CHAPTER IX.
A COLORED MAN ABROAD.
Mention has already been made of the fact that while Dr. Walker was traveling abroad he wrote weekly letters to the Augusta Sentinel, which were compiled on his return and published in book form, under the name and style of “A Colored Man Abroad.” Extracts from that publication will serve not only to show Dr. Walker’s literary style, but will also be of interest, instruction and entertainment to the reader.
Dr. Walker’s letters from the Holy Land were written for the most part from notes taken on the ground, somewhat as one would keep a diary or a sailor’s log. The second day out from New York, he paid the following
TRIBUTE TO THE SEA.
“The sea is a revelation of the omnipotence of the Almighty! It carries with perfect ease upon its bosom the greatest ships that circumnavigate the globe. It is the home of numerous animals, small and great, as well as the pathway of Jehovah. It is also the tomb of hundreds of thousands of human beings; for the sea has wrecked hundreds of vessels and sailing craft, and holds entombed the bodies of countless shipwrecked people. As we look at the sea, we are reminded of the grand old words of Byron:
‘Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll, Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain; Man marks the earth with ruin,--his control Stops with the shore,--upon the watery plain The wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain A shadow of man’s ravage, save his own, When for a moment, like a drop of rain, He sinks into thy depth with bubbling groan, Without a grave, unknelled, uncoffined and unknown.’”
In the following words, Dr. Walker describes his
FIRST SABBATH AT SEA.
“It is Sunday morning. The day is calm, and the sun is shining brightly. Divine services were held in the chapel at 10:30 a. m., conducted by the captain, who read the Episcopal service. A Sabbath at sea is a sad day to those who love the house of God. No church bell is heard calling the people to their respective places of worship. No soul-inspiring anthems are sung. No heartfelt prayers are heard ascending like sweet incense from the altar of praise. We miss the pulpit ministration and the Christian greeting that come from the gentle throbbing of loving and affectionate hearts. We miss the Sunday school, where the little folks are singing their many beautiful songs, expressive of our dear Saviour’s life and love. In place of all this, we observe men drinking and carousing and engaged in all kinds of frivolity; we see many women and girls reading novels, but not one perusing the Bible. Give me no more Sabbaths in mid-ocean.”
The first Sunday in London, Dr. Walker visited Spurgeon’s church. Following is his description of
SPURGEON’S TABERNACLE.
“Spurgeon’s Tabernacle is the greatest church on earth, and its pastor is undoubtedly the grandest preacher in the universe. Eternity alone can tell the good this man of God is doing. Seven thousand people hear him twice on each Lord’s Day. He has a Baptist College, perfect in its every appointment, a missionary society, a tract society, a place for the poor, an orphan home, a mission station conducted by the young men of his congregation, a printing press, and everything else in the line of an active, live and progressive church. Here the ‘rich and the poor meet together; and the Lord is the maker of them all.’ The doctrine of the fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man is taught with all the earnestness of which this good man is capable. In this Tabernacle, you will find men and women who are worth thousands and ten thousands of pounds sterling out in the streets and alleys of London, bringing the poor, the wayward, the blasphemer, the halt and the blind to hear Spurgeon preach. We heard him on the Sabbath, occupying a seat near him. What a privilege! Two rows of galleries extend all round the edifice. Just below the pastor’s stand, there is a gallery for orphan children from the home and those who manage the home. The people are rushing for seats--thousands are already seated, having been admitted because they held quarterly tickets. At five minutes before eleven o’clock, the signal bell is tapped, announcing to all persons who have not secured seats to get them anywhere they can find them, as the holders of tickets have no claim on seats after the tap of the bell. Mr. Spurgeon comes in, followed by his assistant pastor and deacons who take seats near him. He then opens the service with a short, earnest, eloquent prayer that moves many to tears. No organ is used; the chorister stands near the pastor, and the multitude rises and sings a soul-inspiring hymn. The pastor then reads, with exposition, the Scripture lesson. He announces this morning that he will preach the annual missionary sermon. When he begins preaching, seven thousand pairs of eyes are looking steadfastly upon him. He leads the vast audience step by step as he unfolds to them the word of God. Every hearer’s heart burns within him. It is a grand sight. I wept as I looked on such a vast throng of people seated in breathless silence, catching the words as they fell from the mouth of God’s prophet.”
In the month of May, 1891, Dr. Walker spent five days on the Mediterranean Sea en route to Alexandria. While on this sea, famous for its storms, he encountered a storm which he said must have been similar to the one that Paul wrote about in the 27th chapter of the Acts. Following is Dr. Walker’s picture of
A STORM ON THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.
“The sea had been turbulent all night. The fury of the sea continued until noon to-day, when it reached its climax. For nearly an hour the waves united and lashed the steamer in a fearful manner, as if chastening it for disobeying some sea law. We closely watched the treacherous water during the contest. The ship at first seemed to think itself invincible, and had a perfect right to move in its own chosen route, despite the ocean’s objection. It was then that the hottest part of the contest took place. The ocean gave one command, and, at that summons, dashing, foaming, giant waves came from every direction to reinforce those already at the scene of battle. When they had combined their forces, they struck the steamer a few times; she cracked, reeled, bowed, tossed herself to and fro, shook up the passengers, made them sick, and put some to bed. Each time the vessel attempted to move out of her tracks she only lifted herself up and came back in the same place. The man on the bridge turned the wheel, but the steamer shook her head. The wind blew, the tempest raged, the captain came from his room, ascended the bridge, took charge of affairs, called up the sailors, gave orders to turn the wheel and let her drive, but she could not go. The sea continued to assert its rights, and when the crew confessed that they were defeated and at the mercy of the waves, they cast anchor, stood still, and waited on the sea to obtain a permit to move forward. The Mediterranean seemed to recognize that the whole crew were baffled, confused and beseeching mercy; so she called in her waves, sent them back to their several stations, each bearing a spray of snowy whiteness as an emblem of the victory they had won. And now all is serene on the water.”
