The Portland Sketch Book Part 4

"Ochone! Mr. Hackinsack," said the tender hearted fellow, "it almost made the salt wather come intil my een, to see the poor man and the beautiful kilt leddy,--an' whin I tould 'em as how the schooner was burnin' and would be blown to Jerico in a twinklin' all he said was to give me a terrible, ferocious-like scowl and point with a loaded pistol to the companion; so I took his mainin' an' left 'em."

Two other messengers, sent to take him away by force, met with no better success.

The flames were ready to burst out on every side, and from each c.h.i.n.k and crevice around the hatches--which had been replaced and barred down--the smoke was darting up with the force of vapour from a steam engine. The deck had become so heated that it was painful to stand upon it--the fire was fast progressing towards the run, where the magazine was situated. Thrice had the order been given to quit the burning vessel, but I could not forsake my friend without one more effort to rescue him from the terrible fate that awaited him, if left behind. He still held the loaded pistol in his hand and sternly forbade my approach. Poor Ponto had fainted from grief and loss of blood, and lay across his sister's body. I sprang forward and raised him in my arms, regardless of the maniac's threats. The pistol banged in my ear, but fortunately the ball pa.s.sed over me as I stooped, and I regained the companion-way without injury. By this time, he had drawn another from his belt.

"Put away the pistol, and come with me," I urged,--"the vessel is on fire and will soon be blown to atoms."

He looked at me with a grim stare for a moment, then burst into an idiotic laugh. That wild laugh is still ringing in my brain. "Ha! ha!

ha!--Fire? fire? here it is, wreathing and coiling!--here! here!"

das.h.i.+ng his hand against his forehead.

Perceiving that it was vain to reason with his madness, and fearing for the life of the wounded boy in my arms, I reluctantly left the hapless man to his fate.

The boat had already put off for the last time, but I succeeded in prevailing upon them to return, and leaping in, soon reached the Dart in safety.

The night set in wild and black as Death. Disparted and ragged ma.s.ses of cloud were rus.h.i.+ng over the face of the heavens, where once and again, the soaring moon, and that same bright, solitary star, would show their calm faces through the reeling rack, apparently flying from this scene of turmoil and death. The increasing wind howled mournfully through the rigging, and our battered hull staggered along the inky main writhing and shuddering on the heave of the surge like a weary, wounded thing.

We followed in the track of the burning vessel as she fled along before the gale, awaiting in breathless suspense the consummation of her wild career. The black smoke, interfulgent with tortuous tongues of lurid fire, rolled in immense volumes over her!--the red flames darted up her masts, along the spars and rigging, and gushed in swirling sheets from her ports and bulwarks, while in their fierce gleams, the billows that ramped and raved about her, glowed like a huge seething cauldron of molten iron, and the gloomy clouds that lowered above were tinged in their ragged borders, as with blood. Occasionally the jarring thunder of her cannon, as they became heated to explosion, announced to us the progress of the insidious destroyer.

But a still more thrilling spectacle awaited us. In the height of the conflagration, the hapless Percy, bearing his dead wife in his arms, emerged as it were from the very midst of the flames, and took a stand on the companion-way. So strongly was the tall, dark-figure relieved against the glowing element, that his slightest gesture could not escape our scrutiny. While with one arm he spanned the waist of the supple corse, which apparently struggled to escape from his grasp, he waved the other on high as if exulting in the whirl and commotion around him. He seemed like the minister of some dark rite of heathenism, preparing to offer up a victim to the Moloch of his superst.i.tion.

At length arrived the dreadful moment! The black hull seemed to be lifted bodily out of the water. A volume of smoke burst over her like the first eruption of a volcano! A spire of flame shot up to the heavens, filling the firmament with burning fragments, while the clouds that overhung the sea, were torn and scattered by the tremendous concussion. A crash followed--a deep, bellowing boom, as if the solid globe had split asunder!--then all was darkness--dreary, void, silent as death!

TO M***, ON HER BIRTH-DAY.

By William Cutter.

What though the skies of winter Look cold and cheerless now!

What though earth wears no mantle But that of ice and snow!

