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A REEL IN A BOTTLE. 
 
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A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 JACK IN THE DOLDKUMS; 
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF TWO OF THE KING'S SEAMEN IN A 
 VOYAGE TO THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY. 
 
 EDITED FROM THE MANUSCRIPTS OF AN OLD SALT. 
 
 BY REV. HENRY T„ CHEEVER, 
 
 i-UTHOK OP " THE WHALE AND HIS OAPTOES," " ISLAND WOELD OF THE PACIFIC, 
 "LIFE IN THE SANDWICH ISLANDS," ETa 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 NEW YORK: ^ 
 CHARLES SCRIBNEK, 145 NASSAU STREET. 
 
 <Si\ -2W St??. /?+^ . /?. yfs^ 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by 
 
 CHARLES 8CRIBNEE, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
 District of New York. 
 
 C. W. BENEDICT, 
 
 3TEREOTTPEE, AND PkINTEE, 
 
 201 William Street. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Doldrums is the name given by seamen to those parts 
 of the ocean directly under the Equator, where they have 
 neither North East nor South East trades, but baffling winds 
 and calms. In the navigation of life all men fall into the 
 Doldrum state some time or another. Too many persons, 
 indeed, keep there a good part of their days, their sails 
 seldom filled with the gales of the Spirit, and rarely, if 
 ever, finding the trade- winds of success. 
 
 Now it may be well for all such, or for any others, whether 
 on a tedious or quick navigation, to turn hither and try to 
 make out how this reel got into the bottle, and how they can 
 get it out, or wind off its lessons of wisdom. They will be 
 sure to meet in these pages something to please, employ and 
 profit them. They will find Peter and John genial companions, 
 in whose society they can while away an hour, and be all the 
 better for it. 
 
"Vl PREFACE. 
 
 This unique manuscript of an Old Salt, practically expe- 
 rienced in the navigation described, we have made into a 
 book for all that get into the Doldrums, land-lubbers as 
 well as sailors, and whether at sea or on the land, for every- 
 where life has its Doldrums, on ship or shore. It is for all, 
 indeed, upon the voyage of life, whether they meet with 
 driving gales, or with baffling winds and calms. It has been 
 put into the present Editor's hands to revise and correct for 
 the press, and introduce to public notice, because while in- 
 tended for readers at large, it was thought to be especially 
 suitable for a contemplated series of volumes, constituting a 
 Library for the Sea, Hence the pertinence of its name. 
 
 The Editor takes the liberty to say, whether it pleases the 
 Author or not, that the Old Salt is no mere crabbed fellow that 
 has lived on salt junk all his days, till his juices are all dried out 
 of him. But his humor is rich and generous, and he seems to 
 be well skilled in the Nautical Almanac used in the navigation 
 here taught, while the language and imagery of the Sailor's 
 Epitome, spiritually at least, seem as familiar to him as the 
 images of things that lay about the home of our childhood. 
 He has also kept the eye of his Christian voyagers on all 
 passing events to windward, while themselves steering steadily 
 by Compass and Chart, and looking at all things from their 
 own standpoint in their Heavenly Epitome, the Living Word 
 their only rule. Hence the value of their comments upon the 
 various crafts found launched upon these tides, and the practi- 
 cal wisdom of their own maxims of navigation. 
 
 All the meaning couched under the various names and 
 
PREFACE. VII 
 
 allusions may not be apprehended by every reader at a single 
 perusal, but a second reading through, the glass of the Word 
 will make it clear. To all the King's Sailors, on the Land or 
 Lea, of the Old World and the New, with earnest wishes for 
 their good, the book is now dedicated by the Editor. 
 
 New York, Nov. 1851. H. T. C. 
 
THE OLD SALT'S PKEEACE 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 With the thanks of the Old Salt and his friendly Editor for the kind 
 reception of their Book by the people, a word seems necessary in 
 regard to the title, misapprehended in some quarters, and possibly 
 operating as a scare-crow at a gate- way, to keep some persons from 
 entering. As long ago as we can remember, the Reel in a Bottle was itself 
 a standing allegory, the very presentation of a riddle. We believe that 
 in the minds of ninety-nine tars out of a hundred, the phrase may be 
 recognised as indicating a puzzle, if not synonymous with the very 
 word. We never dreamed of A Reel in a Bottle suggesting to any 
 imagination the phantasm of a dance among bottle-imps, any more than 
 of a temperance tea-party. The title is simply another name for an 
 English or a Chinese Puzzle, which, constructed in thought, imagery 
 and language, instead of blocks, cards, or steel rings, may constitute 
 what in this volume is endeavored to be realized, an instructive, 
 thoughtful Allegory of Eternal Realities, and not merely a fanciful or 
 amusing Dream. Our world, alas, is a dreaming world, in which they 
 that are asleep act as if they were awake, and they that are awake 
 too often seem to be asleep. It is also a world in which shadows are 
 pursued as realities, and realities are treated as shadows. We wish 
 to show, by shadows, the .substances that stand behind, and the Great 
 Sun, whose realities alone causes all the difference between light and 
 shade. May the Book continue to be blest of Him, whose grace 
 alone can ever keep the soul of the Pilgrim, by land or sea, in the 
 King's own Highway. 
 
 New York, April 17, 1852. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 BY WAY OF EXPLANATION, 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 LAND-LUBBERING IN THE COUNTRY OF SELF-CONCEIT, 29 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 EXPERIENCE OF STORMS, AND THE HARBOR OF GOOD 
 
 HOPE, '.48 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE SHIP BECALMED, AND A TALK ABOUT THE CRUCIBLE, 70 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 CAPTAIN GLIB'S YACHT, 91 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FISHING FOR PEARLS, AND CATCHING ICEBERGS, . . 110 
 
 i 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 POMEGRANATE HARBOR, AND THE HALL OF REVELATIONS, 130 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 A CONFLICT WITH THE GREAT PIRATE, AND HOW TO 
 
 RESIST TEMPTATION, 150 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 A NAVAL BATTLE IN THE HALF-WAY HARBOR TO ROME, 1*73 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 THE CAPE OF STORMS, AND THE ISLAND OF PEACE, - 193 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ALMOST SAVED ALMOST LOST, 215 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE HARBOR OF WORLDLY CONFORMITY, AND WHAT HAP- 
 
 234 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE EFFECTUAL CALLING, 258 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 EXAMPLE, GRACE, AND GLORY, . . . . 280 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PRATER, PROVIDENCE, AND FAITH 290 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 CAPTAIN GOOD-ENOUGH AND HIS CARGO, . . 305 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 none but christ! none but christ! . . .321 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 the last enemy 338 
 
A REEL IN A BOTTLE 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 BY WAY OF INTKODTJCTION. 
 
 It happened on a time that the King of the 
 Celestial Country, moved with compassion for the 
 people of this earth, resolved to establish a connection 
 between the Celestial Empire and our world, whereby 
 any that chose might lay up their treasures in that 
 heavenly region, and at an appointed time go thither 
 to enjoy them. To this end a grand ship was prepared 
 to take passengers across the great sea that lies 
 between us and the Celestial Country. 
 
 "While the vessel was a building, the people far 
 and near had warning of it, and many looked on 
 curiously, and some inquired into it with deep inte- 
 rest, for there were many communications from the 
 
14 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 King continually in regard to it, and holy men of 
 old spake about it as they were moved by the Holy 
 Spirit. 1 The multitude were very indifferent and 
 unconcerned, but some would now and then talk 
 with the workmen, and though it took many genera- 
 tions to finish the ship, yet from the time when the 
 first orders were given in regard to it, and the first 
 beam laid for it, all who chose might have an interest 
 in it, might have their names set down as passengers, 
 and might be just as sure of all the benefits of it, as 
 any of those who should be alive upon the earth when 
 the ship was launched and sailing. 
 
 The Master Builder had all his plans perfect, and 
 gave them for execution into the hands of persons in 
 whom he could confide, and the vessel was a noble 
 craft, as beautiful and grand to see as ever swam the 
 waters. When the time drew near for the comple- 
 tion of the ship, the king said to some of his faithful 
 seamen then living, " I tell you that many prophets 
 and righteous men have desired to see the things 
 which ye see, and have not seen them, and to hear 
 the things which ye hear, and have not heard them." 2 
 And after the ship was under sailing orders, a record 
 was drawn up of a great cloud of witnesses that had 
 before obtained an interest in her by faith, whose 
 hearts were fixed upon the Celestial Country, and it 
 
 1 2 Peter i. 21. a Matt. xiii. 17. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 15 
 
 was said that they were even as the stars of the sky in 
 multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea-short? 
 innumerable. It was added that these all died in 
 faith, not having received the promises, but having 
 seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and 
 embraced them, and confessed that they were stran- 
 gers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say 
 such things declare plainly that they seek a country ; 
 wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, 
 yea, they desire a better, that is a heavenly country ; 
 
 FOR HE HATH PREPARED FOR THEM A CITY. 3 
 
 Now the example of these believing and happy 
 persons was not followed by as many as might have 
 been supposed would take passage, when the glory of 
 the ship and the full blessedness of the voyage were 
 seen no longer as through a glass darkly, but as it 
 were face to face. 4 For the hardness of men's hearts 
 was exceeding great, and most of them were feasting 
 and revelling just as when Eoah entered into the 
 ark, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in 
 marriage, and neither believing nor caring concern- 
 ing the Celestial Country. And the god of this world 
 was everywhere at work in great power, blinding the 
 minds of them who believed not, lest at any time the 
 light of the glorious gospel of Christ should come to 
 their notice, and the offers of salvation should per- 
 
 s Heb. xi. 12, 13, 14, 16. 4 I Cor. xiii. 12. B 2 Cor. iv. 4. 
 
16 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 suade them to embark. And as when the deluge 
 came upon the Old World the people mocked Noah 
 and his Ark, which was a type beforehand of this 
 great ship of salvation, so now many persons, when 
 they heard, mocked, and even said that the King's 
 recruiting officers were full of new wine, because, by 
 the power of Divine Inspiration they spoke in all 
 languages, and invited men everywhere in their own 
 tongue, to take passage for the Celestial Country. 
 Nevertheless, a great many did take passage, so that 
 on one occasion three thousand 6 put down their 
 names at one and the same time. And so it went 
 on, till it seemed as if the whole world were going to 
 turn sailors ; but that happy time was yet a great 
 way off. 
 
 Whenever the ship sailed, all that chose to go 
 were invited. They were to ship once for all, being 
 never to return to their native land, but to put into 
 the King's harbor in the Celestial Country, far away, 
 where mansions were prepared for them, and 
 thrones, and crowns, and a great inheritance. It was 
 said that their own country was to be visited and 
 burnt up with fire, which would involve the perdi- 
 tion of ungodly men, and none could tell when that 
 ruin might come ; but it was certain ; and the King's 
 messengers were always telling the people to secure 
 
 6 Acts ii. 41 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. IT 
 
 their passage in season, so that none need have 
 failed, though oftentimes very few paid any atten- 
 tion to the warnings. 
 
 The vessel might return, and it might not, in 
 season to give the people another opportunity for the 
 voyage ; but it was entirely unsafe to rely upon that, 
 and the King's messengers were continually repeat- 
 ing what the Holy Spirit had said, To-clay if ye will 
 hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 7 And the 
 Kins; himself had said concerning some who had 
 made the experiment of waiting for another opportu- 
 nity, and had lost the voyage and their own souls* for 
 ever, Be ye also ready, for at such a day as ye 
 think not, the Son of man cometh. 8 Much was also 
 said from one of the King's own parables, concerning 
 those who came knocking after the door was shut, 
 and could not get in ; and this word also would be 
 often sounding in their ears, And ivhile they went to 
 huy, the Bridegroom came. 9 But all this made very 
 little impression, and things went on much as before; 
 one to his farm, another to his merchandise. 
 
 Again and again the same things took place, 
 although every effort was made to convince the 
 people of their guilt and danger, and there was no 
 want of allurements, and powerful motives working, 
 to induce them to enlist under the King's flag. 
 
 7 Heb. iii. 15, e Matt. xxiv. 44. 9 Matt. xxv. 10. 
 
IS A EEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 Indeed, the offers held out were ravishing beyond 
 description, and every one knew that they were true, 
 and it was often said that eye had not seen, nor ear 
 heard, neither had any heart conceived the glory of 
 the things which God had prepared for those who 
 love him. 10 
 
 And though none that ever set out on the 
 voyage returned from the Celestial Country, to 
 to bring back any news, vet it was said and well 
 known, that they were in a region where there was 
 no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, nor any 
 more pain, 11 and that there they were arrayed in 
 white robes, with crowns upon their heads, and 
 palms in their hands, and that they were before the 
 throne of God, serving him day and night in his 
 temple, and that He that sitteth upon the throne was 
 dwelling among them, and that they should hunger 
 no more, neither thirst any more, neither should the 
 sun light on them, nor any heat, for the Lamb which 
 is in the midst of the throne should feed them, 
 and should lead them to living fountains of waters, 
 and God should wipe away all tears from their eyes. 12 
 It was said and well known that there they saw the 
 King's face, and that the King's name was in their 
 foreheads. 13 Also the freedom of the Holy City was 
 theirs, with its streets of gold and its tree of life, and 
 
 10 1 Cor. ii. 9. u Rev. xxi. 4. i2 Rev. vii. 9, 15, 17. 13 Rev. xxii. 4. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 19 
 
 its pure river of the waters of life, 14 and there they 
 went in and out continually, with an innumerable 
 company of angels, and the happy fellowship of the 
 spirits of the just made perfect. 15 The King's mes- 
 sengers used to talk much of these things, and more- 
 over the Earnest of the Spirit was given to those who 
 would obey the King, to bring all these things glow- 
 ing to their hearts, and to make them anxious for the 
 voyage, and willing to leave all and depart. On one 
 occasion, Moses and Elias had even been seen in 
 glory with the King, 16 tyut no sailor ever came back 
 from the Celestial Country to tell about it. 
 
 All the conditions of the voyage were very well 
 known, and all who went had to come, themselves, to 
 the King, commit everything to him, and take the 
 oath of obedience and love as his seamen, for all had 
 to work their own passage. One of the King's names 
 was Immanuel, God with us, 17 and one of the rules 
 for all his sailor-pilgrims was this, Work out yotir 
 awn salvation with fear and trembling ', for it is God 
 which worketh in you., both to will and to do, of his 
 good pleasure. 1 * The King was also called, The Lord 
 our righteousness, 19 and one of the descriptions of 
 himself was in these words, I am the Way, the 
 Truth, and the Life. 20 It was well knowm that no 
 
 14 Rev. xxii. 1. 15 Heb. xii. 22, 23. lfi Matt. xvii. 3. 
 
 17 Matt. i. 23. 16 Phil.ii. 12, 13. 19 Jer. xxiii. 6. 20 John xiv. 6. 
 
20 A REEL IM A BOTTLE, 
 
 man could come to the Father, but bj T him, and that 
 all heavenly seamanship was to be learned from him, 
 and that he had his Father's promise to give the 
 Holy Spirit to all who asked him. He also gave 
 assurance that whatsoever things they asked of the 
 Father in his name, he would give it to them. 21 He 
 had said likewise, If a man will love me, he will 
 keep my words, and my Father will love him, and 
 we will come unto him, and make our abode with 
 him. 22 And many other precious promises he gave, 
 and everything had been made sure in his own most 
 precious blood, which he shed upon the cross for the 
 forgiveness and eternal life of as many as would put 
 their trust in him. And he used to add to all his 
 promises, Him that cometh unto me, I will in no 
 
 WISE CAST OUT. 23 
 
 !Now it happened on an occasion when I was on a 
 visit to those parts from which the King's ship was 
 then just about to sail, that two of the inhabitants 
 were much wrought upon by all these things, and 
 were resolved to make the voyage together. I have 
 also since then learned some history of the things they 
 met with, which for the good of others I am deter- 
 mined to relate. They did not come to this good 
 resolution both at the same time, for one was consi 
 derably in advance of the other, and was a good 
 
 21 John xvi. 23. » John xiv. 23. 2S John vi. 37. 
 
FOE JACK US THE DOLDRUMS. 21 
 
 while in persuading the other to take the same stand. 
 And doubtless he never could have prevailed upon 
 him to do so against the ridicule of his ungodly 
 friends and acquaintance, if it had not been for God's 
 good Providence in bringing the man upon a bed of 
 sickness, so that he was chastened with pain, and 
 brought near to the gates of death, and greatly terri- 
 fied in his conscience at the thoughts of the judgment 
 to come. 
 
 Then his friend put in train upon him all 
 the arguments he could think of to reach his heart, 
 that he nriffht be induced to enter his name as a 
 King's seaman. He prayed with him again and 
 again, and read to him the thirty-third chapter of the 
 King's Book of Job, to show him God's meaning in 
 such providences as had befallen him, that he might 
 pray unto God, and that God might be favorable 
 unto him. He told him of the time when once the 
 long suffering of God waited in the clays of ISoah," 4 
 and of the destruction of the ungodly then, and how 
 certain it was that a much worse destruction would 
 overtake them, who refused to take passage in the 
 King's ship, according to his invitation and com- 
 mandment. He told him that if he would but begin 
 seeking the Lord in earnest, he would find that as 
 soon as he had come to a decision to embark on 
 
 24 1 Pet. iii. 20. 
 
22 
 
 board the King's ship, the whole way would seem 
 easy to him. 
 
 The men's names were Peter and John, and Peter 
 was the oldest, though indeed there was not much 
 difference in their ages. One day Peter says to 
 John, What now ? Don't you know that some time 
 or another, if ever you get on board that ship as an 
 accepted sailor, it must be in this way? You must 
 leave all, and come to Chri&t. 
 
 Nay, said John, I begin to think I must bring all 
 to Christ, for I find no heart to leave all, and yet, 
 come to him I must. Now the question is, Will it be 
 of any use to come so ? Will he have me as I am ? 
 May I come to him for a heart to leave all and come, 
 or must I stay away till I am willing to leave all? 
 
 Why, said Peter, I hope the Spirit of God himself 
 has put it into your heart to ask these questions, for 
 here you have touched the very evil ; and I can tell 
 you if you stay away from Christ till you are willing 
 to leave all for him, you never will come at all. Yes, 
 yes ! You must come for a heart, and that will be 
 bringing your heart. You must come for a new heart, 
 bringing the old one, for as long as you stay away 
 from Christ, you will never have any but the old one 
 to bring him. It is only in Christ that we can be 
 made new creatures, and not out of him. Old things 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 23 
 
 are done away, and all things become new in Christ, 25 
 but never away from Christ. So come ; come any 
 way, only come. 
 
 Well, said John, I'll try. And after he had been 
 trying some time, a verse came to him in an Old 
 Almanac, where he was looking for the weather, 
 
 Just as I am, without one plea, 
 But that thy blood was shed for me, 
 And that thou bid'st me come to thee 
 Lamb of God, I come ! 
 
 And that helped him very much, for it seemed to 
 be exactly the language which the weather in his 
 soul required. And after awhile he met with other 
 verses belonging to the same, in the Old Almanac, 
 and was glad to find them. 
 
 Just as I am, and waiting not 
 To rid my soul of one dark blot, 
 To thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot, 
 O Lamb of God, I come ! 
 
 Just as I am, though tossed about 
 With many a conflict, many a doubt, 
 Fightings within and fears without, 
 Lamb of God, I come ! 
 
 Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind ! 
 Sight, riches, healing of the mind, 
 Yea, all I need, in thee to find, 
 Lamb of God, I come ! 
 
 25 2 Cor. v. 17. 
 
24 A REEL IN A BOTTLE. 
 
 Just as I am, thou wilt receive, 
 Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve ; 
 Because thy promise I believe, 
 O Lamb of God, I come ! 
 
 And so he kept praying for many days, often 
 saying, Lord, I helieve, help thou mine unbelief ; 26 
 until at length these expressions seemed to him to 
 have some meaning ; for at first, though he had 
 tried to use them, it did not seem to him that he 
 understood them, or felt them as he ought, but now 
 they were like hidden things that seemed to be 
 coming out into the light, and his words meant 
 something, and he began to come to Christ ; not 
 merely for the sake of coming to him, but to get 
 something. So things went on, till at length these 
 exercises of the Divine Spirit so wrought in his heart, 
 and the word of God got such power over him, that 
 he was as much bent upon the voyage to the Celes- 
 tial City as Peter himself ever had been ; and so 
 they concluded to set out together. 
 
 They two were the only ones at that time, for the 
 place where they were was then very low in respect 
 to knowledge and interest in the King's commerce ; 
 and though the people were willing to hear the 
 King's messengers, yet they were so full of business, 
 clearing and discharging vessels of their own, and 
 
 28 Mark ix. 24. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 25 
 
 having great warehouses full of merchandise, which 
 they were busy selling, and a great many manufac 
 turing establishments going on, and in fine, a great 
 press of business of all kinds, that there was no heart 
 to attend to anything else, and it was never conve- 
 nient for them to put their own effects by, or to 
 settle them up, so as to start upon the voyage. 
 These two, therefore, were the only ones at that time, 
 and so the vessel was put under their care, just as if 
 they had chartered her for themselves alone. 
 
 They had all the provisions and instruments of 
 navigation, a perfect and infallible chart, a chro- 
 nometer that only needed care in winding, and a 
 barometer that foretold all changes of the weather. 
 They had instruments to take their reckoning by the 
 sun, and also for lunar observations, and they had 
 their log-books, and the best of spy-glasses, and 
 besides all this, they had means by the faithful 
 use of which, though it needed no little skill 
 and • attention, they might detect the direction and 
 strength of unseen tides and undercurrents. They 
 were indeed provided with everything that could 
 help to make their voyage prosperous, sure, and suc- 
 cessful. Besides this, there were some private stores 
 with which they were cautioned to supply themselves, 
 though for these also they must draw upon the King's 
 storehouses by personal drafts from him; and also 
 2 
 
26 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 some things for private adventure, which they were 
 to make the most of, and to increase as far as possible 
 during the voyage. 
 
 A note was put into their hands in regard to these 
 matters, that they might be neither idle nor unfruit- 
 ful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, 27 
 running after this manner : Besides this, giving all 
 diligence add to your faith virtue, and to virtue 
 knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to 
 temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and 
 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly 
 kindness charity ; for so an entrance shall be minis- 
 tered unto you abundantly into the everlasting king- 
 dom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 28 
 
 There was no quarantine for the Celestial City, 
 because, if these things were on board, it proved that 
 the vessel was one of the King's ships ; and as to 
 any plague, or danger of it, in the Celestial Country, 
 there was no such possibility, for one of the laws of 
 that country was this, The inhabitant shall no more 
 say I am sick, 29 and nothing that defileth was ever 
 permitted to enter into it. 30 Moreover, in the King's 
 ship, and upon every sailor, there was the King's 
 own seal, with a private mark read by himself in 
 heaven, indicated by this inscription, The Lord 
 knoweth them that are his ; and also a more visible 
 
 37 2 Pet. 18 28 2 Pet. i. 5, 6, 7 11. 29 Isa. xxxiii. 24. 30 Rev. xxi. 27 
 
FOR JACK ES" THE DOLDRUMS. 27 
 
 and common mark, read upon earth, Let every one 
 that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. 31 
 It was well known that every one having this earthly 
 inscription visible as in fulfilment, had his name in 
 God's book with the other seal in heaven. Yet many 
 persons hoped for the last in heaven, without having 
 the first on earth, without any anxious effort after the 
 first ; and such persons were very sure to be disap- 
 pointed, since God's seal never left one side of the 
 impression without the other, and either of them being 
 entirely alone, was proved to be a forgery. 
 
 ISTow it so happened, in the good providence of 
 God, that when the time came for them to set sail, 
 everything was favorable, and the weather delightful. 
 It was Friday, and according to the superstitions of 
 many of the coasting vessels and seacraft of their 
 native land, they ought not to have set sail on that 
 day ; for there were many who did not scruple at all 
 to work in their own ships, and sail them out of port 
 on the Lord's day, that would not have sailed on 
 Friday on any consideration. However there were 
 orders from the King of the Celestial coimtry to dis- 
 regard all such foolish superstitions, but to keep the 
 Sabbath holy ; so it being Friday was no reason to 
 them for not sailing, but it being a fine day, they put 
 out to sea with a strong breeze, which carried them 
 
 31 2 Tim. ii. 19. 
 
28 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, ETC. 
 
 speedily some hundreds of miles away from the coast 
 of their native land. 
 
 At this they were mnch elated, for it was a good 
 thing at the beginning to get such an impulse, and 
 they thought they should make the voyage, perhaps, 
 without encountering any of the dangers and difficul- 
 ties they had heard described, as almost always met 
 with. Added to this, by a mistake in their reckon- 
 ing, before they had got accustomed to practical navi- 
 gation, they several days put down in their log-book 
 a much greater advance than they had made in 
 reality, and as all their calculations were based 
 accordingly, this mistake might have been attended 
 with very serious consequences, for it made them 
 remarkably confident and secure. They carried all 
 sail, put on the top-gallant royals and skysails, and 
 even got out their studding-sails, for indeed it was 
 most inviting weather, and a most delightful breeze, 
 and they felt animated to make the most of it, and a 
 beautiful sight it was to see the rig of the vessel, and 
 how grandly she ploughed the deep. 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 LAND-LUBBERING IN THE COUNTRY OF SELF-CONCEIT. 
 
 They were to sail past the country of Self-Conceit, 
 and were permitted on no account to enter any of 
 its harbors, or to land anywhere on the coast, or to 
 have any intercourse with the inhabitants, unless 
 some of them should put off in boats, desiring a 
 passage to the Celestial Country. And that country 
 of Self-Conceit was put down in their chart, with a 
 warning against the coast as very dangerous, and 
 there were marks on the chart to signify some 
 dreadful shipwrecks that had there taken place. 
 But owing to that mistake in their reckoning of 
 which I have spoken, they thought themselves much 
 past that region of country, and so, taking no special 
 pains to keep off, although the wind blew towards 
 the shore, they coasted nearer to the shore than would 
 have been prudent, even could they have counted on 
 continued fine weather. 
 
30 A KEEL LN A BOTTLE, 
 
 But this they could by no means do in that region, 
 as they soon found to their cost. For it happened 
 that opposite the mouth of one of the rivers, which 
 from that country run into the sea, they were over- 
 taken by a terrible storm, and the wind driving that 
 way, with so little sea room that they were in immi- 
 nent danger of striking, and dared not attempt wea- 
 thering the point, within which the storm had caught 
 them, they made shift to run up into the river, 
 deeming themselves happy so soon to have got into 
 quiet, smooth, and safe waters. But they knew not 
 where they were, and they had better have kept out 
 at sea and endured the storm, as the event proved. 
 They thought at first they would only anchor there 
 for the night, and when the sea became calm and the 
 sky clear, they would resume their course in the 
 ocean. 
 
 The next day it cleared off indeed, and the sea was 
 inviting, but notwithstanding that the weather had 
 changed, the wind still blew strong up river, so how 
 could they get out of the harbor, not knowing the 
 channel, and being unable to tack, for want of sea 
 room ? 
 
 Besides, the banks of the river looked so charming, 
 and the whole country, as far up as they could see, 
 promised so much to their curiosity, that they con- 
 cluded to sail further up, intending to take advantage 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 31 
 
 of the first change of wind, and to put out to sea 
 again. So they weighed anchor, and soon lost sight 
 of the coast and the ocean. And now, as there 
 seemed but little need of studying their chart, since 
 there was no river navigation laid down there, they 
 delivered themselves to their own speculations and 
 imaginings about the new things which they were 
 beginning to behold. They even thought it possible 
 that Divine Providence had turned them into this 
 river, so as to enlarge their sphere of observation and 
 experience, and perhaps open through them a new 
 mine of theological learning, almost a new revelation. 
 For the air of the country began to take effect upon 
 them, and they looked back upon what seemed to 
 them their low views, confined so closely to the lines 
 traced for them in the King's charts, with something 
 like contempt. They thought it became them to 
 hold their minds open to conviction and improve- 
 ment, let it come in what shape, or from whatever 
 quarter it might. 
 
 They went a good way up the country, and what 
 seemed very strange was that the river was broader 
 and deeper high up in the interior ; also it grew 
 very winding in its course, and as the compass did 
 not here traverse as they were used to see it, they 
 could now hardly tell, to any certainty, which was 
 East, West, North, or South. And as to the wind, 
 
32 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 that seemed always to blow up river, let the windings 
 of the river be what they might ; and the further they 
 went, the more delighted they were, for the country 
 in every direction was enchanting; and though as 
 yet they had conversed with none of the inhabitants, 
 yet they could see the villages and beautiful houses 
 and farms on the shores on either side, so that at 
 length the desire awoke within them to go ashore for 
 a while, and make some little explorations. 
 
 Accordingly they left the ship under guard, with 
 orders to await their return, and took their depart- 
 ure. As they preferred to go by the green lanes and 
 across the fields, because it was so much pleasanter 
 travelling, they did not at first meet many people. 
 The first person that spoke to them was a man en- 
 gaged in tying down a balloon to a stake in the field, 
 and he gazed at them with some curiosity, as they 
 wore the King's naval uniform, which, though very 
 simple, was peculiar. He told them there was to be 
 a great ascension here, and that the method of travel- 
 ling by balloons was much occupying men's minds. 
 He said, moreover, that a new geological survey of 
 the world had just been ordered by the Royal 
 Academy of that country, and that the Mosaic 
 account of the creation must either be renounced or 
 spiritualized, and that, to save the credit of the Bible, 
 they were pretty generally transcendentalizing the 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 33 
 
 whole thing, or regarding it but as the beginning of 
 a higher revelation, which was to be interior and 
 more illuminating, after which the first would be 
 laid aside, the Old and New Testament being merely 
 a revelation of the letter, while the new revelation 
 would be a universal inspiration of the spirit. 
 
 These things were so far beyond the depth of Peter 
 and John, that they would have thought the man 
 was crazy, if he had not told them that the "Word 
 was only as the shrouds, by which one could get to 
 the mast-head. Then they answered him that 
 though the mast-head was an excellent place occa- 
 sionally for a look-out, yet nobody could live there, 
 and if the shrouds were taken away after getting 
 there, it would be pretty difficult and dangerous to 
 get back, nor could they sail the ship by the mast- 
 head, but preferred the King's chart and compass. 
 
 The man then plied them with so much more of 
 his jargon that their ears were almost stunned, and 
 they were quite startled back into the mood of humble 
 reverence and dependence on the Lord's "Word and 
 Spirit. And the King's word came into Peter's mind 
 like fire, Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits 
 whether they ~be of God. 1 Then, as some of the 
 expressions which the man had dropped led them to 
 suspect the wanton nature of the liberty, to gain 
 
 *1 John iv. 1. 
 
 2* 
 
34 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 which he was for cutting loose from the Word, with 
 his pretences to a higher inspiration and perfection, 
 Peter asked him if he had not himself once served on 
 board one of the King's ships. And he answered 
 yes, and that not a few in his present country had 
 done the same, but had now learned a freer way. 
 
 Then said Peter, These are wells without water, 
 clouds that are carried with a tempest ; to whom the 
 mist of darkness is reserved for ever. For when 
 they speak great swelling words of vanity, they 
 allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much 
 wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them 
 who live in error. "While they promise them liberty, 
 they themselves are the servants of corruption. For 
 if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world 
 through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ, they are again entangled therein, and over- 
 come, the latter end is worse with them than the 
 beginning. For it had been better for them not to 
 have known the way of righteousness, than after they 
 have known it, to turn from the holy commandment 
 delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them 
 according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to 
 his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed to 
 her wallowing in the mire. 2 
 
 After this they went on their way with many 
 
 2 2 Pet. ii. 17-22. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 35 
 
 misgivings. But they had not travelled far, when 
 they came to a region where there were beautiful 
 churches, or buildings which they took to be churches, 
 and many other external signs of a religious people- 
 Accordingly they did find there a people quite re- 
 ligious in their own way, but as Peter and John 
 soon perceived, not according to the faith to be 
 learned from God's word and the gospel. To their 
 astonishment they found some who denied that the 
 King of the Celestial Country was that Divine Being 
 who was in the beginning with God, and who is God, 
 and who became flesh for us, taking upon himself our 
 nature, that he might bear our sins upon the cross, 
 and die for our salvation. 
 
 And whereas the system of religion in the cross 
 and in the love of Christ begins with self-abase- 
 ment, the scheme of this people seemed to begin with 
 self-exaltation. And whereas they knew the religion 
 of the cross in its power to be a death to self and 
 sin, they found that with this people it was turned 
 into the cultivation of natural life merely, the 
 example of Christ being consulted as an admirable 
 guide, indeed, and a very wise, merciful, heavenly 
 and comforting thing, but of the necessity of his 
 death for them, or of their new birth and life in 
 him by the Holy Spirit, they either had no idea, 
 or no belief in it. Many of them carefully culti- 
 
36 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 rated all the social qualities, and were people of 
 much refinement in literature, and exceedingly gen- 
 teel in their morality. The high cultivation of their 
 native qualities they presented in proof that they 
 needed nothing but that for an entrance to heaven. 
 They thought it impossible that a community of such 
 sweet farms, gardens, and pretty cottages, could ever 
 be sent to any worse place in the spiritual world 
 than heaven, and, indeed, most of them did never 
 believe that there was any other place for souls but 
 heaven. 
 
 Now when Peter and John told them what things 
 they had heard from the King's messengers, and 
 from the King himself, and how they were certainly 
 true, and that the world and all that is therein will be 
 burned up to the perdition of ungodly men, 3 they 
 smiled and pitied their simplicity, and seemed no 
 way disturbed in mind for anything that was to 
 come. 
 
 As to the voyage or pilgrimage to the heavenly 
 country, they said that such ideas were quite 
 antiquated ; and as to the burning of the world, they 
 said that it only meant a transfiguration into a purer 
 state, into which they themselves were already pass- 
 ing, so that every pound of guano which they put 
 upon their fields and gardens to quicken vegetation, 
 
 s 2 Pet. iii. 7. 
 
FOK JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 37 
 
 and every moral virtue which they cultivated, was a 
 part of the flame of that threatened conflagration, 
 and thus earth was to be transformed into heaven. 
 They said, moreover, that a, railroad was in process 
 of construction, and had been carried already as far 
 as the Delectable Mountains, and from there to the 
 Celestial City a joint-stock company had prepared a 
 line of aerial steamers and balloons. 
 
 They gave them to understand likewise that a 
 Mutual Insurance Company had been established, 
 guaranteeing all travellers a perfect security from 
 every danger by the way, and engaging a certainty 
 of passage even at the latest hour, when, if the regu- 
 lar trains were all full, extra trains would always be 
 sent on for the convenience of passengers. They 
 informed them likewise of their system of through 
 tickets, by which any traveller might spend a year or 
 more at any intermediate station, as at the great town 
 of Yanity Fair, or at the Gold Mines, where also 
 was a great city, or anywhere else, as they might 
 choose, and afterwards proceed, without loss, by the 
 same ticket, which would be as good as ever, and 
 just as available for entrance to the Celestial City. 
 
 Now Peter and John were for the moment taken 
 all aback, as well they might be, by all these things, 
 for the speech and preaching of them was as smooth 
 as oil ; and if they had not set out as common sailors 
 
38 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 to work their passage, they might have been com- 
 pletely confounded. But though at this time, so far 
 from the sea, jet their hearts clung to their ship, and 
 from their own experience they knew there was an 
 ocean to cross, and that it was not possible to get to 
 the Celestial City without crossing it. Besides, they 
 preferred a good sailing vessel to any steamer. So 
 they said one to another, This is all very well for 
 those that are righteous, but the books of science and 
 the farms, and the Mutual Admiration Societies, will 
 never keep the world from burning. It will never do 
 for sinners like ourselves to stop here. 
 
 Then said John to his brother, Do you remember 
 that Psalm where it says, My steps had well nigh 
 slipped, my feet were almost gone. 4 ISTow it comes 
 into my mind like a flame. If these things that the 
 people here tell us were true, then verily we have 
 cleansed our heart in vain, and washed our hands in 
 innocency ; 5 if we could say that we have done this, 
 even as the Psalmist did. What need of a weari- 
 some painful pilgrimage to heaven, if there is no 
 hell? 
 
 Ah my brother, said Peter, that is a good Psalm to 
 think upon, when so tempted. Surely thou didst set 
 tkom in slippery places? O, there is no truth in those 
 Tain hopes. When the end comes, then what will 
 
 4 Psa. Ixxiii. 2. 6 Psa. Ixxiii. 13. 6 Psa. Ixxiii. 18. 
 
FOE JACK m THE DOLDRUMS. OV 
 
 become of their tickets, and their insurance com- 
 panies ? How are they brought into desolation as in 
 a moment ! They are utterly consumed with terrors. 
 As a dream when one awaketh, so, O Lord, when 
 thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. 7 
 
 Well, said John, I feel as though we had been 
 dreaming, and the conversation of these men about 
 their railroads and joint-stock companies, before the 
 end, makes me think of the talk of the rich man in 
 hell with Abraham in heaven, after the end. 8 Oh, that 
 poor rich man thought he was one of these stock- 
 holders, but he found it was a great mistake. For 
 alas, what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole 
 world, and lose his own soul. 9 
 
 Yes, answered Peter, and now I hear a voice saying 
 to us, Arise ye and depart hence, for this is not your 
 rest, because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even 
 with a sore destruction. 10 Oh, my brother, we have 
 been here too long ; we have no business here ; 
 we ought never to have come here. Let us be 
 going. 
 
 So they thought. But there were temptations and 
 trials in wait for them, of which they never dreamed 
 when on board ship. One day, being tired with 
 their journey, they were persuaded to taste a cordial 
 of the country, universally used there, and it had a 
 
 7 Psa. lxxiii. 18-20. 8 Luke xvi. 23. 9 Mark viii. 36. ,0 Mic. ii. 10. 
 
40 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 quality that made them light-headed, and for a 
 season took away their sober judgment ; and nnder 
 this delusion they fell into the hands of some land- 
 sharks, that had had notice of their being in those 
 parts, and had followed them up from the sea, who 
 stripped them of their means of subsistence, and 
 almost of their clothing, and then turned them out 
 of doors. They told them they were a couple of 
 self-conceited fools for refusing to stop in that country. 
 
 And now for the first time Peter and John be- 
 thought themselves to ask the name of the country ; a 
 thing, the which, if they had done at the outset, and 
 then examined their chart and instructions, they never 
 would have left the ship, nor got into this difficulty. 
 And, indeed, the moment they were told that this 
 itself was the high and mighty country of Self-Con- 
 ceit, they seemed like men amazed, but brought to 
 their senses. They remembered now with shame 
 their foolish feelings of elation on coming up the 
 river, and they sat down by the wayside, and wept 
 for very anguish at the manner in which they had 
 neglected the precious heavenly instructions of their 
 King, and even had began almost to despise their 
 own humble and lowly views, when with contrite 
 hearts they had waited on him, and trembled at his 
 Word. 
 
 And now they were reduced to great straits, and 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 41 
 
 wished they had never left their vessel, and began to 
 despair of ever getting back, especially as a change 
 of weather set in, and the rains fell in torrents, and 
 the roads became almost impassable. For though 
 the ways of that region were well enough in dry and 
 pleasant weather, yet in the rainy season they were 
 nothing but a great bog. So the pilgrims again and 
 again were plunged almost to destruction in pits and 
 quagmires, and once or twice they were nearly lost in 
 fording streams. They lost the way entirely, and 
 could find no person in all that region who so much 
 as knew the river where their ship lay. So they 
 wept and mourned, and besought God to have mercy 
 upon them. 
 
 They thought now, that any storm at sea was 
 better to be endured than such misery. They 
 thought, if they could once get back to the ves- 
 sel, they never would leave it again, no, not for a 
 day, on any consideration. They sometimes thought 
 it would even have been better for them, if they were 
 back to their native land, so as to take a new start, 
 for they felt that so far from making progress towards 
 the Celestial City, they had gone a great way back- 
 ward. Their pride was most effectually humbled 
 and broken, and with contrite hearts they struggled 
 towards the quarter where they believed the ship 
 lay. 
 
42 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 All Peter, said John to his brother, as they were 
 painfully working on in that direction, this will be 
 sad stuff to put in our log-book. Who would have 
 thought that a few steps could have led us so far out 
 of the way % 
 
 A few steps indeed, said Peter, I think we have 
 taken a great many, and the very first was wrong. 
 What business had we, sailors, to leave the ship at 
 all, and go cruising up a strange country, no where 
 laid down in any of the King's charts as lying in our 
 way, and no commission given us to visit it ? 
 
 Alas, returned John, there is no excuse for us, and 
 for my part, I am heartily sickened at the remem- 
 .brance of such amazing folly, and self-delusion, and 
 self-conceit, when I thought I was going on to great 
 attainments. O how rightly is this land named ! A 
 man becomes a fool the moment he breathes the 
 climate. Just in proportion to my lofty imaginings, 
 I was going astray. Now, I hate the very thoughts 
 of it. Though I were perfect, yet would I not know 
 my soul ; 1 would despise my life. 11 
 
 Well, said Peter, hold on there. I think this 
 experience will not rot, if ever we get back to the 
 ship. If you ever see me getting proud again, 
 remind me of it. But I am afraid of all my sorrows, 
 and I know that God will not hold me innocent. If 
 
 "Jobix. 21. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 43 
 
 I wash myself with snow -water, and make my hands 
 never so clean, yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, 
 and mine own clothes shall abhor me. 12 
 
 And yet, only just think of it, answered John. 
 How easy to- go astray, without great watching ! 
 Lord, have mercy on us ! I believe at the very first, 
 it was only the indulgence of an idle curiosity ; but it 
 makes me think of the saying, Behold how great a 
 matter a little fire kindleth ! 13 Alas ! shall we ever 
 get back ? O how justly might the Lord leave us to 
 wander here for ever, in a land of darkness, as dark- 
 ness itself, and of the shadow of death without any 
 order, and where the light is as darkness. 14 
 
 Most justly he might, my dear brother, added 
 Peter, and it is only because he is a forgiving God 
 and Saviour, that he does not. But I hope we are on 
 the right track now, though the night is coming, and 
 it must be another day before we see the way back, 
 if we ever do see it. But is there not a passage that 
 says, Seek the Lord and ye shall live? 15 I am sure 
 if we seek him, we shall find him. 
 
 Yes, said John, but the passage says also, Seek 
 not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to 
 Beersheba. 16 Now I think we have just neglected 
 what we ought to have done, and done what we 
 
 " Job ix. 28, 30, 31 . 13 James iii. 5. M Job x. 22. 15 Amos v. 6. 
 16 Amos v. 5- 
 
44 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 ought not. These places where we have been wan- 
 dering are as Bethel and Gilgal to us, full of trans- 
 gressions. But the passage says also, Seek him that 
 niaketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the 
 shadow of death into the morning. 17 I see the seven 
 stars even now, in the fall of the evening ; and God, 
 who made them, will not forsake us, though we have 
 sinned against him. So let us not despair. 
 
 No, said Peter, not even if we die here. But the 
 words come into my mind, Come and let us return 
 unto the Lord ; for he hath torn, and he will heal us ; 
 he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. He will 
 revive us, and we shall live in his sight. 18 
 
 Well, said John, that is encouraging, and so is 
 what follows ; Then shall we know, if we follow on 
 to know the Lord, His going forth is prepared as the 
 morning, and he shall come unto us as the rain. 19 
 
 And is there not also such a passage as this? 
 answered Peter, I will heal their backslidings. 20 And 
 even if there were not, has not the Lord Jesus said, 
 Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out. 21 
 Now returning is coming, and if we return, we shall 
 be revived ; and I am sure we have got a lesson that 
 will last us many a day. 
 
 Thus they went on talking ; but the greater part 
 
 r Amos v. 8. 18 Hos. vi. 12. 10 Hos. vi. 3. 20 Hos. xiv 4 
 
 21 John vi. 37. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 45 
 
 of that night was spent in prayer, and they got but 
 little rest, and with the earliest dawn they were on 
 their way again. 
 
 And oh how their hearts were rejoiced, when, 
 about sunset that same day, they caught a sight of 
 the ship and of the river from a rising ground to 
 which they had clambered. They fell on their knees 
 and gave thanks to God, and then hastened on 
 board. 
 
 There they found that during their absence a great 
 trade had been going on between ship and shore, so 
 that some of the most valuable of the goods that had 
 been laid in for their sea-voyage were gone, and the 
 hold was almost filled with strange productions. 
 Some of their gold, silver, and precious stones, had 
 been paid away for quantities of wood, hay, and 
 stubble ; for the crew were under a singular delusion, 
 and thought these latter things of more value ; and 
 indeed if they had gone on much longer, every 
 precious thing on board would have been thrown 
 away, and its place supplied with whimwhams and 
 vanities from the country of Self-Conceit. 
 
 And now they had great perplexity how to get 
 back to the sea. For the wind continued all the 
 while without any change, blowing up river, so that 
 it was quite impossible, by any use of sails or rudder 
 to move down stream. They were compelled to get 
 
46 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 out the boats, for there was no time to be spent in 
 waiting for a wind, and indeed they might have been 
 waiting there to this day, had they done it ; for the 
 wind in the country of Self-Conceit always blows on 
 shore, and at the season they were then in, the 
 weather keeps the people shut up to themselves ; and 
 though sails are often seen passing up the river, they 
 are seldom seen returning. So they made haste to 
 man the boats ; and all the long way that they had 
 come up under a fair swift breeze, with all sail set, 
 they had to tow back the ship, with great toil and 
 pains, by rowing. It was slow and fatiguing work, to 
 such a degree, that sometimes they were ready to 
 give up in despair. Moreover, once or twice the 
 inhabitants of the country tried to interfere with 
 them, to stop their progress, and even fired on them ; 
 but they took no notice in return, and made all the 
 haste possible towards the sea. 
 
 And at length they arrived at the mouth of the 
 river, and were rejoicing to think how soon they 
 would be again upon the King's highway, when all 
 of a sudden the ship grounded heavily on a bar of 
 sand that was not visible even at low water, and 
 with all their efforts, they could not get her off. 
 The winds and storms, together with the strong 
 currents, are continually in that place shifting the 
 sands, so that great shoals had been formed, which 
 
FOB JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 47 
 
 were not there when they entered the river, and of 
 which of course they were wholly unconscious, till 
 the ship struck upon them. All these things, as they 
 found to their cost, made it very easy getting into 
 the country of Self-Conceit, but very difficult escaping 
 from it. All the cargo that had been taken in up 
 river, such as hampers of the various productions of 
 the country, they had to throw overboard, and even 
 the water-casks had to be stove, and only the rem- 
 nant of water retained, which was in the ship before 
 they entered the river. 
 
 And even then, the ship was not lightened 
 enough, to float ; and there they must have remained, 
 getting deeper and deeper imbedded in the sand, 
 had it not been that so near the sea the tide flowed 
 high, and most happily for them was going low 
 when they struck the bar, so that, if it rose high 
 enough, the next tide, after all that they had done 
 in the lighting of the ship, might float her. 
 
 And so it came about. The tide rose high, and 
 accomplished for them what no human force could 
 have done without it. They passed over the bar in 
 safety ; and now, as the wind began already to veer 
 a little in their favor, they took in the boats, trimmed 
 their sails, and casting themselves on the care of the 
 Great King, whose highway they had gained, in a few 
 hours they were joyfully tossing on the open sea. 
 
CHAPTEE III. 
 
 EXPERIENCE OF STORMS, AND THE HARBOR OF 
 GOOD HOPE. 
 
 For some days they enjoyed the most serene and 
 lovely weather, and were able to lay their course 
 South, towards the trade-winds, where an old in- 
 spired navigator had said that the righteous shall 
 hold on his way, and' he that hath clean hands shall 
 be stronger and stronger. 1 Also another navigator 
 in describing the same passage had said, The path 
 of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more 
 and more unto the perfect day. 2 They had now an 
 interval of comparative rest and leisure, which they 
 employed in putting things to rights, for the ship 
 had been sadly neglected while she lay in that river, 
 which they found, on examination, to have been 
 laid down as the River of Yain Confidence. They 
 had some hard work in overhauling their log, and 
 
 'Job xvii. 9. 2 Prov. iv. 18. 
 
A REEL IN A BOTTLE, ETC. 4:9 
 
 correcting the mistakes that had been made in their 
 reckoning. Both Peter and John kept a separate 
 journal for the sake of mutual comparison and 
 benefit, and it was while they were at work upon 
 these and other matters, that one day on deck, while 
 the vessel was gliding steadily onward under a fine 
 breeze, they had the following conversation : — 
 
 I think, said Peter, it is a great wonder and 
 miracle of mercy that we got safe out from that 
 country of Self-Conceit, and still more, that we were 
 not buried for ever among the quicksands of the 
 River of Yain Confidence. O what a narrow escape 
 from destruction ! And the sin and the danger were 
 all our own fault, for we might have known better. 
 I'm thinking what we can do to avoid such errors for 
 the future ; since we ought to have known by the log 
 and chart together, when we were in the neighbor- 
 hood of the coast of that country ; and if we had 
 known, I hope God would not have left us to such 
 madness as that of running deliberately into danger. 
 
 Well, I don't know as to that, answered John ; but 
 I do know that a man will go anywhere, into any 
 folly, if left to himself, so that he needs to have God 
 search him continually, and show him what manner 
 of spirit he is of. It is pretty clear that a more 
 faithful self-examination is needed. My log-book is 
 a sad sight, and it teaches me some very mournful 
 
50 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 lessons, especially of late days ; but I would not be 
 without it for a great deal, for it helps me to survey 
 the dealings of the Lord with me, and is encouraging 
 as well as humbling. 
 
 I have heard of a fine young sailor, said Peter, 
 who having read some things written by a grave old 
 Salt in a tract concerning the log-book, conceived the 
 idea that it could never be made a simple record of 
 the work of grace, but the devil would have much to 
 do with it. It distressed him exceedingly, and made 
 him so scrupulous that he one day put into the fire a 
 whole log of experiences very precious and sweet to 
 him, because he was afraid of sin in keeping it. And 
 the consequence was that afterwards, the devil, who 
 as a roaring lion goeth about, seeking whom he may 
 devour, 3 attacked the poor lad in a storm, and for 
 want of that loff almost succeeded in making him 
 believe that he had never been in those seas, nor ever 
 even set sail from his native country. 
 
 Well, said John, it is good, and Satan knows it, to 
 record the Lord's goodness, and have it in remem- 
 brance. I know how Jacob used to do, for want of 
 better materials. He set up an altar at Bethel, 
 where the Lord appeared to him, and when he had 
 wrestled with the angel and prevailed, he called the 
 name of that place Peniel, because he had seen the 
 
 3 1 Pet. v. s. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 51 
 
 Lord face to face, and his life was preserved. 4 And 
 David also used to set up such way-marks, and when 
 he was very much cast down and discouraged by 
 present difficulties, he used to go back and consider 
 them. 5 He made a record of the battle with the lion 
 and the bear, and when Saul tried to prevent him 
 from fighting with Goliah, what does he but just turn 
 over to that page in his log-book, and reads the 
 account to Saul, and tells him that the same God who 
 delivered him out of the mouth of the lion and the 
 bear, would give him the victory over that un circum- 
 cised Philistine. 6 "Why ! I wouldn't burn such a his- 
 tory on any account, if I had it. But indeed I pity 
 the poor dear fellow you speak of, if Satan had the 
 handling of him in a storm. It is bad enough in 
 clear weather. 
 
 Why, said Peter, it is the storm that Satan takes 
 for some, and the calm for others, according to what 
 he knows of things aboard ship. If the crew are 
 much at their ease, he will come any time. But to 
 my thinking, we must take better care of our reckon- 
 ing, keep a better look-out, and have the log over- 
 hauled daily. It wont do to give Satan the advan- 
 tage, seeing we know so well how he works. 
 
 Just then, though it had been such fine weather 
 before, a bank of clouds began to be visible in the 
 
 4 Gen. xxxii. 30. 6 Psa. xlii. 6t 6 1 Sam. xvii. 37. 
 
52 A EEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 horizon, and there was a sound like the muttering 
 of distant thunder. Also the breeze fell, and the air 
 round about seemed to stand stock still, as if it were 
 waiting for something like an earthquake. This put 
 Peter and John on the alert, and running to the 
 barometer, they found the mercury falling, so that at 
 once they ordered all sail taken in, and everything on 
 board ship made as tight as possible. The hatches 
 were battened down, and all was prepared, as well as 
 could be, for a storm, since they knew not how heavy 
 it might come, nor how long it might last. And 
 come it did with great violence, so that there was no 
 time to lose ; for the gale swept like a whirlwind, and 
 had there been anything left exposed for the wind to 
 get hold of, it seemed as though the masts would 
 have been taken out of the ship bodily. 
 
 The conflict of the elements was terrible. Some- 
 times the rain poured down as if the whole heavens 
 had burst, and the thunder roared, and the lightning 
 flashed incessantly. Then again it seemed as if the 
 wind itself would beat both thunder and lightning. 
 Not a word could be heard on board ship, and such 
 a sea was raised, that the like of it they had never 
 seen, nor even imagined possible. 
 
