The storm continued for some days, during which the "Dolphin" lay
quietly at anchor in the bay of Pará. It was a quiet, uneventful time
for her passengers, but they enjoyed themselves well in each other's
society and waited patiently for a change of weather.
Finally it came; the sun shone, the waves had quieted down and a gentle
breeze taken the place of the boisterous wind of the last few days.
Just as the sun rose, the anchor was lifted and, to the joy of all on
board, the yacht went on her way, steaming out of the harbor and then
down the coast of Brazil; a long voyage, but, under the circumstances,
by no means unpleasant to the "Dolphin's" passengers, so fond as they
were of each other's society.
At length they arrived at Rio de Janeiro. They stayed there long
enough to acquaint themselves with its beauties and all that might
interest a stranger.
All that accomplished, they left for the north, as it was getting near
the time when even the invalids might safely return to the cooler
climate of that region.
It was evening; the children had retired for the night, and all the
older ones were together on the deck. A silence that had lasted for
some moments was broken by Lucilla. "You are taking us home now, I
suppose, father?"
"I don't remember to have said so," replied the Captain, pleasantly,
"though very likely I may do so if you all wish it."
Then Violet spoke up in her quick, lively way, "Mamma, if you would
give us all an invitation to visit Viamede, I think it would be just
delightful to go there for a week or two; and then Chester could see
his sisters and their children."
"I should be glad to help him to do so; and very glad to have you all
my guests at Viamede," was the reply, in Grandma Elsie's own sweet
tones.
Then came a chorus of thanks for her invitation; all seeming much
pleased with the idea.
"It will be quite a journey," remarked Lucilla, in a tone of
satisfaction.
"You are not weary of life on shipboard, daughter?" her father queried,
with a pleased little laugh.
"No, indeed, father; I am very fond of life on the 'Dolphin.' I suppose
that's because of the sailor-blood in me inherited from you."
"Some of which I have also," said Grace; "for I dearly love a voyage in
the 'Dolphin.'"
"Which some of the rest of us do without having the excuse of inherited
sailor-blood," said Harold.
"No; that inheritance isn't at all necessary to the enjoyment of life
on the 'Dolphin,'" remarked Chester.
"Indeed, it is not," said Evelyn. "I am a landsman's daughter, but
life on this vessel with the dear friends always to be found on it is
delightful to me."
"And the rest of us can give a like testimony," said Mrs. Lilburn, and
those who had not already spoken gave a hearty assent.
"Up this South American coast, through the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf
of Mexico--it will be quite a voyage," remarked Lucilla, reflectively.
"It is well, indeed, that we are all fond of life on the 'Dolphin.'"
"Yes; you will have had a good deal of it by the time we get home,"
said her father.
"To-morrow is Sunday," remarked Grandma Elsie. "I am very glad we can
have services on board. I often find them quite as helpful as those I
attend on shore."
"Yes; I don't know why we shouldn't have services, though there is no
licensed preacher among us," said the Captain. "Certainly, we may all
read God's Word, talk of it to others, and address to him both prayers
and praises."
The next morning after breakfast all assembled upon deck, united in
prayer and praise, the Captain read a sermon, and then Mr. Lilburn, by
request of the others, led them in their Bible lesson.
"Let us take parts of the 13th and 14th chapters of Numbers for our
lesson to-day," he said, reading the passages aloud, then asked, "Can
you tell me, Cousin Elsie, where the children of Israel were encamped
just at that time?"
"At Kadesh, in what was called the wilderness of Paran. It was at a
little distance to the southwest of the southern end of the Dead Sea."
"They went and searched the land, as Moses directed, and cut down and
brought back with them a cluster of grapes, a very large one, it must
have been, for they bare it between two upon a staff; also they brought
pomegranates and figs. Do you know, Neddie, what Eshcol means?" asked
Cousin Ronald.
"No, sir; papa hasn't taught me that yet," replied the little boy.
"It means a bunch of grapes," said Cousin Ronald, smiling kindly on
the little fellow. "Grace, do you think the spies were truthful?"
