps, realize 
 such a catastrophe; but were our 
 sun, which is only a star analagous to 
 those in the heavens around us, to bo 
 suddenly ignited in a similar manner 
 to this distant and unknown sun, all 
 its attendant planets and satellites 
 the earth included, would be destroy- 
 ed. — Leisure Hour. 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 
 
 141 
 
 MAHOMMEDANISM OR CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 The Anthropological Society of 
 London, the youngest and most pre- 
 tentious of the so-called scientific 
 societies of England, has lately been 
 discussing the question of whether 
 Mahomniedanism or Christianity is 
 better suited for the civilization and 
 elevation of the African race. Mr. 
 W. TVinwood Reade, the author of 
 Savage Africa, some time ago read a 
 paper justifying Mahommedanism, 
 polygamy, and slavery, and, as a mat- 
 ter of course, condemning Christian 
 missions, as Christianity was alto- 
 gether unsuited to the negro, whom 
 it only made worse than he was when 
 in a Pagan state. He was supported 
 in his views by Captain Burton, the 
 traveler. 
 
 At an adjourned meeting, an able 
 reply to this attack was read by Mr. 
 H. Bernard Owen, who vindicated 
 the character of the Christian negro 
 and his instructors, while at the same 
 time, he pointed out how much the 
 work of the missionary was thwarted, 
 and the character of his converts de- 
 teriorated, by the conduct of the 
 traders on the coast, who set both 
 the faith and morals of the Gospel at 
 defiance. He pointed to remarkable 
 instances of mental and moral attain- 
 ment among the maligned race. The 
 case of Bishop Crowther is, he said, 
 an effectual refutation of the assertion 
 that the native African is incapable of 
 being raised to a very high standard 
 of intellectual advancement. Does 
 the request of another native minister 
 (Rev. G. Nichol) betray incapacity 
 for education ? He desired a friend 
 to send him from England some books, 
 foremost on the list of which was 
 AlforcTs Greek Testament, next an Ara- 
 bic Lexicon, Maunder'' s Treasury of Uni- 
 
 versal Knowledge, Maunder's Biograph- 
 ical Treasury, MelviWs Sermons, etc. 
 To the Church Missionary Society he 
 applies for two first-rate University 
 men to superintend the studies of the 
 African theological students, adding: 
 " It will not do to send men of ordin- 
 ary capacity now-a-days. Our stu- 
 dents are too well taught in their 
 Greek Testament not to catch their 
 professor tripping, if he displays in- 
 suflBcient knowledge." That this as- 
 sertion is not unfounded, the Freetown 
 grammar school examinations in 1859 
 conclusively show. The Governor ex- 
 pressed his astonishment at the in- 
 telligence of the pupils. " I had no 
 idea that you had such youths," said 
 he ; " they can learn anything." 
 
 Every part of the coast, from Sierra 
 Leone to the Gaboon, can boldly pro- 
 claim the success of missionary enter- 
 prise. With regard to the assertion 
 that the converts to Mahommedanism 
 were much more numerous than those 
 to Christianity, such a representation 
 is not corroborated by official docu- 
 ments, for the Colonial Blue Book, 
 issued in 1863, gives the returns from 
 Sierra Leone under the census of 1860 
 as follows: Total population, 41,624; 
 of these were liberated Africans, 15,- 
 782; born within the colony, 22,593. 
 Of the whole population, only 3,357 
 remained Pagans; 1,734 were Moham- 
 medans, 15,180 Methodists, etc., and 
 12,954 Church people; 11,016 children 
 were taught in the schools in the year. 
 The trade of the colony is steadily 
 growing; the population is rapidly 
 learning the general customs of civil- 
 ized society, and in many instances 
 amassing wealth, enabling them to 
 vie with European enterprise. Sierra 
 Leone is thus proving not only a refuge 
 
142 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 for those who are rescued from slavery, 
 but a nucleus of civilization and school 
 of Christian teaching. 
 
 Dr. Livingston replied very con- 
 vincingly, though somewhat con- 
 temptuously, to the statements made 
 b}"^ Mr. Reads and Captain Burton, at 
 a meeting of the London Missionary 
 Society. He alluded in the following 
 terms to the statements concerning 
 the spread of Mohammedanism in 
 Africa : 
 
 "Ever since I was a boy I have heard 
 a great deal about the advance of 
 Mohammedanism ; and in my own 
 pretty extensive travels, I have also 
 been looking out for the advance of 
 that wave of Mohammedanism which 
 I was led to believe would soon spread 
 over the continent of Africa. Now, 
 I never happened to meet with a 
 Mohammedan till two years ago, when 
 I met two Arabs on Lake Nyanza, 
 who were very busy slave-traders. 
 They were building an Arab vessel to 
 transport slaves across the lake to- 
 ward the east, and they were at the 
 same time as busy as they could pos- 
 sibly be transporting the slaves by 
 means of two boats. One of their men 
 understood the Makololo language. I 
 found him to be very intelligent, and 
 we could converse readil}^ together. 
 I was rather anxious to find out 
 whether he had been made a convert. 
 He was the servant of these Arabs, 
 who had been there for fourteen years; 
 but this poor fellow knew nothing at 
 all about Mahommedanism, except 
 
 that it was wrong to eat an animal if 
 its throat was not cut. (Laughter.) 
 Why, the people knew as much of 
 our religion, as that in about three 
 weeks after our arrival, for they would 
 not go to hoe their garden on Sun- 
 days, because they were afraid that 
 if they did they would have an un- 
 lucky crop. All the Mohammedan 
 proselytism that has come under my 
 observation and all that I have been 
 able to ascertain about their converts, 
 is simply this, that occasionally in 
 the west and north of Africa they 
 make forays and capture numbers ol 
 people, and sometimes conquer large 
 portions of territory. In doing this 
 they gratify their own selfishness ; 
 the}^ get slaves, land and other plun- 
 der; but I find lately, on making 
 some inquiries, that the native Chnst- 
 ians, the men whom our missionaries 
 have converted in West and South 
 Africa, and also in the West Indies, 
 contributed upward of £15,000 an- 
 nually to the support and spread of 
 their faith. (Cheers). In the one case 
 the Mohammedans gratify their self- 
 ishness ; in the other the native 
 Chtistians make large sacrifices for 
 the propagation of their religion. — 
 Now, I think the religion which 
 teaches people to deny tliemselves 
 and make sacrifices, must be divine ; 
 and for all that I can ascertain, the 
 only reliL^ion that makes proselytes 
 is the religion of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 A short time since, the schooner 
 Ectlyn Treat of Frankfort, Me., was 
 wrecked off Nantucket. There were 
 five men aboard. When seen she was 
 200 yards from shore, her decks under 
 water, and the men lashed to the 
 
 SAVING A WRECKED CREW. 
 
 ringing. The manner of their rescue 
 
 is thus given by the New Bedford 
 Mercury : 
 
 The wind was blowing furiously, 
 and the sea making a complete breach 
 over her. A wrecking gmg imme- 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 
 
 143 
 
 diately proceeded to the shore, about 
 two miles off, and took with them the 
 gun of the Massachusetts Humane 
 Society, with its apparatus. Cit'.zens 
 soon followed, and by the time the 
 gun was ready for use, a considerable 
 number had arrived at the beach. No 
 life-boat could be launched, although 
 one was at hand, and the masts, as 
 they oscillated, showed that there was 
 no time to be lost. The gun was 
 loaded and elevated, and so skilfully 
 that the^line attached to it fell upon 
 the rigging of the ill-fated vessel, so 
 that the men, who were all in the rig- 
 ging, got the small line, the end of 
 which was carried by the ball beyond 
 the vessel. After much delay by 
 reason of their weakness, they hauled 
 on board the larger line attached, and 
 read the order sent with it to fasten 
 it to the mainmast head. When this 
 was done, a chair made for the purpose 
 was run oflf on a hanging block, and 
 one of the crew got in to be hauled 
 on shore. When his weight began to 
 press on the small line from the mast- 
 head to the shore, it began to stretch 
 and to sink down towards the top of 
 the raging billows beneath him. But 
 everything was well rigged on shore, 
 and the tackle on the shore end was 
 gradually gathered in, which kept him 
 from being drifted from his seat by 
 the surges. When a litt!e more than 
 half way to land, the small line from 
 the vessel used to veer him along the 
 line and to pull the chair back, got 
 foul, and for more than an hour there 
 the poor fellow hung, the line stretch- 
 ing, and the waves ready to swallow 
 
 him in case it parted. At last enough 
 was cleared to bring the man within 
 a few yards of the nearest breaker, 
 into which he was now dipping every 
 time the vessel rolled towards the 
 beach. Then was the time for fresh 
 exertion. Three men went into the 
 breakers up to their necks, got nearly 
 under him and threw him a rope, with 
 orders to lash it around him and drop 
 into the breakers from the chair. 
 This he did, and he was pulled through 
 the surf and saved. The sailor was 
 the son of the master, an old man 
 still on board. The chair was hauled 
 oft" again, and another of the crew 
 with much delay landed in the same 
 way, by the same three men rushing 
 into the serf and giving him a line 
 that he could drop overboard. The 
 third man that came was the captain, 
 who had been hurt when the vessel 
 struck at midnight. He had another 
 son on board, who veered him out the 
 line, but unfortunately the line on 
 board got more foul, and he hung for 
 another hour where he could not be 
 reached from the shore. The old man 
 was dipping into the breakers as the 
 vessel rolled, and seemed nearly ex- 
 hausted. A crotch was set up under 
 the line, which held him up some, 
 when a young man offered to "shin" 
 along the line and cut the small one 
 leading from the v&ssel. This he did 
 amid the cheers of the multitude, and 
 at the risk of his own life, and soon 
 the old gentleman was landed and 
 taken to town. The other two were 
 soon after rescued, and the people 
 came away with a light heart. 
 
 INDIRECT INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIAN EFFORT. 
 
 BY REV. C. J. JONES. 
 
 During the great revival of 1858, the receiving-ship North Carolina. In 
 many of our United States seamen process of time these men were draft- 
 were converted to God. At one time, ed to the various men-of-war then 
 there were over one hundred on board fitting out for foreign stations — some 
 
144 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 in one ship, and bome in another — 
 until there were representatives of 
 the cause of Christ in a large number 
 of vessels of our navy. These men 
 became the centres of religious in- 
 fluence, and vpitnessed a good profes- 
 sion among their ungodly shipmates. 
 The number of pious seamen was thus, 
 during the next two years, very large- 
 ly increased, and at the opening of 
 our rebellion, in 1861, almost every 
 vessel dispatched to blockade our 
 coast carried with her a praying band, 
 by whom prayer-meetings were estab- 
 lished, and the gundeck, the berth- 
 deck, the reef-deck, the fore-passage, 
 the steerage, and even the " tops " 
 and the " chains " became vocal with 
 prayer and praise to God. On board 
 one of these vessels on the Southern 
 coast, the brethren who were accus- 
 tomed to meet for prayer singled out 
 one of their shipmates, and united 
 their prayei's in his behalf. He was 
 reckless and careless, and absolutely 
 repulsive toward those who would 
 have done him good. Months rolled 
 away. Their efforts were unavailing. 
 He grew worse and worse. Pi-ayer 
 did not cease, though the subject of 
 them seemed farther from God than 
 ever. At this juncture, a letter was 
 written by one of the brethren to 
 the pastor of the Mariner's Church 
 in New York, giving an account of 
 the good work in progress on board 
 the ship, saying nothing, however, 
 about the young man who was the 
 object of their solicitude. The letter 
 was read in the Port Society's 
 Mariner's Church at the montly con- 
 cert of prayer. In the audience was 
 a stranger, providentially led there 
 that evening, who was the friend of 
 the young man who had been so faith- 
 fully and so unsuccessfully importuned 
 by his shipmates to turn to God. The 
 intelligence affected the stranger, and 
 
 he thought of his young friend on 
 board that same ship, and wondered 
 whether he had yielded to the mercy 
 of God. He was induced to write to 
 him, and to appeal to him to accept 
 the invitation of Infinite Love. That 
 letter was blessed of God to the con- 
 version of his soul. He then joined 
 himself to his praying shipmates, and 
 revealed to them the blessed intel- 
 ligence that he was " born of God.'''' 
 thus they were permitted to rejoice 
 with him, and to thank God that, in- 
 directly at least, they were permitted 
 to see the answer to their long-con- 
 tinued prayers. 
 
 ♦-•-» — - 
 
 Progress in Chili. 
 On the first Sabbath in January, 
 the first Protestant church was open- 
 ed in Santiago, Chili, the sermon 
 being preached to a full and atten- 
 tive audience by Rev. David Trum- 
 bull. Another Protestant church was 
 also opened in Orsono for the Ger- 
 mans. The press noticed the event 
 with pride of the libsrality of their 
 laws, which now permit Protestants 
 to build chui'ches and hold schools. 
 The Patria of Valparaiso, the best 
 daily paper in Chili, in a long article 
 upon the inauguration of this Pro- 
 testant church, says, " Liberty of 
 worship in Santiago, until quite re- 
 cently, was thought to be an idle 
 chimera. That city was the general 
 rendezvous of ostracism and the Jesuit 
 militia. There idolatry and supersti- 
 tion, two insatiable monsters, set fire 
 to the funeral pile, December 8, 1863, 
 in which perished so much innocence 
 and youth ;" referring to the burning 
 of the great church of the Jesuits, 
 when over 2,000 females perished. 
 " To-day, among this people, the Pro- 
 testants raise their temples. Upon 
 this soil is taking root and growing 
 the tree of liberty. Is there not in 
 this the most eloquent announcement, 
 and the proudest testimony of the 
 progress and civilization of the coun- 
 try. 
 
rf " ?w 
 
 
 Tol. 42. 
 
 FEBRUARY, 1870. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 JNTOTI OE. 
 
 If any Life Member or Director fails to receive tlie Magazine after 
 this number, it will be simply because lie has not asked for it. We send 
 it upon " an annual request for the same." 
 
 Those who heretofore have received it as subscribers, will please 
 remember, that, if they wish it continued, our terms are one dollar a 
 
 YEAR in advance.. 
 
 February, ist, 1870. 
 
 " THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN." 
 
 in memoriam. 
 
 DR. THOMAS CLARKSON MOFFATT. 
 
 BY REV. J. E. ROCKWELL, D. D. 
 
 There are few sailors who have en- 
 tered and left the port of New York 
 during the last fifteen years, with 
 whom the name of Dr. Mofifatt is not 
 familiar, as connected with the Sea- 
 men's Retreat on Staten Island ; and 
 there are thousands now scattered 
 over the world that have personally 
 experienced his tender care and sur- 
 gical skill, who will hear with unaf- 
 fected sorrow of his death, which oc- 
 cured on the 26th of December last. 
 
 He fell at his post in the fearless dis- 
 charge of his duty, of the same dis- 
 ease which had already carried off 
 three of his associates or predecessors 
 in the hospital, typhus, or ship fever. 
 As the hospital has been for many 
 months free from any infectious dis- 
 ease, and is never permitted to re- 
 tain such cases when they make their 
 appearance, it is supposed that Dr. 
 Moffatt must have contracted the fe- 
 ver from one who came to the £e> 
 
34 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 treat evidently under its power, and 
 whom lie immediately sent to Ward's 
 Island, directing Mm to be carried 
 to tlie boat in his own carriage, in 
 which he was constantly riding. 
 
 On the Sabbath preceding his 
 death, Dr. Mofifatt was in his wonted 
 place in the Sanctuary, leading, as 
 usual, in the praises of the House of 
 God. In the afternoon he attended 
 the meeting held for the children and 
 their friends of the sabbath-school, 
 and addressed them most tenderly 
 and solemnly on the worth of the 
 soul. On Monday and Tuesday he 
 was attending to his ordinary duties 
 in the hospital and elsewhere, though 
 complaining of chilliness and occa- 
 sional wandering pains. On Tuesday 
 evening a heavy chill set in, and 
 thenceforward the disease, which he 
 seems to have suspected was in his 
 system, rapidly developed itself) 
 despite all the efforts of medical skill 
 and science to arrest its progress. 
 
 The most eminent and skillful 
 physicians of the Island were in at- 
 tendance upon him from the hour 
 that his disease assumed a serious 
 and threatening aspect. Dr. Jor- 
 dan and others of the medical pro- 
 fession were often in his sick room, 
 and Dr. Walsher, his intimate friend, 
 was almost constantly by his side, 
 spending the night in watching and 
 administering the medicine with his 
 own hand. Loving brothers could 
 not have showed more affectionate 
 interest and more earnest and pain- 
 ful solicitude for him than did these 
 gentlemen of the medical faculty- 
 Could professional assiduity and hu- 
 man science and skill and devoted 
 attention have turned aside the hand 
 of disease and warded off the shafts 
 of death, the sad record of Dr. Mof- 
 fatt's decease would not now have to 
 be made. 
 
 But despite all that affection and 
 science could do for him, the terrible 
 disease made unusually rapid pro- 
 gress, and finished its work even be- 
 fore it seemed to have reached its 
 crisis. 
 
 Early on Thursday morning, I was 
 summoned to his bedside and found 
 him calm and chee]:ful, though he had 
 already expressed his conviction that 
 the fever would prove fatal. He com- 
 plained of restlessness, and an ina- 
 bility to keep his mind fijsed upon 
 any one subject, or to follow out any 
 consecutive train of thought. I knelt 
 by his side in prayer and he respond- 
 ed with evident heartiness to such 
 simple statements of the gospel as al- 
 ways gives comfort to the believer in 
 times of aflBLiction. Late in the even- 
 ing of the same day I was again call- 
 ed to see him, and perfect some busi- 
 ness which he had entrusted to my 
 care. The fever had made rapid 
 progress, but his mind was still 
 calm. Upon the walls of his sick 
 room had been hung a hospital chart, 
 with the text : " What shall I do to 
 be saved?" etc., turned into view, and 
 the Hymn, ''Come to Jesus ." These 
 were the precious themes which he 
 had directed to be set before his eyes, 
 so as to enable him to fix his thoughts, 
 and keep his mind from wandering. 
 They were the subjects that enlisted 
 his attention until reason lost its bal- 
 ance. On Thursday he passed into 
 the delirum or unconsciousness of 
 fever, and so continued until Sabbath 
 afternoon, when he entered upon the 
 rest and worship of the temple whose 
 light is the Lamb. Just as the sun 
 was going down, he beheld the glo- 
 ries of the city where there is no 
 night, and breathed the air of the land 
 whose inhabitant shall never say, " I 
 am sick." 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 
 
 35 
 
 Few men like Dr. Moflfatt are 
 called to occupy such positions as lie 
 held. He was one of whom it may 
 be said with truth, that he followed 
 in the footsteps of Luke, the beloved 
 physician. He could minister to the 
 soul as well as to the body, and was 
 ever ready to offer words of comfort 
 and counsel to those who were 
 brought under his professional care. 
 
 Dr. Moffatt was born at Bloom- 
 ingrove, Orange Co., N. Y., in the 
 year 1825, and was the son of godly 
 parents, by whom he was instructed 
 in the principles of the Christian reli- 
 gion, and trained up in the fear of God. 
 Early in life he was led to receive 
 Christ as his saviour, and to make a 
 public profession of faith in him. In 
 the year 1850 he graduated at the 
 University School of Medicine, then 
 under the care of the distinguished 
 Dr. Mott, and in the following year 
 was appointed one of the assistant 
 physicians of the Seamen's Retreat. 
 In the year 1854 he was placed at the 
 head of the institution, a position 
 which he filled with undoubted abili- 
 ty to the close of his life. In the year 
 1853 he married Miss Sarah A. Church, 
 of Brooklyn, who, with the children 
 that have been born to him, now la- 
 ment his loss. 
 
 He was one of the passengers on 
 board the steamer Northern Indiana, 
 which was burned August 17th, 1856, 
 while on the way from Buffalo to To- 
 ledo. In the midst of that fearful 
 scene in which many lost their lives, 
 he remained calm and self-possessed* 
 He continued on board the burning 
 vessel so long as there was a hope 
 of saving any, and then putting on 
 a life-preserver, and throwing his 
 valise into the water, he leaped after 
 it, and finding a floating spar from 
 the wreck, clung to it until a passing 
 steamer saved him. 
 
 Soon after he took up his perma- 
 nent residence in Staten Island, he 
 was elected an Elder in the Reformed 
 Church at Stapleton, and when that 
 was united with the Presbyterian 
 church, was chosen to the same office 
 in the new organization. He was 
 also a most earnest and eflicient work- 
 er in the sabbath-school, and ever 
 manifested a deep interest in its wel- 
 fare. It was always a pleasure to 
 him, to meet the children in their 
 Sabbath afternoon's service, to lead 
 them in their songs of praise and to 
 speak to them a word for Jesus and 
 the soul. 
 
 In the arrangements made in the 
 church for having reports upon the 
 various departments of the mission- 
 ary work, at the monthly concert of 
 prayer, the cause of the sailor was 
 naturally assigned to Dr.Moffatt, and 
 the earnest and large hearted inter- 
 est which he manifested in this im- 
 portant field of Christian enterprise, 
 never failed to awaken a correspond- 
 ing feeling in the minds of his hear- 
 ers. They who were present at the 
 last December concert, will not soon 
 forget his allusion to the work of 
 grace which had been quietly going 
 on in the Retreat for the last two 
 years, in which it is believed that 
 over one hundred souls have been 
 converted to God, and his tender and 
 touching allusion to the dying sailor 
 whose attention had been turned to 
 his spiritual interests by the reading 
 of the fourteenth chapter of John. 
 
 Dr. Moffatt was one who literally 
 watched for souls. Often since the 
 writer's connection with him as his 
 pastor, has he been taken out in his 
 carriage to see some patient who was 
 in need of spiritual counsel and com- 
 fort. Still more frequently has he 
 heard from him descriptions of cases 
 requiring his attention, giving min- 
 
38 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 sician when stricken down by dis- 
 ease. His presence by the bedside 
 of a dying sailor was calculated to 
 soften the harshness of the poor fel- 
 low's fate, his words of religious 
 comfort spoken in accents of purest 
 Christianity found an echo in many 
 an obdurate heart. To say that his 
 patients loved hira would be but a 
 weak manner of expressing their re- 
 gard for him. The sick man has 
 watched for his coming, and his 
 countenance grew brighter when Dr* 
 Moflfatt's gentle hand touched his 
 brow. There will be mourning in 
 every clime in which the American 
 flag waves when seamen hear of his 
 death." Such is the testimony borne 
 to the life and character of a Chris- 
 tian physician. It is impossible to 
 estimate the good wliich such a man 
 can accomplish. Who would not 
 prefer him for ministrations in his 
 family to a godless, pleasure-loving, 
 or dissipated man of the world, how- 
 ever skillful he might be in his pro- 
 fession ? He moves amid the sick 
 and afflicted like an angel of mercy, 
 and where human skill and science 
 is powerless, can with a tender and 
 loving heart, point the dying to the 
 Great Physician, and comfort the 
 mourner with words of Christian 
 sympathy and compassion. 
 
 Such a man was Dr. Moffatt. All 
 his knowledge was sanctified by re- 
 ligion. His noble profession was 
 exalted by being made the means 
 and occasion of doing good to the 
 soul as well as the body. By a wise 
 but inscrutable Providence, he has 
 been called away from his work just 
 when he seemed most necessary to 
 his family and to society. His name 
 will long be fragrant in the commu- 
 nity where his life was spent. His 
 memory wiU be blessed for it is the 
 memory of the just. 
 
 It needed not the testimony of the 
 dying hour to assure his friends that 
 all was peace. Pleasant as it is to 
 hear amid the whispered farewells 
 of dying friends expressions of faith 
 and hope, it is far better to be able 
 to look back upon a life that has 
 given its unvarying testimony to the 
 value and power of the Gospel. And 
 such is the comfort which they have 
 who now weep over his death. Early 
 in his sickness, when expressing his 
 belief that he should not survive the 
 fever, he also expressed his confi- 
 dence in Christ as his Saviour, and 
 his hope of seeing him as he is. His 
 life had been given to him. 
 
 And when death came he had 
 nothing to do but to die. It was of 
 little moment to him whether his 
 great change came amid the delirium 
 or unconsciousness of fever, or while 
 reason had her perfect or proper 
 balance. His work of preparation 
 had been made in health and his 
 earlier years j and many, as they 
 now recall his experiences and his 
 exercises, feel that he has for many 
 months been ripening for heaven and 
 preparing for his great and last 
 change. When he thought that 
 probably a malignant and fatal dis- 
 ease was at work within him, he 
 looked at the fact calmly and with- 
 out pain. He knew whom he had 
 believed, and was persuaded that he 
 was able to keep that which he had 
 committed unto him until the great 
 day. Hence when he felt that his 
 thoughts were already disposed to 
 become confused under the influence 
 of disease, he directed these words 
 to be set before his eyes which most 
 simply and clearly brought before 
 him the plan of salvation. They 
 recalled to him his needs as a sinner 
 and his only help in Christ as an 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 
 
 39 
 
 all-sufficient Saviour. It was the 
 repetition in another form of the 
 dying sentiment of the sainted Alex- 
 ander: "All my theology is nar- 
 rowed down to one point, 'Jesus 
 Christ came into the world to save 
 sinners.'" 
 
 It is a grateful fact to record the 
 history of men of science and learn- 
 ing who have consecrated all their 
 attainments to the glory of God and 
 the honor of Christ. Such a history 
 is full of instruction. Such a death 
 re-echoes the closing sentiment of 
 the Thanatopsis of our honored 
 poet : 
 
 *' So live, that wheu thy summons comes to join 
 The innumerable caravan that moves 
 To that mysterious realm, ■where each shall 
 
 take 
 His chamber in the silent halls of death, 
 Thou go not like the qiiarry slave at night, 
 Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and 
 
 soothed 
 By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave 
 Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
 About him and lies down to pleasant dreams." 
 
 May the thousands to whom Dr. 
 Mofifatt has ministered, remember 
 his words of warning and counsel, 
 and his godly example and life. And 
 may God, who has the hearts of all 
 men in his hand, raise up from the 
 multitude of young men who are 
 yearly entering the profession which 
 he honoured, many who shall add to 
 their science and skill, the humility, 
 the faith, and the love to God and 
 man which made him truly "a belov- 
 ed pliysiciau." 
 
 At a meeting of the Board of Trus- 
 tees of the Seamen's Fund and 
 Retkeat, held at their office No. 12 
 Old Ship, on Tliursday, January I'D, 
 1870, the following resolutions wci'e 
 adopted : 
 
 Wliereas, The Trustees of the Sea- 
 men's Fund and Retreat, having 
 
 heard of the death of Thomas Clark- 
 son Moffatt, M.D., which occurred on 
 the 24th December ultimo, thereup- 
 on, 
 
 Eesolved, That while we recog- 
 nize in this event the hand of an all- 
 wise but inscrut5able Providence, 
 and would bow with submission 
 thereto, we can but mourn deeply 
 over the loss of one endeared to us 
 by long and intimate association 
 with us in the care of the institution 
 of which we have the oversight. 
 
 Eesolved, That we hereby record 
 our testimony to the value of the 
 long and faithful services of our de- 
 ceased friend as the Physician in 
 Chief of the Seamen's Retreat, to his 
 kind, tender and Christian sympathy 
 with the suflering, and to his noble, 
 fearless, and philanthropic efforts in 
 behalf of the patients committed to 
 his care. 
 
 Eesolved, That we shall long bear 
 with us the memory of his pure and 
 exalted character as a citizen and 
 philanthropist — his self-denying de- 
 votion to the good of others — his at- 
 tainments in earnest devotion to 
 his profession — his manliness, intel- 
 ligence, prudence and wisdom — his 
 warm and generous sensibilities — his 
 high sense of honor and of right, and 
 his noble exemplification of the vir- 
 tues of a christian. 
 
 Eesolved, That we are deeply sen- 
 sible of the loss which the Institu- 
 tion has sustained to which he has 
 so long ministered, and in whose 
 service he was at his death. 
 
 Eesolved, That we mourn with his 
 bereaved family over their loss, and 
 hereby tender to his afflicted widow 
 and children our cordial sympathies 
 and the assurance of our earnest 
 Itrayers that the God of the widow 
 and fatherless may sustain and com- 
 fort theta. 
 
 Eesolved, That these proceedings 
 be published in our Annual Report, 
 and be read by the chaplain upon 
 the Sabbath in the Cliapel of the In- 
 stitution, and that a copy of them be 
 forwarded to the family of the de- 
 ceased. 
 
 New York, January 13, 1870. 
 
40 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 A EUROPEAN HOLIDAY 
 
 BT AN EYE WITNESS. 
 
 Yesterday was a great day in 
 Antwerp. It wiU be memorable in 
 the history of the port as the day 
 on which the new dock, or rather, 
 another section of the series of 
 new docks whicli have been long in 
 process of construction, was opened. 
 The old docks weie built by Napo- 
 leon the Fii'st, who contemplat- 
 ed making this port one of his chief 
 naval stations, for which the harbor 
 is so admirably fitted. But as these 
 have proved quite inadequate to the 
 increasing commerce of the port a 
 series of new docks were projected 
 some fifteen years ago. The king of 
 Belgium, assisted in laying the cor- 
 ner stone in 1856. One section has 
 been open for several years, and now 
 another large section is completed 
 and was opened yesterday with great 
 4clat. Of course, the day chosen for 
 this celebration, as for all public de- 
 monstrations, was the Sabbath. Ac- 
 tive and expensive preparations for 
 this great occasion have been going 
 on for several weeks, and the work 
 has been very much hastened by the 
 clerical party in whose hands the 
 city government now is, in order to 
 bring on the celebration before the 
 election, which occurs in a few days, 
 with the hope of making political 
 capital out of it against the rising 
 power of the liberal party who hope 
 to carry the day. Hundreds of flag 
 staffs were planted along the basin, 
 a most magnificent and celebrated 
 series of fireworks was erected, pre- 
 parations for a grand illumination 
 along the whole course of the river 
 were made, and the great guns were 
 put into position. Kiosks for the 
 music were constructed ; two great 
 
 triumphal arcs composed of boxes, 
 barrels, bales and bags of merchan- 
 dise were erected, and between them, 
 an immense platform with seats for 
 the city government and two or three 
 thousand invited guests was prepar- 
 ed in front of the dock. Everything 
 was in readiness. The day could 
 not have been more pleasant and 
 beautiful. In the early morning ten 
 thousand flags, of every nation, were 
 seen floating in the breeze from the 
 shipping in every quarter, and from 
 the windows and housetops, and 
 stretched across the streets through- 
 out the neighborhood of the docks. 
 The people were coming in from the 
 country and gathering from all parts 
 of the city to assist at the celebration. 
 The crowd was immense. There 
 could not have been less than 20,000 
 on the spot at 11 o'clock, the hour 
 appointed for the inauguration, and 
 probably, two or three times that 
 number visited the scene of display 
 in the course of the day and evening, 
 and the estaminets and grog shops in 
 the vicinity, having all laid in an 
 extra supply of liquors for the day, 
 did a most thriving business. Now 
 tiie Burgomaster makes his speech; 
 the commemorative stone is laid; 
 the gates are thrown open ; the can- 
 nons boom ; the multitude shout and 
 two large Belgian ships prepared for 
 the occasion, accompanied by several 
 others of different nations, all decked 
 out with colors flying from every part 
 and manned throughout all their 
 spars to the very top, with the 
 jolly sailors, dancing and cheering, 
 with bands of music on deck, — glided 
 through the gates from either side. 
 Again the cannons roar and the mul- 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 
 
 41 
 
 titude shout at the top of their voices, 
 and wave their handkerchiefs and 
 swing their hats, — and so the first 
 act in the drama is finished at noon. 
 In the afternoon, at 3 o'clock, there 
 was music in the kiosks and a gene- 
 ral jollification in the drinking sa- 
 loons. In the evening the illumina- 
 tion takes place, and the whole is 
 closed by a most magnificent display 
 of fireworks from 9 to 10 o'clock. 
 