 Nevertheless, thoy would perhaps have gone 
 through it unharmed, if it had not been for a little 
 negligence at the helm, which just then needed the 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 53 
 
 greatest strength and watchfulness. For a slight 
 sheer in the steering brought the broadside of a wave 
 upon them with such tremendous violence, that 
 almost everything went by the board. The bulwarks 
 were wrenched down, and the whole companion way 
 was carried off, so that the water rushed into the 
 cabin and nearly filled it. The next moment the 
 foremast was carried short off near the deck, notwith- 
 standing that not a rag of canvas had been left 
 exposed to the tempest. 
 
 Then said Peter, and he could not help groaning 
 it aloud, so that John heard him, All thy waves and 
 thy billows are gone over me ! 7 But John held his 
 peace, for he was afraid of discouraging the crew, 
 if they gave way themselves as in terror; but he 
 thought at one time the end had come. Then he said 
 within himself, Thy way is in the sea, and thy path 
 in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. 8 
 And the words came to him, When I said my foot 
 slippeth, thy mercy, O Lord, held me up. In the 
 multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts 
 delight my soul. 9 So they both looked to God with 
 strong crying and tears, for they were in very great 
 danger. 
 
 The storm did not abate, the night came down in 
 pitch darkness, and everything was gloomy. To add 
 
 7 Psa. xlii. 7. 8 Psa. Ixxvii. 19. 9 Psa. xciv. 18, 19. 
 
54 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 to their distress, the ship, which had seemed to have 
 suffered no injury in her timbers, began evidently to 
 leak, for on sounding, they found several feet of water 
 in the hold. And now for the first time it occurred 
 to Peter and John that she must have been weak- 
 ened in some way, while grounded on the bar in the 
 River of Tain Confidence; but all they could now 
 do was to work at the pumps. 
 
 And here again they were terribly disheartened, 
 and all hope seemed about to be taken from them ; 
 for though one of the pumps worked well, yet the 
 other was nearly useless, and on trying to discover 
 the cause, they found that a parcel of grain, which 
 had been taken on board in the country of Self- 
 Conceit, having been deposited near the bottom of 
 the pump, and not at all cleared away, had swollen 
 and choked the spaces, so that the water would not 
 draw. 
 
 Now among the crew there were two named Con- 
 trition and Sincere, and they at once confessed that 
 they remembered the putting in of that grain, and 
 had themselves had a hand in it, and if any soul on 
 board could get at it, it was they. So they volun- 
 teered, at great hazard and difficulty, because work- 
 ing in the hold was almost impossible at such a 
 time, to get the evil out of the way. And indeed 
 they labored with such despairing energy, that after 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDETJMS. 55 
 
 a while they did succeed in reaching the source of the 
 trouble, and were so far enabled to remove it, that the 
 pumps worked freely, and the ship was eased. 
 
 But the leaks were not to be got at, for it was no 
 large leak, but a general injury, the effect of which 
 would inevitably continue, while the ship labored so 
 heavily, in such a tremendous sea. All they could 
 do, therefore, was to keep the pumps going, day and 
 night, which cost them incessant fatigue, so that they 
 were almost dead from exhaustion. Then, too, there 
 was not a dry place in the ship, where they could 
 rest for an hour's sleep, but sleeping or waking they 
 were wet and uncomfortable. And what between 
 the storm and their own labors, the pressure was so 
 great, that they had hardly time so much as to eat, 
 and nothing could be cooked for them, so that their 
 knees grew weak through fasting, and they thought if 
 things continued in this state much longer, they 
 should be reduced to utter despair. But they hoped 
 they had seen the worst, though still the storm seemed 
 unabated in its fury. 
 
 But all this while they had been driving before the 
 tempest, not knowing where they were, nor how far 
 they had gone, nor whether they were near any land 
 or not ; and as to- steering a direct course, it was 
 almost impossible, though they did what they could 
 to keep the ship's head to the wind, in the direction 
 
56 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 of the Celestial Country, for they were manifestly 
 driving swiftly, somewhere or other, and well they 
 knew that there was no help for them but in him who 
 brought his people through the sea and through the 
 wilderness. 10 
 
 So they cried unto the Lord, Cause me to 
 know the way wherein I should walk ; hear me 
 speedily, O Lord, my spirit faileth ; hide not thy 
 face from me, lest I be like them that go down into 
 the pit. 11 They resolved, if the ship must founder, 
 they would go down heading towards the Celestial 
 City. Then they thought they heard a voice, When 
 thou passest through the waters, I will be with 
 thee ; 12 and they remembered the promise, Who is 
 among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the 
 voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and 
 hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the 
 Lord, and stay upon his God. 13 They thought also, 
 if the case was thus provided for, of those who were 
 walking in darkness without light, that neither the 
 absence of light, nor the presence of darkness, nor 
 any of their perplexities or difficulties, were in them- 
 selves any proof that the Lord had deserted them, 
 but rather a proof that he was only trying them, to 
 see if they would stay themselves on him. 
 
 So they held on, hoping, though it seemed to be 
 
 10 Psa. cxxxvi. 16. " Psa. cxliii. 7. 8. 12 Isa. xliii. 2. a3 Isa. 1. 10. 
 
FOE JACK IS THE DOLDETJMS. 57 
 
 against hope, and they knew not what was before 
 them. But about midnight, some of the shipmen 
 were convinced that they drew near to some land, 
 and some of them even thought they could see the 
 breakers on the coast. So they sounded, and found 
 it about twenty fathoms, and when they had gone a 
 little further, they sounded again, and found it about 
 fifteen fathoms ; and then, fearing lest they should 
 strike, they cast out their best bower anchor, and 
 wished for the day. 14 
 
 For a time it was doubtful whether the anchor 
 itself would hold, and if not, or if the cable parted, 
 then all was lost ; so they were in great anxiety and 
 trembling. Besides, the day was long coming, and 
 the ship rose and fell with such tremendous violence, 
 laboring heavily, that some of the shipmen, who had 
 held out to this hour, began to be seized with terror, 
 and lost their wits to such a degree as to imagine 
 that by deserting the ship and taking to the boats, 
 they might stand some chance of salvation, for it 
 seemed as if they must perish, and the great adver- 
 sary put very black thoughts into the minds of some 
 of them, so that they were even tempted to cast 
 themselves overboard headlong. 
 
 But Peter and John with their own hands cut the 
 boats loose, and let them fall off, and convinced the 
 
58 A REEL IE A BOTTLE, 
 
 crew that eome what might, except they abode by 
 the ship they could not be saved. 15 Then they called 
 the whole ship's company together, and earnestly 
 commended them all to God, and after a season 
 spent in weeping and praying together, they felt 
 that if it pleased the Lord that they should perish in 
 the midst of their voyage, they would leave them- 
 selves with him, and to their last breath would try to 
 be faithful to him. Then they took some meat, and 
 Peter took bread, and gave thanks to God, in the 
 presence of them all, and said, Into thy hands I com- 
 mend my spirit ; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord 
 God of truth. 16 Also he repeated the words of 
 Habakkuk, Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy 
 in the God of my salvation. 17 
 
 ISTow by this time the day began to break, and to 
 their great encouragement a streak of the sky was to 
 be seen in the horizon, just in that quarter where the 
 hurricane with which the storm began had arisen, 
 and as the light grew brighter it became very evident 
 that the tempest was broken. Then said John, as he 
 pointed to the morning star through a rift in the 
 clouds that were hurrying away, "Weeping may 
 endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. 18 
 Nevertheless, they were still sorely afflicted, and they 
 
 " Acts xxvii. 31. 16 Psa, xxxi. 5. " Hab. iii. 18. 18 Psa. xxx. 5. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 59 
 
 felt that God had taken them out of the very jaws 
 of destruction, and how it would end even yet they 
 knew not. 
 
 However, as the gale abated, the sea went down, 
 and as soon as it became clear, they found they had 
 been driven a great way during the tempest, but not 
 so much out of the way as they had feared, for they 
 were not far from an admirable and safe harbor 
 called Good Hope Harbor, situated at the bottom of 
 a bay called the Bay of Good Hope, where was one 
 of the King's own dockyards, and a dry dock, built 
 by order of the King himself, after a pattern sent 
 from the Celestial Country. 
 
 This Harbor and Bay lay in the middle of a 
 coast of great reach called Experience, past a part 
 of which they had been driven ; and as the wind 
 was now fair for rounding the point, within which 
 they had been carried to their present anchorage, 
 they shook out their sails, weighed anchor, and 
 trimmed their course to gain the favorable shelter. 
 They were not long in reaching it, notwithstanding 
 the leaky condition of their vessel ; and here in the 
 harbor of Good Hope they found a friendly people, 
 and everything necessary for examining their injuries, 
 and refitting. The people of the town were under 
 the King's laws, and had orders from him to use 
 
60 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 hospitality without grudging, 19 a thing which they 
 were also forward to do. 
 
 But here the first thing they did, before coming to 
 anchor, and while sailing into the Harbor, with the 
 town rising in its beauty before them — a sight which 
 made the tears run down their cheeks for gratitude 
 and joy — the first thing they did was to offer up a 
 heartfelt and solemn thanksgiving to God for the great 
 deliverance he had granted them out of so many 
 dangers. They sang a hymn, and the sweet melody 
 had their hearts in it, and went up with so divine a 
 harmony on the quiet air, in the bright day, as they 
 glided over the still waters, that the people on the 
 shore left off their work and listened, and others 
 came down to see what new arrival was thus her- 
 alded ; for they thought some messenger-ship might 
 have come to them from the Islands of the Angels. 
 The hymn they sang was one that had been written 
 by a shipwrecked mariner, whom God had rescued 
 from the deep, and never were sweeter strains heard 
 upon the ocean. 
 
 God moves in a mysterious way 
 
 His wonders to perform ; 
 He plants his footsteps in the sea } 
 
 And rides upon the storm. 
 
 19 1 Pet. iv. 9. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDKTJMS. 61 
 
 Deep in unfathomable mines 
 
 Of never-failing skill, 
 He treasures up his bright designs, 
 
 And works his sovereign will. 
 
 Ye fearful saints fresh courage take ; 
 
 The clouds ye so much dread 
 Are big with mercy, and shall break 
 
 In blessings on your head. 
 
 Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, 
 
 But trust him for his grace ; 
 Behind a frowning providence 
 
 He hides a smiling face. 
 
 His purposes will ripen fast, 
 
 Unfolding every hour • 
 The bud may have a bitter taste, 
 
 But sweet will be the flower. 
 
 Blind unbelief is sure to err, 
 
 And scan his work in vain ; 
 God is his own Interpreter, 
 
 And he will make it plain. 
 
 After the singing of this hymn, there was read a 
 part of the 107th Psalm, which is an exact descrip- 
 tion of the perils through which God had brought 
 them. O that men would praise the Lord for his 
 goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children 
 of men ! And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of 
 thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing. 
 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do busi- 
 
62 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 ness in great waters ; these see the works of the Lord, 
 and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, 
 and raiseth the stormy wind, and lifteth up the 
 waves thereof. They mount up to the heavens, they 
 go down again to the depths ; their soul is melted 
 because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger 
 like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. 
 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he 
 bringeth them out of their distress. He maketh the 
 storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. 
 Then are they glad, because they be- quiet ; so he 
 bringeth them unto their desired haven. Oh that 
 men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for 
 his wonderful works to the children of men ! 
 
 At this the heart of every one of them responded, 
 and they said within themselves, When he giveth 
 quietness, who then can make trouble ? And when 
 he hideth his face, who then can behold him f° If 
 God will not withdraw his anger, the proud helpers 
 do stoop under him. 21 They also sang another sweet 
 hymn of praise, which they called the Star of 
 Bethlehem. 
 
 When marshalled on the nightly plain 
 The glittering host bestud the sky, 
 One star alone, of all the train, 
 Can fix the sinner's wandering eye. 
 
 30 Job xxxiv. 29. 21 Job ix. 13. 
 
FOB JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 63 
 
 Hark ! hark ! to God the chorus breaks, 
 From every host, from every gem ; 
 But one alone the Saviour speaks, 
 It is the Star of Bethlehem ! 
 
 Once on the raging seas I rode, 
 The storm was loud, the night was dark, 
 The ocean yawned, and rudely blowed 
 The wind that tossed my foundering bark. 
 
 Deep horror, then, my vitals froze, 
 Death-struck. I ceased the tide to stem, 
 "When suddenly a star arose, 
 It was the Star of Bethlehem ! 
 
 It was my guide, my light, my all ; 
 
 It bade my dark forebodings cease ; 
 
 And through the storm, and danger's thrall, 
 
 It led me to the port of peace. 
 
 Now safely moored, my perils o'er, 
 I'll sing, first in night's diadem, 
 For ever and for ever more, 
 The Star ! the Star of Bethlehem ! 
 
 Now while they were singing, the ship drew near 
 the land, and the land-breeze came off upon the 
 water from the King's gardens, laden with such a 
 delicious fragrance, that it seemed as if it must have 
 come to them directly from the trees of life in the 
 Celestial Country. And indeed the change was so 
 great from what they had passed through to such 
 mercy, that it was as if the dark night had been sue- 
 
64: A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 ceecled by one of the Days of Heaven, and all the 
 scenery of the Celestial World seemed to rise up 
 before thern. Oh, when the Kedeemer unveils his 
 lovely face, and shines upon the soul in forgiving 
 mercy, what joy on earth is to be compared with 
 the assurance of his pardoning love ! Thou shalt 
 forget thy misery, exclaimed Peter, and remember it 
 as waters that pass away ; and thine age shall be 
 clearer than the noon-day; thou shalt shine forth, 
 thou shalt be as the morning, and thou shalt be secure, 
 because there is Hope. 22 
 
 "Well, the region they had come to was a region 
 of hope, and the inhabitants of that place were all 
 hopeful and happy, and they had good right to be so, 
 because there was a very close communion between 
 their town and the Celestial Country in many ways. 
 And their laws were laws of liberty and not of bon- 
 dage ; for one of the greatest of them ran as follows : 
 The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath 
 made me free from the law of sin and death. 23 It 
 was also a land where there were a great many fugi- 
 tives from slavery ; and the Adversary was forbidden 
 to reclaim the slave that had escaped from him, but 
 the moment he got into that land he was free ; and 
 there was a grand law that ran as follows : — Thou 
 shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is 
 
 22 Job xi. 16, 17, 18. 23 Rom. viii. 2. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 65 
 
 escaped from his master unto thee; he shall dwell 
 with thee, even among you, in that place which he 
 shall choose, in one of thy gates, where it liketh him 
 best ; thou shalt not oppress him. 24 
 
 The people of the land loved this law, and re- 
 joiced in it; and whenever the Great Slaveholder 
 appeared among them, as sometimes he did in cunning 
 disguises, to get back his victims, or whenever any of 
 his commissioners or catchers were detected laying 
 their snares, the inhabitants of the town had the bells 
 rung for alarm, and all turned out in one body ; and 
 if any of the villains were caught, they were forthwith 
 branded, and whipped out of all that region. So it 
 was a place of great joy, loving-kindness, and 
 security, where every law that opposed any of the 
 King's laws was put down at once. 
 
 Moreover, the geography of their place indicated 
 its security, for the formations of the coast ran into 
 one another from a great way North, in the following 
 order, namely, Tribulation, Patience, Experience, 
 Hope. 25 Then there was a wide reach of beautiful 
 open country, and beyond that a region of riches and 
 glory that since the creation of the world had never 
 been fully explored, and indeed was said to lose 
 itself in an unfathomable, incomprehensible sea, from 
 which none of the explorers ever returned, but passed 
 
 24 Deut. xxiii. 15, 16. 26 Rom. v. 4. 
 
66 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 into the Celestial Country for ever. All that region, 
 so far as any knew anything abont it was named, The 
 love of God is shed abroad in our hearts bv the 
 Holt Ghost which is given unto us. 28 There were 
 many that had been great travellers there, but the 
 more they found out, the more they always found 
 there was to be known, so that they came back very 
 much humbled as well as overjoyed by their expe- 
 rience. In the same direction on the Chart of 
 the Ship, was found this description ; Eye hath not 
 seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the 
 heart of man, the things which God hath prepared 
 for them that love him ; but God hath revealed them 
 unto us by his Spirit. 27 
 
 Here, then, the Pilgrims felt themselves at liberty, 
 because there was no mistake about the country; and 
 its fruits would have proved where they were, even 
 the things of the Spirit, if their instructions had not 
 been so plain that there was no danger of erring. 
 Yet the trials they had passed through had made 
 them sober and watchful, so that they received with 
 a chastened mind the affectionate and friendly greet- 
 ings of the inhabitants. The utmost kindness was 
 shown to them, and they were carried up to the 
 King's gardens, and regaled with fresh fruits, and 
 
 26 Rom. v. 5. 27 1 Cor. ii. 9. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 67 
 
 they had much sweet and loving conversation with 
 those who accompanied them. 
 
 Here also the ship's crew could trade with the 
 town's people without danger ; and besides this, a 
 great many articles were brought down to them as 
 gifts, with a readiness and good will that it would 
 have done one's heart good to see. Here a very pre- 
 cious thing called the Earnest of the Spirit was given 
 to them, and they were instructed to prove all things, 
 and try everything by the truth, and to hold the 
 beginning of their confidence and the rejoicing of 
 their hope firm unto the end. 28 And that they might 
 do this the more surely, they were reminded of a 
 well-known rule of the King, that he that hath this 
 hope in him purifieth himself even as He is pure. 29 
 
 Here also they had the Spirit helping their infir- 
 mities, and they found their hearts drawn out in 
 great prayer, and in such yearnings after the Celes- 
 tial Country as could not be uttered ; so that, although 
 in this place they experienced a joy unspeakable and 
 full of glory, yet they had no mind to stay any 
 longer than was requisite for the refreshment of the 
 ship's crew, and the refitting of their vessel; and 
 besides these inward yearnings of the Spirit, they 
 had the example of a great navigator who had been 
 in this Harbor, to forget the things that are behind, 
 
 28 Heb. iii.6. 29 1 John iii. 3. 
 
68 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 and reach forth to those that are before. 30 Where- 
 fore they desired to be upon their way, and under 
 the King's laws they laid in a new supply of fresh 
 water, and a quantity of provisions, concerning which 
 they had orders to give diligence, and to have them 
 on board wherever they could find them, adding to 
 their faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to 
 knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, 
 and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly 
 kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity ; 31 because 
 the success of their voyage, for the honor of the King, 
 and the manner of their entrance in the Celestial 
 kingdom, was said to depend upon the abundant sup- 
 ply of these things. 
 
 To supply the place of the mast that had been 
 carried away by the storm, they put in a new mast 
 from the King's forests, out of a timber called the 
 Saint's Perseverance. They also put into the hold a 
 quantity of ballast fetched from a quarry in the 
 neighborhood, which was under the charge of two 
 men greatly honored by the King, whose names 
 were Humility and Self-Distrust, for they had found 
 before-time a defect in the ship's sailing, and a con- 
 sequent danger, in case of any sudden squalls, by 
 reason of her great lightness ; a thing of much im- 
 portance to be guarded against ; besides, that they 
 
 30 Phil. iii. 13. 81 2 Pet. i. 5, 6, 7. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 69 
 
 could not, without proper ballast of this kind, turn 
 the vessel advantageously to the wind. 
 
 Furthermore, by advice of the authorities of the 
 place under charge from the King, because a part of 
 the seas they would have to pass through were 
 infested with pirates, they put on board out of the 
 King's Armory five great guns, called by five inscrip- 
 tions engraven upon them, as follows : — Resist the 
 
 DEVIL AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU. 32 Who SHALL LAY 
 
 ANYTHING TO THE CHARGE OF God's ELECT? 33 — Who SHALL 
 
 SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST ? 34 Who IS HE 
 
 THAT CONDEMNETH ? 3& And, If GoD BE FOR US, WHO 
 
 shall be against us ? 36 — They had also a great mortar, 
 called Promise, with bombs and ammunition, and a 
 fire engine called Grace to help in time of need." 
 Two of the best boats ever builded in the Harbor 
 were also presented to them, w T ith oars for sweeps 
 made out of a strong elastic wood called Prevailing 
 Prayer, which grew in great abundance in the King's 
 forests, and was the best stuff that ever could be 
 used for such purposes. 
 
 82 James iv. 7. S3 Rom. viii. 33- 84 Rom. viii. 35. 35 Rom. viii. 34. 
 36 Rom. viii. 31. 37 Heb, iv. 16. 
 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 CRUCIBLE. 
 
 Now the people of the place would gladly have 
 had them prolong their stay in the Harbor, but 
 seeing they were determined to sail, they bade them 
 God speed. Then the grave elders of the place gave 
 them, some parting instructions as to divers uncertain 
 winds of doctrine, that they might know how to meet 
 them, and not be tossed to and fro by them. 1 They 
 warned them also concerning faith and a good con- 
 science, aud told them of some who, having put 
 away the good conscience, concerning faith had 
 made shipwreck. 2 And they said to them, The good 
 things committed to you keep by the Holy Ghost 
 which dwelleth in us. 3 So the wind being fair, they 
 set sail, and the last thing said to them was this, 
 namely, In everything by prayer and supplication 
 
 *Eph. iv. 14. 2 1 Tim. i. 19. 3 2 Tim. i. 14. 
 
A REEL IN A BOTTLE, ETC. 71 
 
 with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known 
 unto God ; and the peace of God which passeth all 
 understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds 
 through Christ Jesus. 4 It was a sweet benediction, 
 and the sound of it seemed to whisper in the wind 
 long after the Harbor and the Bay were lost sight of. 
 
 And in truth the experience of this blessing came 
 upon them ; for heaven and the sea seemed one 
 harmonious scene of loveliness and peace, and for 
 many clays they sailed with sweet content before the 
 breeze that God sent them. The air was clear and 
 invigorating by day, and by night the new moon and 
 the stars shone brightly, till it seemed as if the 
 weather had got such a habit of serenity and beauty 
 that it could not change. So they began to relax a 
 little in their diligence, and the discipline on board 
 ship grew somewhat careless. But they were soon 
 made to see that even with every other thing just as 
 favorable as ever, they might perish, if the Lord 
 should but a little while withhold his Spirit. For 
 the wind, that had been so favorable, died gradually 
 away, till at length it was a perfect dead calm. 
 
 And now the sails flapped idly against the masts, 
 and the helm swayed from side to side with the roll 
 of the ship, without any onward motion, and now and 
 then the whole canvas would come thrashing and 
 
 * Phil. iv. 6, 7. 
 
72 A EEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 thundering with a lazy thwack against the yards and 
 spars, as if it had no other object or use, but just to 
 wear itself out by flapping. The crew hung idly 
 about, endeavoring at intervals to make work where 
 nothing seemed necessary to be done, picking the 
 shreds of old rope into oakum, burnishing the guns, 
 leaning over the sides of the ship, and gazing down 
 into the silent waters. Once or twice they got a sail 
 overboard to bathe, but the sharks' fins appeared so 
 clearly in the neighborhood, that they did not dare 
 enjoy themselves, even with that expedient. 
 
 Their souls at length melted for heaviness, and such 
 a weight and stupor seemed to pervade the air, that a 
 lassitude of body and spirit came over them, which 
 made it a weariness to move. And still the calm 
 continued so long, that it seemed as if they were 
 fastened there for ever. The sun looked down at 
 noon, exceeding hot, for they were now in warm lati- 
 tudes, and the sea was a great mirror, reflecting the 
 heat and light, and yet they could not stir. Peter 
 and John walked the deck and whistled, and now 
 and then gazed long and steadfastly at the horizon, 
 but it would not do. The boats were got out, and 
 manned with sweeps, but it was useless. All they 
 could do was to cast themselves on God, and groan 
 over their condition. 
 
 Now and then a puff of wind started them a little, 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 73 
 
 and it seemed as if the breeze would come, and in 
 one of those catspaws they encountered a very fearful 
 sight, for the wreck of a ship came floating by, turned 
 up upon her beam ends, her masts gone, or under 
 water, covered with barnacles and seaweed. The 
 long undulating swell broke upon her with a melan- 
 choly wash, and it was a sad sight to look upon ; 
 a picture of utter ruin and desolation. But what 
 they speedily saw made it more solemn still ; for as 
 the wreck, like some dead carcass of a whale floated 
 by, and the roll of the sea lifted her stem out of 
 water, Peter, looking narrowly, thought he could 
 plainly read her name, and could make out the words 
 Sinless Perfection, with something further that could 
 scarce be distinguished. 
 
 Then said Peter to John, after they had both 
 gazed for some time in silence at the sight, I think, 
 verily, I know that vessel, and by whom she was 
 built and chartered ; for if I am not greatly mistaken, 
 it was one Highminded, of the Country of Self-Delu- 
 sion. The timber of the ship was good, for the 
 builder had a great deal of knowledge of the King's 
 forests ; but being himself three quarters owner, he 
 gave her in command of one Captain Heady, with a 
 mate for his chief officer, whose name was Self- 
 Esteem. Then a crew was shipped, among whom 
 were Ignorance, Presumption, Fitful, Censorious, 
 4 
 
74 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 and False Zeal. They also had on board, as part of 
 their cargo, a quantity of spirits called Self-exaltation, 
 which was given ont by the Captain in daily rations ; 
 and it is my firm belief, if the trath could be told 
 that the vessel having fallen into danger, the crew 
 gave themselves up to drinking, and every one of 
 them perished in their own corruption. 5 
 
 "Well, said John, it is a gloomy, mournful spec- 
 tacle. He that exalteth himself shall be abased, and 
 he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. 6 It is a 
 terrible sight in these seas ; let him that thinketh he 
 standeth take heed lest he fall. 7 Who knows but that 
 this vessel may have sailed just where we are sailing 
 now, with a prospect every whit as fair, to all seem- 
 ing, for reaching the Celestial Country ? 
 
 Then answered Peter, The word of God declares 
 that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves 
 and the truth is not in us. 8 And I knew a most 
 experienced weather-beaten old navigator, who used 
 to exclaim, If I say I am perfect, that also shall prove 
 me perverse. 9 But this pretence to a sinless perfec- 
 tion hath various kinds and causes ; some taking it 
 up as a cloak of licentiousness, and sporting them 
 selves with their own deceiving, 10 others dreaming to 
 have gone into an interior life so deep as to have got 
 
 *2 Pet. ii- 12. 6 Luke xiv. 11. 7 1 Cor. x. 12. 
 
 8 1 John i. 8. 9 Job ix. 20. 10 2 Pet. ii. 13. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 75 
 
 beyond sin, others again rising so high as to have 
 come to an atmosphere where the elements of sin 
 can be handled without any defilement, just as you 
 can bathe your body in the sea, and yet not have the 
 salt-water enter the pores of the skin. But these last 
 are clouds carried about with a tempest, as the others 
 are wells without water. 11 But they all of them, if 
 they be not turned from their error, after a while fell 
 to speaking great swelling words of vanity, like those 
 we met in the country of Self-Conceit, and deceive 
 and captivate many unstable souls by promising 
 them liberty. 12 Now of a truth the Christian is called 
 unto liberty, but only where the S}}irit of the Lord 
 is, 13 and not for an occasion to the flesh. 14 
 
 Ah, my brother, said John, some men's ideas of 
 liberty are all contrary to the gospel, as well as of 
 perfection. But we know for certain that the work 
 of overcoming sin, and destroying the Old Man, is 
 going on all through life ; and God's discipline is 
 needed, even with his best children, to keep down 
 their indwelling corruptions ; and if they think they 
 have none, it is nearly all the same as giving up the 
 whole ship to their control. 
 
 Some men's sins, returned Peter, walk the deck, 
 and are very bold and shameless ; others slink away 
 in by-places, and keep out of sight in corners, till 
 
 11 2 Pet. ii- 17. ■ 2 Pet. ii. 18, 19. " 2 Cor. iii. 17. " Gal. v. 13. 
 
76 A EEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 opportunity comes. Some men's sins get passage 
 with the cargo by deceit, just as poor emigrants, or 
 fugitives from debt and justice, will hide in holes 
 till the vessel is out at sea, that they may escape the 
 bailiff, and not have to pay their fare, nor be thrown 
 overboard. 
 
 Yes, added John, and some Captains have been 
 known to put their vicious hands under thft hatches, 
 thinking that because they were out of sight they 
 could do no mischief, when they were such villains 
 and murderers, that by the King's law they ought to 
 have been hanged, or put ashore on some desert 
 island. There was one fellow, Pride, aboard as fine a 
 ship, to all appearance, as ever was launched, who 
 got up a mutiny, and corrupted several of the crew, 
 but as he was a near kinsman of the Captain, he was 
 too tender of him to execute the law, and only put 
 him in the hold with bread and water. But the 
 villain, some how or other, got hold of an auger and 
 axe, and bored a hole in the ship's bottom so big, 
 that she foundered ; and yet, before she went down, 
 the hatches having been taken off to try and get at 
 the leak, Pride and his fellows got out, and escaped 
 by swimming. They got ashore unhurt, on a shallow 
 soft marsh, and found themselves in the Country of 
 Flattery, where they set up for gentlemen, and are 
 living still. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 77 
 
 "Well, said Peter, a man's pride shall bring him 
 low, hut honor shall uphold the humble in spirit. 15 
 Such villains have been playing their tricks ever since 
 the time of Joshua, when they came to that great 
 Captain-General with crusts of mouldy bread and old 
 shoes, as if they had travelled a great way, and en- 
 tered into a league with him. 16 And then they were 
 very well content to live with the people as hewers 
 of wood and drawers of water, if only they might 
 live. 17 But all the Canaanites and Jebusites that 
 were spared proved to be as thorns in the side, and 
 were always making mischief. JSTow if the children 
 of God think to spare their sins, and make hewers of 
 wood and drawers of water of them, they will have 
 mischief and misery. Some of such servants will be 
 petted and cosseted, and he that delicately bringeth 
 up his servant from a child, shall have him become 
 his son at the length. 15 
 
 Now while they were thus talking, it seemed as if 
 the signs of the sky had become more encouraging, 
 and there were some clouds in the horizon that gave 
 promise of the possibility of wind. Then said they 
 one to another, Who knows but that the Lord will be 
 gracious unto us this day, and grant us his blessing ? 19 
 So they besought God in prayer, with greater faith 
 
 15 Prov. xxix. 23. 1C Josh. ix. 5. 17 Josh ix. 21. 
 
 16 Prov. xxix. 21. M Joel ii. 14. 
 
78 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 and earnestness than they had for a long time pnt to 
 this work; and about sunset they saw at a distance as 
 it were a dark shade rippling the surface of the sea, 
 though it had been so long time far and wide as 
 smooth as glass ; and then they knew that the breeze 
 was coming. But O with what eagerness they stood 
 and watched its progress, till the ship began to feel 
 it, and as soon as she caught it what a change ! The 
 very ocean seemed glad of it, and the foam kissed 
 the sides of. the ship as she danced along, and the 
 sails that before were almost dropping to pieces, now 
 bellied out upon the taut cordage, and all hands 
 were active with a cheerful courage and life, so that 
 it seemed as if she had just started from the harbor. 
 
 And indeed it was a most lovely, animating sight, 
 this activity, after such sleep, and gloom, and droop- 
 ing. The freshness of the wind, before which they 
 now seemed to be flying from death to life; the 
 sparkle and foam of the waves, racing as if they too 
 had a glad intelligence ; the splendor of the evening 
 sky, where they seemed about to sail into heaven ; 
 the invigorating elasticity suddenly diffused through 
 the air, as if it were a new creation ; what a blissful 
 change in all things ! Every sense felt its influence ; 
 their heaviness of spirits was all gone, a burden was 
 lifted from the soul, and they were filled with such 
 rejoicing of heart, that they could not help breaking 
 
FOR JACK IX THE DOLDRUMS. 79 
 
 forth spontaneously into a hymn of praise expressive 
 of their feelings. They sung with their whole soul, 
 as birds escaped from prison ; it seemed as if they 
 never had known what it was to sing before ; and it 
 was with such a deep sense of the presence and good- 
 ness of the Saviour, his loving kindness and tender 
 mercy, and their entire dependence upon him, out 
 upon the wide ocean, that nothing could be more 
 suitably melodious. 
 
 Jesus, at thy command, 
 
 I launch into the deep, 
 
 And leave my native land, 
 
 Where sin lulls all asleep. 
 For thee I fain would all resign, 
 And sail to heaven with thee and thine. 
 
 Thou art my Pilot wise, 
 
 My compass is thy Word ; 
 
 My soul each storm defies, 
 
 While I have such a Lord. 
 I trust thy faithfulness and power, 
 To save me in the trying hour. 
 
 Though rocks and quicksands deep 
 
 Through all my passage lie, 
 
 Yet thou wilt safely keep 
 
 And guide me with thine eye. 
 My anchor, Hope, shall firm abide, 
 And I each boisterous storm outride. 
 
80 A EEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 By faith I see the land 
 
 The port of endless rest : 
 
 My soul, thy sails expand, 
 
 And fly to Jesus' breast. 
 O may I reach the heavenly shore, 
 Where winds and waves distress no more. 
 
 Whene'er becalmed I lie, 
 
 And storms and winds subside, 
 
 Lord, to my succor .fly, 
 
 And keep me near thy side 
 For more the treacherous calm I dread, 
 Than tempests bursting o'er my head. 
 
 Come, heavenly wind, and blow 
 
 A prosperous gale of grace, 
 
 To waft me from below, 
 
 To heaven my destined place. 
 Then in full sail my port I'll find 
 And leave the world and sin behind. 
 
 'Now when they had finished singing, it chimed 
 eight bells, and the watch was set for the night, and 
 every one on board went with a glad and grateful 
 heart to his dnty, and Peter and John resumed, in the 
 quiet of the evening, beneath the stars, the conversa- 
 tion which the ominous sight of the wreck had led 
 them into. 
 
 My brother, said Peter, did you ever know a truly 
 good man, who did not daily mourn over his own 
 sins ? I am sure, the more there is of such sorrow, 
 the more proof there is of God's work. And some- 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS* 81 
 
 times afflictions themselves maybe given as a reward 
 of such sorrow for sin, and a means of taking the sin 
 more effectually away. The sparing of the rod 
 would spoil God's children. 20 There is a perfection 
 in reserve for them, in the righteousness of Christ. 
 And we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the 
 beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. 21 
 The righteousness of Christ is ours now, to stand 
 upon, and be justified and forgiven on the ground 
 of it ; and if we hold fast, it will be ours by and by 
 in his perfect likeness. We shall be like him, for we 
 shall see him as he is. 22 And meantime even in this 
 world, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, 
 we shall be changed into the same image, from glory 
 to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 23 But 
 that is a great work, and providence and grace are 
 both concerned in it. Sometimes it goes on by fiery 
 trials. 
 
 Well, said John, you say true; and there is no 
 other way to account for it, why God sometimes 
 seems to afflict those the most severely, who appear 
 to be the most earnest in doing his will. I know an 
 experienced and wise old naval Commander, who 
 used to say that the Church in this world is God's 
 workshop, his jewel-shop, where his jewels are a 
 polishing for his kingdom and glory above. They 
 
 20 Prov. xiii. 24. 21 Heb. iii. 14. 22 1 John iii. 2. 23 2 Cor. iii. 18. 
 4* 
 
82 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 are to be his crown -jew els, adorning the crown of the 
 Redeemer. But while they are here below, in the 
 shop, he has many sharp tools for their filing and 
 cutting, and they lie among these tools, and often 
 have to come under their operation. And those that 
 the King most esteems, and means to make the most 
 resplendent, he hath oftenest his tools upon. That 
 was a beautiful saying, and a true one. 
 
 Indeed, it is true, answered Peter. Those whom 
 he loves, he rebukes and chastens. 24 And O, to be 
 such a living stone, to be a jewel fit to shine in the 
 Saviour's crown for ever, what would not any man in 
 his senses be willing to give or to undergo for such 
 glory! Why, I think that to get rid of sin, say 
 nothing of the crown, to have God mercifully work 
 upon us to remove our sin, is infinite love, mercy, 
 and glory. And then to think that he has promised 
 to make us perfect, if we will submit to his disci- 
 pline ! Oh what joy there is in that ! And then to 
 think that all this is done for the Redeemer, that he 
 who died for us may be glorified and admired in us, 
 when he comes to take possession of his inheritance 
 in the saints ; 25 indeed, that raises the joy and the 
 glory infinitely higher, to think that it is Christ's own 
 joy, and Christ's own glory. 
 
 Yes, said John, it is the love of the Father to the 
 
 24 Rev. iii. 19. 35 2Thess. i. 10. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 83 
 
 Son, as well as to those who are sons by Adoption, 
 that makes him deal tlms with his children. There 
 is a great mystery in affliction, sometimes, to those 
 who do not see by faith, but it is sweetly clear to 
 those who do. For what dear Son is there, whom 
 his father chasteneth not? 26 I have known some, 
 who have gone in a tempest all the way, and others 
 who have had fair weather. But the tempest-tossed 
 were almost always the deepest in Christian expe- 
 rience. And that agrees with the passage about the 
 trial of our faith working experience. 27 God seeth 
 not as man sees. Man seeth the appearance, but 
 God looketh at the heart. 28 The fact is that God 
 sees through us, quite through, and sees a great many 
 hidden evils, that need to be brought out. So he puts 
 us into the crucible. 
 
 Well, said Peter, the crucible is a wonderful thing, 
 and those that go into a goldsmith's shop, and 'watch 
 its operation, may learn a great deal that they never 
 knew before. You know that in that passage in the 
 Old Testament about the Refiner's fire, 20 it is said 
 that He shall sit as a Eefiner and purifier of silver. 
 Now the Eefiner sits patiently, till the silver or the 
 gold become so clear, by the dross rising, and being 
 skimmed away, that he can see his own face in it. 
 So the Saviour patiently and lovingly watches and 
 
 36 Heb. xii. 7. 27 Rom. v. 3. 2P 1 Sam. xvi. 7. S9 Mal. iii. 3. 
 
84 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 works upon his children, when he puts them into 
 the crucible, till he can see his own image in them. 
 
 "Well, said John, as long as the dross rises, he can- 
 not do that, except at intervals ; and I'm thinking 
 that, as long as we live, the dross will keep rising. 
 Who can even say, in this world, that he is perfectly 
 free from sin ? And if the crucible were taken off 
 from the fire before the dross is all taken away, and 
 it were so left, what then ? 
 
 Why, said Peter, that is the very point I was 
 coming to. You see that there is many a piece of 
 gold in a goldsmith's shop, that a strange man 
 coming in, or one who knows little about gold, might 
 think was very pure. But what does the goldsmith 
 do? Why, he just takes that same piece of gold, 
 that shines so beautifully, and puts it into his cru- 
 cible, and kindles the fire, and then, as soon as it is 
 melted down, he bids the stranger look, and then, to 
 be sure, it is all covered with dross, and it is not till 
 that dross is all taken away that the gold is pure, 
 though it might shine very brightly, and answer 
 many purposes, even with the dross mingled up in 
 it. But this shows why and how it is that while the 
 processes of refinement and purification are going on 
 with God's dear children, their sinfulness appears to 
 themseives clearer than ever, and they sometimes 
 think they "are more sinful, while the Lord is making 
 
FOB JACK IN THE DOLDETTMS. 85 
 
 them more holy. It is because the Lord Jesus, the 
 Great Hefiner, brings out the dross that was before 
 concealed. 
 
 Then, said John, how much do we need to pray 
 with David, Cleanse thou me from secret faults. 30 
 Search me, and know my heart, try me, and know 
 my ways, and see if there be any wicked way in 
 me. 31 It is pretty plain that there may be many 
 wicked ways in a man, that have never yet shown 
 themselves out of him. 
 
 Oh yes, said Peter, and what a mercy to have 
 them brought out, disclosed, brought up to the surface 
 as dross, and taken away ; otherwise the whole lump 
 might have to be thrown away as good for nothing. 
 It is a great thing to be good to be tried, good ' for 
 something. Where there is gold, there may be 
 dross ; but if there is gold, then the Lord Jesus will 
 have the dross away. It is a great deal worse mixed 
 up in the composition, and concealed, than when it 
 is brought to the surface ; though while it is out of 
 sight the gold seems gold, and when it is rising it 
 seems oftentimes nothing but dross. So a child of 
 God has to cry out in the bitterness of his soul, find- 
 ing so many hidden evils disclosed, that he hardly 
 dreamed of, Oh, alas ! I am all dross, all dross ! 
 when the Lord Jesus is making him really better 
 
 30 Psa- xix. 12. 31 Psa. cxxxix. 23, 24. 
 
86 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 than lie was before. Let not the lump of gold upon 
 the goldsmith's counter, boast itself above that which 
 is groaning in the crucible. 
 
 In such sweet conversation the time passed rapidly 
 away, and meanwhile no language can tell how soft 
 and beautiful continued to be the weather and the 
 prospect. The sea was serene and quiet, the air 
 balmy, and the breeze delightful. It was so lovely, 
 that for whole days, and almost weeks, they hardly 
 changed a sail, and things went on so easily and 
 regularly, that it seemed hardly worth while to be at 
 the trouble of a daily observation. And yet it was 
 just precisely here that a mistake was made in their 
 reckoning, which, had it not been for the Lord's 
 great mercy, would have led them to destruction in 
 the midst of apparent peace and safety. The unin- 
 terrupted calmness of the weather, the regular daily 
 progress of the ship, and the fine appearances in 
 every direction, had made them forget about the 
 currents, and not taking account of those, their real 
 progress was by no means what it appeared to be by 
 the log, and they had been carried aside from the 
 point where they thought they were upon the Chart. 
 
 It was just precisely here that some sunken rocks 
 were laid down in the Chart, and they were now in 
 that vicinity without knowing it. For the currents 
 hereabouts could not be put down with any accu- 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 87 
 
 racy at a given point, because they were very 
 changeable, and it was so much the more necessary 
 to have been upon the watch, and to have used every 
 means for detecting both their force and direction. 
 A concealed current is a thing that may be very 
 powerful the wrong way, even when the wind, waves, 
 sails, helm, weather, and everything in the vessel's 
 progress, may seem to be right. There is no time at 
 sea, when men can be safely off their watch, and no 
 time when they can safely neglect any necessary 
 precaution. They know not what may come of it. 
 The sins that do so easily beset us, 32 need a steadfast 
 care and patience against them, for they may en- 
 snare us in a thousand unsuspected and dangerous 
 ways. 
 
 Enjoyment and security had made the pilgrims 
 almost feel as if there could be no change in the 
 weather, and yet it came. The sky was no more 
 seen, although there were neither clouds nor tem- 
 pests. They had had a bright clear air and serene 
 heavens, up to this time for weeks ; and a slight haze 
 in the horizon, like the smoke of the Indian summer 
 on the land, was the first indication of change ; but 
 soon a bank of mist rolled up and then unrolled and 
 spread over the ocean, till they were in the midst of 
 a thick, damp fog, so like a blanket round about 
 
 92 Heb. xii. 1 
 
88 A EEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 them, that nothing could he seen, not even the water 
 a fathom from the ship's side. Now as soon as this 
 was the case, the danger from the sunken reefs might 
 be considered imminent, simply because, as I said, 
 they had not reckoned the strength nor discovered 
 the direction of the currents, and therefore were really 
 to a great degree ignorant of their position. The fog 
 distressed them much, and though they had no idea 
 of the neighborhood of rocks, yet they kept as good a 
 look-out as Seemed possible. When the night fell, 
 the darkness was like Egypt, and Peter and John, as 
 they went forward to the bows of the ship, and gazed 
 earnestly out into the gloom, felt an awe stealing 
 over their spirits, and a presentiment of evil, they 
 hardly knew why. But they called to mind the 
 direction, "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, 
 and obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in 
 darkness, and hath no light ? Let him trust in the 
 name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. 33 So they 
 besought the Lord's guidance, and kept watching, 
 and that night sleep fled from them, and they con- 
 tinued in prayer. 
 
 And well was it that they did ; for about midnight 
 suddenly a cry was made of breakers, a loud startling 
 cry ; and hurrying on deck, there was, sure enough, 
 the angry dash of the waves over the rocks, and as 
 
 32 Isa. 1. 1.0. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDETJMS. 89 
 
 the fog had lifted a little, the foam could be seen 
 cresting and creaming right ahead of the ship, and 
 seeming hardly the ship's length distant. 
 
 Hard up the helm, shouted Peter. Let fly the 
 main sheets ! Then he rushed to the helm himself, 
 while John flew to the men's assistance, for their life 
 depended on the rapidity and correctness of their 
 movements. Peter saw at a glance the direction of 
 the reef, and now the whole reality of the rocks in 
 the Chart came to his mind like a sudden revelation, 
 and the anguish of the conviction that they had 
 stumbled into this danger by their own carelessness 
 was exceeding great. Lord save us ! cried Peter ; 
 we perish ! 34 
 
 And here, if the vessel had been in the same con- 
 dition as she was when they were tossing off the coast 
 of Self-Conceit, she must have gone upon the rocks 
 in spite of all their manoeuvring ; but she minded her 
 helm since Humility and Self-Distrust had had the 
 handling of her ballast, and escaped, though very 
 narrowly, in the midst of appalling peril. A little 
 delay in the watch, a little later, a little further, and 
 she must have struck. The men trembled from head 
 to foot, when they saw the danger, and it was not till 
 daylight came, and the fog lifted, showing them that 
 
 34 Matt. viii. 25. 
 
90 A REEL IN A BOTTLE. 
 
 they had a clear sea before them, that they found any 
 relief. 
 
 Then Peter and John went to work upon their 
 reckoning, and they had to cry out, Who can under- 
 stand his errors ? 35 But pleasant it was to see the 
 exceeding great earnestness with which they now 
 studied the King's Chart. With compasses in hand 
 they were poring over it day and night, and making 
 their measurements, and with new anxiety and many 
 tears they sought to be taught of God, for they found 
 that a sailor might speculate excellently well, and 
 yet, but for God's mercy, go to the bottom. The 
 warning ran in their minds continually, Let us, 
 therefore, fear lest a promise being left us of entering 
 into his rest, any of you should seem to ,come short. 38 
 They trembled for the danger of Self-delusion. 
 
 85 Psa. xix. 12. 36 Heb. iv. i. 
 
CHAPTER Y. 
 
 Now it came to pass," as they stood upon their 
 way with a fine favorable wind, after the fog had 
 passed over, that they chanced to espy a sail bearing 
 down upon them, and thinking she might be of the 
 King's service, forthwith trimmed their course so as 
 to meet and speak with her. But as they drew near, 
 they found she looked more like a pleasure yacht 
 with streamers, than anything else, and they could 
 not make out her rig till they got close enough to 
 speak without difficulty. Her course lay athwart 
 the bows of the ship, westward, while they were 
 going South JEast. The vessels lay to for one another, 
 and as the sea was quiet, they could easily converse 
 without changing position. 
 
 The vessel's name they found was False Confidence, 
 and she had a rakish look that truly did not belie her 
 name, and her Captain's name was Glib, a man well 
 
92 A REEL m A BOTTLE, 
 
 known and highly honored in his native land of 
 Oppositions of Science falsely so called. 1 
 
 The vessel herself was built in the Country of 
 Liberal Christianity, and had been constructed with 
 a propeller in her stern called Philosophy, which, 
 together with the Engine, was put under the charge 
 of one Deism. Nevertheless, they went by the wind 
 when it was favorable, and only took to the propeller 
 when the wind did not serve, or when they would go 
 in the teeth of the wind. Sometimes the Captain put 
 Deism at the helm, but more generally left it in charge 
 of the regular steersman, one Mr. Han's-Wisdom. 
 
 The Mate's name was Plausible, and he had 
 under his control a number of men, some of whom 
 were mariners, and among them a notable crew 
 named Surface, Shallow, Second-hand, Explain-away, 
 Pick-flaw, Fair-speech, Voluble, Anything, and 
 Nothing. There was on board in the steerage a 
 library for their use, entitled Salvation made Easy ; 
 or, Every Man his own Redeemer. In the hold they 
 had many bales of stuff, called Rudiments of the 
 World, 2 Profane and Yain Babblings, 3 Accommoda- 
 tions, Perfectibilities, Refinements of Science, and 
 Yain Janglings. They had also a stuff both for 
 cargo and ballast together, called the Dignity of 
 Human Nature. 
 
 1 1 Tim. vi. 20. 2 Col. ii- 8. ■ 1 Tim, vi. 20. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 93 
 
 The first salutation was made by Captain Glib, 
 who stood upon the quarter deck and cried, Well, 
 friends, what cheer? How goes the world with 
 
 you? 
 
 Then said Peter, Not at all; we go from the 
 world, and it will not take passage with us at any 
 rate. 
 
 Captain Glib. — Then answered the Captain, The 
 more's the pity for you, to leave so pleasant a com- 
 panion behind you. 
 
 Peter. — But the Word of God, said Peter, admon- 
 ishes us that the friendship of the world is enmity 
 with God, 4 and we are not sorry to leave the world's 
 vanities behind us for things that are much better in 
 store for us. 
 
 Captain Glib. — Well, you may take your course, aud 
 we'll take ours. We are bound now to Cape Transcen- 
 dental, to carry our wares, and get the latest notions. 
 
 Peter. — Then said Peter, The Jews require a sign, 
 and the Greeks seek after wisdom ; 5 but it is only 
 Christ and him crucified that can ever be the power 
 of God and the wisdom of God for salvation. 6 
 
 Captain Glib. — Then Captain Glib answered with 
 a sneer, that he did not believe salvation hung upon 
 any dogma, and, moreover, said he, I thank God the 
 world is no longer in leading strings to a squad of 
 
 4 James iv. 4. 5 1 Cor. i. 22. 6 1 Cor. i. 24. 
 
94 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 Calvinistic Theologians. One man has Ms way, and 
 another man Ms y in the end all will come out right. 
 God is good. 
 
 Peter. — Well, said Peter, I am glad you thank 
 God for anything. But I can tell you there is only 
 one way of salvation, only one name, only one 
 Saviour. 7 And if any man be not in that way, his is 
 the wrong way, whatever name he bears. And the 
 wrong way leads to death. 
 
 Captain Glib.— How do you know that? You 
 speak as if you knew all about these things to a dead 
 certainty, and as if all other opinions were but smoke 
 and nonsense. 
 
 Peter. — And so they are, all that goes against the 
 word of God ; for we get our knowledge from him, 
 and we speak that we do know, and testify that we 
 have seen. 8 Certainly God would not leave us in 
 doubt which was the way to Hell, and which the 
 path to Heaven. 
 
 Captain Glib. — Oh, we don*t want any of your 
 fire and brimstone preaching. Men can be drawn by 
 love much more easily. And as to the hell you 
 speak of, why, every man may have his share of 
 that in this world, and be purified by it. 
 
 Peter. — But the hell of sinners is to come, and if 
 you die in your sins, you shall have your part in the 
 
 7 Acts iv. 12. 8 Johniii. 11. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDEUMS. 95 
 
 lake that burnetii with fire and brimstone, in the 
 second death, 9 where the Lord Jesus has said that 
 their worm dieth not, and the fire shall never be 
 quenched. 10 Furthermore, they who know not God, 
 and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 shall be punished with everlasting destruction from 
 the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power, 
 when he shall come in flaming fire with all his holy 
 angels, taking vengeance on the wicked who once 
 neglected and despised him. 11 
 
 At these words Captain Glib seemed as if he 
 would choke, and he turned and said something to 
 the Man Deism, who stood beside him, whereupon 
 the same person took up the word, and said, — 
 
 Deism. — Men have got light enough to sail by, if 
 they will use it. 
 
 Petee. — Oh yes, answered Peter, plenty enough ; 
 but if the light that is in you be darkness, how great 
 is that darkness ? 12 There are many men whose un- 
 derstanding is darkened, being alienated from the 
 life of God through the ignorance that is in them 
 because of the blindness of their hearts, 13 and such 
 men go blindfold to perdition. You may think you 
 are safe enough when you are next door to ruin. 
 
 Deism. — But where is your boasted ruin ? Since 
 
 9 Rev. xxi. 8. 10 Mark ix. 44. " 2 Thess. i. 9. 12 Matt. vi. 23. 
 18 Eph. iv. 18. 
 
the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they 
 were from the beginning of the Creation, 14 save only 
 that the world is growing better and more scientific. 
 And have not we ourselves come safely all the way 
 thus far across the ocean? To-morrow shall be as 
 this day, and much more abundant. 16 
 
 Peter. — But you are willingly ignorant that the 
 heavens and the earth are reserved unto fire against* 
 the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 17 
 Moreover, these present seas are dangerous, and fatal 
 for any not under the King's flag, and bound to the 
 Celestial Country. 
 
 Deism. — Who talks about the Celestial Country, as 
 if Heaven were a place ? "We shall have heaven on 
 earth when society is reconstructed. 
 
 Peter.— But did you not know that there are 
 sunken rocks and very hazardous reefs hereabouts ? 
 
 Deism. — Oh, no fear of that ; we dont draw water 
 enough for any harm from that. Besides, we have 
 an infallible, elastic life-boat, in case of any difficulty, 
 made by one Save-all and Company, that can never 
 sink, but will hold as many people as can crowd into 
 it, which ensures us against any possibility of damage 
 personally. 
 
