Chapter X
Makes Several Successful Voyages—Becomes Rich—Buys a Ship of his Own—Makes his Fortune—Retires from the Sea—Returns to his Native Village.
——“This active course,
Chosen in youth, through manhood he pursued,
Till due provision for his modest wants
Had been obtained; and, thereupon, resolved
To pass the remnant of his days untasked
With needless services, from hardship free,
His calling laid aside, he lived at ease.”
—WORDSWORTH.
“The successful issue of my voyage not only gained me the entire confidence of the owner of my ship, but also put me in possession of a considerable sum of money, with which I was able, to my very great satisfaction, to meet all claims against me, besides supplying my friend’s need, as I told you. This, however, left me without anything to live on, so that I was obliged to undertake a second voyage, in spite of a certain uneasy feeling of which I could not get rid.
“Since the time when in the prison I had received the assurance of the pardon of all my sins, I had been, it is true, quite satisfied as to the safety of my soul, knowing that God having received me into His fold, whatever might befall me, ‘all things must work together for good.’ Still I could not altogether overcome my apprehension at the thought of my father’s curse, and of its influence on my temporal happiness and well-being. I felt that I was justified in this when I thought of the fifth commandment, ‘Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ He who honours, and consequently obeys his parents, I thought, has a promise here of a long and happy life, not indeed of eternal life, to gain which he must honour God and keep His commandments, that is, he must be converted and have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, for ‘this is His commandment.’ If he neglects this, he may indeed lead a long and prosperous life here, and yet lose his life hereafter. He who, on the contrary, disobeys his parents cannot be happy and successful in his earthly career, although he may, by sincere repentance and faith, obtain forgiveness of God, for his Saviour’s sake, and everlasting happiness. If he has brought down upon himself his father’s curse, even this forgiveness will not alter its effects in this world, although in the hands of the Almighty the very sorrows and sufferings it brings upon him may become the means of securing his eternal salvation.
“Thus convinced as I was that for His dear Son’s sake God had forgiven all my sins, I still remembered with alarm those words in my father’s letter, ‘My curse shall be upon you, and follow you always;’ and this portrait, which I had always hanging up in my cabin, helped to keep me in mind of them.
“I was, therefore, still a prey to great uneasiness, and even good fortune failed to bring peace to my mind. In all my prosperity I believed myself to be on the brink of some fresh disaster, having proved by experience the instability of earthly things; and when I was surrounded by misfortunes, I of course assigned them to the cause uppermost in my mind. My fears, however, were not realised during a second and third voyage which I made for my employer. On the contrary, they were so successful in a pecuniary point of view, that I was able to buy a ship of my own, which I freighted entirely on my own account. My trading this time succeeded beyond my utmost expectations, and on returning to England, I found myself in possession of a considerable fortune.
“I was now nearly sixty years of age, and was beginning to feel a wandering life almost too much for me. Accordingly I resolved to retire from active work, and return to my native land, to devote my few remaining years to preparation for life eternal and the glory of Him who has led me in such a wonderful manner to Himself.
“Although I have passed through so much during my forty years’ wandering about the world, have endured so many troubles, and received so many undeserved blessings, and although God has shown Himself so good and gracious, slow to anger and of great kindness towards me, and though, during these last few years, especially, His blessing has rested on all I have undertaken, still even yet I start with a secret terror at the sight of that portrait which brings before my mind so clearly the father whom I disobeyed. The recollection of his curse is never absent. Sometimes in the middle of the night I wake up, trembling, expecting the house is about to fall and crush me, and it is only by earnest prayer that I can recover my self-possession.”
Here the captain ended his history, the recital of which had deeply interested each and all of his hearers. The worthy pastor did his utmost to convince him that his fears were only a vain superstition; but the captain shook his head. His kind counsellor saw that it would be unwise to argue the point, and left him with thanks for his graphic narrative, resolving to pray earnestly that God would remove from him the cloud of self-reproach, and enable him to spend the remainder of his days in the brightness of Christian hope.