 Notwithstanding the enlargement 
 of our hitherto commodious docks 
 the accommodation is not suificient 
 for the increasing demands of this 
 port. The authorities are hastening 
 the completion of other docks, and 
 still others and larger accommodation 
 are projected. The city also has been 
 greatly extended and improved dur- 
 ing the past three or four years. I do 
 not believe there is a city in Europe 
 which is improving and increasing as 
 fast as Antwerp. It is already the 
 chief entrepot in Europe for the pe- 
 troleum and the guano trade, and 
 perhaps, also, for the trade in hides, 
 wool and dye woods from South 
 America. The merchants here ex- 
 pect it will soon be, in every respect, 
 the leading commercial port on the 
 continent. But it is a very wicked 
 port. Its accommodation for seamen 
 could hardly be worse, nor the temp- 
 tation to intoxication and immorality 
 greater than they now are. From 
 my window I can count more than 
 twenty grog shops within as many 
 rods that are in full blast day and 
 night and Sundays above all, and 
 could I look round the corner — 
 
 for our view is much obstructed, 
 I could count three or four times 
 as many more, and as you look 
 into the doorways and windows of 
 these ante-chambers of hell you 
 will see girls serving liquor to 
 scores of half intoxicated brutes. 
 There is not one hour in the twenty 
 four in which you will not hear the 
 song of the drunkard and meet with 
 drunken men reeling through the 
 streets and lying along the side 
 walks and in the gutters. The whole 
 city seems to be possessed, both high 
 and low, rich and poor, male and fe- 
 male, with this mania for drink, drink, 
 drink — not for water — indeed the 
 water here is not a fit beverage — but 
 for something that will exhilarate — 
 stupify or intoxicate. This leads 
 to such exhibitions of gross indecen- 
 cy on every side in the public streets, 
 that one cannot walk anywhere, es- 
 pecially if he has ladies in his com- 
 pany without confusion and shame ! 
 
 '^ Sooner Haug- Than Deny Him." 
 
 An old sailor recently rose in a 
 prayer meeting and asked prayers 
 for seamen. While up he told of 
 his conversion. " I know (he said) 
 what it is to profess Christ in a 
 ship's crew of three hundred men 
 on board of a man-of-war. And 
 when they tried every way to drive 
 me from my steadfastness, I told 
 them at last that I would sooner 
 hang at the end of the yard-arm than 
 deny my Divine Redeemer, and then 
 they let me alone.''^ 
 
 THEORIES OF EARTHQUAKES 
 
 Theories as to the cause of e;irtu- 
 quakes are innumerable. Their 
 primary cause, as well as their inti- 
 mate nature, is no more known than 
 their relations to the whole of atmos- 
 
 phero-terrestrial phenomena. The 
 ancient philosophers attributed 
 earthquakes to ordinary air which 
 was blazing in the bowels of the 
 earth. This air engulphed in the 
 
42 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 cavities of the earth is condensed 
 tnto clouds, is compressed, accumu- 
 lates, is loosed, revolves circularly, 
 or in a whirlwind, and finding vent, 
 escapes with a crash by terribly 
 shaking the ground. Such is one of 
 the first theories sustained by Anax- 
 imander Anaxagoras, Aristotle, and 
 even Seneca, with others as renown- 
 ed. All we can say at present is, 
 that earthquakes naturally belong to 
 dynamic phenomena, while in their 
 origin, certain electro- chemical ac- 
 tions must play either a primary or 
 secondary part. The ground is 
 shaken by a system of waves of di- 
 verse kinds. According to the mode 
 of first impulsion, these are sent 
 from the interior to the outside of 
 the earth's crust, and vice versa, as 
 well as to a certain depth of the 
 heated mass below. The idea of 
 comparing the progress of earth- 
 quakes to sonorous waves was first 
 proposed by Dr. Young, and sustain- 
 ed by Gay-Lussac. 
 
 Many philosophers of antiquity, 
 and among them Pliny, compared 
 earthquakes to subterranean thun- 
 ders. Dr. Stukely read before the 
 Royal Society of London in 1750, 
 memoirs in which he held that elec- 
 tricity was the cause of earthquakes. 
 Beccaria was of the same opinion. 
 Hyancinthe Coggo, who compiled 
 a journal of the shocks felt at Sur- 
 ges, held that they came from elec- 
 tricity condensed within the earth. 
 Nicholson believed they were caused 
 by discharges between the clouds 
 and the earth. Abbe Bertholon 
 held so strongly this idea that 
 he invented earthquake rods and 
 volcano rods to carry off as much 
 as possible the falminating mat- 
 ter stored up within the globe 
 In 1855, M. Ferdinand Hoefer, ap- 
 pearing to be ignorant of the labors 
 of his predecessors, compared earth- 
 quakes to true subterranean storms 
 in a solid medium, as Pliny had done 
 before him. Until the earthquake 
 at Alba in 1771, Father Beccaria be- 
 lieved that electricity was the pri- 
 mary cause of the shocks ; but from 
 that date he attributed them specially 
 to dissolutions of pyrites. Vassali- 
 Eaudi, a diciple of Beccaria, adopt- 
 
 ed, later, his master's theory, and 
 held that the electricity developed 
 in the fermentation of sulphurous 
 pyrites extended its effects. Dr. Lis- 
 ter was of the same opinion. This 
 theory deserves to be taken anew 
 into notice, not exclusively from the 
 point of the dissolution of the pyr- 
 ites, but in connection with the elec- 
 tro-chemical actions and reactions 
 taking place in the heart of the globe. 
 No one is ignorant that there is in 
 different strata of the earth's crust 
 a rich deposit of substances produc- 
 ed by electro -chemical action; that 
 there are liquids in circulation, and 
 metallic masses, capable of exciting 
 electric currents. As M. Becqueret 
 has already shown, there exists in 
 most terrestrial formations substan- 
 ces whose alteration by atmospheric 
 agents and water produces electric 
 effects like the water we obtain with 
 zinc. Of all theories proposed on 
 the subject, that of M. Alexis Perry 
 seems to be the best founded and 
 well observed. At the time when 
 the Academy of Sciences in Paris, 
 in 1854, made a favorable report on 
 the labors of M. Perrey, this savant 
 had collected and discussed seven 
 thousand observations fi'om the first 
 half of this century. The conclu- 
 sions from his work are these : first, 
 that the frequency of earthquakes 
 increases toward the syzigies (points 
 in the earth's orbit nearest the sun) ; 
 second, that their frequency increas- 
 es also in the neighborhood of the 
 moon's perigee (point of its orbit 
 nearest the earth) and diminishes 
 toward the apogee (the point of its 
 orbit furthest removed) ; third, that 
 earthquake shocks are more frequent 
 when the moon is in the vicinity of 
 the meridian than when it is remov- 
 ed 90 degrees. Every other cause 
 which tends to diminish the enor- 
 mous pressure suffered by the central 
 mass ofthe globe may act equally, and 
 at the same time with the action of 
 the moon and sun. For example, the 
 sun's heat by rarifying the atmos- 
 pheric strata tends to diminish their 
 pressure, and the centrifugal force 
 of the cyclone of hurricanes tends 
 equally to exercise an ascensional 
 action on the central mass. Hum- 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 
 
 43 
 
 boldt believed that we must at- 
 tribute to the reaction of vapors 
 submitted to enormous pressure in 
 the interior of the earth, all shocks 
 which agitate it. 
 
 From this rapid glance at the prin- 
 cipal theories in relation to earth- 
 quakes, it is easy to see that they 
 tarn around a fixed principle of 
 which the forms of interpretation 
 alone vary. At present we say that 
 theory reposes on one side, according 
 to the researches of M. Perrey, upon 
 
 the attractive force of the moon and 
 the sun exerted on the central fiery 
 mass of our planet; and on the other 
 upon the chemical, or probably 
 electro- chemical action produced 
 by the contact of compounds, solid, 
 liquid, or gaseous, in the center of 
 the earth, influenced by atmospheric 
 agents. In this respect, the late re- 
 searches of M. Ch. Sainte Claire 
 Deville upon the analysis of volcanic 
 emanations have great value. 
 
 INTERESTING DEEP SEA DISCOVERIES. 
 
 A communication has been made 
 to the Royal Society by Dr. Carpen- 
 ter on the results of the deep sea ex- 
 plorations carried on during the past 
 summer and autumn by himself, 
 Professor Wyville Thompson, and 
 Mr. Grwyn Jeffreys. On an applica- 
 tion made by the Royal Society, the 
 Admiralty placed her Majesty's ship 
 Porcupine, Captain Calver, at the 
 disposal of the explorers. In this 
 vessel three expeditions have been 
 made, and the sea-bed explored 
 from the northern extremity of the 
 Bay of Biscay to the Faroe Islands. 
 Dredgings were obtained from a few 
 fathoms near the shore to 2,500 
 fathoms, or nearly three miles, out 
 at sea ; and the mud brought up has 
 been carefully examined for what- 
 ever of animal life it might contain. 
 Deferring for a moment a notice of 
 the animal forms discovered, we turn 
 to the account of the temperature of 
 the sea at the different depths. 
 These determinations were made 
 with the thermometer expressly de- 
 vised for the purpose by Dr. Miller, 
 of which we gave a description be- 
 fore the expedition started. The re- 
 sults obtained may be stated shortly 
 as follows : At the surface there is 
 a stratum of water, the temperature 
 of which varies with the latitude 
 and the season. When, however, 
 this temperature is high, it declines 
 rapidly, and is lost at about 100 
 fathoms. From this, in deep water, 
 there is a rapid decline to about ^ ,000 
 fathoms, at which there is a tolerably 
 constant temperature from 38 deg. 
 
 Fah. to 36 deg. Fah. Abrupt varia- 
 tions in the level of the sea bottom 
 occasion considerable local differen- 
 ces in temperature, by obstructing 
 the current of cold water from the 
 Arctic regions, but the result of the 
 thermometric observations is to show 
 the existence of a stratum of ice- 
 cold water from 300 fathoms down- 
 wards ; a stratum of warm water 
 from 150 fathoms upwards ; and a 
 stratum of intermixture between the 
 two. It should be mentioned that 
 the lowest temperature found in 
 these higher latitudes is above that 
 of the deep sea water in the equa- 
 torial regions, which is accounted for 
 by an uninterrupted flow of cold 
 water from the antarctic regions. 
 Turning from the temperature we 
 come to the extraordinary fact that 
 in the deepest abysses of the sea 
 there is an abundance of animal life. 
 It was once supposed that no animal 
 could exist lower than 300 fathoms ; 
 but the question is now set con- 
 clusively at rest, for not only have 
 the globigerinye (comparatively low 
 forms of life), but the echinoderms, 
 molluscs, and Crustacea been brought 
 up from the profoundest depths of 
 the ocean. What will most inter- 
 est zoologists to learn is, that 127 
 species of molluscs were found, none 
 of which were previously known to 
 exist in British seas, and many of 
 which are altogether new to science. 
 Of echinoderms the number known 
 to exist is now nearly doubled, while 
 so many varieties of arenaceous for- 
 aminifera have been found that it 
 
44 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 will be difficult to find names for 
 them. Many sponges altogether 
 new have also been discovered, some 
 fine specimens of which were exhi- 
 bited at the second meeting of the 
 Eoyal Society last Thursday. As 
 regards the source from which these 
 animals derive their food, Dr. Car- 
 penter remarked that it resolves it- 
 self into the single question of the 
 maintenance of the globegeriniB or 
 chalk animalcules. They, it would 
 appear, can live by themselves, and 
 all the others can live upon them. 
 The food of these animals is sup- 
 posed to be the organic matter (the 
 mysterious bathybius) which is 
 everywhere diffused through deep 
 sea water. But, it may be asked, 
 bathybius whence"? There are some 
 who believe that inorganic matter 
 may pass by a spontaneous change 
 into a condition ready to become or- 
 ganized. There are probably others 
 who will see in this deep sea organic 
 matter only the result of animal de- 
 composition, of which there must 
 surely be enough in the ocean. 
 
 To conclude this brief review we 
 may notice what is perhaps the most 
 
 interesting of all the discoveries 
 made, viz : that some of the animals 
 brought up from a depth of 1,270 
 fathoms had perfect eyes , while the 
 color of their shells indicated the 
 influence of light. Thus it would 
 seem that the deepest abysses of the 
 ocean are not absolutely dark. Sir 
 Charles Lyell suggested that the 
 light in these depths is phosphores- 
 cent. On this matter we must wait 
 for further information, and Mr. 
 Grwyn Jeffrey held out the hope that, 
 with the assistance of Sir C. Wheat- 
 stone, some steps might be taken in 
 another expedition to ascertain the 
 character and the intensity of light 
 in deep ocean. 
 
 It is gratifying to learn that the 
 results of this expedition are incom- 
 parably more important than any 
 before obtained. Italians, Danes, 
 Norwegians, Swedes, and Americans 
 have also been busy sweeping the 
 ocean bottom ; and Russia is now 
 preparing a dredging expedition. 
 From all this we may expect that, in 
 a few years, the world under water 
 will be as well known as that above 
 it. 
 
 THE PHOSPHORESCENCE OF THE SEA. 
 
 Every one recognizes the beauty 
 of the singular phenomenon that we 
 call the phosphoresence of the sea ; 
 and has watched the track of foam 
 and diamond points of light, left 
 behind as the steamer cuts the wave. 
 For a long time the cause of the 
 shining appearance was a puzzle to 
 philosophers. But the naturalists 
 finally came to the conclusion that it 
 is produced by animalculai, which 
 are excited to luminosity v/hen the 
 water is agitated. It was also shown 
 that the phosphorescence is brightest, 
 and the sparks most numerous im- 
 mediately preceding an atmospheric 
 disturbance. Thus, the little ani- 
 malcnlfe must be included in the 
 long list of delicate organisms that 
 feel the approach of bad weather. 
 
 The Professor M. Decharme ob- 
 served this coincidence, and has 
 been diligently studying the habits 
 of the tiny creatures, and their shin- 
 ing propensities. He tells us as the 
 
 result of his observations, that they 
 are visible in the daylight with a 
 glass magnifying about forty times. 
 They are, under this magni^ing 
 power, of a lens-shaped form, and 
 from seven to fifteen hundredths of 
 an inch in diameter. They are of a 
 transparent nature, more diapho- 
 nous in the centre than around the 
 periphery of their little bodies. The 
 specimens experimented on by the 
 Professor, lived ia a bottle for sev- 
 eral weeks, and became very bril- 
 liant when the water was shaken or 
 stirred, or whenever a small quantity 
 of exciting fluid, alcohol or acid, was 
 introduced into it. We shall look 
 hereafter with increased respect 
 upon these infinitesimal barometers, 
 which, when fully developed, attain 
 the size of from two to four thous- 
 andths of an inch ! We wonder how 
 many of them it takes to make the 
 track of sparkling foam we have so 
 often watched upo» the oceaBi 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 
 
 45 
 
 The Old Fisherman. 
 
 There was a poor old man 
 
 Who sat and listened to the raging sea, 
 
 And hoard it thunder, lunging at the cliffs 
 
 As like to tear tliem down. He lay at night ; 
 
 And " Lord have mercy on the lads," said he, 
 
 " That sailed at noon, though they be none of 
 
 mine ? 
 For when the gale gets up, and when the wind 
 Plings at the window, when it beats the roof, 
 And lulls, and stops, and rouses up again, 
 And cuts the crest clean off the plunging wave, 
 And scatters it like feathers up the field, 
 Why, then I think of my two lads 
 That would have worked and never let rae want, 
 And never let me take the parish pay. 
 Xo, none of mine ; my lads are drowned at sea — 
 My two — before the most of these were born. 
 I know how sharp that cuts, since my poor wife 
 Walked up and down, and still walked up and 
 
 down, 
 And I walked after, and one could not hear 
 A word the other said for the wind and sea 
 That raged and beat and thundered in the 
 
 night — 
 The awfalest, the long»>st, lightest night 
 That ever parents had to spend. A moon 
 That shone like daylight on the breaking wave. 
 Ah, me '.' And other men have lost their lads, 
 And other women wiped their poor dead mouths, 
 And got them home and dried them in the house, 
 And seen the driftwood lie along the coast, 
 That was a tidy boat but one day back ; 
 And seen next tide, the neighbors gather it 
 To lay it on their fires. 
 
 " Ay, I was strong 
 And able-bodied, — loved my work ; — but now 
 I am a useless hull ; 'tis time I sunk ; 
 I am in all men's way ; I trouble them ; 
 I am a trouble to myself ; but yet 
 I feel for mariners of stormy nights, 
 And feel for wives that watch ashore. Ay, ay, 
 If I had learning I would pray the Lord 
 To bring them in ; but I'm no scholar, no ; 
 Book learning is a world too hard for me ; 
 But I make bold to say ' O Lord, good Lord, 
 I am a broken-down poor man, a fool 
 To speak to thee ; but in the book 'tis writ, 
 As I hear say from others that can read, 
 How, when thou earnest, thou dids't love the 
 
 sea, 
 And live with fisherfolk, whereby 'tis sure 
 Thou knowst all the peril they go through, 
 And all their trouble. 
 
 " 'As for me, good Lord, 
 I have no boat ; I am too old, too old ; 
 My lads are drowned ; I buried my poor wife ; 
 My little lasses died so long ago 
 That mostly I forget what they were like. 
 Thou knowest, Lord, they were such little ones ; 
 I know they went to thee, but I forget 
 Their faces, though I missed them sore. 
 
 " ' O, Lord, 
 I was a strong man ; I have drawn good food 
 And made good money out of thy great sea : 
 But yet I cried for them at nights ; and now, 
 Although I be so old, I miss my lads. 
 And there be many folks this stormy night 
 Heavy with fear for theirs. Merciful Lord, 
 Comfort them : save their honest boys, their 
 
 pride ; 
 And let them hear next ebb the blessedest, 
 Best sound — the boat-keels grating on the sand. 
 ' ' I cannot pray with finer words ; I know 
 Nothing ; I have no learning, cannot learn — 
 Too old, too old. They say I want for naught, 
 I have the parish pay ; but I am dull 
 Of hearing, and the fire scarce warms me 
 
 through. 
 God save me, I have been a sinful man. 
 And save the lives of them that still can work, 
 For they are good tome — ay, good to me. 
 But, Lord, I am a trouble ! and I sit 
 And I am lonesome, and the nights are few 
 That any think to come and draw a chair 
 And sit in my poor place and talk awhile. 
 Why should they come, forsooth'? Only the wind 
 Knocks at my door, oh, long and loud it knocks, 
 The only thing God made that has a mind 
 To enter in.' " 
 
 Tea, thus the old man spake, 
 These were the last words of his aged mouth — 
 But One did knock. One came to sup with him, 
 That humble, weak, old man ; knocked at his 
 
 door 
 In the rough pauses of the laboring wind. 
 I tell you that one knocked while it was dark, 
 Save where their foaming passion had made 
 
 white 
 Those livid, seething billows. What he said 
 In that poor place, where he did talk awhile, 
 I cannot tell ; but this I am assured, 
 That when the neighbors came the morrow 
 
 morn, 
 What time the wind had bated, and the sun 
 Shone on the old man's floor, they saw the smile 
 He passed away in ; and they said, " He looks 
 As he had woke and seen the face of Christ, 
 And with that rapturous smile held out his arms 
 To come to Him!" 
 
 -♦-♦-♦- 
 
 " The Debt is Paid." 
 
 Many persons who are anxious to 
 know the Lord Jesus as their Sav- 
 iour, find it difficult to understand 
 in what way his sacrifice saves them, 
 and so they get no comfort from it. 
 The following trre story of a poor 
 woman who felt this difficulty, may 
 be helpful to others, in showing them 
 how this great blessing is received. 
 
46 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 Betty was poor — very poor; and 
 besides this so ill as to be confined 
 to her bed. Sickness alone is no 
 light trouble, nor is poverty; but 
 when both come together, they do in 
 truth make a heavy burden. Yet 
 Betty had a heavier burden still — a 
 burden of doubt and fear about the 
 safety of her soul. She had heard 
 over and over again about the death 
 and merits of our blessed Saviour, 
 and about believing in him ; but she 
 could not understand it, and her soul 
 was sorrowful with the thought of 
 being far off from God, and unable 
 to find the way to him. 
 
 A lady who was in the habit of 
 visiting Betty, tried again and again 
 to explain to her the wonderful truth, 
 that Christ had atoned for sin upon 
 the cross — that he had paid the debt 
 forever, and that we, being justified 
 by faith in him, may have peace 
 with God. But put it in what way 
 she would, her poor friend could 
 never take hold of it ; and so, without 
 finding any comfort for her soul, 
 poor Betty grew worse and worse in 
 body, till at length she lay at the 
 point of death. 
 
 At last, one day, when the lady 
 called, she found poor Betty in the 
 deepest possible distress. She had 
 drawn the clothes over her face, and 
 was sobbing as if her heart would 
 break. 
 
 '' Poor Betty," said the lady, 
 " what is the matter ? What makes 
 you so wretched to-day ?" 
 
 *'0h, ma'am, they're coming to 
 turn me out for the rent, and to take 
 my bed from under me — and I shall 
 die ! I shall die ! 
 
 Her anguish was so great that 
 all that her friend could say gave 
 her no comfort. How could it? 
 for she had not a farthing, and the 
 debt must be paid, or the bed would 
 be taken from under her. 
 
 While the lady was trying to com- 
 fort her, a harsh knock at the door 
 below was heard, which threw the 
 poor creature into a fresh fit of an- 
 guish. Throwing the clothes over 
 her head, she cried out : 
 
 "Oh, they're come! they're come!" 
 
 Greatly moved at the sight of her 
 poor friend's distress, the lady slip- 
 
 ped quietly down stairs, and found 
 that, sure enough, two men were 
 come to take the goods. 
 
 '' Well, now," she said, when they 
 had told their business, "the poor 
 thing can't possibly pay the rent." 
 
 " Well, ma'am, we can't help that. 
 If she can't pay the rent we must 
 take her bed." 
 
 " But it would be dreadfully cruel. 
 The poor thing would die. Indeed 
 she is almost dying already." 
 
 " Well, ma'am, that's not our busi- 
 ness : we must have the money or 
 the goods." 
 
 ' ' Then j ust tell me what is the sum 
 you claim for rent f 
 
 "It's thirteen shillings, six pence, 
 and two shillings expenses." 
 
 " Here, then," taking out her 
 purse, "here is a sovereign. Give 
 me the change and write a receipt." 
 
 On receiving the receipt, the lady 
 laid it between the leaves of her 
 Bible, which she held in her hand, 
 and went up stairs to relieve poor 
 Betty's mind about the bed, little 
 thinking that her act of kinndess 
 was to be used by the Spirit of God 
 as a means of a better blessing to the 
 poor thing's troubled soul. 
 
 She found her in deep agony, ex- 
 pecting every moment that the men 
 would come up, and take away the 
 bed to satisfy the rent. 
 
 She sat down beside her, and gen- 
 tly whispered, " Betty, don't trouble 
 yourself." 
 
 "But, ma'am, I must trouble — for 
 I shall die." 
 
 She whispered again, " But the 
 debt is paid, Betty." 
 
 The poor creature drew down the 
 clothes from her face, and looked up 
 amazed. She could hardly believe 
 her own ears. 
 
 Again the lady repeated her de- 
 lightful words — " I assure you, Bet- 
 ty, you need not trouble yourself 
 about the debt: I have paid it;" 
 and opening the Bible, she showed 
 the receipt, saying, "Why, Betty, 
 here is the receipt for the money. 
 Read it yourself, and be satisfied." 
 
 The poor thing spelled it out as 
 well as she could, and then gazed at 
 it with a strangely earnest look, as 
 if some new and wonderful thoughts 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 
 
 47 
 
 were working in her mind. At last 
 her face brightened, she threw up 
 her hands, and exclaimed — 
 
 '' Ah ! I see it now, ma'am — I see 
 it now ! and thank you a tliousand 
 times ; and more than that; I see 
 now all the meaning of what you've 
 so often tried to teach me. I do see 
 it now ; I do see it, he has paid the 
 debt. I'm delivered, and I can die 
 happy !" 
 
 And so it was : she sank back gent- 
 ly on her pillow, and breathed forth 
 her happy spirit into the hands of 
 him who had paid the debt. 
 
 And now, reader, do you see it ? 
 Do you receive and own Christ as 
 your Saviour ? Do you believe he 
 has paid your debt ; and that your 
 debt having been paid by him, you 
 have not to pay it again ! Can you 
 say in the words of the hymn, 
 
 " Payment God will not twice demand, 
 
 First at my bleeding Surety's hand, 
 
 And then again at mine." 
 
 If this be the language of your 
 heart, you give Christ glory. You 
 honor him as your Deliverer ; and 
 you may rest assured that he is able 
 to keep that which you have com- 
 mitted unto him. 
 
 The Land Breeze. 
 
 Here is an ocean memory to which 
 Mr. Beecher lately treated the old 
 folks of his congregation : 
 
 When, after the weary voyage 
 that I first made across the ocean, 
 sick, loathsome, I arose one morn- 
 ing and went upon the deck, hold- 
 ing on, crawling, thinking I was but 
 a worm, I smelt in the air some 
 strange smell ; and said to the cap- 
 tain, "What is the odor?" "It is 
 the land breeze from off Ireland." I 
 smelt the turf, I smelt the grass, I 
 smelt the leaves, and all my sick- 
 ness departed from me ; my eyes 
 grew bright, my nausea was gone. 
 The thought of the nearness of the 
 land came to me and cured me bet- 
 ter than medicine could cure me. 
 And when, afar off, I saw the dim 
 line of land, joy came and gave me 
 health, and from that moment, I had 
 neither sickness nor trouble ; I was 
 coming near to the land. 
 
 Oh ! is there not for you, old man, 
 and for you, wearied mother, a land 
 breeze blowing off from Heaven, 
 wafting to you some of its odors, 
 some of its sweetness ? Behold the 
 garden of the Lord ; it is not far 
 away, I know from the air. Behold 
 the joy of home. Do I not hear 
 children shout? The air is full of 
 music to our silent thoughts. Oh ! 
 how full of music when our journey 
 is almost done, and we stand upon 
 the bound and pi-ecinct of that bless- 
 ed land ! Hold on to your faith. 
 Give not away to discouragement. 
 Believe more firmly. Take hold by 
 prayer and by faith. In a few hours 
 visions of God, and of all the reali- 
 ties of the eternal world, shall be 
 yours, and you shall be saved with 
 an everlasting salvation. 
 
 Only. 
 
 Only one drop of water at a time 
 that had found its way from the 
 mighty ocean through the dyke, and 
 was slowly wearing a little channel. 
 Only one drop ! Yet if that little 
 child in her morning ramble had not 
 noticed it, who can tell what the ter- 
 rible results might have been. Only 
 a stray sunbeam ! yet perchance it 
 hath pierced some wretched abode, 
 gladdened some stricken heart, or its 
 golden light found its way through 
 the leafy branches of some wild 
 wood, kissed the moss-covered bank 
 where the tiny violet grew, and 
 caused a rich shade of beauty to 
 adorn its lovely form. 
 
 Only a gentle breeze! But how 
 many aching brows hath it fanned, 
 how many hearts cheered by its gen- 
 tle touch ! 
 
 Only one stray bullet that pierced 
 the noble soldier-boy as he trod the 
 lonely midnight round, faithfully 
 guarding the precious lives intrusted 
 to his keeping; yet the life-blood 
 slowly ebbed out, and the morning 
 sunbeam fell upon the cold face of 
 the dead. 
 
 Only a sentinel ! And yet one soul 
 more had passed from its earthly 
 tenement to meet its reward at the 
 hands of a merciful God. 
 
 Only a drop of ink ! And yet it 
 carried the news of death to anxious 
 
48 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 ones at home, and caused the tear of 
 anguish to trickle down the furrowed 
 cheek of a widowed mother. 
 
 Only a frown! But it left a sad, 
 dreary ache in that child's heart, and 
 the quivering lips and tearful eyes 
 told how sadly he felt it. 
 
 Ouly a smile ! But ah ! how it 
 cheered the broken heart, engen- 
 dered a ray of hope, and cast a halo 
 of light around the unhappy pres- 
 ent : made the bed-ridden one for- 
 get its present agony for a moment 
 as it dwelt in sunshine of joy, and 
 lived in the warmth of that smile. 
 
 Only a word ! But it carried the 
 poisonous breath of slander, assail- 
 ing the character. how it pierced 
 the lonely heart ! 
 
 Only one glass ! And how many 
 have filled a drunkard's grave 
 through its influence! How many 
 homes made desolate! How many 
 bright anticipations of a glad and 
 happy future blasted by its blight- 
 ing influence. 
 
 Only a mound in the quiet church- 
 yard, and yet it speaks volumes to 
 the stricken ones. Some home has 
 lost a light ! some home- circle has a 
 vacant chair ! 
 
 Only a child, perhaps, yet "of such 
 is the kingdom of heaven." 
 
 Only a cup of cold water given in 
 the name of a disciple, but it is not 
 forgotten. Then toil on, Christian ; 
 yours is a glorious work ; hope on 
 ever, for yours is a bright reward. 
 
