A Trip Abroad | Page 3

thankful that my life had been spared until
another beautiful resurrection morning. At half past ten o'clock I went
into one of the dining rooms where two ministers were conducting a
meeting. The order of the service, as nearly as I can give it, was as
follows: Responsive reading of the twenty-third and twenty-fourth
Psalms; prayer; the hymn, "Onward, Christian Soldiers"; reading of the
twenty-ninth Psalm; prayer; the hymn, "Lead, Kindly Light"; an
address on "Knowing God"; prayer; the collection, taken while singing;
and the benediction. The ship furnished Bibles and hymn-books. A
large copy of the Bible was placed upon a British flag at the head of
one of the tables where the speaker stood, but he read from the
American Revised Version of the Scriptures. The sermon was
commenced by some remarks to the effect that man is hard to please.
Nothing earthly satisfies him, but Thomas expressed the correct idea

when he said: "Show us the Father and it sufficeth us." The minister
then went on to speak of God as "the God of patience," "the God of
comfort," "the God of hope," and "the God of peace." It was, with some
exceptions, a pleasing and uplifting address. There were about thirty
persons in attendance, and the collection was for the Sailors' Orphans'
Home in Scotland. The following is one verse of the closing hymn:
"A few more years shall roll, A few more seasons come, And we shall
be with those that rest, Asleep within the tomb; Then, oh, my Lord,
prepare My soul for that great day, Oh, wash me in thy precious blood
And take my sins away."
Before the close of the day, I read the whole of Mark's record of the life
of our Savior and turned my Bible over to Gus, the steward. We had
food served four times, as usual. The sea was smooth and the day
passed quietly. A Catholic gentleman said something at breakfast about
"saying a few prayers" to himself, and I heard a woman, in speaking
about going to church, say she had beads and a prayer-book with her.
Later in the day I saw her out on the deck with a novel, and what I
supposed to be the prayer-book, but she was reading the novel.
Several of the passengers had reading matter with them. Some read
novels, but my Book was far better than any of these. It has a greater
Author, a wider range of history, more righteous laws, purer morals,
and more beautiful description than theirs. It contains a longer and
better love story than theirs, and reveals a much grander Hero. The
Bible both moralizes and Christianizes those who permit its holy
influence to move them to loving obedience of the Lord Jesus. It can
fill its thoughtful reader with holy hope and lead him into the
realization of that hope. It is a Book adapted to all men everywhere,
and the more carefully it is read the greater the interest in it and the
profit from it become. It is the volume that teaches us how to live here
that we may live hereafter, and in the dying hour no one will regret
having been a diligent student of its matchless pages of divine truth and
wisdom.
The last Lord's day of the voyage the ship reached Moville, Ireland,
where a small vessel came out and took off the passengers for

Londonderry. The tilled land, visible from the ship, reminded me of a
large garden. Some time that night we anchored in the harbor at
Greenock, near the mouth of the River Clyde. About one o'clock the
second steward came in, calling out: "Janes!" I answered from my berth
and heard him call out: "Don Carlos Janes!" Again I answered and
learned that he had some mail for me. I told him to hand it in, not
remembering that the door was locked, but that made no difference, for
he handed it in anyhow, but the locking arrangement on that door
needed repairing after he went away. I arose and examined the two
pieces of mail, which were from friends, giving me directions as to
where I should go when the ship got up to Glasgow, twenty-two miles
from the sea. There was but one case of sea sickness reported on the
whole voyage. There was one death, but the corpse was carried into
port instead of being buried at sea.
The home of Brother and Sister Henry Nelmes, which was my home
while I staid in Glasgow, is nicely located. Brother Nelmes and his wife
are excellent people, and treated me with much kindness. Glasgow is a
large and important city, with many interesting places in it. The
Municipal Building with its marble stairs, alabaster balustrade, onyx
columns, and other ornamentation,