TRUE TO HIS MOTHER

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Jul 22, 1889

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 28.

TRUE TO HIS MOTHER.

“GOOD-BYE, little mother,” said Harry Carter, a tall, fine-looking fisherman, as he folded in a close embrace the woman who had taught his infant lips to lisp the word “mother,” and who now was nearing the end of life’s pathway.

Mrs. Carter had, all her life, lived on the banks of the beautiful river that could be seen from the open door. Out of a large family, all of her sons had been fishermen, and all of her daughters had married men who followed the same calling. Henry, the youngest of the family, was the only one who had wished to go out into the world, beyond the mouth of their busy river, on to the stormy and restless ocean. Before, however, these thoughts and wishes were formed into a definite plan, he had encountered a pair of bright, laughing eyes that had held him captive where he was, and the little home he made for himself, with those same bright eyes by his side, became the dearest spot on earth to him.

Now those eyes were closed in death, the little home was a home no longer, and once more the desire had come to try a more extended trip on the bosom of the ocean; and with this desire had come the opportunity; for a large vessel had entered the river in distress for a sailor to supply the place of one who had just died. Henry at once presented himself before the captain, who, liking his looks, engaged him, and now the time for leaving had come, and he had only a moment in which to say a word of farewell to his aged mother.

“My son,” said the old lady, “a sailor’s life is full of temptations. What safeguard are you taking with you?”

“The little Testament you gave me when a boy, the only letter my wife ever wrote me, and in my heart love for you, for my departed wife, and for Him who gave me such priceless blessings.”

A few words more of tender farewell and mother and son were parted—she, in the solitude of her own room, to offer up a prayer for him who was about to enter a life of danger, hardship, and temptation; he to appear before the captain of the vessel that was even then awaiting him.

It was not long before Henry Carter became convinced that the life he had chosen suited him. He had no fears of death, and in the wildest storm, as in the most intense calm, he went about his duties in a quiet, cheerful way that won the respect of those about him.

The captain of the vessel was a man who, so long as everything went as he wished, was kind and indulgent to his crew; but when a storm overtook him, and more than usual care and exertion were needed to manage the vessel, he seemed to be completely transformed, cursing and swearing at those around him in a way that made Henry shudder. It was one of the things to which he could not make up his mind to listen, and one day, after a more than usually violent storm, he sought the captain, and quietly informed him that when they next landed, he must find some one to take his place.

“Tired of the life already?” said the captain.

“No,” was the reply, “I like it better than I thought I should.”

“You do not like the vessel, then?”

“O, yes; she is much more to my liking, too, than I expected.”

“Then the fault must be in me, your captain?”

Henry did not reply, and was asked again: “Well, what is it?”

“I have only one fault to find with you as my superior officer. I have discovered that you do not speak with respect of your own Master, and it is only good servants who make good masters.”

The captain sprang to his feet, and with a horrible oath demanded:—

“How dare you speak so to me? How dare you call me a servant. I am owner and master of my vessel.”

Quietly and in a tone and manner that had a certain amount of solemnity in them, Henry said:—

“But who is Master of the waves on which your vessel rides, of the winds that toss it about as you would a feather? Who is Master of the storms that make you tremble for its safety, of the thunder and lightning of the earth on which you live and have your being? It is One”—pointing upward—“Who has said, ‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.’”

For a moment the two men looked at each other, and then they parted without a word. For three days the vessel went on her way without any sight of land, but on the fourth an outline appeared on the horizon, that broadened and widened as they approached, until unmistakable signs of active life were visible. Then Henry Carter was summoned to the presence of the captain, who directed his attention to a square piece of pasteboard on the wall, on which were painted in large letters the words that had been so solemnly repeated only a few days before: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”

“Do you think,” said the captain, “that with that ever before a man who earnestly wishes to live up to it, he might in time become a good servant?”

“Not in his own strength, but with the aid of Him who gave the command, he might.”

“Would you be willing to continue in the service of a man who sought that aid, and who was endeavoring to make a good servant as well as a good master?”

Henry Carter looked his companion in the face a moment, a look that was understood as well as words, and the captain held out his hand, and taking that of the sailor in a hearty grasp, said:—

“You are, from the time we reach land, the mate of this vessel; but, as you look to me for orders regarding it, so I shall look to you for help in the guidance of my own life; and as you will be the instrument in God’s hand for the saving of my soul, so we together will work for those around us. Your words the other day have carried me back to the days of my boyhood, and you, who have a mother, know what that means.”

It was not long before the sailors found that not only had the captain given up the use of profane language, but that he expected it to be given up by those about him. Nor was it all effected suddenly, but gradually, by example and by a word in season here and there, that did much for the saving of souls and the glory of God—Selected.