Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 September 1888 — The Preacher Thanked Heaven. [ARTICLE]

The Preacher Thanked Heaven.

An old sea captain sat in the lobby of the custom-house yesterday. He was in a talkative mood, and related a number of funny - experiences he had with ministers. There was one in particular, says the Baltimore News, which amused him Very much as he recalled it. 1 “Once, when we left London,!’ he began, “to make a trip to Baltimore, among the passengers on board was a preacher We had hardly got out of the river before the good inan became awfully sick, and he felt sure that something was wrong with the ship. He related his fears to me, and to allay them, I took him to the fore part of tiie vessel, where a mimber of sailors were at work. “ ‘Do you hear those men swear?’ I asked. “ ‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘lsn’t it shocking? YYTmt-wfflhecome.oLthem?’ “ ‘Well, I don’t know,’ I answered, “but it mustbe plain they are not worried about the condition of the ship.” The reverend gentlemen saw the point and felt, much easier. “The next day a terrible storm arose. The vessel plunged in the trough of the waves, and the passengers were greatly frightened. “I noticed the preacher going to the same part of the ship, and I followed him. Suddenly he stopped and listened attentively. Then he -exclaimed: “Thank heaven, (hey are still swearing.’ I need not add that the boat didn’t go ____ ____