Though trees, all bare and leafless, Stretch up their naked arms, In sad and mournful silence, To brave the wintry storms!

There is enough of suns.h.i.+ne, Fond memory will say, Around this morning cl.u.s.tered-- _This is thy natal day!_

What though the birds of summer, Flown far and long away, In gentler climes are warbling, Their loved and grateful lay!

What though, in field and garden, No fragrant incense pours From nature's thousand altars-- Her blossoms and her flowers!

There's music sweet as angels', And fragrance sweet as May, In the thoughts that breathe and blossom Around _thy natal day_!

To me, the skies above us Are bright as summer's noon!

And trees, in crystal blossoms, More brilliant than in June!

There's music in the wintry blast-- There's fragrance in the snow-- And a garb of glorious beauty On every thing below!

For oh! affection, wakened With morning's earliest ray, Has never ceased to whisper-- _This is thy natal day!_

RELIGIOUS OBLIGATION IN RULERS.

By John W. Chickering.

It is a great truth, and worthy of a place among the few grand principles which lie at the foundation of all wise and just government, that 'the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men.' This may be understood _de jure_, or _de facto_; and in either sense must be believed, not only by those who admit, on the authority of the prophet, that it was spoken by a divine voice, but by all who do not deny the whole theory of an overruling Providence.

That the almighty Ruler retains both a right and an agency in the management of terrestrial governments, is undisputed by all who recognize his right and his agency in any thing. It is the atheist alone who would insulate the kingdoms of the earth from the kingdom of heaven.

None would banish Jehovah from the smaller empires his providence has organized and sustained, but those who banish him from the universe his power has created.

Thus atheism in philosophy is sole progenitor of atheism in politics; and it should not excite our surprise, that he who 'sees' _not_ 'G.o.d in clouds nor hears him in the wind,'--who beholds in the great things of the earth, the air and the sea, no footsteps of divine power, and no finger-prints of divine wisdom, should be equally blind concerning the progress of civil affairs, and should so have perverted his mind, and so tortured the moral sense which G.o.d gave him, as to believe, and to rejoice, that without G.o.d, kingdoms rise and fall, and that it is _not_ 'by him' that 'kings reign, and princes decree justice.'

But with the atheist, that moral monster,'---- horrendum, informe, ingens, cui lumen ademptum,' we are not now concerned. We leave him to the darkness he has brought upon himself through his 'philosophy and vain deceit,' and to the enjoyment, if enjoyment it be, of his dreary cavern, more dreary than that of Polyphemus,--a G.o.dless world.

We come to inquire, by way of preparation for the more direct prosecution of the object of this article, concerning the views entertained by the great ma.s.s of mankind who believe in the existence and providence of Jehovah, as to his particular connection with the subordinate governments on earth, and the station which it is his holy pleasure to occupy in their control and management. And here we find at once, wide and hurtful mistakes; occupying relatively, such is man's tendency to extremes, the position of antipodes. Some, overlooking the twofold agency, partly civil, partly ecclesiastical, by which the Most High promotes his own ends and the well being of his creatures, have resolved each into the other, making religion an affair of the state, and civil government a matter for ecclesiastical influence; producing in practice the unseemly compound, commonly called "church and state," but which might be more accurately characterized as the ruin of both.

As the fruits of this mistake, the world has seen profane monarchs invested with t.i.tles of religion and piety. In some countries, aided by ambition and intrigue, it has brought kings to kiss the feet of the professed amba.s.sadors of Jesus Christ; and gained for them honors and power, which their divine but humble master declined for himself. This mistake has been confirmed, if it was not originated, by the organization of the great Jewish theocracy. This was, indeed, church and state. But it was under a divine administration.--And although the fact that the Deity not only attested and ratified the alliance, but condescended to be legislator, judge, and executive, might at once have prevented the inference; yet men _have_ inferred that the civil and ecclesiastical powers ought always to be thus commingled. The consequences might have been antic.i.p.ated. The history both of Christianity and of the world, is darkened by their melancholy shade.