Speaking of the people of Syria and other Eastern countries, Dr. Walker wrote the following about the present
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE EAST.
“The manners and customs of these people are about the same as in the days of Moses, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Men work for years to pay for their wives; lead their flocks as David did; dwell in tents; plow oxen as did Elijah; water their fields; sow grain among thorns and rocks; wear the same kind of costumes with the old-time sandals on their feet; use donkeys and camels as beasts of burden--all as in the days of yore. The majority of the Mohammedans and Arabs have no chairs, tables, knives and forks, with no bedsteads in their houses. They eat with their fingers, stretch out on the floor or ground, sleep by the roadside, just as Jacob did when he had his vision. The Mohammedans believe that a person who goes crazy becomes holy. The Turkish government does not allow its subjects to embrace Christianity. To ask a Mohammedan to change his religion is to endanger one’s life.”
Following is Dr. Walker’s notion of
THE TESTIMONY OF THE MOUNTAINS.
“Having made a study of the mountains in this country, they seem to me to wear an air of dignity at once charming and attractive. Lofty, stately, queenly, they look like silent but impressive heralds, standing as reminiscences of the far away past and as landmarks, preserving and perpetuating the history of notable events. Immovable and unchangeable, like their Creator, they have stood while the mighty have fallen; they have witnessed the enthronement and dethronement of kings; the captivity and extermination of nations, and to-day they are almost the only places in Palestine that the searcher after truth may feel safe in pointing out the identical location of Scriptural occurrences. Too lofty and unchangeable for tradition, they are the true historians of past centuries and for ages to come Sinai, Moriah, Carmel, Ebal, Gerizim, Tabor, Beatitudes, Zion and the Mount of Olives will bear witness to the Scriptures in a manner that will be obvious and convincing to the most sceptical mind. Well may Jehovah liken his church to the mountains. And why should not the snow decorate the mountains; the clouds circle about them; the sun linger and play upon their summits; the moon and the stars gaze smilingly upon them, while the lightnings race and prance up and down like electricity from a galvanic battery? Why not the sea crowd the mountain’s base, bathe its feet, and perpetually sing sweet anthems to its praise? ‘How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of them that publisheth peace, that say unto Zion, Thy God reigneth.’
Here is Dr. Walker’s idea of how some people are heedlessly
DRIFTING ON LIFE’S OCEAN.
“I have been thinking how humanity is drifting on life’s ocean. For seven days on the Atlantic, our steamer never stopped. The passengers ate, slept, walked, talked, got sick, some died--but we sailed on. The ship passed other vessels; it was often cloudy; the winds blew; the rains fell; storms and gales were often encountered; the ship caught on fire--but we sailed on. Men gambled, drank whiskey and champagne, cursed and spent their hours in frivolity--and so they sailed on, apparently little dreaming that they were rapidly sailing to that eternal shore from whence no traveler returns.”
In view of the recent sad assassination of President McKinley, how like prophecy and solemn warning will the following words, which were written ten years ago, seem. At last, the American congress, at the dictation of President Roosevelt, is turning its attention to this great question which ten years ago Dr. Walker declared must be given some attention. Following is the extract:
ANARCHY--A WARNING.
“In the first-class saloon, there are seventy-six passengers; in the second, sixty; and in the steerage there are about eight hundred--nearly all emigrants. Some are Jews from Russia, fleeing from persecution; others are Belgians, Swedes, Germans, Italians, Irishmen, Welshmen and Scotchmen, all going to our home of freedom--America. Many of them are very immoral, and utterly oblivious of modesty. As a rule, they are a dirty lot, some actually nauseating; and hundreds of them have not washed either their hands or faces on this voyage, so far. Yet these very people come to America to supercede the Negro, and to boss him! These immigrants have extended to them the rights of citizenship in every particular, and yet these inalienable rights are denied the colored man who has helped to make America what it is. Many of these foreigners are of the very worst element in their own country. They are ignorant, treacherous, uncivilized, and many of them heathen. They have no respect for the Sabbath; they have no respect for the law; they have no regard for Christianity; they are antagonistic to the principles of liberty as laid down in the Declaration of Independence of the United States. Mark this prediction: So sure as we live, America is fast getting a Jumbo on her hands. She is nestling a Vesuvius in her bosom that may remain dormant for a long period; but when the volcanic eruption breaks forth, seventy times seven streams of lava will be shot out at one time, and the main pillars that support and uphold the whole fabric of our American institutions will be undermined, uprooted, and partially, if not wholly destroyed. Chicago and New Orleans should be held in remembrance by our whole people, East, West, North and South. The outrages perpetrated by these villains in those cities were comparable to the firing of the first gun on Fort Sumter. Let the American congress spend some time in legislating against these holy terrors, instead of needlessly discussing schemes to deport the poor unfortunate Negro.”