 One soul snatched from the ways 
 of sin and degradation through your 
 feeble efforts, coupled with the grace 
 of God, will add lustre to your crown 
 of glory, and speak more for your 
 happiness hereafter than a life of sel- 
 fish works. 
 
 Only a prayer ! And yet it calls to 
 you for help. It calls for good rai- 
 ment and food ; and Christians, shall 
 not we, through the grace of God, 
 answer that prayer ? God grant it in 
 his mercy. 
 
 Only a lifetime ! A short day in 
 which to prepare for death, for '' as 
 death overtakes us, so judgment will 
 find us."' Let us then gird on the 
 armor anew, and press on, the hope 
 of a brighter heresifter being our tal- 
 
 isman, using the weapons of prayer, 
 lest we enter into temptation, and 
 lose the rich reward of Him who is 
 faithful even unto death. — y. W. 
 Presbyterian. 
 
 (For the Sailor's Magazine.) 
 
 A Sailor's Autobiography. 
 
 I was born in the town of F , 
 
 in the state of Rhode-Island, in 
 1803. When I was about five years 
 old my parents moved to Connecti- 
 cut. My father was what would be 
 called a man of the world. My 
 mother was a member of the Church, 
 and carefully trained her children 
 (I had four- brothers and two sisters) 
 in religious things. She would 
 gather us about her morning and 
 evening, read a chapter in the bible 
 and pray with us. On the Sabbath 
 we attended church twice and oc- 
 casionally three times, besides the 
 sabbath schools, and after the second 
 service had an exercise in the cate- 
 chism. At the age of sixteen I went 
 
 to live with Mr. G , a country 
 
 merchant, and after three years 
 came to New York, where I obtained 
 a situation. On leaving home my 
 mother gave me a small bible, and 
 entreated me to study it, which I 
 promised to do, but I am sorry to 
 say, I did not keep my promise long. 
 
 After a few months in the city, all 
 the pious teachings of my mother 
 were forgotten. I made bad as- 
 sociations, neglected my bible, and 
 instead of the sanctuary, went to 
 houses of debauchery, taking to 
 strong drink and becoming very 
 profane. Here I remained for a 
 couple of years, when, being out of 
 employment, I went to sea. I re- 
 solved at that time that I would not 
 be a drunkard, and in a measure re- 
 frained from intoxicating liquors, but 
 I continued fearfully profane. I 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 
 
 317 
 
 etc., &c., might do for the writer of 
 "American Whalemen," but we very 
 much doubt whether -whalemen them- 
 selves would care about drawing a book. 
 They don't take to such. The fact is, 
 that experience in this work is the 
 best possible teacher, and those who 
 are engaged in putting up our libraries 
 have been familiar with seamen, their 
 tastes and their needs so long, that it is 
 no venture with them, but the adapt- 
 ing of the means to an end, which every 
 Christian prays for and confidently ex- 
 pects to see. 
 
 The public may be assured that 
 " quality and not quantity is the govern- 
 ing principle in our selection. That a 
 worthless volume is never put in a lib- 
 rary knowingly, either because it costs 
 little or even because it was a free gift," 
 but that we are aiming to do a good 
 work, thoroughly^ so that it shall con- 
 tinue to have the blessing of God and 
 the approval of such excellent men as 
 Captain Robert C. Adams, when com- 
 manding the Golden Fleece^ who said, " I 
 assure you once more of my great inter- 
 est in the efforts of your Society and 
 my high opmion of the libraries," and 
 of Capt. J. G. Baker of the N. A. El- 
 dredge, who writes, " I think they are 
 the best selection of books in regard 
 to historical and religious matter that 
 can be made for the benefit of seamen." 
 
 Dr. Rockwell.— Lady Aberdeen. 
 
 AN INTERESTING LETTER. 
 
 Kev. Dr. Halt., Sec, &c. 
 
 My dear Brother : — Among the plea- 
 sant things of my recent trip to Europe 
 was the opportunity afforded me of 
 seeing something of the field which our 
 Society is cultivating, and of the work 
 which it is doing. 
 
 On my passage over, I had the plea- 
 sure of meeting the venerable Bishop of 
 Newfoundland, who is attempting for 
 
 the sailors of his diocese, much such 
 a work as we are accomplishing on a 
 larger scale. Libraries are put on 
 board every vessel that sails from St. 
 Johns, where Rev. James Spencer is our 
 Chaplain, and where kind, religious in- 
 fluences are brought to bear upon the 
 seamen visiting that port. 
 
 In Scotland, as I had opportunity, I 
 described our library work to the pas- 
 tors who are laboring in Glasgow and 
 elsewhere upon the sea board, and 
 sought to call their attention to the 
 importance of such a work for the tem- 
 poral and spiritual welfare of British 
 seamen. It was my pleasure to preach 
 five times upon the ocean in going and 
 returning, and my last sermon was a 
 special address to sailors, from the text 
 ' Which hope we have as an anchor of 
 the soul.' On one occasion, I held a 
 service upon the deck, and having a few 
 tracts with me, and some copies of a 
 little work of my own, for sailors, called 
 the ' Sheet Anchor ' — distributed them 
 to the men of the forecastle, and was 
 pleased afterwards to see them busily 
 and seriously engaged in reading them. 
 
 I am greatly indebted to the Board 
 of Trustees for the privilege afforded 
 me, as their representative, of visiting 
 the Countess of x\berdeen, to whose 
 munificence we are indebted for a noble 
 contribution to our library fund, in me- 
 morial of her son, who was lost at sea, 
 January 7th, 1870. 
 
 A note addressed to her at Haddo 
 House, was promptly answered, from 
 London, where she was temporarily re- 
 siding, and a cordial invitation extended 
 me to meet her there. Soon after my 
 arrival in the city, I called upon her 
 and presented her with the specimen 
 library which you sent her by me, and 
 placing in her hands also the minute 
 adopted by our Board, expressive of 
 their sympathy with her in her bereave- 
 
318 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 inent, and their gratitude for the memo- 
 rial gift which she had made, through 
 them, to those who go down to the sea 
 in ships. 
 
 I shall long remember that pleasant 
 interview with her, and with the ladies 
 whom I met at her table. She ex- 
 pressed great interest in the librarj- 
 work of our Society, and was much 
 afliected with the fact I related to her, 
 that the first case of books given out 
 upon the donation she had made, was 
 presented to the captain of a ship bound 
 for California, who had known her son 
 when sailing from Bostun, and who, 
 thoiigli unconsciou.s of his noble birth, 
 had loved and admired him as a gentle- 
 man and a friend. We spoke together 
 of the remarkable history of her son, 
 and of the inscrutable Providence that 
 had removed him when he seemed just 
 entering upon a life of usefulness and 
 honor. Happily she has learned by the 
 teachings of Infinite Wisdom, that God 
 does all things well, and has found that 
 even afflictions are graciously made to 
 " work out the peaceable fruits of right- 
 eousness." 
 
 I was happy to learn elsewhere, that 
 her younger son, who now bears the 
 title and rank of her distinguished and 
 godly husband, is following in his foot- 
 steps, and that the husband of' her 
 daughter. Lord Polwarth, whom I had 
 the pleasure of meeting at the General 
 Assembly, in Edinburgh, is also making 
 his influence felt for good as an elder of 
 the Church of Scotland. 
 
 I regretted that the departure of 
 friends with whom I had arranged to 
 visit the Continent, rendered it impos- 
 sible for me to enjoy again the kind 
 hospitalities of her house. At the hour 
 when I had hoped to have dined with 
 her, we were at Dover awaiting the 
 departure of the steamer for Ostend. 
 Yours truly, 
 
 J. E. Rockwell. 
 
 Acknowledgment. 
 
 Our thanks are due to the Managing 
 Agents of the White Star Steamship 
 Company, for their kindness in sending 
 to Liverpool, a sick and destitute sailor, 
 upon our hands, at the Sailors' Home. 
 An application in his behalf from the 
 Superintendent of the Home, Mr. Alex- 
 ander, was cheerfully granted, and by 
 this time, the poor fellow — a confirmed 
 consumptive — is at home and among his 
 family friends. 
 
 A similar acknowledgment is due to 
 Messrs. Borden & Lovell, Agents of the 
 0. C. B. B. Co., for transportation fur- 
 nished a party of sailors who Arrived at 
 this port last week, having been picked 
 up at sea, from the Provincetown 
 Schooners Mary E. Simmons and Arizona. 
 Their names are as follows, viz. : Schr. 
 3Iar'i/ E. Simmons, Ed. Flood, Geo. Ran- 
 dall, Francis Quinn, Thos. Mulcahy. 
 
 Schr. Arizona, Wm. Bagley, Frank 
 Patterson, George Leavitt. 
 
 These men state that both schooners 
 were ofi" Cape Hatteras, hunting whales. 
 That four boats left the vessels, on the 
 24th August, for that purpose, and in 
 pursuing the whales they got out of 
 sight of their respective vessels. The 
 weather became dirty, and at four 
 o'clock on the morning of the 25th in- 
 stant, a squall came up, making matters 
 worse for them. They searched in vain 
 for the schooners, and while in this di- 
 lemma they fell in with the schooner 
 Hettie Card and got aboard o^ her. After 
 the lapse of two days they were trans- 
 ferred to the bark Diadem, and finally 
 carried into the port of Beaufort. They 
 went before United States Commis- 
 sioner Thompson and made a statement 
 of the above facts. They came here 
 because it was believed that they would 
 have a better opportunity of getting 
 home. They are appiehensive as to 
 the fate of their vessels, not being sure 
 that the persons left aboard could navi- 
 gate them. 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 
 
 315 
 
 Kittery, Me. 
 
 A correspondent of the Congregation- 
 alist, who signs himself Vacation, says : 
 " Sunday, Aug. 23d, an interesting 
 Seamens' meeting was held in this old 
 port. The wind of Saturday forced 
 some thirty sail of fishermen and coast- 
 ers to seek refuge here j ten or twelve 
 of them remaining at the Point over 
 Sunday. Early in the morning an old 
 sea captain, a member of the First 
 Church, rowed out to invite the men to 
 churcli. In the afternoon service was 
 held on board the William Butler, of 
 WelUleet, where, in response to an in- 
 vitation given to the fleet, forty or more 
 sailors gathered for worship. A portion 
 of the fifth chapter of Luke was read 
 by a lay brother, and after his remarks 
 the pastor followed with a happy and 
 impressive lesson on the scene of our 
 Lord's work, and his call to the fisher- 
 men of the lake of Galilee. Here, be- 
 neath the open sky, the brave mariners 
 listened to the blessed and comforting 
 words of our dear Lord and Master, 
 words of warning and of hope to guide 
 and cheer them on their way. Upon 
 asking them what success they had in 
 fishing, they told us they had been out 
 for nearly three weeks, after mackerel, 
 and caught but twenty-five barrels. On 
 the Sunday previous, the captain said, 
 they came upon a large school, and 
 could have filled the deck in half an 
 hour ; but he had been in the business 
 seven years and never fished on Sunday, 
 and did not mean to begin. If he could 
 not make a living without fishing on 
 Sunday, he would go home without it. 
 IIow few of us realize the suflerings and 
 losses of these toilers of the sea. One 
 of the men to whom we spoke com- 
 manded a vessel last year. It was dash- 
 ed upon the rocks in the great gale, 
 when so many went down, but the part 
 of the mast to which he was clinging 
 
 when the vessel struck, broke and fell 
 upon the shore. Many a one can tell 
 of shipwreck, loss of men, vessel, and 
 a season's catch. A friend tells me of 
 the wreck of one hundred and fifty sail, 
 and the loss of three hundred men, in 
 a storm out of which he with great dif- 
 ficulty escaped. Some friends of his 
 suffered shipwreck then, and again a 
 month afterward. When we remember 
 what we all owe to the sailor, should 
 any of our churches fail to pray and to 
 work for those who go down to the sea 
 in ships, that do business in great 
 waters. 
 
 Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 One of our missionaries, when visit- 
 ing a sick person, found her father 
 avowedly sceptical, and a non-attendant 
 upon church. After a kind conversa- 
 tion upon the subject, he began to at- 
 tend quite regularly. Upon being taken 
 sick some weeks later, he sent for the 
 missionary, and desired to be taught 
 more fully the way of salvation, sta- 
 ting that he had changed his views, and 
 wished to become a Christian. In due 
 time he gave evidence of conversion, 
 and said : " I feel that I have peace 
 with God." Taking the missionary by 
 the hand, he asked him to be present 
 at his funeral, and tell the people that 
 " I do not die an infidel, but believe 
 in Christ as my Saviour." He passed 
 awaj^ in this blessed hope. 
 
 Capt. Davis' Book, and Books for 
 Sailors. 
 
 This story about " American Whale- 
 men," will fascinate man}' in spite of its 
 extravagant statements and vbetoric. 
 Whaling and whalemen may almost bo 
 said to belong to the past. The number 
 of American whalers at sea is 129, so 
 that if their crews be allowed an aver- 
 
316 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 age of 23 men, the whole number en- 
 gaged in the business of whaling would 
 only be 2,967, one-third of whom are 
 probably foreigners. Capt. Davis' book 
 therefore, relates to what used to be 
 rather than to what is. But what is in 
 in it on this subject that is really true, 
 when separated from its abounding Mim- 
 chausenisms, is hardly enough to justify 
 regarding it either a treatise or a history. 
 
 Sailors will laugh over its " yarns " 
 artistically illustrated as they are with a 
 most vigorous fancy, and wonder if there 
 are any land-lubbers actually green 
 enough to swallow them. 
 
 The Cliristian Intelligencer of Septem- 
 ber 17th, in a discriminating notice of 
 this " Nimrod of the Sea," quotes Capt. 
 Davis' commendatory statement in re- 
 gard to Rev. Mr. Diel, for many years, 
 and at the time of his death in 1841, a 
 chaplain of the American Seamen's 
 Friend Society at Honolulu, S. I. 
 
 Mr. Diel was succeeded by the Rev. 
 S. C. Damon, a man of like earnest 
 spirit who for the past twenty-four 
 years has been serving at that port, 
 with a fidelity that has greatly endear- 
 ed him to the seamen of the South Pa- 
 cific. 
 
 Probably no man lives whose useful- 
 ness has been greater, or who is more ex- 
 tensively known among seamen, or 
 more deeply loved by them for acts of 
 personal kindness and friendship, both 
 on ship-board and on shore, than Chap- 
 lain Damon. 
 
 It argues badly for Captain Davis 
 that he does not appear to know that 
 there is an admirably managed Sailors' 
 Home at Honolulu, and that he does 
 not pcem even to have heard of Chap- 
 lain Damon, nor to have shared the 
 hospitality either of his popular Bethel 
 or his attractive Christian Home. 
 
 The fact that those excellent men, 
 Rev. Titus Coan of Hilo, and of late, 
 
 the Rev. Frank Thompson, himself a 
 sailor, have always sought to befriend 
 the seamen visiting that port, and that 
 the same friendly offices are exercised 
 toward them by Chaplain Rowell of 
 San Francisco, and by Rev. Dr. Trum- 
 bull and his helper, Mr. Muller, of Val- 
 paraiso, shows what provisions are made 
 for the welfare of our seamen on the 
 west coast of America. And no doubt, 
 more would be done in that direction if 
 the means were at hand. 
 
 Captain Davis evidently has had an 
 unfortunate experience with what he 
 calls, '' a scant ship's library of unin- 
 teresting books provided by some Sea- 
 men's Friend Society." 
 
 We cannot answer what may not 
 have been intended to refer to the 
 libraries sent out by this Society, but 
 it is proper to say, that our libraries 
 reaching to nearly 5,000 afloat to-day, 
 have been selected with a conscien- 
 tious regard to the work they are de- 
 signed to accomplish. 
 
 The character of these libraries is 
 most carefully considered, and while 
 this has been improving with the facil- 
 ities afforded us for selection and pur- 
 chase, there never has been one sent 
 out with the imprint of the Society 
 which deserves to be spoken of in the 
 disparaging terms used by Capt. Davis. 
 The books are of a kind calculated to 
 interest, entertain and instruct. They 
 are not all strictly religious books by 
 any means, but each library contains 
 (with a copy of the Bible) more or less 
 that are evangelical and designed to 
 lead the sailor to the Saviour; and this 
 doubtless accounts for their great ac- 
 ceptability and usefulness. 
 
 A library made up according to Capt. 
 Davis' suggestion, " showing poor Jack 
 that Providence planted the succulent 
 cactus, and created the water bearing 
 terrapin on the Scoria of the Gallipagos," 
 

 THE REFLEX INFLUENCES OF THE SEA AND LAND. 
 
 A SERMO]sr PREACHED IJsT BEHALF OF THE AMERICAN SEAMEN'S 
 
 FRIEND SOCIETY, IN THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 
 
 OF EDGEWATER, STATEN ISLAND, 
 
 Bv Kev. J. E. ROCKWELL, D. D. 
 
 EccLESiASTES, 1:7. " All the rivers run into the sea ; yet the sea is not full : 
 unto the place from whence the rivers com*, thither they return again." 
 
 The wise and royal preacher of Jerusalem is presenting some illus- 
 trations of human mutability as found in the changes and unrest of 
 Nature. The sun is in constant motion, rising and setting and hasting 
 round its great annual circuit, by which day and night and the alter- 
 nating seasons are produced. The wind is perpetually changing its 
 course and motion, and life itself presents to us in the passing away 
 of successive generations, the same law of unrest and change. It is in 
 this connection that we meet with the words of our text, which are the 
 simple statement of a well-known fact in the natural world. The vast 
 torrents of water which, from every continent are pouring their tribute 
 into the ocean, never cause it to overflow, nor are the rivers ever ex- 
 hausted or dried. By a wise permission of Nature, the waters are 
 made to return again to the springs from which they issued, and so 
 they keep up their ceaseless flow. This is a most wonderful process, 
 which in all its marvellous details as science has spread them before us 
 reveals the infinite wisdom and goodness of him who created all things, 
 and who has thus made the waters in their ceaseless motion to be the 
 source of health, and not the very emblem and pregnant cause of death 
 as they would have been were they inert and moveless. The sea gives 
 
2 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 back to the earth all that it receives from it of what is pure and whole- 
 some, so that every spring and fountain, however remote or hidden, 
 that sends forth its waters to the ocean, receives them back again, when 
 they have fallen in refreshing showers upon the land, and have revived 
 the corn, and supplied every tree and shrub, and spear of grass with 
 needed moisture. This process of Nature is most amazing and in- 
 structive. One who stands by the cataract of Niagara, whose leaping 
 waters have come down more than a thousand miles from their great 
 reservoirs in the northern lakes, might think that the mighty torrent 
 must eventually exhaust its springs, or cause the ocean to overflow. 
 And the wonder increases when we remember that more than a hundred 
 similar rivei^s on the eastern and western continents are in like manner 
 giving their tribute to the sea. Ye^ all these vast floods return agaic, 
 by the simple process of evaporation, to their sources among the hills. 
 All that they leave in that vast reservoir are the salts and alkalies which 
 they have caught up on their way to the ocean, and even these are 
 taken up by the coral insect and the unnumbered tribes of animalculse 
 and fish, and turned to shell or bone, or reared up into vast piles of rock 
 which form the foundations of islands, and become the abode of man 
 and the home of vegetable and animal life. Such is the reflex influence 
 of the sea and land. And what is true in regard to the physical world 
 of waters, may be applied also to the great currents of life which are 
 ebbing and flowing along these great highways of the nations. 
 
 I. — Even in the immensity and grandeur of the sea, we find a coun- 
 terpart in the multitudes that are passing over it, or are making their 
 home upon it. How ceaseless is the current of life that comes from the 
 land to the ocean, and that returns from the sea to the shore. We have 
 but to stand by our own beautiful harbor to see an illustration of the 
 magnitude of the commercial interests of the world. The tide of life 
 flows on without an ebb. Swift ships are going and comiog literally 
 as a cloud. An endless stream of vessels are passing in and out of 
 port. We ascend the hills and look outward upon the ocean, and find 
 that the horizon is always filled with ships either approaching the land 
 or fading from the sight. We go out upon the ocean and see the same 
 vast procession of maritime life. We enter foreign ports and find their 
 endless tides all pouring into the sea. Three millions of men are perma- 
 nently engaged in moving the commerce of the world. And yet this 
 number only gives us an imperfect formula with which to estimate the 
 vastness of the currents of commercial life. 
 
 We take up our morning papers to look over the lists of arrivals and 
 departures, when we have parted with a friend or expect his return, 
 and when we have patiently toiled through hundreds of names in the 
 search, find at the end those numbers increased by nameless thousands 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 3 
 
 who have come or gone in the steerage. And so they go and come, 
 and ebb and flow. The land gives them to the sea, and the sea bears 
 them back again to the shore. Sometimes, indeed, even as it keeps to ' 
 itself the salts and earths which the rivers bring into it, it swallows up, 
 until the sea shall give up its dead, a ship with its living freight. Yet, 
 usually it gives back what ifc takes, even as it yields to the clouds the 
 moistui'e which they carry back to the fields and hills and valleys and 
 springs. 
 
 And every land is yielding this mighty tribute to the sea, and pouring 
 into it its countless millions of treasure and life, with all their currents 
 and counter currents, with all their wealth of mind and soul and thought 
 and affection and social influence and commercial and national and moral 
 power. They come from every hamlet and state and nation, mingling 
 in one vast sea of life, meeting, and parting, going and returning, leav- 
 ing home and visiting distant scenes and shores, and coming back to go 
 over again the same course, to leave behind them influences for good or 
 evil, and to receive in turn saving or destructive impressions and prin- 
 ciples, which shall make themselves and the world either better or worse. 
 Such elements as these cannot be safely left out of the account when 
 we would estimate the influences that are at work in the world either 
 for good or evil, and especially when the church sits down to sum up. 
 its duties, or to see what are its appliances for carrying forward its 
 great work of converting the world to Christ. 
 
 II. — Again, we find an illustration of the reflex influence of the sea 
 and land in the results of their motions one toward the other. "Were 
 the rivers to cease their flowing, the currents of the ocean permanently 
 arrested, the sea to be forever calm and motionless, and the clouds no 
 longer the carriers of its moisture back to the land, the world would 
 become the grave of all that dwell therein. Disease and death would 
 reign with uninterrupted sway. The forests would wither and fade, 
 the green hills become verdureless, the broad prairies would be a solemn 
 and awful scene of desolation, and the valleys the shadow of death. 
 Health and life, fertility and food, are the results of all these ceaseless 
 ebbings and flowings, these currents and tides, these winds and fogs 
 and storms which are connected with the flood of waters that run into 
 the sea and that return again to the places from whence they came. 
 Every river that pours its tribute into the ocean bears with it untold 
 masses of vegetable and earthy matter, which become food for the 
 countless inhabitants of the deep, and they in their turn become food 
 for man. The salts and alkalies which are caught up by the rushing 
 waters are taken by myriads of insects and wi'ought into fairy homes, 
 that, in the lapse of ages rise to the surface and by accretions of earth 
 and vegetable matter are fitted to be the abode of man. And these coral 
 
4 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 islands, blossoming with beauty, covered with perrennial verdure, shad- 
 owed by the broad spreading palm, and fruit-bearing groves, and re- 
 *sonant with the songs of birds, are bearing witness to the wisdom and 
 goodness of him by whose command all the rivers run into the sea. 
 And then again, the sea sends back their waters purified by the sun 
 and air, which, borno upon the wings of the wind in chariots of mist 
 and cloud, are dropped upon the highest mountain peak, distilled on 
 every plain and valley, and emptied into every bubbling spring, and so 
 the forests are nourished, and the corn is revived, aad the ripe and 
 golden harvests wave over a thousand fields, and the rich pastures give 
 food to the living herds, and the bleating flocks, and the whole earth 
 smiles in beauty and verdure. And what is true of the world of waters 
 may be said of the multitudes who make their home upon them. Where 
 would be commercial life, or national growth and progress, but for the 
 sea and those who do business upon it. We send forth men in their 
 swift and staunch ships, freighted with all the products of the land, 
 but we receive back at their hands a full return. Even those who are 
 engaged in fisheries bring in yearly about $12,000,000, while the value 
 of the products that are annually moved by sea-faring men is esti- 
 mated at two hundred millions of dollars. What a spring does this 
 vast amount of treasure give to all the activities of life. How the sea 
 and the land alike share in its influence, and re-act, the one upon the 
 other. What perfect isolation would there be amid all the nations of 
 the earth were the seas to have impassable barriers between them, or 
 were there no brave or hardy men who were willing to pass over it at 
 the behests of commerce. What a change would be witnessed in our 
 busy seaports, now full of life and energy, were the ocean no longer 
 to be the great highway of nations. How lonely and desolate would 
 the forests and plains of this western continent have remained, if no 
 adventurous sailors had ever trusted themselves to the deep and opened 
 the way thither for the teeming millions of the old world. It is the in- 
 terchange of the products of our nation for those of others, that gives 
 to it life, that stimulates its industries, that builds up its cities, that de- 
 velops its resources and gives to it strength, symmetry and power. 
 Athens was for ages the centre of wealth and refinement and political 
 influence, because she sent forth upon the sea her works of art and 
 taste and mechanical skill, and brought back the products of the na- 
 tions that were about her. And her genius was most renowned, and 
 her orators, and poets, and philosophers, and schools, most numerous 
 and famous, when her commerce had reached its highest stage, and her 
 ships were known in every port of the eastern world. What she gave 
 to the sea, the sea brought back to her in full. And when her com- 
 merce declined, and other cities and nations wrested it from her, they 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 5 
 
 also reaped the benefits and grew in wealth and power, proportionate 
 to the ventures they sent forth npon the deep. And what was true of 
 Athen", and Carthage, and Alexandria, and Tyre, is pre-eminently so in 
 the present day. The sea gives ample returns to all the nations that 
 use it as their great highway and connecting link with the commercial 
 world. 
 
 The delta formed out of the slime and sand brought down by the 
 Rhine, the Meuse, and the Scheld, grew up into the powerful and 
 wealthy kingdom of Holland by means of commerce. So, out of the 
 vast lagoons of the Adriatic, grew up Venice, throned on her hundred 
 isles, who sent forth her ventures upon the sea and received back wealth 
 and splendor, and political power. Such, too, has been the history of 
 England, France, and America. They have found the ocean their great 
 harvest field of wealth. 
 
 And the social and intellectual influences of the sea are as great as 
 their commerce, and they in like manner act and react upon the land. 
 If you take a map of the world and mark down the nations that have 
 made the least progress, that retain with most persistency the bigotry, 
 customs, morals, and institutions of past ages, and that are the least 
 open to healthful reforms, you will find them to be the countries that 
 have no sea coast, and hence, no commerce. There it is that bigotry, 
 superstition, and despotism, hold the people in an iron bondage, and 
 that custom and caste keep them rooted fast to old and efi'ete institu- 
 tions, while the rest of the world outstrips them in intelligence, educa- 
 tion, and virtue. "Were there no sea, there could be no intercourse 
 between remote nations, no interchange of ideas, and no improvements 
 by adopting customs and institutions which other people have found to 
 be beneficent and wise. The spirit of commerce is the spirit of growth 
 and progress in inventions and art, and science, and social and moral 
 life. It is the spirit of peace, and friendship, and fraternity. It binds 
 the nations together in bonds of amity and mutual good will and com- 
 mon interest. It breaks down international prejudices. It prepares 
 the way for the entrance of light, and knowledge, and truth, and social 
 and moral advances among nations that have long sat in darkness. 
 
 III. — And this brings us to the consideration of the influence and 
 uses of the sea in the subduing the world to Christ. The word of God 
 reveals to xis in a most clear and remarkable manner, how the church is 
 to use the sea in its great highway in carrying the gospel to every 
 creature, and how the ocean is to send back to the shore its waters of 
 truth, and love, and christian activity. If we look over the prophecies, 
 we find that the ocean is clearly identified with the 'land in the ofi'erings 
 it brings to the church, and the part it is finally to perform in the final 
 triumphs of the gospel. The conversion of its abundance precedes 
 
6 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 immediately the coming of the forces of the Gentiles. Its isles wait 
 for God's law. Its ships bring his people, and their silver, and gold 
 with them. They fly as a cloud to witness and aid in the triumphs of 
 Christ, and in that day of glory the daughter of Tyre, the very symbol 
 and embodiment of maritime power and wealth, comes with her gifts. 
 So also, messages of wondrous import are sent to the land of nestling 
 wings, to visit remote nations with her swift ships and bear tidings of 
 love, and grace, and mercy. 
 
 And what appears in prophecy is amply fulfilled in the history of 
 Providence and the church. Hardy sailors inured to toil and danger 
 were selected by the Saviour to be his choicest and ablest ministers. 
 The sails of commerce became the wings of the gospel. The ships of 
 the merchant bore the embassadors of Christ to their varied fields of 
 labor, and carried christianizing influences to the nations that had long 
 sat in darkness. The history of Paul as a missionary is a record of 
 scenes and events which are largely connected with the sea, and shows 
 how largely the sailor is associated with the work of the church ia 
 preaching the gospel to every creature. The great apostle to the Gen- 
 tiles was often found upon the decks of vessels that traded along the- 
 eastern coast of the Mediterranean. He entered Rome only after a 
 long and dangerous voyage across the waters of the great sea, during 
 which he had acted as chaplain to the sailors, was flung ashore from a 
 wrecked Alexandrian vessel, became for a while a missionary among 
 the barbarous people of Milita, re-embarked in the ship Castor and 
 Pollux, and was at length landed at Puteoli, whose ruins still have a 
 deep interest to the christian traveler as he enters the splendid bay of 
 Naples. Thus the church has used, and must continue to use, the sea 
 in the prosecution of its great work of subduing the world to Christ. 
 
 But, aside from this obvious truth, we may observe the intimate re- 
 lations of the sea and land in the moral influences of the sailor himself. 
 He may become a messenger for good, even as he has long been the 
 subject agent of vice and immorality. And what he is to be or do, de- 
 pends largely upon the influences exerted upon him by the dwellers on 
 the land. What th(i world contributes to the ocean, in the way of truth 
 or error, of virtue or vice, comes back to it again and is felt everywhere 
 for good or evil. 
 