Religion, unguarded by the miraculous intervention of Him who, under a former dispensation, smote the offerers of strange fire, has been corrupted by those who would do her honor, and crushed by the embraces of false friends;--and her splendid sojourn in the halls of power, has been met by reverses not less striking, and far more disastrous, than Moses met after being the _protege_ of royalty; while the civil rights of men, invaded by ambition and avarice, under the name of religion, and with the sanction of G.o.d's name, have been yielded up without a struggle, under the impression, that resistance would be "fighting against G.o.d." What would not have been demanded in the name of man, has been freely given in the name of G.o.d;--men who in defence of their rights, would have ventured cheerfully upon treason, have shrunk with horror from sacrilege.

Thus religion and liberty have well-nigh perished together, and their present resting-place on earth resembles rather the one found by Noah's dove on her second flight, than the broad home, illimitable but by the world's circ.u.mference, which as philanthropists we hope, and as Christians we pray, they may soon enjoy.

Others again, warned, perhaps, by the disasters consequent upon the policy last described, have gone to the extreme, not less hurtful, and far more presumptuous, of excluding religious motives and religious principles from all influence in the affairs of the commonwealth. They have thus become _quoad hoc_, practical atheists. Content indeed, that the Deity should keep our planet in motion, and regulate its seasons and its tides; and surround and cover it with the blessings of Providence, nor careful to forbid him a partic.i.p.ation even in the _internal_ concerns of Jupiter, or Hersch.e.l.l,--perhaps even willing to admit in theory, the truth of the statement from the inspired record with which this article commenced,--they yet deem it best for man, considered either as a governing or as a governed being, that the notion of a presiding Deity should be as much as possible excluded from his mind.

The mere juxtaposition of the words "religion" and "politics," or any of their correlates, is sufficient to excite the fears of these scrupulous alarmists; and if they do not imitate the example of the French, who were seen near the close of the last century, rus.h.i.+ng madly with the pendulum-like oscillation of human nature, from the bonds of religious despotism, into the very wilderness of atheism, and denounce Jehovah as a usurper, and his adherents as rebels against "the powers that be,"

they strive to separate all questions and acts of government from G.o.d and his laws, as if there _were_ no G.o.d; thus making, if not an atheistic people, an atheistic government. Far otherwise, we cannot but pause here to remark, acted the n.o.ble men, the sifted wheat of three kingdoms, who were thrown by G.o.d's providence through ecclesiastical tyranny, upon these sh.o.r.es. If they for a time, with a strange tenacity of old habits, which showed that principle, not pa.s.sion, led them, clung to the very usages respecting toleration, which had exiled them, they at least preserved the nation which they founded, from the character and the curse of a nation which despises G.o.d. Heaven grant, that the pendulum may not even now be swinging to the other extreme!

While we would have the affairs of the nation managed as if there were no _church_ in the world, we would not have them managed as if there were no G.o.d in the world. Could our voices reach the millions of our countrymen, as Joshua's voice reached the thousands of Israel, we would say as he said, 'IF THE LORD BE G.o.d, SERVE HIM.' In a word, while we believe that the civil and ecclesiastical departments ought to be distinct, and that their union is a departure from the intention of Him who formed both, and that it is fraught with the most disastrous consequences to both, we do _not_ believe that the almighty Ruler has excluded himself from the control of either, or given the least permission that either should be managed on any other principles than the eternal principles of right, which are embodied in his character, and laid down in his word.

When we speak of a sense of religious obligation, we mean more than a general undefined belief that such an obligation exists. Such a belief is withheld, we trust, by comparatively few who hold important places in our national and State governments. But can it be doubted by any man who has accustomed himself to contemplate the distinction between mere intellectual a.s.sent, and the warm, practical conviction which reaches the heart, and controls the conduct, that this belief may coexist with as total an insensibility to the claims of Jehovah, as if it were William IV., or Nicholas of Russia, who performed them, instead of the Most High G.o.d?

