Of The Dying

"With Capt. Knowles and the loss of the !íorthtíeet for a text, the New York Trijune preaches this brief but moving sermon on heroio dying : There is inuch said now-a-days of the oorruption of society ; when our political eaders take bribes we are told that chicanery and money and love of sham show control the majority of lives ; yet sometimes death, from ainong us, takes souie comtuonplace fellow like this ship's captain by the throat and bids him justity tiis right to have lived ; and the man takes his footing upon his plain daily duty, and doing that, chooses so to be lost in the eternal silence. But how the whole world is stirred as he goos out ! How in every country in the last fortmght men's hearts have beaten higher, and the tears come to women's eyes looking at the figure of this Knowles on his sinking ship ; how we have listened to hear his last word3 before the sea covered him; to know Bomething more of the man. Cleopatra puts on her crown to make a tragic ending. " What's brave, what's noble, let's do it af ter the high Roman fashion, and make death proud to take us!" "The captain was the only quiet man aboard," said one of the survivors ; " he was about thirty years old, and had been married six months. He kept the crew back with a pistol in one hand from the boats, and helped the womcn and children in with the other. Some called him to tie himself to a spar, but he went on lifting in the woinen. He gav e his wife to the boats wain in one of the boats. ' Take care of her, bosen,' ho said ; ' I will never see youagain, dear girl.' Mrs. Knowles waa a little thing, very much of a child. She wanted to go back on deck and die with her husband, but we held her." While we look through the night at the ship going down with this man at his post on her, other remembrances come back to us ; of the engineer Kearly lying dead at the bottom of the river, and the train he had saved at the other side ; and dearer than all, of another ship that smik in the British channel not many years ago. ïhere was part of an infantry regiment on board, returning after a fi ve years' absence, f rom India. "When it was found that the vessel was sinking, and that the boats were insufiicient to hold the womenand children, the oolonel, to prevent confusión, marshaled his men in rank on deck. They obeyed, and pregeuted arms." And bo, almost within sight of the home they had not geen for five years, toot to foot, and shoulder to shoulder, silent and immovable, as thougli ready to charga ttpon the foe, they went down. There are men whose Uves are ciad with great deeds or words as with a royal garment ; but these were homely and cointnonplace. doing the task of every day, after no high Roman fashion, but quietly and steadily. ÁtteJnpting and aohieving no moro than this they passed through the great dark portal which never opens twice for any man, but whenit has Olosed bihinrt them it seems to ws as thongh a hing buí gome otit ffoín srooRg üs