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186 ing as was possible; then they took their places aboard, and bade a joyful adieu to the deceitful beauties of Musquito Key. For hours they sailed along the coast, looking in vain for some place to stop, and greatly delayed in their onward pro gress by a broad sheet of water stretch ing inland, studded with low hummocks, covered with mangroves and sea-myrtles, which it was necessary for them to ex plore before passing. The only incident of interest occurring as they sailed this morning, was the cap turing, or rather the self-deliverance, of a number of flying fish. Quite a large school of these timid little creatures, alarmed by some object of terror in the water, arose from their native element, and flying frantically through the air, plunged into the water about one hundred yards be yond. Four or five of these struck the sails of the barge and fell between the gunwales. Their immense pectoral fins, expanded into wings, were quite a curi osity to those who were not already fa miliar with their peculiarities. About 11 o’clock, Sergeant Tomkins an nounced to the men that as they had not yet found a place on land suitable for the purpose, the}" would have worship aboard. Each man retained his accustomed seat, and was ready to fulfil any duty that might be necessary, while the boat was under easy sail, and while every needless labor was avoided; but the moment the beginning of service was announced, the head of each was uncovered in token of reverence for that Presence which is al ways recognized in the act of worship. Before they commenced, however, and while Dr. Gordon was making ready, one of the men, possessed of a fine voice, be gan a familiar hymn, set to solemn, wild music, in which the others united, partic ularly in the chorus. This voluntary, well suited in sentiment and air to their circumstances, floated softly over the wa ters, and was an excellent preparation for what came after. The voices of the men were rich and strong, but, having no sur rounding objects to cause reverberation, they sounded weak and child-like on that wild surface of water; thus illustrating practically their lonely condition, and causing them to realize more than other wise was possible the fact of their depend ence, as recognized in the words soon after to be repeated, “Our Father who art in Heaven.” The exercises were few and simple.— Without book of any sort, except the Bible, Dr. Gordon repeated from memory two suitable hymns, (leaving the tunes to the taste of the men,) read several por tions of Scripture in a style of unaffected BURKE’S WEEKLY. reverence, and offered prayer to the best of his ability, in language suited to their circumstances, then announced the ser vices concluded. Brief and artless as they Avere, they seemed to touch deep chords in the hearts of the men, and to bring out some of their best feelings. Magru der, who was usually a man of few words, but who had shown throughout the ser vices a reverential spirit, took occasion, as soon as the men had begun to talk freely, to say, in a tone of great sincerity, to Dr Gordon : “ Captain, I do like that free-and-easy way of yours in conducting our worship to day. It made me feel at home.” “ I am not sure that I understand you,” returned Dr. Gordon. “ What I mean is this,” Magruder said; “that oftentimes when we attend Divine service, the preacher or chaplain makes us feel by his manner that the services are his, not ours; but } t ou made us feel to-day that the service was ours too. Rough as I am, and little reason as I give any one to suspect it, I do love to wor ship sometimes.” “It is pleasant to hear you say this,” Dr. Gordon rejoined, “and no doubt oth ers feel so at times, whose ordinary con duct gives no sign of it.” “ I do, for one,” said Wheeler. “And I, for another,” said Jones. And all the rest, (except Simpson, Avhose dark, impassive countenance sel dom gave token of sympathy,) looked as if they were ready to say the same. “ Worship,” continued Dr. Gordon, “ is one of the noblest acts in which any crea ture can engage, and in some form or other it is suited to the capacity of every right-minded being —simple enough fora child, sublime enough for an angel.” “You do not believe, then,” Sergeant Tomkins interrogatively remarked, “that the church and the pulpit are necessary to it?” “As much so as tables and chairs are to our daily food,” replied Dr. Gordon. “They are a part of the decencies , and will be provided by all persons, according to their means, who cultivate a proper respect; but they may be dispensed with in time of need, (as was the case just now,) and, therefore, they are no part of the essentials.” “What is worship?” Tomkins asked, and Dr. Gordon was about to reply, “The homage of the heart,” when observing the eye of the young Indian fixed on him in eager gaze, he replied: “It is the talking of the heart with the Great Spirit , whom we are taught to call ‘Our Father in Heaven.’” Then pausing a moment, and observing that all were waiting as if for more he went on to say : “Any person who can come before God in any place, and in any language, or even without a word spoken by the lip. aiK j say, with a loving and trustful heart ‘ Our Father who art in Heaven,’ is A some sense, a worshipper. He may not have attained a very high grade as such but he has attained a grade —he has learn ed the first letter in the alphabet of I)h vine knowledge —he has begun to use the language of heaven.” “And beautiful language it is!” ejacu lated Thompson, with strong emotion. “ When I kneel down (for I do kneel sometimes,) and say, ‘O, Lord !’ or ‘0 God Almighty!’ it scares me. I want to get further off, for I doubt whether I know Him; but when I say, ‘ Our Father in Heaven !’ I feel somehow as I used to feel when I was a boy, and was coming to one that I knew, and that cared for me.” “ You express yourself very naturally,” said the Doctor, while his eye kindled and his heart warmed towards the free spoken man. “ I am no preacher, and therefore cannot speak with authority, but it is my opinion that of all the feel ings which have come down to us from the Garden of Eden, the least impaired by the fall are those of the parent to the child. They are those of the purest and most perfect love known on earth—a love that does not measure its gifts with a cold and stingy hand, but which takes pleasure in giving pleasure, and which knows no limit except its own power and the other’s good. Now, this is the feel ing which Jesus Christ teaches us to re cognize in God whenever avo can come to Him as sincere worshippers, and say, ‘Our Father in Heaven !’ I confess,” he continued, brightening with his theme, and raising his voice with a gesture oi earnestness, “that sometimes, when 1 catch a glimpse of what is implied in those first words of the Lord’s Prayer, I am almost ready to cry out, Ilalleluia!” For a little while all were silent. They seemed to be luxuriating in anew and animating phase of thought. At last, Tomkins, in a tone more subdued than had ever been heard from him before, in quired : “But, Doctor, is it not very difficult sometimes to use those words in that spirit?” “ Os course it is,” he replied, “ not only difficult, but sometimes impossible; f° r no one can so use them who does not come in the spirit of a child, and no one can come in the spirit of a child who is not trying to do his duty.” “ It seems to me,” said Tomkins, whose