"Trust that the Saviour was to thee
The ark upon the 'whelming wave,
The life-boat, 'mid the yawning sea
Of sin to save.
"That now, where joy, and light, and peace,
Are by His living presence poured,
Where storms are o'er and tempests cease,
Thy bark is moored."
CHAPTER XVII.
"BEING DEAD, YET SPEAKETH."
"What wouldst thou be?
A blessing to each one surrounding me,
A chalice of dew to the weary heart,
A sunbeam of joy bidding sorrow depart,
To the storm-tossed vessel a beacon-light,
A nightingale song in the darkest night,
A beckoning hand to a far-off goal,
An angel of love to each friendless soul—
Such would I be.
Oh, that such happiness were for me."—Frances Ridley Havergal.
It would be little use either to write or read any biography or record of deeds and lives, unless some good lessons could be learnt from the same. But
"Lives of great men all remind us
We may make our lives sublime,
And departing leave behind us,
Footprints on the sands of time."
From the life of Grace Darling several sermons could be preached, especially for those members of her own sex who are interested in her and her heroic exploit. Nor need the preacher be at a loss for texts, for Grace is an illustration of the words of the wise man in the last chapter of the Book of Proverbs. Several of the verses especially appear adapted to show what kind of girl she was; and if the reader will take a few, it will be seen how aptly in her own life she exemplified the teaching, which she must often have read, and with which she must have been very familiar.
"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." Grace Darling was, of necessity, after her act had made her famous, well known, and constantly watched. But there is only one report concerning her, and that is, that she was the personification of pure and simple goodness. It would not have been very wonderful if the tongues of malice and envy had found something hard to say of her, but we never hear of the shadow of a suspicion of any kind having rested upon her fair name. She possessed in herself the three Graces—Faith, Hope, and Charity. She was tender and pure. She impressed all who knew her by the unostentatious faithfulness of her spirit, and purity of her life. She seems to have been actuated every day by the one desire, to do her duty. She wished to serve God, obey her parents, and do any good work that might be in her power. And who does not see how much better she was than a useless fine lady, who could do nothing but pass her life in idleness? Who will not own that King Solomon was right when he said that the price of a virtuous woman is far above rubies? Gold and gems shine, but the pure light of a good woman's life sheds a better and more enduring radiance on the world than any jewels could do. And her value no one can estimate. Had the father of Grace Darling been asked to take a sum of money in exchange for his daughter, it is certain that the world would scarcely contain enough to have satisfied him. Rubies! Oh, they need not be mentioned in the same breath. The weary, sinful, suffering earth could do very well without rubies; but good women are what it sighs and groans for.