THE good ship “Esk” lay at anchor in the harbor at Barbados. Numerous little boats bringing passengers and baggage for a time swarmed at her side, but presently they got through and one by one sped away to the shore. And now a little boat with two half-nude boys, or young men, in it, pulled alongside. One of these boys stood up and called out lustily to some passengers who were on the upper deck, “Throw a shilling in the water and let me get it.” One of the passengers put his hand in his pocket, pulled out a coin and held it up, saying, “Two shillings if you’ll dive under the boat and get it on the other side.”
“No,” called out the boy, “throw it on this side, and I’ll get it, sah.”
“No, you must go under the boat,” said the passenger.
“Throw it out, throw it on this side,” called the boy, “the boat is heavy loaded, and goes down deep into the water.”
“You must go under it,” said the passenger.
“Keep your shilling to yourself, sah” said the boy, “it would kill me to go under there, and two shillings will not save my soul; it would kill me, and then my poor mother would miss me;” and, disappointed and disgusted, he was about to turn away. The passenger perhaps thought he had dallied long ‘enough. At any rate, at that moment he threw a coin out into the water. The boy followed it with his eye until he had located it, then, with “a spring he was after it. In a few seconds he appeared at the surface; first he held up the coin and seeing that it was genuine, he nodded his head approvingly, and with a few sturdy strokes with his right arm, he was at the side of the boat, and in less than a minute had clambered over its side. Scarcely was he inside until another coin was thrown into the water. With a dart he was after it. A few moments, and he was again at the surface; he held up the coin, looked at it, and shook his head rather threateningly. This time it was a “Jamaica ha’ penny” that had been thrown out, and it was of no use to him. On getting into his boat, he threw it up with a good deal of energy at the passenger from whose hand it had come; but the deck was far up, and the coin struck some part of the ship and flew back into the water. The boy plunged after, it, and on getting into the boat threw it again; but again it missed, and a third time he went into the water after it. He threw once more. This time it reached the upper deck and fell at the feet of one of the passengers, but rolled once more into the sea. The boy looked after it, but did not plunge again. Soon he and his companion took their oars, and were quickly lost to view. Perhaps they went to visit other, ships lying in the harbor.
Now, dear young reader, I would like to ask you, How much money will it take to buy your soul? A penny, or a had penny would quickly tempt the young swimmer into the water, but two shillings was not enough to lead him to risk his life by going under the ship. He probably knew that all the money in the world would neither buy, nor save his soul. And doubtless you know well that your precious soul is immortal, and that its worth’ cannot be measured with gold. Will you then seek this life, or the life to be? “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it.”
Will you seek after the pleasures and treasures of this life, or will you come to Jesus, and follow Him? If you choose the former, where is your profit—what is your gain? “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
ML 10/02/1904