Is it too much to desire, nay to infer, as a _duty_, from what has already been said, that our rulers in the executive, legislative, and judicial departments, both in the general and State governments, should have _an abiding consciousness of accountability_--should live under _a felt pressure of obligation_--to the Sovereign of the universe, which should a.s.sume, as it must where it exists at all, a practical, binding force? Is it too much to ask, that they should remember that they are the servants of G.o.d for good to this great people, and that to their own Master they stand or fall? That they rule by G.o.d's permission, and for his ends; and that a higher tribunal than any on earth awaits the termination of their responsibility to man? That they should remember their obligation, in common with those who elevated them to office, "whatever they do, to do all to the glory of G.o.d;" and the solemn truth, that a sin against G.o.d or man, whether of omission or of commission, whether committed in private, in the family circle, or in the high places of authority, is no less a sin, when committed by a judge, or a legislator, or a chief magistrate of a State or nation, than by the humblest of his const.i.tuents? In a word, do we claim too prominent a place for religious principle in the administration of public affairs, when we avow our desire that the rulers of a people, who are the nominal, and in a free government the _real_, representatives of the people, should be daily and practically aware, that they are accountable to a higher Power, thus realizing, if not in the highest and most Christian sense, yet in the literal signification, the picture of a good ruler drawn by the prophet, who, in the name of the almighty Ruler, declares, "He that ruleth over men, must be just--_ruling in the fear of G.o.d_!"

We cannot reflect without occasion for the deepest grat.i.tude, that in contemplating the advantages of such a state of mind and of heart, as possessed by men in authority, we are not confined to _a priori_ reasoning. England has had her Alfred, her Edward VI., and her Matthew Hale; Sweden her Gustavus Adolphus; our own most cherished and beloved country, a Was.h.i.+ngton, and a Wirt, with many others among the dead, and not a few among the living, to whom our readers may recur as we proceed, both for ill.u.s.tration of our meaning, and proof of our a.s.sertions.

Among the effects of this sense of obligation, which go to show its importance to every man in public life, we mention first, _its influence in checking the love and pride of power_. It will not be said by any man, who has acquired even a smattering of the science of human nature, that the simplicity of our republican inst.i.tutions excludes all danger from this source. It is the great weakness of man, to desire power; and, having it, to be proud of it; and, in his pride, to abuse it. It matters not whether it be the power of a monarch on his throne, or of the humblest village functionary. If it be _power_, or even the semblance of power, it charms the eye of the expectant, and, too often, turns the head of the possessor.

True, in this land, power walks in humble guise. She rides in no gilded chariot--is clothed with no robes of state--is preceded by no heralds with announcement of n.o.ble t.i.tles--is decorated with no ribbons and stars. Nor is there an office worth seeking, as a matter of gain, except in some special cases, growing rather out of individual character and circ.u.mstances, than from design on the part of legislators. But who will deny, that RANK, here, as elsewhere throughout the wide world, has its attractions? And who, that has thought upon the subject carefully, doubts that they are as strong, as if it were hereditary? As far as pride of heart in the possessor is concerned, undoubtedly the temptation is even greater. That rank is _not_ hereditary, and is therefore attainable by individual effort, opens a fountain of ambition in a thousand hearts, which, under another const.i.tution of society, would never have known ambition, but as _a strange word_, while the fact that it is ordinarily the prize of talent, attaches to it an additional power to tempt and seduce the mind. It need not be said, that so far as this love and pride of power exists, it tends to subvert all the true ends of government.

That the influence of a sense of subordination and accountableness to the Supreme Being, will be direct and strong in checking these tendencies of human nature, is so plain as to command a.s.sent without argument. Who can be proud in the perceived presence of infinite splendor and worth? How can ambition thrive under the overshadowing greatness of almighty Power?

It is recorded of Gustavus Adolphus, that being surprised one day by his officers in secret prayer in his tent, he said: "Persons of my rank are answerable to G.o.d alone for their actions; this gives the enemy of mankind a peculiar advantage over us; an advantage which can be resisted only by prayer and reading the Scriptures." This remark, though it does not specify the moral dangers to which the royal wors.h.i.+pper was exposed, has reference, undoubtedly, in part, if not mainly, to that pride and loftiness of heart, which are the unrestrained denizens of those high regions in the social atmosphere, which lie above the common walks of life. Let a man in one of the high places of the earth, be accustomed only _to look down_, and he is ready like Herod of old, to fancy the flattery, truth, which tells him he is a G.o.d;--let him _look up_;--there Jehovah sitteth above the water floods and remaineth king forever!