 Peter. — Then said Peter, Your covenant with 
 death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with 
 
 " 2 Pet iii, 4. 15 Isa. lvi. 12. 16 2 Pet. iii. 7. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 97 
 
 hell shall not stand. 17 Yonr miserable pretended 
 life-boats will do you no good, but can only sink you 
 deeper in perdition, unless you take refuge in Him 
 who only is the Resurrection and the Life. 18 
 
 Deism. — Ho ! Ho ! You talk of that old story of 
 the Resurrection and the Judgment, just as if all 
 men were not judged in this life, and raised as fast 
 as they die. We can tell you a thing or two about 
 these mysteries. 
 
 Then said John to Peter, One might think that 
 two persons, at least, had really made a resurrection 
 already, and were here before us, namely, Hyme- 
 neus and Philetus, 19 or those other two, whom Paul 
 long ago delivered unto Satan, that they might learn 
 not to blaspheme. 20 Let us not talk with them any 
 longer ; it is casting pearls before swine. 21 
 
 Then answered Peter, These men do indeed seem 
 given over to strong delusion to believe a lie. 22 But 
 just ask him if he has the King's Chart aboard 
 ship. 
 
 Then said John to the man, "What do you sail by ? 
 Have you got the King's Chart in your cabin ? 
 
 Deism. — To be sure we have it, and an Amended 
 and Do-away Version of it. But do you think that 
 was meant to tie us down to one and the same line 
 
 "Isa. xxviii. 18. 18 John xi. 25. 10 2 Tim. ii. 17. 
 
 20 1 Tina. i. 20. 21 Matt. vii. 6. 22 2 Thess. ii. 11. 
 
 5 
 
9S A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 of passage in all generations ? Do yon think there 
 has been no progress in navigation and the knowledge 
 of the seas, all this time of the ages ? Why, yon don't 
 suppose we are snch bigoted, superstitious fools, as to 
 go for navigation in this nineteenth century by the 
 letter of a record made near two thousand years ago ! 
 No, no ! We belong to the School of Progress. Do 
 you think Science is going to advance at such a rate, 
 and Religion stand still ? Or that Christians are for 
 ever to be like a wheel in a treadmill, always turning 
 over the same route, grinding the same bark? I tell 
 you we are tired of that, and the world is growing 
 older. 
 
 Then said John, Ail flesh is grass, and all the glory 
 of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, 
 and the flower thereof falleth away ; but the Word 
 of the Lord endureth for ever. 23 And now stand still, 
 and hear the judgment of God concerning you. For 
 as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and de- 
 stroyed, you speak evil of the things that you under- 
 stand not, and shall utterly perish in your own 
 corruption. 24 For thus saith the Lord, Cursed be the 
 man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, 
 and whose heart cleparteth from the Lord. 25 And, 
 again, Wo unto them that are wise in their own eyes, 
 and prudent in their own sight. Therefore, As the 
 
 2S 1 Pet. i. 24, 25. 24 2 Pet. 2. 12. Q5 Jer- xvii. 5. 
 

 FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 99 
 
 fire devour eth the stubble, arid the flame consumeth 
 the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and 
 their blossom shall go up as dust ; because they have 
 cast away the law of the Lord of Hosts, and despised 
 the Word of the Holy One of Israel. 26 
 
 At this speech the whole crew and company of the 
 vessel seemed greatly abashed, and Mr. Deism's 
 tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. But Captain 
 Glib willing to restore confidence, stepped up to the 
 bulwarks, and said in a bold tone, Thank God, we 
 are not to be judged by man's judgment. 
 
 Then answered John, No, by no means ; if you 
 were, it might fare better with you. But the Lord 
 hath said, He that rejecteth me and my words hath 
 one that judgeth him ; the Word that I have spoken, 
 the same shall judge him in the last day. 27 And, 
 again, He that despised Moses' law died without 
 mercy, under two or three witnesses. Of how much 
 sorer punishment suppose ye he shall be thought 
 worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, 
 and hath counted the blood of the covenant, where- 
 with he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done 
 despite unto the Spirit of Grace ? 28 And this for you, 
 Mr. Deism, Behold the Lord cometh with ten thou- 
 sand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and 
 to convince all that are ungodly among them of all 
 
 2B Isa. v. 21, 24. 27 John xii. 48, SHeb. x. 28, 29. 
 
100 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly com- 
 mitted, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly 
 sinners have spoken against him. 29 
 
 Now Captain Glib seemed as though he would fain 
 make answer to this also ; but Peter gave orders to 
 square the yards, and put the helm to the wind, and 
 there being a stiff breeze just then, the ship shot for- 
 ward like an Arab courser, and was speedily beyond 
 hailing distance. But looking back, they could see 
 by the foam in the stern of the False Confidence, 
 that she was plying her propeller with all earnest- 
 ness, as if determined on making headway against 
 the wind that was now blowing fresh from the Celes- 
 tial Country. 
 
 Alas, alas, said Peter, it brings tears to mine eyes 
 to see how these obstinate foolish men are bent upon 
 their own destruction. For I know that evil men and 
 seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and 
 being deceived. 30 And they seem verily like those 
 of whom it is said, that even as they did not like to 
 retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over 
 to a reprobate mind. 31 
 
 Then said John, Was it not rather rough in us to 
 dismiss them in this manner ? 
 
 But Peter answered, These are of those who, 
 having the form of godliness, are denying the power 
 
 20 Jude 14, 15. 30 2 Tim. iii. 13- 31 Rom. i. 28. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 101 
 
 thereof, those who, as James and Jannes withstood 
 Moses, do likewise resist the truth, and from such we 
 are commanded to turn away, for they are men of 
 corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. 32 
 
 But said John, Might we not have done more to 
 persuade them of the folly and madness of their 
 career? 
 
 Peter. — And what could we have done more or 
 better than present the "Word to them ? Seest thou a 
 man wise in his own conceit ? There is more hope 
 of a fool than of him. 33 And, again, Though thou 
 bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle, yet will not his 
 foolishness depart from him. 34 And if they receive 
 not the Word, what common ground have we to stand 
 upon, or how can we argue with such ? For if they 
 receive not the record that God hath given of his Son, 
 they make him a liar. 35 
 
 John. — But methinks we might have invited them 
 on board, to break bread with us, and see some of 
 the King's instruments and curiosities. 
 
 Peter. — And if we had, they would only have 
 departed better satisfied with themselves, and falsely 
 persuaded of some saving agreement between us. 
 Alas! They are ever learning, and never able to 
 come to the knowledge of the truth. 36 And if we sin 
 
 82 2 Tim. iii. 8. 33 Pro v. xxvi. 12- S4 Pro v. xxvii. 22. 
 
 35 1 John v. 10. "2Tim. iii. 7. 
 
102 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 wilfully after having received the knowledge of the 
 truth, you know there is no more sacrifice for sins 
 but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and 
 fiery indignation, which shall devour the adver- 
 saries. 37 
 
 _ John. — Well, but I cannot help groaning in myself 
 to think how little impression we have made upon 
 them. Might we not have sailed with them a little 
 way, to persuade them of our good will, and mayhap 
 run a better chance to win them ? 
 
 Peter. — And what effect could that have had, but 
 to confirm them in their error ? !N"o, my brother, 
 we have done right. Faithful are the wounds of a 
 friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. 38 
 And, besides all this, do you not remember what is 
 said, Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the 
 doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth 
 in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father 
 and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring 
 not this doctrine, receive him not into your house 
 neither bid him God speed. For he that biddeth him 
 God speed, is partaker of his evil deeds. 39 
 
 John. — But is it not passing strange that with the 
 Word of God before them they can be so blind? 
 
 Peter. — Why, there's none so blind as those that 
 wont see. They prefer the darkness, and, besides, 
 
 37 Heh. x. 26, 27. 88 Prov. xxvii. 6. 39 2 John i. 9, 10, 11. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 103 
 
 they trust in their own wisdom, and walk by the 
 light of their own sparks, which they are as proud of 
 as if it were a fire for the universe. But God says 
 they shall lie down in sorrow. 40 
 
 John. — Well, we say of a drunken man that he 
 gets high ; so these people get high on the fumes of 
 their own vanity; and with high-minded people, 
 their pride is always a kind of drunkenness. 
 
 Peter. — Moreover, have you never observed what 
 is said against handling* the Word of God deceit- 
 fully ? 41 These people are great hands at that kind 
 of work. You heard their talk of the Amended 
 Version of the King's Chart, but you could hardly 
 tell which was North and which South upon it. 
 And as to those base fellows, Explain-away and 
 Pick-flaw, they are two notable wretches as ever 
 lived. If we had had them aboard with us, and 
 tarried in the Cabin only long enough to take bread, 
 they would have left their marks. Ten -to one you 
 would have found holes in our charts, and blank 
 spaces, where there are important signs, and you 
 would have found marks and directions rubbed out, 
 that now to us are as plain as day. They are as bad 
 as rats. 
 
 John. — You make me think of the saying of a 
 wise man, that infidels show the nature of their 
 
 40 Isa. 1. 11. 41 2Cor. iv. 2. 
 
104 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 investigations on the King's Chart just as snails 
 mark their path over a wall, by the tracks of slime 
 left behind, and the lines of film drawn across it in 
 their progress. 
 
 Peter. — 'Tis worse than that, and sometimes it is 
 hard to detect their progress, and undo the mischief. 
 If you could always see it plain, it would be much 
 less dangerous. They have various ways of casting 
 off God's Word, and hiding from it. Do you remem- 
 ber the beautiful last verse in the 17th Psalm ? "As 
 for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness. I 
 shall be satisfied, when I awake, in thy likeness." 
 How sweetly David speaks of the time when he 
 shall see God in glory ! "Well, what should you think 
 of a man telling you that that meant merely getting 
 up early for morning prayers ? 
 
 John. — Why, I think that would be about as wise, 
 as if I should read aloud the chapter where it says, 
 My voice thou shalt hear in the morning, 48 and you 
 should tell the crew that that meant, that in the 
 morning aboard ship there would be eight bells. 
 
 Peter. — And yet these villains Explain-away, 
 Pick-flaw, and others like them, are the most credu- 
 lous of all fools that the sun ever shone upon, in the 
 matter of their own speculations, their own wisdom. 
 They will believe that men grew out of monkeys. 
 
 48 Psa. v. 3. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDETJMS. 105 
 
 Indeed, they have the credulity of sharks, that will 
 take down a man's hat, believing it to be his head, 
 or a box of old nails for a junk of salt pork, and yet, 
 the simplest things in God's Word stumble them. 
 They stumble at the "Word, being disobedient. 43 A 
 man once said of them that they will swallow a whale 
 any time to avoid believing that a whale swallowed 
 Jonah. 
 
 John. — But I have heard of others, who take ano- 
 ther tack. Some there be, who are for casting off the 
 letter of the Word, and relying, as they pretend, 
 wholly upon the Spirit. These may be as bad, in 
 their way, and more deceitful, than your Pick-flaws 
 and Explain-away s. And I have heard a very expe- 
 rienced and holy old Captain say of them that if any 
 pretend that they have the Spirit, and so turn away 
 from the strait rule of the Holy Scriptures, they have 
 a spirit indeed, but it is a fanatical spirit, a spirit of 
 delusion and giddiness ; but the Spirit of God, that 
 leads his children in the way of truth, and is for that 
 purpose sent them from heaven to guide theoa thither, 
 squares their thoughts and ways to that rule whereof 
 it is the Author, and that Word which was inspired 
 by it, and sanctified them to obedience. Can there 
 be anything better than that ? 
 
 Peter. — Better ! Why, that is the very source of 
 
 48 1 Pet. ii. 8. 
 5* 
 
106 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 life and knowledge, the Spirit with the Word. 
 Sanctify them by thy truth; thy Word is truth. 44 
 An old navigator used to say, Thy words were found, 
 and I did eat them, and they were to me the joy and 
 rejoicing of my heart. 45 That is your right stock of 
 provision for a long voyage; it never gets out of 
 order, but is always fresh, pure, and refreshing. 
 
 John. — Well, you make me think of EzekiePs 
 description of the Tree of Life ; the fruit thereof was 
 for food, and the leaves thereof were for medicine. 48 
 That is God's Word, both food and medicine. The 
 medicine is to search out and purge away our sins ; 
 the food is to nourish *and strengthen us in Christ 
 Jesus, and make us grow in grace. 
 
 Peter. — Yes ! And all by the Spirit. The Spirit 
 takes of the things that are Christ's, the things of his 
 Word, and shows them to the soul. 47 When the 
 Spirit and the Word go together, then there is safety. 
 We must study the Word by the Spirit, praying for 
 the Spirit, relying upon the Spirit, for it is he who 
 will thus guide us into all truth, and where the Spirit 
 dwells, there the Word dwells. And so another old 
 navigator says, Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, 
 that I might not sin against thee. 48 He does not say 
 that he had it merely painted astern, or on the figure- 
 
 ** John xvii. 17. 45 Jer. xv. 16. 4G Ezek. xlvii. 12. 
 
 47 John xvi. 13. 48 Psa. cxix. 1 1 . 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 107 
 
 head, or on the sides of the ship, or wrought into the 
 flag, but hid away with the Spirit in the heart. 
 There in the heart, is where all sin comes from, and 
 so he says, Hid in my heart, that I might not sin 
 against thee. With some men the Word is all paint, 
 but with good Christians it is inside work, work in 
 the heart ; life and not paint merely. 
 
 John. — That is just what I would say. And now 
 let us evermore remember, that there is no safety but 
 in heartfelt reverence of the Word, and reliance upon 
 it. What could we do, if we laid aside the King's 
 Chart, and trusted to the compass only ? Or if we 
 had the Chart only, without the compass, what could 
 we do? But the compass shows us where we are 
 upon the Chart, and the Chart shows us whither we 
 are moving by the compass. Then we take our hea- 
 venly observations, having the Earnest of the Spirit 
 in our hearts. 49 But if we cut loose from these depen- 
 dencies then we go astray, then we would be sure to 
 make shipwreck of our souls. Did you ever play at 
 flying of kites, when you were a boy ? 
 
 Peter. — What man, that ever was a boy, did not ? 
 Why, you bring to mind in that word all the sports 
 of childhood. My boy's kite! How I used to start 
 it on the green, and then, when the wind was high, 
 and the kite had gone almost out of sight into the 
 
 49 2 Cor. i. 22. 
 
108 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 blue firmament, we would send messengers fluttering 
 along the string after it ! 
 
 John. — Well, did you ever think of its being the 
 confinement by the string, which along with the wind 
 was the only thing that kept your kite soaring, for the 
 moment you let it loose, down it would come, flutter- 
 ing, waving, tumbling. You had to hold it in, or it 
 would have been ruined. Just so it is with our 
 minds, if they be cut loose from God's "Word. It is 
 the Spirit that makes them soar, if they truly rise at 
 all ; but only while they keep fast to God's "Word. 
 If they cut loose from that, then they go into all 
 imaginable foolish, wicked, and unbelieving fancies, 
 and then go tumbling into utter ruin. I can tell you 
 a fine parable between the kite and our hearts, with 
 their dependence on God. It was written by an old 
 Sea Captain, who is now praising God in heaven ; 
 but he was himself as a brand plucked from the 
 burning. Hear his lines. 'Tis not a long yarn, but 
 a right good and wise one, and well spun. 'Tis 
 entitled, — 
 
 THE KITE; 
 
 OR, PRIDE MUST HAVE A FALL. 
 
 Once on a time a paper kite 
 Was mounted to a wondrous height, 
 Where, giddy with its elevation, 
 It thus expressed self-admiration ; — 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 109 
 
 u See, how yon crowds of gazing people 
 Admire my flight above the steeple ! 
 How would they wonder, if they knew 
 All that a kite like me can do ! 
 
 11 Were I but free, I'd take a flight, 
 And pierce the clouds beyond their sight. 
 But ah ! like a poor prisoner bound, 
 My string confines me near the ground, 
 I'd brave the eagle's towering wing, 
 Might I but fly without a string." 
 
 It tugged and pulled, while thus it spoke, 
 To break the string ; — at last it broke. 
 Deprived at once of all its stay, 
 In vain it tried to soar away, 
 Unable its own weight to bear, 
 It fluttered downward through the air ; 
 Unable its own course to guide, 
 The winds soon plunged it in the tide. 
 Ah foolish kite ! thou hadst no wing, 
 How couldst thou fly without a string ? 
 
 My heart replied, O Lord I see 
 How much this kite resembles me ! 
 Forgetful that by thee I stand, 
 Impatient of thy ruling hand, 
 How oft I've wished to break the lines 
 Thy wisdom for my lot assigns ! 
 How oft indulged a vain desire, 
 For something more, or something higher ! 
 And, but for grace and love divine, 
 A fall thus dreadful had been mine. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FISHING FOR PEARLS, AND CATCHING ICEBERGS. 
 
 The change from the South Pole to the North is 
 hardly greater than that which befel our navigators, 
 soon after all this gracious experience. It seemed 
 almost impossible that such a change could come. 
 The mercy of the Lord was now so great, and they 
 enjoyed so much in Christian communion, conversing 
 by the way, their hearts burning within them in love 
 to the Redeemer, with bright anticipations of the 
 Celestial City, that sometimes, unless their senses 
 deceived them, they thought they could verily see, 
 far, far away over the ocean, at the point where the 
 horizon was lost in heaven, the gates shining, and 
 the domes and spires rising. Often and long did 
 they gaze towards the appearance, which sometimes 
 they caught at noon, and sometimes in the evening just 
 at sunset ; and sometimes a sound as of very distant 
 heavenly melodies would come floating over the waves, 
 
A REEL IN A BOTTLE. Ill 
 
 entrancing all their sensibilities. On such occasions 
 it seemed to them as if they were not far from the 
 end of their voyage, and had no more perils or diffi- 
 culties to encounter. But as before the lovely wea- 
 ther had thrown them off their watch, so now these 
 fair-enchanting scenes, and continued prosperous 
 breezes, lulled them in security. 
 
 A sense of security is always a dangerous and 
 false thing at sea, and the more secure men feel, 
 the less secure they are. An uninterrupted continu- 
 ance of blessings sometimes provokes an imagination 
 of permanent safety, which is almost as bad as the 
 insensibility produced by prayerlessness and care- 
 lessness. Indeed, it may make the soul so dependent 
 upon God's blessing, instead of God himself, and 
 withal so neglectful of prayer, by little and little, as 
 to give the Adversary of the Soul, a great advantage 
 in laying snares, or in sudden assaults, or in gradual 
 and unsuspected temptations. By reason of these 
 things, instead of being able to follow our navigators 
 still on their onward progress serenely over the deep, 
 we have to trace them, after no long interval, strug- 
 gling among icebergs. 
 
 The ship went into that peril, partly from neglect 
 of her directions. She was to have kept her course, 
 according to the Chart and required navigation, 
 Southward by the Isles of Contrition, where a warm 
 
112 
 
 trade-wind would have taken her on a steady pull for 
 very many leagues, and carried her entirely beyond 
 that clanger. But it is well known that Northward 
 from those Isles there are great fishing-grounds for 
 pearls, where, in favorable seasons, much wealth 
 may be made, or cargoes gained, that can be disposed 
 of to great advantage elsewhere. The position of 
 those banks is uncertain, and the Pilgrims did not 
 intend to make for them, and if they had had any 
 such idea, they could never have been aware how far 
 off from their true course a visit thither would take 
 them. 
 
 But one day it so happened that they hove in sight 
 of a strange sail, whose course seemed to be in that 
 direction, though they tried all the signals in the 
 King's Book for telegraphing, but could not make 
 her out, and her rig, so far as they could tell by the 
 glass, was not of the Celestial Country. However, 
 as it would cause but little delay, they concluded to 
 trim the ship and put up the helm so as to lay her 
 athwart the strange sail 9 that they might speak with 
 her. In a little time they got near enough to hail. 
 So they hailed, and the Captain answered that she 
 was a merchantman from the Country of Gain-is- 
 Godliness, seeking goodly pearls. 
 
 Now if they had not been thrown off their watch, 
 the very name of the vessel might have bethought 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 113 
 
 them of a warning laid down in the Chart ; for it was 
 there as plain as day, and they afterwards found and 
 remembered it. But before they took time to ex- 
 amine their Chart, and overhaul their reckonings, 
 they were in communication with the stranger, and 
 the Captain had invited them to come on board, and 
 consult about his adventure for the pearls. 
 
 What do you think ? said Peter to John. Shall 
 we go? 
 
 Why, my brother, answered John, you know best, 
 and are the most experienced ; but I would be very 
 cautious in these seas. 
 
 Well, said Peter, it is wise to know something of 
 the ways of the world, and we may have opportuni- 
 ties of being useful. Besides, we don't want to be 
 discourteous ; and it can do no harm just to go and 
 see the man's Cabin. 
 
 But said John, The friendship of the world is 
 enmity with God. 1 Had we not better ask him to 
 come with us, for we can talk as well and better 
 aboard our own ship, and more freely. 
 
 So they answered the Captain's invitation by 
 inviting him in their turn, to come with them, and 
 they would show him many things. But he told 
 them that he had a supercargo on board, who could 
 not speak their language, and needed continual 
 
 1 James iv. 4. 
 
114: A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 looking after, and that just then they were very busy 
 taking account of stock, so that it was not a conve- 
 nient season ; but if Peter and John would do him 
 the honor to come on board and partake of a plain 
 dinner of tongues and sounds, he would be extremely 
 happy of their company. 
 
 So, not to be obstinate, they concluded to accept 
 the invitation, and ordered the boat to be lowered. 
 Just as they were stepping down into it, two of the 
 crew, named Watchful, and Mind-the-things-of-the- 
 Spirit, together with the men Contrition and Sincere, 
 before spoken of, as having done such good service 
 with the pumps, made bold to press forward for a 
 word with Peter ; and indeed he would have waited 
 to hear whether they had anything to say, for all the 
 communion with the crew on board the King's ship 
 was kind, confiding and affectionate in the greatest 
 degree ; but they, perceiving that they were a little 
 too late, and fearing to be out of order, drew back. 
 Put there was much anxiety and whispering about 
 the matter, and they did not feel easy till Peter 
 and John came on board again, nor even then. 
 
 Meantime, Captain Demetrius, for that was his 
 name, received Peter and John with great cordiality, 
 and they found him a most agreeable, friendly, and 
 well-spoken man, and all things aboard ship looked 
 in excellent good trim, and exceedingly comfortable. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 115 
 
 As they examined the compass, however, they could 
 not help observing that it did not bear the King's 
 mark, nevertheless, it looked like a fine instrument. 
 The Chart bore the King's name, but did not seem to 
 have been handled or studied at all ; and indeed it 
 was true that they had on board a smaller chart, con 
 densed and abridged from the firm of Expediency 
 and Company, which for convenience' sake, could be 
 carried in the pocket, so that they rarely troubled 
 themselves to consult the other. The Barometer 
 looked entirely new, and it had a trick of stopping at 
 fair weather, so that in any time of real danger it 
 could be of little practical use. Nevertheless, it was 
 a bright and polished instrument, and had the effect 
 of putting all hands in a pleasant feeling of security, 
 which kept them quiet and half-happy for the present, 
 and made them shut their eyes upon the future. 
 
 The Supercargo's name was Alexander; he had 
 been a coppersmith in Asia, 2 but had left his trade 
 for the pearl-fishery, as being more lucrative. He 
 was not introduced to Peter and John, but the 
 Captain opened a secret drawer, and commanded the 
 man to show some rare pearls there carefully hidden, 
 any two of which, he said, were worth enough to buy 
 the whole vessel. Then Peter, seeing the trembling 
 eagerness of the man, as he handled the pearls, 
 
 2 2 Tim. iv. 14. 
 
116 A. KEEL JN A BOTTLE, 
 
 remembered the passage, And covetousness, which is 
 idolatry, 9 and John called to mind the expression, 
 Sirs, ye know that how by this craft we have our wealth. 4 
 So they enquired of Captain Demetrius, if he could 
 show them the pearl of great price, or knew anything 
 about it. Then he confessed that he had it not, 
 though he had heard of its value, and it was his 
 intention, so soon as he had made one or two voyages 
 more, to find it ; but he declared that for the present 
 his whole time had to be given to his employers, for 
 the vessel was not his own, and he was not at liberty 
 to neglect her interests. 
 
 Then they asked him if he could tell them what it 
 would profit a man, if he gained the whole world and 
 lost his own soul, or what a man could give in exchange 
 for his soul V Then Captain Demetrius answered 
 that that was all true, and that such a great interest 
 ought to be attended to, but at the same time that a 
 man must live, and support his family. 
 
 But, said Peter, know you not that the gospel 
 commands you to seek first the kingdom of God and 
 his righteousness, and all these things shall be added 
 unto you ? 6 Moreover, The love of money is the root 
 of all evil. 7 
 
 Aye, aye, answered the Captain ; the love of 
 
 8 Col. iii. 5. 4 Acts xix. 25. 6 Mark viii. 36, 37. 6 Matt. vi. 33. 
 7 1 Tim. vi. 10. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 117 
 
 money ; but the money itself is not evil, but may be 
 very good, and used for very good purposes. Then 
 he pulled out of his pocket the chart aforesaid, and 
 demonstrated by it that the nearest fishing station 
 was so close upon the course the King's ships were 
 running, that it would require hardly any perceptible 
 change out of that course to come to it ; so that if 
 they chose to do so, they could easily visit it, and see 
 what was doing there, and a few pearls, more or less, 
 could not encumber them, and might be of great 
 advantage to them in strange ports. 
 
 Now these words troubled Peter and John, and 
 stayed by them even after the conference was ended, 
 and they had got back to their own ship. They did 
 not mean to neglect their voyage, nor go out of the 
 way, but yet they had half a mind to see the pearl 
 fisheries, and the more they thought upon the matter, 
 the stronger this desire grew in their hearts, and they 
 thought as this would probably be the only opportu- 
 nity they would ever have, it seemed a pity to neglect 
 it. With this feeling, they let the merchantman 
 part company for the present, intending themselves 
 to keep much more directly on their own course than 
 he was minded to go. However, they knew not 
 what they were doing, in altering their helm even a 
 single quarter of a point ; so that they were in great 
 danger. 
 
118 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 For, of the currents in those parts they were quite 
 ignorant ; and although the children of this world, 
 being wiser in their generation than the children of 
 light, 8 could take advantage of those currents, and 
 trim in such manner as to be carried by them more 
 directly to the fishing-banks, yet it required a wide 
 berth, and perfect freedom in consulting the main 
 chance. Now the main chance of the King's ship 
 lay in keeping as strait as possible for the Celestial 
 Country, and to that they were resolved to adhere, 
 nor would they ever have dared to turn manifestly 
 from it. But they did not give sufficient heed, nor 
 did they remember sufficiently the caution, Pray 
 that ye enter not into temptation. 9 They should 
 have minded beforehand what they thought upon 
 afterwards with great bitterness, He that despiseth 
 little things, by little and little shall he fall. 10 There 
 was also one of the King's own proverbs in the gos- 
 pel, which they might have heeded, Behold how 
 great a matter a little fire kindleth I 11 For a very 
 little deviation at first, grew greater shortly, till in a 
 few days they quite lost the trade breeze, and then, 
 under the power of a gulf stream, of which they 
 never dreamed being in the neighborhood, they were 
 carried unawares rapidly northward. 
 
 Moreover, they began to encounter fogs, and the 
 
 8 Luke xvi. 8. 9 Matt. xxvi. 41. w Eccles. xix. 1. "James iii. 5. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDKUMS. 119 
 
 air grew so cold, and begat in them such a torpor of 
 the system, that it was almost as bad upon the crew 
 as if they had had the scurvy. They could hardly 
 summon energy enough to work the ship ; and yet, 
 as the event proved, there never was, need of greater 
 activity. They knew not where they were, for they 
 could not get an observation, by reason of the thick 
 weather, and they had lost their reckoning again, by 
 not knowing the currents, and the barometer was 
 falling, and they heard strange rumbling noises in the 
 direction towards which they were now hastening. 
 In fact, the gloom had already settled down in their 
 hearts, and they began to be full of anxiety and black 
 forebodings, when in the night, about midnight, in 
 thick darkness, a grating noise sounded under the 
 keel of the vessel, and repeated shocks were felt 
 from the striking of loose huge masses of ice, which, 
 as soon as the dawn broke, were seen floating all 
 around them, as far as the eye could reach. They 
 had never met with anything of the kind before, and 
 the prospect was gloomy and terrible. The sense of 
 desolation in the souls of the whole ship's company 
 was almost the experience of despair ; the hope, and 
 almost the very thought of the Celestial Country 
 died away. 
 
 But distress would neither clear up the weather, 
 nor melt the ice, though it was a great mercy that they 
 
120 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 now were thoroughly awakened to a sense of the 
 great evil they had brought upon themselves. But it 
 soon came on to snow, and day and night the flakes 
 filled the air, silent and solemn, for there was little 
 or no wind, and the storm fell heavy, gloomy, and 
 damp, and while that continued, they could no longer 
 see the ship's length before them, though even if 
 they could have seen clearly, they could have done 
 nothing, nor prevented the evil. They were getting 
 deeper and deeper embayed in blocks and bergs of 
 ice, to the great hazard of the ship, especially if the 
 wind should rise, and a gale take them. Now they 
 would have given the whole pearl fisheries, if they 
 had had them to give, for a clear open area, back to 
 the point where they hailed the merchantman; but 
 no open sea was any longer visible. 
 
 And now the weather began to be so intensely 
 cold, that the fire in the cabin hardly seemed to 
 warm the air in the least. They thought they must 
 have perished, and the only way of preservation was 
 by constant activity and watchfulness, for as soon as 
 the system yielded to the desire of sleep, it was 
 almost certain death, if they were in an exposed con- 
 dition. O now they thought, if they could once get 
 back to the warm steady breezes, and the clear sunny 
 air, that had been so sweet to them, nothing should 
 ever again tempt them out of the way. But still the 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 121 
 
 cold continued, and at length it seemed to them that 
 the ship was quite immovable, and the whole region 
 around them seemed to have become one solid conti- 
 nent of ice. If left thus, they must perish. 
 
 And now they felt that God only could help them, 
 and they were reduced to such a state, that help must 
 come soon, or they never could be recovered. They 
 had renewed seasons for fasting and prayer, and in 
 the course of these exercises they sang ; but it was a 
 strange thing to hear the melancholy melody amidst 
 that frozen sea, for indeed it was a melancholy strain, 
 though not utterly hopeless. 
 
 Where is the blessedness I knew 
 
 When first I saw the Lord ? 
 Where is the soul-refreshing view 
 
 Of Jesus, and his Word. 
 
 What peaceful hours I once enjoyed ! 
 
 How sweet their memory still! 
 But they have left an aching void. 
 
 The world can never fill. 
 
 Return, Holy Dove, return ! 
 
 Sweet messenger of rest ! 
 I hate the sins that made thee mourn, 
 
 And drove thee from my breast. 
 
 They still endeavored to trust in the Lord, and 
 encouraged themselves by remembering his Word 
 of Mercy ; Only return unto me, saith the Lord. 18 
 12 Mai. iii. 7. 
 
122 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 They thought of that passage, O Israel, thou hast 
 destroyed thyself, but in me is thy help. 13 They 
 turned over the records, made diligent search, and 
 considered the days of old, 14 to see if any had ever 
 fallen into such a condition and been released. They 
 communed with their own heart, and cried out, "Will 
 the Lord cast off for ever ? and will he be favorable 
 no more ? Is his mercy clean gone for ever ? doth 
 his promise fail for evermore ? Hath God forgotten 
 to be gracious ? hath he in anger shut up his tender 
 mercies ? 15 
 
 Then they found also the place where it says, If 
 any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, 
 Jesus Christ the righteous. 16 If we confess our sins, 
 he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to 
 cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 17 
 
 And looking again, they found the log-book of one, 
 who said, He hath set me in dark places, as they 
 that be dead of old. He hath hedged me about, that 
 I cannot get out; he hath made my chain heavy. 
 Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my 
 prayer. He hath enclosed my ways with hewn stone, 
 he hath made my paths crooked. And I said, my 
 strength and my hope is perished from the Lord. 18 
 
 O my brother, cried Peter, and the tears filled his 
 
 13 Hos. xiii. 9. " Psa. Ixxvii. 5. 15 Psa. lxxvii. 7-10. 
 
 16 1 John ii. 1. 1V 1 John i. ix. 18 Lam. iii. 6. 7. 8, 9 ; 18. 
 
FOE JACK LN THE DOLDRUMS. 123 
 
 eyes, so that he could read no further, Was not this 
 poor man's case at least as desperate as ours ? And 
 yet he lived to record these things for others. Let 
 us not despair. 
 
 No ! answered John, for whereas this coldness 
 and gloom are dreadful indeed, yet there is nothing 
 too hard for God; but unbelief and despair are 
 destruction. If you read a little further, you will 
 find him, saying, The Lord will not cast off for ever, 
 but though he cause grief, yet will he have compas- 
 sion according to the multitude of his mercies. 19 
 
 Then Peter wiped the tears from his eyes, and 
 read on. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not 
 consumed, because his compassions fail not. They 
 are new every morning ; great is thy faithfulness. 
 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore, 
 will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them 
 that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 80 
 
 Then they set themselves anew to seeking God, 
 and continued long time in prayer and supplication 
 with great earnestness ; and it came to pass that even 
 while they were praying, the air began to lighten, 
 and the sun shone out with a power such as they had 
 not experienced for many days. So they called a 
 council of all on board, to see what farther could be 
 done, and in that consultation, Contrition and Sincere, 
 
 10 Lam. iii. 31, 32. 20 Lam. iii. 22-25. 
 
124 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 together with, one of the hands called Patience, pro- 
 posed that they should take some of the small ballast 
 which was put on board in the harbor of Good Hope, 
 and strew it along in lines upon the ice around and 
 before the ship, so that the heat of the sun might 
 more readily melt the ice, in places where they could 
 saw it, or break it up. This they did, although it 
 was evident that no human power could release them 
 from their imprisonment. 
 
 And now the ship's company spent another day in 
 fasting and supplication, and it being Saturday, 
 Peter and John remained that whole night in prayer, 
 for they knew not which way to turn, if God did not 
 have mercy upon them. They called to mind all the 
 promises they could think of, and at length commit- 
 ted themselves submissively to God, to do with them 
 whatever seemed good in his sight. They also fired 
 signal guns of distress at intervals, though what they 
 expected to gain by that, it was hard to see. 
 
 Well, in the course of Sunday, as they were still 
 praying and confessing their sins, and bemoaning 
 themselves before God, Peter, listening, thought he 
 heard a bell, though he thought also at the same 
 time that he could not have heard it, but that it must 
 be a mere fancy. But at length it was quite certain 
 that they did hear it, and sure enough, soon after, by 
 a crashing movement of some huge masses of ice in 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 125 
 
 the direction whence the sound came, they saw 
 clearly, without doubt, a strong steamer making her 
 way towards them. 
 
 The Captain of the Steamer, which was a Relief 
 Ship commissioned by the King, wore the King's 
 uniform ; and the sympathy, kindness, and activity, 
 with which he labored to get them out of this peril- 
 ous condition, showed him to be one of the King's 
 true servants. But no time was to be lost, and with 
 all their energy on both sides, it was exceedingly 
 difficult to cut the ship loose and get her afloat in the 
 passage which the Steamer had broken for her. 
 When that was clone, a strong cable was conveyed 
 from one vessel to the other, and so, by great care 
 and effort, they once more gained the open sea, and 
 began to put some distance between themselves and 
 the masses of ice they had encountered. 
 
 As soon as this was done, the Captain of the 
 Steamer ordered his boat to be lowered, and came on 
 board the King's ship, to see Peter and John ; and 
 the first thing he did was to look for the King's 
 Chart. So they had him down in the Cabin, and 
 there spread it out before him. Then he asked them 
 what was the point where they started from, and 
 how they came so far out of the way, and with great 
 sorrow and humility they told him all, and gave him 
 the name of the merchantman by whom they had 
 
126 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 been persuaded. Then said he, You have been 
 on the verge of great sin and peril, but the Lord 
 has had mercy upon you. And now hearken unto 
 me, and to the Word which, bids you beware of the 
 perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and 
 destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godli- 
 ness ; from such withdraw thyself. 21 
 
 Then as he spake these words, they seemed to 
 see, as their eyes followed his finger on the Chart, 
 the whole warning which they had neglected, come 
 out in letters of fire, while he read on. But 
 godliness with contentment is great gain. For we 
 brought nothing into this world, and it is certain 
 we can carry nothing out. And having food and 
 raiment, let us be therewith content. But they that 
 will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into 
 many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in 
 ^destruction and perdition. For the love of money is 
 the root of all evil ; which, while some coveted after, 
 they have erred from the faith, and pierced them- 
 selves through with many sorrows. 22 
 
 Now at these words Peter and John remembered 
 their own conversation with the Captain of the 
 merchantman, and called to mind how they had 
 applied part of this very warning to him, but had 
 neglected to apply it also to themselves ; and they 
 
 31 1 Tim. vi. 5. 22 1 Tim. vi. 6-11. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 127 
 
 stood before the King's Messenger overwhelmed with 
 shame and contrition. But he looked lovingly upon 
 them, and continued, — 
 
 But thou, O man of God, flee these things ; and 
 follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, 
 patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, 
 lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also 
 called, and hast professed a good profession before 
 many witnesses. 23 
 
 Then Peter and John thanked him for his great 
 kindness and love, and moreover, they could not 
 help throwing themselves on their knees, in the 
 presence of all, and giving thanks to God for his 
 goodness, that he could have such compassion upon 
 them; and they besought with tears that they might 
 have grace to be kept evermore from such sin and 
 wandering. Then the Master of the King's Steamer 
 did most lovingly embrace them, and bade them 
 farewell. And as he went, he told them to beware 
 of pride, and to be clothed with humility, for that 
 God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the 
 humble. 24 Also he said, Let your conversation be 
 without covetousness, and be content with such 
 things as ye have, for He hath said, I will never 
 leave thee, nor forsake thee. 25 
 
 And now, as soon as the Belief Ship had passed 
 
 23 1 Tim. vi. 11, 12- 24 1 Pet. v. 5- 2r> Heb. xiii. 5. 
 
128 A EEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 out of sight, they began to see and to feel more 
 clearly and vividly what a mercy it was that the 
 relief had come as it did ; for that very night after 
 their deliverance, a tremendous storm arose, which 
 set the frozen space in such commotion, that they 
 must have been dashed in pieces had they been then 
 among the icebergs. They knew that, well, and 
 they called to mind with thankfulness that the gale 
 which was now driving them back to the right 
 course, must have sunk them in the bottom of the 
 sea, had it come upon them in their cold and terrible 
 imprisonment. They thought of David's prayer, 
 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy 
 name. 26 The storm increased till it was almost a 
 hurricane, but still it was fair weather to them, in 
 comparison with the terror of such gloom as they had 
 encountered. For now the light of God's forgiving 
 mercy was shining, and they were ready to exclaim, 
 
 The tempests that rise, 
 Shall gloriously hurry our souls to the skies ! 
 
 But indeed they were in great peril, and were 
 driven under bare poles through such a raging sea, 
 that sometimes it seemed as if the ship was going 
 under the waves bodily, never again to rise. At 
 length there seemed a slight lull in the tempest, and 
 
 26 Psa. cxlii. 7. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 129 
 
 the ship was so far steady, that they ventured to 
 gather for prayer, and not only so, but sent up a song 
 amidst the roaring of the elements, for they had a 
 heart to sing as well as to pray, and they thanked 
 God even for a hurricane, if it would snatch them 
 from temptation. 
 
 The billows swell, the winds are high, 
 Clouds overcast my wintry sky ; 
 Out of the depths to thee I call, 
 My fears are great, my strength is small. 
 
 O Lord, the Pilot's part perform, 
 And guide and guard me through the storm; 
 Defend me from each threatening ill, 
 Control the waves, say, Peace, be still ! 
 
 Amidst the roaring of the sea 
 My soul still hangs her hopes on thee ; 
 Thy constant love, thy faithful care, 
 Is all that saves me from despair. 
 
 Dangers of every shape and name 
 Attend the followers of the Lamb, 
 Who leave the world's deceitful shore, 
 And leave it to return no more. 
 
 Though tempest-tossed, and half a wreck, 
 My Saviour through the floods I seek ; 
 Let neither winds nor stormy main 
 Force back my shattered bark again. 
 
 6* 
 
CHAPTEE YIL 
 
 POMEGRANATE HARBOR, AND THE HALL OF REVE- 
 LATIONS. 
 
 Now as they pursued their course, humble and 
 penitent, and rejoicing in the Divine goodness, they 
 beheld, one fine day, an Island rising before them, 
 which they found, on examining the Chart, to be the 
 Island of the Communion of Saints. They were 
 exceedingly glad at this, for there was a noble harbor 
 in that Island, where they were to stop for a season, 
 and receive fresh water and provisions ; and here 
 also they could feel secure, being in one of the King's 
 own ports. It was a sweet day as they entered the 
 Harbor, and behold, the flags of very many nations 
 were flying, with the King's flag high above them 
 all, a sight which it did the heart good to look upon. 
 The Harbor they found was large enough to hold all 
 the fleets of the whole world, and never had they 
 beheld so magnificent and goodly a scene. Moreover, 
 
A KEEL IN A BOTTLE. 131 
 
 it was surrounded by mountains, green and wooded 
 to the very tops, sheltering it from every wind that 
 could blow, so that there was nothing to be compared 
 with it for safety and beauty. 
 
 Here the crews of the ships that visited the place 
 were regaled, as long as they stayed, with choice 
 grapes from the King's own vineyards, and apples 
 most delicious to the taste. Here w r ere trees, whose 
 fruit was for meat, and the leaves for medicine. 1 Here 
 were orchards of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits, 
 spikenard, cinnamon, and all trees of frankincense, 
 myrrh, and aloes, with all the chief spices. 2 Here were 
 fig-trees, with ripe delicious figs, also fragrant vines 
 with many kinds of grapes, also the flowers appeared 
 upon the earth, and the singing of the birds made the 
 air melodious. There was a fountain of gardens, and 
 a well of springing waters, and there were streams 
 from the mountains, and whether the North or the 
 South winds blew upon the gardens with their beds 
 of spices, the fragrance went forth upon the sea. 8 
 
 In this region all that came in the name of the 
 King were welcome, and they were entertained at 
 the King's own expense, so that everything reminded 
 them of his loving kindness. There was a grand 
 banqueting house of cedar and fir, where the guests 
 assembled with holy joy, and ate and drank in 
 
 1 Ezek. xlvii. 12. 2 Cantic. iv. 14. s Cant. ix. 15. 
 
132 A EEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 memory of the sufferings and death of their King. 
 It was a spacious, vast, magnificent temple, in the 
 midst of an open plain at the foot of the mountains, 
 sloping down, green and beautiful, to the very bor- 
 ders of the harbor. In that House they spake a 
 language that all understood, from whatever nation 
 under heaven the guests might have been gathered, 
 and it was said to be a dialect very like the language 
 of the Celestial Country, a dialect taught of God, and 
 understood only by the Spirit of God. 
 
 Now in this House there was a large Room, the 
 sides of which were all filled with round windows, 
 through which those that looked could see grand 
 instructive panoramas of various scenes. It was a, 
 place where one might have studied all his life-time, 
 and still found something always new, instructive, 
 and entertaining. But though the windows were the 
 same to everybody, yet the wonders that were seen 
 depended very much upon the state of mind in the 
 persons that looked through them ; and some would 
 go away, having seen very little, while others could 
 never be tired nor satisfied with gazing, and some 
 were ready to exclaim with Peter on the Mount, Let 
 us build here three tabernacles, 1 and never more 
 depart from such blissful visions. But some went 
 away as ignorant as they came ; for they are not all 
 
 1 Matt. xvii. 4. 
 
FOR JACK 'IN THE DOLDRUMS. 133 
 
 Israel, which are of Israel ; 2 and the natural man 
 receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for 
 they are foolishness with him ; neither can he know 
 them, because they are spiritually discerned. 3 
 
 Over the door of this room was written in large 
 golden shining letters this motto : Open thotj mine 
 
 EYES, THAT I MAT BEHOLD WONDROUS THINGS OUT OF 
 
 thy law. 4 Moreover, the Keeper of this room, who 
 was a grave, but very affable and gentle personage, 
 encouraged all the visitors, saying, Eye hath not seen, 
 nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of 
 man, the things which God hath prepared for them 
 that love him, but God hath revealed them unto us 
 by his Spirit ; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea 
 the deep things of God. 5 He also told them, If any 
 man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth 
 nothing yet as he ought to know. 6 
 
 ]STow w r hen Peter and John came into this room, 
 the Keeper of it looked pleasantly upon them, and 
 kindly and lovingly bade them welcome, and forth- 
 with carried them to a place, where was a succession 
 of very important sea-view T s to be seen, besides other 
 things full of instruction, and bade them look 
 earnestly. Then they looked, and saw a ship, riding 
 in a storm at night, tossed fearfully by the tempest ; 
 
 2 Rom. ix. 6. 3 1 Cor. ii- 14- 4 Psa. cxix. 18. 
 
 6 1 Cor. viii. 2. 
 
134 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 and making for a light that blazed upon the coast, 
 which seemed to be at no great distance. But they 
 saw plainly that that light was burning at a point 
 where there was no harbor, and nothing but sharp, 
 perpendicular, jagged rocks. Then they looked 
 again, and behold the ship had struck upon the reef, 
 just where the light was stationed, and was breaking 
 to pieces, with the sea dashing over her, and every 
 soul perishing. Then their Conductor told them that 
 this was a representation of the false lights that 
 allured unstable souls to ruin,, pretending to guide 
 them to a safe harbor, where no harbor was. 
 
 But you perceive, said the Conductor, that these 
 lights of falsehood are various-colored and revolving 
 lights, whereas, the King's light-houses are all lighted 
 with a light that shines like the sun, and is fixed, and 
 not changeable. ISTow if those on board this ship 
 had studied the King's Chart, and kept their right 
 reckoning, they would have known where they were, 
 and would have been in no danger from mistaking 
 those lights for the King's harbor. And if they had 
 studied the Coast Pilot, they would have known the 
 false lights in a moment. But those lights are put 
 up to lure souls to perdition, by the same firm that 
 made the life-boats of the yacht you encountered, 
 Security, Save-all and Company, under the superin- 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDETTMS. 135 
 
 tendence of the Great Adversary, and multitudes 
 have been deceived thereby. 
 
 Then said John, Many there be that cry, Peace, 
 peace ! when there is no peace. 7 But methinks it 
 would have been better and safer to have kept out at 
 sea, and endeavored to ride out the gale, rather than 
 make for a harbor in such dreadful uncertainty. Is 
 not this a part of that which is called the deceivable- 
 ness of unrighteousness in them that perish V 
 
 Tes, said the Conductor, thou speakest right. 
 These light-houses are sometimes built after- the 
 working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and 
 lying wonders, and sometimes by handling the Word of 
 God deceitfully. 9 But it would be better to be tossed 
 in any storm, be it ever so fearful, than to seek a refuge 
 that God hath not sanctioned and appointed. They 
 should have known better. But Satan had blinded 
 their hearts through the ignorance that was in them 
 because of their unbelief. 10 And there be also those, 
 whom God hath given over to strong- delusion to 
 believe a lie, because they received not the love of 
 the truth, that they might be saved. 11 But look now 
 through this next window, and you shall see another 
 lesson. 
 
 Then they looked again, and behold they saw a 
 
 ' Jer. vi. 14. 8 2 Thess. ii. 10 9 2 Thess ii. 9. 10 Eph. iv. IS. 
 "2Thess. ii. 10, 11. 
 
136 A REEL m A BOTTLE, 
 
 ship, noble and stately, under a full press of canvas, 
 sailing in beauty over the deep. Oh how lovely was 
 the sight, for the sea, and the air, and the breeze 
 were glorious! But again they looked, and theie 
 was a scene of revelry in the cabin, and the company 
 were eating and drinking, while the crew also were 
 occupied in a similar manner, and some were dancing. 
 Then again they looked, after a moment, and lo, the 
 ship was on fire, and all was confusion and terror, 
 and the flames darted from sail to sail, and licked the 
 masts, and flew, np the shronds, till the ship was a 
 great sheet of fire. Then, again, once more they 
 looked, but all was dark, and the ship's hulk was 
 floating, burned to the water's edge, and not a living 
 soul had escaped the conflagration. 
 
 Then exclaimed Peter and John, O how dreadful 
 is this ! 
 
 Yes, said the Conductor, solemnly, this is the 
 representation of a soul setting out well, but not lay- 
 ing aside besetting sins, nor discovering and watching 
 against inward corruptions. One indulgence follows 
 another, till the watch of the soul is all neglected, 
 and through carelessness the habits of sin become as 
 flames of fire, till the soul is destroyed thereby. The 
 people in that ship had been carrying strong drink, 
 and indulging themselves in the use of it, and this 
 has destroyed many a noble vessel. Let every man 
 
FOR JACK IN* THE DOLDRUMS. 137 
 
 beware. Beware of every evil habit. Beware of 
 the indulgence of carnal appetites. Beware of sen- 
 suality. Beware of unchaste thoughts, words, and 
 actions. There be those whose god is their .belly, 12 
 and there be those having eyes full of adultery, and 
 that cannot cease from sin, who shall utterly perish 
 in their own corruption. 13 There be those guilty of 
 unclean conversation, whose tongues are set on fire 
 of hell, 14 and shall be grievously tormented for ever 
 in that flame. Beware of secret and unseen tempta- 
 tions, and mortify your members which are upon the 
 earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, 
 and covetousness, which is idolatry, for which things' 
 sake the wrath of God cometh upon the children of 
 disobedience. 15 Put ye off all these, and let your 
 speech be always with grace, seasoned with heavenly 
 salt. 1G 
 
 Then exclaimed Peter, Oh how many things do 
 we meet at every turn to teach us our danger ! May 
 the Lord search us and try us, and not leave us in 
 the power of undiscovered sin, or of habits of evil 
 that cannot be conquered ! 
 
 Then said the Guide, Some men's sins are open 
 beforehand, going before to judgment,- and some they 
 follow after. 17 There may be secret sins, that burn 
 
 12 Phil. iii. 19. 1S 2 Pet. ii. 12, 14. u James iii. 6. 
 
 16 Col. iii. 5, 6. 16 Col. iv. 6. " 1 Tim. v. 24. 
 
138 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 like a slow fire, smouldering, half-smothered, yet 
 "burning, all the voyage through. Yicious habit is a 
 thing of awful power. A navigator once came into this 
 port, after having been at sea many days, with such 
 a fire in the hold, and they did not know when nor 
 how it began, but it was down so deep under the 
 cargo that it could neither be got at, nor put out, but 
 would burn, in spite of all they could do to help it, 
 and they knew it was burning by the heat and smoke, 
 and expected every hour to "see it burst out for their 
 destruction. They turned great quantities of water 
 down into the hold, but it was manifest that still the 
 fire held on, somewhere, and if they kept the hatches 
 open, it- would soon all be a bright flame. So they 
 shut down the hatches, and put the ship for the near- 
 est land, and cried to God for deliverance. 
 
 The Cabin itself became so hot, that they could, 
 hardly stay in it, and to keep the fire as long as possible 
 from breaking out, they closed the Cabin also as tight 
 as they could do it. The decks grew so hot in some 
 parts, that the pitch fried in the seams, and one 
 would have thought they must blaze up every mo- 
 ment. Day and night they could neither rest nor 
 sleep, but at length, through God's great mercy, they 
 got in sight of land ; and when they came into the har- 
 bor, it was found that though the fire had, in a 
 wondrous manner, (the hatches being shut upon it) 
 
139 
 
 gone down without breaking out into an open flame, 
 yet it had charred the ship almost to charcoal. The 
 navigator lost everything but life, and had it not 
 been for God's mercy, he would have lost that 
 also. 
 
 To the day of his death he never forgot the awful 
 danger. He warned his fellow-sinners, by his own 
 experience, and he told them in his own peculiar way 
 of illustration, which was very powerful, that when 
 people are putting up a bridge, centre-pieces, or 
 wooden frames, are put under the arches, while it is 
 building, to support the masonry, but to remain 
 there only until the solid arches themselves are fully 
 constructed and established. When that is once 
 done, the wood is taken away and burned. And just 
 so, the pleasures of sin are only the devil's scaffold- 
 ing, to build a habit upon, and w T hen that habit is 
 once formed and steady, then the pleasures are taken 
 away, and sent for firewood, and the hell begins in 
 this life. And if it does not begin here, so much the 
 more certain to begin and hold on hereafter. 
 
 O many are the souls thus sailing on over the Sea 
 of life, with the fire of sin in the bold, burning, 
 charring, that never get into port, but the flame 
 breaks out at length, and envelopes them in a wind- 
 ing sheet of destruction ! And now, remember, that 
 although sensual habits are the most perceptible here 
 
140 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 in this world, yet evil spiritual habits, habits that in 
 this world by most persons are hardly heeded at all, 
 habits of the neglect of prayer, indifference, stupidity 
 of heart, insensibility to sin and to divine realities, 
 neglect of the Saviour, neglect of God's word, delay 
 of the claims of religion, lukewarmness, conformity 
 to the world, procrastination ; all these things are 
 the fire of sin, smouldering, charring, preparing the 
 whole being for becoming firewood, for that fire of 
 holy retribution, which if a man passes into it, if he 
 will neglect all God's warnings, invitations, entrea- 
 ties, expostulations, will be a fire in God's anger, 
 that shall burn to the lowest hell. 
 