"They seem to have been, so far as the facts about the country they
had just visited were concerned," Grace answered, then read, "And they
told him, and said, 'We came unto the land whither thou sentest us,
and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of
it. Nevertheless, the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the
cities are walled, and very great; and, moreover, we saw the children
of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the
Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains:
and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.'"
"Truly, a very discouraging report," said Mr. Lilburn; "for though
they described the land as very good and desirable, they evidently
considered its inhabitants too strong to be overcome."
He then read, "And they brought up an evil report of the land which
they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, 'The land,
through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the
inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of
a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which
come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and
so we were in their sight.' And what effect had their report upon the
people, Cousin Violet?" he asked.
In reply, Violet read, "And all the congregation lifted up their
voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children
of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole
congregation said unto them, 'Would God that we had died in the land
of Egypt! Or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore
hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that
our wives and our children should be a prey? Were it not better for us
to return into Egypt?' And they said, one to another, 'Let us make a
captain, and let us return into Egypt.'"
It seemed to be Mr. Dinsmore's turn, and he read, "And Joshua, the
son of Nun; and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that
searched the land, rent their clothes: And they spake unto all the
company of the children of Israel, saying, 'The land, which we passed
through to search it, is exceeding good land. If the Lord delight
in us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land
which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord,
neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us:
their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them
not.'"
Then Mrs. Dinsmore read, "But all the congregation bade stone them with
stones. And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the
congregation before all the children of Israel. And the Lord said unto
Moses, 'How long will this people provoke me? And how long will it be
ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have showed among them?
I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will
make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.'"
"How very childish they were," remarked Violet. "Why should they
wish they had died in the land of Egypt, or in the wilderness? That
would have been no better than dying where they were. And it does
seem strange they could not trust in God when he had given them such
wonderful deliverances."
"And they said, one to another, 'Let us make a captain, and let us
return into Egypt,'" read Harold, adding, "It does seem as though they
felt that Moses would not do anything so wicked and foolish as going
back into Egypt."
"And they might well feel so," said the Captain. "Moses was not the man
to be discouraged by such difficulties after all the wonders God had
shown him and them in Egypt and the wilderness."
"That is true," said Mr. Lilburn. "But let us go on to the end of the
story. We have read that the Lord threatened to smite them with the
pestilence, and disinherit them, and make of Moses a greater nation and
mightier than they. Chester, what did Moses say in reply?"
"And Moses said unto the Lord, 'Then the Egyptians shall hear it (for
Thou broughtest up this people in Thy might from among them); and they
will tell it to the inhabitants of this land; for they have heard that
Thou, Lord, art among this people, that Thou, Lord, art seen face to
face, and that Thy cloud standeth over them, and that Thou goest before
them, by daytime in the pillar of cloud, and in a pillar of fire by
night. Now if Thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the
nations which have heard the fame of Thee will speak, saying, Because
the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which He sware
unto them, therefore He hath slain them in the wilderness. And now,
I beseech Thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as Thou
hast spoken, saying, The Lord is long-suffering, and of great mercy,
forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the
guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech Thee, the iniquity of
this people according unto the greatness of Thy mercy, and as Thou hast
forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.'"
Chester paused, and Mrs. Dinsmore took up the story where he dropped
it, reading from her Bible, "And the Lord said, 'I have pardoned
according to thy word: but as truly as I live, all the earth shall
be filled with the glory of the Lord. Because all those men which
have seen My glory and My miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the
wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not
hearkened to My voice. Surely they shall not see the land which I
sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked Me
see it: But My servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him,
and hath followed Me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto
he went; and his seed shall possess it. (Now the Amalekites and the
Canaanites dwelt in the valley). To-morrow, turn you, and get you into
the wilderness by the Red Sea.'"
"Papa, did all those people lose their souls?" asked Elsie.
"I hope not," he replied. "If they repented and turned to the Lord,
they were forgiven and reached Heaven at last. Jesus says, 'Come unto
Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in
heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.'"