Another important effect of such views of religious obligation, will be seen _in restraining the blind and ruinous excess of party feeling_. He is a short-sighted politician indeed, who utters a sweeping denunciation of party distinctions. And if they may be harmless, and even in some cases form the very safety of the nation, then party _feeling_, without which _parties_ could not exist, is, in some of its degrees and developements right and desirable. But like the lightning of heaven, while it purifies the political atmosphere, how easily and how quickly may it desolate and destroy! In its healthful action, it is like the gentle breeze, which refreshes man and fertilizes the earth; in its excess, like the tornado, which sweeps away every green thing, and even upturns the foundations of many generations.

When it is a modification of true-hearted patriotism, seeking the public good by party organizations, it is right and safe; but when it is the offspring of the wicked selfishness, already described, it is restrained by no bounds, and directed to no good end. When a public officer, of whatever rank, becomes the servant of a party, instead of being a servant of G.o.d, for good to the _people_, it is not difficult to foresee the consequences.

No argument is necessary to show that he who feels himself accountable to G.o.d, will be but slightly constrained by the bonds of party influence. So far as he regards the ends of a party as accordant with the true ends of government, which in some cases may be nothing more than the truth, and in others nothing _less_--his sense of religious obligation will of course not interfere with his diligent prosecution of those ends. But at that critical point, where ends zeal for party, for the sake of the common weal, and begins zeal for party, for the party's sake, and for ambition's sake, there a sense of paramount obligation, like the magnetic power, will still the whispers of selfishness, and counteract the tendencies of party commitment. The Christian politician knows no party but the party of patriots, or, if that party be divided, he seeks not the building up of either fragment for its own sake--but the building up on the best and most hopeful, or if need be, on the ruins of both, the great fabric of public welfare. Who does not desire to see a deep sense of allegiance to one who is our Master, pervading the leaders and the adherents of the great political parties, into which it is so common and perhaps necessary, for nations to be divided?--under such an influence, how might excesses be restrained, needless repellances be neutralized, and how soon, instead of fierce bands of brethren gathered in distinct and opposing array, like the dark clouds of summer, meeting over our heads, might we see the beauty and the strength of party organization, without its wide severance and its deadly hate, like the rainbow, which is not more beautiful in the variety of its colors, than in the grace with which the divine Painter has blended them.

It will be denied by none, of whatever religious or political faith, that public morals are, under a government like ours, the life-blood of national strength and safety. The day that shall behold us a nation of gamblers, or duelists, or profane swearers or drunkards, or Sabbath-breakers--will be the day of our political death. Armies, and navies, and enterprise, and numbers, with a sound hereditary government, may for a time give prosperity to a dissolute immoral people. But in a government like ours, where the laws and the administration of law, are as quickly and as certainly affected by the popular sentiment, owing to frequent elections, as the sunbeams are reflected from the summer clouds, prosperity cannot survive morality a single day. And who can tell how important, in this view, it is, that our public men should be public models of private virtue!

Oh, when, our hearts exclaim, when shall the _evil_ example be unknown in the high places of power; and purity, truth, high-toned Christian morality, beam like another sun, from the seats of influence? The true answer to this question would afford another argument for the importance of that sense of religious obligation which has now been considered. The command of G.o.d is the only mandate in the universe which can effectually restrain human pa.s.sions and desires. The voice which comes attended by the sanction, "Thus saith the Lord," is the only voice which can successfully say, "peace! be still," to the winds and the waves of wrong inclination. When our rulers shall "all be taught of G.o.d,"--and yield themselves to a constraining sense of his dominion, and their own accountableness--then, and not till then, will they as a body, be such models of private correctness and virtue, as many of them, both among the dead and among the living, have been, for the imitation of the young men, the hope and glory of our land.