 But now, added the Guide, if there be those des- 
 troyed by fire, there is frost also. Then he had them 
 to another window, and bade them look again, and 
 when they looked, they saw a scene of great gloom 
 and terror, and it came so near their own experience, 
 that it almost curdled the blood in their veins to think 
 of it. It was a vast, dreadful, frozen sea, and a ship 
 fast frozen in the ice, and not a sign of life aboard, 
 but dead corpses lying on the deck as stiff as the 
 silent ribs and rocks of ice about the vessel. It 
 seemed as if the tall, motionless, glaring ice-bergs 
 were keeping watch over them, for they rose on every 
 side higher than the mast-head. Then they looked 
 again, and the cabin was open before them, and in 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 141 
 
 the cabin were two men seeming to be the Captain 
 and Mate, seated at a table, with a chart open before 
 them, and a rule and the compasses in their hands, 
 but they were both stark dead and stiff with the frost, 
 for death had come over them even there while they 
 were making their calculations. 
 
 And now once more they looked, and behold there 
 was a rushing storm, and a mighty rushing whirlwind 
 among the ice-bergs, so that they were tossed and 
 ground together against one another, like the beams 
 of a shattered world, and the ship was crushed just 
 as if it had been an egg-shell, till in a few moments 
 every trace of her existence, hull, masts, and every 
 thing had utterly disappeared. 
 
 Then said the Conductor, ye know the meaning of 
 this. Be humble, and thankful, and watch ever- 
 more, and pray without ceasing. 18 
 
 Then the same kind and loving Guide bade them 
 look into the next window, which, when they had 
 done, they saw what seemed to be a Marine Insur- 
 ance Office, and it was crowded with people going in 
 and out, getting underwriting done for their vessels. 
 The policies of insurance pretended to have the King's 
 seal, and also to secure a ship against all possibility 
 of damage or loss, and also to establish an entire cer- 
 tainty of a safe entrance into the King's haven in the 
 
 18 1 Thess. v. 17. 
 
14:2 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 Celestial Country. But these things were all lies and 
 forgeries, though the people were willing to trust 
 their salvation to them. They also gave policies for 
 ships that were never built, receiving risks on ficti- 
 tious capital, the pretended owners of which were 
 willing to pay something for the sake of deceiving 
 themselves and others into the delusion of great 
 riches. Over the door of this place there was the 
 sign of the same firm that put the life-boats on board 
 of Captain Glib's yacht, namely, Messrs. Security, 
 Save-all, and company. There were runners going 
 up and down, pretending to be the King's ministers, 
 whose employment and charge it was to persuade 
 men to come and transact all their business for the 
 Celestial Country at this office. Many seemed per- 
 fectly satisfied as to the soundness of the concern, 
 and the ability of the underwriters to pay ;. but some 
 still remained uneasy, even after they had received 
 their policies. 
 
 Then said the Guide, The underwriters at this 
 office are of the kingdom of darkness, though they 
 pretend to be angels of light. Their signatures are 
 utterly worthless, and he that trusts in them will cer- 
 tainly ruin his soul. There were just such insurance 
 offices, and keepers of them, and underwriters, in the 
 days of Noah, pretending to secure men against the 
 deluge; but the flood came, and swept them all 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 143 
 
 away. 19 And so shall it be in the end of the world. 20 
 For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sud- 
 den destruction cometh upon them, for the day of the 
 Lord shall so come as a thief in the night. 21 There 
 were such underwriters in the days of the Prophet 
 Jeremiah, and also of Ezekiel, crying Peace, peace, 
 when there is no peace, 22 seducing the people with a 
 lying divination, seeing vanity and prophesying lies, 
 and saying, the Lord saith, when the Lord had not 
 sent them. 23 They prophesied security out of their 
 own hearts, and pretended to have made a covenant 
 with death and an agreement with hell, 24 for man- 
 kind, to strengthen the hands of the wicked, that he 
 should not return from his wicked way, by promising 
 him life. 25 But the King's wrath is against such 
 prophets, and against all who put their trust in such 
 delusions, because they are willingly deceived, when 
 from the Word of God they know better. 
 
 Then said John, These things, by the grace of the 
 Lord, shall help us, that we be no more children 
 tossed to and fro, and carried about with every 
 wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and 
 cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to 
 deceive. 28 
 
 Then said the Guide, Our hope of you is stead- 
 
 lw Matt. xxiv. 39. 20 Mutt. xiii. 40. 21 1 Thess. v. 23. 22 Ezek. xiii. 10. 
 28 Ezek. xiii. 6. 24 Isa. xxviii. 18. 36 Ezek. xiii. 22. 2fi Eph. iv. 14. 
 
144 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 fast, 27 if ye be immoveable in Christ ; and ye are 
 made partakers of him, if ye keep the beginning of 
 your confidence steadfast nnto the end. 28 For ye 
 know well that there is no true insurance but what is 
 done by the Lord Jesus Christ, and no getting |iny 
 interest in that, but by coming to him, and abiding 
 in him. If a man abide not in him, there is no assur- 
 ance but that of being burned. 29 
 
 Some men think they will be saved by the Church, 
 some think they will be saved by baptism, some by 
 partaking of the sacrament ; and there are various 
 loan and life insurance companies on these different 
 principles ; but the management of them is all alike 
 deceitful. It is a great swindle, and all assurances ot 
 salvation by any thing but the blood of Jesus Christ, 
 and faith in him, with repentance towards God, even 
 the renewing of the Holy Spirit, are hypocritical and 
 rotten. Wherefore he saith, Enter ye in at the strait 
 gate ; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that 
 leadeth to destruction, and many there be who go in 
 thereat. Because, strait is the gate, and narrow is 
 the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be 
 that find it, 30 
 
 And again he saith, I am the Door. By me if any 
 man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and 
 out, and shall find pasture. But he that entere'th not 
 
 27 ? Cor. i. 7. 28 Heb. iii. 14. 29 John xv. 6. 30 Matt. vii. 13, 14. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 145 
 
 by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some 
 other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 31 Where- 
 fore, if a man get into the sheepfold by a profession, 
 or by the sacrament, or by what he calleth baptismal 
 regeneration, and not by Christ, he is a thief and a 
 robber. Wherefore, again, our Lord saith, Many will 
 say to me in that day, We have eaten and drunk in 
 thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets, and 
 we have prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils, 
 and done many wonderful works; and then I will 
 profess unto them, I never knew you, depart frpm me 
 all ye workers of iniquity . sa So it is that many will 
 sail on proudly for a time, only to be the more utterly 
 and wofully lost forever ! 
 
 But come, said the Guide, look into another win- 
 dow, and you shall see a pleasant sight. Then at his 
 bidding they looked, and behold, a wide and shining 
 sea, but broken into quick waves by the breeze, and 
 nothing to be seen in it but a bird like an albatross, 
 struggling to rise from the water. At first it seemed 
 as if the efforts of the creature only plunged it deeper, 
 and its wings went under the water instead of over 
 it ; but in a few moments it got the upper hand, and 
 began to rise, though at first it seemed only to skim 
 the waves, but at length it rose higher and higher, 
 till it went straight up towards heaven, and then it 
 
 81 John x. 1. 9. S2 Luke xiii. 46, 47. 
 
 7 
 
146 A KEEL ES T A BOTTLE, 
 
 seemed to soar without labor, and almost without 
 motion, even like a white fleecy cloud in the 
 atmosphere. 
 
 Then said the men, What meaneth this ? 
 
 And the Guide told them they might there see how 
 the righteous shall hold on his way by prayer, and 
 wax stronger and stronger. 33 At first it would be 
 difficult to rise above the world ; difficult it always is 
 to begin to pray, and sometimes it seems as if the 
 prayers of such a wo-begone, sinful and burdened 
 heart only disclosed sin, and carried the soul deeper 
 down in guilt and misery. But looking to Christ, 
 and coming to him, prayer shall be successful, and 
 though at first it seems to do nothing more than get 
 the wings free, and though the flight has to com- 
 mence fluctuating and doubting along the very crest 
 of the waves, yet soon the persevering soul shall soar, 
 and then, the higher it rises, the purer grows the air 
 and light, and the easier it is to keep flying. And 
 so, if a Christian will thus wait upon the Lord, he 
 shall mount up on wings as eagles. 34 But if he falls 
 again into the sea of worldliness, he is in great 
 danger of sinking in it outright, and of drowning. 
 
 Then the Guide had them to another window, and 
 he said, What you see here will depend upon your 
 faith. So they looked, and behold at first they only 
 
 "Jobxvii. 9, 34 Isa. xl. 31. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 147 
 
 saw men as trees walking. 86 Then were they greatly 
 disappointed, and the tears fell from their eyes for 
 sorrow of heart ; but the Guide bade them look to 
 Him who is the Author and Finisher of our Faith, 36 
 and gaze again. So they cried within themselves, 
 Lord increase our faith. 37 And again they looked, 
 and lo, they saw what seemed to be the very utter- 
 most end of the Ocean, and the shining coast of the 
 Celestial Country, and sweet green fields stretching 
 down to the sea, and angels in companies walking 
 f up and down, and also the walls and gates of the New 
 Jerusalem, and happy beings in white going in and 
 out continually. They saw likewise the domes of the 
 City, which seemed to be floating off into the sky 
 further than the eye could reach, and they thought 
 they heard a melodious sound of bells, exceeding 
 sweet and musical, but they were so ravished that 
 they knew not what to say. They thought it had 
 been night, and that the morning had come, and that 
 they had just awakened from a long sleep ; and they 
 exclaimed, both at once, Let me go, for the day 
 breaketh ! 38 
 
 Then the Guide smiled, and looked lovingly upon 
 them, and bade them God speed upon their voyage, 
 and gave each of them a little book, in which was 
 folded up a parchment, written within and without, 
 
 86 Mark viii. 24. 36 Heb. xii. ii. 3T Luke xvii. 5. S8 Gen. xxxii. 26. 
 
148 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 that no man could read but they themselves, and it 
 was called the Earnest of the Inheritance 93 and they 
 were bidden to keep it in their bosoms, and never let 
 it go, for that it would be a great solace and joy to 
 them in all the way of their voyage, even to the end. 
 So with hearts full of thankfulness and love, they 
 hastened down to the Harbor, to get all things in 
 readiness for their departure. They found that by 
 orders from the King a great supply of everything 
 requisite for the continuation of their voyage was 
 waiting their order, so that they had only to say the 
 word, and everything was accomplished. Nothing 
 was wanting. 
 
 They were overjoyed at all this, and it seemed as 
 if now there were no more troubles by sea or by land, 
 between them and glory, but a certain and smooth 
 passage thither. And, indeed, that had come about 
 spoken of by the Prophet, that before they called, 
 God answered them, and even while they were speak- 
 ing, the blessing was with them. 40 
 
 But the Master of the Harbor, who^ was a very 
 sage and venerable person, and of great experience, 
 gave them some grave warnings in the midst of all 
 their joy, and bade them beware of self-exaltation, 
 for that they did not know what enemies within, as 
 well as without, they might yet have to encounter. 
 
 80 Eph. i. 14. 40 Isa. lxv. 24. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 149 
 
 He told them they must call to remembrance what it 
 was that happened to Peter and John even after they 
 came down from the Mount of Transfiguration. 41 Be 
 not high-minded, but fear, 42 said he ; a contrite mind 
 is the safest, and though present comforts and delights 
 are precious indeed when God sends them, yet the 
 soul that can follow the Lord contentedly without 
 them is in a sweet and humble frame, that is very 
 safe and exceedingly desirable. Moreover, the Lord 
 is very near to such a soul, and communes with it, 
 but the proud he knoweth afar off. 4 ' 
 
 And now were all hands active for again setting 
 sail, and they went to work with great joyfulness, for 
 the hope that maketh not ashamed animated them, 
 because the love of God was shed abroad in their 
 hearts by the Holy Spirit that was given them. 44 
 
 41 Luke ix. 46. 42 Rom. xi. 20. 43 Psa. cxxxviii. 6. 44 Rom. v. 5. 
 
CHAPTEE YHI. 
 
 A CONFLICT WITH THE GREAT PIE ATE, AND HOW TO 
 RESIST TEMPTATION. 
 
 Now it happened that as they were all busy, 
 getting in their water and provisions, there was a 
 fellow named Pride, who came under the disguise 
 of one of the King's Stevedores, and took hold along 
 with the crew, to help them in their labors. He 
 seemed to be an active, zealous workman, ready for 
 anything, whether to carry coals, hew wood, or draw 
 water. He had tried before to get in with the crew, 
 in his own proper character, but could not succeed, 
 and now resorted to this stratagem, for he was a 
 secret spy and soldier in the service of Beelzebub, 
 the Prince of the Devils. So he made himself very 
 humble and very busy, and just as the ship was get- 
 ting in her last supplies, and was all ready for sail- 
 ing, he came on board with a wheelbarrow of 
 packages for the ship's use, and instead of returning, 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 151 
 
 slunk unperceived away to a dark place in the 
 forecastle, to hide himself till the ship should be 
 under weigh, and then stand his chance for holding 
 on in the voyage, though there was no name under 
 which he w T as down in the Ship's manifest. 
 
 Well, for some time he kept quiet, but at length 
 managed to get the key of one of their sea-chests, 
 w^here he found a whole suit of seamen's clothes, even 
 to a tarpaulin, and having rigged himself in this 
 toggery, he made his appearance in the first dirty 
 weather they encountered after leaving the harbor, 
 and pulled at the ropes, and reefed sails, with the 
 rest of them. They were too busy to take much 
 note of the man, or even to see at first that he was a 
 stranger, though Contrition and Sincere looked hard 
 at him, and made up their minds to speak about him 
 to Peter and John. But as the weather began to be 
 rough and uncomfortable, they had much to occupy 
 them ; and what had never been known before, there 
 began to be a spirit of discontent at the squalls and 
 wet weather they were encountering ; for the fellow 
 Pride had a way of whispering and muttering, so 
 peculiar that it was like ventriloquism, and what he 
 said seemed to come from the heart and belly of the 
 person to whom he said it, so that there began to be 
 heart-burnings and hard thoughts, where before there 
 had been nothing but sweet peace, content and patience. 
 
152 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 ISow all this was not for nothing, as the event 
 proved. One night, while all the rest of the crew 
 were sleeping, and the watch were looking astern 
 across the sea, this fellow, Pride, contrived to hoist a 
 lantern signal with a bine light, which he had con- 
 veyed on board for that very pnrpose, and bj which 
 he was to communicate with his Master, whom he 
 knew to be on the watch in those regions. For the 
 devil is a great and cunning Pirate, who watches for 
 ships richly laden ; and the seas about the Island and 
 Harbor of the Communion of Saints are a favorite 
 cruising-ground for his privateers. So the fellow, 
 Pride, who knew his Master to be somewhere there- 
 abouts, kept up the signal as long as he dared, and 
 then managed to haul it down again without discov- 
 ery. The night was very dark, but the light could 
 be seen so much the farther for the darkness. 
 
 The very next day there hove in sight a black, 
 doubtful-looking craft, bearing down upon them, 
 and as she neared, and got close enough for 
 hailing, up went the black flag of Beelzebub, and the 
 Master stood upon the quarter deck, and in a voice 
 that roared through his trumpet like thunder, called 
 upon the Captain of the King's ship in the name of 
 his Infernal Majesty, to surrender at discretion, for 
 that he was Master of those seas. 
 
 Then Peter stood forth and answered for his King, 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 153 
 
 that this was the King's own ship, even .Emmanuel's, 
 and owed no allegiance to any but him, nor would 
 ever surrender to his enemies ; furthermore, that this 
 was the King's own highway, and the course of the 
 ship just what was laid down for her in the King's 
 chart, and that none had any right or authority over 
 them, either to stop the way, or turn them out of it. 
 
 Then the Master of Beelzebub's ship answered that 
 by the King's own laws all their pretended rights 
 were forfeited to Beelzebub, for they had sold them- 
 selves to him, and must come to him for wages, nor 
 would he relinquish his hold upon them for service, 
 but if they fled away, would recapture them wherever 
 he could find them, for that they were his slaves and 
 his property, and as such he claimed them, and called 
 on all in the ship to help in the execution of the laws 
 whereby they should be delivered up. 
 
 Then Peter answered that it was indeed true, and 
 with shame and sorrow of heart he spoke it, that 
 formerly, under great delusion and guilt, they had 
 been in the service of Beelzebub, serving divers lusts 
 and pleasures, but that God, having delivered them 
 from the power of darkness, and translated them into 
 the Kingdom of his dear Son, 1 had delivered them 
 wholly from the power of Satan, and made them, by 
 adoption, Sons of God, and meet to be partakers of 
 
 'Col. i. 13. 
 
 7* 
 
154 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 the inheritance of the saints in light; 2 that of their 
 own accord they chose the service of God's dear 
 Son, and should have done it sooner, had not the god 
 of this world blinded their minds 3 and made them 
 perverse and unbelieving ; but by the Lord's help they 
 never more would serve the devil, nor any of his laws 
 or works. 
 
 At this Beelzebub fell into great wrath, and raved 
 and swore with such passion, that he could hardly 
 speak English. But at length he roared out that by 
 the King's own laws they were under his jurisdiction, 
 for that it was one of those laws that they should 
 render unto Caesar the things that were Caesar's, 4 
 which they had not done, for that the god of this 
 world, in alliance with Caesar, had made laws which 
 they had contemned and disobeyed, and if they con- 
 tinued to do this, there could be no civil government, 
 and that the first rule of all was to obey the powers 
 that be, for that they were ordained of God. 5 
 
 Then Peter answered that as to that matter, the 
 god of this world had trampled on the word and 
 authority of God, and had made God's laws of none 
 effect through his traditions, 6 which he, the devil, 
 was trying to enforce as law, and to get men's con- 
 sciences under his authority ; but that they were 
 
 2 Col. i. 12. s 2 Cor. iv. 4. 4 Matt. xxii. 21. 6 Rom. xiii. 1. 
 Matt. xv. 6. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 155 
 
 commanded at all hazards to render unto God the 
 things that were God's, and in all those things they 
 were the Lord's freemen, and would be bound by 
 none but him. 
 
 But Beelzebub still maintained that they were his 
 servants from the outset, and had broken away from 
 his allegiance without cause, and as miserable fugi- 
 tives from justice, ought to be rendered up again. 
 Besides, added he, you have got on board of your 
 ship one of mine own subjects, impressed unwillingly 
 and detained violently, and if you do not instantly 
 release him, I will blow your ship into ten thousand 
 pieces. 
 
 ]Now Peter and John trembled at this, for they did 
 not fully understand the accusation, and as they knew 
 they had never themselves been kidnappers, and 
 were not aware of any smuggled hands on board, 
 they began to question about their own identity. 
 Likewise the whole crew, all but that fellow, Pride, 
 began to say within themselves, Is it I ? Is it I V 
 And their sins rose up before them in such wise, at 
 the great roaring voice of Beelzebub, that they were 
 ready to question, each for himself, whether he was 
 not really the man that ought to be given up to Satan 
 as his prey. 
 
 However, Peter managed to answer with apparent 
 
 7 Mark xiv. 19. 
 
156 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 boldness, that the King's ship was the King's ship, 
 and the j would defend her for him to the last. 9 And 
 whether it were right to obey God or man, or to 
 hearken to Beelzebub more than unto God, all on 
 board might judge. 8 Then Peter commanded to clear 
 the ship for action. 
 
 But even while they were doing this, the Master 
 of the Pirate ship, having brought her into a com- 
 manding position, poured a whole broadside upon the 
 King's ship, intending, if possible, to sink her at 
 one blow ; and if the shot had taken effect as was 
 intended, the consequences would have been terrible. 
 But just as the order to fire was given, a wave provi- 
 dentially lifted the vessel up and suddenly keeled 
 her over down to the sea, just so far, as to send the 
 whole discharge into the ocean. Not a shot told. 
 
 By this, Peter and John were greatly encouraged. 
 Now that the conflict had really begun, they felt more 
 boldness by far than while they were parleying. 
 But the next broadside did more injury, for the enemy 
 tacked about with incredible swiftness, and brought 
 his guns to bear more truly, though even then most 
 of them whistled across the decks, without striking 
 either the men or the ship. It was a great relief, 
 after these repeated attacks from so terrible an adver- 
 sary, to find themselves still alive and floating. 
 
 8 Actsiv. 19. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 157 
 
 And now they brought the King's own guns into 
 action, and every shot told. The very first report of 
 them was inspiring, while they struck terror, evi- 
 dently, into the heart of the enemy. Out of the 
 great Mortar, called Promise, they shot a bomb, that 
 fell upon the leeward side of the Pirate Ship, and 
 there exploding, tore out the bulwarks, carrying over- 
 board several of his biggest guns and a number of 
 the piratical crew with them. They also brought to 
 bear with great power and effect the larger gun, 
 Who shall separate es from the love of Christ V 
 And also that other piece, which was put on board, 
 If God be for us who shall be against us? 10 These 
 pieces, however, did as much, if not more in encour- 
 aging and confirming Peter and John and all the 
 crew, than in injuring the enemy, though they were 
 not without their effect upon him, as was proved 
 afterwards. 
 
 While all this was going on, Contrition and Sin- 
 cere, who had their eye upon that fellow Pride, 
 observed him at work upon the fire-engine, and com- 
 ing up to see what he was doing, found that he had 
 cut the hose in three several places, and was trying 
 also to choke the pump with grit, which he had car- 
 ried for that purpose in his pockets. Then they 
 seized him at once, and in the struggle his hat fell 
 
 9 Rom. viii. 31. 10 Rom. viii. 35. 
 
158 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 off, which he had always worn over his eyes, and 
 they saw his true name plainly in his forehead, and 
 knew him to be a villain and a spy. But they had a 
 hard struggle to master him, for he was terribly 
 strong, and caught at everything to prevent being 
 thrown overboard, which nevertheless they did succeed 
 in doing, for it was all over with them, if he stayed 
 longer on board. But as to the fellow himself, he no 
 sooner touched the water, than he swam like a 
 fish to Beelzebub's vessel, and was there taken in- 
 stantly in. 
 
 Meantime, some of the hands set themselves as 
 quick as thought to repair as much as possible the 
 mischief done to the hose, and well was it that they 
 had discovered it in season, for no time was to be 
 lost. Grace to help in time of need 11 must come 
 now, if it came ever. 
 
 For now the conflict raged terribly, because the 
 enemy let fly a shower of darts, tipped with fire and 
 brimstone, that came flaming and hissing through 
 the air, and in spite of all that they could do to pre- 
 vent it, would strike and stick, sometimes in the 
 masts, sometimes in the sails, sometimes on the deck, 
 and several times burst into a flame, so that the fire 
 engine had to be handled with great swiftness and 
 dexterity, and some of the crew had to be stationed 
 
 "Heb. iv. 16. 
 
A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 159 
 
 in the shrouds, with buckets of water supplied con- 
 tinually. 
 
 While they were hard pressed in this manner, sev- 
 eral of the fiends, with that fellow, Pride, at their 
 head, having thrown themselves into the sea, swam 
 unperceived under the stern, got. hold of some ropes 
 that had there been left hanging by the villain for 
 that very purpose, and by that means hoisted them- 
 selves uj) to an open cabin window, and entered. 
 Then with shouts of blasphemy, and a rush, with 
 hellish darts, they broke forth suddenly on deck, 
 supposing they should surprise the whole ship's 
 company, and get entire possession. They struck 
 John a terrible blow in the back, before he was 
 aware, just as he was bending over in the act of 
 aiming one of the great guns for another broad- 
 side, so that he fell flat beneath the force of the en- 
 counter, and would certainly have been murdered, 
 had not one of the crew, named Peat-without-ceas- 
 ing," who saw when the attack was made, ran with 
 Peter to the rescue. 
 
 Then commenced a violent struggle, hand to hand, 
 with the fiends, who raised their terrible flaming 
 darts, and also breathed fire so furiously upon them, 
 that they had hard work to draw their very breath in 
 the conflict. Nor is there any telling what would 
 
 M l Thess. v. 17. 
 
160 A EEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 have come of it, had not the clouds, which had been 
 rolling up very black and heavy, ever since the fight 
 began, just then broke in a shower of rain so violent, 
 that the burning darts became almost useless in it, 
 and the fire which had caught in several places was 
 put out. Meantime they had the Sword of the Spirit, 
 which is the Word of God, 13 the same weapon with 
 which the King himself once conquered Satan in the 
 temptation in the wilderness ; 14 and with this they 
 parried the darts wonderfully, and then struck nim- 
 bly and earnestly in the name of the Lord, at every 
 blow crying to God for help, till at length every one 
 of the fiends, being wounded almost unto the death, 
 threw themselves over the side of the vessel, and 
 were seen no more. 
 
 Then they gave thanks to God for this deliverance, 
 and now again amidst the confusion of the decks 
 looked towards the Pirate Ship expecting a new con- 
 flict. But lo, a great black smoke was seen issuing 
 out of the hold, and fiery-forked flames rose up with 
 it, for their own combustibles had suddenly taken 
 fire, and burned so furiously, that nothing could 
 quench them. And now the night shut in with 
 great rapidity, and the glare of the flames shone lurid 
 over the sea, and the helm of the vessel being aban- 
 doned, having been disabled by a shot from the 
 
 18 Eph. vi. 17. " Matt. iv. 4 } 7, 10. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 161 
 
 King's ship, she drove on recklessly like a blinded 
 tiger in a burning menagerie, and her shotted guns 
 went off one after another, till at length there was a 
 most awful and magnificent explosion, and for a 
 moment the air was filled with burning, falling frag- 
 ments, and then all was dark and still. 
 
 But oh, what thankfulness and joy there was on 
 board the King's ship for this deliverance, mingled, 
 however, all night long, with anxious fears and 
 watchings, lest the Enemy might re-appear in boats, 
 or lest the very explosion of his vessel might be only 
 a trick to lull them, for they well knew the greatness 
 of his power and resources, as well as the snares of 
 his malignity and cunning. But the morning dawned 
 without trouble, and the sun rose bright and lovely 
 over the wide horizon, and the sea was smooth, and 
 the wind fresh and balmy, and not a sail or a hulk 
 appeared in sight to give them the least anxiety. 
 
 By and by a white flag like an Angel's wing came 
 into view as they were looking eastward, just as if a 
 fleecy cloud had been suddenly created when there 
 was nothing but blue firmament, and then there was 
 speedily a brave and splendid ship setting towards 
 them, having the King's own colors flying, and 
 everything beautiful and bright. Then Peter and 
 John stood still, and gazed with wonder, for the 
 vessel was coming right towards them, and as soon 
 
162 
 
 as she came near enough to speak, one of those on 
 board hailed in a friendly voice, and asked after 
 their welfare. Then they said that all was well, through 
 God's great mercy, but began to tell them some- 
 thing of the great peril they had just escaped ; 
 whereupon the Commander ordered his boat, and 
 speedily with his principal officers came on board the 
 King's ship, bringing with them sweet refreshments 
 and delights, that had come from the Celestial 
 Country. 
 
 When they had partaken of these, which they did 
 with much comfort and gratitude of so loving a com- 
 munication, for they perceived and knew that it was 
 from the King, they gave some farther account of the 
 Conflict. Then the friendly visitors told them that 
 they had been all the while in their neighborhood, 
 and were not altogether ignorant what was going on, 
 for they had even heard the noise of the guns, and 
 had seen the terrible explosion. 
 
 You were not alone, said the Commander, for 
 ministering spirits were with you, and one such it 
 was, who saved John from his peril, when the fiends 
 attacked him from behind, and would have killed him. 
 For God, said he, giveth his angels charge concern- 
 ing those that be his children, and will not have them 
 leave them. 15 Are they not all ministering spirits, 
 
 15 Psa. xci. 11. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 163 
 
 sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of 
 salvation ? 16 
 
 Then exclaimed John, If we had known that you 
 were so near, and that pngels were with ns, we had 
 not been so terrified. 
 
 No, nor so watchful and prayerful, neither roused 
 up to such strong and earnest faith. But did ye not 
 know, angels or not, that God is with you ? Ah, ye 
 must count it all joy when ye fall into divers tempta- 
 tions, knowing that the trial of your faith worketh 
 patience. 17 But God is always with you. It is of 
 the good pleasure of the King thus to leave his dear 
 people sometimes to a seeming desertion and death, 
 that they may feel more deeply their dependence on 
 him, and their need of his grace to save them. But 
 he is always near them, and never will desert them, 
 when they put their trust in him. 
 
 But is it often, asked Peter, that the Prince of the 
 Devils giveth such battle in these seas ? 
 
 Oh, much worse, much more deadly sometimes. 
 Paul himself once had a conflict with him somewhere 
 in this region, and with his companions was pressed 
 out of measure, above strength, insomuch that they 
 despaired even of life. But they had the sentence of 
 death in themselves, in order that they might not 
 trust in themselves, but in God who raiseth up the 
 
 ]C Heb. i. 14. 17 James i. 2, 3. 
 
164 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 dead ; and who delivereth them from so great a 
 death, and by that very means increased their confi- 
 dence that he would still deliver them. 18 
 
 But do all escape out of the hands of this Wicked 
 Adversary, asked John, who are thus attacked by 
 him ? 
 
 They do, if they be faithful in crying to God, and 
 trusting in him who died for them. For he hath 
 said I will never leave thee. 19 Blessed, therefore, is 
 the man that enclureth temptations ; for when he is 
 tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the 
 Lord hath promised to them that love him. 20 
 
 T7ell, exclaimed John, we shall shout when we get 
 through ! Oh, what is all we can suffer here in com- 
 parison with that glory ! 
 
 Oh, yes ! but at present you must walk by faith, 
 and sometimes you are quite down, and seem dying ; 
 for many are the forms of faith's trials. In these 
 seas the great Enemy sometimes comes in one form, 
 and sometimes in another, and also the effect of his 
 attacks is very different. It is not often that God 
 beats him down under your feet so signally as you 
 have seen done in that explosion. Moreover, we 
 must tell you that such an explosion might itself 
 sometimes be the devil's own cunning artifice, to 
 make you think he had abandoned you forever, and 
 
 18 2 Cor. i. 8, 9, 10. 1S Heb. xiii. 5. M James i. 12 . 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 165 
 
 would appear no more ; so you must be watchful 
 against him, being not ignorant of his devices. 21 
 
 Our dear Lord once conquered him, and will 
 again, and it is good to go with him in the wilderness, 
 and to know that because he himself suffered, being 
 tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted, 
 yea, and will do it, to the end of time. 22 
 
 Kemember, also, how the temptations of our glori- 
 ous Lord in the wilderness began in a time of great 
 spiritual enjoyment and glory. Draw a lesson from 
 that. Within and without there was the presence, 
 the delight, the approbation of God. This was the 
 time the devil chose for his assault. He is a pirate 
 that attacks the richly laden vessels, but lets the 
 empty and the worthless pass. Therefore, never 
 think yourselves secure because of present comfort 
 and sweetness in walking with God. Be always on 
 the watch. Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temp- 
 tation. 23 
 
 Then answered Peter, If the Lord's people are to 
 count it all joy when they fall into divers tempta- 
 tions, 24 how is it that he saith also, Pray that ye enter 
 not into temptation ? 25 Do they mean the same thing ? 
 
 Then said the man, There be two kinds of tempta- 
 tion ; temptations which are trials from God, for our 
 
 81 2 Cor. ii. 11. " Heb. ii. 18. 2S Mark xiv. 38. * James i. 2. 
 "Matt. xxvi. 41. 
 
166 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 discipline and good behavior and growth in grace, 
 such as storms, hardships, sicknesses, poverty, the 
 loss of friends, disappointments and afflictions, of 
 many kinds. These are all meant for our good, and 
 will prove for our good, if they answer God's loving 
 purpose of bringing us near to him, and causing us 
 to seek our all in him. But there be also temptations 
 from within, temptations to sin, when the evil affec- 
 tions and desires of the heart coming in with exter- 
 nal allurements, tempt the soul away from God ; and 
 it is against entering into such temptation that our 
 Lord bids us to watch and pray. For the Apostle 
 saith, Let no man say when he is tempted, I am 
 tempted of God ; for God cannot be tempted of evil, 
 neither tempteth he any man ; but every man is 
 tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust and 
 enticed. 25 
 
 Now against such temptation every man must 
 earnestly watch and pray, and against entering into 
 it. There may be temptations to sin, which a man 
 does not enter into, because, by the grace of God, 
 being on his watch, he rejects them at once, and 
 cries to God instantly for help against them, and God 
 giveth him grace to help in time of need. But if a 
 man plays with temptation, if he dallies with it, if 
 he parleys with it, if he shakes hands with it, and 
 
 25 James i. 13, 14. 
 
FOE JACK W THE DOLDRUMS. 167 
 
 enters into pleasant conversation, all the while con- 
 sidering and questioning whether he shall do it or 
 not, then he is entering into temptation. Entering 
 into a thing is a very different matter from standing 
 without and watching against it. You know that 
 entering into a fog is a very different thing from spy- 
 ing a fog bank afar off, and trying to keep clear of it. 
 As long as you can keep outside of it, and clear of it, 
 it can do you no harm, and you are in no danger ; 
 but the moment you begin to enter into it, then it 
 closes round you on every side, and you can no more 
 see your course, and sometimes can hardly see your 
 hand before your face, and so may run upon a reef 
 of rocks, without even knowing that you were near 
 them. Fogs are exceedingly hazardous, especially 
 if the King's Chart and the reckoning have been 
 neglected, and no correct observation gained. 
 
 Here Peter and John looked hard one upon 
 another, and it was easy to know by the sorrow and 
 solemnity of their countenances that they were think- 
 ing of past dangers. But oh, they thought within 
 themselves, what tender mercy of the Lord was it 
 that we were not ourselves wrecked for ever ! 
 
 Then the Man looked lovingly upon them, and 
 went on. He said that just so a careless soul enters 
 into temptation. There be temptations sudden, and 
 temptations gradual, and a careless soul may be 
 
168 
 
 overcome of either ; but the gradual temptations 
 begin by little and little, and are like a fog, which 
 the vessel enters into before you are aware. A man 
 parleys with them, advances towards them, and his 
 heart all the while grows tender to them, and then at 
 length the fog of sinful inclination is all around him, 
 and everything grows dark. He no longer sees the 
 Word of God clear shining, nor feels its power ; his 
 faith diminishes, and the love of God declines, and 
 the face of the Lord is no longer seen by him. And 
 when a man thus enters into temptation, then tempta- 
 tions enter into him. The fog not only surrounds 
 him, but gets within his very soul, making everything 
 cold, listless, and desolate. And if at such a time 
 Satan come upon the soul, what chance is there of 
 escape ? Oh beware, beware, lest you enter into 
 temptation. 
 
 The Man said, moreover, that there was once a 
 great house committed by the King to the charge of 
 his servants, with instructions to the Porter to watch. 
 Now there was a garden round about the house, 
 hedged round on all sides with a strong, high, pro- 
 tecting hedge, which nobody could break down from 
 the outside, nor get over. Beyond this hedge was a 
 waste howling wilderness, and in the thick of the 
 forest a terrible band of robbers, whose aim was, if 
 they could by any means do it, to surprise and get 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 169 
 
 possession of the King's garden and house. For 
 this they watched their opportunities at the hedge, 
 hoping they might get into a friendly conversation 
 with some of the servants, and so make a beginning. 
 
 Now the name of the Porter was Parley, and he 
 was a man given to talk, and as he walked about the 
 garden, he heard his own name whispered on the 
 other side of the hedge, and drew near to see what it 
 was. Then the robber entered into a conversation 
 with him, and this was done several days, till quite a 
 fellow-feeling was begotten between them, and the 
 robber went so far as to tell Parley the Porter that it 
 was a shame to be kept cooped up in that little gar- 
 den under such close restraints, and not permitted to 
 know anything of the world, and its pleasant amuse- 
 ments, and its grand old woods, and its pleasant men 
 and women. These things made an impression, you 
 may be sure, upon Parley's mind, and he was now 
 entering into temptation, and so the thing worked, 
 till Parley the Porter was taken with such a desire 
 to see something more, and also to see the man that 
 had been talking with him, that one day while they 
 were conversing he began to pull away the hedge on 
 his side the enclosure, so as to make a little space for 
 easier communication. 
 
 As soon as Parley began this work, then the robber 
 could begin also, for the King had made the hedge 
 
170 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 in such a manner, that it could be broken through 
 only by beginning from within, but if it were begun 
 there, then alas, it was eary ; so they soon had a 
 place broken, by little and little, big enough for 
 a man to crawl through. The robber entered, but 
 very carefully at first, and entirely alone, and in a 
 plain, simple, peaceable garb, and without any wea- 
 pons, so as neither to disturb any one, nor terrify the 
 Porter. And Parley for his part was astonished to 
 see such a perfect gentleman, so amiable, so pleasant, 
 so affable, so kind. He seemed to take a great in- 
 terest in Parley's affairs, and Parley showed him the 
 house, wdth its doors and its fastenings, though 
 he could not let him in, because of the other 
 servants. 
 
 But at length, by little and little, Parley was per- 
 suaded one night, though he would not himself open 
 the door to him, to leave a window unfastened, so 
 that he could open it himself and get in. That very 
 night the man came in armor with all his gang, 
 and they took the house by storm, and though 
 some of the servants escaped, yet Parley was the 
 first one murdered. Such is the course of sin ; 
 therefore watch and pray, lest ye enter into tempta- 
 tion. 26 
 
 Furthermore, said he, never despair, but look to 
 
 ^Markxiv. 38. 
 
FOE .JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 171 
 
 Christ and trust him, in the lowest and most hopeless 
 state. And, remember, that he causes the sins of his 
 people to chastise them, and their very backslidings 
 to correct them. Many of the changes that God 
 suffers his people to pass through are directly for 
 their good ; so that, though they may be the result 
 of instability within, or of carelessness, or prayerless- 
 ness, or running into needless temptations, yet God 
 makes them the actual means of growth and per- 
 manence in grace. Anything that makes us feel our 
 own weakness, guilt, and misery, and our need of 
 Christ, is good for us, though it may be very painful, 
 mortifying, and perplexing for the present. Disci- 
 pline and trial now, and the discovery of our own 
 wretchedness, are the way to lasting peace. 
 
 Though painful at present, 'twill cease before long, 
 And then, how pleasant the Conqueror's song. 
 
 So the man bade them good by, and returned with 
 his officers on board their own ship, where Peter and 
 John, and all the men followed them with their eyes, 
 and kept gazing at the vessel afar off, till she went 
 out of sight, just as they had first caught the vision, 
 like an angel's wing or a fleecy cloud in the horizon. 
 The sun set that night more soft and beautiful than 
 ever, and they saw no more of the Pirate, but with a 
 fair breeze sailed steadily away. 
 
 a7 Jer. ii. 19. 
 
172 A REEL IN T A BOTTLE. 
 
 Then they set up a sweet song, recounting their 
 dangers, a part of which ran thus : — 
 
 Believers now are toss'd about 
 
 On life's tempestuous main ; 
 But grace assures beyond a doubt, 
 
 They shall their port attain. 
 
 They must, they shall appear one day, 
 
 Before their Saviour's throne ; 
 The storms they meet with by the way, 
 
 But make his glory known. 
 
 Their passage lies across the brink 
 
 Of many a threat'ning wave ; 
 The world expects to see them sink, 
 
 But Jesus lives to save. 
 
 Lord, though we are but feeble worms, 
 
 Yet since thy word is past, 
 "VW11 venture through a thousand storms, 
 
 To see thy face at last. 
 
CHAPTEK IX. 
 
 A NAVAL BATTLE IN THE HALF-WAY HARBOR TO ROME. 
 
 There was a place formerly laid down in the 
 King's Chart as the Shifting Sands, where of old 
 time a beacon had been established upon two great 
 reefs, one of them called the Rudiments of the 
 World, and another called, The Traditions of Men. 1 
 Now in the course of ages, what by shipwrecks, and 
 the flight of birds, and the increasing of the Sands to 
 islands, these reefs were all grown over with soil and 
 trees, and at length the whole region became covered 
 with vegetation, grew into a great commercial resort, 
 and at this time had become a famous country. 
 Peter and John knew by their observations that they 
 were in the region of those Shifting Sands, but they 
 did by no means expect to see a continent. It was, 
 therefore, with extreme surprise, that they found 
 themselves one day beyond all question nearing the 
 
 1 Col. ii. 8. 
 
174 A KEEL LN A BOTTLE. 
 
 solid land. The man at the mast-head reported land 
 early in the morning, but at first they thonght it 
 mnst be a mistake of a low bank of cloud, or some 
 other deception, but they soon found that in very 
 truth it was a country, though not one of God's 
 original continents, but composed from first to last 
 of what is called made land. 
 
 Now as they drew near to this country, it became 
 manifest that there was an open Harbor near where 
 they were sailing, and beyond what seemed to be 
 the entrance they could see a grand city rising, the 
 domes thereof, and many of the buildings, being 
 ornamented with crosses. So they determined to see 
 what it was, but they had no sooner entered the 
 Harbor, than a boat hailed them with an officer, 
 whose work it was to collect port-charges. This 
 convinced Peter and John that the place was not 
 under the King's laws, for every port in the way to 
 the Celestial Country was free to all ships carrying 
 the King's colors. 
 
 But before the matter could be settled, a reve- 
 nue cutter was had up from the offing, and Peter 
 and John were ordered on board, on the charge 
 of not conforming to the laws of Church and 
 State. But they refused to leave their own ship, 
 whereupon the officers of the Kevenue Cutter came 
 themselves on board the King's ship in a great rage, 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 175 
 
 which, however, was somewhat rebuked and abashed 
 by the cool and quiet demeanor of Peter and John, 
 who received them with great politeness. 
 
 These men proceeded to tell Peter and John that 
 thej would be held to answer, under the laws pf that 
 realm, for being in those waters without a license 
 from the State. But to this Peter and John made 
 answer that their sailing orders, and licenses also, 
 were received from Immanuel their King, and that 
 they were free to traverse every one of his highways 
 and harbors, without let or hindrance, neither could 
 any power on earth or in hell rightfully stop them. 
 
 The enquiry was then made of them as to the 
 Ecclesiastical authorities, by whom their free papers 
 were signed and sealed, and they said that there was 
 no authority in the case, that ever had had, or ever 
 would have, any power over them, save only that of 
 God's own "Word, ministered unto them by the Holy 
 Spirit, unto which they were bound in all cases what- 
 ever to render obedience. 
 
 Then it was told them that unless they could show 
 a permit under the hand of some Priest, who could 
 trace back his own succession to one of the Apostles, 
 they were uncovenanted men, and their vessel an 
 outlawed, uncovenanted vessel. A maxim of that 
 country was had up and asserted in their hearing, 
 No Bishop no Church / and it was told them that 
 
176 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 unless they hoisted the Bishop's Flag, they could 
 not be suffered to sail, for that it was clean contrary 
 to the statutes of the realm, and too disorderly to be 
 permitted. 
 
 To this they made answer that they never would 
 accept, acknowledge, or hoist, any other Flag than 
 that of their King ; that his banner over them was 
 love ; 2 that in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor 
 uncircumcision availed anything, but a new crea- 
 ture. 3 They added also this ; The Lord is our Judge, 
 the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King ; he 
 will save us. 4 
 
 Then it was asked them if they ate meat on 
 Fridays ; also whether they kept the Saints' festivals ; 
 also, whether they shaved their heads in a crescent 
 or full moon. 
 
 To this they answered that they did not shave 
 their heads at all ; that they ate whenever they were 
 hungry, the meat that God gave them, giving God 
 thanks ; and that they had been commanded of the 
 Lord not to let any man judge them in respect to 
 meat or drink, or a holy day, or the new moon, or 
 the Sabbath day. 5 
 
 While this conversation was going on, there was a 
 curious little imp of a fellow to be seen up and down 
 the deck, with a strange robe on his back like a sur~ 
 
 2 Cant. ii. 4. 5 Gal. vi. 15. 4 Isa. xxxiii 22. 6 CoJ. ii. 16. 
 
FOK JACK IN THE DOLDEUMS. 177 
 
 plice, having a kind , of swash-bucket in one band, 
 and a sponge in the other ; and this sponge he kept 
 ever and anon filling with water from the bucket, and 
 sprinkling it here and there, especially whenever he 
 could get near enough to any of the crew to wet 
 them. This singular personage acted in the capacity 
 of baptismal regenerator-general for the Harbor, and 
 always accompanied the revenue and rudiment offi- 
 cers to communicate the grace of baptismal conver- 
 sion to any such subjects of uncoven anted mercy as 
 they might possibly encounter. It was singular to 
 see the seriousness of' his movements, which had a 
 very ludicrous effect, in contrast with the unrestrained 
 wonder and contempt, with wmich the men of the 
 ship, as well as Peter and John, regarded them. 
 
 Now these revenue and rudiment men seemed not 
 only astonished, but very much enraged, at what they 
 called the contumacy and rebellion of Peter and 
 John ; and if they had had sufficient force with 
 them, they would have taken possession of the vessel 
 on the spot. But this they dared not attempt, espe- 
 cially as the sight of the King's great guns some- 
 what staggered them, and the more, when they drew 
 near, and read their shining inscriptions. One of 
 the crew, named Watchful, was just then at work bur- 
 nishing them, and the letters shone like the sun, 
 especially the motto of one of them, If God be for 
 8* 
 
178 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 us, who shall be against us f So those officers, when 
 they had looked round about upon the armament and 
 appointments of the ship, departed with the promise 
 of another visit. 
 
 !Now Peter and John, being peaceable men, and 
 seeing the train in which things were likely to go, 
 concluded at once to weigh anchor and pass quietly 
 out of the Harbor, seeing it was no place for them ; 
 neither could they get provisions there, and to be 
 detained there would only delay and injure their 
 whole voyage, and perhaps bring great disaster upon 
 them. Whereupon they proceeded in open day to 
 get all things in readiness for sailing. 
 
 But the authorities on shore had resolved to main- 
 tain their jurisdiction, and to this end had ordered 
 up from their naval stations three of their biggest 
 gun ships, namely, baptismal regeneration, sacra- 
 mental salvation, and justification- by- works. They 
 had also a great ship named Agar, and another which 
 was called Fair-show-in-the-Flesh, 7 and another 
 named Will- Worship, 8 and another called Philosophy- 
 and-Yain-Deceit, 9 and another named Fables-and-End- 
 less-Genealogies. 10 All these vessels together made a 
 squadron, by the very sight of which they confidently 
 believed they should frighten Peter and John into 
 
 8 Rom. viii. 31. 7 Gal. vi. 12. 8 Col. ii. 23. 9 Col. ii. 8. 
 
 10 1 Tim. i 4. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDEUMS. . 179 
 
 surrendering at discretion ; but they had mistaken 
 their men. 
 
 As soon therefore as these ships came closing round 
 about them, and the Great Admiral, whose name was 
 my Lord Obedience-to-Tradition, with Lord Ceremony 
 standing behind him, had summoned them in a loud 
 voice to haul down their colors, and receive the King's 
 Flag at their hands, Peter and John commanded to 
 hoist sail, and while all hands were doing this, they 
 steered right boldly for the open sea. 
 
 But in so doing, the wind having suddenly fresh- 
 ened, and the ship under full sail getting strong 
 headway, she ran directly, with a most thundering 
 crash, into the bows of Fables-and-Endless-Genealo- 
 gies, just then crossing her course, to take a position 
 for raking her. The concussion was so sharp and 
 powerful, that, the King's ship being of heavy and 
 solid timber, very strongly put together, while the 
 Fables-and-Endless-Genealogies was of slight mate- 
 rials, and poorly constructed, more for show than 
 actual service, the bowsprit and whole head-pieces of 
 this last ship were cut clean off, and carried away 
 like basket- work, and the water poured into her hold 
 at such a rate, that a heavy vessel would have sunk 
 instantly. But the three vessels, Fair-show-in-the- 
 Flesh, Philosophy and Tain-Deceit, and Will-Worship, 
 all came to her help, and had as much as they could 
 
180 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 do to keep her from foundering. They used helps, 
 undergirding the ship, 11 and sent on shore for carpen- 
 ters to mend her as well as they could, for their whole 
 dependence was upon her preservation, and they 
 were about to have her newly bottomed in the Dry 
 Docks belonging to the Man of Sin and Son of Per- 
 dition. 
 
 Meantime the three leading ships in the squadron 
 commenced a heavy cannonading in pursuit of Peter 
 and John, which, had the King's ship been at anchor 
 in that Harbor, might have done mischief, but as she 
 was now on her course, it had no effect whatever ; 
 all the shots fell short. Not so with the King's own 
 guns, which the men on board the King's ship now 
 brought into play with great dexterity. Their am- 
 munition was from the great store-house of God's own 
 Word, and every shot told. They brought the great 
 Mortar into action, and the first bomb they fired was 
 this, Stand fast in the libeety whekewith Cheist 
 
 HATH MADE US FEEE, AND BE NOT ENTANGLED AGAIN LN 
 THE YOKE OF BONDAGE. 12 
 
 The explosion of this bomb was heard far up the 
 country, and it shook the very houses in the city, 
 so that the inhabitants at first thought there had 
 been an earthquake. They fired also another, I can 
 do all things through Christ which strengthen eth me, 13 
 
 11 Acts xxvii. 17. n Gal. v. 1. 13 Phil. iv. 13. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 181 
 
 and another, By grace are ye saved, through Faith, 
 and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God ; 14 
 and another, By the deeds of the Law shall no 
 flesh be justified ; 15 and another, In Christ Jesus nei- 
 ther circumcision avail eth anything, nor uncircum- 
 cision, but Faith, which worketh by Love. 10 All 
 these were directed with so much precision, that 
 they fell right in the centre of the enemy's gun- 
 ships, and scattered everything before them. The 
 long guns also did great execution. 
 
 But the most wonderful effect was produced by 
 the last named bomb, together with the following, 
 Wherefore, if ye be dead with Christ from the rudi- 
 ments of the World, why, as though living in the 
 World, are ye subject to ordinances after the com- 
 mandments and doctrines of men V For these bombs 
 fell, the one upon the main deck of the ship of Bap- 
 tismal Regeneration, and the other into the hold of 
 Sacramental Salvation. They made such havoc, that 
 the main mast in the first ship went by the board, and 
 the ship became so entangled with her own hamper, 
 that she could not again be brought into action. 
 
 And inasmuch as by their naval etiquette her Con- 
 sort could do nothing without her, besides being 
 nearly blown to pieces by the bomb in her hold, and 
 as the ship Justification-by- Works had no ammuni- 
 
 14 Eph. ii. 8. ]5 Rom. iii. 20. 16 Gal. v. 6. " Col. ii. 20, 22, 
 
182 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 tion of her own, and must receive all orders only as 
 countersigned by my Lord Obedience-to-Tradition, 
 they got into a pretty muss, and in the endeavor to 
 help each other, fell to quarrelling among themselves. 
 The Captain of Jcstification-by-Works demanded 
 the authority to fight upon his own hook, by a dis- 
 pensation from one whom they called the Pope, with- 
 out having to wait for Baptismal Regeneration and 
 Sacramental Salvation. He said, moreover, that 
 one kind of works was as good as another, and that 
 in order to be up to the times, he must have a Chap- 
 lain of his own, and an altar and candles to work by. 
 The King's ship left them amidst those discomfit- 
 ures and vain j anglings at the mouth of their own 
 Harbor, and with a favorable wind pursuing her 
 course to the Celestial land, soon lost sight of that 
 strange country. Not a single life was lost in the 
 conflict, which was a thing remarkable, in contrast 
 with the former history of those roadsteads, and of 
 the interior of that region, where of old there had 
 been great burnings alive and other barbarities exer- 
 cised on all who were so unfortunate as to fall into 
 the hands of the natives. There were great cata- 
 combs of superstition, and among them a dark under- 
 ground passage, which was said to open up into a 
 distant place called the Vatican, where was the Pal- 
 ace of that Man of Sin and Son of Perdition, who 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 183 
 
 owned the Dry Dock, in which Fables-ancl-Endless- 
 Genealogies was going to be newly bottomed. There 
 were predictions that that whole region was to be 
 overthrown by fire, and would one day sink like a 
 millstone in the ocean, with the great Establishments 
 built up there for so many ages. But the inhabitants 
 paid little or no attention to such things, considering 
 that their great Establishments were not only an 
 honor to the Modern Age, but the great support of 
 their glory and gain. 
 
 Now Peter and John were right glad to have 
 escaped this danger, and to find themselves once 
 more in the King's open highway, with a free and 
 fair breeze. Thinking it all over, they could hardly 
 tell how it happened that they got into such a con- 
 flict, and they thought within themselves how much, 
 worse they must have fared, had they left the King's 
 ship, and gone strolling up the country, either out of 
 a vain curiosity, or agreement with the customs of 
 that land. On studying the King's chart in regard 
 to this region, they found it written, Come out of her, 
 my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and 
 that ye receive not of her plagues. 18 Then said 
 Peter, This is verily either that Great Babylon, or a 
 city and harbor that lieth under her jurisdiction, and 
 so must be a partaker of her destruction. 
 