 The sailor who has spent his money and time, while on shore, amid 
 the pest houses of crime and vice that are open in every port, carries 
 with him to the sea and to other lands the demoralizing influences to 
 which he has been subjected. He who has spent his time at his own 
 home, or in the homes which christian benevolence has prepared for 
 him, especially if he has learned to pray, and has felt the power of the 
 gospel in his heart, carries with him to his ship and to other lands 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 7 
 
 the spiritual treasures which he has ref^eived. He is a prompt and 
 fearless man, inured to toil, familiar with danger, and obedient to au- 
 thority. When he becomes a christian he carries with him into his new 
 life all the qualities that mark him as a man. He seems to see upon 
 the flag of his great Captain, the words : Christ expects every man to 
 do his duty. He never thinks of being ashamed to confess him, he 
 never dreams of shrinking from any task he imposes upon him. And 
 it is such men that the church needs in its work of carrying the gospel 
 to every creature. It is such men that the world needs in the behests 
 of peace, and order, and civilization, and commerce. If it sends forth 
 its navies on ventures that are demoralizing, it receives its demoraliza- 
 tion in return. The history of the slave trade, of piracy, of the impor- 
 tation and exportation of intoxicating drinks, afford us ample illustra- 
 tions of this statement. If commerce becomes the servant of vice, and 
 its mighty floods that enter the sea are defiled with sensuality, and greed 
 of gain, and profanity, and lust, and immorality, the returning tide not 
 only, but the very atmosphere, is saturated with vice and crime, that 
 comes back from the ocean. If commerce sends forth men of integrity 
 and virtue, with ventures that it need not blush to own, then will come 
 back clouds of healthful and blessed influences that shall make the 
 whole land to rejoice. 
 
 In 1620, the 3Iay Flotoer brought to the rock-bound coast of New 
 England, a precious freight of living, earnest^ thinking, and godly men, 
 and who sought '' Freedom to worship God," and the influence of that 
 venture is felt to-day, and will be felt for good in ages yet to come. In 
 the same year, a Dutch trading vessel brought to Jamestown, a cargo 
 of slaves, and the bitter harvest of that venture has been reaped by the 
 whole nation in long years of sorrow, and trial, and blood. 
 
 The law is universal, " that whatsoever a man soweth that shall he 
 also reap." Here, then, we have set before us the duty of thechm'ch, 
 and the only source of safety to the world. Commerce is to be puri- 
 fied, and so to become the handmaid of truth, virtue, and religion. It 
 is not simply in the work of the church that the Seamen's Feiexd 
 Society is engaged when it seeks to provide for the sailor christian 
 homes, and Chaplains, and Bethels, and other religious influences. It 
 is doing a work for the country and the world. It is seeking to purify 
 the streams that must surely come back again to the lands whence they 
 issue. It recognizes the great law announced by the wise man in the 
 words of our text, and Imowing that every ship that leaves or enters 
 our ports is filled with sailors that are a power for good or evil, endea- 
 vors to throw around them the restraints and fill them with the blessed 
 principles of true religion. It preaches to them, by its Chaplains and 
 Missionaries, while on shore. It looks after their temporal interests. 
 
8 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 It seeks to protect them from their enemies, whose influence is only- 
 demoralizing and ruinous. It places in their ships, libraries of well 
 selected books. It provides ftionds for them in foreign lands. It con- 
 stantly seeks their present and eternal good. 
 
 The work it has already accomplished is incalculable in its benign 
 results. Many a sailor has become the servant of Christ. Many a 
 ship has become a bethel. Many a community and land beyond the 
 seas has felt the blessed power of christian sailors. 
 
 The Society that cares for seamen asks and deserves the help of 
 every class of men. It comes alike to the merchant and the artizan, 
 the farmer and the mechanic, the citizen and the christian, and claims 
 from all, their aid in carrying on its work. Where is the community 
 that is not indebted to the sailor for benefits conferred ; where is there 
 a hamlet that has not some association or relation to those who go 
 down to the sea in ships. To all such the Society comes and asks that 
 the sailor may be remembered in their prayers and offerings. Its plans 
 are simple but effective. It can point with thankfulness to grand re- 
 sults already accomplished, to harvests already reaped, to souls already 
 saved from sin and death, and to blessed influences for good every- 
 where recognized as the results of its labors. 
 
 A single example of its work may show better than any general 
 statement what the Society is doing for the sailor. In a recent number 
 of Ilarper^s Mcujazuie, there may be found a notice of a work of Mr. 
 Nordhoff, on the Sandwich Islands, in which, honorable mention is 
 made of the Seamen's Chaplain at Honolulu. The mention of the 
 name connected with it brings back to my mind the class that left Am- 
 herst College in r836, while I was yet an undergraduate. Among them 
 were men whom it was even then evident would make their mark upon 
 the world. One of them became in after years the Governor of Massa- 
 chusetts, another represented his native State in the National Legis- 
 lature, another is an able and distinguished Professor in one of our 
 Theological Seminaries, another is a leading mind in the Southern 
 Presbyterian Church, and others are doing a noble work at the bar, on 
 the bench, in the medical profession, and in the ministry. Among this 
 band of young men thus destined for usefulness and honor, was the 
 present Chaplain at Honolulu, Rev. S. C. Damon, D. D. Robust in 
 health, a good scholar, possessed of strong, practical, and common 
 sense, cheerful, hearty, social, earnest in wlaatever he undertook to do, 
 overflowing with good humor, always friendly, manly, and genial, sin- 
 cere and unostentatious in his piety, he was just the man for a life- 
 work among seamen. Thirty years ago he left for the Sandwich Islands 
 via Cape Horn. He went then not as a missionary to the heathen, but 
 as a chaplain and friend of the sailor. The Islands were already show- 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 9 
 
 ing the. rich fruits of christian labor among the aborigines. But the 
 influence of the crews which were constantly arriving there were fear- 
 fully counteracting the labors of the missionaries. The church was 
 trying to teach the people the gospel. But commerce was sending its 
 sailors there to practice vice and sow the seeds of immorality and death. 
 
 Mr. DAiiox began his work in a chapel which had been carried 
 thither in sections from America. He invited the sailor upon his ship. 
 He cared for him while in port. He overlooked the work of providing 
 for him a home. He preached to him in the house of God. He fol- 
 lowed him with his kind offices, warning him of danger, rebuking his 
 sins, reasoning with him of righteousness, repentance, and judgment to 
 come. He edited a paper which was devoted to his interests. He 
 showed himself every way to be^his sincere friend. He gave him help 
 in distress, counsel and comfort when sick and in trouble. Hence he is 
 known and loved by thousands that annually visit the port of Honolulu. 
 They call him Father Damon. They attend his chapel Tthen there, and 
 they carry away with them the books and papers he has provided for 
 them, and the memory of all his kindness and attention. 
 
 Contrast such a work, with that which is done for the sailor in too 
 many a seaport, where he is tempted and robbed and demoralized, and 
 then carried back to the sea with all his hard earned wages in the hands 
 of publicans and harlots, and say which is best for society, commerce 
 and civilization. 
 
 And it is this work of caring for the sailor and surrounding him by 
 associations and influences that shall save him and make him a blessing 
 that the Seamen's Friexd Society is doing at home and abroad. 
 Will you aid it by your prayers and contributions, and so help to speed 
 the day when the abundance of the sea shall be converted to God, and 
 when all the rivers that run into the sea shall bear to it rich blessings 
 that shall return in due season to refresh and beautify the earth and 
 make it as the garden of the Lord. 
 
 Sympathy. 
 
 Sailok ! we will think;.of thcc, 
 On thy lone ))athway o'er the sea, 
 When the storm is darkly gathering 
 Ami the winds are wildly sweeiimg, 
 We will think ol" tliee. 
 
 Sailor! we will pray lor thee 
 To him whose voice hushed Galilee. 
 When we seek his blood-bonght dower 
 The Holy Spirit's saving power, 
 Wo wdl^pray Ipr thee. 
 
 Sailor 1 we will give to thee 
 Our warm and earnest sympathy; 
 The thou.aht will cheer thy miiluight watching. 
 That memories loud an<l prayers are reaching 
 Across the deep to thee. " 
 Sharon, Ct. E. N. T. 
 
10 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 LIFE-SAVING SERVICE.— REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF 
 THE BUREAU. 
 
 TWO HU>TDRED AXD THIRTT-FIYE LIVES lilPERILED, AND OifLT ONE 
 
 LOST — AN EXTENSION OF THE SERVICE CONTEMPLATED — THE STORM 
 
 SIGNAL AND LIFE-SAVING STATIONS CONNECTED. 
 
 We here present our readers witli an iateresting document from the Treasury 
 Department. It is but a few years since the Government entered upon any syste- 
 matic attempt at Life Saving, and Mr. Kimball's report 'will show a most gratifying 
 progress in this hmnane work. Any appropriation necessary to extend the arrange" 
 ments propoaed should be cheerfully made. — Ed. Mag. 
 To the Hon. War. A. Richakdsox, Secre- 
 tary of the Treasury. 
 
 The Life-Saving Service, as at 
 present constituted, comprises 81 
 stations on the coasts of Cape Cod, 
 Rhode Island, Long Island, and 
 New Jersey. There are three dis- 
 tricts — the coast of Cape Cod, from 
 Race Point to Monomoy, forming 
 the first; the coasts of Rhode Island 
 and Long Island, from Narragansett 
 Pier to Coney island, the second, 
 and the coast of New Jersey, from 
 Sandy Hook to Cape May, the 
 third. The following lists show 
 the situation of the stations, the 
 numbers by which they are desig- 
 nated, and the names of the per- 
 sons in charge : 
 
 DISTRICT KG. 1— COAST OF CAPE COD. 
 
 Benjamin C. Span-ow, East Orleans, J/ass., 
 Superintendent. 
 
 No. 
 
 station. 
 
 Keeper. 
 
 1. 
 
 .Race Point, 
 
 Lewis A. Smith. 
 
 
 Peaked Hill Bar, 
 
 David H. Atkins. 
 
 5! 
 
 Highlauds. 
 
 Edwin P. Worthen. 
 
 4. 
 
 Parmet River, 
 
 Nelson Weston. 
 
 5. 
 
 Ca boon's Hollow, 
 
 Wm. C Newcomb. 
 
 b. 
 
 Xauset, 
 
 Marcus M. Pierce. 
 
 7. 
 
 Orleans, 
 
 Solomon Linnell. 
 
 S. 
 
 Chatham, 
 
 Alpheus Mavii. 
 
 9. 
 
 Monomoy, 
 
 George W. Baker. 
 
 DISTRICT NO. 2— COASTS 
 
 OF RHODE ISLAXD 
 
 
 AXD LONG 
 
 ISLAXD. 
 
 Henry E. Huntting, Bridgehampton, jV. Y., 
 
 Super in ten dent. 
 
 
 No, 
 
 , station. 
 
 Keeper. 
 
 1. 
 
 Xarragan=ett Pier, 
 
 Benj. 3Iacomber. 
 
 2. 
 
 Block Islaufl. 
 
 Samuel Allen. 
 
 s! 
 
 Moutauk Point, 
 
 Jonathan Miller. 
 
 i. 
 
 Ditch Plain, 
 
 Samuel T. s-tratton. 
 
 5. 
 
 Hither Plain, 
 
 Geo. H. Osborn. 
 
 6. 
 
 Napeauge, 
 
 Elijah M. Beunett. 
 
 7. 
 
 Amagansett, 
 
 Charles J. Mulford. 
 
 8. 
 
 Geovgica, 
 
 Jonathan Y. Gould. 
 
 y. 
 
 Bridgehampton, 
 
 Baldwin Cook. 
 
 10. 
 
 Southampton, 
 
 Charles White. 
 
 11. 
 
 Shinnecock, 
 
 Lewis R. Squires. . 
 
 12. 
 
 Tyanda, 
 
 Edward H. Ryder. 
 
 No. 
 
 , Station. 
 
 Keeper. 
 
 13. 
 
 Quogue, 
 
 Mahlon Phillips. 
 
 li. 
 
 Tanner's Point, 
 
 Franklin C. Jessup. 
 
 15. 
 
 Moriches, 
 
 William Smith. 
 
 16. 
 
 Fargo River, 
 
 Sidnev Pennv. 
 
 17. 
 
 Smith's Point, 
 
 Joseph H. Bell. 
 
 IS. 
 
 Bellport, 
 
 Geo. W. Robinson. 
 
 ly. 
 
 Blue Point, 
 
 Daniel A. Nevens. 
 
 20. 
 
 Lone Hill, 
 
 Edmund Brown. 
 
 21. 
 
 Point of Woods, 
 
 Geo. W. Rogers. 
 
 ■'2. 
 
 Fire Island, 
 
 Leander Thurber. 
 
 23! 
 
 Oak Island, E. End 
 
 Henry Oakley. 
 
 24. 
 
 Oak Island, W. End, 
 
 Prior Wicks. 
 
 25. 
 
 Jone's Beach, East ( 
 End, ( 
 
 Augustus C. Wicks. 
 
 28. 
 
 Jone's Beach West ( 
 End, ) 
 
 Townsend Verity. 
 
 27. 
 
 Meadow Island. 
 
 Leander Lozee. 
 
 2S. 
 
 Long Beach, East ) 
 
 End, j 
 
 Daniel W. Smith. 
 
 29. 
 
 Long Beach, West 1 
 End, ( 
 
 Charles Wright. 
 
 30. 
 
 Hog Island, AV. End, 
 
 Joseph Langdon. 
 
 31. 
 
 Rockawav Beach, ( 
 East Encl, \ 
 
 Daniel Mott. 
 
 32. 
 
 Rockawav Beach, ( 
 West Eiid. ) 
 
 Isaac Skidmore. 
 
 33. 
 
 Sheei)shead Bay, 
 
 Cor. Van Nostran. 
 
 DISTRICT NO. 3— COAST OF NEW JERSEY. 
 
 W. 
 
 W. Ware, Cape May City, A^ J., Superin- 
 
 tendent. 
 
 
 No. 
 
 . Station. 
 
 Keeper. 
 
 1. 
 
 Sandy Hook, 
 
 C. "W. Patterson. 
 
 2. 
 
 Speniiaceti Cove, 
 
 Samuel AVarner. 
 
 3! 
 
 Seabright, 
 
 Charles AVest. 
 
 4. 
 
 Monmouth Beach, 
 
 Edward AVardell. 
 
 5. 
 
 Long Branch, 
 
 Hamilton Taber. 
 
 6. 
 
 Deal. 
 
 Abner .Ulen. 
 
 7, 
 
 Shark River, 
 
 ATm. A. Harvey. 
 
 S. 
 
 Wreck Pond, 
 
 Samuel Ludlow. 
 
 9. 
 
 Squan Beach, 
 
 E. H. Jackson. 
 
 10. 
 
 Point Pleasant, 
 
 John C. Clayton. 
 
 11. 
 
 Swan Point, 
 
 James Numan. 
 
 12. 
 
 Green Island, 
 
 AVm. P. Chadwick. 
 
 13. 
 
 Tom's River, 
 
 AA'm. X. MUler. 
 
 14. 
 
 Island Beach, 
 
 K. F. Reed. 
 
 15. 
 
 Forked River, 
 
 John Parker. 
 
 10. 
 
 South End Squan 
 Beach. 
 
 1 D. D. Herring. 
 
 17. 
 
 Barnegat, 
 
 Saml. Ferine, Jr. 
 
 18. 
 
 Lovelivdie's Island, 
 
 Charles Cox. 
 
 19. 
 
 Harvey Cedars, 
 
 Charles Martin, Jr. 
 
 20. 
 
 fchip Bottom, 
 
 Henry Lamson. 
 
 21. 
 
 Long Beach, 
 
 AV. H. Crane. 
 
 22. 
 
 Bond's, 
 
 Thomas Bond. 
 
 23! 
 
 Little Egg. 
 
 J. B. Rider. 
 
 24. 
 
 Little Beach, 
 
 AA\ P. shrouds. 
 
 25. 
 
 Brigantine, 
 
 AA'. Hoklzkom. 
 
 2(i. 
 
 So. Brigantine, 
 
 Q. A. Iloldzkom. 
 
 27. 
 
 Atlantic City, 
 
 Burton Gaskill. 
 
 28. 
 
 Absecom, 
 
 Thomas Rose. 
 
 29. 
 
 Great Egg, 
 
 John Bryant. 
 
 30. 
 
 Beazely's, 
 
 Richard B. Stiles. 
 
_<- fp'-^. 7 ^ 
 
 
 Vol. 47. 
 
 JANUARY, 1875. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 THE MISSIONARY ELEMENT IN CHRISTIAN WORK FOR SEAMEN: 
 
 A 8EEM0N, 
 
 BY REV. J. E. ROCKWELL, D. D. , 
 Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Edgewater, Staten Island, iV, Y. 
 
 DECT. 3 : 19.— They shall call the people unto the mountain ; there they shall offer sacrifices 
 of righteousness, for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of the treasures hid in 
 the sand. 
 
 This propliesy was uttered by ^Moscs in liis final interview with the 
 people whom he had led out of Egypt. It was the l)lessinfr which he 
 pronounced upon Zehulon, and served to give emphasis and meaning 
 to the Avords of the dying Jacob, " Zebulon sliall be a haven for 
 sliips." By their natural position this tribe of the Israelitish people 
 was especially devoted to commercial pursuits, and had dealings with 
 all the nations lying around the great sea, which Avas tlien the centre of 
 the world's commerce. Although it is impossible to define tlieir exact 
 limits during its early history, yet we are assured by Josephus, that they 
 reached from Lake Gennesareth on the East, to Mount Carmel and the 
 Mediterranean on the west, and that it was the great thoroughfare by 
 which the vast commerce of Damascus and the regions around made 
 its way to the sea, so that this people were brought into constant and 
 busy contact with the merchants of Syria, Phoenicia and Egypt. Such 
 intercourse while it adds breadth and spirit and intelligence to any 
 people, affords also opportunity for the spread of truth in all its forms. 
 It cannot be supposed that the men who were constantly brought into 
 
^ THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 social contact and business relations with a people who were devoted 
 to the Avorship of Jehovah, could fail to gather from them new ideas of 
 religion, and new views of the method in which man is to worship and 
 serve God. The heathen who had come from scenes, where idolatrous 
 rites and services often of the most degrading character, were offered 
 to stocks and stones, must have received most solemnand important 
 lessons in regard to the nature of God and the spiritual worship which 
 He required when they came in contact with a people Avho were gov- 
 erned by a law whose first Avords were: " Thou shalt have no other Gods 
 before me — thou shalt not make or Avorship any graven image." And 
 anticipating this result of their intercourse Avith the people around 
 them, Moses says of the tribes of Zebulon and Issachar, " They shall 
 call the people unto the mountain, Avhere they shall offer sacrifices of 
 righteousness." There had undoubtedly been a partial fulfillment of 
 this prophecy as early as the days of Solomon. The ships Avhich he 
 built upon the Red Sea Avere manned Avitli sailors of Tyre, whose king 
 was a Avorshipper of the God of Israel, and betAveen whom and himself 
 the Avarmest friendship existed. If it be asked hoAv this knowledge of 
 the true God had come among a jieople aa^Iio for ages had been marked 
 and distinguished as idolaters, Ave may find the solution in the inti- 
 mate relations which had existed between Tyre and Sidon, the haven of 
 the sea at which Zebulon dAvelt. Between these tAvo ports there Avas 
 constant communication, and if the sailors of Zebulon Avere faithful to 
 their OAvn religious obligations, as it was foretold they would be, it 
 would have been no strange or difficult thing to make knoAvn the truth 
 to the Syrian seamen. There were times Avhen these idolatrous men 
 must have Avitnessed scenes which were new to them, and Avhich must 
 haA'e deeply impressed them as being Avholly the rcA'erse of what they 
 witnessed in their own land. They saAv no idols to Avhich the sailors 
 of Zebulon boAved in worship. They heard them speak Avith reverence 
 and aAve of the one only living and true God, Avhose name they honored 
 and whose commands they obeyed. Three times in the year they saw 
 them leaving their homes and their business and going up to Jerusalem 
 to keep the solemn feasts which commemorated God's goodness to them 
 and their fathers. In many ways they heard from them the story of 
 their separation from all other nations as a distinct people; and of the 
 hopes they cherished of a coming Messiah who should redeem his 
 people from their sins. Thus it was that in tlie intercourse which Zebu- 
 lon had with other nations througli its commerce, the people Avere 
 invited to the mountain of the Lord, and were taught the nature of 
 the serAQce which He required and the worship to be offered to Him. 
 Here, then, Ave have presented to us a class of men who by the 
 
And seamen'8 friend. 3 
 
 Very nature of their employments, should have remarkable opportuni- 
 ties of spreading abroad the knowledge of God, and under whose in- 
 fluence tlicy who were hitherto ignorant of His worship, should be 
 invited to engage therein, instructed in the truth and led to an enjoy- 
 ment of the blessed hopes of the Gospel. 
 
 And this fact opens to us a most important view of tlie influence of 
 a Christianized Commerce upon the moral destinies of the world, and 
 shows to us the inixsionary element in the work of the church for sea- 
 wen. 
 
 Who can estimate the power for good which is possessed by a single 
 crew of sailors, whose hearts are all alive to the hopes of salvation, and 
 Avhose souls are permeated with the love of Christ as the Saviour of lost 
 men? What has been the influence of commerce when unsanctified — 
 what has been the power for evil of seamen whose characters have been 
 debased by crime and passion, is too well known to need proof or il- 
 lustration? Thus far, the heathen world have learned little else but 
 evil, througli the men who have come to their ports and coasts from 
 nominally Christian countries. What ideas can we suppose have been 
 formed by idolatrous nations of a religion which has had its represen- 
 tatives in men whose characters have ever been stained by lust and in- 
 temiserance and every debasing crime? What notions could they enter- 
 tain of Christianity which its missionaries have represented to be peace- 
 ful and honest and pure, when they have seen the very men who have 
 brought them thither, practising the most degrading vices, plunder- 
 ing the helpless and destroying the innocent? Can we wonder at the 
 comparatively little progress which the missionary enterprises of the 
 church have made, when we recall the tremendous influences against 
 which they have had to contend in the opj)osing drifts of crime, sensu- 
 ality, fraud and violence, which have set in upon them from the com- 
 merce of Christian countries? One of the most fearful hindrances to 
 the progress of the Gospel in heathen countries, has been found in the 
 sailors who visit them, and bring with them the vices and demoral- 
 izing influences of their new civilization. 
 
 On the contrary, we can hardly estimate the poA\ter for good which 
 Christian sailors possess, Avho carry with them wherever they go the 
 spirit of the Gospel of Christ, believing its truths and practising its 
 virtues. 
 
 While we cannot over estimate the importance of what is known as 
 the special work of foreign missions, which consists in the establish- 
 ment of churches, schools and all the varied instrumentalities essential 
 to the spread of the Gosi)cl among the heathen, we are in danger of un- 
 dervalueing the power of tlic Christian sailor in aiding this work. Nay, 
 
-t ' THE BAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 is it not true that the cliurch has scarcely recognized this agency as of 
 any essential value in the accomplishment of Christ's comnumd to preach 
 His Gospel to every creature? Its missionaries are numbered by hun- 
 dreds only, while three millions of men are toiling upon the sea and 
 visiting every nation and tribe whose lands border u]ion the ocean, and 
 if properly prepared miglit be of eminent service in aiding the church to 
 do its work. We are learning in the developments of divine providence. 
 that while the church and the world need an educated ministry, men of 
 ordinary training and abiUties if lilled with the spirit of God and the 
 love of Christ, may wield a mighty influence for good and be ellectivc in 
 saAnng men whom an educated ministry might be unable to reach. A 
 Christian layman has often accom]ilislied incalculable good among his 
 fellow men by his godly example, and his loving words of warning and 
 instruction spoken at the fitting time, and which have been like ap]des of 
 gold in pictures of silver. Men even of little intellectual ability or cul- 
 ture have sometimes been instruments of good to many a soul by tlieir 
 simple, direct, affectionate and fearless appeals made to the lieart and 
 conscience. It needs surely only a i)ractical knowledge of the Gospel 
 to be able to tell men the simple story of the Cross and of salvation 
 through Jesus Christ. Why then need the church wait until it can 
 send forth bands of educated men to every island and nation before it 
 enters ujion its work of evangelization. What if it press the sailor into 
 its work, and empower and commission him to say to every man who is 
 bowing to idols that Jehovah hath said: "Thou shalt have no other 
 Gods before me," or to tell to the poor and wretched the story of 
 Christ's great love for sinners, and of his death on the Cross for lost 
 and guilty men. Who can doubt the fidelity with which such a mes- 
 sage would be given, when he knows the promptness and fearless- 
 ness with which the sailor meets the demands of duty. What if 
 every ship that sailed from the ports of Christian nations was man- 
 ned and officered by men who felt the power of the truth in their own 
 souls, and who were supi)licd by the church with Bibles and tracts 
 wntten in the language of the people whom they were to visit; who can 
 doubt that such reading would if j)laced in the hands of thinking and 
 intelligent men, open to them the knowledge of the way of salvation. 
 and be at least the means of preparing the way for the missionary of 
 the Cross. Is not the experiment worth the trial? It was said by one 
 of the early missionaries to the Pacific Islands that the readiness with 
 which those people received them, was owing to a few words which 
 had been drop])ed by one of the sailors of Captain Cook, who when he 
 saw them worshipping idols, told them that they were not thus to 
 expect to secure the favor of God. and that bye and bye men from Eng- 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FKIEND. .") 
 
 hiiul would come and toll tlu'iu about (iod and iiow to servo him. These 
 words were treasured uj) among the traditions of the Islanders, and 
 when the early missionaries from America came among them were 
 recalled, and served to secure a welcome for those who came to tell them 
 of the way of salvation. 
 
 Why then may not the sailor be used in helping forward the mission- 
 ary work of the church? AVhat is needed to make the attempt hopeful 
 is such an earnest and ])ersistont effort for his s])iritual good as shall by 
 the divine blessing secure his conversion to Christ and his consecration 
 to the work of spreading abroad tlie knowledge of tlie truth as it is in 
 Jesus. 
 
 One or two simple facts will serve to show the power of the sailor for 
 good when his heart is under the influence of the Gospel. The late Dr. 
 C. S. Stewart, once a missionary to the Sandwich Islands, and for many 
 years after a chaplain in the U. S. Xavy, gave a most striking testimony 
 to the influence of Christian seamen in a In-ief notice of the voyage 
 of the steamer Xiagara when bearing homeward the Japanese Em- 
 bassy, whose visit to our shores many will remember. 
 
 "We have" (he wrote) "' regular worship at which tlie whole shii>'s 
 company attend on the (juarter deck every morning and evening, as 
 w'ell as the ])ublic services of the Sabbath, when congregational singing, 
 by the otticers and crew, and a sermon are added to prayer. 
 
 The worshi}) is oj^en to the free obser\ance of the Japanese, and is 
 regarded by them with worshi})ful attention and interest. At first, 
 the princes when on the deck at tlie time the ship's company were 
 thus assembled, retired to their apartments, but of late they often 
 remain as s])ectators. 
 
 The professing Christians among the sailors, a dozen in number, 
 hold a i)rayer meeting on the berth-deck every evening. It was com- 
 menced the flrst night we were at sea after leaving New York. Many 
 of the flfty servants of the embassy have been attracted to the vicinity 
 of this, by the singing of hymns, and no doubt have informed them- 
 selves of the nature and meaning of this new aspect to them of the re- 
 ligious observances of Christians. The ambassadors and their suite 
 are fre([uently remembered in ])rayer at these meetings, and as I have 
 seen one and another of the Japanese stand and look with seeming 
 wonder at the group of sailors bowed down upon the deck in prayer, I 
 have been moved more than once to tears by the simi)licity and earnest- 
 ness with which these converted sailors have interceded with the Saviour 
 in their behalf, that the light of His truth and the power of His grace 
 might be manifested among these pagans, and in the nation to which 
 they are returning." 
 
 What a testimony is this to the character of the work that sailors 
 might perform were they fully interested in the service of Christ. Nor 
 is this an isolated fact. Many a similar testimony might be adduced to 
 show the power for good which lies in the sailor when he has had an 
 experience of the love of Christ in his soul. 
 
n THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 Several years since, a sea captain engaged in a coasting voyage on 
 the Pacific, disposed of over a hundred Bibles, besides many religious 
 tracts in the ports at which he stopped. A sailor who had been ordained 
 as a preacher established a church with more than eighty members, 
 mostly converts from Catholicism on an island near the coast of South 
 America. 
 
 Two converted seamen once shipped from Boston to Calcutta. An 
 impenitent shipmate who thought piety in a sailor was a matter of 
 mirth and ridicule, and who expected to make himself and his comrades 
 merry at the expense of these Christian men, said to a stranger after 
 they had sailed: " Well, I learn that there are a couple of pious fellows 
 in our crew. " The stranger looked up with a meek glance, and replied : 
 "Yes, sir, and I hope I am one of them." A second stepped up 
 promptly, and said: " And I hope I am another. " ''My sport" (said 
 the scorner Avhen afterwards relating his experience) ''was all over. 
 Surely, said I to myself, these men are Christians of the genuine kind 
 — they are not afraid to show their colors," This man was thus led to 
 reflection, and then to Christ. These three established a jorayer meeting 
 in the forecastle, and before the voyage was ended, six others were re- 
 joicing in hope. Moreover, Avhile they were in India, sailors from 
 other ships attended their meetings, and several of them also were 
 converted to God. Like the men of Zebulon, these earnest sons of the 
 sea called the people unto the mountain of the Lord, and there offered 
 their sacrifices of righteousness. With such facts before us and with 
 many similar ones which might be readily mentioned, who can fail to see 
 what immense power for good is garnered up in the commerce of a 
 Christian nation when it is sanctified to Christ and the church. 
 
 Is it not a matter of wonder that in the agencies to be used for the 
 conversion of the Avorld, so little attention has been paid to the men 
 who in the very nature of their calling are brought most in contact 
 with every nation, and who if they were in full and hearty sympathy 
 with the work miglit be constantly exerting an influence that should 
 be for the furtherance of the Gospel and the bringing of the world 
 to the knowledge of Christ. Without dwelling at length upon the points 
 Avhich show the power of the missionary element as it exists in a Christ- 
 ianized and sanctified commerce, we may mention a few obvious facts 
 which may set the matter before us. 
 
 1st. The sailor is a citizen of the world. He is to-day at home 
 among the influences of Christianity and civilization, and in a few 
 weeks in India or China or Japan or Africa, or the Islands of the sea 
 ■ — the very fields the church is seeking to cultivate, and the j)eople 
 whom it desires to convert. 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 7 
 
 3d. The sailor is a bold and fearless man. He learns from the ex- 
 periences of every day to face danger wherever duty summons him. 
 He is in constant contact with perils and inured to hardships. He 
 never shrinks from the work which is laid ujDon him, though it is to be 
 performed amidst storm and darkness, though it call him to climb the 
 swaying masts amid blinding flashes of lightning or the flying spray 
 that freezes as it falls. Such a character surely is one that is needed in 
 the work of missions, and that eminently qualifies the Christian to 
 engage in its arduous duties. 
 
