WHEN Whitefield preached before the seamen at New York, he had the
following bold apostrophe in his sermon:
"Well, my boys, we have a clear sky, and are making fine headway over a
smooth sea, before a light breeze, and we shall soon lose sight of land.
But what means this sudden lowering of the heavens, and that dark cloud
arising from beneath the western horizon? Hark! Don't you hear distant
thunder? Don't you see those flashes of lightning? There is a storm
gathering! Every man to his duty! How the waves rise and dash against
the ship! The air is dark! The tempest rages! Our masts are gone! The
ship is on her beam ends! What next?"
It is said that the unsuspecting tars, reminded of former perils on the
deep, as if struck by the power of magic, arose with united voices and
minds, and exclaimed, "_Take to the long boat._"