 18 Rev. xviii. 4. 
 
184 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and 
 mourn over her ; for no man buyeth their merchan- 
 dise any more. The merchandise of gold and silver 
 and precious stones and of pearls, and fine linen, and 
 purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all sweet wood, and 
 all manner of vessels of ivory, and all manner of 
 vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and 
 iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odors, and oint- 
 ments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine 
 flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, 
 and chariots, and slaves, and the souls of men. And 
 the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from 
 thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly 
 are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no 
 more at all. 19 
 
 Then said John, I perceive, brother, that the 
 City extendeth much more widely than we thought 
 it could have done ; and if the kings and in- 
 habitants of the earth that have been made drunk 
 with the wine of her fornication are to partake of her 
 plagues, there is a time of great vials of wrath 
 coming. For it is written, Thy merchants were the 
 great men of the earth, for by thy sorceries were all 
 nations deceived. And then it is added, that In her 
 was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and 
 of all that were slain upon the earth. 20 If these 
 
 Rev. xviii. 11-15. 20 Rev. xviii. 23, 24. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 185 
 
 plagues are yet to come, there must be great and 
 wide ruin. 
 
 Then answered Peter, How T it will be we know 
 not, but we do know that with violence .shall that 
 Great City Babylon be thrown down, and shall be 
 found no more at all. Yea, and the merchants of 
 those things, which were made rich by her, shall 
 stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping 
 and wailing, and saying, Alas ! Alas! that great city, 
 that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, 
 and decked with gold, and precious stones, and 
 pearls ! For in one hour so great riches is come to 
 nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company 
 in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, 
 stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke of 
 her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great 
 city ! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, 
 weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas ! Alas ! that 
 Great City, wdierein w T ere made rich all that had 
 ships in the sea by reason of her costliness ! For in 
 one hour is she made desolate ! 2X Now when all these 
 things are accomplished, there will be Halleluias 
 from much people, because of the true and righteous 
 judgments of the Lord our God. 22 
 
 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apos- 
 tles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her ! 23 
 
 23 Rev. xviii. 15-19. " Rev. xix. 1,2. 23 Rev. xviii. 20. 
 
186 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 Then said John, I perceive that when all this is 
 done, there shall be for a time an end put to the 
 teaching for doctrines, the commandments of men ; 24 
 and this City and Harbor out of which we have 
 escaped so happily, if it then exist, shall be alto- 
 gether changed, and this wickedness clean consumed 
 out of it. 
 
 Then said Peter, This devil is not so easy to be 
 turned out of his house and home in human affairs, 
 as you think for. There be those who would impose 
 upon the conscience by human law things as acts of 
 religion ; but this is quite contrary to God's Word, 
 and is just causing men to take their religion from 
 men instead of God. For that which is enforced by 
 a human law, out of the fear of man, taketh pway 
 from the fear and love due only unto God. Again, 
 there be those who would bind the conscience by 
 human law to do things clean contrary to the Divine 
 Law, saying that this quality of contrariness is quite 
 taken out from any action, so soon as human laws 
 have legalized it. But this is a quirk of Satan, to get 
 men's consciences into his own keeping, and to bind 
 them fast into his own notions of morality. 
 
 "Well, returned John, these men, whether they live 
 in one age or another, are certainly of those lawyers 
 who have taken away the keys of the kingdom of 
 
 24 Matt. xv. 9. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 187 
 
 heaven, and will neither go in themselves, nor suffer 
 those who are entering. 25 The faithful disciples that 
 would enter only the D^or, that is by Christ, they 
 compel to climb up some other way, else they will 
 not receive them. Only to think of their despotism 
 and pride ! They would have had us give up the 
 King's flag,, from the King's own ship into their 
 hands, ihat we might afterwards receive it from their 
 authority, and acknowledge a subjection to them ! I 
 bethink me of Paul, when they made a like onset 
 upon him and Barnabas and Titus, and other good 
 men, whose liberty in Christ Jesus they hated, and 
 sought to bring them into bondage ; to whom Paul 
 said they would not give place by subjection, no, not 
 for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might con- 
 tinue, 26 which it could not, if it were put under the 
 bondage of men. 
 
 Then said Peter, These men will have a great 
 guilt to answer for in the Great Day. And yet they 
 seem verily to think that they, and they only, of all 
 mankind that have heard the gospel, are in covenant 
 with God, and safe in the way to heaven. But oh, 
 what a dreadful, overwhelming ruin awaits them, 
 when they come to the judgment, if they have trusted 
 in anything else but the blood of Jesus Christ and 
 the renewing of the Holy Spirit for their salvation. 
 
 26 Luke xi 52. "Gal. ii. 5. 
 
188 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 What shaine and confusion will be theirs, when, 
 having trusted in their ceremonies and their works to 
 save them, they come up to the Celestial City, and 
 find it shut against them ! Then they will say, 
 Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, 
 and eaten and drunken in thy presence, and hast 
 thou not taught in our streets, 27 and have we not 
 builded thy temples and thine altars ? But he will 
 say, I never knew you. 
 
 Then belike they will answer, again, But I was 
 baptized in such or such a city, in such or such a 
 Cathedral Church, by such a priest of the true suc- 
 cession, and also I partook of the sacrament at his 
 hands, and I was taught that after that, the baptism 
 of the Spirit was sure, for that all who were baptised 
 were regenerated. Then might he say, But ye had 
 my word, and wherefore did ye not believe it? 
 Wherefore did ye hearken unto men rather than unto 
 God? For ye were made to know that the word 
 which I had given you, the same should judge you in 
 the Last Day. 28 
 
 Alas ! how many in that day will hear that dread- 
 ful word, Depart from me, I never knew you, 29 
 who fully expected to hear that other sweet word, 
 Come ye Blessed of my Father ! 30 But they who 
 choose to risk their salvation on a lie, and take the 
 
 27 Luke xiii. 26. 28 John xii. 48. 29 Matt. vii. 23. 30 Matt. xxv. 34. 
 
FOK JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 189 
 
 teachings of men before the truth of God's Word, 
 are twice over determined to perish. 
 
 The King's ship did now, day by day, make good 
 progress, and the light came down upon the sea in 
 such glory, and the waves far off before them shone 
 with such brilliancy, where the sea melted into the 
 heavens, that sometimes they could not look stead- 
 fastly towards that quarter, because the glory was so 
 great, and the flood of light so intense. And they 
 seemed to be nearing it continually, so that sometimes 
 they felt as if they were very near heaven, and as if 
 it would be an easy thing, a few leagues farther on, 
 to sail straight into it. 
 
 Now and then also there were birds that appeared 
 flying, of a strange celestial beauty, with plumage 
 such as they had never seen before ; and they would 
 dart down from the sky, and then shoot up again, till 
 the eye lost sight of them, because it could not follow 
 them so far. But where these lovely creatures could 
 have their resting-places, the whole ship's company 
 were at a loss to know ; but they were very beautiful, 
 and when they fled away, took the men's hearts with 
 them. 
 
 "While in the midst of these seas, they were exceed- 
 ingly surprised one day, by coming in sight of an 
 open boat, with a man in it, reclining in the stern, 
 and quietly reading a book, at the same time that he 
 
190 
 
 was steering. Then Peter and John hailed him, and 
 asked what he would be at, out there in mid-ocean, or 
 how in the world he got there, seeing that they them- 
 selves had encountered such storms, that it did not 
 seem possible that under any circumstances an open 
 boat could have lived through them. So he told 
 them that the country from whence he came was not 
 so far off as they imagined, for that he came from 
 the land of Fleshly Wisdom, a very wide land, and 
 was bound for the Celestial Country ; but never hav- 
 ing been satisfied with any proposed views of reli- 
 gion, and being sure that he had himself formed a 
 theory, which would with all posterity take the place 
 of all other systems, he was resolved to set out on his 
 own hook. 
 
 Accordingly, he had laid in a stock of the concen- 
 trated essence of provisions, and with a portable 
 steam-engine, which he intended to use whenever 
 occasion called for it, he had come thus far by dint of 
 sails and rowing, and occupied most of his leisure time 
 in perusing and re-perusing a volume of his own 
 works. 
 
 But where, cried Peter and John, are your chart and 
 compass ? 
 
 The man answered that they were all safe in a little 
 binnacle, but that in truth he did not really want 
 any ; the interior light was so great, that he went by 
 
FOR JACK 'IN THE DOLDRUMS 191 
 
 the Spirit, not the letter, of which indeed he was in 
 no need, having himself risen to a personal inspira- 
 tion. He said, moreover, that to make all sure, he 
 had gathered the creeds of all nations, ages, and 
 sects, and carried them with him. He knew that 
 there was truth in all, and by accepting of them all, 
 he was perfectly sure that he had got all the truth in 
 the w r orld at any rate. As to any creed of his own, 
 he held it yet in reserve, and was ready for new 
 manifestations of light any where. 
 
 He likewise let Peter and John know that he was 
 now engaged in demonstrating that all forms of lan- 
 guage were incapable of conveying any true record 
 of the Spirit, and that consequently men must leave 
 off relying on any written form of inspiration, and 
 throw themselves confidently on intuition and the 
 soul. He said, also, that his own works, though so 
 extremely eloquent, proved that language was no 
 adequate exponent of thought, for that with all his 
 great powers he had never been able to make half a 
 dozen persons understand either what he believed, or 
 w r hat he was driving at ; and if this w r ere the case 
 with his own writings, he argued, how much more 
 must it be with a volume like that of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 Then Peter and John looked upon the man with 
 mingled amazement and compassion, for they per- 
 
192 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE. 
 
 ceived plainly that he was not in his right mind, anc} 
 they concluded he must have broken loose from some 
 lunatic asylum, so they invited him to come on board 
 the King's ship, entreating him to seize the opportu- 
 nity of salvation afforded him, for if he went on in 
 this way, he must perish. But he answered with 
 much indignation and contempt, that they need not 
 suppose that all the wisdom in the world was on 
 board their ship, and that he pitied their delusions 
 more than they could his, and indeed if they would 
 consent to follow him, he said that he would cheer- 
 fully take them in tow, and give them the benefit of 
 a mind that otherwise might have to wait for pos- 
 terity before it could be appreciated. 
 
 Then Peter and John could not help smiling, much 
 as they pitied the man, at such a droll conceit as that 
 of seeing the King's ship moored to the stern of a 
 sail-boat. But while they stood looking at him, he 
 shifted his sails, bade them good morning, and scud- 
 ded off before the wind on a tack some five points 
 different from the course of the vessel, and they 
 soon lost sight of him. 
 
CHAPTEK X. 
 
 THE CAPE OF STORMS, AND THE ISLAND OF PEACE. 
 
 JSTow for some days after these encounters, things 
 went smoothly enough, and they seemed to be making 
 fair and rapid progress on their heavenly course. 
 But no good frame of mind in this world is perma- 
 nent, neither will fine wind and weather last always, 
 nor can anything be relied upon but God. 
 
 After those clays of bright and pleasant sailing, 
 there began to be an unexpected change. It seemed 
 as if there were some mighty obstacle before them, 
 they knew not what. The air grew heavy, and at a 
 distance there were heavy, dark, threatening forms 
 looming up like great mountains, and a great sha- 
 dowy ridge seemed to be resting on the sea, forbid- 
 ding them to pass beyond it. Also there was a great 
 gloom upon their own spirits, so that, though they 
 tried to commit their way unto the Lord, 1 and to 
 
 1 Psa xxxvii. 5. 
 
 9 
 
194 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 feel what they well knew, that he would be their 
 guide, even unto death, 2 yet they were anxious and 
 troubled, and the fear of death came upon them, and 
 they trembled and were disquieted. 
 
 What added for a little season to their gloom, was 
 their meeting with a vessel, sailing the contrary way 
 from theirs, as fast as she could go, with a breeze 
 that filled her sails, direct from the black gloomy- 
 looking ridge before them ; and when they hailed 
 the Master of that craft, and asked him whither they 
 were bound, the man made answer, To the Celestial 
 Country ! But, said he, we had like to have per- 
 ished on the way, for we ran into head seas and 
 storms, and it was night all around us, and thun- 
 derings, and hail, and lightnings ; so that we know 
 that we had mistaken our way, and we do now 
 believe that all this is superstition and fanaticism, 
 for that God cannot require his creatures to pass 
 through such fears and distresses. It is the work of 
 gloomy thoughts about God and our own sinfulness ; 
 and if we had gone that way much longer, we had 
 all been crazed. "We are now determined to go 
 back, and we have no fear but that a merciful God 
 will be merciful to his creatures, for we never have 
 done anything so bad as we seemed to have done, 
 when these desolations and terrors were round about 
 
 a Psa. xlviii. It. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 195 
 
 us. It is tlie work of gloomy, fanatical spirits, to 
 prejudice us against God and ourselves ; and we 
 advise you, if you know what is for your good, to 
 keep clear of it. We are convinced that the Celes- 
 tial Country cannot lie in that region. 
 
 To this Peter and John made answer, that though 
 the Celestial Country might not, and they were very 
 sure it did not, lie in that region, for it was no where 
 to be found on earth, yet all that region might, for 
 aught they knew, lie in the way to the Celestial 
 Country, and that whatever of evil there might be, it 
 could not be so great as their sins had deserved, nor 
 so great as the evil of keeping their sins in the 
 country of sin and destruction. They said, more- 
 over, that if it was the right way, they had a right 
 to expect suffering, for that they had been assured 
 that we must through much tribulation enter into the 
 kingdom of God. 3 So, said they, we see not anything 
 in your account to make us think, as yet, that we 
 have mistaken the way ; but they added, we are 
 very sure that the way back is not the right way, but 
 the way to perdition. For it is written of God that 
 the just shall live by his faith ; but if any man draw 
 back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 4 They 
 said, moreover, We will not be of them who draw 
 
 8 Acts. xiv. 22. * Heb. x. 38. 
 
196 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 back unto perdition, but of them who believe to the 
 saving of the soul. 5 
 
 So saying, they kept on their way, and though it 
 grew more and more gloomy, yet they remembered 
 lor their comfort the saying of Paul, that we are 
 saved by Hope. But hope that is seen is not 
 hope ; for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope 
 for ? But if we hope for that we see not, then do 
 we with patience wait for it, and the Spirit helpeth 
 our infirmities. 6 
 
 They also comforted themselves with the saying, 
 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him ; 7 and also 
 again called to mind the passage, "Who is among you 
 that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his 
 servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? 
 Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon 
 his God. 8 Then they said one to another, There is 
 nothing in all these reported fears and tribulations, 
 that goes at all to prove that we are not in the right 
 way ; but at any rate there is no direction in the 
 Chart, hereabouts, for us to turn back, and onwards 
 we must go. 
 
 So they went on, keeping a good look-out, and they 
 soon found that the vast black -looking ridge before 
 them, though it lost its supernatural dimensions as 
 they drew nearer, yet prevented the possibility of a 
 
 * Heb. x. 39. 6 Rom. viii. 24, 25. 7 Job xiii. 15. 8 Isa. 1. 10. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 197 
 
 course so direct and speedy as they had of late been 
 running, unless they could find some strait or chan- 
 nel opening through what seemed to be the continent. 
 The coast trended south, and rose forbidding and 
 gloomy, desolate and shrouded with storms. There 
 was no harbor, neither any inlet or passage, and still 
 the farther they went, the stormier grew the weather 
 and the seas, and the less the probability of shelter. 
 At length they came to the conclusion that this must 
 be that Cape of Storms, rounded by David, Job, and 
 Jeremiah, where so many navigators had encountered 
 so great perils, and so many had given themselves up 
 for lost. But they committed themselves for safety 
 > to him who had been with them in six troubles, and 
 would save them in seven, 9 and so they kept the 
 helm on the course indicated, as closely as they could 
 determine. 
 
 But it was a time of fear, fatigue, and great dan- 
 ger. The cross seas seemed to drive direct upon them 
 from every quarter, angry and swift, as if the fiend 
 was in each one of them, making for the vessel, and 
 resolved to overwhelm it. They passed through a 
 hail-storm, so cold and fierce, that the sharp icicles 
 drove upon them like grape shot, and the decks and 
 shrouds were covered with an icy sleet, which made 
 it almost impossible to handle the sails and rigging. 
 
 °Job v. 19. 
 
198 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE. 
 
 They encountered also a gale so severe, that all their 
 past experience, as they then thought, furnished them 
 with no counterpart of its violence. Sometimes it 
 seemed as though they must go to the bottom. Some- 
 times it thundered and lightened at such a fearful 
 rate, and at the same time the rain poured down in 
 such torrents, that it seemed as if creation's doom 
 were approaching, and they could only stand still, 
 and wait for God to finish his judgments. Thus fur 
 many clays and nights they were beating about, con- 
 flicting with storm, darkness, and uncertainty. All 
 this time they cried unto the Lord, 10 and often with 
 groanings that could not be uttered, 11 for a sense of 
 sin lay upon them, and of terror, sometimes inex- 
 pressible, so that repeatedly it seemed as if the ship 
 at the next move forwards would plunge bodily under- 
 neath the rising wave, instead of riding over it. 
 
 All this while they could scarcely tell where they 
 were, but at length the sun came out long enough 
 to give them their true reckoning by observation, and 
 then, deeming themselves past the extent of that 
 stormy continent, they set the ship due East, and 
 prayed, if it were God's will, that they might have 
 clear weather. They had not gone far when the 
 clouds lifted and broke, and though there was nothing, 
 either before or around them, but a waste of waters 
 
 10 Psa. cvii. 6. " Rom. viii. 26. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 199 
 
 visible, and the ocean everywhere wild and gloomy, 
 yet now it seemed as if again they knew their way, 
 and were under the King's jurisdiction. Then they 
 called to mind God's loving kindness, and exclaimed, 
 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then 
 thou knewest my path ! 12 
 
 And now they felt so grateful to God, for causing 
 them to persevere, that no language can tell the hap- 
 piness of their emotions. They bethought themselves 
 likewise with sorrow and pain of the ship they had 
 met hurrying backwards, for they knew, by the Word 
 of God, that all on board must be ruined by that 
 course. Then said John, It is very strange that they 
 should have come so far on this voyage, and after all 
 turn back. But they could not. have had the King's 
 commission, nor any true knowledge of his cross, his 
 laws, his love, or their own hearts. 
 
 Then answered Peter, There is a way that seemeth 
 right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways 
 of death. 13 There be those who set out well, and as 
 long as it is smooth weather and sunshine they may 
 keep sailing, and this may be for a long time, finding 
 nothing to try them. These be they, where the seed 
 of the gospel is sown in stony ground, having no 
 deepness of earth, and getting no root, yet springing 
 up rapidly, but under the heat of the sun it wither- 
 
 a Psa. cxJii. 3. 13 Prov. xvi. 25. 
 
200 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 eth away. So they made great sail at first, but you 
 see nothing Lad been done in their hearts, for as soon 
 as their inward corruptions were stirred up, and the 
 terrors of hell began to be presented, together with 
 some opposition from this world, they took offence, 
 and went back, denying the truth of the gospel. In- 
 deed, there is no knowing how many there may be 
 in every age, who have some experience of the powers 
 of the world to come, and also of the Sword of the 
 Spirit which is God's Word, who afterwards fall 
 away, and are never again renewed unto repent- 
 ance. 15 It is not likely that that vessel will ever 
 be seen again with her head towards the Celestial 
 Country. 
 
 Then said John, I think we have more reason to 
 be afraid of all sunshine than all storm. But for 
 men to turn back because of storms is madness in- 
 deed. It makes me think of that night of the disci- 
 ples on the Lake. 16 If they had tried to put back to 
 the harbor when the storm came on, they would not 
 have met the Saviour ; and just so, if Peter, when he 
 found he was sinking, had tried to put back to the 
 ship, he would have been lost ; but he held on, look- 
 ing to Christ, and crying, Lord save me, 17 and so the 
 Lord saved him. And I am persuaded the Lord is 
 always near us and with us, and just as near in the 
 
 " Matt. xiii. 5. 1S Heb vi. 5, 6. ,6 Mark vi. 48. 1T Matt. xiv. 30. 
 
 / 
 
FOE JACK IN "THE DOLDETTMS. 201 
 
 storm and darkness as in fair weather and sunshine. 
 It is no argument, because we do not see him, that 
 he does not see us, and care for us. But oh, when a 
 soul turns back, it becomes mad against him, and 
 hath such venom against the truth, saying that it has 
 had all that experience that Christians pretend to 
 have, and found it false, that with such devilish 
 lying, such a sinner and apostate may destroy much 
 good. 
 
 Then answered Peter, It was once said by a great 
 navigator, that experience, like the stern lights of a 
 ship, only serves to illumine the path that has been 
 passed over ; a man learns but little from it on his 
 future way, except he learns to be watchful unto 
 prayer, throwing himself entirely upon God. But if 
 this be true of the different periods of individual 
 experience in this navigation, how much less can the 
 experience of others answer for our own. It is like 
 the track of a vessel on the ocean ; it may be put 
 clown on the chart, it may be described in the log- 
 book ; but you could not possibly put another vessel 
 on the same track. You too must go by the chart 
 and the compass, for there is no line of foam left in 
 the trackless sea. Each soul has to go through the 
 same experience for itself, and must be taught by the 
 same Divine Spirit all the way. Ah, let us be look- 
 ing always to our great Captain. 
 9* 
 
202 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 And now again the weather began to grow soft 
 and balmy, and the way seemed all bright and calm 
 before them. They had now a succession of such 
 pleasant days and nights of sailing, that after a time 
 it seemed as if they had got into a new world, and 
 indeed, an unusual sparkling light filled the air, 
 accompanied with such an elasticity of their inward 
 spirits, that they felt sometimes like flying from the 
 deck of the vessel. Here too they came in sight of 
 that group of Islands, called, The Peace of God that 
 passeth all Understanding, 18 and they might almost 
 have mistaken them for the Celestial Country itself, 
 they were so beautiful. The woods were always fresh 
 and green, and filled with melodious warbling birds, 
 singing the praises of their Creator, and the grass 
 was all inlaid with fragrant amaranthine flowers, so 
 beautifully sprinkled, and so sweet and lovely in 
 themselves, that it was a delight only to look at them. 
 At these Islands they had more direct communica- 
 tions with the Celestial Country than ever before, for 
 nere there were to be seen, sometimes, the angels of 
 God ascending and descending ; and wherever they 
 came to anchor, as they were permitted to do any- 
 where, according to their pleasure, everything was so 
 calm, so pure, so peaceful, that they exclaimed, This 
 
 18 Phil.iv.7. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDEUMS. 203 
 
 is none other than the house of God, this is the gate 
 to heaven ! 10 • 
 
 It seemed as if heaven's own Sabbath had lighted 
 down upon those Islands, with all its fulness and 
 serenity of blessing. The people that were there 
 brought down to the pilgrims very many fruits, and a 
 supply of such sweet, refreshing water, that never in 
 all their lives had they tasted anything so grateful. 
 The people of the Islands were all clothed in white, 
 and their talk was of the Celestial Country and the 
 King, and they never seemed so happy, as wmen con- 
 versing about his glory and goodness. They were 
 overjoyed at the arrival of Peter and John, and the 
 more when they told them what great perils and 
 storms they had encountered. 
 
 It was, therefore, many days that Peter and John 
 remained coasting among these Islands ; and at the 
 last and farthest of them they staid so long, that there 
 began to be a great uneasiness on the part of some of 
 the men, among whom were Contrition and Watch- 
 ful, together with one, whose name was, I-count-not- 
 myself-to-have-attalned. These men felt that things 
 were getting careless, with so great a detention on 
 their voyage, and they came to Peter and John, and 
 made bold respectfully to tell them that they feared 
 the consequences if they remained at those Islands 
 
 19 Gen. xxviii. 17. 
 
204' 
 
 any longer, for that some of the men would not be 
 willing to stir, and they had already two fellows on 
 board from the interior, one of them named Spiritual 
 Indolence, and the other Ease-in-Zion, whose example 
 and conversation had infected them all, or was creep- 
 ing upon them with a very evil influence. 
 
 They also stated that that great villain, Pride, had 
 been seen again about the vessel, and they suspected 
 he had lodged there more than once, while the people 
 of the ship had been securely feasting and sleeping. 
 They also stated that they had been informed that it 
 was a law of the Islands, and of the King for all 
 visitors, that here they had no continuing city, but 
 must seek one to come ; 20 and also that forgetting the 
 things which were behind, they must reach forth unto 
 those which were before, and be pressing towards the 
 mark for the prize of the high calling of God in 
 Christ Jesus. 21 When they had humbly and respect- 
 fully said this, then they withdrew. 
 
 That same night, while Peter and John were sleep- 
 ing, a great clap of thunder was heard, and a voice 
 which said, Arise ye, and depart hence, for this is 
 not your rest ! 22 By this they were greatly aroused 
 and terrified, and the more because there came a 
 messenger down from the Islands, saying, It is high 
 time to awake out of sleep, for now is your salvation 
 
 20 Heb. xiii. 14. 21 Phil. iii. 13, 14. "Mic. ii. 10. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 205 
 
 nearer than when ye believed. The night is far 
 spent, the day is at hand. 22 He added to this the 
 following. Awake thon that sleepest, and arise from 
 the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then 
 that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise ; 
 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 
 Wherefore, be ye not unwise, but understanding 
 what the will of the Lord is. 24 
 
 ]STow were Peter and John exceeding sorrowful, 
 because that they had merited this rebuke, and they 
 began to feel that they had been slothful in the midst 
 of ten thousand mercies, and they feared lest they 
 should have been called to account as servants who 
 had wasted their master's goods. They at once set 
 themselves at work to weigh anchor and set sail. 
 But what was their amazement to find that the best 
 chain cable on board, which had stood all the strain 
 and tug of so many storms, dangers, and anchorages, 
 had been rusted almost entirely through, so that they 
 had to procure the services of the King's Smith, be- 
 fore they could fit it for service, or even weigh anchor 
 by means of it. 
 
 It was also discovered that that villain, Pride, had 
 indeed been at work upon the sails and shrouds, 
 where he had by some means untied and rotted the 
 fastenings, and yet left them seemingly whole, so 
 
 85 Rom. xiii. 11, 12. a4 Eph. v. 14-17. 
 
206 
 
 that the trick was only discovered by a severe fall 
 of Peter himself, who set his foot upon a rope, think- 
 ing it was perfectly firm, and came down headlong, 
 not without much injury. They also had but just got 
 the mainsail half way up the mast, when the rigging 
 there gave way, and the whole came down by the 
 run, burying two of the men, and much bruising 
 them. If these things had not been discovered before 
 they had got out at sea, there is no telling what evil 
 might have happened. 
 
 Peter and John were now greatly distressed and 
 mortified, as well they might be, because it was by 
 their gradual letting loose of the watch and disci- 
 pline on board the vessel that these things had taken 
 place. As it was while men slept, that the Enemy 
 sowed tares, 26 so now it was very gradually and im- 
 perceptibly, while they had been spiritually so full 
 of confidence and enjoyment, that these mischiefs 
 were accomplished. But the discovery of these 
 things caused Peter and John to look more narrowly 
 about them, and they found that not only the shrouds 
 and sails had been tampered with, but that that 
 master of all villainy, Pride, had secretly worked upon 
 the compass, and also had eaten at the hinges of the 
 rudder in a very dangerous manner. 
 
 These things prevented their getting again at sea, 
 
 25 Matt. xiii. 25. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 207 
 
 so soon as they othei wise would have done, though 
 they made all possible diligence. It was deeply im- 
 pressed upon their hearts that they had done great 
 wrong, and been very ungrateful to God, in remain- 
 ing so long at those Islands, almost forgetful of the 
 great purposes of their voyage. They knew that 
 those Islands had been placed there and furnished 
 by the Lord's great mercy for the refreshment of his 
 Pilgrims on their way to the Celestial Country, but 
 that he never intended that what he had given for 
 their help should be used for their heaven. It was 
 never the King's intention that they should be willing 
 to linger on the way; and they found that even 
 spiritual delights, if rested in, and made the great 
 object of the soul, instead of God's glory, and the 
 soul's advancement towards heaven, might be turned 
 into a kind of selfishness, which would really in the 
 end, separate the heart from God. They were ex- 
 ceedingly humbled and mortified to think of it, and 
 they deplored it before God with tears, and besought 
 his pardon. 
 
 But indeed they had delayed so long, that the best 
 season was already somewhat passed over for the 
 most favorable navigation on that side of the Islands ; 
 and a wet month had set in, in which sometimes a 
 thick fog was encountered, produced, it was said, by 
 the Prince of the Power of the Air, the Spirit that 
 
208 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 now ruleth in the children of disobedience, 20 but who 
 also .did all that the Sovereign Will of God would 
 ever permit him to do, wherever he found opportu- 
 nity to put obstacles in the way of the sailing of the 
 King's vessels. This Wicked Prince of the Air was 
 almost continually in communication with that 
 villain Pride, and ever and anon received notices 
 from him, as to the occasions on which he might pro 
 bably succeed in doing mischief ; and it was partly 
 by that means, that now, as soon as Peter and John 
 had got upon their way again with apparent" pros- 
 perity, they began, all unawares, to enter into that 
 fog. It was very distressing to them, for it was 
 accompanied with a horror of great darkness, and in 
 the midst of it a storm arose, where such weather 
 had not been at all expected. 
 
 Moreover, there was a great Keef of Rocks in that 
 neighborhood, called Neither-Cold-nor-Hot, 27 and some 
 fearful shipwrecks had been known there of old, and 
 it was still a place of great danger in every age, and 
 some thought more dangerous now than ever, 
 although there was a Light-House erected there by 
 the King's orders, in charge of a faithful keeper, 
 with all means to warn vessels, and keep them from 
 the danger. On the other side of the Keef the dan- 
 ger was still greater, for there the Enemy of souls 
 
 26 Eph.ii. 2. 2T Rev. iii. 15. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 209 
 
 had planted the appearance of a Harbor, and a float- 
 ing Island covered with an atmosphere of such 
 potent sleepy efficacy, that whatever Captains or 
 crews could be got round on that side, and persuaded 
 to enter that Harbor, they were almost sure never to 
 awake again, but they lay there, till their vessels 
 rotted and fell asunder, and they themselves per- 
 ished. 
 
 Sometimes, by reason of the prevailing fog, the 
 warning light was but very dimly visible, and vessels 
 passing the reef in safety, and not knowing where 
 they were, were very liable to be imposed upon by 
 appearances on the other side, where in some in- 
 stances they were hauled round into smooth water, 
 and being invited to enter the Harbor, were deluded 
 to their great injury, and made the prey of pirates. 
 It was important here to keep a very sharp look-out, 
 and an accurate reckoning, and accordingly neither 
 Peter nor John closed their eyes in slumber, for the 
 night, coming after the fog, terrified them. 
 
 It was a great mercy that they had been kept 
 upon their guard ; for in the middle of the night, 
 while the waves were running high, and the storm 
 unabated, the Light, by an extraordinary lifting of 
 the cloud, rose suddenly upon them, and they found, 
 by the manner in which it loomed up through the 
 fog, and seemed almost to hang over the bowsprit, 
 
210 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 that they had come very near running headlong upon 
 the rocks, so that the danger sent a thrill of horror 
 through their souls. And now they cried out still 
 more earnestly to God, while they used every exer- 
 tion to keep the ship off, and to round the reef 
 without striking. And how thankful were they, as 
 indeed they had reason to be, that they had been 
 awakened from their carelessness and put upon their 
 guard before they had run into these perils ; for if 
 these things had come upon them unawares, while 
 they were dreaming of peace and safety, then they 
 would have found sudden destruction. 28 But God 
 had better things in store for them, and would not 
 leave them. 
 
 When the morning broke, the fog had gone., 
 neither the reef nor the Islands could any more be 
 seen, and the sun rose beautifully clear upon a sea, 
 that looked as if never a storm could visit it, so 
 serene, so radiant, so lovely. After praising God 
 for his mercy, the men got out their chart, and began 
 again with great closeness to scrutinize their position 
 and prospects. The image of that Light, looming up 
 so suddenly at midnight, and as it were, towering 
 over them, continued to make a deep impression. I 
 think, said one to the other, we little know how 
 much we owe to the faithfulness of the Light-keeper. 
 
 28 1 Thess. v. 3. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 211 
 
 What a post of trial and of danger ! What if the 
 man should fail ? It is well enough in fine weather 
 when communication with the shore is easy ; but in 
 storms it must be terrific. 
 
 It is a post of great honor, returned the other ; and 
 our Lord puts none but faithful and tried men as the 
 keepers ; indeed, it is only such who know how to 
 tend the lantern, or can be got to engage in such 
 service, though sometimes the Enemy smuggles in 
 by stealth some of his own creatures to play false 
 with the lights. There are places, where, in winter 
 seasons especially, the work is much more hazardous 
 than it ever is here. I knew an old seaman, who held 
 a station like this, in the midst of a great winter's 
 storm, and he told about its perils afterwards, and 
 they were enough to make the soul tremble. He 
 began writing down his account in the very height 
 of the tempest, and put it safely in a bottle, which 
 might get to land in case they perished, for the fury 
 of the seas was so great, that they did not know but 
 each raging, devouring billow would carry away the 
 whole structure. 
 
 When I engaged, said he, to keep this Light- 
 House, little did I think that my heart, which had 
 never, for twenty-five years, in the most boisterous 
 regions, failed me, would tremble at anything here. 
 But there are things, I perceive, still in the back- 
 
212 A EEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 ground, to shake a stouter heart than mine ; and so 
 precarious is our present situation, that there is a 
 prospect that this may never reach you. The ice 
 around us from the frozen spray is so massive, that 
 there is no appearance of our ladder, the sea is now 
 running at least twenty-five feet above the level, and 
 each sea roars like a heavy peal of thunder ; the 
 northern part of the foundation is split, and the 
 Light-House shakes at least two feet each way. I 
 feel as sea-sick as ever I did on board a ship. 
 
 Think not that I will ever flinch from my post, 
 though the waves should gain the mastery for which 
 they are so incessantly striving. When I accepted 
 the post, I closed mine ears against the reports of the 
 former keeper, treating them as I now find, too 
 lightly ; and here I shall remain, so long as a vestige 
 of the Light-House remains ; but the truth must be 
 told. At intervals an appalling stillness prevails, 
 creating ,an inconceivable dread, each gazing with 
 breathless emotion at cue another, but the next 
 moment the deep roar of another roller is heard, 
 seeming as if it would tear up the very rocks beneath, 
 and as it bursts upon us, i:he Light-House quivering 
 and trembling to its very centre, recovers itself just 
 in time to breast the fury of another and another, as 
 they roll upon us with resistless force. 
 
 Our lantern windows are all iced up outside, an 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 213 
 
 inch thick, although we have a fire continually 
 burning; and it is not without imminent peril that 
 we can climb up outside to scrape it off, which I 
 have done several times already. I have a dread of 
 some ship striking against us, although we have kept 
 the bell constantly ringing all night. Our water is a 
 solid mass of ice in the casks, which we have been 
 obliged to cut in pieces with an ax ere we could 
 obtain any to drink. Our situation is perilous. If 
 anything happens ere day dawns upon us again, we 
 have no hope of escape. But I shall, if it be God's 
 will, die in the performance of my duty. 
 
 Then said John, This is terrible indeed, but duty 
 is always safe. Better so, than shrinking back, or 
 disobeying. God's faithful ones are always prepared 
 for whatever may happen, and how great must be 
 the reward of those who have been thus faithful unto 
 death ! The mouth of the fiery furnace looked 
 grim and terrible to the three bold men as they 
 came towards it, nevertheless, they would rather go 
 into it, than disobey God, and meet the fire of God's 
 wrath for their apostacy. Jonah found more diffi- 
 culty and darkness in the sea and in the whale's 
 belly, 29 than he could ever have encountered in 
 going to Mneveh. But a man has need of great 
 
 30 Jon. ii. 2. 
 
214 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE. 
 
 faith for such stations. He must take his life in his 
 hand, for his work may be finished suddenly. 
 
 Blessed are those servants whom their Lord, when 
 he cometh, shall find watching. 30 In the Celestial 
 Country there are no Light-Houses to be kept, nor 
 any need of them ; no more sea, no more dangers, no 
 more sin. 
 
 20 Luke xii. 37, 
 
CHAPTEK XL 
 
 ALMOST SAVED ALMOST LOST. 
 
 Now as they were sailing swiftly, the man at the 
 mast-head suddenly cried out that they were in shoal 
 water. Then, as they ran to the sides of the ship, 
 they found, to their amazement and distress, that the 
 bottom was as clearly visible as the sea itself. They 
 got out their sounding lines, threw all aback, and lay 
 to, for every instant they expected to strike, but still 
 the ship did not touch, and as it was at least as safe 
 keeping her on their course amidst this great danger, 
 as any other way, for they could not go back, so they 
 proceeded with little sail and much trembling, throw- 
 ing the lead every few fathoms of the way. This 
 continued all night, and the water was so clear, that 
 they could distinctly see the bottom, even by the light 
 of the moon. Great forests of sponges and marine 
 shrubs were visible at intervals, and the forms of 
 grim and glittering sea-monsters could be seen trail- 
 
216 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 ing in and out ; but the greater part of the bottom 
 was white sand. All night long the melancholy voice 
 of the leads-man, By the deep seven ! now shoaler, 
 now deeper, rose like the wail of a prophet of evil, 
 and there was little sleep on board, or closing of the 
 eyes, except in prayer. 
 
 But the day dawned, and the bright and cheerful 
 sun rose up in glory, and the waves danced and 
 sparkled in the favorable breeze, as if the gladness 
 of intelligent life were in them. So the men began 
 to take heart once more, though they kept up all 
 ^heir watchfulness, and glad and thankful they were, 
 when they found themselves again passing into deep 
 water. There was nothing on the surface of the sea 
 to indicate danger, not a ripple, nor a crested wave, 
 that showed signs of breakers, nor any point of land, 
 or island, or rising reef, to intimate that they were 
 anywhere but secure in mid-ocean ; and yet, as they 
 looked back, they could not but tremble ; the more 
 so, as the sea showed no sign, and yet they knew 
 what they had passed over. 
 
 Xow said Peter, as they were trying to find some 
 intimation of these banks on their course in the 
 chart, there are times when a man's hidden corrup- 
 tions and evil propensities seem to him much more 
 clearly visible than at other times, when it seems as 
 if the ship must strike, as if it were hazardous to 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 217 
 
 move, or attempt to go forward. And yet the dan- 
 ger may be greater, when we seem to be in deeper 
 water. Unseen reefs are worse than visible sand- 
 banks. At intervals we may have greater revelations 
 of what is w T ithin us, and a deeper conviction of its 
 being God's power and mercy only, that can carry us 
 onward in safety, even when we are drawing nearer 
 to the Celestial Country, than we ever had at first 
 setting out, or in the earliest dangers of the way. 
 
 If the King's grace is sufficient for us, if we only 
 have water enough to float, the sight of the bottom 
 so near is indeed terrible, but it throws us upon God, 
 and teaches us how the strength of the King is made 
 perfect in our weakness. Paul himself once had to 
 pass over just such shoals as these, and the ship's 
 keel even grated on the bottom, so that he was dis- 
 tressed and terrified ; but the King brought him off 
 safe. And who was it that cried out, Oh wretched 
 man that I am ! Who shall deliver me from the body 
 of this death V He was much nearer deliverance, 
 much more likely to be delivered, when he knew his 
 actual condition, and realized it, than if he had mis- 
 taken life for death, and felt secure in deep water and 
 fine weather. 
 
 Then said John, it is never safe to be off one's 
 watch, for who can tell what may be before us ? Yet 
 
 1 Rom. vii. 24. 
 10 
 
218 
 
 I suppose some may have passed these shoals, and 
 known nothing about them, but slept all the way. 
 
 Yes, said Peter, some slumber through the whole 
 voyage, but where will it end ? Let us riot sleep as 
 clo others, but let us watch and be sober. 2 Sleepers 
 and breakers often come together. But as to this 
 experience of shoals, I think I said that David also 
 was sometimes near the bottom, so that it was quite 
 plain to him ; his soul seemed to be cleaving to the 
 dust, and melting for heaviness, but he cried out for 
 God to lighten him and quicken him. 3 It is only the 
 tide of Divine Mercy that ever bears us up, and cer- 
 tainly it is more apparent how it bears us up, when 
 we seem to be just grating the bottom, than where no 
 such danger is perceptible. 
 
 Well, said John, "We know not only where David 
 was in shoal water, but just where he struck ; and it 
 has always seemed very strange to me, that a man 
 who could keep guard so diligently, when he could 
 scarce lift his eyelids for the weight that seemed to 
 be on them, should have run headlong upon a sharp 
 rugged reef, when it was right plain before him. 
 
 It was a wind of nature, said Peter, not of grace, 
 that he was running before, at that time, and he had 
 so much headway that he could not stop. ETay, even 
 after the crash, he was carried clean over the reef, and 
 
 2 1 Thess. y. 6. 8 Psa. cxix. 25, 28. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS., 219 
 
 it was not till the King's Quarter-Master 4 and Inspec- 
 tor came on board, that he was made to know what 
 he had been doing, and what mortal injuries had been, 
 committed. He had to be hauled into the docks for 
 repair, and underwent great suffering. 
 
 Now for some days they ran on quietly, except 
 that the southerly breeze increasing to a gale, drove 
 them further northward than they cared to have set 
 their course. Still they were in such warm latitudes, 
 that the possibility of ice or snow never occurred 
 to them. But one night the air seemed suddenly 
 cold, nor could they account for it, till in the morning 
 they caught sight of a squadron of floating icebergs 
 driven by wind and tide across their way. It was 
 truly a grand spectacle, to behold such pyramids of 
 ice glittering in the clear sun, floating like a city of 
 crystal temples ; but there was great danger in it. 
 As they passed very near one of these splendid 
 objects, or rather as it neared them, for it was with 
 great difficulty that they were kept from contact, 
 they conjectured that its immense pinnacle of solid 
 ice must have risen a hundred feet at least from the 
 surface of the water. 
 
 Suddenly they perceived it move with a drunken 
 sidelong lurch, as if some inexplicable power from 
 below had worked at it, and then with a most stupen- 
 
 4 2 Sam. xii 7. 
 
220 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 dous crash it fell into the sea, disappearing entirely 
 for a moment, when it rose again from the other side, 
 having turned upon its own axis a complete summer- 
 set. The sea was raised into a great commotion, and 
 poured in cataracts down the sides of the rising 
 mountain of ice, which was much worn into caverns 
 by the action of the water, and having become 
 lighter than the half above the surface, at length it 
 suddenly plunged, and turned bottom upwards. If 
 it had struck the King's ship in falling, it would most 
 likely have made an end of her. But she passed 
 onward in safety, the men having witnessed a won- 
 der of the deep, that made their minds solemn, and 
 reminded them, besides, of a dangerous passage in 
 their own past experience. 
 
 But they were reminded of another thing that had 
 been told them, namely, how a man might turn, and 
 yet not be changed, but remain the same after his 
 turning as before. Men sometimes, coming into 
 warm latitudes, make a great summerset in religion ; 
 worn by currents, or melted by the water being 
 warmer than the air, they turn sheer over, but remain 
 with the same icy cold heart as before. Just such too 
 are the changes that are often made for expediency's 
 sake, disregarding principle. Sometimes you cannot 
 see the causes that operated, and the change comes 
 as suddenly as the upsetting of an iceberg. It is 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDSUMS. 221 
 
 dangerous to be in the wake of such persons, or to 
 place any dependence upon them ; for though the 
 top may look firm and grand, the bottom may be all 
 worn hollow ; and when they are- among the Eomans 
 they will do as the Romans do. Currents change 
 them, but no inward, firm, upright heart keeps 
 them. 
 
 Then said Peter, It is no doubt a great mercy that 
 we had come so far into the warm zone, before meet- 
 ing these ice mountains, for otherwise we might have 
 been crushed in the fields of ice that we should have 
 found floating with them for the space of many 
 leagues in extent. 
 
 I have heard of a ship, driven northward by a 
 gale from the South, and then, though the weather 
 was cold, standing on still further towards the JSTorth 
 than the usual track, not remembering the importance 
 of returning as near as might be to her right course, 
 when she made the following encounter : — 
 
 It was night, and blowing fresh. The sky was 
 overcast, and there was no moon, so that it was quite 
 obscure upon the sea, though not without glimmer- 
 ings of light ; not total darkness, though darkness 
 was upon the face of the deep. 5 The man that told 
 me this, happened himself to be in the middle watch 
 that night, from midnight to four o'clock ; and he had 
 
 5 Gen. i. 2. 
 
222 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 only been on deck about half an hour, when the 
 look-out forward sung out, Ship ahead ! Starboard ! 
 Hard a starboard ! These words made the second 
 mate, who had the watch, jump into the rigging. 
 
 A ship ? he exclaimed, An iceberg it is, rather ! 
 All hands wear ship! he shouted in a tone which 
 showed there was not a moment to lose. 
 
 The watch sprang to the braces and bowlines, 
 while the rest of the crew tumbled up from below, 
 and the Captain and other officers rushed out of their 
 cabins. The helm was kept up, and the yards swung 
 round, and the ship turned towards the direction from 
 which they had been sailing. The Captain glanced 
 his eye round, and then ordered the courses to be 
 brailed up, and the main topsail to be backed, so as 
 to lay the ship to. The men soon discovered the 
 cause of these manoeuvres ; for before the ship had 
 quite wore round, they perceived, close by, a tower- 
 ing mass with a refulgent appearance, which the man 
 on the look-out had taken for the white sails of a 
 ship, but which proved in reality to be a vast iceberg ; 
 and attached to it, and extending a considerable dis- 
 tance to leeward, was a field, or very extensive floe 
 of ice, against which the ship would have run, had it 
 not been discovered in time, and would, in all proba- 
 bility, instantly have gone down, with every soul on 
 board. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 223 
 
 Iii consequence of the extreme darkness, it was 
 dangerous to sail either way ; for it was impossible 
 to say what other floes, or smaller cakes of ice, 
 might be. in the neighborhood, and the ship might 
 probably be on them, before they were seen. They, 
 therefore, remained hove to. As it was, a man unac- 
 customed to such things could not see the floe, till it 
 was pointed out by one of the crew. 
 
 When daylight broke the next morning, it was 
 easy to see the dangerous position in which the ship 
 was placed. On every side appeared large floes of 
 ice, with several icebergs floating like mountains on 
 a plain among them ; while the only opening through 
 which the ship could escape was a narrow passage to 
 the northeast, through which she must have come. 
 What made their position the more perilous was, that 
 the vast masses of ice were approaching nearer and 
 nearer to each other, so that they had not a moment 
 to lose, if they would effect their freedom. 
 
 As the light increased, they saw at the distance of 
 some three miles to the westward, another ship in a 
 far worse predicament than they were, insomuch 
 that she was completely surrounded by ice, though 
 she still floated in a sort of basin. As for themselves, 
 the wind still held to the northward, so they could 
 stand clear out of the passage, if it should remain 
 open long enough. By this time the distant ship 
 
221 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE. 
 
 had discovered her own perilous condition, as they 
 perceived that she had hoisted a signal of distress, 
 and they heard the guns she was firing to call their 
 attention to her ; but alas, they could do nothing to 
 help her, for all they could do was to attend to their 
 own safety, till they had themselves got clear of the 
 ice. It was truly a fearful situation. 
 
 It was very dreadful to watch the stranger, and to 
 feel that they could render her no assistance. All 
 hands were at the braces, ready to trim the sails 
 should the wind head their ship ; for in that case 
 they would have to beat out of the channel, which 
 was every instant growing narrower and narrower. 
 The Captain stood at the weather gangway anxiously 
 watching;. "\Yhen he saw the ice closing in, he 
 ordered every stitch of canvas the ship would carry 
 to be set on her, in hopes of carrying her out into the 
 open sea before such a catastrophe. It seemed a 
 very close chance, whether or not they would be 
 hemmed in. Still they w T ere not so entirely absorbed 
 with their own danger, as not io keep an eye on the 
 stranger, with a deep and sympathizing interest in 
 her fate. 
 
 The man that told me this got into the mizen top, 
 that he might see more clearly, and by the aid of a 
 spy-glass could watch everything that occurred. The 
 water on which the stranger floated was nearly 
 
FOE JACK IX THE DOLDETJMS. 225 
 
 smooth, but the space was- becoming smaller and 
 smaller, and the surface began to be covered with 
 foam, caused by the whirling and tumbling masses 
 of ice, as they approached each other. There were 
 now but few fathoms of water on each side of her, 
 but as yet she floated unharmed. The peril was 
 exceeding great, but still the direction of the ice 
 might change, and she might possibly yet be free. 
 The man watched narrowly for some hope ; but 
 onward came the ice with terrific irresistible force, 
 till he fancied that he could hear the edges grinding 
 and crushing together. 
 
 There was no stop, nor any possibility of resist- 
 ance ; for the stranger was no better prepared against 
 the threatened crash and pressure, than the other 
 vessel, not being built for polar regions, nor having 
 any instruments with which they might ward off, or 
 cut away the masses. At length the ice closed upon 
 the ill-fated ship. At first the man on the watch 
 thought that it lifted her bodily up ; but probably it 
 was not so ; she was too deep in the water for that. 
 Her sides were crushed in ; the stout timbers were 
 rent into a thousand fragments ; her tall masts 
 tottered and fell, though still apparently attached to 
 the hull. For a moment, the men gazing concluded 
 that the ice must again have partially separated by 
 the force of the concussion, leaving open sea-space 
 10* 
 
226 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 enough to sink in ; for the wrecked mass of hull, 
 spars, and canvas, seemed suddenly drawn downward 
 with irresistible force, and a few fragments, which 
 had been hurled by the force of the concussion to a 
 distance, were all that remained of the hapless vessel. 
 E~ot a soul of the crew could have had time to 
 escape to the ice. 
 
 Precisely such might have been the fate of the 
 remaining vessel, with all on board ; but God merci- 
 fully ordered otherwise. The danger was imminent. 
 The passage through which alone they could pass 
 grew narrower and narrower. Some of the parts 
 they had already passed through were even now 
 closed up behind them. The wind mercifully held 
 fair, and although it contributed to drive the ice 
 faster in upon them, still it favored their escape. 
 The ship flew through the water at a great rate, 
 keeling over to her ports, but though at times it 
 seemed as if the masts would go over the sides of the 
 vessel, still the Captain held on. A minute's delay 
 might prove their destruction. Every person held 
 his breath, as the width of the passage decreased, 
 though they had but a very little distance now to 
 make good, before they would be free. Fet their 
 failure by a single ship's length might be their ruin. 
 It was a moment of terrible suspense and anxiety. 
 
 All this while the man kept watching in the mizen 
 
FOK JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 227 
 
 top, where he could see the whole danger. At length 
 a shout rose from the deck, and looking round, he 
 saw clearly that they were on the outside of the floe. 
 They had shot through but just in time, for almost 
 the instant after, the ice met, and the whole length 
 of the passage through which they had come was 
 completely closed up. The order was now given to 
 square away the yards, and keep the helm hard up ; 
 and so with a flowing sheet they ran down the edge 
 for upwards of three miles before they were clear of 
 it. So in God's mercy they were saved, but nothing 
 to this day was ever heard of the vessel there impri- 
 soned, crushed, and carried to the bottom. 
 
 The Lord save us, exclaimed John, from such 
 dreadful hazards ! Truly, this was being saved, yet 
 so as by fire. 6 Oh how wretched was the condition 
 of the poor creatures whom the ice overtook and 
 buried. And how mysterious are God's dealings ! 
 One shall be taken, and the other left. 7 ISTo man can 
 tell why that lost ship was there, on what errand, or 
 how at first she became involved in such perils. But 
 oh, when God shutteth up, there can be no opening ; 
 when God breaketh down, it cannot be built again. 8 
 When we see such hazards in the deej), and then 
 think how heedless most men are upon the voyage of 
 life, it seems a wonder that ever any get into port. 
 
 c 1 Cor. iii. 15- 7 Matt. xxiv. 40. f Job xii. 14. 
 
228 A 3EEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 They never do, said Peter, except by the pure, 
 unmerited, sovereign grace of God in Christ Jesus. 
 But it is strange to see how far some go towards hea- 
 ven, and yet never enter, and also how far some go 
 towards hell and yet are plucked back as brands from 
 the burning. But God warneth us, as ofttimes we have 
 heard, that we are made partakers of Christ, if we 
 hold fast the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto 
 the end. 9 We may go a great way, and yet turn at 
 length from the right way for ever. There is no 
 safety but in Christ, and none in him, but by keeping 
 close to his Word, for so he saves us. 
 