 3d. Again, the sailor has learned the necessity of prompt and cheerful 
 obedience to orders. He knows that the commands of his captain are 
 law, which he is never to question, but must at once perform. He 
 never thinks of doubting their propriety or neglecting their fulfillment 
 for a moment. What then may we believe will be his conduct when he 
 enlists under the great captain of our salvation, and with his heart full 
 of love for Him, hears His command: "Go preach my Gospel to every 
 creature. " 
 
 Lastly,* the sailor is frank and generous and free hearted, and 
 thus endowed with the very qualities that would lead him, were he a 
 Christian, to just such a work as might be of essential service to the 
 church' in its great duty of evangelizing the nations. With such 
 ([ualifications, what an agent, for good might he become were he but 
 duly prepared by the grace and Spirit of God to devote himself fully to 
 the service of Christ. 
 
 And did not the Master Himself give a hint and a lesson to the 
 church as to its work, and its agencies, when He selected four of His 
 most eminent apostles from the sailors of Galilee, and said: "lAvill 
 make you fishers of men." Is it not strange then that the church has 
 seemingly lost sight of this instrumentality, among all the agencies it has 
 sought to employ for spreading the Gospel over the world? When has 
 the sailor ever failed in fulfilling a trust committed to him? Commerce 
 has placed in his hand its untold treasures, and has groAvn and flourish- 
 ed through his fidelity. 
 
 Nations have employed him to defend their honor and guard their 
 coasts, and he has nobly and manfully accomplished his mission. 
 Science has used him in her task of gathering together the facts and 
 l)henomena on Avhicli she makes up theories and systems, and he has 
 essentially aided her in her work. He has brought to her the secret 
 treasures of the sea — has marked its currents — observed its motions — 
 traced the course of the winds — visited the regions of eternal winter 
 — pushed his way through vast seas of ice — s^our-ded tlie mysterious 
 
8 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 depths of the Ocean — and laid from shore to shore the electric wires that 
 thrill with the thought, and bear the tidings of commercial and social 
 life from continent to continent. 
 
 Yet the church seems almost to have OA'erlooked him when seeking 
 for agents to do her work of carrying the news of salvation to the 
 nations it has sought to enlighten and bless. 
 
 Hundreds of Christian congregations while contributing their benefac- 
 tions for the cause of missions, have forgotten to aid the society that is 
 seeking to fit the sailor to be a most important element in the missionary 
 work. In our larger seaports it is true, Bethels and churches have been 
 established for seamen. Yet this is only one item in the work which 
 must be done for his spiritual welfare. He needs books for his quiet 
 and leisure hours at sea. He needs religious influences in foreign 
 ports. He needs a home that shall be free from the terrible tempta- 
 tions with which he is usually surrounded when he enters a sailor's 
 boarding house. He needs the watch and care of a pastor or chaplain 
 when he lands on a foreign shore — that he may be "visited upon his ship 
 — invited to the house of God — warned of his dangers and temptations, 
 and pointed to the Saviour. What the treatment has been which the 
 sailor has received in return for his perils and labors encountered at the 
 behests of commerce and science and national and social interests, is too 
 well known to need more than a simple and passing allusion. He has 
 been met on his return from sea by the throngs of men whose only 
 object has been to plunder him of all his hard earned wages, and set 
 him adrift again, with health undermined, and character gone. He has 
 been the victim of the most systematic efforts to defraud and degrade 
 and ruin him. He has been often entrapped into dens of vice and in- 
 famy, when in a few days the gatherings of months have disappeared, 
 Avhen he has been drugged by strong drink, and has only known the full 
 extent of the evils he has suffered, when he has waked up, far at sea, 
 upon some ship Avhere he has been placed by the wretches who have 
 made merchandise of him and have received the wages he is yet to earn, 
 as a part of their nefarious business. 
 
 And nations that have grown great by means of his perils and work, 
 have looked coldly on and failed to step in to help and defend him. 
 And when wise and humane laws have been passed for his protection, 
 the most persistent efforts have been made to defeat their due execution, 
 and to send the sailor back into the hands of the vile combinations for 
 his destruction. 
 
 Against these unhappy influences the Amekican Seamens' Friend 
 Society seeks to defend the sailor, and to throw around him safeguards, 
 and spiritual and social agencies that shall ensure his temporal and 
 eternal well beinff. 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. * 
 
 It is the agent of tlie Christian Cliurch in caring for three millions of 
 men who need to be followed, at home, and upon the sea, and in foreign 
 lands, with the influences and appliances of the Gospel. In the pro- 
 secution of its work, so far as it is successful, it is preparing a most im- 
 portant missionary agency for the evangelizing of the world — it is aid- 
 ing the church to fulfill the command of Christ, "^preach my Gospel to 
 every creature. " 
 
 Facts which are continually coming to the knowledge of those who are 
 engaged m the management of the society, are clearly revealing the 
 missionary element of its work. Its chaplains and agents — its libra- 
 ries, which are now numbered by thousands, and its Christian homes 
 whose establishment it is aiding, are all so many auxiliaries to the 
 cliurch in its great mission. On many a ship that goes forth at the 
 behests of commerce, are Christian sailors, who are earnest and faith- 
 ful servants of Jesus Christ. On some of our noble lines of steamers 
 every sailor is shipped with the understanding that no spirituous liquors 
 will be furnished him, except on case of actual sickness and by the 
 direction of the surgeon. This statement I know is true in regard to 
 the line, in whose ships I recently crossed and re-crossed the Atlantic, 
 and the eifect on the character and conduct of the crew was most 
 marked and noteworthy. In many a ship's cabin the crew are now re- 
 gularly gathered for religious services, and in many a forecastle prayer 
 meetings are held, and the Bible read, and souls re-freshed and saved. 
 
 A single fact will illustrate the work that is going on among these 
 who do business upon the great waters. 
 
 A few months since the Trustees of the Seamens' Fkiend Society 
 received a letter from the Countess of Aberdeen, in Scotland, ex- 
 pressing her wish to place in their hands a sum of money for the pur- 
 chase of a number of libraries, which should be sent forth in her 
 name as a memorial of her son who was lost at sea. In the course of 
 the correspondence which ensued the following facts, were learned in 
 respect to this noble young man. On the death of his beloved and 
 honored father. Lord Haddo, in March, 1804, he succeeded to his 
 title, and for nearly a year and a half remained at home comforting 
 his widowed mother, and being the centre and source of happiness in 
 the household. Early in the year 18G6 he sailed for New Brunswick 
 as a passenger. During the voyage, as the captain had no religious 
 services on board, he used to meet with the sailors on Sundays, reading 
 to them portions of the AVord of God, and using for prayer the collects 
 which were found in an old Catholic book of devotion. After making 
 a tour in the United States, he went to Boston, and laying aside his 
 title and concealing his rank, under the name of George H. Osborne, 
 
10 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 shipped as a common sailor on a voyage to the Canary Isles, partly from 
 a love of the romance of sea life and partly from an idea that his health 
 might be benefited tliereby. He no sooner was engaged in the duties 
 of the merchant service, than he became deeply interested in the 
 welfare of seamen. A sight of their wrongs and hardships so en- 
 listed his symjiathies, that he turned his thoughts to the best methods 
 for improving their condition — determined to remain at sea long 
 enough to obtain a full knowledge of a sailor's life, and then to re- 
 turn to his home and endeavor to bring about needed reforms in the 
 mercantile marine. For a period of nearly four years he spent most of 
 his time at sea, mingling freely with sailors, and exerting among them a 
 noble Christian influence, which has made his memory precious and 
 fragrant. Though his rank and jDosition at home were unknown to his 
 associates, yet his accomplished manners — his studious habits — his high 
 moral character — his regular attendance at church when on shore — 
 his uprightness and purity of life, and his constant efforts to lead his 
 associates to a knowledge of the truth, were remarked by all with Avhom 
 he came in contact, and were affectionately remembered, when, after his 
 death, inquiries were made concerning his career and history as a sailor. 
 He seldom lost an opportunity to do good, or to leave some moral and 
 religious influence uj^on his associates. In the cause of temperance he 
 was a faithful worker, and he sought in every way both by precept and 
 example to lead men to the practice of this Christian virtue. When 
 on land he sought out some church Avhere he might worship God, and 
 often took with him his companions whom he desired to interest in the 
 sanctuary, and to bring within the reach of the means of grace. 
 
 A man of such intelligence and moral worth could not long remain a 
 common sailor. He was soon promoted to the position of an officer, 
 where he had still higher opportunities of usefulness, Avhich he con- 
 tinued to improve for the benefit of the sailor, in whose cause his whole 
 soul was interested. It was only his brief exjoerience at sea that pre- 
 vented his being placed in charge as captiiin of the missionary ship, 
 which left Boston for the Islands of the Pacific. 
 
 On the 27th of January, 1870, while doing his duty as first mate 
 on a vessel bound from Boston to Melbourne, his feet became en- 
 tangled in some of the rigging, and by a sudden lurch of the ship he 
 Avas thrown overboard. Every possible effort for his rescue was made 
 at once, but all in vain. He had sunk to the sailor's grave amid the 
 fathomless depths of the ocean, and his last cry for help was heard 
 only by his shipmates and by Him who once walked upon the waters, 
 and whose ear is ever oj^en to the prayer of the needy, and in whose 
 grace he had trusted for salvation. 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FEIEND. 11 
 
 It was while the agents of his family were searching after some 
 clue to his fate, after long waiting for their customary letters from him, 
 that his noble mother became acquainted with the work of the Seamexs' 
 Friexd Society, through whose aid the missing links in his history 
 were found. Anxious to have some memorial which was befitting her 
 son's career, she offered a generous gift to the society for the purpose 
 of sending forth libraries, whicli should bear his name and remind 
 his brethren of the sea, of his love and sympathy for them. 
 
 It was my privilege on a recent ^dsit to Europe, to carry to his be- 
 reaved mother, the Couxtess of Aberdeen, from the Trustees of 
 the Society, their expressions of gratitude for her munificent gift, 
 and of sj^mpathy with her in her sorrow, and to place in her hands 
 a model of the liln-aries which were to bear her son's and her own 
 name. It was a fact worthy of notice which I had the pleasure of 
 stating to her that the first library given out on her donation, was 
 placed in the hands of a captain bound for California, who had 
 known her son intimately, who though ignorant of his rank and 
 title had loved and honored him as a Christian gentleman and a noble 
 sailor, and who was most deeply affected on being told from whom 
 and in whose memory the gift had come to him. 
 
 Such is an example of the influences Avhich are at work among 
 the men of the sea. And it is in behalf of a Society that has in 
 it so many elements of the missionary cause, and connected with 
 which are a thousand facts that show the importance of caring for 
 the sailor, that we ask the aid of all who love the Master and who would 
 seek the welfare of mankind. We would place a chaplain in every 
 port where our seamen are found. We would give to CAery ship a 
 library for the use of its officers and crew. We would encourage 
 and aid the establishment of Christian homes for the sailor when he 
 reaches the land. 
 
 We would surround him by moral influences that would help him to 
 resist the fierce temptations that beset him on every hand. The 
 work is one that a2)pcals to all who desire to see our common Christian- 
 ity extended over the world. Every sailor converted to Christ becomes 
 an agent for the spread of His Gospel. Every influence that is used for 
 his salvation is also exerted through him upon nations yet to be given 
 to Christ as His inheritance, and the islands that wait for His law. 
 
 the ABERDEEN MOTTO. — " He HATU MADE THE DEPTHS OF THE 
 SEA, A WAY FOR THE RANS03IED TO PASS OVER." Isa. 51: 10. 
 
l-^ 
 
 THE 8AIL0K8" MAGAZINE 
 
 [For the Sailor's Magazine.] 
 
 THE SEA- WARD DRIFT. 
 BY REV. CHARLES J. JOXES, Seanie7i's CJicqjlain. 
 
 dencies of the cliiirch to-day, 
 
 Sometimes a vessel when nearing 
 the land, as night approaches, is 
 becalmed. The coast is a strange 
 one. The captain's fears are ex- 
 cited, lest in the coming darkness 
 she may drift too near the unknown 
 coast. He paces the deck, and 
 tlirough the long hours of the 
 night, anxiously wishes for the 
 land breeze, which will enable him 
 to stand off shore. But, when the 
 day breaks, he finds that his fears 
 were all premature. The set of 
 the current has borne him sea- 
 ward, and given him the offing he 
 craved. 
 
 To the eye and heart of the sail- 
 ors friends, the good ship — the 
 CHURCH — has seemed to be thus be- 
 calmed, and when they would have 
 her mo^'ing forward to their aid, 
 she has aj^peared motionless. But 
 as the night shadows flee away, we 
 find that she, too, has been drifting 
 sea-ward — insensibly borne onward 
 by the currents of prayer. What 
 may we not anticipate then, wlien, 
 instead of thus listlessly drifting, 
 her sails shall be filled with the 
 breathings of the Di'S'ine Spirit to 
 bring her with all her resources to 
 our rescue? Then will she indeed 
 
 " An emblem yield to friends and enemies. 
 "How the Great Teacher's doctrine, sanc- 
 tified 
 
 " By truth, shall spread throughout the world 
 dispersed." 
 
 To drop the figure. We may 
 well " thank God and take cour- 
 
 have a sea- ward drift. She is 
 looking ''toward the sea." There 
 have been, here and there in the 
 church, since the first fourth of this 
 century, men who have seemed to 
 appreciate, in some measure, the 
 agency of the sailor in the great 
 work of carrying the Gospel to 
 the nations. But even these seem 
 scarcely to have risen to the dig- 
 nity of the subject. They appear 
 to have considered the sailor 
 rather as the common carrier, than 
 as the "liA'ing ejDistle," and con- 
 ceived the idea of sending the Word 
 of God bi/ him rather than in him. 
 Xote the guarded language of Rca'. 
 Charles Gutzlaff, in the journal of 
 his labors in Siam and China, writ- 
 ten but a quarter of a century ago: 
 "While representing Christianity 
 as the only effectual means of es- 
 tablishing a friendly intercourse, I 
 Avould not reject the efforts of com- 
 mercial enterprise to open a trade 
 with the maritime provinces, but 
 rather regard them as the jjrobable 
 means of introducing that Gospel 
 into "a country to which the only 
 access is by sea." We should be 
 thankful that there is less of timid- 
 ity, and a more cheerful and hope- 
 ful ring in the church's tone to- 
 day. " The times are changed, and 
 we are changed Avith them." Tes- 
 timonies are now more pronounced 
 in favor of these men of the 
 age," as we notice that the ten- sea than ever before. As an evi- 
 
Vol. 47. 
 
 NOVEMBER, 1875. 
 
 No. 11. 
 
 GOD'S PEOPEIETOESHIP IX THE SEA. 
 
 A SERMON 
 BY REV. J. E. ROCKWELL, D. D., 
 
 PASTOR OF THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF EDGEWATER, STATEN ISLAND, N. Y. 
 
 Psalm 95 ; 5. — The Sea is His and He made it. 
 
 The Ninety-fifth Psalm is a call upon the people to worship God, for 
 which act two especial reasons are given — his greatness and his good- 
 ness. Under the first head is placed his proprietorship of the depths 
 of the Earth and of the mighty and towering mountains — and to this is 
 added that he is both the owner and maker of the Sea. This is not the 
 only reference to the ocean which the Scriptures make when setting 
 forth the power, wisdom and glory of God. Hundreds of similar texts 
 may be found in which the sea is alluded to, not simply as a grand and 
 magnificent worS of Jehovah, but as bearing a most important part in 
 the accomplishment of his purposes concerning this world, in which he 
 has made the grandest displays of his wisdom, i)ower and love. There 
 is then a special emphasis in the words '' the sea is His " which may be 
 marked and felt as we look over the sacred oracles, and notice how much 
 is said of the sea and its inhabitants, as associated with God's plans in 
 reference to his church, and the highest interests of the human race. 
 
 There is a wondrous significance in the words which describe the sea 
 as first apiDcaring when the light had broken upon the chaotic world 
 and the waters which were under the firmament were divided from 
 these which were above. How simple yet how sublime is the story as 
 told by the sacred historian. "And God said let the waters under the 
 
330 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 heaven be gathered into one phice and let the dry land appear, and it 
 was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering to- 
 gether of the waters he called Seas; and God saw that it was good." 
 While as we read, subsequently, the beasts and fowl were brought by the 
 Lord to Adam that he might give them names, the sea, which is his 
 own, God named himself, as though it were his own special work and 
 property, and to be his own favorite agency in accomplishing his wise 
 and benificent purposes and showing forth his own glory. It is to 
 many a matter of wonder that he who created the world should have 
 made two-thirds of it a simple waste of waters. They ask, where is 
 the wisdom of thus appropriating so much space to seas and oceans 
 which might have been used as the domain of man, and turned into 
 fruitful fields waving with golden harvests, or into populous towns filled 
 with life and teeming with busy and active inhabitants? It is a suffi- 
 cient answer to the devout mind, that it pleased him '' whose ways are not 
 our ways nor his thoughts our thoughts " to set these vast waters as 
 natural boundaries between the nations. Yet we may find a sufficient 
 solution to the inquiry, if we reverently search for it, amid the same 
 records that reveal Jehovah to us as the wise ruler of the universe, that 
 assure us that the sea is His and He made it. 
 
 I. It is worthy of notice, in the first place, with what an almost af- 
 fectionate interest God himself speaks of the sea, as his work not only, 
 but as mirroring forth his sovereignty, povrer and glory. When He 
 would set before Job and his friends his divine majesty he introduces 
 his argument by the question, ''Who shut up the sea with doors when 
 it brake forth as if it had issued from the womb, when I made the cloud 
 the garment thereof and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, and 
 brake up for it my decreed place and set bars and doors, and said hith- 
 erto shalt thou come, but no farther, and here shalt thy i^roud waves be 
 stayed?" 
 
 When he would open to his people their contempt for his authority, 
 he presents to them the sea as his obedient servant, and asks with won- 
 der, "fear ye not me, and will ye not tremble at my presence Avhich 
 have placed the sand for the bounds of the sea by a perpetual decree 
 that it cannot pass, and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet 
 they cannot prevail; though they toss themselves, yet cannot they pass 
 over? " When the Psalmist would set forth God's wondrous works and 
 power he says, "thy way is in the sea and thy path in the great wa- 
 ters. " When he would describe his glorious attributes, the sea apj)ears 
 as a fit mirror of his omnipotence and omnipresence. It is he who 
 gathers its waters together; who stills its raging, who controls its 
 power, and who is mightier than its waves. 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 331 
 
 There is that in the sea which speaks to j;he thoughtful and devout 
 mind most impressive lessons of the natural attributes of Jehovah. It is a 
 
 " Glorious mirror where the Almighty's form 
 Glasses itself in tempests ; iu all time 
 ' Calm or convulsed, in breeze, or gale, or storm, 
 Icing the pole, or in the torrid clime 
 Dark-heaving, boundless, endless and sublime. 
 The image of Eternity— the throne of the Invisible." 
 
 No one who loves to contemplate God's works and whose soul is ca- 
 pable of being stirred by deep and strong emotions can fail to find in 
 the sea abundant evidence and illustrations of the wisdom, immensity, 
 power, majesty and glory of him whose is the sea and who made it. 
 To the thoughtful mind the ocean always has its solemn lessons which 
 seem as the voice of God itself. Who can ever look forth upon it and 
 not think of him who gave the sea its bounds, and who measures its 
 waters in the hollow of his hands? What a lesson it reads to us, in all 
 its vast appearings and the wild roar of its billows, of God's wisdom and 
 230wer and glory. What an image it is of his immensity and eternity. 
 Through how many ages has it rolled on unchanged. The storms that 
 have swept over it have left no trace of their fury. Time has been busy, 
 but though the marble monument has crumbled beneath its touch, the 
 strong fortress fallen, and cities and j^alaces are in ruins, and the earth 
 itself shows signs of age and decay, the sea is un wasted and unchanged. 
 Generation after generation has stood by its shores and listened to the 
 music of its ripples or the thunder of its surf, and has passed away, 
 yet its dark waters still ebb and flow, and its wild billows sing their re- 
 quiem over the dead. 
 
 "Time writes no wrinkles on its azure brow ; 
 Such as Creation's dawn beheld, it rolleth now." 
 
 Who can stand and look ujjon the sea and feel no emotions of won- 
 der and awe, and no reverence for Him who made it? What lessons it 
 teaches us of our own weakness and of God's greatness and power, of 
 our littleness and his infinitude and grandeur. In all its moods of rest 
 or storm, of peace or wild commotion; it tells us that he who made it is 
 almighty and eternal. 
 
 II. Again, the ocean is one of God's great instruments in exerting 
 his providential care and control of the world. Science is every day 
 bringing to us fresh illustrations of the influences which the sea exerts 
 upon the land. Out of its mighty waters rise the mists and clouds that 
 roll backward over the broad fields and lofty mountains of the earth and 
 leave there the moisture that gives fertility to the land, that fills the 
 springs and pools, and swells the rivers that are flowing onward to the 
 ocean. Its currents bear the heat of the tropics to islands and conti- 
 
333 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 nents that "would otherwise have an arctic climate and sterile soil. Its 
 countless inhabitants are food for man. Its storms, even, are sources 
 of health. They sweep over every land, and bear before them the mi- 
 asmas and poisons that might otherwise prove destructive of life. Its 
 tides keep in constant and healthy motion all the inland waters that 
 flow into its bosom. Its restless waves, as they beat upon the shore, 
 accomplish mighty geological changes, and leave their undoubted re- 
 cords in stony leaves which are turned and read by the student of Na- 
 ture in succeeding ages, unveiling to him the vast revolutions by which 
 the world has been built up and made the habitation of man. Thus 
 does He who when he pleases can bring to pass his jiurposes by the 
 most insignificant agencies, use also the mighty ocean as his servant 
 in executing His providential will towards the world which he has 
 built and peopled, and over which he reigns as sovereign. 
 
 III. Again, the sea is God's agent in separating and bounding the 
 nations of the earth. The Scriptures, although they do not pretend to 
 instruct us fully either in natural or political science, yet have frequent 
 reference to the fact of the separation of the nations by a special ordi- 
 nance of God. While he hath made of one blood all that dwell upon 
 the face of the earth, yet he did not intend there should be any such 
 uniformity as would allow only a single family or nationality. It was 
 a part of his plan that there should be distinct races, who, while having 
 all the essentials of a common brotherhood, should yet be so widely 
 diverse as to require separate residences and governments. Hence we 
 read, "When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, 
 when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds according to 
 the number of the children of Israel." And again it is written of the 
 people, " He hath determined the times before ai^pointed and the 
 bounds of their habitations." It was by his own direct agency that 
 after the flood the people, who were of one language, were prevented 
 from forming one nation through a confusion of tongues, and so for- 
 ever separated, not only into different nationalities, but into different cli- 
 mates and countries — divided not simply by mountains or deserts, but 
 by rivers, seas and oceans. It was thus that he solved the problem of 
 the peopling of the whole world through the family which he had 
 made in his own image, and to which he had given the task of subdu- 
 ing the earth. And he who has studied with the least care and atten- 
 tion the history of the world has surely seen what infinite wisdom and 
 benevolence was concerned in this separation of the nations. The ex- 
 periments which Alexander, Xerxes and the Caesars made of stretching 
 one government over the world were but magnificent failures. Even 
 the vast empire of Rome was the scene of constant collision between 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 383 
 
 the distinct nationalities it embraced, and at length broke down by its 
 own weight. Out of this vast sea of revolution arose separate govern- 
 ments, each after its own kind and order — each in its own way unfold- 
 ing its power, and moving forward for the fulfillment of some of God's 
 wise and benificent purposes. And those nations which have been most 
 insulated have made the most decided progress in civilization, and so- 
 cial and intellectual science and culture. England, though its jieople 
 were barbarians when Rome was in the zenith of her splendor and 
 power, rose in a few centuries like another sun in the firmament and 
 shone on when Italy's light was quenched in blood and revolution. 
 Cut off from the rest of Europe by a cordon of waters, and shut up to 
 art and commerce, she became the great bulwark of law and the tem- 
 ple of science and religion. Her insulated position enabled her to 
 gather strength and power, not as the tributary of some adjoining na- 
 tion, but as an independent government working out her own ends and 
 destiny. It was the surrounding of these straits and seas, hemming 
 her in to her own resources and developing her energy, thrift and vir- 
 tue, that gives meaning to the song of her poet: 
 
 ■' Britania needs no bulwark, 
 No towers along the steep ; 
 Her march is on the mountain's wave, 
 Her home is on the deep." 
 
 And how manifestly can we see the same divine wisdom that divided 
 the nations of the old world, engaged in separating from it the western 
 continent by tAvo vast oceans, and leaving here full scope for the devel- 
 opment of some of the grandest problems which the human race has 
 ever solved. Fifteen centuries passed after Rome had reached the 
 highest point of her power before the existence even of a western conti- 
 nent was known, and when it burst like a new world upon the sight of 
 the adventurous explorers of Europe, a whole century pregnant with 
 mighty changes passed away ere these vast forests began to disappear 
 before the advancing tread of civilization, and these broad prairies and 
 fertile hills were filled with an earnest and industrious and hardy jiop- 
 ulation. And now, severed by two mighty oceans from eith'er Europe 
 or Asia, the joeople of America have been left at liberty to work out the 
 grand experiment of independence and self-government, while side by 
 side have arisen separate nationalities, each developing some peculiar 
 phase of civil or religious principle, and illustrating its excellence or 
 its evil. 
 
 It would seem then that Grod had made the seas to be boundaries of 
 nations, and so to separate them that all might be left to work out his 
 plan for the welfare of the race, and for the upbuilding of his kin"-- 
 dom, which is to stretch from sea to sea and from the river to the ends 
 of the earth. 
 
334 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 IV. Again, God made the sea as a liigliway of the nations, and a 
 means of intercourse and correspondence between the inhabitants of 
 the earth. We can hardly imagine what wonkl have been the state of 
 the world had there been no ocean to be the path of commerce, and had 
 all the intercourse of the earth been carried on over immense plains 
 thousands of miles in extent. Over those vast distances travel would 
 have been necessarily difficult, and communication infrequent. Com- 
 merce would have been carried on only between adjacent nations, wliile 
 the knowledge of more remote people would have been but a confused, 
 indistinct and overdrawn picture, the rudest and wildest work of the 
 imagination. We may see illustrations of this thought by casting our 
 eyes over the nations that are most remote from the great tracks of 
 commercial enterprize. What barbarism and ignorance exist among 
 the tribes that skirt the great deserts of Africa. How little progress is 
 made by the nations of Asia that have no sea coast. There it is that 
 bigotry, superstition and despotism hold the people in an iron bondage, 
 and that custom and caste keep them rooted to old and effete institu- 
 tions, while the rest of the world outstrips them in intelligence, educa- 
 tion, and all the grand ideas of an enlightened and advancing civiliza- 
 tion. Were there no sea there could be no intercourse between remote 
 nations, no healthful interchange of ideas, and hence no improvements 
 by adopting customs and institutions which other people have found 
 benificent and wise. The spirit of commerce is the spirit of growth, 
 and of progress in invention, art and social sciences. It is the spirit of 
 peace, of friendship and fraternity. It binds the nations together in 
 the bonds of unity, good will and common interests. It breaks down 
 international prejudices. It prejiares tlie way for the entrance of light 
 and knowledge and truth, Hence, while the ocean separates, it unites; 
 while it isolates nations, it brings them together; while it leaves each 
 distinct nationality free to work out its own destiny, it enables each to 
 impart to others its influence and to assist them in the ijrogress of our 
 common humanity in what may elevate and enlarge and bless. All this 
 is a part of God's great purpose, and he who built the earth nuide the 
 sea also, and gathered its mighty waters together that they might serve 
 as his agents, and carry forward his wise and benificent plans towards 
 the great family of man. 
 
 V. And this leads us to notice, as a last and most important consid- 
 eration, that the sea is set before us in the word of God as intimately 
 associated with the final subjection of the world to Christ. It is won- 
 derful how much the ocean is introduced into the prophecies as con- 
 nected with the conversion of the nations and the bringing in of the 
 latter day glory. Even the histories of the church which are given in 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 335 
 
 the Old Testciment and tlie New, seem to point to the uses wliicli will 
 be made of the sea when the glory of the Lord shall cover the earth. 
 AVhen God was bringing forth his people from the iron bondage of 
 Egypt he used the sea as the instrument of salvation to his church, 
 and of vengeance upon his enemies. When Christ was selecting his 
 apostles, he found his most earnest and faithful servants by the sea, and 
 called them from toils and dangers to be fishers of men. And then if 
 we look over the prophecies we shall find the sea associated with some 
 most glorious triumphs of the Gospel. When the Psalmist would set 
 forth the glories of Christ and of the church which he would adorn 
 and beautify as a bride with his own grace and love, he numbers among 
 those who shouln appear as guests tlie very symbol of commercial power 
 and influence, saying, " the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift." 
 In the age of Solomon Tyre was the seat and centre of all the traffic 
 that was done by the sea. Its situation was such as to command the 
 trade of the world. Its navies were built out of the forests of Lebanon. 
 Its sails and cordage came from Eg}q3t. Into its capacious harbor 
 floated the wealth of all nations. Its riches came from the sea, and 
 they were used when needed for the advancement and glory of the 
 church and her great head. When a temple was to be built at Jerusa- 
 lem the artists and architects and materials for the work were largely 
 sent from Tyre. And looking forward to the more glorious scenes that 
 were yet to dawn upon the church the Psalmist seemed to see what 
 commerce would do for its advancement, and he Avrote of it as ''the 
 daughter of Tyre. " And in the same line of prophetic thought Moses 
 catches a view of the coming glories of Christ's kingdom as he gives his 
 parting blessing to the people whom he had lead out of Egypt, and says 
 of Zebulon that he should be a haven for ships. " They shall call the 
 people into the mountain, there shall they offer sacrifices of righteous- 
 ness, for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas and of the treas- 
 ures hid in the sand." So also Isaiah again and again opens to us the 
 part which the sea shall take in the future triumphs of Messiah's king- 
 dom, associating the conversion of its abundance with the bringing of 
 the forces of the Gentiles, and with the growth and glory and enlarge- 
 ment of the church. And, again, taking up the promises of God, he 
 re-echoes his Avords to his people, " Surely the isles shall wait for me, 
 and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring my sons from far, their silver 
 and their gold with them." 
 