 Then said John, there be some who sin with great 
 daring, and venture with headstrong wilfulness into 
 dangers of which they have been forewarned. It 
 may be that the lost ship had been running on such 
 a career. For if we sin wilfully after that we have 
 received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth 
 no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful look- 
 ing for of judgment and of fiery indignation, which 
 shall devour the adversaries. 10 But the other ship 
 was saved, for that time, though we know not what 
 followed. The King saith, Of some have compas- 
 sion, making a difference ; but others save with 
 fear. 11 
 
 Then said Peter, To come so near to destruction at 
 
 Heb. iii. 14. Jl Heb. x 26, 27. " Jude 22. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 229 
 
 any time is a fearful thing. The good navigator 
 giveth all diligence to make his calling and election 
 sure, 12 lest by any means he be a cast-away. 13 To 
 have but a ship's length in time and space, and hea- 
 ven or hell hanging upon it ! Who would be willing 
 to be thrown into such peril ? Yet many of their 
 own accord run into it. But there is a last time, and 
 a limit beyond which they can never go, and return. 
 There is a last degree to God's forbearance ; there 
 is a last call, a last opportunity, a last hour of hope. 
 There is a fixed line that marks the boundary of 
 mercy, and the confines of despair. When the soul 
 crosses that line, sometimes the ice closes on it like 
 the jaws of Behemoth, and the deep swallows it up. 
 But sometimes it may still seem to be making profit 
 able voyages, and the end is not yet. There was 
 once found in the log-book of an unknown mariner 
 (I say unknown, for I never yet heard of his name, 
 though he must have seen great dangers, and he had 
 a knowledge of some terrible truths), the following 
 lines concerning the unseen line, of which I have 
 spoken. 
 
 There is a time we know not when, 
 
 A point we know not where, 
 That marks the destiny of men 
 
 To glory or despair. 
 
 12 2 Pet. i. 10. Is 1 Cor. ix. 27. 
 
230 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 There is a line, by us unseen, 
 
 That crosses every path ; 
 The hidden boundary between 
 
 God's patience and his wrath 
 
 To pass that limit is to die, 
 
 To die as if by stealth ; 
 It does not quench the beaming eye, 
 
 Nor pale the glow of health. 
 
 The conscience may be still at ease, 
 The spirits light and gay, 
 
 That which is pleasing, still may please, 
 And care be thrust away. 
 
 But on that forehead God hath set 
 
 Indelibly a mark, 
 Unseen by man, for man as yet 
 
 Is blind, and in the dark. 
 
 And yet, the doomed one's path below 
 Like Eden may have bloomed ; 
 
 He did not, does not, will not know, 
 Nor feel that he is doomed. 
 
 He knows, he feels, that all is well, 
 And every fear is calmed ; 
 
 He lives, he dies ; he wakes in hell, 
 Not only doomed, but damned. 
 
 O, where is that mysterious bourne, 
 By which our path is crossed ? 
 
 Beyond which God himself hath sworn 
 That he who goes is lost ? 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 231 
 
 Hew far may we go on in sin ? 
 
 How long will God forbear ? 
 Where does hope end, and where begin 
 
 The confines of despair ? 
 
 An answer from the skies is sent ; 
 
 Ye who from God depart, 
 While it is called to-day repent, 
 
 And harden not your heart. 
 
 It so happened, as if to give demonstration of 
 these truths, that just at the time when Peter was 
 repeating these lines, they passed a dangerous place 
 in the ocean called Dead Man's Key, which place, 
 though it lay so far onwards towards the confines of 
 the Celestial Country, was nevertheless noted for 
 some very terrible shipwrecks. It was not far from a 
 group of Islands, on one of which a high mountain 
 lifted itself into the skies, where, at sunset, it shone 
 like a new lighted star, and in the morning caught 
 the earliest rays of the sun, and blazed in them like a 
 dome or pinnacle of the Celestial City. It was said 
 that some Pilgrims of old time had climbed that 
 mountain, and gained from the top a very clear view 
 into the Celestial Country, by means of a telescope 
 which they took with them. But of late, nothing of 
 this kind had been accomplished, and the Islands 
 themselves had very much degenerated from their 
 former character, for they were once in much com- 
 
232 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 munion with the Celestial Country, whereas at 
 present there was little or no traffic that way. 
 
 There was a famous Harbor there, formerly called 
 Humility, having a most safe and delightful anchor- 
 age ; bnt the great prosperity of the people in the 
 City on its borders, vastly increasing the price of 
 land, they had encroached upon the harbor very inju- 
 riously by made land. A great quantity of drainage 
 from the city had also collected in it, together with 
 banks of mud brought down into it by a river from 
 the interior, and neglected by the people till great 
 shoals were formed ; so that in truth the harbor was 
 nearly as much changed as its name, which now was 
 called, after the character of the people, Worldly- 
 Conformity. Peter and^ John, not being aware of 
 this great change, and marking their course by the 
 King's Chart, steered for this harbor as a pleasant 
 and safe resting and watering place for a season. 
 
 But they were yet a good way off from it, and had 
 seen nothing of the Islands but the peak of the moun- 
 tain aforesaid. The wind was somewhat variable, 
 and the progress of the ship, though pleasant, was 
 not so swift as it had been. Nevertheless, the sailing 
 there, in such fine w T eather, was so delightful, that 
 one might almost be tempted to wish it would never 
 cease. It brought to mind the description they had 
 somewhere seen of a young sailor passing that voyage 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 233 
 
 under like circumstances. The night, he said, was 
 magnificent, and he remained on deck a long time, 
 enjoying its beauties, and gazing on the high land 
 of the Island, which reared itself far above the oceai? 
 to the South. The wind was very light, the ses 
 gently ruffled, and their good barque glided slowlj 
 along beneath the silver rays of a beautiful moon, 
 illumining their path over the mighty waters, and 
 bringing out in solemn, majestic relief, against the 
 horizon, the elevated Island they were passing. 
 There was something, he said, in the perfect stillness 
 of the night, and in the whole scene around us, that 
 seemed to command our inmost souls to a solemn 
 holy silence before the Almighty Architect of the 
 Universe ; the Being whose works by night so em- 
 phatically declare his glory, who himself seemed 
 presently saying, Be still, and know that I am God. 14 
 
 "Psa. xlvi. 10. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE HARBOR 01 WORLDLY CONFORMITY AND WHAT 
 
 HAPPENED THERE. 
 
 When they ran into the Harbor and dropped 
 anchor, which they did without any mishap, they 
 were surprised at the gay and brilliant look of every- 
 thing about them. The very vessels at the docks 
 looked all as new as if they had been just launched, 
 and had never seen the open ocean ; and to say the 
 truth, of a long time most of them had not, but had 
 remained idle till the dry rot had got into all their 
 timbers. By dint of a curious paint of great strength 
 and color, all symptoms of rottenness were con- 
 cealed, and the hulks held together ; and the in- 
 habitants of the place had an agreement among 
 themselves to sustain each other in this cheat, all 
 things among them being in like manner gilded and 
 superficial. 
 
 As for the King's own ship, it may well be sup 
 
A REEL IN A BOTTLE. 235 
 
 posed that by this time she looked black and weather- 
 beaten. There, was, indeed a curious contrast be- 
 tween her weary, way-worn look, and old-fashioned 
 rig, and the showy vessels in the harbor. The truth 
 was, there was another extensive port on the other 
 side of the Island, with commercial relations running 
 to all parts of the globe, and a double railroad direct 
 from that to this city, so that this harbor, being on 
 the side towards the Celestial Country, was of late 
 years almost disused, except for State occasions, and 
 it was a thing extremely rare to have an arrival in 
 that direction. The men of the Harbor proposed to 
 Peter and John to have their own ship newly cop- 
 pered and painted, but they refused, saying that they 
 had no time for any changes which were not needful, 
 and that they were only anxious to be forwarded on 
 their voyage. 
 
 When they went on shore, they left the Ship in 
 charge of Contrition and Sincere, with orders to be 
 employed as speedily as possible in laying in what 
 supplies were necessary. "When their gig touched 
 the landing, it was proposed to them at once that 
 they should be rigged out in a new dress, and meet 
 the Mayor of the City, who would be glad to do 
 honor to the King's Flag ; but they felt bewildered 
 by the strange, suspicious appearance of things around 
 them, and were not willing to spend the time requi- 
 
236 A. REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 site for this ceremony, besides that they found it was 
 to be attended with a feast, involving an expense of 
 money as well as time, in which they would not feel 
 justified. 
 
 They determined to remain no longer than they 
 could help, for the place seemed not at all like the 
 last Harbor belonging to the King, in which they 
 had rested. But it came to pass, as they went up 
 and 'down the streets, that their spirit was stirred 
 within them as they beheld the manners of the people, 
 and especially some great enormities in the sale of 
 two notable articles in the commerce of the place, 
 Eum and Opium. They were so roused, that they 
 could not help speaking boldly against these things, 
 and in a short time they had a great crowd collected 
 together to hear them. They said they were aston- 
 ished at the sale of these things in any place that 
 had been under the King's dominion. They affirmed 
 that the traffic would bring upon them utter misery ; 
 that though it might seem profitable for a time, yet it 
 was really neither more nor less than the slow murder 
 of men's souls and bodies. They said it was clean 
 contrary to the laws of the King, and that the people 
 might almost as well set up for a liberty to deal in 
 hell-fire, as a freedom to pursue such sinful and 
 ruinous practices. 
 
 There was evidently a great awakening of con- 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 237 
 
 science under these speeches, for their hearts were 
 full and earnest, and the multitude could not resist 
 the wisdom and spirit with which they spake. 1 
 Nevertheless, some of the principal dealers, being 
 exceedingly enraged at having their profitable busi- 
 ness interfered with, took unto themselves certain 
 lewd fellows of the baser sort, 2 and having got a 
 marshal with them (for the law of the place favored 
 them), they made an address to the people, among 
 whom were many workmen of like occupation with 
 themselves, to whom they said, Sirs, ye know that by 
 this craft we have our wealth, 3 and furthermore the 
 whole riches of our Island are greatly increased by it 
 and dependent upon it, so that the words of these 
 new-comers are not only seditious and treasonable, as 
 being to the reproach of the law of the land, which is 
 supreme, but also greatly to our detriment, and con- 
 trary to every man's own personal interests. 
 
 Thus they worked upon the passions of the people, 
 till the whole town was filled with confusion ; and 
 while the baser fellows threw dirt into the air, and 
 some cried one thing, and some another, they seized 
 upon Peter and John, and put them in Bocardo 
 (which was the name of their prison) as disturbers of 
 the peace, and also as guilty of treason for speaking 
 against the laws of the Island. 
 
 1 Acts vi. 10. 2 Acts xvii. 5 Aols xix. 25 
 
238 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 The next day they had them before the high Court 
 of the place, with a jury summoned, and deputies to 
 implead against them ; and there stood up to convict 
 them a great man in those parts, whose opinion was 
 wonderfully regarded on all matters touching com- 
 merce and the laws of the realm. The great mer- 
 chants of the town of Worldly Conformity, and also 
 of the grand port on the other side of the Island, 
 made up a large sum for this man, that he might 
 plead their cause valiantly, and put his whole heart 
 in it ; and indeed it seemed to delight him, for he 
 went at it with great speech, alacrity, and energy. 
 
 He said that the doctrines of these men were dis- 
 organizing and treasonable, that they were opposing 
 a law of the land, which law was supreme, and being 
 once passed, must and should be obeyed, and being 
 for the high interest and union of both sides of the 
 Island, it should not be spoken against, nor was such 
 a thing to be once thought of as that it should ever 
 be altered or repealed. He said that the law was 
 perfectly constitutional, and that under it the people 
 of every city were bound to protect the dealers in 
 Rum and Opium from all infringement upon and 
 injury against their business. He said that this was 
 law, the -law of the land, and that those who went 
 against it under pretence of what they called the 
 King's law, were miserable fanatics. He then in^ 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 239 
 
 sisted, with great and strong words, on the unconsti- 
 tutionality, and illegality, and inadmissibility of pri- 
 vate men setting up their notions above the law of 
 the land, under the pretended idea of the higher 
 law, that exists somewhere between us and the third 
 heavens, he never knew exactly where. 
 
 This seemed greatly to tickle and delight the sense 
 of the assembly, and the orator was quite interrupted 
 in his plea by the applause of the Court and bystand- 
 ers ; for, poor creatures, they were nearly all under 
 the same blinding delusions that had for years 
 prevailed in the place ; but as soon as order was 
 restored, he went on again, although there was one 
 man who gave some disturbance by crying out every 
 now and then, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. 4 
 
 As he went on, he said that all judicial opinions 
 were in favor of the law of the land in this case, and 
 that no man in the Island, whose income was worth 
 thirty pounds a year, would stake his professional 
 reputation against it. He said that therefore the 
 opposing of this law of the land was treason ; and 
 here he looked as black as a thunder-cloud upon the 
 prisoners, and stamped his feet to give the greater 
 weight to his reasonings ; whereupon, being a big 
 man and heavy, as well as vastly eloquent, the 
 Court room shook, and there was a great sensation. 
 
 4 Actsxhr. 28 
 
24:0 A REEL IN A BOTTLE. 
 
 He then proceeded to ridicule the conscientious 
 scruples of Peter and John, and of any who might be 
 so far gone in their wits as to think as they did, and 
 he made the Court laugh at the idea of such scrupu- 
 lous consciences. He said they were the men above 
 ordinance, who walked about like the man in the 
 play, prim and spruce, self-satisfied, and thankful to 
 God that they were not as other men, but had attained 
 so far to salvation as to be above ordinances. That, 
 he said, was their higher law. At this there was 
 great laughter. 
 
 Nevertheless, the man in his .plea did not attempt 
 to deny the immorality of the traffic, but stood for its 
 legality, putting law above conscience. He said that 
 the prisoners at the bar had with unparalleled effron- 
 tery accused the makers and upholders of the law, 
 and those who pursued that traffic according to it, of 
 setting up profit against conscience ; setting up the 
 means of living, while they ought to go for conscience. 
 But he said that this going for conscience was just a 
 flight of fanaticism, and the people of that worthy 
 city must beware of any such teachings ; for as long 
 as there was a law of the land, and they became men 
 of substance under it, in all their labors no iniquity 
 could be found that was sin, 5 no iniquity that was 
 what the lawyers called 7/tahim in se. To put con- 
 
 6 Hosea xii. 8. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 241 
 
 science against profit in such a case was a mere flight 
 of fancy. If what we propose, said he, is right, fair, 
 and stands well with a conscience not enlightened 
 with those high flights of fancy, it is none the worse 
 for being profitable ; the matter of being profitable, 
 he insisted, conld not make a thing bad which is good 
 in itself, if yon and I, said he, can live on it, and 
 onr children can be supported and educated by it. 
 
 All this, and much more, he argued in the case, 
 though it was worthy of note that he did not any- 
 where say that the traffic, which Peter and John had 
 spoken against, was a good thing in itself. He stuck 
 mainly to the argument that the law of the land was 
 to be obeyed at all hazards, and must govern con- 
 science, and that all agitation against it was treason- 
 able, and must be put down. He said, moreover, 
 that religion probably was a good thing in the main, 
 but in politics it only made men mad. 
 
 Now the words of this great man had great weight 
 with the whole Court and Jury, and when he had 
 finished, the case looked black against Peter and 
 John, and there seemed to be but little hope for them. 
 Nevertheless, they were not in the least degree 
 daunted, but having gotten permission to speak for 
 themselves, rejoiced exceedingly in such an opportu- 
 nity to declare the truth. Accordingly, Peter stood 
 forward first, and said that he spoke for the King, 
 11 
 
242 A KEEL LN A BOTTLE. 
 
 and in behalf of the King's laws, which alone were 
 supreme, and against which some of the statutes of 
 late years passed in these Islands were in manifest 
 opposition. He said that he would not undertake to 
 argue the case anywhere but out of the King's own 
 statute-book, and that if this honorable Court did not 
 know exactly where that higher law existed, by 
 which all human consciences were bound, they were 
 not fit to sit as judges in any cause involving any 
 principles of morality whatever. 
 
 If they did not know, then it must be, said he, 
 because that is come upon them foretold in the sta- 
 tutes of the King, Forasmuch as this people draw 
 near me with their mouth, and with their lips do 
 honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, 
 and their fear towards me is taught by the precept 
 of men, therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a mar- 
 vellous work among this people, even a marvellous 
 work, and a wonder ; for the wisdom of their wise 
 men shall perish, and the understanding of their 
 prudent men shall be hid. 6 
 
 Also, he said, that the earth is defiled under the 
 inhabitants thereof, because they have transgressed 
 the laws of the King, changed the ordinance, broken 
 the everlasting covenant. 7 
 
 None calleth for justice, nor any pleaded, for 
 
 fi Isa. xxix. 13, 14, 7 Isa. xxiv. *5 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 243 
 
 truth ; they trust in vanity, and speak lies ; they con- 
 ceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. They hatch 
 cockatrices' eggs, and weave the spider's web ; he 
 that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is 
 crushed breaketh out into a viper. The way of peace 
 they know not, and there is no judgment in their 
 goings ; they have made them crooked paths ; who- 
 soever goeth therein shall not know peace. So 
 truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot 
 enter. 8 
 
 To the law and to the testimony, said Peter, for 
 if your judges speak not according to this word, it is 
 because there is no light in them. 9 Then he made it 
 clearly to appear that the Statutes of the King speak 
 plainly against unrighteous laws", as having no right- 
 eous authority. He repeated in their hearing the 
 King's Statute on this point, Wo unto them that 
 decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievous- 
 ness which they have prescribed. 10 Also, Shall the 
 throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which 
 frameth mischief by a law V 1 But there was no 
 need, he said, of any argument on such a point ; it 
 could be only time-servers and men-pleasers who 
 would ever undertake to excuse men's wickedness by 
 human law, or to justify the wicked for reward, and 
 God will be a swift witness against such men. 
 
 8 Isa. lix. 4, 5, 8, 14. 9 Isa. viiL 20. 10 Isa. x. 1. n Psa. xciv. 20 
 
244 . A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 Moreover he said that it was an incontrovertible 
 principle, clearly laid down, that whenever human 
 
 COMMANDS RUN COUNTER TO THE DIVINE COMMANDS, 
 THEY CEASE TO BE OBLIGATORY ; AND NO MAN CAN AID 
 IN THE EXECUTION OR SUPPORT OF SUCH COUNTER COM- 
 MANDS, WITHOUT AIMING VIOLENCE AT THE AUTHORITY 
 OF HEAVEN. 
 
 In the matter of the charge against them, he said 
 he would detain their honors only so far as to read 
 the King's Statutes on the point. Wo unto him that 
 coveteth an evil covetousness to his house ! For the 
 stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of 
 the timber shall answer it. Wo to him that buildeth 
 a town with blood, and establisheth a city by ini- 
 quity ! Wo unto him that giveth his neighbor 
 drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest 
 him drunken ! 12 
 
 He also quoted a more recent statute. That no 
 covetous men, nor drunkards, nor extortioners, shall 
 inherit the kingdom of God. 13 He then demon- 
 strated that the traffic in Rum and Opium, though it 
 might be for the seeming temporary interest of the 
 City of Worldly Conformity, was just nothing else 
 than the work of making drunkards, and that by the 
 Statutes of the King it was in every respect illegal, 
 inhuman, and unjust. 
 
 12 Hab ii- 9, 11, 12, 15. 13 1 Cor. vi. 10. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 245 
 
 Furthermore, said Peter, all jour talk about peace 
 and union is but a covering of sin. For what ought 
 to be the object of a union of these Islands, or of 
 these great cities, save only the protection of every 
 man's liberties, the redemption of every man 
 from sin, bondage, and misery, and the establish- 
 ment of every household in favor with God and 
 man ? But if your union be founded on any bargain 
 with the King's Wicked Adversary, and kept up 
 only by that, then it is accursed of God, and cannot 
 prosper. If it were the support and protection of 
 slavery that this union were pledged for, then you 
 and the whole world would cry out shame ; or if it 
 were a traffic in slaves that your pretended articles 
 of partnership bound you to support, then also the 
 curse of God would be upon it. But is it a less 
 monstrous defiance of God and his righteousness to 
 pretend that your union depends on the infernal 
 traffic in Rum and Opium, and, therefore, that the 
 said traffic, being legalized, and becoming a great 
 matter of state policy, ought to be sustained ? 
 
 You dare to call it a flight of fancy, when we 
 arraign you, and all your pursuits, and your laws 
 also, and your political expediencies, at the bar of 
 God's law for judgment. It is a greater piece of 
 fanaticism, and flight of fancy by far, for you to 
 dream that you can throw dust in the eyes of God 
 
246 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 and man by your pretended profit and law as the 
 guide of conscience. The fanatics in this case are 
 those who Worship Dagon, and affront the very pre- 
 sence of God, and the sanctity of his law, with the 
 demand of a protection for their profitable idolatry. 
 What are all your Islands, and all the commerce of 
 them, in comparison with Freedom, Truth, and 
 Righteousness ? They had better every one of them 
 go to the bottom, than be upheld at the cost of man's 
 guilt and misery, and God's violated law. 
 
 And let me tell the honorable and learned Coun- 
 sel, that as to law in the case, Caiaphas and Pilate 
 argued in the same way as he has done, when they 
 condemned the Holy and Just to be crucified. They 
 said in that case also that there was a law of the land, 
 perfectly plain and constitutional, and not to be 
 spoken against nor repealed, and by that law he 
 ought to die. 14 They argued also that it was far 
 better that one such man should die, than that their 
 whole hierarchical union, and the very perpetuity of 
 the state, should be endangered. And they said, 
 that those who thought or spoke on the contrary side 
 were miserable misguided fools, who could not con- 
 quer their prejudices, and knew nothing at all con- 
 cerning the matter. But they are the fools in this 
 present case, said Peter, who set man's law above 
 
 "John xix. 7. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 247 
 
 God's, and who make mock at a religious conscience ; 
 they are the men in the play, above ordinance, who 
 imagine a vain thing, and set themselves to take 
 counsel together against the Lord, and against his 
 Anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, 
 and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth 
 in the heavens shall laugh ; the Lord shall have them 
 '.n derision. 15 
 
 After this, Peter closed his speech with a strong 
 and terrible passage from the King's Law-book, at 
 which the faces of the people turned pale, and even 
 the Court trembled. Wo unto them that call evil 
 good and good evil, that put darkness for light, and 
 light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and 
 sweet for bitter ! "Wo unto them that are mighty to 
 drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong 
 drink ! Which justify the wicked for reward, and 
 take away the righteousness of the righteous from 
 him ! Therefore, as the fire devoureth the stubble, 
 and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root 
 shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up 
 as dust, because they have cast away the law of the 
 Lord of Hosts, and despised the Word of the Holy 
 One of Israel. 16 
 
 Then John arose and spake briefly, and said that 
 he should add but little to the argument of his 
 
 16 Psa. ii. 1-5. 16 Isa. v, 20, 22, 23, 24. 
 
248 A KEEL IN A BOTILE, 
 
 brother, for that it was so plain a case, that he felt 
 ashamed to argue it in any place lying within the 
 King's dominions, and professing the worship of the 
 true God ; so plain a case, as they all knew, that we 
 must always obey God rather than men. 17 He would 
 only remind their Honors that for disobeying the 
 unrighteous laws of Nebuchadnezzar, the names of 
 Daniel and the three Hebrews were had in everlast- 
 ing remembrance, while those men who helped to 
 execute those laws were themselves devoured in the 
 burning fiery furnace. 18 He would add what their 
 Honors well knew, that the Slave-trade itself was 
 once supported by law, and that in some countries on 
 the globe there was still so much wickedness prac- 
 tised under statute, that even slavery was protected 
 by law, a thing which all the inhabitants of the 
 Islands admitted to be a sin, and that so clearly, that 
 the law could not make it otherwise. He prayed 
 them only to judge of this traffic by the same prin- 
 ciples on which they proclaimed the iniquity of 
 slavery, and he had no fear whatever but they would 
 condemn it. 
 
 ISTow these speeches, together with the heavenly 
 deportment of Peter and John, produced no small 
 effect upon the people, and made many among them 
 wish that they had had nothing ever to do with this 
 
 17 Acts v. 29. ie Dan. iii. 22. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 249 
 
 business, and others there were, who resolved to give 
 it up instantly. But the Court had taken care to 
 have a packed Jury, and thought they had made 
 sure, in regard to a great majority of them, that they 
 were not addicted to any nights of fancy about any 
 higher law than that of profit and the land. They, 
 therefore, felt secure, and the Judge proceeded to 
 give them their charge. 
 
 He charged them to hold close to their minds two 
 considerations, the law, and the profit. He thanked 
 the learned and honorable counsel for the important 
 principle so powerfully and clearly laid down, that a 
 business good in itself was not any the worse for 
 being profitable. He said that he did not need to 
 add anything to the cautions they had received 
 against listening to conscience against profit ; he was 
 perfectly persuaded that in this enlightened city 
 there was no danger of that. 
 
 He said that as to the evil of the traffic, it was 
 clear that it would be pursued by some, and that if 
 they did not pursue it, it w T ould be worse pursued by 
 others ; whereas, if they kept up this traffic, they 
 could do much to regulate the evil of it, and might, 
 in time, bring it to an end. On a general considera- 
 tion of benevolence, therefore, and their obligation to 
 do all the good in their power, he thought the- busi- 
 ness ought to be sustained, or at any rate that good 
 11* 
 
250 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 men ought not to be denounced for sustaining it. He 
 said also, that being a partnership from an early date 
 in the Islands, and some of them having entered into 
 it on the faith of that article in the agreement pro- 
 tecting them in the said traffic, none in the commu- 
 nity could be considered at liberty to disavow or 
 withdraw from that article, but according to their 
 compact were bound to sustain it. The very exist- 
 ence of their Union wonld be perilled by any attack 
 against this law. 
 
 On a general review of the authorities, the Judge 
 said that they fully maintained the point stated, that 
 though a thing be contrary to natural right, to the 
 principles of justice, humanity, and sound policy, 
 yet, if any city or State see fit to establish such 
 thing, and continue it by law, then we are not at 
 liberty to hold that unlawful, and wrong, which the 
 legislative power of tbe place hath pronounced 
 lawful. As to the claims of conscience in such a 
 case, and the question whether God's law or man's 
 were to be obeyed, he would say, Obey both, and 
 make no trouble about it. When there was power to 
 enforce the law, and the community chose to pass it, 
 then the will of the majority ought to be the settled 
 conscience of every individual. But he trusted it 
 was not necessary to enlarge upon this ; they must 
 remember that they were citizens of no mean city. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 251 
 
 even the town of Worldly Conformity, and would 
 conduct themselves accordingly. 
 
 When the Judge had thus delivered his charge, he 
 let the case go to the Jury, with a demand that they 
 should bring in a summary verdict. 
 
 Now it happened, as the righteous providence of 
 the Lord would have it, that one was drawn upon 
 the Jury, an old man named Weep-in-Secret, who 
 had been a humble unnoticed inhabitant of the place, 
 and another man, a kinsman of the same, named 
 Judge-Righteous-Judgment. These men had grieved 
 and groaned a long time over the growing pride and 
 declining piety of the place, and the worldliness and 
 wickedness of the inhabitants. It might be said of 
 them that rivers of water ran down their eyes, 
 because the law of the Great King was so little 
 regarded. 19 
 
 Being quiet melancholy men, they had not been 
 challenged on the Jury, and so with some others, 
 escaped being set aside on account of their opinions, 
 which the Judge never suspected. These men had 
 taken a keen and lively interest in the trial, and when 
 the Jury went out, could repeat by heart every 
 argument that Peter and John had used, and every 
 part of their speeches, with the meaning of them. 
 So what did they do, but set themselves to work 
 
 19 Psa. cxix 136. 
 
252 A REEL IN J BOTTLE. 
 
 upon the hearts and consciences of the other jury- 
 men, which they did also with much earnest silent 
 prayer, after the example of Kehemiah, when he 
 answered Artaxerxes, 20 for they foil that the honor of 
 the King was much concerned in this matter. 
 
 And it was wonderful to see wh at success attended 
 their efforts, for they so wrought upon the minds oi 
 the jurors, that at length they brought them to be 
 quite convinced that it would be a great sin to con 
 demn Peter and John, who owed no allegiance to 
 the laws of the place, and had only been faithful tc 
 their Lord and Master. Also there was no great 
 difficulty in proving the ungodliness of the traffic, th^ 
 more because some of the jury-men had children 
 rolling in the gutter because of intemperance, and 
 that could not be reclaimed, because everywhere thr 
 bottle was put to them to make them drunken. Sc 
 they were all brought to such a state, that at length 
 their resolution was made up, and they set Mr, 
 Weep-in- Secret as Foreman, who, when the verdict 
 was demanded, stood up, and gave it forth in this 
 form ; Guilty or obeying God's laws rather thai 
 man's, which they ought to do. 
 
 "When these words were uttered, the Judge stared 
 at the man for a moment, as one astonished, or whe 
 did not quite understand the meaning ; then he 
 
 aB Neh. ii.4. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDKUMS. 253 
 
 became red in the face, as if he had been insulted, 
 and he angrily told the Jury to go out again, and 
 bring in a proper verdict, or they should be broken 
 for contempt of Court. So they went out again, and 
 concluded ; and when the question was put, What 
 say you, Mr. Foreman, guilty or not guilty, the Fore- 
 man spoke up in a loud clear voice, not guilty. 
 
 JSTow this was a dreadful blow to the Court, and 
 altogether unexpected, but there was no help for it ; 
 they had to discharge the prisoners, for they could 
 find neither cause nor quibble whereby they might 
 detain them. Moreover, the consciences of more 
 than half the people that had witnessed the trial 
 went in favor of Peter and John ; and indeed the 
 whole thing had been brought about by the King to 
 help on a reformation among them, and it could now 
 be much easier for any man to oppose the traffic in 
 Hum and Opium, which some would gladly have 
 done before, but that they had stood so much in fear 
 of being proscribed and ruined for their politics. 
 
 As for Peter and John, they were exceedingly 
 overjoyed, and thanked God in their hearts. But 
 they went quietly and gravely out of Court, all the 
 people gazing at them with a kind of awe and sym- 
 pathy, that kept them from being molested. But 
 they had had enough of the town of Worldly Confor- 
 mity, and as they had no instructions from the King 
 
254. A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 to detain their ship in that harbor, they would not 
 abide there another night, though old Mr. Weep-ln- 
 Secret entreated them so to do, telling them that 
 bad as things looked, there were a few godly souls 
 that would be glad to meet them. However, Peter 
 and John said they could by no means be detained, 
 for they felt anxious concerning the ship and the 
 harbor, remembering what had happened to them 
 even in the King's Islands of Peace. So they com- 
 mended their friends to the care of the King, and 
 bade them farewell, and good Mr. Weep-in- Secret 
 accompanied them the nearest way, past Time-serv- 
 ing Row, clown to the vessel. Their ship had been 
 warped by the men up to the docks, to take in some 
 provisions, and they were glad when they found 
 themselves again walking the dear old deck in 
 security. 
 
 But they were destined not to get under weigh 
 again, without some little trouble. For the men, 
 instead of anchoring, had merely moored the ship to 
 the bulwarks of another vessel for convenience, not 
 knowing but that it was staunch enough for a friendly 
 grip upon them ; and now, in casting off, by a sudden 
 strain and wrench, before the Cable was thrown loose, 
 the bitts broke away, taking the rotten timbers, and 
 planking of the deck, along with it, almost to the 
 water's edge, just as if the vessel had been made of 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 255 
 
 dry ginger-bread. The men at first were very much 
 alarmed, seeing what had happened, but as soon as 
 they saw that the vessel would fall to pieces almost 
 at a touch, and had only lain there painted up for a 
 show, they could not help laughing heartily ; and 
 asking the Harbor-Master to send in his bill for 
 damages, they enquired what he would take for a 
 fleet of such vessels. They said they could mend 
 the broken ship, but they had neither paint nor saw- 
 dust, and she would not endure spars of sound doc- 
 trine. They asked if all their shipping was of such 
 material, and enquired how long it was since Hyme- 
 neus and Philetus had given them the canker ? 21 
 
 Then said Peter, Let them alone. Every man's 
 work shall be made manifest, for the day shall 
 declare it." The calf of Samaria shall be broken in 
 pieces ; for they have sown the wind, and they 
 shall reap the whirlwind ; it hath no stalk ; the 
 bud shall yield no meal. 23 It shall be as when a 
 hungry man dreameth, and behold he eateth, but he 
 awaketh, and his soul is empty. 24 In them is fulfilled 
 the prophecy, Their root shall be as rottenness, and 
 their blossom shall go up as dust. 25 
 
 There being no wind to carry them out of the 
 Harbor, they were now compelled, as soon as they 
 
 " 2 Tim, ii. 17. 22 1 Cor. iii. 13. 23 Hos. viii. 6, 7, 
 
 24 Isa. xxix. 8. 2D Isa. v. 24. 
 
256 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 got clear, to put all hands in the boats, with sweeps, 
 so that the work of getting away from that place was 
 some of the hardest they had had in all their expe- 
 rience. Nevertheless, they were so glad to be mov- 
 ing, that they broke forth of their own accord, in an 
 old song, whereat Peter and John were greatly de- 
 lighted, and joined with them ; and the melody was 
 so new and strange to the people on shore, and it was 
 so surprising a sight to see a vessel clearing the 
 Harbor in that style, that they crowded down to the 
 docks, and ran aboard their old painted ships to 
 listen. The song they sang ran as follows : — 
 
 O when shall I see Jesus, 
 
 And reign with him above ? 
 And from that flowing fountain 
 
 Drink everlasting love ? 
 When shall I be delivered 
 
 From this vain world of sin, 
 And with my Blessed Jesus 
 
 Drink endless pleasures in ? 
 
 My Captain's gone before , 
 He's given me my orders 
 
 And bid me not give o'er. 
 His faithful word is promised 
 
 A righteous crown to give, 
 And all his valiant seamen 
 
 Eternal life shall have. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 25Y 
 
 Through grace I am determined 
 
 To conquer, 1 hough I die ; 
 And then away to Jesus, 
 
 On wings of love to fly. 
 Farewell to sin and sorrow, 
 
 I bid you all adieu, 
 And O my friends prove faithful, - 
 
 And on your way pursue. 
 
 And if you meet with troubles 
 
 And trials on your way, 
 Then cast your cares on Jesus 
 
 And don't forget to pray. 
 Gird on the heavenly armor 
 
 Of faith, and hope, and love ; 
 Then when the combat's ended 
 
 He'll carry you above. 
 
CHAPTEK XIII. 
 
 THE EFFECTUAL CALLING. 
 
 When they had once got clear of the Harbor, they 
 found that whereas it had been almost a dead calm 
 within, there was a fresh breeze blowing without, 
 rendering boats and oars superfluous. So the men 
 gladly returned to the ship, and all sail was again set 
 for the Celestial Country. 
 
 Now did Peter and John busy themselves with 
 running up in their log-books some account of what 
 they had gone through on land ; and comparing notes 
 as to the strange things that had happened, Peter 
 said that for his part, if he did not know better, he 
 might have thought they had fallen upon the very 
 Island laid down in the King's Chart, as inhabited by 
 those who taught things which they ought not, for 
 filthy lucre's sake, of whom it was said The Cretians 
 are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. 1 
 
 1 Tit. i. 12. 
 
A REEL IN A BOTTLE. 259 
 
 John. — They pretended a great regard for law, but 
 it was on purpose to trample upon equity and right- 
 eousness. They are well known hypocrites, for the 
 very same law that they professed to hold so sacred, 
 as to be of power to bind the conscience, even in 
 spite of God's law, they did not scruple to laugh at 
 and defy, in smuggling their own rum and opium. 
 Yet these are the men who made such fierce procla- 
 mation of rendering unto Caesar the things that be 
 Caesar's. 2 
 
 Peter. — Do you imagine they have any conscience 
 at all in the matter ? 
 
 John. — They may, but if they have, it is only as 
 the Cretians had, of whom Paul said that their very 
 mind and conscience is defiled. 8 But what is con- 
 science good for in such a case ? Only to make the 
 worse appear the better reason. Despising God's 
 Word, there is no light in them. 
 
 Peter. — "Well, truly, a man can no more set his 
 conscience right, without God's law, than one at sea 
 can keep the true time without the sun ; night and 
 day, summer and winter, would soon get mixt and 
 confounded together. 
 
 John. — Eo, neither can the conscience any more be 
 a reliable guide without the Word of God to instruct 
 it, than the compass can set a ship's course without 
 
 3 Matt. xxii. 21. s Tit. i. 15. 
 
260 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 the needle. Indeed, it is no compass at all without 
 the needle. It would make the ship go round and 
 round as in a whirlpool. 
 
 Petee. — These are Corban-men, 4 such as Christ 
 hated. Has there ever been any kind of wickedness 
 on earth that has not been sanctified by law ? And, 
 truly, if human law could make a thing right, there 
 is no form of sin under the whole heaven that might 
 not be consecrated. Yea, verily, the Hebrew mid- 
 wives were bound to have killed all the Hebrew 
 children as soon as they were born, and the three 
 men ought to have bowed down to Nebuchadnezzar's 
 image as soon as it was set up, and Daniel himself 
 ought not to have made any prayer to any god or 
 man save the mad king, for thirty days. 
 
 John. — I have heard people say, in a hurrah for 
 an unjust war, Our country, right or wrong! Go it 
 blind ! ISTow that ignorant Pagans, who never heard 
 of God's "Word, and of the Christian religion, should 
 be ready to go it blind, would not be any wise aston- 
 ishing. But that a Judge in a Christian land should 
 teach such a doctrine is indeed amazing. God is not 
 in all his thoughts, and he would make atheists of all 
 the people, when he tells them they are to recognize 
 no law of higher social obligation than the constitu- 
 
 4 Markvii. 11. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 261 
 
 tion of their country, and the laws made in pursu- 
 ance of it. 
 
 Peter. — This is the ready way to sanction and 
 perpetuate all wickedness. The man who says this, 
 would bow down to Moloch in a land where Moloch's 
 worship is part of the constitution and laws of the 
 country. The man who teaches this must be a lineal 
 descendant from Cain, who was of that Wicked One, 
 and slew his brother ; for this teaching would slay 
 its ten thousands, while common wickedness would 
 only take its thousands ; and, indeed, a country must 
 be in danger of being abandoned by God, when its 
 judges utter such atheistic and monstrous prin- 
 ciples. 
 
 John. — Well, there is no knowing to what lengths 
 Satan may carry a man if God once gives him over 
 into his power. He will go it blind, then, with a 
 vengeance ; and, indeed, it is the devil's own blind- 
 ness when men can be got to believe that human law 
 takes the place of God's, and is supreme over the 
 conscience. Methinks a people that can be tricked 
 in that way will not long keep their liberties in any 
 thing. It is next door to bowing down to stocks and 
 stones. He feedeth on ashes ; a deceived heart 
 hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his 
 soul, nor say Is there not a lie in my right hand t 
 
 8 Is. xliv. 20 
 
262 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 Peter. — It makes me think likewise of the word 
 of the prophet, that the vile person will speak 
 villainy, aiid his heart will work iniquity, to practise 
 hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord ; to 
 make empty the soul of the hungry. 6 But God says, 
 Thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked, 
 therefore, judgment and justice shall take hold on 
 thee. 7 Do you imagine that those who thus handle 
 the Word of God deceitfully, and make the law of 
 God of none effect, can escape the damnation of hell ? 
 They are kinsfolk to the hypocrites and generation 
 of vipers, whom the Lord condemned to fill up the 
 measure of their iniquities, 8 and who were endured 
 only as vessels of wrath fitted for destruction. 9 
 
 At this time the watch reported a sail to the 
 North, and looking with the glass, they judged her 
 to be a whaler, perhaps on a return cruise ; so they 
 shortened sail, and lay the ship on such a course as 
 to meet her, if she were so disposed. And it was not 
 long before they came near enough to hold some 
 conversation. She was a clumsy, dingy, gloomy- 
 looking craft, and seemed a slow sailer, though stout 
 and strongly built. The first question came from the 
 Captain, through his trumpet, for he seemed in great 
 haste to speak. 
 
 8 Is. xxxii. 6. 7 Job xxxvi. 17. 8 Matt, xxiii. 32, 33. 
 
 9 Rom. ix. 22. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 263 
 
 What cheer ? was his cry ; any whales, any blow- 
 ing, any oil ? 
 
 Then, said Peter, This ship is the King's own, and 
 bound to the Celestial Country. 
 
 Captain. — Oh, I understand. I'd be glad to go 
 there myself, if I had got my cargo. 
 
 Peter. — As to that matter, if you are emptied of 
 self, the less cargo you have, the better, except it be 
 the fruits of the Spirit. We brought nothing into 
 this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing 
 out. 10 
 
 Captain. — Well, for my part, I don't wish to carry 
 anything out, but only to have plenty while passing 
 through. But it takes a great deal for that. A man 
 can't live in this world for nothing. But some men 
 seem to have all the luck. Now have I been nigh 
 two years on expense all the time, and have caught 
 nothing. But I'm not going to be a fool always; 
 some day I mean to have the pearl of great price. 
 
 Peter.— If I am not much mistaken, you are one 
 of those who are always going to buy, but never 
 buying. After you have made this one voyage, then 
 you will set sail on the King's account. But the con- 
 venient time never comes, and, meanwhile, in most 
 cases the door is shut. What, if it should prove so 
 with you ? Is'nt it very likely ? 
 
 10 1 Tim. vi. 7. ll Malt. xxv. 10. 
 
264 
 
 Captain-. — Well, as to that matter, I honestly 
 confess that I am not without my fears and thoughts. 
 But just at this present I have neither time nor heart 
 for it, no room in my hold to stow it away. ~No ! I 
 don't even think of it, I know nothing of the subject ; 
 'tis all crowded out. I do believe, if I could only 
 catch a whale, I should be a pious man. I'll tell you 
 what ; I've been now more than twenty-one months 
 looking for whales, whales, whales, nothing but 
 whales. I have been ploughing the mighty deep in 
 search of whales, and I tell you I am bound to have 
 a whale, I must have one. And if you could look 
 into my heart, I believe you would see nothing but a 
 whale there. What can a man do ? It's my destiny 
 to have a whale. But if ever I get into port again, 
 I tell you I mean to take the first King's vessel I can 
 find ; for this is a dog's life, and I'm tired of it. 
 
 Peter. — If you have really a mind to quit it, you 
 may do it now. "We'll give you the best berth in the 
 Ship's company, if you'll come aboard. What's the 
 use of putting it off? You may never see land again, 
 nor have any other opportunity. 
 
 Captain. — ~No\ but I must have my whale. It 
 will never do to leave the voyage half finished. 
 
 Peter. — Aye, aye, always thus ! Suffer me first 
 to go and bury my father. 11 Had you not better 
 
 11 Matt. viii. 21. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDKUMS. 265 
 
 leave the dead to bury their dead, and attend to your 
 own business. 
 
 Captain.— Well, well, I'll think of it. 
 
 But just at that moment, the conversation was 
 interrupted by the man at the mast-head crying out, 
 There she blows ! being deceived by an appearance 
 at a great distance, like a jet of smoke rising from the 
 ocean. Whereupon, though it was out of all proba- 
 bility that they should encounter a whale in that 
 latitude and longitude, all on board seemed almost 
 crazy with the excitement. 
 
 Where away ? shouted the Captain. Three points 
 on her weather bow ! returned the mast-head. Then, 
 without seeming to be aware of the existence of 
 any other object on earth except the whale, he set 
 the vessel before the wind, and crowded all sail in that 
 quarter, to be for the hundredth time disappointed. 
 
 Peter and John gazed after her a little while in 
 silence; then, as her form receded from the vision, 
 That man, said Peter, will soon pass his last opportu- 
 nity, always reckoning on one more. Alas ! when 
 men's hearts are filled with a ruling passion, it makes 
 not much odds what it is ; it carries them away as 
 with a flood. 13 There is no standing against it. 
 
 But this business of whaling, said John, I have 
 always heard that it swallows men up as thoroughly 
 
 13 Psa. xc. 5. 
 
 12 
 
266 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 as ever the whale swallowed Jonah. 'Tis true that 
 they can think of nothing else. 
 
 Petek. — 'T would be the same thing with any other 
 business, provided the heart were set upon it. Ko 
 matter what it is ; ever so small, ever so large ; a 
 man may drown himself in his own garden-spring, as 
 well as in the ocean, if he will put his head under 
 water. 
 
 John. — But there are certain things that carry 
 men away as with a whirlwind. Just think of it ! I 
 have heard of the boat of a whaler being once 
 knocked several feet in the air, by a blow from the 
 tail of a fish to which it was fastened. Upon coming 
 down, the steersman fell into the whale's mouth, and 
 the teeth of the animal closed upon his leg. After 
 being in this terrible position for some time, he was 
 released, picked up by another boat, and carried on 
 board ; where, while preparations were making to 
 amputate his crushed limb, he was asked what he 
 thought of while in the whale's mouth ? "With the 
 utmost simplicity he replied, Why I thought she 
 would yield about sixty barrels ! 
 
 Petek. — That was nature. It would have been all 
 the same, if the poor fellow had been in the jaws of 
 death. But he would have made a noble seaman for 
 the King, if he could have been persuaded. Such a 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 267 
 
 narrow escape sometimes changes a man from stem 
 to stern entirely. 
 
 John. — And sometimes it leaves him just where he 
 was before. 'Tis according to grace, for one is taken, 
 and another left, though the King is ready to take all. 
 Peter. — But there are strange providences. Do 
 you remember the wonderful preservation of that 
 drunken sailor, between the jaws of a tiger and an 
 alligator ? 
 
 John. — Perhaps I may have heard. But tell it 
 again. 
 
 Peter. — Why, he was in that dark part of the 
 King's dominions called Africa, where wicked men 
 and devils waxed worse and worse, trading in slaves 
 and the souls of men. It was the coast of Guinea, in 
 a river called Congo, where, in a state of intoxication, 
 the man went in to bathe. But he had not been 
 swimming many minutes, when the men aboard ship 
 discovered an alligator making after him. By firing 
 guns and shouting, they succeeded in rousing the man 
 to an understanding of his danger, when he began to 
 swim, with all his strength, for the nearest point of 
 the shore. It was a place like a jungle for wild 
 beasts, and in fact there was a ferocious tiger in the 
 thicket among the canes, watching him. Just as the 
 man neared the shore, and was about to spring out of 
 the water, the huge alligator from behind had over- 
 
268 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 taken him, and would certainly have seized him ; but 
 at that very instant, the tiger, making a spring to- 
 wards him, encountered, instead of the man, the jaws 
 of the alligator, and a fierce conflict ensued between 
 them, which ended in the tiger being overcome, and 
 drawn down to the bottom, while the man, trembling 
 and half dead with terror, escaped. He was carried 
 on board, thoroughly sobered, and the moment he 
 reached the deck, he fell down on his knees in the 
 presence of them all, and gave thanks to God for his 
 preservation, and from that time to the hour when the 
 good man that afterwards told the story was writing 
 the account of it, he was never again seen in the 
 least degree intoxicated, nor ever was heard to utter 
 a single oath. If there ever was a reformed creature, 
 they believed that that sailor was the man. 
 
 John.— Well, that was a wonderful case, certainly, 
 but not more so than one, the account of which I can 
 give you almost in the words of the sailor himself, 
 who became one of the King's own seamen. There 
 were two large ships in company, with soldiers from 
 certain regiments aboard each, and they were about 
 crossing the line, and being nearly a mile apart, on a 
 fine day, the soldiers and crew of both ships got leave 
 to have a swim. So that this sailor that I speak of 
 plunged in, with a great many more. Meantime, one 
 of the swimmers from the other ship, with a bottle of 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDEUMS. 269 
 
 rum in his hand, swam out from the rest, and chal- 
 lenged any one of the other ship's company to meet 
 him half way. The sailor that I speak of, being a dar- 
 ing swimmer, struck out with a soldier in company, 
 but none of the rest dared go. They had got to 
 about the distance of half a mile from the ship, when 
 the mate in the rigging saw a shark, and called out 
 to the men to come aboard. Then you may be sure 
 there was a panic, and those that were the nearest, 
 obeyed with all haste for their lives, and a boat was 
 lowered for the rest, but still the soldier and the 
 sailor were left swimming. 
 
 JSTow a hook had been baited with a great piece of 
 pork, and thrown overboard, in hopes of decoying 
 the shark from the men, but it seemed as if he steered 
 straight for them, and by the time they reached the 
 ship, and got hold of a rope, the shark was just be- 
 neath them. The weight and jerks of the men broke 
 the rope loose, and both plunged again into the sea 
 alongside the monster. Nevertheless, the sailor suc- 
 ceeded in getting round to the stern of the ship in 
 safety, and by another rope got on board. But the 
 poor soldier, being almost exhausted, was still in the 
 water, and the shark could be seen from the deck just 
 opening his mouth to snatch his prey. Then the 
 men shouted to the swimmer to kick with his feet 
 violently, which he did, and as a kind Providence 
 
270 A REEL IN A BOTTLE. 
 
 would have it, struck the shark on the nose, which 
 made the monster turn away for a moment, for you know 
 he is a great coward, and then the man was instantly 
 secured by a rope with a noose to it, and drawn on 
 board. So they were both saved, and the shark, dis- 
 appointed, encountering the bait that was dodging 
 about for him, seized hold upon that, so that the men 
 caught him fast and killed him. He measured near 
 sixteen feet, with a pair of jaws that could with ease 
 have craunched a good sized barrel. 
 
 Now this was a most merciful escape for both these 
 men, though I never heard that more than one of 
 them laid it seriously to heart. But as for the sailor, 
 all the thoughts about God and eternity that he had 
 ever known (for indeed he had been taught concern- 
 ing the things of religion in his childhood,) did come 
 crowding into his mind, and his being rescued from 
 that untimely death was the means of his enlisting 
 for the Celestial Country. 
 
 Peter. — Well, I would it had been so with the 
 other ; but ten to one he went on just as before. 
 
 John. — Perhaps he did ; for almost always, when 
 some believe, divers mock and are hardened ; and 
 even the very same providences are followed by dif- 
 ferent results in different persons. Some are set to 
 praying, others go on without prayer, just as before. 
 
 Peter. — Don't you know that by the very same 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 271 
 
 wind a ship may steer either North or South, East or 
 West, by nice trimming. 'Tis according to the will 
 that rules on board, and governs the course. Have 
 we not seen vessels scudding into the harbor, and 
 others standing out, by the same breeze ? Just so 
 by the same Word, and grace, and providence, some 
 men make for life, some for death, some for heaven, 
 some for hell. 
 
 John. — And pray tell me, if it be so, how may one 
 distinguish between an effectual calling, and the 
 ordinary calls of God's mercy, that every man has, 
 but not every man attends to ? 
 
 Peter. — How do you know when a ship is an- 
 chored ? Is it not when she brings up, and swings 
 round to the wind and current ? But if she drags her 
 anchor, or the bottom will not hold, or the cable is 
 parted, she drives on, and you know by her actions 
 that she is not anchored. Just so with a sinner that 
 is called of God. If he stops, swings round, and 
 brings up, then you know that God has anchored 
 him ; but if he drives on as before, all God's callings 
 are in vain. 
 
 John. — Well, that is plain enough ; but some 
 make a great mystery out of it, and puzzle them- 
 selves with the question whether they be of the 
 elect. 
 
 Peter. — Who knoweth that, or can tell it, abso- 
 
272 
 
 lutely, but God only ? The foundation of God stand- 
 eth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them 
 that are his ; and, Let every one, that nameth the 
 name of Christ, depart from iniquity. 14 Now even 
 we on earth can tell when we see this last seal shining, 
 just as men took note of the disciples, that they had 
 been with Jesus ; 16 but only God can see where he 
 has placed the first, or can tell all about it. But 
 the King says, By their fruits ye shall know them. 16 
 
 John — So you would say that where there are 
 fruits, there is an effectual calling, and that men 
 should be anxious first of all about the fruits, and the 
 question of the calling will be soon determined, or 
 will take care of itself. 
 
 Peter. — Why, certainly, if they be fruits of the 
 Spirit. If men see a ship loaded with spices or with 
 pine-apples, do they not know pretty nearly where 
 she came from? And if men see plainly in another 
 man the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 
 do they not know where he got it ? Why, truly, it 
 needs no great depth of theology, for it is plain sail- 
 ing, and any good seaman could make it out. When 
 a man truly obeys any of God's calls, that is an effec- 
 tual calling, and when a man himself calls earnestly 
 upon God, then he may be sure that God is effectually 
 calling him, for that is the way in which God's call 
 
 14 a Timothy, ii. 1 9. 15 Acts iv. 13. 1G Matt. vii. 16. 
 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 273 
 
 is known to have taken effect, and that only is effec- 
 tual, which hath such effect. 
 
 John. — So then, if a man pray earnestly, 'tis a 
 proof that God has hold ivpoD him, and will not 
 leave him. "Well, that is full of encouragement 
 to all that call upon God, and it minds me of 
 the saying, With s applications will I lead them. 17 
 For God reins up and guides his children with 
 prayer, as a man doth his mule with bit and bri- 
 dle, or as we would throw a cable on board a ship 
 which we were to take in tow, and fasten it to the 
 Capstan. So, if a man be possessed of the Spirit of 
 prayer, he may take it as a sure sign that God is with 
 him, that it was God who fastened his cable aboard 
 of him, and not he himself, and so he may be sure 
 that God will save him. 
 
 Peter. — He may, if he keep praying ; but if he 
 leave off praying, then instantly again he begins sin- 
 ning ; and then what proof hath he of God's mercy? 
 Why, then he hath rather proof that Satan is aboard 
 of him, not God, and that his adversary, the Devil, 
 hath a coil of rope upon him, the which he will not 
 find it easy to cast off. A man's success and cer- 
 tainty iii everything depends upon prayer, and every 
 blessing is promised to prayer. 
 
 John. — Well, for aught I see, it's the same as work- 
 
 17 Jer. 31.9. 
 
274 
 
 ing and willing, and God does it all, though under 
 God we do it also. He worketh in us both to will 
 and to do, according to his good pleasure. 18 If he 
 did not work in us, we should not work, so that if we 
 be truly working, this is the best proof that he is 
 working in us. It is not less his working, because we 
 work, nor is it less our working because he works, 
 but God is all in all. 
 
 Peter. — Yes! Just as we walk the deck, but it is 
 none the less the ship that carries us ; nor, because 
 the ship carries us, are we any the less really Walking. 
 So, though it be God's grace that carries us, and 
 works all good things in us, it is none the less we 
 ourselves that walk in God's grace, if indeed we are 
 his, if we are really alive in him. It is none the less 
 our life, because it is his life in us. But it is sweet to 
 trace all things to him, and to receive all things from 
 him. 
 
 John. — Well, if it is grace in the hull, it is grace 
 in the rigging also, and yet, at the same time we 
 have to be busy at that. It is the wind that fills the 
 sails, but we must work the sails. The wind might 
 blow, but to no good purpose for us, if the sails were 
 not hoisted. God gives some men both wind and 
 sails, and yet they do not work, and make no progress, 
 which is such a waste of God's gifts, that they had 
 
 18 Phil. 2. 13. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS 275 
 
 better never have had either, than make such an abuse 
 of them. 
 
 Peter. — I tell you, true faith and true works 
 always go together, and neither is true and genuine 
 without the other ; but faith is at the beginning, faith 
 comes first, and then works come out of faith, just as 
 a flower comes out of the bud, or the fruit of the 
 flower, and all out of the roots. So everything is of 
 the King's love and grace, and nothing good that 
 hath not its root in him. 
 
 It was exceeding fair and bright upon the sea, as 
 they continued these conversations, and the air had a 
 wondrous lightness and elasticity, so that it was a 
 joy to breathe. Moreover, they could see afar off 
 with great distinctness, and the jxrospect seemed to 
 stretch into infinitude. It was a pleasure to walk the 
 deck, and gaze, and meditate. It seemed almost as 
 if heaven had come down upon the deep, and the 
 waves danced in the light, as though they too were 
 intelligent and joyous creatures. The water also was 
 so clear, that far down in the depths the creatures of 
 the sea were visible ; huge fishes of the form of the 
 grampus could be seen sporting and gambolling, 
 exceedingly beautiful ; now darting with incredible 
 swiftness around the ship from stem to stern, now 
 shooting off at a distance, rising to the surface, cut- 
 ting the crest of a wave in the air, then returning 
 
276 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 and darting this way and that, and thus, as from 
 mere sportive delight, keeping company with the 
 ship a long time, as if they believed her to be a crea- 
 ture of the deep with themselves. Everything above, 
 below, around, seemed full of glory ; but as yet no 
 land was visible. 
 
 Their hymns of praise arose in the midst of all this 
 loveliness and beauty, whether at morning, noon or 
 night, with an indescribable richness and power of 
 melody. 
 
 Lord, my King, where'er Thou art, 
 Thy light is sweetness to my heart ; 
 Thee in all objects I would see, 
 By seeing all things, Lord, in Thee. 
 
 Hast Thou not lit the secret flame, 
 That burns in love at thy dear name ? 
 How else should I to thee aspire, 
 Or who could answer my desire ? 
 
 What can subdue my stubborn will, 
 Or keep me in obedience still ? 
 What power but thine, Almighty Lord 
 Thy Spirit, and thy Sovereign Word ? 
 
 Oh then redeem and set me free, 
 To find my happiness in Thee, 
 And fill me, from its source above, 
 With thy refining flame of love. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 277 
 
 Then shall I, with exulting mind, 
 Thy service perfect freedom find ; 
 My life, through all its days, be given 
 
 It was such a night as this, said Peter, the air soft 
 and balmy, the breeze gentle, the heavens serene and 
 cloudless, and the sea calm, that a sailor was once 
 walking the deck and admiring the loveliness of 
 nature, when suddenly and unaccountably the words 
 Pray- without-ceasing 19 came across his mind, or rather 
 darted upon it, as an arrow might dart from the sky, 
 created on the instant. Pray without ceasing ! The 
 utterance was so definite, and the impression so strong 
 and decisive, that he could not help repeating over 
 the words again and again, and asking himself where 
 he could have heard them. At length he recollected. 
 Seven years before, after a long absence from his 
 native land, he had returned with plenty of money, 
 and one day in the time of Divine Service strolled 
 into a large open Church in the great City, where 
 those words, just then uttered by the Minister, were 
 the only words distinctly heard and remembered by 
 the sailor amidst his idle curiosity. He had never 
 thought of them since. But now, in God's wonder- 
 working providence, by some mysterious association 
 with the cloudless heavens and the calm sea of this 
 
 19 1 Thess. v. 17. 
 
278 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 beauteous evening, the text came again into his mind, 
 and with it, the thought of that dread Being who had 
 commanded him to pray, and the conviction of his 
 own guilt in living without prayer ever since he had 
 been born. 
 
 From that moment the power of God was upon 
 him, his sins flashed upon his conscience, and the 
 thunder of the Divine law shook his heart. He fled 
 earnestly to prayer, found a Bible that had lain un- 
 touched in his chest for near twenty years, deposited 
 there by the careful hand of an anxious praying 
 mother ; he read, wept, prayed and prayed again, 
 and at length found mercy in the Lamb of God, who 
 taketh away the sin of the world. Such are some of 
 the wonders of God's providence, in bringing souls 
 from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto 
 God. Everything in nature, this twilight on the 
 deep, this azure starry sky, these purple waves, this 
 vast expanse of ocean, this serene and solemn still- 
 ness in the sparkling air, may prove a Word of God 
 to the soul whenever he pleases. 
 
 Thus, by one way or another, God will effectually 
 call those whom he hath chosen, and by his Word, 
 Providence, and Grace, will sanctify them. For we 
 know that all things work together for good, to those 
 who love God, who are the called according to his 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 279 
 
 purpose. 20 And by and by, all the grand steps in the 
 process shall be seen in all their sweetness, loveli- 
 ness, and glory. For whom he did foreknow, he also 
 did predestinate, to be conformed to the image of his 
 Son, and whom he did predestinate, them he also 
 called, and whom he called, them he also justified, 
 and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 21 And 
 well do we know, 
 
 Grace will complete what grace begins, 
 
 To save from sorrows and from sins; 
 The work that mercy undertakes 
 
 Eternal Wisdom ne'er forsakes. 
 
 20 Rom. viii. 28. 91 Rom. viii. 29, 80. 
 
CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 EXAMPLE, GRACE, AND GLORY. 
 
 Now, said John, all this is done only through the 
 power of his Cross ; yet there be some who affirm that 
 Christ Jesus came only to be our example, to lead us 
 on to goodness and to heaven. Do you not remem- 
 ber how many such there were in that country of 
 Self-Conceit, where we were once so bogged and 
 entangled, and nigh unto ruin ? 
 
 "Well now, answered Peter, that is just as good as 
 counting the blood of the covenant an unholy thing, 1 
 a perfectly waste thing ; and a strange enmity it is 
 that such persons have to the great and precious 
 truth of our dear Lord's sacrifice of himself for dying 
 sinners. 'Tis the sacrifice, and the grace attending it, 
 that does all. No example could ever have done 
 anything without that. Besides, the wonderful great- 
 ness and glory of the example itself is in Christ 
 
 : Heb. x., 29. 
 
A REEL IN A BOTTLE. 281 
 
 dying to save us. They who believe in his death, 
 and trust to that, follow his life, and are saved by his 
 life, and none others. His death, for us had to come 
 first, that we might be reconciled to God, and then, 
 and not till then, we can be saved by his life, or 
 drawn by his example. 
 
 John. — And that is what it means, when it says, 
 I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me. 2 
 'Tis the lifting up of Christ upon the cross, and the 
 preaching of his blood, his grace, for salvation. Any- 
 thing but this, hides the gospel, instead of revealing 
 it. Yea, if the example itself be lifted up before this, 
 or without this, 'tis a hiding of it ; and if the gospel 
 be hid, then the soul is lost ; or if any other gospel be 
 preached than that which is preached in the Word of 
 God, and the soul trusts to that, then it cannot be 
 made a partaker of the Spirit of Christ, nor be 
 changed into his image. 
 
 Peter. — ISTo, my brother, it is by manifestation of 
 the truth alone that the Spirit works this blessedness 
 in us, and if the truth be darkened, or the "Word of 
 God handled deceitfully, especially in reference to 
 Christ, then, and in that same degree this blessedness 
 becomes impossible ; for all imagined blessedness, 
 without the truth as it is in Jesus, is a mere delusion. 
 It is not light, unless it is seen in God's light ; and it 
 
 2 John, xii., 32. 
 
282 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 is not the fountain of life, except in Him, and in Him 
 only, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 3 
 
 John. — "Well, I wish that all the blind would see 
 it so. But seeing any other way than through the 
 death of Christ only makes men proud. The gospel 
 of the example is poor stuff indeed, without the gos- 
 pel of the cross. 
 
 Peter. — A man must come with the heart ; no man 
 can see with the understanding merely. Did you 
 never see a man with his spectacles raised upon the 
 top of his head, and lodged in his hair, going about 
 anxiously after his spectacles, declaring that he can- 
 not find his spectacles, and cannot see without them ? 
 Just this is the case with many a man who thinks he 
 is searching for truth. Men put their spectacles on 
 their heads, and then leave their hearts behind them, 
 and wonder that they cannot see, or perhaps deny 
 what they do not see. A great many men carry their 
 faith in the understanding merely, and then run 
 about, looking after their Christ and their religion 
 externally, when, if faith were in the heart, the king- 
 dom of God, and Christ who is its life and light, would 
 be found within them. And until it is there within 
 them, what can they know of a Saviour's dying love ? 
 
 John. — That is the very thing, for as I was saying, 
 some of them do not care to know ; they think little 
 
 3 John, xiv.j 6. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 283 
 
 or nothing of the death, and yet seem to make much 
 ado about the example. 
 
 Peter. — Example ! And what effect did that alone 
 ever have with self-willed, obstinate sinners ? Why, 
 it did not even prevent the very men, who saw the 
 glory of a divine example before them, from putting 
 the Saviour himself to death. Example ! Set exam- 
 ple before Behemoth ! He snuffeth at it. Behold, 
 he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not ; he trusteth 
 that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth. 4 Canst 
 thou bind the unicorn with the band of example in 
 the furrow, or will he harrow the valleys after thee ? 
 Wilt thou trust him, and leave thy labor to him, and 
 believe him, that he will gather thy corn into thy 
 barn? 5 
 
 John. — "Well, it is the same old unwillingness to 
 owe all to Christ. These men cannot bear to confess 
 and feel that they have nothing but sin to bring to 
 God ; they will have it that they can obey the ex- 
 ample of Christ, and make such obedience their 
 Saviour. 
 
 Peter. — But the example of Christ can do nothing 
 for us except by the grace of Christ. Those who 
 rejoice in Christ as their Saviour, by his sufferings 
 and death, and those only, love to follow his exam- 
 ple ; and they do it, not to purchase heaven, for the 
 
 4 Job. xl. 23. 5 Job. xxxix. 10-12. 
 
284 A REEL IN A BOTTLE. 
 
 Lord Jesus alone can purchase heaven for them, by 
 his own most precious blood, but out of gratitude and 
 love. Example, forsooth ! to those who do not feel 
 their guilt ! Can you draw Lamb's wool over the 
 eyes of a shark ? Will the Ethiopian change his 
 skin, or the Leopard his spots V Canst thou draw out 
 Leviathan with a hook ; canst thou bore his jaw 
 through with a thorn ? Will he speak soft words 
 unto thee ? Wilt thou bind him for thy maidens, or 
 take him for a servant forever ? Behold the hope of 
 him is vain. His heart is as firm as a stone ; yea, as 
 hard as a piece of the nether millstone. 7 And just 
 so vain is the force of mere example in the heart of 
 an unbelieving sinner. 
 
 John. — Yery true. And after all our provisions 
 and our efforts, 'tis all of grace still. Have we not 
 the King's Chart? And can we not trace the course 
 of noble old ships upon it, that went safely all the 
 way ? But is that enough for us ? Will that fill 
 our sails with wind % Will that carry us onward ? 
 Who can do that but God only? 'Tis sweet to 
 have Christ for our guide, and to be commanded 
 to walk in his steps, and to have the same mind 
 in us which was also in Christ Jesus, 8 and to arm 
 ourselves also with his mind. 9 And furthermore, 
 beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we 
 
 6 Jer. xiii. 23. 7 Job xli. 1-5 ; 9, 24. 8 Phil. ii. 5. 9 1 Pet. iv. 1. 
 
FOR JACK W THE DOLDRUMS. 285 
 
 shall be changed into the same image from glory to 
 glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 10 
 
 Petek. — Yes indeed ! You have got it now. And 
 when a poor sinner has fled to Jesus, with humble, 
 heartfelt sorrow for sin, and has thrown all upon him, 
 trusting in his death and righteousness, then he begins 
 to see his glory, and to be changed by it. But how 
 shall this ever be except by the same all-conquering 
 grace and love that brought the King of Glory down 
 to die for mortals ? Of this we might and must ever- 
 lastingly despair, if left to ourselves, and thrown upon 
 our own resources. 
 
 For though the example of such infinite excellence 
 comes to us in human form, and though the Divine 
 glory and majesty are so veiled, that we may not be 
 dazzled and overwhelmed by it, but may come into 
 an acquaintance with it, and may measure ourselves 
 by it in Christ Jesus, yet we are so entirely alien from 
 such a spirit, so bent and deformed against it, so 
 native and inveterate in selfishness, that it will have 
 no more effect upon us, than whistling will have upon 
 the wind. You might as well attempt to fasten 
 the anchor to the main truck and hold the ship by it. 
 
 Furthermore, we are so plunged and lost in the 
 ocean of our guilt and wo, without the blood of Christ, 
 that such an example even as his, would have no more 
 power with us, to draw us up, and save us, except for 
 
 10 2 Cor. iii. 18, 
 
286 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 that blood, than the sight of a phalanx of resplendent 
 angels, hovering over the deeps of hell, would have 
 upon its depraved, despairing inmates. For there 
 would be no more hope for us, without the blood of 
 Christ, than for them ; and the bare sight of such an 
 example could be of no more avail for us, than it 
 would be for a shipwrecked mariner, left alone and 
 struggling all night long, in mid-ocean, to behold, 
 with clearest vision, the unclouded* sun rising out of 
 the horizon, and flaming over the sea. If indeed he 
 could take the beams of the sun for his chariot, if he 
 could lay hold upon those shafts of morning rays, that 
 fall upon him only to light up his misery, and reveal 
 more clearly his hopeless, irremediable ruin, then 
 indeed might the glory be to him not a vision of de- 
 spair merely, but a medium of salvation. 
 
 John. — "Well, and just such a power, just such a 
 medium, is Christ's dying love, if a sinking sinner 
 will but gaze upon him dying, will but look and 
 live. 
 
 Peter. — Yea, even so. And now suppose that as 
 the orb of day blazes over the waste of waters, and 
 the eye of the sinking, despairing, dying, shipwrecked 
 man takes in at once both the glory of the scene, and 
 the extent and certainty of his own ruin, the rays of 
 light assume a power and form within him, enter 
 into his soul, irradiate and envelope his frame, play 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 287 
 
 upon his shoulders as wings, and give him a feeling 
 and capacity of such conscious energy and impulse, 
 that gazing earnestly and intently upon the rising 
 light, he finds its pinions unfolding from his body, 
 bearing him up above the deep into which he was 
 plunging, and giving him the disposition and the 
 power to soar like an Albatross, and fly to some hos- 
 pitable shore of safety. You will say that this would 
 be a miracle ; and yet, even this would be but an 
 image of that change by the grace of a dying Saviour, 
 when the guilty, perishing soul beholds him with a 
 believing heart ; a faint image of that investiture of 
 glory and of power, with which every despairing, 
 dying sinner is clothed, the moment the Sun of Right- 
 eousness rises on the soul ; that mighty transforma- 
 tion into the capacity of imitating Christ, and that 
 participation in the reality of his own holiness, which 
 takes place with every guilty soul, the moment it will 
 but look to Christ with humble faith, casting all on 
 him. Then the chains drop off, then the powers and 
 impossibilities of a selfish and inveterate depravity 
 are conquered, then Christ himself begins to be 
 formed within the soul the hope of glory, then it 
 rises from the depths of guilt, ruin, and despair, then 
 it tries its pinions, and finds them, in humble depend- 
 ence on the Saviour, bearing it up above the waves, 
 soaring away with it towards holiness, and heaven, 
 
288 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 and everlasting glory. This is dying love, this is the 
 power of the sight by faith of a suffering, bleeding, 
 dying Christ, the sight of the Saviour's blood, this is 
 redeeming grace and glory. And this is just the 
 experience of every guilty soul that flies to Jesus. 
 
 For God has breathed upon a worm, 
 
 And given me from above 
 Wings such as clothe an angel's form, 
 
 The wings of joy and love. 
 
 "Well, answered John, after silently musing a few 
 moments, You have taken a high flight in your 
 thoughts, this time, almost out of the reckoning of 
 many a sailor, at least in the trim and spread of 
 your canvas ; but it is all true. There is nothing 
 that can be said about the love of Christ to dying 
 sinners, that reaches a hundred thousandth part of 
 the way to the beginning of its greatness. And, 
 therefore, great and godly Paul, when he sets forth, 
 by the Spirit, the steps of this flight, this flying lad- 
 der up to glory, up to the unsearchable riches of 
 Christ, begins with praying That we may be strength- 
 ened with might by His Spirit in the inner man, that 
 Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith. 11 There's 
 the wings ! Christ in us the hope of glory. 12 Christ 
 formed within us, That we, being rooted and ground- 
 ed in love, might be able to comprehend with all 
 
 12 Eph. Hi. 17. "Col. i. 27. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 289 
 
 saints what is the length, and breadth, and depth, 
 and height, and to know the love of Christ, which 
 passeth knowledge, that we might be filled with all 
 the fulness of God ! 13 There's the wings ! And, oh, 
 how wonderful, how glorious ! There, too, is the 
 amazing flight, passing all knowledge, and never 
 ended, till it is lost in all the fulness of God, and still 
 again never ended, but on, on, on, from height to 
 height, from depth to depth, from glory to glory, to 
 all eternity ! 
 
 That ancient Singer whose heart had music in it, 
 and whose songs have cheered many a Seaman on 
 his course for the Celestial Country, had a view of it 
 when he sang so sweetly, — 
 
 I'll praise my Maker with my breath, 
 And when my voice is lost in death 
 
 Praise shall employ my nobler powers. 
 My days of praise shall ne'er be past, 
 While life, and thought, and being last, 
 
 Or immortality endures. 
 
 8 Eph. iii. 18, IS. 
 
 13 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PRAYER, PROVIDENCE, AND FAITH. 
 
 The morning after this talk, it was blowing heavily. 
 During the night the change had come, for though 
 the weather was still clear, and not one speck of 
 cloud to be seen, and the stars shining intensely 
 bright through the deep, unfathomable blue, yet the 
 wind had come with fury, none could tell where 
 from, and now had got to a gale, and the sea was 
 high, and the ship uneasy. Some of the men had 
 been busy aloft during the night, shortening sail ; for 
 the day before, and at sunset, all sail had been 
 crowded, the wind and weather being so perfectly 
 fair and prosperous. In the morning, just as they 
 had finished clewing up and securing the fore and 
 main-top gallant sails, all on a sudden a startling 
 report was heard, like the firing of cannon, and the 
 fore-topsail split bodily, whereupon the men lay 
 out upon the yard, and had hard work reefing. 
 
FOB JACK IN THE DOLDEUMS. 291 
 
 They had scarcely got through with this, when the 
 main-royal blew loose from the rigging with another 
 explosion, and flapped and banged like the wings of 
 a demon, as if it would tear the mast out of the ship's 
 centre. Here was a double piece of work, and not 
 without danger ; and all hands sprung aloft to get in 
 the royal, and send down the yard. But the wind 
 blew so furiously, that it almost held the men fast 
 bolted to the spars and rigging, and they had the 
 greatest difficulty to secure their work. 
 
 So they drove on for a while, still under a good 
 press of sail, considering the fury of the elements, 
 and perhaps too rashly, had they continued it, though 
 Peter and John were not afraid of the wind, so long 
 as they could hold on safely, and keep the ship quick 
 answering to her helm. However, the order soon 
 came, Let fly the topsail halyards ! Haul upon the 
 clew-lines ! and the men, as quick almost as the words, 
 lay aloft, and got upon the yards, while the ship lay 
 at such an angle in the water, that it seemed as if 
 they would be buried in the deep. 
 
 But while this was going on, one of the foot-ropes 
 gave way, where the men were reefing, and one of 
 them, who just at that moment had no hold on the 
 reefing point or life-line, fell sheer over headlong 
 into the raging sea. But by a gracious providence, 
 before ever the shout could be raised, A man over- 
 
292 
 
 board ! Peter saw him as he fell, and with a sudden 
 and almost incredible dexterity, cast forth the end of 
 a coil of strong rope, called Grace-to-Help-in-Time-of- 
 Neecl, 1 in such a direction, that before the ship had 
 shot ahead too far, the man succeeded in catching it, 
 and getting a turn round his body, or otherwise it 
 seemed as if he must certainly have been lost. But 
 the rope held, and the man clung to it, though half 
 drowned, and in a moment he was drawn on board, 
 thanking God for such a merciful preservation. 
 
 Now when the wind abated, and they talked over 
 this matter, they could not help remarking on the 
 good providence of the man's fall happening by day- 
 light, when Peter could see him ; for if it had been at 
 night, and no help instantly at hand, he could not 
 have been saved, with the ship driving so swiftly. It 
 made all the men feel anew their dependence on God, 
 and the importance of being prepared, every moment, 
 for anything that might happen ; for a sailor's life is 
 so exposed to danger and death, that he needs to 
 have all made tight for a better world, and to live in 
 unceasing faith and prayer. And whether he is 
 reefing sail in a storm, or dog-watching in fair wea- 
 ther, or what not, he ought to be keeping his mind 
 anchored according to that great rule of Paul, by the 
 Spirit, In everything by prayer and supplication, 
 
 1 Heb. iv. 16. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 293 
 
 with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known 
 unto God, and the peace of God, which passeth all 
 understanding, shall keep your heart and mind 
 through Christ Jesus. 2 
 
 Then said Peter, The Lord upholdeth all that fall, 3 
 and if never a sparrow falleth to the ground without 
 our Father, 4 how much more, never a man. And 
 God saith, A just man falleth seven times, and riseth 
 again, 5 but the Lord only can make him stand. The 
 longer we live, the more we see of God's interposi- 
 tion. And what says David, Wilt not thou deliver 
 my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in 
 the light of the living V Thus did he pray unto God, 
 and God answered him Yes, for he saith afterwards, 
 
 1 was brought low and he helped me. Return unto 
 thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bounti- 
 fully with thee. For thou hast delivered my soul 
 from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from 
 falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of 
 the living. 7 So He keeps us. 
 
 I think, said John, that both the sovereignty and 
 the particular providence of God are very precious to 
 every true seaman ; and in truth, these things consti- 
 tute the security of our hope ; for God can and will 
 
 2 Phil. iv. 7. 3 Ps. clxv. 14. 4 Matt. x. 29. 5 Prov. xxiv. 16. 
 
 6 Ps. lvi. 13. 7 Ps. cxvi. 6-1 0. 
 
294: A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 do as lie pleases, and will save us, if he chooses to do 
 so, whatever enemies may oppose. 
 
 Peter. — Yes, but some men make both these things 
 stumbling blocks, and reasons of offence and fault- 
 finding, and others plead both the sovereignty and 
 the special providence of God in excuse for their own 
 stupidity. 
 
 John. — But they never do this when once they 
 begin to be in earnest. 'Tis a bank of fog, in which 
 Satan wraps the soul, but the moment a man begins 
 to cry out, Lord save me, I perish, then the fog 
 breaks, and the soul advances. A man may have 
 been as undecided, fitful, doubtful, as the wind in the 
 Variables, but the moment he really begins to pray, 
 there is a resolution and decision of his whole being. 
 The first hearty, agonizing prayer brings him at once 
 to his moorings. 'Tis like the mooring of a great 
 ship. Suppose one end of your cable were secure on 
 shore, but the other end only in your own hands, 
 loosely, like a man's mere thoughts about prayer, like 
 his evanescent feelings, or his coming and going 
 anxieties concerning heaven and hell ; neither you, 
 nor all the crew on board could hold on to the cable 
 so, or hold the ship by it. But suppose you take a 
 turn with the cable round the capstan, why then you 
 have done something ; and that is like the fastening 
 of prayer. There may be a great strain, and the 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDEUMS. 295 
 
 cable presses, starts, and is ready to give way under 
 the strong pressure ; but you take another turn, and 
 now you begin to be secure ; the cable will neither 
 start nor break, and the fixture to which it is fastened 
 is part of the ship's centre. You take another turn 
 still, and all is safe and quiet ; the vessel is moored. 
 And when this is once done, then the law of his God 
 is in the man's heart, and none of his steps shall 
 slide. 8 And even though he Ml, he shall not be 
 utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with 
 his hand. 9 Yea, and when the ship is at sea, though 
 a rope now and then should give way, and let him 
 down into the deep, yet there is also sudden grace 
 for sudden troubles, and grace to help in every time 
 of need. 
 
 Peter. — "Well, these are sweet promises, and wait- 
 ing upon God in prayer is the only way of working 
 the ship safely. But the way of a fool is right in 
 liis own eyes, 10 and he putteth darkness for light, and 
 light for darkness. 11 Moreover, there is a generation 
 that are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not 
 washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, 
 O how lofty are their eyes, and their eyelids are lifted 
 up. 12 Therefore God says, Trust in the Lord with all 
 your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. 13 
 
 8 Psa. xxxvii. 31. 9 Psa. xxxvii. 24. 10 Prov. xii. 15. 
 
 11 Is. v. 20. ia Prov. xxx. 12, 13. 13 Prov. iii. 5. 
 
296 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 Humility sees clearer, even in the darkness, than pride 
 when surrounded with light. 
 
 John. — There is one thing we may be sure of; if 
 we trust in the Lord, He will cause all things to 
 work together for our good ; and under this rule, for 
 it is God's own rule for his own providences, the 
 things that seem contrary at first often turn out best. 
 God sometimes leads his children by what seems to 
 them a very round about way, but the proverb then 
 holds good, that the longest way round is the shortest 
 way home. Travellers often endeavor to make short 
 cuts for themselves, across lots, but generally run into 
 trouble. We may think we are going straight for- 
 ward, almost upon an air line, but all of a sudden we 
 are brought up against some mountain, and then we 
 must either coast it till we find God's way, or return 
 to the point where we started. Air lines are good 
 things for calculation, but they can very seldom be 
 travelled upon. The North Star is good for naviga- 
 tion, but from any one point to any other point under 
 the North Star, a man can seldom sail in a straight 
 direction. A man may have to make many a tack, 
 and in going North, he may sometimes have to make 
 Easting, and sometimes Westing. 
 
 Peter. — That is true ; and it takes a great many 
 things to constitute experience. The children of 
 Israel might have gone in a straight line from Egypt 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 297 
 
 to Canaan in one month, but God's way for them cost 
 them forty years. God . regards not what we wish, 
 bat what we need ; not what is of quickest enjoyment 
 for us, but what is most for our permanent good. . We 
 have to be guided in a great many things by circum- 
 stances ; and one of the greatest trials of character 
 here on earth is in the use of circumstances, whether 
 a man will bend them for God, whether a man's 
 supreme end shall be guided by circumstances, or 
 whether, having his end in God and heaven, he will 
 simply make use of circumstances to aid him in 
 reaching that end. A great many persons put cir- 
 cumstances instead of the end, and spend their whole 
 life at the half-way house. Many get no further in 
 their earthly pilgrimage than the World's Fair, or 
 the Crystal Palace, where they go into business, 
 which, instead of being a circumstance in the pil- 
 grimage, becomes its main end, till all thought of 
 the Celestial City is abandoned. Now all the em- 
 ployments and concerns of life are but circumstances, 
 not substances ; means only, not ends. They are 
 transitory, and we are only passing by them, and our 
 use of them is but momentary ; and God would have 
 us every day live as pilgrims, as sojourners, who 
 have here no continuing City, but who seek one to 
 come. 14 
 
 14 Heb. xiii. 14. 
 
 13* 
 
298 A EEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 John. — Fow that is just where God's providence, 
 as well as his word directeth us, if we know how to 
 use it right. But alas, there be many so blinded, 
 that thej cannot look up ; and the labor of the foolish 
 wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not 
 how to go to the City. 15 They can see the things 
 temporal, but not the unseen and eternal. A man 
 dwelling • a long time in a cave or dungeon where 
 there is no sunlight, can see everything there, can see 
 the insects .and their movements, the spiders and 
 their webs ; but if you were to take him into the open 
 day, he would be quite blind, he could not see nor 
 bear the sun. And so it is with men long buried in 
 the things of this world, with hearts set upon them, 
 instead of the things of another world. They can see 
 nothing else, neither God, nor Christ, nor heaven, nor 
 grace, nor providence. 
 
 Peter. — "Well, in regard to providence there is too 
 much of this blindness every day in those who ought to 
 know better, and ought to understand the meaning of 
 God's discipline with them. God sometimes has to put 
 his own children in the carriage of his providence, and 
 drive them on, they know not whither. They tell him 
 they want to reach such or such a point. They think, 
 if they had their own way, they could drive straight, 
 but they would speedily overset the carriage. But 
 
 15 Eccles. x. 15. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDEUMS. 299 
 
 God leads the blind by a way that they know not, 16 
 and their trust must be in him that leadeth them, con- 
 tent to leave the management of their affairs wholly 
 in his hands. If in all their ways they acknowledge 
 him, then he will direct their steps, 17 and Oh, how 
 happy such a life, with every step ordered by the 
 Lord! 
 
 John. — A man must walk closely with God by 
 prayer, and then God will walk closely with him in 
 providence. Many a seaman has found that out, to 
 his great content and joy, and has come to know by 
 sweet experience, in a great many things, the truth 
 of the rule that all things shall work together for 
 good. 18 There was a case that I will tell you of, about 
 an anchor. One of the King's Captains once had a 
 commission to sail a ship with some ugly hands on 
 board, that cared more for swearing than they did 
 for praying, and two of them were of the Man of 
 Sin and Son of Perdition, believing nothing but their 
 own Corporation. Now before the King's Captain 
 would set sail, he made particular examination, as 
 was always his custom, to see if all things were right 
 and in good trim on board, and when he came to the 
 cable of the kedge anchor, there was something in 
 his mind that told him to have a new cable bent on 
 to that anchor. It was not that he found anything 
 
 16 Isa. xlii. 16. 17 Prov. iii. 6. 18 Rom. viii. 28. 
 
300 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 in that cable out of order, but still there was some- 
 thing that made him very uneasy, and he could not 
 be satisfied to set sail till he got a new cable ; and 
 though it took some time, he would get a new strong 
 cable bent on to the kedge anchor instead of the 
 old one. So they set sail. 
 
 Well, it so happened that after a safe voyage all 
 across the ocean, they came to anchor in a great road- 
 stead where there were more than a hundred vessels 
 anchoring beside themselves, for it was a place much 
 frequented by ships, though by no means a safe har- 
 bor in a storm, as the event proved. For it came on 
 to blow with such fury, that almost all the ships 
 dragged their anchors, and a great many went on 
 shore and were dashed to pieces. It was an awful 
 night, for the gale rose to a terrible tempest, and they 
 had out the best bower anchor and the kedge anchor, 
 not knowing but both would fail, and indeed expect- 
 ing it, and that all on board must perish ; for even 
 amidst the darkness and roar of the tempest they 
 could see that the ships in every direction were break- 
 ing from their moorings, and were wrecked without 
 remedy, and they looked for the same fate. Espe- 
 cially they began to despair, when the cable of the 
 bower anchor parted, and the ship was frightfully 
 tossed and laboring, and held from immediate de- 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRTJMS. 301 
 
 s traction only by the kedge anchor. If that cable 
 gave way, they were certainly lost. 
 
 And now the poor miserable creatures on board, 
 who had been swearing and ridiculing the Captain's 
 prayers all the way across the ocean, began to cry 
 out for mercy ; and even the two Pope's men came to 
 the Captain, for they knew he was a man of prayer, 
 and besought him to have a prayer-meeting. So he 
 told them that they ought to have learned to pray 
 before this, if they would find God's mercy in the 
 hour of danger. However, he got them together, and 
 prayed with them, and though the gale blew on, all 
 through the night with unabated fury, still, to their 
 great joy, the kedge anchor held, and the cable was 
 not parted. And now the Captain looked back to 
 God's providence, and bethought him that if he had 
 not been led, and constrained, as it were, of God, to 
 put a new strong cable to that kedge anchor, they 
 must before this have gone to pieces. 
 
 The daylight came, and with it a dreadful scene of 
 wreck and ruin all around them, while they themselves 
 were safe. But what was the great wonder of the provi- 
 dence was this, that when the gale at length abated, 
 and they drew up the kedge anchor that had held them 
 from destruction, which they had great difficulty to 
 do, they found banging to it one of the most enor- 
 mous anchors they had ever beheld ; and they found 
 
302 A REEL IN A BOTTLE. 
 
 that their comparatively little hedge anchor had, by 
 God's wonderful directing providence, when they 
 first came to anchor, slipped one of its flukes right 
 through the bolt of the big anchor, and there held 
 fast, and that was the sole reason why, when almost 
 every other vessel in that roadstead had dragged 
 her anchors, and either perished or been greatly 
 injured, their ship had held, and held only by the 
 hedge. 
 
 And now the Captain and all on board saw 
 indeed why it was that he had been led to have that 
 new strong cable bent on to the hedge instead of the 
 bower. And they were so affected by this instance 
 of God's providential care and great mercy, that they 
 could not help weeping. And I hope that even 
 those two Pope's men from that time began to pray, 
 and to pray to the true God instead of the Virgin 
 Mary. O, there is nothing like being suspended 
 over the mouth of death and hell, to make men feel 
 the need of prayer ! And O the happiness of trusting 
 in the Lord daily, and having him for our God, who 
 can and will cause all things to work together for our 
 good. 
 
 They found, on measuring the ring bolt of the 
 big anchor, in which the keclge had caught, that it 
 was just barely of a size for the fluke to pass through ; 
 so that, if it had been the bower anchor instead of 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 303 
 
 the kedge that caught, it could not have held them. 
 The big anchor had perhaps been lost there a great 
 while before by some man-of-war. 
 
 Well, said Peter, What man in his right senses 
 can ever deny a particular superintending providence ? 
 A man might as well be a fool, and done with it, 
 saying in his heart, There is no God. 19 I knew a 
 young sailor aboard ship, that had gone through a 
 thousand perils of storm and rough weather, one fine 
 pleasant day within a hair's breadth of death while 
 ^isurely working. He had been aloft all the after- 
 noon, nearly, very busily at work, and for as much as 
 an hour he was standing on the fore-top-gallant yard, 
 which was hoisted up, and hung only by the tie. 
 And when he had got through his work, he brailed up 
 his yarns, took his sewing-board in his hand, and 
 laid hold deliberately of the top-gallant rigging, and 
 had only taken one foot from the yard, and was just 
 lifting the other, when the tie parted, and down the 
 yard fell. 
 
 One instant longer, or if the tie had parted but 
 an instant sooner, he would have been thrown from 
 a height of ninety or a hundred feet overboard, 
 or perhaps on deck, which must have been instant 
 death. But he was safe, as a good providence 
 would have it, by his hold upon the rigging, though 
 
 19 Ps. xiv. 1. 
 
304 A KEEL EST A BOTTLE, 
 
 it made his heart beat quick, for he felt his danger. 
 A true King's seaman will never make a joke of such 
 narrow escapes, for he knows that often there is but 
 a step between him and death, 20 and that it is only 
 God's loving care that keeps him. 
 
 Upward I lift mine eyes 
 
 From God is all my aid ; — 
 
 The God who built the skies, 
 
 And earth and nature made : 
 
 God is the Towerjo which I fly 5 
 
 His grace is nigh In ev'ry hour. 
 
 My feet shall never slide 
 
 And fall in fatal snares 
 
 Since God my guard and guide, 
 
 Defends me from my fears. 
 Those wakeful eyes That never sleep, 
 Shall Israel keep When dangers rise. 
 No burning heats by day, 
 
 Nor blasts of evening air, 
 
 Shall take my health away, 
 
 If God be with me there : 
 Thou art my sun, And thou my shade, 
 To guard my head, By night or noon. 
 
 50 1 Sam. xx. 3. 
 
CHAPTER XYL 
 
 CAPTAIN GOOD-ENOUGH AND HIS CARGO. 
 
 Eow in the midst of all this lovely weather and 
 scenery, a ship one day hove in sight towards even- 
 ing, and as they saw her against the horizon, which 
 was now naming with light, it seemed as though she 
 were on fire with a blaze of glory, and they even 
 doubted, sometimes, if she were not floating in the 
 heavens. But after watching her for awhile, it was 
 evident they were gaining on her, and at length by 
 the glass they could pretty clearly not only distin- 
 guish her flag, which was the King's flag, but also 
 were enabled to make out the sign on her stern, 
 which was neither more nor less than Good Works 
 from the Town of Self-Righteousness. At this dis- 
 covery they were quite in a maze, but Peter observed 
 at length, Good Works, good works ! 'Tis a good 
 sign, if well used, according to faith and godliness ; 
 but that Town I know of old, as a place that hath 
 
306 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 bred many distempers against the King and his ordi- 
 nances. It is a place, where they will not so much 
 as admit the right of the King to save them on his 
 own account, and even when the King's recruiting 
 officer is asking for seamen, they have been known to 
 maintain a quarrel among themselves, whether it was 
 they that offered first to go, or he that called them. 
 
 Moreover, all the merchants and shipbuilders of 
 that place enter into an imaginary running balance with 
 the King, of debt and credit, maintaining that they 
 have capital of their own, for the possession and use 
 of which the King is bound to allow an original 
 claim upon him for salvage. So they come into his 
 books (that is, as they say) half by right, half by 
 mercy, and all that they carry, or make, on any voy- 
 age, they put down to their own credit first, to the 
 King's afterwards ; and they are very jealous of leav- 
 ing anything to him, but always want a mortgage 
 executed on their own virtues, never admitting them- 
 selves to be bankrupt. 
 
 John. — But will the King have anything to do 
 with such persons, or does he ever save by halves? 
 
 Peter. — Oh, they think so. And besides they 
 seem to think that they do honor to the King in en- 
 tering into such a partnership, and keeping the firm 
 under his name. 
 
 John. — Well, the son of the bond-woman shall not 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDKUMS. 307 
 
 be heir with the son of the free-woman. 1 If they are 
 of the Law, they cannot be of the King; and this 
 would I learn in regard to them, whether they re- 
 ceived the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the 
 hearing of faith. 2 
 
 Peter. — I much fear they have never received the 
 Spirit at all, for the Spirit would lead to faith and love, 
 and a hearty submission of all things to the King, 
 especially renouncing their own boasted righteousness. 
 Good works are good things for necessary uses, 3 and 
 to prove the truth and goodness of one's faith, and 
 there can be no true faith without them ; but if good 
 works are put first, and are built upon for salvation, 
 it is just as if you should plant a tree with the 
 branches downwards, and the roots sticking up and 
 abroad in the air. For it is nothing but Christ and 
 his love, and faith in him, that can produce good 
 works, according to that he hath told us, Abide in 
 me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit 
 of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, 
 except ye abide in me. 4 Moreover, the very faith 
 that produces the good works is also the gift of God, 
 so that there can be no boasting, but it is forever 
 excluded, and all is of God's undeserved mercy. 5 
 
 John. — "Well, let us speak the ship, and we can 
 
 1 Gal. iv. 30. 2 Gal. iii. 2. 3 Titus iii. 14. 
 
 4 John xv. 4. 5 Eph. ii. 8. 
 
308 A EEEL IN - A BOTTLE, 
 
 soon tell what her hope is, and how far she answers 
 to her title. She maketk a fair show at any rate. 
 
 Now at length they come within hailing distance 
 of the stranger, and forthwith she made her course 
 known as for the Celestial Country, and the Captain 
 courteously invited Peter and John to come on board, 
 Thereupon they determined to do so ; and there be- 
 ing a light breeze and a smooth sea, the two ships 
 meanwhile kept an easy course nearly alongside. 
 
 On coming aboard, they found the captain of the 
 ship was named Captain Goodenough, and they 
 found him a very polite and gentlemanly man, so 
 long as they gave in to his pretensions. The men in 
 the forecastle called him by a nick-name, Old Climb- 
 up, from a habit which he had while a sailor, of 
 going up the masts by the long rigging, instead 
 of the shrouds, and always coming down by the 
 run. 
 
 They found also that though the King's flag was 
 hoisted, yet the Captain had no commission from the 
 King, nor had ever applied for one. but that the ship 
 had been sent out as a private adventure, with a 
 cargo, which they relied upon for acceptance in the 
 Celestial Country. So Peter and John desired to 
 look at the cargo, and accordingly, Captain Good- 
 enough opened the hatches, and took great pleasure 
 \ showing many of the parcels, which were easy to 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 309 
 
 be come at, there being no heavy or lumbering 
 articles, except what had been thrown in for ballast. 
 
 The first goods he showed were a set of boxes, 
 carefully marked and arranged, such as Natural- 
 Affection — Good-Nature — Kindness-to-the-Poor — 
 Public-Spirit — Patriotism — Obedience-to-Law — Good- 
 Morals — a great assortment and variety of things, 
 held in much esteem in the town of Self-Righteous- 
 ness. There were likewise along with these, certain 
 parcels of Sweet-Temper, Prudence, No-Harm, Good- 
 Neighborship, Punctuality, and other like things. 
 
 Peter. — These are all good in their place, re- 
 marked Peter, but you do not expect to present 
 these things for sale at the gates of heaven, do 
 you? 
 
 Capt. — And why not ? said the Captain. People 
 that possess these commodities must of necessity be 
 proved by them to have been too good to be shut out 
 of heaven. Where can they go? People that are 
 such good citizens and neighbors, such kind parents 
 and friends, so honest and upright, so strict in the 
 payment of their debts, certainly cannot be sent to 
 hell. 
 
 Peter. — But are those the terms on which heaven 
 is promised ? Did ever the King of the Celestial 
 Country make any such proclamation, as that honesty 
 to man would be accepted in heaven instead of love 
 
310 A REEL IN A BOTTLE. , 
 
 to God and faith in the Saviour. Moreover, that 
 which is highly esteemed among men is abomination 
 in the sight of God, for he looketh on the heart, and 
 he says, Te are they that justify yourselves before 
 men, but God knowetk your hearts. 5 There may be 
 all these virtues in a man's life, and yet in his heart 
 he may have neither love to God, nor faith in his 
 Redeemer, but a great opposition to both. But let us 
 go a little further. 
 
 In the next lot of boxes which they overhauled, 
 they noticed some that were marked on the top, This 
 side up, with care / which made them rather curious 
 in their inspection, and they found that underneath 
 they bore a very different appearance, as for example, 
 a box marked Generosity, This side up, was found 
 to have three private marks underneath, Love of Ap- 
 plause, Ostentation, Pride. A box marked Industry 
 and Frugality, was privately inscribed Covetousness, 
 and a box marked Gratitude, had, underneath, the 
 words Self-Congratulation and Joy. A parcel marked 
 on the top Self-Denial, This side up, with care, was 
 found underneath to be Self-Seeking. A bundle de- 
 scribed as Much Prayer, was written underneath, To 
 be seen of Men, and a package done up as Integrity, 
 was written underneath, In the fear of Man. 
 
 5 Luke xvi. 15. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 311 
 
 These tilings made Peter and John remember the 
 King's "Words, All their works they do to be seen of 
 men. 6 But when they attempted to ask Captain 
 Goodenough about them, it made him angry, and he 
 said hastily that the goods had the mark of their 
 owners upon them, and he knew no other ; but they 
 were as good as bullion. 
 
 Then they continued their examination only a little 
 longer, but found no small part of the cargo to be 
 occupied with Rudiments of the World, Ordinances, 
 Circumcisions, Baptisms, Commandments and Doc- 
 trines of men, and divers boxes of weak and beggarly 
 elements, 7 among which was a great box marked 
 Apostolical Successions, and another, Sacramental 
 and Ceremonial Regenerations. These things they 
 had not expected to find, and indeed Captain Good- 
 Enough said they did not belong to the regular cargo, 
 but were put in, or ordered aboard, at some of the 
 Only-True-Church Insurance Offices in the Town of 
 Self-Righteousness, for the sake of the underwriters. 
 As to the whole contents of the Ship, the Captain re- 
 marked that it was one of the best assortment of goods 
 that had ever gone out ofc the harbor. 
 
 Then said Peter, Captain Goodenough, I w r ould not 
 give a single barrel of the King's salt, or a junk of our 
 beef, for your whole cargo. If those that loaded this 
 
 e Matt, xxiii. 5. 7 Gal. iv. 9. 
 
312 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 ship intended to condemn her before-hand with the 
 King, they could not have taken a surer way. You 
 will have to cast your whole cargo overboard, and 
 throw i ourself, thus emptied, on the King's mercy, or 
 y 3u will be lost. This trumpery is worse, compared 
 with the gold, silver, and precious stones of the gos- 
 pel, than wood, hay, and stubble. 
 
 Then said the Captain, all things are not measured 
 by your standard, thank God. We have something 
 else besides fanatical notions of faith to go by. You 
 have put down human nature long enough, and it is 
 high time that virtue as is virtue should be acknow- 
 ledged, and a man should know his dignity. 
 
 Well, said Peter, if you will do it, take your own 
 risk, but we have delivered our souls. Beheld, we 
 tell you by the word of God, that if you trust in these 
 things, Christ shall profit you nothing. Christ is 
 become of none effect unto you, whosoever of you are 
 justified by the law ; ye are fallen from grace ; 8 yea, 
 ye make the grace of God in vain, 9 with your hold 
 full of such bundles of self-righteousness. You make 
 your pretended good works your saviour, and yet 
 profess to sail under the King's own flag. Don't you 
 see that this is adding hypocrisy to pride and self- 
 delusion? But it cannot prosper, for the bed is 
 shorter than that a man can stretch himself upon it 
 
 8 Gal. v. 4. » Gal. ii. 21. 
 
FOB JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 313 
 
 and the covering is narrower than that any man can 
 wrap himself up in it. 10 
 
 "Well, said the Captain, be that as it may, I cannot 
 think that all the men in our town were mistaken, 
 some of them the most respectable and wisest mer- 
 chants in the whole country. I think a man is tolera- 
 bly safe in such company. And 'tis not at all likely 
 that all their great pains in such a cargo should be 
 lost. There may be defects, as will happen with the 
 best ; but upon the whole, they can't but be accepted? 
 for God is merciful. 
 
 God is merciful indeed, cried John, so merciful, 
 that he gave his Son to die for sinners. 11 But did he 
 ever tell you, or any man in your town, that having 
 done this, he would save a man for his cargo, or 
 that any man could buy heaven with his cargo, or 
 that any man could rely upon his cargo for acceptance 
 and salvation, or indeed that he would ever save any 
 man in any way but by the blood of Jesus Christ, 
 that cleanseth from all sin ? 12 Is there any other way 
 but faith in Christ? And as to a man's company, 
 was Lot safe in Sodom ? They were very respectable 
 people in Sodom, in their way, with one another ; and 
 your standard, just like theirs, is one another's exam- 
 ple, and not God's word. 
 
 Capt. — But a good man is a good man, and good 
 
 10 Isa. xxviii. 20. n John iii. 16. " 1 John i. 7. 
 
 14 
 
314 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 works are good works ; and what is to be clone with 
 them? 
 
 John. — Done with them ? I tell yon they shall all 
 be burned up ; for your very thinking that they are 
 good, without Christ, proves them to be wood, hay, 
 and stubble. 13 There is none good but One. 14 They 
 are altogether become evil ; there is none that doeth 
 good, no, not one. 15 And as to their works, where 
 did they come from ? Out of what heart ? Who 
 produced them ? What motives ? Was there any 
 love to God ? Did they not put the whole cargo 
 together for a bargain? Did they not think they 
 were going to purchase heaven at a price, instead of 
 having it as God's free gift to lost sinners for Christ's 
 sake ? So ! is there any thing but selfishness on 
 board ? I tell you there are no good works, but in 
 Christ. Christ's love, and a humble faith in him, 
 with repentance toward God, must be at the bottom 
 of them, or else they are only works of the flesh in 
 some shape or another, altogether. 
 
 Capt. — Well, well, but after all I cannot and will 
 not believe that any man will ever be lost, who does 
 as well as he can. 
 
 John. — As well as he can ! cried John. But what 
 sinner ever did, or ever does, or ever will do, as well 
 
 13 1 Cor. Hi. 13. 14 Matt. xix. 17. Z6 Ps. liii. 3. 
 
 
FOE JACK LN THE DOLDRUMS. 315 
 
 as he can ? Besides, what is to be done with the 
 old score ? How is a man to dispose of old sins ? 
 
 Capt. — But what if a man's heart acquits him of 
 any evil intention ? As long as my own heart does 
 not condemn me, I am sure I am safe. 
 
 John. — Now my friend, said John, let me put a 
 case. He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool. 16 
 Suppose that in a storm, when the safety of the ship 
 requires a sure anchorage, and all hands have got 
 hold of the anchor to drop it, a sudden insanity should 
 come upon the captain and crew, and instead of 
 dropping it into the sea, they should warp it over the 
 hatchway, and drop it down plump into the hold, 
 imagining that there they had got a safe anchorage ! 
 Would that imagination secure them ? Or would the 
 sincerity of that mistake save them from destruction ? 
 Would their insanity preserve the ship from driving ? 
 Would the anchor in the hold keep her from striking 
 on the rocks ? Now your reliance on the cargo of 
 virtues in your hold is just like casting anchor 
 down the hatchway. It is all a perfect delusion of 
 Satan. 
 
 Capt. — Well, but after all, a man can do no better 
 than he can. No man ever heard me swear. I never 
 take a drop too much. I always pay my men regu- 
 larly, and treat them well. I endeavor to walk by 
 
 16 Prov. xxviii. 26. 
 
316 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 the golden rule, and do to others just as I would 
 have others do to me. 16 What would you have 
 more? 
 
 John. — Captain Good-enough, you make me 
 ashamed for your ignorance. The most uninformed 
 Sailor, that ever pulled a rope on board the King's 
 ship, could teach you better. You can't deny that 
 you are a sinner. I say then, again, what are you 
 going to do with the burden of your sins ? How will 
 you have them pardoned ? Let me tell you what a 
 poor converted sailor once said to a messmate about 
 faith in the Lord Jesus. I don't know, said he, that 
 I can tell you wkat it is, or how to get it. But I can 
 tell you what it is not. It is not knocking off swear- 
 ing and drinking, and such like ; and it is not reading 
 the Bible, nor praying, nor being good. It is none 
 of these ; for even if they would answer for the time 
 to come, there is the old score still, and how are you 
 to get clear of that ? It is not anything you have 
 done, or can do ; it is only believing, and trusting to 
 what Christ has done. It is forsaking your sins, and 
 looking for their pardon, and the salvation of your 
 soul, because he died and shed his blood for sin ; and 
 it is nothing else. That sir, is a poor converted 
 sailor's definition of faith, for he was taught by the 
 Spirit of God, and knew what he knew from God's 
 
 16 Matt. vii. 12. 
 
FOE JACK EST THE DOLDEUMS. 317 
 
 "Word and from experience. And just that faith 
 you must have, that humble reliance on Christ, or 
 you will die in your sins, and must be lost for ever. 
 
 Now while these words were speaking, a number 
 of the crew had gathered w T ithin ear -shot, and Cap- 
 tain Good-enough, lifting up his eyes, saw them in- 
 tently listening. Then did the devil, by means of 
 the man's pride, take away the good seed that John 
 was trying to sow in his heart ; for he turned and 
 said, If I were a poor drunken sailor, or any of my 
 men, then might such a religion be good for us ; but 
 we be all good moral men, from the high and mighty 
 town of Self-Kighteottsness, and we will not belie 
 the credit of our birth-place, for 'tis an ill bird that 
 betrays its own nest. * 
 
 Then did John groan within himself, and said, If 
 our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in 
 whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds 
 of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious 
 gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should 
 shine unto them." 
 