 No one can mistake the import of such passages in which the Scrip- 
 tures abound. And it is when we look at the ocean as associated in the 
 sublime purposes of God, with his own glory, and the conversion of the 
 world to him, that we may fully comprehend the meaning of the words, 
 
336 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 '' The sea is His and He made it." By it He not only separates tlie na- 
 tions into families, leaving them to work uninteruptedly the great prob- 
 lem of civilization and social life, bnt he binds them together in a com- 
 mon brotherhood, bringing them year by year into closer mntnal rela- 
 tions, breaking down the prejudices and barriers that separate them. 
 And more than this, he will use the sea as the means of carrying to all 
 nations the Gospel and its ordinances, and will call in the men of the 
 sea to be his fearless, earnest and devoted laborers for the spread of the 
 truth and the ui^building of his kingdom. The men who go down to 
 the sea in ships are the living links that bind the nations of the world 
 together. They visit every shore and clime, they are intimate with all 
 the people of the earth that live near the sea; they are brave and fear- 
 less. They are undergoing severe toil and hazard for the comfort and 
 happiness of others, and are thus self-sacrificing, hardy and generous. 
 And when commerce shall bestow on the church the gift of her toiling 
 millions, all consecrated to Christ, who can estimate the results? Even 
 now we have illustrations of what will be accomplished when the abun- 
 dance of the sea shall be converted to God, and the energy, zeal and 
 fearlessness of the sailor shall all be devoted to Christ and the spread of 
 his Gospel. The history of the church in these later years has been 
 fruitful in evidence of what the sailor can do when his heart is truly 
 given to God. He carries with him into his new life and service all the 
 qualities which mark him as a man. He never thinks of shrinking 
 from the duties which his new captain lays upon him. He never is 
 ashamed of his profession, or afraid to show his colors. There is no 
 mistaking the service in which he is engaged. There is no concealment 
 of the truth he believes. 
 
 And with the considerations we have presented there is set before us, 
 as one of the great and important features of the work of the church in 
 preaching the gospel to every creature, the necessity of special care and 
 attention to the spiritual wants of the sailor. If the sea belongs to 
 God, all that dwell upon it are his, and ought to be consecrated to his 
 service. And yet it would seem as if the church and the world alike 
 had been slow to recognize God's proprietorship in the ocean. Com- 
 merce has used it as her great highway, and seemingly never thought 
 of consecrating her gifts to God and his church. Nations have used it 
 as their bulwark and defense, or have achieved upon its waters brilliant 
 victories over their enemies without a thought of him who rules the 
 ways and whose ways are on the sea. Nay, it would seem as if for ages 
 the great enemy of God and man, the ruler of the darkness of this 
 world, had claimed as his own the sea and all that do business upon it. 
 When we think how tho pirate-ship has swept over its waters, defiantly 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FKIEND. 337 
 
 flinging out its bloody banner to the breeze, and how the slave-ship has 
 darkened its waters while the groans of its hapless victims have mingled 
 with the sighing of the winds and the waves; when we recall the vice 
 and crime, the wrong and outrage, the brutal passions, the injustice 
 and fraud and debauchery which have marked the history of commercial 
 and naval life, it would seem as if Satan had claimed the sea as his own, 
 and bound its toilers in his chains and dragged them into his service. 
 The sailor has been subjected to hardships and often to cruelties at sea, 
 and upon the shore has been tempted and deceived and robbed. Com- 
 merce has used him for her purposes, and never cared what has become 
 of him after he has accomplished her ends. The nations have used him 
 for their protection in war and their services in peace, and never seemed 
 to notice his wants or his wrongs. The church has appeared almost to 
 have passed him by in her work of preaching the Gospel to every crea- 
 ture, and to have forgotten his claims to her attention. Nay, while 
 pressing into her service almost all classes of men whom she has used 
 in her duties, it seemed never to have entered her thoughts that the 
 sailor might be successfully employed as her agent in spreading the 
 Gospel over the world. But a little more than fifty years have passed 
 since any united and organized effort was made for seamen as a class. 
 An occasional sermon at the death of some sea captain, or an address 
 to sailors by some pastor of a church in a sea port town, was all that 
 was done for their conversion, was all the recognition made of GocVs 
 projjr-ietorshijj in the sea. 
 
 In a volume of pamphlets in my library is a sermon preached in 1785 
 on the death of Capt. Pearson, in the Presbyterian church at Newbury- 
 port, and published at the request of the Marine Society there. In the 
 same volume is a sermon "preached at Falmouth, Feb., 1811, in the 
 meeting erected by seamen near the water." The subject is the Sea- 
 man's Farewell, and its text is from Acts 21: 5, "And we kneeled 
 down on the shore and prayed, and when we had taken our leave one 
 of another we took ship." The sermon seems to have been an address 
 to a company of seamen in Maine just before their departure for a 
 voyage. 
 
 In the year 1813 there appeared in the ReUgious Intelligencer the 
 *' First Annual Eeport of the Boston Society for the Eeligious and Moral 
 Improvement of Seamen." The object of this association was pro- 
 posed to be accomplished: 
 
 1. By the distribution of religious tracts among seamen. 
 
 2. The establishment of regular divine service on board of merchant 
 ships. 
 
338 THE SAILOKS' MAGAZINE 
 
 In 1814, a Christian gentlemen of London, while visiting the captain 
 of the ship Fn'cndsJtip, was induced to invite the crew into the cabin 
 and hold with them a brief religious service. This led to the estab- 
 lishment of similar exercises on other vessels, to which eventually 
 the crews of neighboring shijis were invited, the signal being a lantern 
 hoisted to the main top gallant mast-head at night; by day, a blue Hag 
 with the word "Bethel" in the centre. This work continued with in- 
 creasing interest, and resulted in great spiritual blessing to many souls. 
 In the year 1818, a simultaneous movement was made both in England 
 and America in behalf of seamen, which resulted in the establishment 
 of iiernuinent preachiug i^laces for them in Dublin, Liverpool, New 
 York, and other iirominent sea ports. Attention was called to the 
 subject by eloquent sermons and earnest appeals througli the press. 
 
 In 1826 the Ameuicax Seamex's Friexd Society was organized, and 
 its work has been steadily increasing during the half century of its ex- 
 istence. And with the advance which it has made has come a fuller, 
 deeper impression of tlie importance of its work, not simply in securing 
 the personal salvation of the sailor, but in equipping him for the part 
 he must perform in the evangelizing of the world. In the light of what 
 has already been accomplished, the meaning of those prophecies which 
 relate to the sea and its abundance begins to be more clearly and fully 
 apprehended. The work of the Society, Avhich is necessarily of a pe- 
 culiar and special character, is every year becoming more hopeful. It 
 seeks to meet the sailor at home and abroad with Christian influences. 
 It provides for him Chaplains and Missionaries. It opens for him 
 Bethels and Homes where he may be surrounded by friends that care 
 for him, where his hard earned Avages may be kept for his future wants, 
 or be sent to his family for their comfort and support, where he may 
 be lead to the house of God and the ijlace of prayer. The Society fol- 
 lows him upon the sea with its well-selected libraries, by which he may 
 be instructed and amused and cheered in his hours of leisure. It seeks 
 to awaken a proper interest and care for him on the part of ship owners 
 and merchants, and to secure substantial justice for him in the enact- 
 ment of wise and equitable laws for his protection. 
 
 Upon its labors God's blessing has rested. Every year is giving fresh 
 evidence of its power for good among seamen, and is bringing back to 
 the church ripened sheaves from the seed which it has sown. It re- 
 calls the name of such a noble Christian as the youthful Earl of Aber- 
 deen, who, leaAing for a while his ancestral home and hiding his honors 
 under the simple name of George Osborn, exerted an influence among 
 the seamen with wnom he associated that was pregnant with Cliristian 
 excellence and goodness, and who but for his untimelv and sudden 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FKIEND. 339 
 
 death would liavc returned to give intelligent and earnest utterance to 
 his views of the sufferings and wants of the sailor, and of the legislation 
 which was needed in his behalf. It points to such men as Hudson and 
 Foote and Stewart, of our own navy, as examples of the oiferings which 
 the sea has made to the church.- It tells with gratitude of the work 
 which the Missionaries and Chaplains are doing in Sweden, in Den- 
 mark, in South America, at Honolulu, in China, and elsewhere, and 
 asks the cliurch to aid in the continuance and enlargement of its efEorts 
 for the temporal and spiritual good of the sailor. 
 
 It claims our prayers and aid as a grand missionary agency, whose 
 success will help on the final evangelization of the world. It seeks to 
 make every ship a Bethel, and every sailor a disciple of him who " once 
 pressed a sailor's pillow," and who chose from the hardy fishermen of 
 Galilee his noblest and most earnest and successful apostles. 
 
 SUNDAY OBSEEVANCE AND SUNDAY LABOR ON 
 
 SHIPBOARD. 
 
 Any reliable contribution to our knowledge of facts in connection 
 with this topic, must Ije a valuable stej) in the reformation of what has 
 long been an abuse connected with the Marine service of our own and 
 of other nations. In recent successive numl^ers of the London Day of 
 Rest, a Sunday journal, we have noted a series of articles by Comman- 
 der AYiLLiAM Dawsox, of the English Navy, which embody much in- 
 formation as to the present conditions of Sabbath observance and dese- 
 cration in English harbors and upon English vessels, and we condense 
 them for our readers in the hope of contributing something to such a 
 reform. Ed. Mag. 
 
 The facts furnished exhibit the pare their crews for these seven 
 
 wisdom of recognizing a distinc- hours of bodily rest, by the use- 
 
 tion between the present actual less preliminary of six hours hard 
 
 oljservancc of the Sabbath upon and unnecessary morning labor. 
 English Naval vessels and in the It is ' the custom of the service ' 
 
 English Mercantile service. The to give sixteen hours toil, on Sat- 
 
 first English ''Article of War" urdays, to cleansing a ship-of-war 
 
 provides that in the Queen's ser- from truck to kelson, and when 
 
 vice, "Divine service be solemnly, the crew 'turn in' at 9 j). m., the 
 
 orderly, and reverently performed, vessel is 'as clean as a new pin.' 
 
 and the Lord's Day observed, ac- But under 'the old school,' that 
 
 cording to law." Formerly, and staunch conservator of every evil 
 
 in practice, the Queen's officers, habit, the idea prevailed, that 
 
 on shipboard, limited the Lord's whilst the crew slept ' the new pin 
 
 Day to the hours between 10 a. m. got rusty,' and, accordingly, at 4 
 
 and 5 p. m. , and took care to pre- o'clock on Sunday morning, ' all 
 
340 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 hands ' were ' turned up ' to sluice 
 the decks and their appurtenances 
 with streams of salt water and 
 streamers of swab tails. To undo 
 this gratuitous mischief, a most 
 worrying system of polishing fol- 
 lowed, which most sane men would 
 think an ill-preparation of temper 
 for the ' solemn, orderly, and rev- 
 erent performance of Divine Ser- 
 •vice.' So that, after all, it was a 
 very small mercy, the seven hours 
 rest, which gave so much of con- 
 tentment and happiness to the 
 Queen's seamen. 
 
 It was only in 1860 that the neck 
 of this inane ' custom of the ser- 
 "vice' was broken, and that by a 
 most stern and able disciplinarian, 
 Avho then held the chief command 
 in the Mediterranean Fleet. His 
 ships Avere, by common consent, 
 regarded as the cleanest and best 
 ordered fleet in the whole of the 
 Royal Navy. Yet he ordered, and 
 took care to enforce, a cessation of 
 this useless Sunday morning worry, 
 whilst putting a stoj:) also to the 
 customary Sunday evening exer- 
 cises, &c. It required, however, 
 all his stronglianded authority to 
 secure a compliance, in all the ves- 
 sels under his command, with the 
 dictates of common sense. As Sir 
 William Martin's order (all honor 
 to the name) gave the crews, when 
 in harbor, two hours extra sleep on 
 Sunday morning, and a whole day 
 of rest, instead of seven hours, 
 the efficiency, contentment, and 
 hapi^iness of that fleet were greatly 
 enhanced. 
 
 Another annoyance to the sailors 
 of the Ro3^al Navy, and hindrance 
 to the observance of the Sabbath 
 has prevailed, of late years, in the 
 practice of opening Her Majesty's 
 vessels, at home, to sight-seers, 
 after noon, on Sundays. Tliis 
 nuisance is very considerablo to all 
 on board, interfering with all at- 
 
 tempts at religions service and la- 
 bor among the seamen, and pro- 
 ducing among them, wide-spread 
 discontent and ill nature, gi'\"ing 
 rise to a large increase of minor 
 offenses on their part, and it is 
 much to be hoped that this abuse 
 may soon become a thing of the 
 past. The general conclusion as 
 to the English Navy is that in 
 every one of its vessels, though 
 two-thirds of them do not carry 
 Chaplains, united daily prayers are 
 offered, while in most of them some 
 of the crews are to be found kneel- 
 ing in individual prayer, night and 
 morning. 
 
 Turning now, to the English 
 Mercantile Marine, and asking for 
 the facts concerniug the subject in 
 hand, on vessels at sea. Comman- 
 der Dawsox declares that the Re- 
 port of the Missions to Seamen 
 Society (English) contains some 
 very deplorable statistics as to the 
 prayerless condition of a large sec- 
 tion of the merchant shipping. 
 It is hardly credible, he says, — we 
 sincerely hope it is untrue, but 
 such is the statement — that in only 
 one ship in every 666 which leaves 
 the port of Suuderland, is the 
 Lord's Day kept holy at sea by as- 
 sembling the crew for Divine wor- 
 ship. A hardly better state of 
 things is reported of the shipping 
 in the port of Hull. In the Downs, 
 in one vessel in every 132 was the 
 Fourth Commandment so observed. 
 At Poole, one ship in 35 held Sun- 
 day service at sea. In Falmouth 
 Roads, in one ship in 134 was pub- 
 lic worship regularly conducted. 
 In Swansea, the proportion is one 
 vessel in 43; whilst in Bristol the 
 ratio is as deplorable as Siinder- 
 land, viz., one vessel in every 647. 
 
 If these statistics be correct, one 
 may well infer tliat the condition 
 of "Sabbath observance on English 
 merchant vessels when in port, is 
 
' ^lAlieiiii 
 
 Vol. 48. 
 
 NOVEIVIBER, 1876. 
 
 No. 11. 
 
 THE AKK AND ITS LESSONS, 
 A SEEMON 
 
 BY EEV. J. E. EOCKAVELL, D. D., 
 
 Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Edgewater, Staten Island, N. Y. 
 
 Heb. 11: 7. — " By faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet, 
 moved with fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his house: by the which he con- 
 demned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by Faith." 
 
 The Bible is the oldest book in the world. Its histories carry us back 
 to the dawn of creation, and contain records which, though brief and 
 condensed, supply us with all that we know of man for a period of 
 more than two thousand years. While its chief aim is to teach us what 
 we are to believe concerning God, and what duty he requires of us, yet 
 it has notices of the progress of our race, of the dawn of science and 
 art, of the social and political changes which have marked the progress 
 of man, and of the manners and customs of the nations which have 
 had the nearest relations to the Church of God, and the people through 
 whom the blessings of redemption were introduced to the world. 
 
 In that book, we find frequent mention of the sea, and notices of 
 ships and sailors, Avhich show that early in the history of our race, 
 navigation had come to be an important means of communication be- 
 tween the nations of the earth. It would be strange if even before 
 the flood, men had not found some sort of vessels necessary for the 
 purposes of commerce and of travel — and the building of so large a 
 structure as the ark would seem to indicate, that when Noah received 
 the command to prepare it, for the saving of liimself and his house, he 
 found mechanics sufficiently familiar with shipbuilding, to execute all 
 the plans which he received directly from God himself. Yet, although 
 mention is made of seas and rivers in the opening chapters of the 
 Bible, we find no notice of any vessel until we reach the history of 
 Noah and the flood. The Ark was not in the usual sense a ship, having 
 
322 THE SAILOKS' MAGAZINE 
 
 neither mast nor rudder, and being designed simply to float above the 
 waters which were to prevail over all the earth. Yet it deserves espec- 
 ial mention as being the first vessel of which any notice is made in 
 history — and of which traditions are found among almost every nation 
 and people. 
 
 I. It is a significant fact that it was constructed after a model which 
 God himself fur nislied , and after plans which he distinctly specified. 
 He who built all things, was the designer of this vast structure — the 
 drawings of which he gave to Noah, with special directions as to the 
 materials of which it should be built, and the manner in which it should 
 be arranged. We find a statement of all these details in the same book 
 to which we are indebted for the only reliable history of our race for a 
 period of more than two thousand years. The Ark was built of Goph- 
 er or Cypress wood — a light and durable timber, which, in later years, 
 was largely used by the Phoenicians in the construction of their ships, 
 and afterwards by Alexander the Great, for the navies which he used 
 in his conquest of the world. Bitumen, or pitch, as it is called, was 
 employed to caulk or close up the seams, both within and without, and 
 so to make it water-tight. Its dimensions, if we may take the cubit at 
 18 inches, were as follows: 
 
 Length, 450 feet, or 300 cubits. 
 
 Breadth, 75 feet, or 50 cubits. 
 
 Height, 45 feet, or 30 cubits. 
 
 This would give a ground surface of 33,750 feet and a cubical meas- 
 ure of 1,518,750 feet. If the cubit be taken at 21 inches, the dimen- 
 sions would be one-sixth greater, and the carrying capacity of the ark 
 proportionately increased. 
 
 In its interior arrangements there were a number of compartments, 
 in three tiers or stories, suitable for the stowage not only of the family 
 of Noah (eight persons in all), but of the beasts and birds both clean 
 and unclean, who were to be housed in the ark, and for the food neces- 
 sary to keep them alive. The whole was to be lighted by a window or 
 transparency in the top, while an opening or port was to be left in the 
 side, by which entrance was to be had to the Ark, and which the hand 
 of God himself was to shut when all were safe within. It is a 
 curious fact that these proportions of this vast structure have been 
 found by actual experiment to be the most perfect for the purposes for 
 which the Ark was built. In the year 1609, Peter Janson, a Dutch 
 Merchant, built, at Hoorn, in Holland, a ship 120 feet long by 20 feet 
 wide and 12 feet deep. And, though his vessel was not remarkable for 
 her sailing qualities, it had a capacity for freightage one-third more 
 than other ships — while requiring no more hands to work it. 
 
 II. Another fact that distinguishes the ark is, that it was built for 
 the interest and for the salvation of the Church. It was constructed 
 under divine guidance to keep alive the family which of all others God 
 had found righteous, which was to be the germ of his church as well 
 as the family by which the earth was to be re-peopled when its old 
 population should have been swept away. For a whole year the Ark 
 bore within its ample enclosure the Church of God. Noah had been a 
 preacher of righteousness to his generation for an hundred and twenty 
 years during which the Ark had been preparing. His example as well 
 as his precept had warned men that God hated sin and loved righteous- 
 
AND SEA.MEN'S FRIEND. 323 
 
 ucss. His works showed him to be thoroughly in earnest. No one 
 oould doubt that he believed what he preached. Men may have laughed 
 at what they called Noah's folly. They may have called him crazy and 
 mad. Even his workmen may have made him their jest — while receiv- 
 ing from him their daily wages — and as they met together at the close 
 of the day, have been merry at his expense. Children and youth may 
 have shouted out their ridicule as they asked amid mirth and laughter, 
 ' when he expected his craft to set sail.' Old men shook their heads 
 and said ' surely our neighbor has lost his senses to spend time and 
 money on such a useless structure as that.' It is possible the ark may 
 not have been built by any stream large enough to float it — but on some 
 hill or plain far away from the great thoroughfares of commerce. Yet 
 Avhen all was finished. He who had directed its building launched it for 
 its long and lonely voyage as never ship was launched Ijefore. When 
 the last warning had been uttered, and the work completed, Noah heard 
 the command 'Come, thou and all thy house into the Ark,' Crowds 
 may have gathered to see the entrance of the beasts and birds, and 
 then of the family of Noah into the ark. Old sailors may have won- 
 dered how he exjiected to float, or how to weather the storm, if his 
 ship should ever be launched, or how to expect to reach port without 
 sail, or mast, or rudder. 
 
 Crowds of young men returning from scenes of festivity or crime, 
 may have looked up as they jiassed by the Ark and broke out into peals 
 of laughter when they heard that Noah and his family had entered 
 that huge craft, and were awaiting the coming flood. The great tides 
 of business ebbed and flowed without a pause. Men bought and sold, 
 and gave themselves up to riot and crime, and held high carnival 
 despite the warnings of that just and good man. But the day came 
 when God's mercy Avas exhausted. Seven days passed after the Ark 
 had been closed by unseen hands. 
 
 The sun rose angry and red, and was soon darkened by thick and 
 ominous clouds. Then came the rain, and the lightning, and the tem- 
 pest. Hours and days passed with no abatement of the awful storm. 
 The windows of heaven were opened, and the fountains of the great 
 deep were broken up. Mothers gathered in their children as they saw 
 the torrents sweeping by. Men talked of the great rain as something 
 unheard of in all the annals of the world. Fathers began to move 
 their households to higher elevations where they might find security from 
 the dreadful inundation. The swollen rivers at length overflowed the 
 plains. Hamlets, and villages, and cities disappeared. The hills were 
 covered with crowds who had ascended thither for safety, and who, 
 from their summits that rose like lonely islands in mid- ocean, looked 
 out with terror u[)on the mighty and surging waters that encircled 
 them. Higher and higher rose that vast sea that was soon to wrap 
 the earth in a funereal shroud. The work of ruin still went on, and 
 the last family were looking out witli terror upon the scene of desola- 
 tion, and saw the Ark floating by over the Avreck of a drowned world — 
 and then sank beneath the rising waters, the last of the multitude that 
 had filled the earth with violence. There upon that lonely and shore- 
 less sea, the family of Noah were floating in safety, protected and guided 
 by him Avhom they had obeyed, and who woiild, in liis own time, bring 
 them forth to re-people the eartli. In forty days the Ark floated, and 
 
324 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 for a hundred and fifty days more, the water prevailed, until every living 
 thing perished, and all traces of the old earth's crimes were swept 
 away. Days and months passed on, and still that strange craft rocked 
 upon the billows of the ocean, until the waters subsided, and the Ark 
 rested upon Ararat, and God remembered Noah and brought him out 
 with his family at the end of the year, and sent him forth to replenish 
 the earth. Looking upward the patriarch saw the bow in the clouds 
 as the seal of God's covenant never again in like manner to destroy the 
 earth, and offered to him sacrifices for the mercy that had saved him 
 and his house, and the Providence that had guarded them in their long 
 and strange voyage, over a fathomless ocean that rolled above a drowned 
 world. 
 
 The history of this wonderful event has found a place amid the tra- 
 ditions of almost all nations. The Chaldeans, the Phoenicians, the 
 Persians, Indians and Chinese, all have corrupted versions of the story 
 which is found simply and fully narrated in the word of God. But the 
 most remarkable attestation to the truth of the sacred record has lately 
 been found amid the stones uoav placed in the British Museum, which 
 were once part of the palace of the King of Erecli, who reigned about 
 the year 660 B. C. It claims to be the story of the flood as told by 
 Noah himself, Avho is said to have obtained immortality. He relates 
 how he was directed to build a great ship, and describes his method of 
 building it, and how, when built, ' I caused to go up into the ship 
 all my male and female servants, the beasts of the field, the animals of 
 the field, and the sons of the army.' He speaks also of the coming of 
 the tempest which destroyed all life from the face of the earth, the 
 calming of the storm, the reappearance of the mountains, and the rest- 
 ing of the ship upon the top of them, the sending forth of the raven 
 and the dove, and the final disembarkation, and building of an altar of 
 sacrifice. Thus, in these later ages of the world, when scepticism is 
 throwing its doubts and sneers at the simj^lest records of God's word, 
 these attestations to their truth come to us from voiceless and silent 
 witnesses which have been buried from the sight of men for more than 
 two thousand years, and if thus, the history of this event is proved 
 true, we may receive the lessons which it is designed to teach us, and 
 while we learn the abhorrence with which God regards sin, flee for 
 refuge to the hope that is set before us in the gospel, to the Savior of 
 the world in whom alone we may have life. 
 
 III. And as this first shij) of which history makes any mention was 
 built under the direction of divine wisdom in the interests of the 
 chiarch, may not the church learn a lesson therefrom of die uses to 
 which commerce shall be put, when the abundance of the sea shall be 
 converted to God, and when every ship shall become a Bethel in which 
 all whom it bears over the waters of the sea shall be the servants of 
 Him who hath loved them and given himself for them. In the light 
 of the histories and promises of the word of God, tlie Ark appears as a 
 type of the part which commerce is yet to bear in the extension and 
 triumphs of the kingdom of him who is the King of Kings, and whose 
 is the sea, for He made it. 
 
 1st. The prophecies of the Old Testament are full of descriptions 
 which associate commerce with the final subjugation of the Avorld to 
 Christ. Some of tlic most beautiful fis-ures whicli thev use are drawn 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 325 
 
 from the sea, and appear to have been presented to the eyes of those 
 who wrote, as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, in immediate and 
 intimate associations with the growth and prosperity of the church. 
 Amid the glories of the future which Moses saw when addressing to his 
 people his parting words, was the part which Zebulon and Issachar 
 were to bear in the establishment of religious institutions. Living as 
 they were, by the most important seaport of the country, it was said of 
 them, 'They shall call the people unto the mountains; there they shall 
 offer sacrifices of righteousness, for they shall suck of the abundance 
 of the seas, and of the treasures hid in the sand.' 
 
 And as we turn from this early hint of the influence which commerce 
 was to exercise in spreading abroad the knowledge of the true religion, 
 we find especially, amid the prophecies of Isaiah, the clearest descrip- 
 tions of the us.es w'hicli would be made of the sea in opening to the 
 nations the blessings and glory of the gospel. No man can read the 
 glowing words of this prophet without feeling that his attention was 
 often arrested by the ships which were to be made tributary to the 
 kingdom of Christ. He saw the abundance of the sea converted to 
 God, and with it also the forces of the Gentiles. He beheld the ships 
 of Tarshish engaged in bringing the sons of the church with all their 
 treasures, back to the home from which they had been exiled. He saw 
 the land of shadowing wings from which messengers Avere going, in 
 swift ships, to carry tidings tliat related to the extension and triumph 
 of the cause of Christ. And standing as it were upon the shores of 
 some mighty ocean on which were flocking the scattered tribes of God's 
 redeemed ones, he asked with wonder, — who are these that fly as a cloud 
 and as doves to their windows? 
 
 2nd. And so in all the history of the church, the hint which seemed 
 to have been first drawn from the Ark was perpetually followed in the 
 Providence of God toward his people. In the days of Solomon, the 
 Avealth of Israel was wonderfully augmented by the navies he sent forth, 
 which brought back from every land and clime the gold and treas- 
 ures that enriched the people whom God had chosen as the depositories 
 of his word and ordinances. It was from the sea of Galilee that 
 Christ selected his noblest apostles, and its ships often bore him back- 
 ward and forward in his missions of grace and mercy. It was by the 
 ships of the Mediterranean that Paul was carried to and fro in his great 
 work as the Apostle to the Gentiles, and was borne at length to Italy 
 that he might preach the gospel as a prisoner to them who were in 
 Rome. And so has the ship and the sailor been constantly associated 
 with the church, in all its grandest interests and work. And the Ark 
 has thus become a type of the part which commerce is to bear in the 
 extension and triumphs of the kingdom of God. And as the first ship 
 of which we have any knowledge bore within it a preacher of righteous- 
 ness to that generation, so many a ship is now bearing not only mes- 
 sengers of the gospel to the nations that are sitting in darkness, but 
 earnest and faithful men who from the very nature of their occupation 
 are prompt and fearless, and who will not hesitate, whenever duty calls, 
 to stand up for the truth, and to bear aloft the standard of their Sa- 
 vior and Captain. 
 
 3rd. And may not the church learn in all these lessons of God's 
 word and providence, her duty to make use of commerce as her agent, if 
 
320 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 not for her salvarion and i)erpetuity, for her enhirgemeut and conquest, 
 in subduing the world to Christ. Even now she may hear the echo 
 of the words which Xoah heard, — build thou an ark of Gopher wood, 
 and may behold in that ancient ship which bore for a whole year the 
 fortunes of the church — the symbol of commerce in its relations to the 
 people of God and the kingdom of Christ. 
 
 4th. The Ark was the connecting link between the old world and the 
 new. It bore within its ample enclositre. the fortunes of our race. Its 
 freight was the rarest and strangest that any ship ever carded over the 
 waters. But the most important of all that vast collection was the 
 household of Xoah, in whom all the destinies of the human race were 
 centered. 
 
 There were God's people, for whose preservation all these arrange- 
 ments had been made, there was the preacher of righteousness, who was 
 to re-establish on the earth the institutions and ordinances of religion, 
 and whose first act when he again walked forth upon the dryland, 
 should be to offer a solemn sacrifice to God. And so that Ark seems to 
 be reading to the church and to the world lessons of mighty import as 
 to svhat will be the ultimate mission of commerce in advancing the in- 
 terests of the church and aiding the triumphs of the Prince of Peace. 
 We need not ask of prophecy alone what she will do for the kingdom 
 of Christ. History opens to us, already, wondrous rcA-elations of the 
 uses which are to be made, of her, for the enlargement and extension of 
 the church of God. 
 
 It is commerce that has opened up to the church new fields for her 
 laborers, and that has helped her in her work of evangelization. It is 
 commerce that has preceded the missionary, and prepared his way be- 
 fore him. She opened to the church the rich and populous countries 
 of Southern Asia, sending her adventurous and hardy sailors thither, 
 by the way of the Cape of Good Hope, and bringing the teeming mil- 
 lions of China, and India, and Japan, into contact, first with civilization, 
 and then with the gospel. She boldly sailed westward upon the un- 
 known waters of the stormy Atlantic, until a new world burst upon 
 the astonished gaze of the nations, and America was opened to the 
 church, as the theatre of some of its grandest movements for the con- 
 version of the world to God. 
 
 5th. And besides this obvious result of commercial enterprise, we 
 may notice what she is doing to bind the nations in a common brother- 
 hood, and so to prepare the way for the Gospel, amid people who may 
 yet be ignorant of its truths. We cannot pass through the busy streets 
 of any great commercial centre without meeting the representatives of 
 all nationalities. They come hither for the purposes of business or 
 pleasure and they return to their homes with new impressions of what 
 Christianity is, and what it can do for the highest interest of society. 
 And so, too, in all the marts of Asia, Africa, Europe and the islands of 
 the sea may be found the representatives of Christian nations, ming- 
 ling with the people of China and India, Japan, Egypt, and sharing 
 with them the influences of a common Christianity. 
 
 Gth. And with this fact we notice also tbat commerce has given sub- 
 stantial aid in carrying to the nations of the earth the influences and 
 appliances of the Gospel. Over all her vast highways she holds an un- 
 disputed sway and none can pass but with her consent. Her serv- 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FKIEND. 3;^: 
 
 ants are the masters of the sea, and her swift ships bear the i^roducts of 
 every clime and nation. They bore the first missionaries of the cross 
 from Palestine to Italy, and ever since, they have served tlie church, by 
 carrying her agents and instruments for the work of missions. 
 
 The Gospel follows in the track of commerce, and every new avenue 
 of trade is a new opening for the church in which to enter upon the 
 work of preaching the Gospel to every creature. 
 
 And more than this, commerce has already given to the church, fear- 
 less devoted and earnest men whose influence and labors have been of 
 substantial service in the spread of the truth amid the nations of the 
 earth. A hint concerning the folly of idolatry and the proper worship 
 of the true God which dropped from the lips of one of the sailors of 
 Capt. Cook, when he visited the islands of the Pacific, was remem- 
 bered by that people for years, and prepared the way for their cordial 
 recej^tion of the early missionaries from America. A converted sailor 
 has often become an earnest and faithful witness for the truth. A 
 Christian captain, with a few sailors in sympathy Avith him, has often 
 made his ship a Bethel whose influence has been felt in every port 
 which they have entered. 
 
 But time will not permit me to enlarge upon this theme. Enough 
 has been said to remind us of the obligations which the Christian world 
 is under to the sailor. We form a part of that vast field which Christ 
 opened before his disciples when he said, '^ Go preach my Gospel to 
 every creature."' The conversion of a sailor is the salvation of a soul 
 for which Christ laid down his life. Were the work to stop here, that 
 were enough to engage our noblest effort. Yet more than this is ac- 
 complished. An earnest, fearless, prompt, obedient, self-sacrificing 
 nuin is given to the church to help in its work of converting the world 
 to Christ. He will never be afraid or ashamed to show his colors, or to 
 declare his love for his Master. He never shrinks from duty or res- 
 ponsibility, and so becomes a useful and important aid in accomiDlish- 
 ing the mission of Christ's Church — as his agent for making known his 
 (rospel to every creature. It is for such reasons that the Amebic ax 
 Sbamex's Friexd Society claims the cooperation of all Christian de- 
 nominations, as being of like service to all, in this special work of caring 
 for the spiritual interests of sailors. Its simple effort is to provide for 
 tliem. Homes and Chaplains, and due attention to their general interest. 
 It gives them libraries which they can read in their hours of leisure 
 while at sea. It meets them when they arrive at port with an invita- 
 tion to make their home amid Christian influences, Avhere their hard 
 earned wages are securely transmitted to their friends and families, or 
 are kept from the miserable wretches who would rob them both of their 
 money and their soul. It brings them to the house of God, where 
 their own brethren of the sea are met for prayer and praise, and so 
 seeks to lead them to Christ and to secure their highest well being and 
 both for time and eternity. What has has thus been accomplished, 
 while it is a subject of devout gratitude to him who has used this 
 agency for the advancement of his kingdom, will bear a favorable com- 
 l)arison with all similar work for the upholding and extension of the 
 church of God. With singular economy in the machinery it has em- 
 ployed, it can look over the whole field of its labors and see everywhere 
 the happy results of its Half Cextury of effort in behalf of seamen. 
 
328 
 
 THE SAILOKS' MAGAZINE 
 
 More tluui o,000 Loan Libraries are afloat, reaching with their bcnefl- 
 ceut influence over a quarter of a million of seafaring men. 
 . Besides the establishment of Bethel churches in all important Am- 
 erican sea-ports, it has Chaplaincies in China andJapan and Sandwich 
 Islands, in Chili and Brazil, France, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Nor- 
 Avay and Sweden. Some of these Cha]ilains, like Dr. DA>roN, of Hono- 
 lulu, and the Scandinavian missionaries, are exerting a noble influence 
 upon the outlying population as well as ii])on sailors, and their labors have 
 been followed by signal sjiiritual blessings. Besides these agencies, Sail- 
 ors' Homes and Reading-Kooms have been established in many places, 
 and tracts and other religious reading have been gratuitously distributed 
 on shipboard. The results of this work can never be fully known, till 
 the issues of life are reviewed in the light of eternity. But as a means 
 of approximating to some just idea of what has been accomplished, it 
 may be stati-d that more than 800 cases of hopeful conversions at sea, 
 are distinctly traceable to the single agency of the Loan Libraries. 
 And may not the Society that thus cares for seamen ask of the Church 
 the means for continuing a work so fruitful in the past and so hopeful 
 for the future? It has literally the world for its field, and it asks of all 
 who love the Savior, and the souls of men, to aid it in its work of preach- 
 ing the Grospel to those that go down to the sea in ships, and throwing 
 around them influences that shall save them for Christ and his church, 
 and that shall so help to hasten on the day when the abundance of the 
 sea shall be converted to Cod, and the forces of the Gentiles come unto 
 him, — and. the knowledge of him shall fill the earth as the waters cover 
 the sea. 
 
 A Methodist Minister brought 
 to America several young Japanese 
 princes to be educated. One day 
 he sat down with them and fead to 
 them the passage of Scripture 
 which speaks about '' Christ sav- 
 ing to the uttermost." "Well 
 now friends," he said, ''What do 
 you think of it? Does it appear 
 to you possible to be thus saved?" 
 Eeflecting a moment one of them 
 said, " Why, I should think so, if 
 Jesus Christ is to do it." 
 
 Happiness is like manna; it 
 is to be gathered in grains, and 
 enjoyed every day. It will not 
 keep; it cannot be accumulated; 
 nor have we got to go out of our- 
 selves or into remote places to 
 gather it, since it has rained down 
 from heaven, at our very doors, or 
 rather within them. 
 
 One hundred years the mill has stood: 
 Oue hundreil years the dashing flood 
 Has turned the wheel with roaring sound. 
 Through foaming waters, round and round. 
 
 One hundred years : and overhead 
 The same broad roof of blue is spread; 
 And in the meadows, bright and green, 
 The miller's children still are seen. 
 
 And thus the world is still the same ; , 
 The sunset clouds are turned to flame; 
 And while we live, and when we die. 
 The lark still carols in the sky. 
 
 And others rise to fill our place ; 
 We sleep, and others run the race : 
 And earth beneath and skies above 
 Are still the same ; and God is love. 
 
 Give I as the morning that flows out of heaven; 
 Give ! as the waves when their channel is riven; 
 Give ! as the free air and sunshine are given— 
 Lavishly, thoughtfully, cheerfully give. 
 
 Not the waste tlrops of thy cup overflowing ; 
 Not the faint sparks of thy hearth ever glow ing; 
 Not a pale bud from thy full roses blowing— 
 But give, as He gives thee, who gave thee to 
 live ! 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 
 
 329 
 
 STAND BY THE SHIP. 
 
 " Do, grandmother, tell us about 
 the little drummer-boy whose mot- 
 to was ' Stand by the ship.' " 
 
 " Grandmother is not used to 
 telling children stories; but, if you 
 will be quiet, she Avill try." And 
 this is the story she told us: 
 
 '' During one of the fiercest bat- 
 tles fought in the late rebellion, 
 the colonel of a Micliigan regiment 
 noticed a very small boy acting as 
 drummer. The great coolness and 
 self-possession of the boy as dis- 
 jilayed during the engagement; his 
 habitual reserve, so singular in one 
 of his years; his orderly conduct 
 and his fond devotion to his drum 
 — his only companion (except a 
 few well-worn books, over which 
 he was often seen to pore) — in 
 which he took delight : this had 
 attracted notice, both from the 
 officers and the men. Col. B.'s 
 curiosity was aroused, and he de- 
 sired to know more of him. So 
 he ordered that the boy should be 
 sent to his tent. The little fel- 
 low came, his drum on his breast 
 and the sticks in his hands. He 
 paused before the Colonel and 
 made his best military salute. He 
 was a noble-looking boy, the sun- 
 burnt tint of his face in good keep- 
 ing Avith his dark, crisp curls; but 
 strangely out of keeping with the 
 rounded cheeks and dimpled chin 
 was the look of gravity and thought- 
 fulness, altogether at variance with 
 his years. He was a boy jn-ema- 
 turely taught the self-reliance of a 
 man. A strange thrill went through 
 Col. B.'s heart as the boy stood be- 
 fore him. 
 
 "Come forward, my boy, I wish 
 to talk to you;" the boy stepped 
 forward, showing no surprise un- 
 der the novel position he found 
 himself. ' I was very much pleased 
 with your conduct yesterday,' said 
 the Colonel, 'from the fact you 
 
 are so young and small for your 
 position.' 
 
 "Thank you, Colonel; I only 
 did my duty: I am big enough for 
 that, if I am small,' replied the 
 noble little fellow. 
 
 " Were you not very much fright- 
 ened when the battle commenced? ' 
 questioned Col. B. 
 
 "'I might have been if I had 
 let myself think about it; but I 
 kept my mind on my drum. I 
 went in to play for the men: it 
 was that I volunteered for. So I 
 said to myself, ' Don't trouble your- 
 self about what don't concern you, 
 Jack, but do your duty, and 'Stand 
 by the ship.'" 
 
 "'Why, that is sailors' talk,' 
 said the Colonel. 
 
 "'It's a very good saj'ing if it 
 is, sir,' said Jack. 
 
 '"I see you understand the 
 meaning of it. Let that rule guide 
 you tlirough life, and you will gain 
 the respect of all good men.' 
 
 '"Father Jack told me that, 
 when he taught me to say, ' Stand 
 by the ship.' " 
 
 " ' He was your father?' 
 
 " 'No, sir — I never had a fatl^er, 
 but he brought me up. ' 
 
 "'Strange,' said the Colonel, 
 musing ; ' how much I feel like 
 befriending this child. Tell me 
 your story. Jack.' 
 
 " ' I will tell it, sir, as near as I 
 can like Father Jack told it to me. 
 
 "' My mother sailed on a mer- 
 chant ship from France for Balti- 
 more, where my father was living. 
 A great storm arose; the ship was 
 driven on rocks, where she split, 
 and all hands had to take to the 
 boats. They gave themselves up 
 for lost; but at last a ship bound 
 for Liverpool took them up. They 
 had lost everything but the clothes 
 they had on; but the cajotain was 
 very kind to them: he gave them 
 
330 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINP: 
 
 clothes and some money. My 
 mother refused to remain at Liver- 
 pool, though she was quite sick, 
 for she wanted to get to this coun- 
 try so badly; so she took passage 
 in another merchant ship just 
 going to New York. She was the 
 only woman on board. She grew 
 worse soon after the ship sailed; 
 tlie sailors took care of her. Father 
 Jack was a sailor on this ship, and 
 he pitied her very much, and he 
 did all he could for her. But the 
 doctor said from the first she could 
 not live through it; he was right; 
 for she died when I was eight days 
 old. Nobody knew what to do 
 with me, — they all said I would 
 die — all but Father Jack; he asked 
 the doctor to give me to him. The 
 doctor said, let him try his hand, 
 if he has a mind to, — it's no use, 
 the little one will be sure to go 
 overboard after it's mother. The 
 doctor was wrong. I was brought 
 safe to New York. He tried to 
 find my father, but did not know 
 how to do it, for no one knew my 
 mother's name. He left me with 
 a family in New Y^ork when he 
 went to sea again; but he could 
 never find out anything about my 
 mSther, although he inquired in 
 Liverpool and elsewhere. The last 
 time he went to sea I was nine 
 years old, and he gave me a jaresent 
 on my birthday, the day before he 
 sailed. It was the last: he never 
 came back again: he died of ship 
 fever. He did a good part by me; 
 he had put me to a free school at 
 seven years of age, and always paid 
 my board in advance for a year. 
 So you see, sir, I had a fair "start 
 to help myself, which I did right 
 oif. I went errands for gentlemen, 
 and swept out offices and stores. 
 No one liked to begin with me, 
 for they all thought me too small, 
 but they soon saw I got along well 
 enough. I went to school just the 
 same. I did my jobs before nine 
 
 in the morning, and after school 
 let out I had plenty of time for 
 work and to learn my lessons. I 
 wouldn't give up my school: for 
 Father Jack told me to have all I 
 could, and some day I would find 
 my father, and lie must not find 
 me a poor ignorant boy. He said 
 I must be able to look him in the 
 face and say to him without false- 
 hood, ' Father, I may be poor and 
 rough, but I have always been an 
 honest boy and ' stood by the ship,' 
 so you needn't be ashamed of me.' 
 Sir, I could never forget those 
 words. ' — He dropped his cap, drum 
 and sticks: he bared his little arm 
 and showed the figure of a ship in 
 full sail, with this motto beneath 
 it, pricked into the skin: ' Stand 
 by the ship.' 
 
 " ' When I was twelve, I left 
 New York and came to Detroit 
 with a gentleman in the book bus- 
 iness. I was there two years when 
 the war broke out. One day, a 
 few months after the war broke 
 out, 1 was passing by a recruiting 
 office. I went in; I heard them 
 say they wanted a drummer. I 
 offered; they laughed and said I 
 was so little; but they brought me 
 a drum and I beat it for them. 
 They agreed to take me. So the 
 old stars and stripes was the ship 
 now for me to stand by.' 
 
 "The Colonel was silent; he 
 seemed in deei") thought. ' Now, 
 do you ever expect,' he said, ' to 
 find" your father? — you do not even 
 know his name.' 
 
 " ' I don't know, sir; but I am 
 sure I shall find him, somehow. 
 My father will be sure to know I 
 am the right boy when he does find 
 me, for I have sometliing to show 
 him that was my mother's;' and 
 he drew forth a little canvas bag, 
 sewed tightly all around and sus- 
 pended from his neck by a string. 
 'In this,' he said, 'is a pretty 
 bracelet that my mother always 
 
AXl) SEAMEN'S FKIEXD. 
 
 ;331 
 
 wore on her una. Father Jack 
 took it off after she died, to keep 
 it for me. He said I must never 
 open it until I found m)' father, 
 and that I must Avear it so around 
 my neck, that it might be safe.' 
 
 "'A bracelet, did you say?' ex- 
 claimed the Colonel; ' let me have 
 it, — I must see it at once I ' 
 
 •' ' With both his little hands 
 clasped around it, the little boy 
 stood looking into Col, B.'s face; 
 tlien, slipiDing the string from over 
 his head, he silently placed it in 
 his hand. To rip ojien the canvas 
 was buc the work of a moment. 
 
 " ' I think I know this bracelet,' 
 stammered Col. B, ; if it be as I 
 hope and believe, within the locket 
 Ave Avill find two names — Wilhel- 
 mina and Carleton, date — May 
 26th, 1849.' 
 
 "There Avere the names, as he 
 said. Col. B. clasped the boy to 
 his heart, saying, ' My son, my son.' 
 
 "I must noAv go back in my 
 story. In the first year of his 
 marriage. Col. B. and his lovely 
 young Avife sailed for Europe, ex- 
 pecting to remain several years in 
 southern Europe, on account of 
 the delicate health of his Avife. 
 He Avas engaged in merchandise in 
 the city of Baltimore. The sud- 
 den death of his business partner 
 compelled his return to America, 
 leaving his wife Avitli her mother 
 in Italy. Soon after he left, his 
 mother-in-law died. Mrs. B. then 
 made arrangements to return to 
 Baltimore at once, and took pass- 
 age on the ill-fated steamer which 
 was lost. A'ainly he made inqui- 
 ries: no tidings came of her. At 
 last he gave her up as lost; he al- 
 most lost his reason from grief and 
 doubt. Fourteen years had passed; 
 he did not know tliat God in his 
 mercy had sjiared to him a precious 
 link Avith the young life so lost and 
 mourned. Restless and almost 
 aimless, he removed to Michisfan. 
 
 When the war broke out, he Avas 
 among the first to join the army. 
 
 " There stood the boy, tears 
 streaming doAvn his cheeks. ' Fath- 
 er,' he said, 'you have found me 
 at last, just as Father Jack said. 
 You are a great gentleman, Avhile 
 I am only a jDOor drummer boy. 
 I have been an honest boy, and 
 tried my best to do what was right. 
 You won't be ashamed of me, 
 father. ' 
 
 " ' I am proud to call you my 
 son, and thank God for bringing 
 you to me just as you are.' 
 
 "My little hero is noAv a groAvn 
 man. As the boy Avas, so is the 
 man. ' Stand by the ship.' " 
 
 N. Y. Observer. 
 
 Salt Wood. 
 
 It is a curious fact that in the 
 salt mines of Poland and Hungary 
 the galleries are supported by Avood"- 
 en pillars, Avhich are found to last 
 unimpaired for ages, in conse- 
 quence of being impregnated with 
 the salt, Avhile pillars of brick and 
 stone, used for the same purpose, 
 crumble away in a short time by 
 tlie decay of their mortar. It \s 
 also found that Avooden jiiles driven 
 into the mud of salt flats and 
 marshes, last for an unlimited time 
 and are used for the foundation of 
 brick and stone edifices; and the 
 practice of docking timber, by im- 
 mersing it for some time in sea 
 Avater, after it has l)een seasoned, 
 is generally admitted to be promo- 
 tive of its durability. There are 
 some experiments Avhich ajjpcar to 
 shoAV that, after the dry rot has 
 commenced, immersion in salt Ava- 
 ter effectually checks its progress 
 and preserves the remainder of the 
 timber. Of the oldest knoAvn tim- 
 ber, that in the Egyptian temples, 
 4,000 years old, nothing is said as 
 to the causes of its preserA'ation. 
 
332 
 
 THE SAILOKS' MAGAZINE 
 
 From the Army and Navy Journal, August 19th, 1876. 
 
 MODERN NAVIES. 
 
 ]SrO. II. — ^TAVY OF THE UN^ITED STATES. 
 
 The war of the Revolution termi- 
 nated January 20tli, 1783. But 
 although the Navy was small, the 
 injury inflicted by our privateers 
 upon Great Britain in her most 
 vulnerable point, her commerce, 
 demonstrated that there was suf- 
 ficient nautical enterprise in the 
 country to supply, if properly util- 
 ized, a good sized Navy. During 
 the first two years of the war about 
 eight hundred sail of the enemy's 
 merchantmen had been captured. 
 
 On the termination of hostili- 
 ties the Navy of the Revolution 
 was disbanded, but not before it 
 had displayed the flag in foreign 
 waters and proved the metal of 
 which it was made. Paul Jones 
 had actually appeared with the 
 Bon Homme Richard in the mouth 
 of the Humber, where several ves- 
 sels were taken or destroyed; and 
 on the 23d of September, 1779, 
 fought off Scarborough that cele- 
 brated battle, which for skill, cour- 
 age, and determination has few 
 parallels in the annals of naval 
 warfare. The inability of the 
 Government to maintain even a 
 small Navy at this time, is clearly 
 shown in the report of the agent 
 of the marine, which stated, Au- 
 gust 5th, 1783, "that although 
 it is an object highly desirable to 
 establish a respectable marine, yet 
 the situation of the public treasury 
 renders it not advisable to purchase 
 ships for the present — nor until 
 the several States shall grant 
 funds." 
 
 "The first effort," says Kent, 
 to relieve the people of this country 
 from a state of national degra- 
 dation and ruin, came from Vir- 
 ginia in a proposition from its 
 legislature (January, 1786), in ref- 
 
 erence to our ocean commerce. 
 This led to the calling of the con- 
 vention which drew up, and, on 
 the 17th of September, 1787, 
 agreed to the Constitution of the 
 United States. One month before 
 this it had been resolved that the 
 Commissioner of Marine accounts, 
 in settling the accounts of the of- 
 ficers, seamen, and marines of the 
 late Navy of the United States, 
 govern himself by the princij^les 
 established for the line of the Army, 
 etc., etc." The inexperience and 
 irresolution betrayed in the several 
 acts quoted shows the foundation 
 of the little Navy to have been as 
 unsubstantial as the articles of con- 
 federation under which it was 
 formed. On the 13th of Septem- 
 ber, 1788, the Constitution was 
 fully ratified, and on the 4th of 
 March, 1789, the Government as 
 therein provided for went into 
 operation. By that Constitution 
 it is declared that Congi-ess shall 
 have power " to provide and main- 
 tain a Navy," and "make rules 
 for the government and regulation 
 of the land and naval forces." The 
 second section of Article 11. de- 
 clares that "The President shall 
 be Commander-in-Chief of the Ar- 
 my and Navy of the United States." 
 In an act approved August 7tli, 
 the Secretary of War was directed 
 to perform such duties as the Pres- 
 ident should entrust to him, rel- 
 ative to the land and naval forces. 
 For eleven years the United 
 States was without a Navy. By 
 our treaties of commerce, which 
 have always been conceived in a 
 liberal spirit, and have discovered 
 an Qulightened policy at times even 
 in advance of the age, our foreign 
 trade developed to such a degree 
 
AND SEAMEN'S FRIEND. 
 
 833 
 
 that it soon extended to every sea. 
 We were now to learn what every 
 maritime nation before us had 
 learned, that a Navy was indis- 
 pensable to the safety of ocean com- 
 merce and to the integrity of the 
 national colors. The first act of 
 Congress looking to the establish- 
 ment of a naval armament under 
 the Constitution (A])proved March 
 27th, 1794,) was called forth, as 
 the preamble states, by "the de- 
 predations committed by the Al- 
 gerine corsairs on the commerce of 
 the United States." The act au- 
 thorized the President to provide 
 " four ships to carry forty-four 
 guns each, and two ships to carry 
 thirty-six guns each." But by the 
 9th section, the act was to expire 
 should peace take place between 
 the United States and the regency 
 of Algiers. Peace was iDurchased 
 November, 1795, by the present of 
 the handsome frigate Crescent, 36. 
 That peace cost the people of the 
 the United States nearly one mil- 
 lion of dollars, a sum sufficient to 
 have put afloat a squadron large 
 enough to have driven all the Al- 
 gerine corsairs from the face of the 
 ocean! In 1796 Congress seeing 
 there was danger of further diffi- 
 culties, this time from French 
 cruisers, authorized the completion 
 of two "forty-fours'" and one 
 "thirty-six," and the perishable 
 material of the other three to be 
 sold. Twelve years after the sale 
 of the last ship of the Revolution, 
 the Alliance, the forty-four gun 
 frigate United States was launch- 
 ed (Philadelphia, July 10th, 1797), 
 and shortly afterwards the "forty- 
 fours " Constitution and Constel- 
 lation. Congress after repeated 
 urging ])y the Executive, though 
 not until the danger became im- 
 minent, authorized, little by little, 
 an increase of the naval armament. 
 April 30th, 1798, the act was pass- 
 ed for the establishment of the De- 
 partment of the Navy. 
 
 The new Navy was now fairly 
 under way. The Navy of the Re- 
 volution had died only as the sown 
 seed, to germinate and bring forth 
 more abundantly. All the old of- 
 ficers of the Revolution that were 
 available were reappointed and 
 brought with them the experience 
 of their former service. Of the 
 new frigates scarcely too much can 
 be said as finished specimens of 
 naval architecture, and very great 
 credit is due to the designer, Mr. 
 Joshua Humphreys, of Philadel- 
 phia. They were longer, propor- 
 tionally, had heavier scantling, 
 and carried heavier batteries than 
 any ships of equal rating in the 
 world. In fact they effected a 
 marked change in the construction 
 and arming of vessels of war. In 
 support of this we may adduce 
 here the evidence of the editor of 
 James' "Naval History of Great 
 Britain," Captain Chamier, R. N, : 
 " It is but justice in regard to 
 America," he observes, " to men- 
 tion that England has benefited 
 by her example, and that the large 
 classes of frigates now employed 
 in the British service are modelled 
 after those of the United States." 
 (James's Naval History, vol. 1, 
 page 44, note by editor, ) 
 
 The first frigate fight wherein 
 our new ships Avere tried was be- 
 tween the Constellation and L' Li- 
 surge nte. We had drifted into a 
 species of war with the Frencii Re- 
 public, owing to the depredations 
 of her cruisers on our commerce, 
 and though an act Avas passed 
 (May 28th, 1798) authorizing, un- 
 der certain conditions, the capture 
 of French vessels, yet no formal 
 declaration of war had been made. 
 On the 9th of February, 1799, 
 Captain Truxton, in the Constel- 
 lation, 38, with a creAV of three 
 hundred and nine men, after a hot 
 engagement of one hour, captured 
 the French frigate L'Jnsi/rf/ente, 
 Captain Barreault, of forty' guns 
 
.).)4 
 
 'i'iH<^ SAlLOliS' MA(JAZ1NE 
 
 and four hundred and nine men. 
 That is to say, an American "38'' 
 captured a French "40." But the 
 American guns were 24 pounders, 
 while the Frenchman had only 12s. 
 
 The (Uynxlellation, uninjured be- 
 low her rail, was very much cut up 
 aloft; wliile the Frenchman was 
 severely damaged in the hull. But 
 the gist of the story is told in the 
 list of killed and wounded. VJn- 
 siirgente had twenty-nine men 
 killed and forty-one wounded. The 
 Constellation had but three men 
 wounded I 
 
 Emboldened by our conciliatory 
 policy with Algiers, Tripoli under- 
 took to make excessive demands, 
 which eventually brought on a war 
 with her. This war lasted four 
 years, and proved an admirable 
 school of discipline for officers and 
 men. The treaty of peace was 
 signed June 3d, 1805. The young 
 Eepublic thus leading the way in 
 putting an end to the absurd de- 
 mands for tribute by the Barbary 
 powers, produced a great impres- 
 sion throughout the civilized world, 
 and, according to Cooper, the Pope 
 of Rome is said to have "publicly 
 declared that America had done 
 more for Christendom against the 
 barbarians, than all the powers of 
 Europe united," As this was solely 
 the work of the infant Navy, it did 
 much towards advancing its for- 
 tunes, character and influence, and 
 prepared it for the higher role it 
 was about to play, 
 
 June 18th, 1812, war was declar- 
 ed against Great Britain, and on 
 the 19th of August following, the 
 Constitution captured the Guer- 
 riere, the battle marking an im- 
 portant era in the history of our 
 Navy. Cooper gives the details of 
 the tight, and very justly remarks 
 that he has "dwelt at length on 
 the circumstances connected with 
 this action, not only because it was 
 the first serious conflict of the war. 
 
 but because it was characterized 
 by features which, though novel at 
 the time, became identilied with 
 nearly all the subsequent engage- 
 ments of the contest, showing that 
 they were intimately connected 
 with the disci])line and system of 
 the American Marine," (Coopers 
 Naval History, vol. II, page 59.) 
 
 Peace was .leclared February 
 18th, 1815, and to (juote that au- 
 thority once more, "the Navy 
 came out of this struggle with a 
 vast increase of reputation." Coop- 
 er justly ascribes the general effici- 
 ency, the high tone and the disci- 
 pline of the Service " to that apti- 
 tude in the American character for 
 the sea, which has been so con- 
 stantly manifested," In 1815, just 
 after the close of the war with 
 Great Britain, there is trouble 
 again with Algiers, Decatur is sent 
 out with a squadron and soon 
 captures the Masltonda, 46, and 
 the Estidio, 22, brings the Dey to 
 terms, and compels him, as far as 
 America is concerned, to recognize 
 the obligations of the law of na- 
 tions. The year following. Lord 
 Exmouth, with an English squad- 
 ron, exacted the same for Europe. 
 
 A New Folding Boat. 
 
 The principle of these boats is 
 not easy to describe so as to be 
 quite comprehensible without a 
 drawing, but we may ask our read- 
 ers to imagine a canvas umbrella 
 without a stick, and drawn out in- 
 to a long shape like a boat, so that 
 the wires which radiate from the 
 socket, instead of all meeting in a 
 point, touch each other two and 
 two. Then the canvas, with its 
 ribs, will form the bottom and sides 
 of the boat, while the wires be- 
 come the deck. When collapsed 
 the deck doubles up in the centre, 
 while the canvas, with its ribs, ar- 
 ranges itself in folds more conve- 
 
AKD SEAMEN'S FEIEND- 
 
 335 
 
 nient than is the case with the um- 
 hrella. Thus arranged, a boat 
 forty feet long becomes only two 
 and a half feet broad, and can be 
 hung close to the side of the ship 
 below the ordinary boats, or rather 
 just between them and the ship. 
 
 Thus, without loss of available 
 space, each troop-ship or transport 
 can carry four or six large horse- 
 boats, and they will be available 
 for other purposes, which Ave shall 
 touch upon by and by. In the act of 
 lowering into the water the boat ex- 
 pands and becomes 13 feet G inches 
 broad. But it is manifest that 
 if heavy weights are placed on the 
 sides there will be a strong tenden- 
 cy for the deck to rise in the mid- 
 dle (as an umbrella closes when 
 the catch is freed from the socket), 
 and the boat to collapse at the mo- 
 ment its expansion is most neces- 
 sary. At the first experiment, 
 some weeks ago, sufficient provis- 
 ion had not been made against this 
 tendency. Horses were on boaid 
 and the gun was being run over 
 the side, when the centre of the 
 deck rose a little, and the side went 
 under water. The pluck and cool- 
 ness of a young artillery ofhcer. 
 Lieutenant Buckle, and that re- 
 sponse of the men which always 
 comes to pluck and coolness, 
 brought gun and horses out of the 
 dilemma, but the accident was for 
 the time a serious blow to the cred- 
 it of the boat'. 
 
 Mr. Berthon was not, however, 
 at a loss for a remedy. lie has 
 since then stiffened the deck by 
 cross bars, two small masts and wire 
 ropes. Thus supported, the boat is 
 strong enough for anything, and 
 the experiments on the 10th ult, 
 went off without a siftgle hitch. 
 The process was new to both men 
 and horses. No systematic drill 
 has been laid down, yet in eleven 
 minutes from the time of the boat 
 being arranged alonsfside tlie beach. 
 
 broadside on, the heaviest field- 
 piece in the service was on board? 
 with an officer, a sergeant, the gun- 
 ners and drivers, and eight horses. 
 So laden she was towed out into tlie 
 harbor and again brought alongside 
 the beach. The gun and limber 
 were landed, and it was found that 
 three more horses could be carried 
 instead of the field-piece. It may* 
 be said that the boat would carry 
 eleven big artillery draught-horses 
 or twelve cavalry troopers. Thei\ 
 the three extra horses were landed, 
 the gun and limber reembarked, 
 and the boat, with its freight, 
 towed across the harbor from the 
 beach at Blockhouse Fort to Ports- 
 mouth. — London Times. 
 