 But Captain Good-enough was not moved at all ; so 
 when they agreed not among themselves, they de- 
 parted, after that Peter had spoken one word, Well 
 spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our 
 fathers, saying, Go unto this people and say, Hearing 
 
 17 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4. 
 
318 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 ye shall hear, and shall not understand ; and seeing 
 je shall see, and shall not perceive ; for the heart of 
 this j:>eople is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of 
 hearing, and their eves have they closed ; lest they 
 should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, 
 and understand with their heart, and should be con- 
 verted and I should heal them. 18 
 
 However, they departed not alone, nor without 
 consolation ; for one of the men, whose heart the 
 Lord opened, that he attended to the things spoken 13 
 of Peter and John, begged so hard to go with them, 
 and enlist in the King's ship, that having got Captain 
 Goodenough's consent, which he was ashamed to 
 refuse, after all that he had said, although very much 
 mortified, thgy took the man with them, and gave 
 him a place with their own crew, who received him 
 joyfully. The man's name, aforetime, was Better- 
 Late-than-Never, which now they changed, and en- 
 tered him on the King's books, after much affection- 
 ate catechising and instructing of him, as Lost-but- 
 Found. He speedily proved as apt and good a sea- 
 man as the best of them, and he had a great many 
 curious and interesting things to tell of his former 
 experience aboard the Good Works, and in the 
 famous town of Self-Bighteousness. 
 
 18 Matt. xiii. 14, 15. "Acts xvi. 14. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 319 
 
 It was already night-fall upon the deck, when they 
 reached their own ship, and they soon lost sight of 
 the Good Works in the darkness, though they thought 
 they should see her again the next morning. But 
 when the day broke she was no where visible, nor 
 did they ever see or hear of her from that time. It 
 was a solemn thing to have seen such obstinate 
 blindness, and they all felt that it was only the Lord's 
 wonderful mercy, that had kept them from just such 
 fatal delusion, or had plucked one soul as a brand 
 from the burning. In the evening watch that day 
 they sang a hymn expressive of the danger: 
 
 There is a way that seemeth right, 
 The steps go on with ease ; 
 And conscience slumbers, while the soul 
 Forsakes the path of peace. 
 
 A way that lulls the careless heart, 
 There's death upon the air : 
 
 The soul that sleepeth wakes at length 
 In anguish and despair. 
 
 There is a way that leads to death, 
 God hath the warning given; 
 
 And multitudes pursue that way, 
 Still dreaming on of heaven. 
 
320 A REEL m A BOTTLE, 
 
 Then let me tremble at the Word 
 That shows this danger nigh 
 
 And wake, and pray, and keep the path 
 That leads to joys on high. 
 
 For God will teach the contrite mind 
 The way of death to shun ; 
 
 He ne'er will leave a praying soul 
 By sin to be undone. 
 
CHAPTER XYIL 
 
 NONE BUT CHKIST ! NONE BUT CHRIST ! 
 
 Well, my brother, said John the next day to 
 Peter, as they were gazing towards the quarter 
 whither their course lay, and watching the bright 
 appearances that began from time to time to fill the 
 horizon ; this trusting in Christ is a deeper business 
 than most men imagine, and I begin to think that a 
 great multitude have but very superficial ideas 
 about it. 
 
 Deep ? answered Peter, It goes to the very inmost 
 being of a man's soul, and carries everything before 
 it ; pride, self-righteousness, self-dependence, all a 
 man's peculiar property it carries away. It brings 
 down all high looks, and vain imaginations, and 
 everything that exalteth itself against God, and 
 brings every soul into captivity to the love of Christ. 1 
 
 1 2 Cor. x. 5. 
 
322 
 
 It is stronger than the strong man armed, and taketh 
 from him all his castle, and his goods wherein he 
 trusted. 2 It leaves him nothing that he can call his 
 own, and what is better, leaves him willing to be 
 stripped of everything, willing to owe everything to 
 Christ. 
 
 John. — But some are not so, but seem very unwill- 
 ing to owe all to Christ, always keeping back part 
 of the price, as it were, some foundation of self-trust 
 or self-merit. 
 
 Peter. — Yes, and they that will have but half a 
 Saviour, are most likely to have none at all. He 
 must be everything or nothing. There cannot be in 
 one and the same vessel such a cargo as Captain 
 Goodenough's, and faith in Christ accompanying it. 
 
 Johx. — Faith ! There was not even the conception 
 of it. The man evidently did not know what it 
 means, and to say the truth, of the nature of good 
 works he had no better imagination, notwithstanding 
 the name of his vessel, and his own name. 
 
 Peter. — Did you ever hear or know of a more 
 obstinate case ? But there is never in all the world 
 such blindness as that which seals the heart against 
 Christ and his glory. And it holds on, sometimes, 
 even till death, the man all the while feeling sure of 
 salvation, till he marches up to the door, and hears 
 
 2 Luke xi. 22. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 323 
 
 the terrible voice of the King from within, saying, 
 Depart from me, I never knew you. 3 
 
 John. — This is a great wonder of sin, this blind- 
 ness, but a greater wonder it is that any ever see ; a 
 wonder of grace, when it pleases God to shine into 
 the heart, to give the light of the knowledge of the 
 glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 4 
 
 Peter. — True, most true is this, but men are very 
 slow to learn, even when they have begun to learn ; 
 they often stop with the milk for babes, instead of 
 pressing on to perfection. Sometimes they learn this 
 mystery soon, sometimes not till very late, always 
 only by the Spirit. Nothing else can teach it, and 
 God's Divine Providence sometimes seems employed 
 in vain upon men for years, without bringing them 
 to it. I call to mind the case of a man of God, who 
 was one of the King's ministers, or thought he was, a 
 long time, without having seen this light. But one 
 day he went to visit a woman of very great and true 
 humility and piety, whose life everybody felt was 
 that of one of the King's dear disciples, but who was 
 then dangerously sick. Well, he set himself in his 
 ignorance to endeavor to prepare her for death, and 
 so he said to her, I doubt not but you will die calm 
 and happy. But how so, and wherefore ? asked the 
 sick woman. Because, said the poor ignorant man, 
 
 * Matt. vii. 23. 4 2 Cor. iv. 6. 
 
324 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 your life lias all been made up of a series of good 
 works. 
 
 Oh what a stab of Satan was that ! Then did the 
 sick woman groan in spirit at the thought of her own 
 unworthiness, and she sighed deeply, and turned her 
 face towards the man, and answered him thus : If I 
 die confiding in the good works that you have called 
 to my recollection, I know for certain that I shall be 
 condemned and lost for ever ; but what renders me 
 calm at this solemn hour is that I trust solely in Jesus 
 Christ my Saviour. 
 
 Now this was what the minister himself had never 
 yet done, what he knew nothing about, though he 
 was thought to be a very holy man, and had been 
 piling up his good works for years, to be accepted of 
 God as his Saviour! But just think of the marvel- 
 lous mercy of the Lord, and the many ways and 
 means, and sometimes very despised and insignificant 
 instruments, that he makes use of for his own glory, 
 and to bring souls to the knowledge of it. From that 
 time forth the man began to seek after Christ and his 
 righteousness, and he soon found him, and preached 
 him, lifting up Christ and his cross and his love and 
 simple faith in him, and no more good works as the 
 soul's saviour. And he afterwards said, when he 
 told this history of the Lord's saving mercy to his 
 own soul, that those few words from the mouth of a 
 
FOB JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 325 
 
 dying woman who was reputed a saint, and who he 
 thought was going to glory on her good works, opened 
 his own eyes for the very first time. If that woman 
 could not be saved by her good works, then he was 
 sure that he conld not by his. And now he began to 
 find out Christ, and from the time that he trusted in 
 him, he preached him to others, so that many others 
 fonnd him, who had before been in darkness. 
 
 John. — "Well, that was great mercy indeed, great 
 grace. And sometimes those that struggle so long in 
 the dark without ever finding Christ, love him better 
 than others, and see him more clearly, and keep to him 
 more closely, and talk about him more warmly, than 
 those that knew him from the outset. Oh, the bless- 
 ings that cost the most we always prize the most. 
 There is nothing like having to go through storms to 
 make a harbor precious. When a soul has been 
 almost shipwrecked forty times, yea, has been every 
 day going down into darkness and the deeps, then to 
 come at once into a fair, safe haven, with the sky 
 clear, and the sea as gentle as a baby, and the green 
 and fragrant land all locking you about, Oh, then the 
 land is sweeter than it ever was before. You think 
 you will never go to sea again, except under the 
 King's commission. Yet perhaps the very next 
 voyage that offers, you'll be sorely tempted. But 
 
A REEL IN A BOTTLE. 
 
 what seaman was it that made that hymn in the dog- 
 watch, for the King's honor ? 
 
 In form I long had bowed my knee, 
 But naught Attractive then could see 
 To win my wayward heart to Thee, 
 My Saviour ! 
 
 Yet, though I had so long withstood, 
 Thou didst redeem my soul with blood, 
 And Thou hast brought me nigh to God, 
 My Saviour ! 
 
 Through storms and waves of conflict past, 
 Thy potent arm has held me fast, 
 And Thou will save me to the last, 
 My Saviour ! 
 
 And when the voyage of life is o'er, 
 I hope to gain the heavenly shore, 
 And never grieve thy goodness more 
 My Saviour! 
 
 Peter. — 'Tis a sweet hymn, and whoever it was 
 that wrote it, must have had a happy time, even in 
 his dog-watches, for the presence and smiles of the 
 King can make any place comfortable. Bnt a man 
 is never happy, who is not happy in his mind. 
 There's Captain Good-enough, with all his cargo, and 
 all his certainty of finding a market for his wares, in 
 the Celestial Country ; do you suppose he is always 
 at ease ? 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDEUMS. 327 
 
 John. — Why truly, I know not ; but there are 
 some men, whose strength is so firm, that they have 
 no bands even in their death, no terrors, no plagues, 
 no troubles, as other men. 5 Yet are they none the 
 happier for that. For a man had better be in trouble 
 and in terror all his days, than die in his sins. But 
 I marvel that so much good and evil could be mixed 
 together in the Captain's cargo. If Satan himself 
 should sift it, he could not have it all. 
 
 Petee. — Well, I don't know about that. You 
 would have to judge the heart about that, and God 
 only can do it. But there was nothing good, unless 
 there was good behind it, unless it came from good, 
 and was put into the ship for good ; and I doubt 
 whether anything was put there, but just to make a 
 trade for heaven. ISTow there be men that are always 
 seeking self in all things, and your self-righteous men 
 are of this stamp, for they do every thing either to be 
 seen of men, or else to bribe God, but nothing out of 
 love. But a man's very virtues are turned into vices, 
 if they grow out of self, if he has no view but self- 
 advancement in them. They are rotten, and it is 
 abominable hypocrisy for him to offer them as virtues 
 in any market, knowing as he does, that he would 
 not have had them in his hold at all, but for selfish 
 purposes. He never put them there because the 
 
 5 Ps. Ixxiii. 4, 5. 
 
328 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE. 
 
 King commanded it, nor out of regard to his master, 
 but just to drive a bargain with them. 
 
 Even that nice-looking box on board Captain Good- 
 enough's ship, that was marked Kindness-to-the-Poor, 
 and that ought to have been fresh and genuine, if any 
 thing was, you would have found, if you could have 
 opened it, either to have contained some smuggled 
 contraband article from the town of Self-Righteousness, 
 or else as full of worms as ever a box of figs or re- 
 mainder biscuit after a long voyage. 
 
 As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. 6 The 
 intention and the purpose are everything, and a man 
 may be intending to make a wrong use even of his 
 virtues, and if so, then they are condemned and 
 broken. You know a ship may be a good ship, but 
 suppose it be discovered that she was built as a slaver, 
 and is engaged in slaving, why then she is taken as a 
 pirate. There are some things that are lawful, like 
 the law itself, if a man use them lawfully, 7 but if he 
 put them in the place of Christ, if he set out to make 
 a saviour of them, if he mean to smuggle himself into 
 heaven by them, then they are piratical, and must be 
 treated accordingly. 
 
 Or if a man be making stepping stones of them, 
 and instead of entering into the sheep-fold by the 
 door, boosts himself up by means of them, to climb 
 
 3 Prov. xxiii. 7. 7 1 Tim. i. 8. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 329 
 
 over some other way, the same is a thief and a 
 robber. 8 Captain Good-enough was well-named Old 
 Climb-up. Such a man may think he had good 
 works to stand upon, yea, to climb upon, and he may 
 draw up his ladder or his under-pinning after him 
 into the sheep-fold, but if he had forty thousand such 
 bolsters or beam-ends to rest upon, the more he has, 
 the worse for him. Striking through the lubber-hole 
 would be nothing to that. 
 
 John. — And yet he felt sure he was going on well 
 and that all was right and safe. But the man's 
 ignorance was surprising, and any man that has ever 
 seen the King's Compass, or any true sailor's log- 
 book, ought to have known better. But I have heard 
 of men who knew so little about sea affairs, that they 
 could not tell the mainbrace from the Captain's 
 breeches. Captain Good-enough had a catalogue 
 of virtues, but knew nothing about Grace. It is like 
 carrying a* cargo of topsails, but neither yards nor 
 masts. And yet he must have been active in his 
 way, for he could climb to the main truck without 
 touching shrouds or foot-ropes. 
 
 Peter. — The King will not only have the right 
 things done, but in the right way. A monkey might 
 get to the mast-head by the running rigging, but a good 
 seaman will go up the shrouds. There is never a true 
 
 8 John x. 1. 
 
330 A REEL IN A BOTTLE. 
 
 virtue but faith in Christ must be at the bottom of it. 
 Some men take their virtues as light lumber, that, in 
 case of shipwreck, they may swim upon, as the soldiers 
 that were with Paul got to shore on planks and 
 broken pieces of the wreck ; for really, though they 
 think they trust Christ half way, yet they do not 
 trust him at all. They pretend to have got under 
 weigh, having all sail set, and the flag hoisted ; but 
 the anchor is down all the while, and they never will 
 weigh it, unless they can first have assurance of a 
 safe voyage. But that is a thing, you know, that the 
 King keeps in his own hands, and will make no bar- 
 gains beforehand, except with faith. But where 
 there is faith, there is no desire for any bargain be- 
 forehand, and no need of any. The soul says, I leave 
 everything with Christ, and Christ may do as he 
 pleases ; but I'll serve him, any way, come what 
 may. 
 
 John. — Well, my brother, you speak in this accord- 
 ing to the Law and the Testimony . 9 There is cer- 
 tainly nothing good, except the heart be good, and 
 good works never yet mended a bad heart, any more 
 than the waters of a stream can change the fountain. 
 No man ever yet got a good heart, or ever will, but 
 in Christ. All things else may be brought to God — 
 gold and silver, prayers, penances, sacrifices, and 
 
 9 Isa. viii. 20. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 331 
 
 what not ; but no good heart ever yet was brought to 
 him, except through Christ. And so he saith, Christ 
 in you, the hope of glory. 10 No hope of glory, ex- 
 cept Christ is the soul of it. The meek and lowly 
 spirit cometh no other way. 
 
 And so he saith, that to this man only he will have 
 respect, even to him of a contrite spirit, and who 
 trembleth at his word. 11 Tea, without this, and the 
 humble faith in Christ that bears it up, he that 
 killeth an ox, is as if he slew a man ; he that sacri- 
 ficeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck ; he that 
 offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood ; 
 he that burnetii incense, as if he blessed an idol. 12 
 "Whereby God saith, that the very things commanded 
 as duties, if done with a proud spirit — done without 
 faith in Christ — done in reliance upon self-merit, are 
 no better than sins ; yea, they are dog's-neck duties, 
 he that burneth incense to them, and cometh with 
 them, burneth incense to an idol, and cometh to God 
 with the idol of his own worship in his own hands. 
 It is a terrible delusion, and may the Lord preserve 
 us from it. 
 
 Petek. — Well, I sometimes think, terrible as it is, 
 it is the last devil that is cast out. In this form 
 Satan is always at hand to plague us, and the King 
 himself does not reign supreme, till every high ima- 
 
 10 Col. i. 27. u Isa. lxvi. 3. 13 Isa. lxvi. 3. 
 
332 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 gination is cast down, as Dagon, and every thought 
 brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 1 ' 
 When our life is thus hid with Christ in God, 14 then, 
 oh, then ! we begin to be truly at peace and quiet. 
 Yea, then is Christ in us the peace of God that 
 passeth all understanding. 15 Then is self all gone, 
 and heaven begins on earth. 
 
 But, as I said, if ever there was a man, in whom 
 it was thus all gone, before the seal of death — before 
 mortality itself was swallowed up of life, 16 I know 
 not the man. Even Paul counted not himself to 
 have attained to this, or become perfect, but only to 
 be reaching forth, and pressing on, forgetting the 
 things that were behind. 17 Nevertheless, he said, 
 Our conversation is in heaven ; from whence also we 
 look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall 
 change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like 
 unto his glorious body, according to the working 
 whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto 
 himself. 18 
 
 So, the leagues of ocean we have passed over, 
 we forget, and still every day have to cast all upon 
 Christ as at the outset, and every day we need for- 
 giveness, and every day the Divine Spirit must fill 
 our sails, and waft us onwards ; and if any time we 
 
 18 2 Cor. x. 5. 14 Col. iii. 3. 15 Phil. iv. 7. 16 2 Cor. v. 4. 
 17 Phil. iii. 13. 18 Phil, iii 20, 21. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 333 
 
 stop to consider our progress, and say, This is ours, 
 as if we of ourselves had done some great thing in 
 getting thus far ; then is the Lord ready to smite us, 
 and the wind is all taken out of our sails, because we 
 give not God the glory ; then, there is. that villain, 
 Pride, who is always the forerunner of Satan ; for he 
 smelleth for him, and leadeth him, as a pilot-fish 
 doth the shark, ready to cut our shrouds for us, and 
 give us a grievous fall. The life of self is our death ; 
 the death of self in Christ is our life ; 'tis the last 
 enemy that shall be destroyed. But when this cor- 
 ruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this 
 mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be 
 brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is 
 swallowed up in victory. And thanks be to God, 
 who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. 19 
 
 John. — Yea, brother, self hath as many lives as a 
 cat, and pride hath the appetite of a shark, and will 
 swallow everything. Grace itself disappears in the 
 maw of that monster. Yet grace shall conquer him 
 \ — shall swallow him, if we only hold on to Christ. 
 'Tis a sweet word of the watch, None but Christ! 
 none but Christ ! Have you not lain awake some- 
 times, thinking, Where is God, my Maker, that 
 giveth songs in the night? 20 And then that word has 
 
 15 1 Cor. xv. 54, 57. 20 Job xxxv. 10. 
 
334 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 come, as if booming across the deep, or borne on the 
 wings of the wind from a distant vessel, None but 
 Christ ! none but Christ ! Oh, 'tis a sweet sound! Then 
 I saj to myself, I can do all things through Christ that 
 strengthened me. 21 I am crucified with Christ : never- 
 theless, I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me ; 
 and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by 
 the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave 
 himself for me. 22 Oh, those are precious words, 
 Who loved me, and gave himself for me! Some- 
 times I say to myself, when Satan would take them 
 away out of my mouth, "Why may I myself not have 
 them, as well as Paul ? I am as big a sinner. Then 
 Satan draws back, and the fear of death itself is con- 
 quered, and God seems to have given me the vic- 
 tory. 
 
 Peter. — Well, indeed, there is none other victory. 
 And this is the victory that overcometh the world, 
 even our faith. 53 This is the King's victory, in us, 
 over the god of this world, and by this he will bring 
 us off conquerors. Nothing but this can sustain us 
 in life, nothing but this can comfort us in death. We 
 must throw all upon Christ. A man that had been 
 a faithful servant of God, as the King's Ambassador, 
 once lay a dying, when he was visited by a dear and 
 loving fellow-minister. This man, seeing him so near 
 
 31 Phil. iv. 13. 3i Gal. ii. 20. M 1 John v. 4. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDKUMS. 335 
 
 death, put the question to hint, And what are you 
 doing now, my brother ? Whereupon he answered, 
 u I'll tell you what I am doing, dear brother, I am 
 gathering together all my prayers, all my sermons, all 
 my good deeds, all my ill deeds ; and I am going to 
 throw them all overboard, and swim to glory on the 
 plank of Free-grace." 
 
 John.— "Well, we've nothing else to swim upon, and 
 even then, 'tis not our swimming, but his grace, that 
 holds us up. We should as often dive down to the 
 bottom, as swim upon the top, if it were not for that. 
 And who is it that makes our weather for us ? Who 
 knows what is the best weather ? Why, verily, we 
 know not even what to pray for as we ought, 24 unless 
 out of the same Free Grace his Divine Spirit teach- 
 eth us. 
 
 Now the time wore away in such talk with sur- 
 prising rapidity, aud if the days were as days of 
 heaven, the nights that followed were still more 
 lovely. For indeed no language can tell the glory of 
 the starry sky above the ocean, as they now flew upon 
 their voyage, nor the beauty of the sea beneath the 
 waxing and waning moon ; for they could follow its 
 increase from the first silver thread of light, to the 
 brilliance of the full orb, and then again as it slowly, 
 gently faded from the sky. And when it was riding 
 
 " Rom. viii. 26. 
 
336 
 
 in the heavens in silent majesty, it seemed to look 
 down upon them, in the loneliness of the wide ocean, 
 with a melancholy tenderness, as if appointed of God 
 to watch over them. And those long, long lines of 
 light, streaming from the furrows and liquid undula- 
 tions of the waves, between them and the horizon, 
 when the moon was an hour or two before setting ; 
 and at the horizon the whole ocean shining as if it 
 were nothing but a sea of tremulous, billowy light, 
 rolling into infinitude, so that if they could only be 
 there, where the eye followed the glory, they could 
 have sailed, without death or change, right into the 
 expanse of heaven ! So it sometimes seemed to them, 
 and they were almost in an ecstacy of transport with 
 such views. Sometimes the silence of midnight, 
 under such a lovely sky, was broken by the notes of 
 a hymn rising and floating in indescribable sweetness 
 and melody. 
 
 Beyond, beyond that boundless sea, 
 
 Above that dome of sky, 
 Farther than thought itself can flee, 
 
 Thy dwelling is on high : 
 Yet dear the awful thought to me 
 
 That thou, my God, art nigh : — 
 
 Art nigh, and yet my laboring mind 
 Feels after thee in vain, 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 337 
 
 Thee in these works of power to find, 
 
 Or to thy seat attain. 
 Thy messenger the stormy wind, 
 
 Thy path the trackless main. 
 
 These speak of thee with loud acclaim, 
 
 They thunder forth thy praise 
 The glorious honor of thy name. 
 
 The wonders of thy ways ; 
 But thcu art not in tempest-flame, 
 
 Nor in day's glorious blaze. 
 
 We hear thy voice, when thunders roll 
 
 Through the wide fields of air ; 
 The waves obey thy dread control, 
 
 Yet still thou art not there ; 
 Where shall I find him, my soul, 
 
 Who yet is everywhere ! 
 
 Oh not in circling depth or height, 
 
 But in the conscious breast, 
 Present to faith, though veiled from sights 
 
 There does his Spirit rest. 
 Oh come, thou Presence Infinite, 
 
 And make thy creature blest ! 
 
 15 
 
CHAPTER XYIII. 
 
 THE LAST ENEMY. 
 
 Now all through the day they had seen lovely 
 strange birds flying, and sometimes alighting at the 
 mast-head, and this, with the sight of some flowers of 
 exquisite beauty among the sea-weed that came 
 floating by, made them think that they could not be 
 very far from land. And in the evening, when the 
 sun set, it no longer went down straight into the 
 ocean, but seemed to sink behind a towering cloud- 
 ridge, which they knew might veil a continent, but 
 whether of the Celestial Country, or of this, they 
 could not tell. They kept watch all night, and com- 
 pared their course and observations very earnestly 
 and carefully with the chart, where they found it 
 written, at the point near which it was evident they 
 had now come, Thine eyes shall see the King in his 
 beauty ; they shall behold the land that is very far 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 339 
 
 off. 1 They also found, by references in their tables, 
 such results of their calculations as these, For this 
 God is our God for ever and ever ; he will be our 
 guide, even unto death. 2 Also, Thou shalt guide me 
 with thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory. 3 
 Also, I will behold thy face in righteousness, I shall 
 be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. 4 
 
 In the morning when the sun arose, they thought 
 they could plainly descry, behind the white cloud 
 that still rested oh the sea eastward, what seemed the 
 flashing of light from glittering spires and domes, 
 but they were not certain. That same day a sail was 
 seen at a great distance, and as it drew near, it proved 
 to be a sentinel-ship from the King to meet them, 
 whose sign was an almond tree and a grasshopper. 6 
 There was a broad white flag flying at the foremast, 
 and by the help of the glass they could plainly read 
 these words, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the 
 death of his saints." Then did they both gaze long in 
 motionless silence, for though the sight was beautiful, 
 and the sea smooth and calm, yet an awe stole irre- 
 sistibly across their souls, and a deep solemnity 
 brooded upon them, not knowing what was to happen. 
 Nor was it removed by the loving-kindness of the 
 commander of this ship, although he was very cheer- 
 
 1 Isa. xxxiii. 17. 2 Psa. xlviii. 14. 8 Psa. lxxiii. 24. 
 
 4 Psa. xvii. 15. B Eccl. xii. 5. 8 Psa. cxvi. 15. 
 
340 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 ful and encouraging both in his words and looks. He 
 entered into sweet conversation with them, and told 
 them that they must here wait the King's pleasure, 
 which would soon be made known to them. He also 
 showed them where they might safely drop anchor, 
 for in the King's ship they were to go no farther. 
 There is no more sea, 7 said he, though you have 
 come all this long way through storms and dangers. 
 But now the glorious Lord will be to you a place of 
 broad rivers and streams, wherein shall go no galley 
 with oars, neither shall gallant ships pass thereby. 
 And the inhabitants shall not say, I am sick. The 
 people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their 
 iniquity. 8 
 
 You have come, said he, all this way through 
 deaths and sorrow and crying, with many changes 
 and ^dangers ; but now there shall be no more death, 
 neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any 
 more pain ; for the former things are passed away. 
 Out of the earthly house of this tabernacle dissolving^ 
 you pass into the tabernacle of God, and God will 
 dwell with you, and you shall be his people, and 
 God himself shall be with you, and be your God, 
 and God shall wipe away all tears from your eyes. 9 
 The sea also shall give up its dead, 10 and them which 
 
 * Rev. xxi. 1. 8 Isa. xxxiii. 21, 24. 9 Rev. xxi. 3, 4. 10 Rev. xx. 13. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 341 
 
 sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 11 At these 
 words they were much comforted, and listened fur- 
 ther to the man as he took them to their place of 
 anchorage, and there bade them watch. 
 
 There is no safety, said he, till you put off this taber- 
 nacle. For even in these parts the great Pirate hath 
 at times made his appearance ; and why should he 
 not, since whole fleets are sometimes convoyed by 
 Him to the last hour, and sometimes the King's own 
 ships give him opportunities of attack here, that he 
 never found all the way across the ocean. Therefore 
 watch, for blessed are those servants whom their 
 Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. 12 
 
 Now the manner of the man was at times so ex- 
 ceeding grave and solemn, especially when he gave 
 them this charge, that though both his countenance 
 and his words were full of love, and he looked upon 
 them with a face of joy, as if it had been the face of 
 an angel, yet Peter and John could not help trem- 
 bling, and their sins began to rise up before them, 
 even those things that had been long forgotten, and 
 because they lost sight, for a season, of the face and 
 promise of the King, the thought of so soon standing 
 before God caused them to shrink back with dread, 
 because of their own unworthiness, although they 
 had now so nearly gained the point after which they 
 
 11 1 Thess. iv. 14. 12 Luke xii. 37. 
 
342 A &EKL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 had been struggling. They tried hard to dismiss 
 their fears, but unbelief would still be uppermost, 
 and so it was a darker time with them than it had 
 been for many days of their navigation. They did 
 not then know that Satan was trying, even with a 
 last assault, to throw them from the Rock Christ 
 Jesus, and to make them look about for some other 
 hope of salvation, even some comfort and assurance 
 in themselves, and to make them unwilling or fearful 
 even in the full view of their own guilt, to throw all 
 upon Christ. 
 
 Now the man witnessed their perplexity, and 
 pitied them, for he had not yet left them at their 
 anchorage, and he could understand their trials, and 
 knew the nature of this conflict. So he cried out, 
 Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith V 3 Wherefore 
 do ye doubt? 14 Have ye played the man thus far, 
 and will ye now give place to the fiery darts of the 
 Wicked One % Remember ye not how it is said that 
 the just shall live by faith, 15 and that ye are made 
 partakers of Christ, if ye hold fast the beginning of 
 } T our confidence steadfast unto the end. 16 
 
 Oh Sir, exclaimed Peter, but what can we do ? 
 Will the Lord receive such sinful, vile creatures, 
 without destroying us ? for alas we have not been 
 faithful to him, but exceedingly unprofitable. 
 
 13 Matt. viii. 26. 14 Matt. xiv. 31. 15 Rom. i. 17. 16 Heb- iii. 14. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 343 
 
 Then said the man, DM he receive you at first as 
 great sinners or great saints ? Had you ever anything 
 to bring him but guilty hearts, to be renewed by his 
 grace ? If he received you as guilty lost sinners, was 
 it not that he might be merciful unto you forever ? 
 Yea, the gifts and calling of God are without re- 
 pentance. 17 What can you then say to these things? 
 If God be for you, who shall be against you ? lie 
 that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up 
 for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give 
 us all things ? 18 
 
 Then said John, great sinners need great faith. 
 Lord keep us from adding to all our guilt the last 
 and greatest sin of unbelief. While we were yet sin- 
 ners, Christ died for us ; much more then, being 
 now justified by- his blood, we shall be saved from 
 wrath through him. 19 Yea, moreover, do we not 
 remember the hymn we have so often sung amidst 
 the roaring of the sea. 
 
 Begone, unbelief, my Saviour is near 
 
 And for rny relief will surely appear, 
 
 By prayer let me wrestle, and he will perform ; 
 
 With Christ in the vessel, I smile at the storm. 
 
 His love in lime past forbids me to think 
 He'll leave me at last in trouble to sink : 
 
 17 Rom. xi. 29. lfl Rom. viii. 34, 31. ! -' Rom. v. 8, 9, 
 
344 A REEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 Each sweet Ebenezer I have in review 
 
 Confirms his good pleasure to help me quite through. 
 
 Determined to save, he watched o'er my path, 
 When Satan's blind slave, I sported with death; 
 And can he have taught me to trust in his name, 
 And thus far have brought me, to put me to shame ? 
 
 Since all that I meet shall work for my good, 
 The bitter is sweet, the medicine is food ; 
 Though painful at present, 'twill cease before long, 
 And then, how pleasant the conqueror's song ! 
 
 JN'ow while they were speaking thus, it so happened 
 that Peter was seated with gloomy downcast counte- 
 nance upon one of the King's guns, and as his hand 
 unconsciously played about it, he encountered the 
 raised letters of the inscription which it bore, and 
 turning his eye upon them, he saw them shining like 
 the sun, It is god that jtjstifieth, who is he that con- 
 demneth ? Whereupon the whole passage came into 
 his soul as the lightning. Who shall lay anything to 
 the charge of God's elect ? It is Christ that died, 
 yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right 
 hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 
 Who shall shall separate us from the love of Christ T° 
 Then was his countenance lightened, and his heart 
 was glad, and he said. Though I walk through the 
 
 20 Rom. x. 32-35, 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 345 
 
 Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil, 
 for thou art with ine ; thy rod and thy staff they com- 
 fort me. 21 
 
 . Then the Captain of the King's ship took them by 
 the hand, and pointed to the bright outline of the 
 cloud that rested on the sea, and said, smiling, Be no 
 more faithless, but believing. 22 Hath, he not said, I, 
 even I, am he, that blotteth out thy transgressions for 
 mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins ? 
 And this he saith, though he hath said also, in the 
 very breath before, Thou hast made me to serve with 
 thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. 23 
 But O, there is forgiveness with him, and plenteous 
 redemption, 24 and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son 
 cleanseth from all sin. 25 For Jesus' sake all things 
 are possible, and the great sweetness of your salva- 
 tion is this, that it is all of grace, all of grace. When 
 Paul himself was about anchoring in this roadstead, 
 for the last will of the King, he said, This is a faith- 
 ful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ 
 Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom 
 I am chief. 26 But the sight of his own sins at that 
 time, and of himself as the chief of sinners, instead 
 of casting him into despair, or filling him with gloom, 
 in doubt and unbelief, only served to exalt and glo- 
 
 21 Psa. xxiii. 4. 22 John xx. 27. 23 Isa. xliii. 24, 25. 
 
 24 Psa. cxxx. 4, 7. 25 1 John, 1, 7. 26 1 Tim. i. 15. 
 
34:6 • A REEL IN A BOTTLE. 
 
 rify his Saviour. It humbled himself indeed, and 
 cast out all remnant of pride, if there was any left, 
 but O how lovely, Low glorious, how triumphant, it 
 made the grace of Christ appear ! Now what if your 
 sins are great, if Christ's redeeming love and mercy 
 are so much greater ? Is it not so much the more to 
 his praise ? Wherefore let Satan accuse you as much 
 as he pleases, even to his uttermost, (and you know 
 that he is the accuser of the Brethren. 27 ) that shall 
 but exalt the Lord Jesus, and make him the more 
 precious ; let it not terrify you. 
 
 Sometimes the enemy sets hard upon weak souls, 
 just at this very point, and makes life a burden to 
 them, by the very terror of death ; but that is unbe- 
 lief ; he never gains this advantage in any other way. 
 Wherefore remember that the prayer and the plea 
 with which you came into God's kingdom of Grace, 
 are the very prayer and plea with which you must 
 enter the kingdom of glory, For thy name's sake, 
 pardon mine iniquity, for it is great. 28 Satan may 
 tempt you to think, Oh if my sins were not so great, 
 then might I stand before God with less terror ! But 
 what a dishonor to the King is that ! Would you 
 lessen the praise of his grace by pretending the small- 
 ness of your sins ? Oh, no sin is small, and every 
 sin must have cost the blood of Jesus Christ to redeem 
 
 86 Rev. xii. 10. 28 Psa. xxv, 1 1. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 347 
 
 you from it, even if that had been the only sin ever 
 committed. But the very greatness of your sins is 
 the power of your plea for redemption, coming in the 
 name of Christ. Great sinners, you said, need great 
 faith ; but one sinner needs the same faith as another, 
 and it is always great faith and precious, when a 
 soul cometh to God, and crieth out, For thy name's 
 sake pardon mine iniquity, for it is great. You see 
 the prayer is not, as Satan would have it, Pardon me, 
 for I am a little sinner ; that would be a great lie to 
 the King, and a great contempt of the power of his 
 blood, and the freeness of his salvation ; but, Pardon 
 me for Jesus' sake, because I am a great sinner, whose 
 only plea is that Jesus died for the chief of sinners. 
 Here we rest. 
 
 Now when the man had finished these words of 
 instruction and comfort, he left them for the pre- 
 sent, having directed the ship to a secure position. 
 Here then they lay at anchor, waiting the King's 
 Word. 
 
 Sometimes it was tempestuous in the roadstead, for 
 even here the Prince of the Power of the Air hath 
 now and then dominion, and raiseth a great commo- 
 tion among the waves of the sea ; and it was said that 
 the King might, of his good pleasure, permit this, as 
 a last trial of the faith of those for whom he was pre- 
 
3±8 
 
 paring a crown of glory. But often the weather was 
 clear, calm, and delightful. Sometimes a thick veil 
 of mist lay upon the whole region beyond this road- 
 stead, or rather rose up like a wall or a curtain before 
 it, and only now and then was partially broken away, 
 so that they could see. Sometimes, when it was thus 
 broken, there came flashes of light streaming from a 
 great distance through the cloud-rifts, in which could 
 be plainly discerned parts of that City that lieth four 
 square, the building of the wall of which is of jasper, 
 and the City pure gold, like unto clear glass. 29 Some- 
 times the foundations of the wall of the city were 
 disclosed, even unto the twelfth and last, which was 
 an amethyst, and then the gates could be seen, which 
 were of pearl. 30 With the use of the King's glass, 
 these things seemed very near when they could be 
 seen at all, and the sight of them was ravishing to 
 the heart, for there was a light round about them, 
 full of glory, and it shone down even on the sea. 
 
 Moreover, in fair weather there were boats some- 
 times shooting forth with fruits from the land, fore- 
 tastes, as they were called, for the refreshment of the 
 King's seamen, after their long voyage. Also, they 
 could sometimes hear songs in the night, as of per- 
 sons in the air, but very near them ; and in the day, 
 it was sometimes the case, that celestial forms could 
 
 90 Rev. xxi. 16-18 30 Rev. xxi. 19-21- 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDETJMS.. 349 
 
 be discerned, or what seemed to be such, walking in 
 the edge of the clouds, where they rested on a glit- 
 tering pearly beach, as on the shore of the ocean. 
 And now it came to pass, that notwithstanding their 
 seasons of darkness, they began earnestly to desire to 
 be clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed 
 up of life, saying, one to another, He that hath 
 wrought us for the self-same thing is God. 31 
 
 But they were given to understand that still there 
 was a bar to be crossed, where two seas met, and 
 where the passage might be dark and rough, or it 
 might be as smooth and shining as a summer's sea ; 
 but that would be according to the strength of their 
 own faith, and the good pleasure of the King, when- 
 ever he should summon them. They were informed, 
 also, that they would have to pass that place in an 
 open boat, which, itself, would also disappear from 
 them, as they crossed the bar. At this their spirits 
 were somewhat damped at first, but there was no 
 help for it, nor any other way of ever coming to the 
 City. Sometimes it seemed as if they could have 
 flown thither, but they were to wait the King's plea- 
 sure, neither could they take a step farther but by 
 notice from him. 
 
 Now, being thus situated, the two men spent no 
 little time in pondering the King's Chart, reviewing 
 
 31 2 Cor. v. 4, 5. 
 
350 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 tlieir log, and considering all the way the Lord had 
 brought them. They comforted one another in much 
 prayer, and in a mutual reminding of the King's 
 great promises ; for they rested only upon his in- 
 finite love, his cleansing blood, his sanctifying grace ; 
 and they said one to another, If the Lord were 
 pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt 
 offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither 
 would he have showed us all these things, nor would, 
 as at this time, have told us such things as these. 32 
 And sometimes they would lean over the taffrail of 
 the ship, and gaze towards the heavenly light before 
 them, and say one to another, Even so, come, Lord 
 Jesus, come quickly ! 33 Here the glass was of but lit- 
 tle use to them, for it would not penetrate the cloud, 
 except when there were the rifts that have been 
 spoken of, and, moreover, they could see no farther 
 from the mast-head, than from the deck. 
 
 How sweet it is to know, said John to Peter, that 
 our times are in his hands, 34 and that he hath the 
 keys of death and hell. 35 
 
 Yes ! oh, yes ! exclaimed Peter. My soul cleaveth 
 to his promises ; for, oh, he is faithful and just to 
 forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unright- 
 eousness. 36 Oh, the sweet power of his most precious 
 
 82 Judg. xiii. 23. 33 Rev. xxii. 20. 34 Psa. xxxi. 15. * Rev. i. 18. 
 36 1 John i. 9. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 351 
 
 blood ! What should we do without that, at such an 
 hour as this ! What should we do without his dying 
 love to rest upon, and his blood that cleanseth from 
 all sin. And oh, how precious his own most com- 
 forting assurances. All that the Father giveth me, 
 said he, shall come to me ; and him that cometh to 
 me, I will in no wise cast out. And again, No man 
 can come to me, except the Father which hath sent 
 me, draw him ; and I will raise him up at the last 
 day. 37 What precious security of life, from the 
 Father and the Son ! 
 
 John. — Yea, that is a blessed assurance, This is 
 the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all 
 which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but 
 should raise it up again at the last day. 38 If the 
 Good Shepherd had not loved his sheep, and deter- 
 mined to keep them, he had not laid down his life 
 for them. 39 
 
 ' Peter. — But he is an Almighty Redeemer, able as 
 willing, and willing as able, to save to the uttermost 
 all that come unto God through him. 40 How great 
 and glorious the promise, I give unto them eternal 
 life ; and they shall never perish, neither shall any 
 man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which 
 gave them me, is greater than all ; and no man is 
 
 87 John vL 37, 44- 38 John vi. 39- M John x. 11. 40 Heb. vii. 25. 
 
3 52 A KEEL IN A BOTTLE, 
 
 able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and 
 my Father are one. 41 
 
 John. — Oh, if we are Ms, no doubt we are everlast- 
 ingly his. It is not him that my soul ever doubteth } 
 or distrusteth, but myself. If I should be mistaken, 
 it is for eternity. Lord, save me, I perish ! 42 
 
 Peter. — That, dear brother, must be our last 
 prayer, as it was our first. We are stripped, as at 
 the beginning, and have lost all things but Christ, 
 yet we have all .things in him. Our fellowship is 
 with the Father, and with his son Jesus Christ ; 43 and 
 the plank of Free Grace, on which we too may swim 
 to glory, may venture death without fear, is just 
 this, The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us 
 
 FROM ALL SIN. 44 
 
 Shudder not to pass the stream, 
 Venture all thy care on him ; 
 Him, whose dying love and power 
 Stilled its tossing, hushed its roar. 
 
 Safe is the expanded wave, 
 Gentle as a summer's eve ; 
 Not one object of his care 
 Ever suffered shipwreck there. 
 
 Now when the time came for them to take their 
 departure, it was, by the mercy of the Lord, a lovely 
 
 41 John x. 28, 29, 30. 42 Matt. viii. 25. 
 43 1 John i- 3. 44 1 John i. 7. 
 
FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS. 353 
 
 day, and they knew that the hour was come, because 
 the King's boat was seen coming for them, with a 
 white flag flying, on which was written the inscrip- 
 tion, My flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the 
 strength of my heart and my portion for ever. 45 Who 
 or what guided the course of this boat, they could not 
 tell, only now it was plain that they were to step 
 down out of the ship, and be taken across the passage. 
 So, as if an angel had them in hand, they felt them- 
 selves constrained to quit the long familiar deck, not 
 without pain at thus leaving it, and they went down, 
 something as Peter did of old, when he walked on 
 the water to go to Jesus. But now it was not stormy, 
 but on the contrary, the sea was so quiet, that the 
 very undulations, on which the boat rose and fell, 
 were like the breathings of a sleeping infant. So 
 they were wafted along, and in a moment could no 
 longer distinctly see what they were leaving, but the 
 ship became dim, and then was gone from their sight 
 for ever. But all the while the sea remained so quiet 
 that they hardly knew when the bar was reached, 
 and meantime a softly breathing melody rose upon 
 the air, Blessed are the dead who dee in the Lord, 48 
 which was still ringing, when a shining wave went 
 over them, and the boat at the same time passed from 
 under them, and was seen no more ; and then they 
 
 45 Psa- lxxiii. 26. 46 Rev. xiv. 13. 
 
354 A REEL IN A BOTTLE. 
 
 found themselves with angels, rising as from a burial, 
 having left their mortal garments in the sea. And 
 even as they rose, they found themselves clad in 
 white raiment, for it was thus that they were to walk 
 with the King in white, being worthy. 47 They did 
 not know when they were unclothed, nor how they 
 were clothed upon, but it was plain now, that mor- 
 tality was swallowed up of life/ 8 And indeed the 
 bliss they now experienced was so great, that nothing 
 but an Immortality freed from sense could have 
 enabled them to bear it. And they shone like the 
 sun, so that the angels looked on them with ravish- 
 ing joy, but they themselves with still greater amaze- 
 ment and ecstacy looked upon the angels. And so 
 they went up to the City. 
 
 Firm as the earth thy gospel stands, 
 
 My Lord, my hope, my trust 
 If I am found in Jesus' hands, 
 
 My soul can ne ; er be lost. 
 
 His honor is engaged to save 
 The meanest of his sheep , 
 
 All whom his Heavenly Father gave 
 His hands securely keep. 
 
 * T Rev. iii4 ^2 Cor. v. 4. 
 
FOE JACK IN THE DOLDBUMS. 355 
 
 Nor death, nor hell shall e'er remove 
 
 His favorites from his breast, 
 In the dear bosom of his love 
 
 They must for ever rest. 
 
 TIIK END. 
 
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 author assures us, having a foundation strictly historical, and to a great extent autobiogra- 
 phical. Such of these sketches as we have read, are in Mr. Willis's happiest vein — a vein, 
 by the way, in which he is unsurpassed." — Sartaln's Magazine. 
 
 " Few readers who take up this pleasant volume will lay it aside until they have perused 
 every fine of its contents."— Jersey Journal 
 
 HURRYGRAPHSj or Sketches of Scenery, Celebrities, and Society, taken from Life 
 By N. P. Willis. 1 vol., l2mo. Third .Edition. 
 
 " Some of the best specimens of Mr. Willis's prose, we think, are herein contained."— 
 N. Y. Evangelist. 
 
 "In the present volume, which is filled with all sorts of enticements, we prefer the 
 descriptions of nature to the sketches of character, and the dusty road-side grows delight- 
 ful under the touches of Willis's blossoming-dropping pen; and when we come to the 
 mountain and lake, it is like revelling in all the fragrant odors of Paradise." — Boston Atlas. 
 
 PENCILINGS BY THE WAY.— A New and Revised Edition. By N. P. Willis 
 1 vol., l2mo. 
 
LiEST. LYNCH'S NEW WORK. 
 
 NAVAL LIFE— THE MIDSHIPMAN; or Observations Afloat and Ashore. By 
 Lieut. W. F. Lynch, autnor of " Dead Sea Expedition." 1 vol. 12mo. Price, $1. 
 
 "The style is spirited and commanding, tie matter of the most exciting character, and 
 the deductions often drawn from incident and adventure worthy of the head and the heart 
 of the author." — American Spectator. 
 
 " Amid the rollicking and exciting scenes, so characteristic of a life on the ocean wave' 
 the author has introduced others of a more subdued kind — passages here and there of 
 touching pathos — little gushings from the fount of a chastened and sensitive nature, be- 
 traying a heart susceptible to the higher and better feelings that adorn and dignify man." 
 — Weekly Eclectic. 
 
 " The adventures he and his shipmates met with in various quarters of the globe, are 
 narrated in an unpretending style, but with graphic power. Several of these narrations 
 are of exciting interest, and they so closely follow each other, that the reader will find it 
 impossible to lay down the book until he has reached the last page." — Portland Tran- 
 script. 
 
 " This is a delightful matter-of-fact volume, for which we predict a great many readers." 
 — Christian Intelligencer. 
 
 " It is a work which does credit to the moral and literary character of the navy." — 27] 
 Y. Evangelist. 
 
 " It is well written, avoiding coarseness and slang, and will be a pleasant companion for 
 the winter evenings."— Cincinnati Herald. 
 
 " The author has a great variety of experience, and he has made out of it not only an 
 agreeable but instructive book." — Albany Argun. 
 
 " It is filled with lively portraitures of naval life, and must be read with interest both 
 by seamen and landsmen." — 27] Y. Tribune. 
 
 " This is a pleasing book, abundantly teeming with the thrilling sasnalties of ' hair- 
 breadth 'scapes' which beset the paths of those who plough the enchafed bosom of the 
 deep, and is strikingly characterized by the winning graces of modesty of tone aad a re- 
 fined simplicity of narration." — Washington Republic. 
 
 ANNALS OF THE QUEENS OF SPAIN. By Anita Geokge. 2 vols. 12mo. 
 Price, $2 50. 
 
 "Of the manner in which she has performed her task, it is enough to say that she has 
 won the distinguished commendation of Wm. H. Prescott. ' — 27] Y. Evangelist. 
 
 "Mrs. George follows steadily the highway of her subject without diverging to any by- 
 paths of speculation and illustration. Her object appeftrs to be, to give as much informa- 
 tion as possible in small compass, in which she succeeds." — Literary World. 
 
 "The authoress has worked her way through the scattered rubbish of the past and pro- 
 duced a work of immediate and lasting interest." — Bangor' Courier. 
 
 " The work is written in a clear and vivacious style, and is an accession to the popular 
 literature." — Prairie Herald. 
 
A REEL IN THE BOTTLE FOR JACK IN THE DOLDRUMS: being the 
 Adventures of two of the King's Seamen., in a voyage to the Celestial Country. Edited from 
 the MSS. of anr Old Salt. By Rev. Henry T. Cheever. Charles Scribner. 
 
 '■We should be called extravagant, if the delight and interest with which we have 
 read this beautiful, wonderful allegory, were honestly written out. It purports to be 
 the adventures of two young seamen in the King's service, in a voyage to the celestial 
 country— another veritable Pilgrim's Progress, only made by sea, and with the greater 
 variety and peril incident to that way of traveling. Some of the best traits of Bun- 
 yan's immortal poem are here reproduced. The unity of design — the strong individu- 
 ality of character — the perpetual transit from the allegory to the truth concealed 
 beneath it — the homely humor, the touching pathos, deep religious significance, and 
 felicitous Scriptural imagery and language — are hardly unworthy of the genius of the 
 Bedford dreamer. An admirable work— nay, a great poem, we think all discriminat- 
 ing readers will call it ; while no one who takes it up will find it possible to dismiss 
 it till the eud." — New York Evangelist. 
 
 " As a work of Christian experience and religious counsel, this has great value. 
 The perusal of it will make one familiar with heart-experiences in Christian life, and 
 with the riches of the Scriptures and of devotional poetry in the English tongue. 
 Some of the poetry we suspect to be original, and it is of the first order of sacred 
 lyrics. If the ' Old Salt ' has any more such papers stowed away in his locker, we 
 advise the editor by all means to get them into his possession and work them up for 
 the public benefit. We are glad to learn that he has projected a library for seamen, 
 of which this is the Alpha — the Dominical letter in Jack's religious calendar." — In- 
 dependent. 
 
 "From things apparently the most minute, the author has contrived to give his 
 readers a most instructive lesson. We trust that no reader will expect to find any 
 thing here in the shape of levity. If they do, they will be disappointed. Religion and 
 morality are here set forth in an unusual dress, calculated to win the attention of 
 those to whom they would otherwise be wholly uninviting. The style and manner 
 of this volume augur for it a vast number of readers." — Christian Intelligencer. 
 
 " This is a very felicitous attempt at allegory. One would suppose, from the writer's 
 familiarity with nautical technology, that he was himself a veritable old salt, in the 
 truly marine sense of the word. The book is full of bright and striking illustrations, 
 well fitted to enchain the attention of the reader ; while there is running through it a 
 deep and strong current of evangelical thought and feeling. It will do good on the 
 water, and we doubt not, on the land also. Mr. Cheever's efforts in behalf of seamen, 
 especially in supplying them with attractive and useful books, are worthy of all praise." 
 — Puritan Recorder. 
 
 "Under the above quaint, yet not inapplicable title, Mr. Cheever has put forth an al- 
 legory which, taking the narrative of a sea voyage, depicts the struggles, trials, 
 temptations and difficulties, that beset the course of Christians in their earnest search 
 after true happiness. The allegory is most admirably sustained throughout. The 
 style is simple, clear, direct and forcible, the narrative is singularly interesting, and 
 will doubtless be favorably compared by many readers to its world-renowned proto- 
 type, the Pilgrim's Progress." — Arthur's Gazette. 
 
 " There is originality, rich and striking, on every page. With a depth of religious 
 experience but seldom found in these superficial days, is combined a delightful flow 
 of imagination, well regulated, however, by correct taste. It is one of those books 
 that are sure to be useful." — New York Journal of Commerce. 
 
 " The characters and scenes are admirably sustained under the conduct of a voyage, 
 and there is withal such a fertility of invention, such a richness of fancy, such a 
 flowing style and agreeable and genial spirit in the work, that very few of the great 
 mass of readers who take it up will readily lay it aside." — The Book Trade. 
 
 " A Reel in a Bottle is not, as may be supposed by readers addicted to punning, 
 and therefore on the look out for such perpetrations, a work connected with the 
 Temperance question. The title has been probably chosen to whet the reader's curi- 
 osity, (which is no fault in a title.) and to hint at the allegorical character of the book. 
 The author embarks his pilgrims, Peter and John, in a sort of joint captaincy, with a 
 well-appointed crew. The scenes and adventures they meet are a fair hit at some of the 
 theological neologists of the present day. The work is plain and straightforward, 
 and the sacred topics of which it treats are presented with earnestness and reverence." 
 - -Literary World. 
 
 "A rich imagination, a strong sense of the humorous, a keen insight into character, 
 and a most graphic pen, are visible in every page, while the religious vein is worthy 
 of the noble type of Bunyan's. It admirably satirizes many of the errant follies of the 
 day, and in the reasonings and conduct of the simple-minded, heavenly voyagerc, 
 many an opinion current in society is strikingly arraigned and condemned. No reader 
 will be apt to question its power as a work of art, or its manly decision and evan- 
 gelical purity in matters of religious opinion. It can hardly fail to do much good ; 
 and in the hands of sailors, for whom it would seem to be principally designed, it must 
 prove at once a charming and a useful teacher." — Parlor Magazine. 
 
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