 Leedle Yawcob Strauss. 
 
 I haf von funny leedle poy 
 Vot promes schust to my knee ; 
 Ber queerest schap, der Greatest rogue 
 As eler you did see ; 
 
 He runs", and 8chum)38, und sclimahses dings 
 In all barts off der house- 
 But vot or dot •' he was mine sou, 
 Mine leed.e Yawcob Strauss. 
 
 He get der measles und der mixmbs, 
 Una eferyding dot's out ; 
 He sbills mine glass of lager bier, 
 Foots schnuff into mine kraut ; 
 He tills mine pipe mit Limburg cheese- 
 Dot vos der roughest chouse ; 
 I'd take dot vrom no Oder poy 
 But leedle Yawcob Strauss. 
 
 He dakes der milk ban for a dhrum, 
 
 Und cuts mine cane in dwo 
 
 To make der shticks to iieat it mit — 
 
 Mine cracioiis ! dot vos drue ! 
 
 I dinks mine head vos schplit abart. 
 
 He kicks up sooch a touse— 
 
 But nefer mind, der poys was few 
 
 Like dot young Yawcob Strauss. 
 
 He asks me questions sooch as dese : 
 
 Who baints my nose so red ? 
 
 AVho vos it cut dot schoodt blace oiidt 
 
 Vrom der hair iibi)on mine hed ? 
 
 Und vhcre der plaze goes vrom der lamp 
 
 Vene'er der glim I douse — 
 
 How gan I all dese dings eggsblain 
 
 To dot schmall Yawcob Strauss. 
 
 I somedimes dinks I schall go vild 
 
 Mit sooch a grazy poy, 
 
 Und vish vonce more I gould haf rest 
 
 Und beaceful dimes cnslioy ; 
 
 But ven he vash ashleep in ped, 
 
 .^o quiet as a moute, 
 
 I prays der Lord, " Dake anydings, 
 
 But leaf dot Yawcob Strauss.'' 
 
 Hartford Timea, 
 
o3a 
 
 THE SAILORS' MAGAZINE 
 
 THE GREAT BLAST. 
 
 The destruction of Hallett's rj.^^ following is a list of the 
 
 Reef, m that part of the East River ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ engineers in charge, 
 
 known as Hell Gate was accom- ^^^ ^j^^ ^^^^ ^^-^ ^^^^^ worked in 
 
 pushed most satisiactonly on bun- ,-, ry,ine- 
 
 day, Sept. 24th 1876, at^3.50 p.m. j^^^^^ ^^^^on, Lieutenant-Col- 
 
 The entire reef, comprising an ^^^^ Engineers, Brevet Major-Gen- 
 
 area oi three acres, was previously i ° '' 
 
 excavated, and the pillars support- j;^^^ ^^^ Captain of En- 
 
 lug the reet perforated m 0.000 o-ineers 
 
 places, into which charges of dyna- ^ Joseph H. Willard, First Lieu- 
 
 miteand midrock powder, to the tenant of Engineers, 
 
 extent of o2,20G 1-2 lbs had been j^^^-^^^ ^ Striedinger, civil en- 
 
 introduced. We give below some ■ assistant, 
 
 of the details of the hnal prepara- g^^.;^^.^ ^ g ^ ^.^. ^^^. 
 
 tions for this most important act m gi^eer, overseer, 
 
 an enterprise which was commenc- ^ j^^'^^ q^^^ j ^^^ ^^^,^^ S_ 
 
 ed^by General Newton seven years ^,,^^,tt, assistants. 
 
 ^^m?' -f 11 • • ^ J? Foremen — Michael Boyle, John 
 
 The following is a report from ^ Bexn2.Y^ McLoughlan. 
 
 Captain Mercur to General New- ^^f^^^^. _. ^^^^^^ cAar^.r.-Jeremiah 
 
 ton which gives the amount of ^ ^^^ q,^J^ j^^^^ ^^ 
 
 explosives m the mine: g^^^ ' g^^^^^^,^ j^. ^ '^^.^j^^^^. p^^. 
 
 Astoria, September 23d, 1876. ^gHy, John Duffv, Edward Math- 
 
 Gexeral: The following are the num- ^ws, Patrick Sullivan, John Sandy, 
 
 toli?e yo^Ii!'! iz ; ^'"^ """ Thomas Donnelly, Peter Mathews, 
 
 Pounds. John Durney, Richard Kendall, 
 
 Dynamite in tin cartridges 24,813 Michel Ward, Edward Kennedy, 
 
 DjTiamitein paper cartridges.. 1,164 Prancis Sanders, Wm. Dolan, and 
 
 Dynamite m primers 2,925 ^^ helpers. 
 
 Total number pounds dynamite. 28,901 
 
 Rendrock in cartridges 9,06U IXCIDEXTS OF THE BLAST. 
 
 Vulcan powder in cartridges... 14,244 _,, . . ^ , 
 
 ihe mine was primed by 11 p.m. 
 
 Total charge in mine 52,206^ September 22d, and almost entirely 
 
 Total number of cartridges. . . . 13,596 " flooded," by means of a 12-inch 
 ?ral™mS;'ono^rwSh ''''' syphon at 7 1.m., Sunday mom- 
 primers 3,645 "ig- The day was very wet and 
 
 Number of iron pipes with disagreeable, but notwithstanding 
 
 primers 35 this, everv point of observation on 
 
 Number of holes charged and ^^^^^ i^^nks of the river, and on the 
 
 not primed 782 • ^i. • j> xi 
 
 ^ numerous river crait m rear oi the 
 
 Total of holes and pipes 4,462 guard boats, swarmed with a mass 
 
 Number of feet of connecting of people variously estimated at 
 
 ,,^ire... ...100,000 from 100,000 to 150,000. The 
 
 Number of feet of leading wire. 120, 000 fiHno- iiniiit was abnnt fi.'iO fppf 
 
 Number of cells in firing bat- nimg poittt was aDOUt bou leet 
 
 tery, consisting of 12 batteries il'om the mine. At 2.20 P.M., hall 
 
 of 40 cells, 4 of 43 cells, and an hour before the blast, a gun was 
 
 7 of 44 cells each 960 fired from the Government scow, 
 
 T, . , , c • ■ i. t "'^'^' to ffive notice to all. Ten minutes 
 
 Distance of firing point from i £ .i ^ • -i 
 
 gl^.^f(- ' (jr^O belore the explosion another gun 
 
TWENTY-SEYENTH ANNUAL REPORT 
 
 BROOKLYN CITY 
 
 BIBLE SOCIETY, 
 
 PEESENTED FEBRUAEY 8, ISGS. 
 
 'Hi I IH> I <» 
 
 BROOKLYN : 
 
 IPRIISTTED I^OR THK SOCIETY 
 
 1868. 
 
OFFICERS. 
 
 PRESIDENT. 
 
 R. P. BUCK. 
 
 VICE-PRESIDENTS. 
 
 ABRAHAM B. BAYLIS, 
 HEIS'RY IDE. 
 
 CORRESPONDING SECRETARY. 
 
 J. E. ROCKWELL, D.D. 
 
 TREASURER. 
 
 B. W. DeLAMATER. 
 
 RECORDING SECRETARY- 
 
 C. C. MUDGE. 
 
 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 
 
 S. SAiS^DERSOiSr, D. G. EATOX, 
 
 S. B. CALDWELL, S. B. STEWART, 
 
 W. L. PRESTOX. 
 
 IDTPR-EOTOI^S. 
 
 n. Rowland, H. Butlek, 
 
 D. TiEBOUT, R. BUNCE, 
 
 C. R. Martin, F. Burke, 
 
 J. Brinkerhoff, W. H. Hazzard, 
 
 L. T. Smith, T. Mundell, 
 
 J. Yan Cleek, D. Paterson, 
 
 E. Williams, E. A. La:mbert, 
 11. D. Yan OedeNj J. French, 
 
 H. G. !N"iCHOLS, S. Green, 
 
 E. W. White, H. Dollner, 
 
 T. C. Fanning, W. H. Marston, 
 
 M. DcPuY, I. Dubois. 
 
<» 
 
 En 
 W 
 
 EH 
 
 CD 
 
 W 
 
 EH 
 
 I— I 
 
 EH 
 
 1=3 
 O 
 O 
 O 
 <tj 
 
 EH 
 
 H 
 
 O 
 O 
 V2 
 
 H 
 pq 
 
 EH 
 I— I 
 
 O 
 
 ^ 
 
 w 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 p^ 
 p=l 
 
 H 
 
 W 
 EH 
 
 ^ 
 
 OiOic-<*io<MO(MOO'>*cooocoC!i— I oo>oc;o 
 
 5S 
 
 § CO 
 
 Z '^ • 
 
 - =^ Ch 
 
 eS ^ C 
 
 P C II; 
 
 
 I So 
 
 ^ CO *£^ 
 
 •= o o 
 
 O ^^ -*^ 
 
 C CO O 
 
 a ? -a 
 
 CO >;^ 
 
 <D rc) 
 
 ■f^ ^ -S 5 _ a 
 
 >>« J3-5 h^ 
 
 V p ~ 
 
 P4 
 
 p4 S O O ;£ K ^ ( 
 
 O CO CP 
 
 I -u -w 'a; 
 i £ £ c 
 
 ! .- .« 63 
 
 Ch g -= — j= e - 
 
 -^o 
 
 
 »-^ o 
 O 
 
 pa 
 
 1> IN 
 
 QD 
 
 C<5 
 
 CD . 
 
 O 
 
 
 H 1-5 
 
 QD 
 
 • 
 
 H 
 
 CS 
 
 
 
 1-5 
 
 1-1 C: r- O ~. 
 
 cil b o a 
 
 -i? i-rT S3 'S 'T3 
 
 
 :;: t: (~> s 
 
 s 
 
 fQ - 
 
 o 
 
 c 
 
 03 
 
 c 
 
 fi 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 > 
 
 © 
 
 i. 
 
 h 
 
 c 
 
 ^ 
 
 e^ 
 
 
 fe 
 
 rH 
 
 o 
 
 « 
 
AXXUAL REPORT. 
 
 The simple object of the Society -^hich holds its anniver- 
 gaiy to-night is the distribution of the Sacred Scriptures in 
 this citj without note or comment — and the raising of funds 
 for this purpose and for the Bible cause generally. For 
 more than a quarter of a century this work has been in pro- 
 gress — growing in magnitude and importance as the years 
 have rolled on, and making ceaseless demands upon us for 
 the supply of our ever-changing and rapidly increasing 
 population with the Bread of Life. ]i[any who were active 
 ia the formation of this Institution and who were earnest in 
 the prosecution of its work, have ceased from their labors. 
 And the generation then upon the stage is passing away and 
 leaving to other hands the task which they began and which 
 we are to carry forward until we too shall follow them. The 
 inspired Apostle hath said, if any provide not for his own 
 and especially for his own house he hath denied the faith 
 and is worse than an Infidel. If this be true in regard to 
 those things which perish in the using, how much more per- 
 tinent is it in respect to the duty of providing for the 
 spiritual necessities of those who are members in common of 
 the same community, and who are eminently our neighbors. 
 And if our sympathies are aroused and our benevolent ac- 
 tivities engaged when we liear that around us are families 
 and individuals destitute of daily food, should we feel less 
 practical sympathy when it is known that there are multi- 
 tudes within our reach who are without the Bible, the food 
 of the soul — the bread of eternal life. Nothing can safely 
 be its substitute as a guide to present duty and eternal hap- 
 piness, no other book can take its place in the family as the 
 
6 
 
 source of substantial comfort, as the support of the soul 
 amid the trials and conflicts of life, or as the instructor of 
 both old and young in relation to their duties and respon- 
 sibilities, and in teaching them their obligations to God and 
 the way in which to secure his favor and the salvation of 
 the soul. It was designed to be like the air and the light 
 free to all, and when it is permitted to diffuse its influences 
 universally, then will intelligence, peace, virtue and order 
 and that righteousness which exalteth a nation. 
 
 'No Christian who has ever seriously inquired into the full 
 meaning of the words of Christ, when parting from his dis- 
 ciples upon the Mount of Olives, could suppose that the com- 
 mand, " Go preach my Gospel to every creature" could be 
 fully obeyed until the Holy Bible is placed within the reach 
 of every living soul. The work of the church can surely 
 never be fully accomplished, until the world is filled with 
 the knowledge of God as revealed in his blessed Word. In 
 this work christians of all denominations can heartily unite, 
 as freely and heartily as in making provision for the supply 
 of the poor and needy with the necessaries of life. Know- 
 ing as we do the value of the Bible — proving as we have in 
 our individual experiences its preciousness and power — be- 
 lieving that it is the Sword of the Spirit, whose presence 
 with it can give it efiicacy in redeeming the soul from ignor- 
 ance and error and sin, we should surely be recreant to our 
 most obvious duty if with abundant means and opportunities 
 at hand we should fail to place it within the reach of every 
 family. Our efforts may meet with deep and bitter hos- 
 tility. Infidelity on the one hand and superstition and 
 bigotry on the other may seek to defeat our purposes ; yet, 
 wth the divine blessing, love and fidelity will at length ob- 
 tain the victory, and divine grace will secure an abundant 
 harvest where the seed has been sown. Now and then, like 
 the dew and rain it may fall upon the desert and sink away 
 and leave no trace of its power and infiuence. Yet we may 
 often be permitted to see its results in the fertility and beauty 
 that we find where grace was only a barren waste, and when 
 
the grand problem of life shall be summed up amid the 
 scenes of the eternal world, many shall forever rejoice in the 
 great salvation of which tliey would have remained fatally 
 ignorant but for the Bible which this Society has placed in 
 their hands and by which they were led to a knowledge of 
 Ilim, whom to know aright is eterna llife. 
 
 Here then, immediately around us do we find the field 
 for our immediate and personal eflbrts for the supply of the 
 destitute with the word ot God. In the midst of a popula- 
 tion already numbering nearly 400,000 and increasing yearly 
 with a growth hitherto unparalleled, are multitudes who, if 
 no eftbrts are personally made in their behalf must remain 
 ignorant of the way of salvation, and who in the midst of 
 spiritual privileges and within sight of sanctuaries, whose 
 spires like finger-posts are pointing heavenward, must yet 
 pass on to eternity in a darkness scarcely less deplorable than 
 that of the Heathen world. To meet the demands thus 
 made upon the Society two special agencies have been em- 
 ployed. 
 
 1st. Tlie Visitors and Missonaries of the Brooklyn City 
 Tract and Mission Society under the special supervision of 
 Mr. C. C. Mudge, their efficient general agent. 
 
 2d. The services of one or more distributing agents who 
 liave given their whole time to the work of exploration aud 
 supply. 
 
 It has been their^efibrt to meet as far as possible the wants 
 of Mission Schools, of Hospitals and other public, humane 
 or criminal Institutions, of the Navy Yard -vATth its ever- 
 changing population, and of the ships which lie at our 
 Avharves, and by faithful and constant visitation to supply 
 destitute families or individuals with the sacred word. 
 
 At the Depository in Court St. there have been distributed 
 as follows : 
 
 Bibles. Tests. 
 To Missionaries and Yisitors of Tract Society .150 1 1 
 
 At Public Institutions 1 74 300 
 
 Among the Shipping 140 107 
 
To Bible Eeaders 35 88 
 
 " Mission Sunday Schools 826 262 
 
 " Church '' ' " 195 
 
 " Long Island Bible Society '. 59 62 
 
 At Depository to Sundry Persons 94: 87 
 
 By Distributing Agents 1220 2 
 
 2902 1139 
 Total Gratuitous Distribution Copies . 4041 
 Sold at Depository 2761 
 
 Whole Issue during the Year. 6802 
 
 Eighteen months ago it was determined that there should 
 be a thorough exploration aud supply of the city, so far as 
 this was practicable. For this purpose the distributing agent, 
 with two assistants, was directed to make a thorough canvass 
 of every Ward. That work has now been accomplished, and 
 the report of Mr. Millerd to the Executive Committee pre- 
 sents not only the statistics of supply but some incidents of 
 Bible distribution, which shew the difficulties sometimes en- 
 countered and the encouragements often afforded in the pro- 
 secution of the work. 
 
 The statistics found in this report reveal to us some facts, 
 which, though they may appear discouraging, should seem as 
 a stimulus to still more earnest efforts than we have yet put 
 forth for the supply of our whole population with the Word 
 of God. Of the families visited during the last year one-fifth 
 have been found without a Bible, and of this number nearly 
 five-sixths have declined to receive the sacred volume even 
 as a gift. Here is great ignorance, and an evident determi- 
 nation to continue therein. The reasons for this are apparent 
 by the incidents which have been related by the agent. In- 
 difference — deeply rooted prejudices — and the fear of priestly 
 censures have evidently induced many to reject a gift which 
 might have brought with it light, and hope and comfort to 
 numy a wretched heart. Yet, kindness, untiring patience,- 
 gentleness and love may at length break down all the barriers 
 
that are dow reared against the truths of the GospeL The 
 rejection of the Bible when offered should by no means be 
 regarded as closing up our work in that direction. "We are 
 not fully aware of the strength of that hostility to the Bible 
 which infidelity, bigotry, and the prejudices of early educa- 
 tion awaken in the heart. Yet, against all these obstacles, 
 truth and Christian love have made their way to the heart. 
 Here and there the Bible has found a place, even in the 
 abodes of wretchedness and ignorance. And what has been 
 done in the past may be accomplished in the future. 
 
 Our duty is plain. God will take care of the results, nis 
 word shall not return unto him void The work before us is 
 great. Year by year these efforts to supply our city with the 
 Bible must be continued and renewed. Thus the work of swp- 
 ply completed to-day must be commenced again to-morrow. 
 For the means to carry it forward the Society earnestl}^ and 
 trustingly appeals to the various churches of which it is the 
 agent. Whatever of their contributions are not needed for 
 the supply of our own field are promptly given to aid in the 
 great work of giving to the world the light of God's Word. 
 Where is the church that can afford to neglect the call that 
 comes to us with increasing power and earnestness. Send us 
 the Gospel ? Where is the Christian who knows by his own 
 experience the preciousness of the Scriptures who can fail 
 to give them to all nations ? The field is the world. The 
 command of Christ is imperative — " Freely ye have received, 
 freely give." Let us give a generous aid to the work which 
 seeks to place in the hands of every human being a copy of 
 God's Word, and to scatter over the world the light of that 
 blessed volume whereby we are made wise unto eternal life. 
 J. E. KOCKWELL, 
 
 Corresponding Secretary. 
 
10 
 
 TWENTY-SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY. 
 
 The Brooklyn City Bible Society held its Twenty-seventh 
 Anniversary at the Church of the Pilgrims, on Sabbath even- 
 ing, February 2, 1868. 
 
 Mr. R. P. Buck the President of the Society occupied the 
 chair. After the opening services he stated that the Society 
 had never passed a more successful year than the one now 
 closing, when the work accomplished was taken into the ac- 
 count. He then introduced the Rev. Chandlee Stake, who 
 said he had learned at the parent Society facts concerning 
 the work, but the half had not been told him. 
 
 The speaker alluded to the influence of the Bible in form- 
 ing character. No young man early trained in its teachings 
 would be likely to become openly profligate, or if so, it would 
 be the exception, not the rule. 
 
 Rev. Dr. Stokrs said lie would not make any extended re- 
 marks after the eloquent and deeply interesting speech of 
 their venerable brother, who they were always pleased to 
 hear, but rose only to move that the reports read be accepted 
 and published under the direction of the Executive Com- 
 mittee. "When we send the Bible to the families of the poor 
 we send the words of Christ Himself — an instrument to 
 awaken in the heart and mind of man life itself. "We bring 
 up Isaac and send him ; we bring up Samuel from the dead 
 and send him ; David from his throne, nay, the Lord Himself, 
 as when on earth. 
 
 The exercises were closed with a short but highly eloquent 
 speech by Rev. Dr. Schenk, of St. Ann's Church. He re- 
 marked that if the previous speaker had found it necessary 
 to speak of lateness and of brevity, it much more became 
 him after still farther time had passed. He would only 
 
11 
 
 thank tlie woi'tliy President of the Society for his words of 
 cordial greeting, and say that he regarded it as a favorable 
 augury that it was his privilege in his first public appearance 
 in connection with his fellow-Christians of other denomina- 
 tions to advocate the great cause of the Bible. This plat- 
 form should be world-wide. Every man believing in God , 
 whatever his creed, believes in the Bible. 
 
 A collection was then taken, the doxology sung, and the 
 benediction prouounced by Kev. Dr. Rocewell. 
 
12 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM REPORTS OF BIBLE AGENTS. 
 
 During the past year the canvass of the city, besjiin in the latter part of 
 May, 1866, has been completed. The ■whole number of families visited is 
 SS,311 ; 5,566 families were found destitute of the Bible, and 1,192 families 
 were gratuitously supplied by the Society. 
 
 During the past twelve months, covered by this report, 15,420 families have 
 been visited; 3,237 of these families were found without a Bible. Into 571 
 of these wretched homes, all that would receive the gift, the Word of God 
 has been introduced. 
 
 The total number of Bibles distributed by the Agents (exclusive of the ope- 
 rations of the Depository) is 655, and the number of Testaments and Psalms 
 565, making the wliole number of volumes through this channel 1,220. 
 
 The canvass thus completed is an important movement toward reaching the 
 neglected masses of our city. It is a moral census which throws light upon 
 the number and condition of these masses. The Agents have visited every 
 house, knocking alike at the palace and the hovel, passing from the broad 
 avenue down to the reeking alley, and thus thoroughly probing the social 
 cancer. 
 
 But the extent of the evil has not merely been measured. A great step 
 has been taken toward its cure — -just as it is more important to excite in a 
 patient a healthy appetite, which shall prompt him to seek food for himself, 
 than to bring to li'is couch dainties which he loathes, so it is of greater con- 
 sequence to awaken a desire for preaching than to supply the preaching itself. 
 The Word of God is not only itself the greatest of all means of grace — it 
 creates a demand for all the other means. Placed in the family, the Bible 
 becomes a fountain, of which the pulpit, the press, and the school are but the 
 streams. 
 
 The following incidents will show the reception which this movement 
 has met from the great class it was designed to reach : 
 
 In a low street, inhabited mainly by Catholics, in the door of a comfortable 
 and tidy dwelling, sal a youug Irish mother. " Yes, I have got a Bible," said 
 she, " it is an old one, but I would not part with it. When a child I went 
 to the Sunday-school, and Oh, I think it leaves such an impression." The 
 depth of that impression was seen in the thrift and neatness of her own 
 dwelling, compared with the squalor and wretchedness in the tenements of 
 her country people around her. 
 
 In an upper room of a tenement house was an intelligent-looking Irish 
 woman who said she had no Bible, and expressed an earnest desire for one. 
 
13 
 
 On receiving the copy which I handed her, and ascertaining that it was a 
 Protestant Bible, her whole manner showed the struggle between the new 
 desire and the old prejudice. Now she handed it back and then asked for it 
 again, gazing wistfully upon its sacred pages, until I was compelled to tell 
 her that she must decide whether to take it or not. She decided to take it, 
 but just as I reached the bottom of the stairs she overtook me with a fright- 
 ened look upon her face, and drawing the Bible stealthily from under her 
 apron she said hastily, "I guess I won't take it, but I thank you." 
 
 This incident illustrates under what constraint, and oftentimes under what 
 reluctance the Bible has been declined by so many of the destitute. Others, 
 however, Protestants, Jews and Catholics have received it with joy, at times 
 with tears of gratitude. 
 
 In a rear tenement was a young Irish woman with a group of children 
 around her. In answer to my inquiry whether she had a Bible, she replied 
 decidedlj', " I don't need any." " I think we all need the Bible," said I, " es. 
 pecially if we have children around us." Without urging the matter further, 
 however, I left the room, but just as I reached the bottom of the ftairs she 
 overtook me, and turning to another woman who was standing at 
 her door in the hall, she said, " Don't you think it would be a nice thing to 
 have a Bible in the house? " The other replied that she had taken one of 
 me. "Well," said the other, apparently terminating a struggle, " I will take 
 one." 
 
 In a wretched hovel was a sick woman, with her boy, and as she received 
 with repeated thanks a Bible — her only one — her anxiety was evidently more 
 for her neglected child than for herself. " May I not tell him," she said ear- 
 nestly " that if he'll learn to read you will come again in a yeir and give hini 
 a book. 
 
 In the upper part of a tenement house was a Catholic, with her showily- 
 dressed daughter. "No," said the mother, " we don't want a Bible." " Let 
 me see one," said the daughter, advancing towards me. " No," said the mo- 
 ther, decidedly, " You don't want to see it." " Yes, I do," said the daughter 
 holding out her hand to me,. Please show it to me, sir. "No," said the 
 mother, stepping between us, " don't show it to her." " I have brought you 
 up," she said, to the daughter, in a stern tone, " in the Catholic religion." I 
 of course, acquiesced in the mother's wishes, but the high-spirited daughter 
 did not seem quite satisfied. 
 
 " How swall it looks," said a woman, as she looked doubtfully at 
 the Bible I had handed her. "What kind is if? " — Protestant. " Ah, then, 
 ■we don't want it." Her daughter, a modest and pretty girl, stepped up to 
 her mother, and in a low tone begged her to take one. " No, no," said the 
 mother quickly. Thank you for your kindness, sir. 
 
 "You might take one," said the decent-looking Catholic woman to her 
 slatternly Neighbor, who had just angrily refused a Bible. " What, take a 
 Protestant Bible ! " " Yes, there's no harm in it." " Do you say that, and 
 
14 
 
 you a Catholic? You woul.In't say that if you were in the church, an<l Fa- 
 ther heard you." The other was cowed, and when I subsequently called 
 
 at her door and offered her a Bible she timidly refused to take it. 
 
 The offer of a Bible for nothing is receivred almo3t with incrcdiilitj-, espe- 
 cially by Romanists, who often pay from thirty to thirty-five dollars for their 
 own. " How are j-ou able to ffive it away? " said a Catholic. I explained 
 that the benevolent people of Brooklyn furnished the means, but he still 
 seemed to think it a mystery. 
 
 "And am I not to return it, said an intelligent-looting woman?'' 
 " No, keep it, friend, it will last you twenty j-eai's." "Thank you, thank 
 you," said she earnestly. 
 
 Thcngli the city canvass has somewhat narrowed the work on ship-board, 
 it has not suspended it. Along our docks the volume of shipping is con- 
 stantly enlarging, and among the polyglot multitude which swarms on its 
 decks the Scriptures in nearly every modern tongue has been put afloat to 
 be borne to distant lands, where, in many cases, God has prepared the way 
 for its reception by quickening thought and inquiry-, and where it will come 
 as a light to nations awaking out of sleep. 
 
 The following incident shows how the precious seed takes root in distant 
 Boils, there to bring forth fruit in the ages to come: 
 
 A few months since the mate of a vessel in the South American trade re. 
 ceived in this port a package containing a Spanish Testament, with other 
 reading matter. On entering the port of her destination the vessel was at- 
 tended by a lighter whose Captain was a Spaniard, and the mate bethinking 
 himself of the Testament gave it to him. Recently the vessel made a second 
 voyage to the same port and was again .attended hy the Spanish lighter. 
 " Have you got your Testament yet ?" inquired the Mate of the Captain. "Oh, 
 yes," said the Spaniard, " and it has showed me the waj- of life. I want you 
 to get me another, for my wife has become so interested in this that she keeps 
 it at home to read herself." 
 
 At the Navy Yard every facility for my work has been afforded by the 
 officers, and nowhere is etl'ort crowned with larger results. During the 3'ear 
 I have preached every Sabbath from once to three times to seamen. How- 
 ever hardened these men are, they are not Gospel-hardened, and no congre- 
 gation so literally hanr/ upon the words of a preacher as those assembled on 
 the open deck. 
 
 While the large screw steamer, "Wampanoag, soon to become the flag ship 
 of the Noith Atlantic squadron, has been lying at the Navy Yard, I have 
 held services on board on Sabbath mornings, which have been largely at- 
 tended both by officers and men. At the close of my first service an officer ap- 
 proached me, and, taking me by the hand, thanked me warmly for the ser- 
 vice, adding, it is the first religious service we have ever had on board, and 
 this on a vessel with a crew of 400 men. 
 
15 
 
 At llie cloBC of a recent service on the Receiving Ship, Vermon*^^, T requested 
 any who riesired to begin a new life and wislied to be remembered in prayer 
 to arise on their feet, and scores of earnest men arose in a body. 
 
 Among the intrepid crews of our National vessels the Word of God has 
 been welcomed witl> a joy which baa lit up many a scarred and weather- 
 beaten face. It comes to them as a token — of wliich in their toilsome and 
 Sfduded lifetlicy receive too few — that they are remembered by the nation 
 wliose uniform they wear and wliose flag they uphold. 
 
 An I came alongside a Norwegian ship and held up a Testament in (heir 
 own tongue, the crew gatliered eagerly around me, and when each had re- 
 ceived a copy tliey took me one by one by the liand with a brief but earnest 
 " Thank you," eking out their scanty English by a hearty grasp. 
 
 Near South Ferry I found a strangedooking ship, with Chinese characters 
 on her tackle and stern. Climl)ing up tlie ladder I found but one Chinaman 
 on board, but on my offer to bring him a Testament printed in his own tongu e, 
 being interpreted to him, he promptly accepted it. 
 
 In handing a few Spanish Testaments over the gunwale of a small Spanish 
 vessel one dropped into the river. I passed on, and returning about 
 fifteen minutes afterward I found a seaman patiently letting down his bucket 
 for the lost volume, and when he at length brought it up his swarthy face lit 
 up witli pleasure. 
 
 I have got a Bible, said a young sailor on board the U. S. Receiving Ship 
 Vermon*, as the Agent was distributing Bibles on board, and drawing out an 
 old pocket Bible he aided tenderly, " it is the one my mother gave me." 
 
 "That Bible once saved my life," said another man-of-wars-man, standing 
 in the crowd of bluejackets, who were pressing around me to get Bibles, and 
 (pointing at the time at the imprint of a rifle ball on the cover) " no money 
 could buy it." 
 
 Tlie Depository of the Society is at No. 33 Court Street, near Joralemon 
 where Bibles aiid Testaments may be had for gratuitous distribution. 
 
 A large assortment is also kept for sale, embracing every variety printed by 
 the Parent Society, and in every kind of binding.