HAVE you ever heard of a diving bell? It was a kind of apparatus in which, in former years, men went down to the bottom of the sea to bring up treasures from wrecked and sunken ships, and also for other purposes. God speaks to us of “His wonders in the deep,” and those who go down in diving-bells, or diving suits, can tell many a tale of the wonderful and terrible things they have seen. Deep down in the waters great sea serpents, from fifteen to eighteen feet in length, lie coiled in holes in the rocks. When the diver sees their bright, glistening eyes of many colors fixed upon him, he is glad to move quickly to another spot. These serpents do not usually attack if they are not disturbed; but, when they once start, they dart with exceeding swiftness through the waters, and they will bite whatever may come in their way. Their bite is not a sting like that of the land serpent, but a real bite; they have large, strong teeth and could bite off, in a moment, a man’s hand. NO wonder then that the diver moves quickly out of their way when he sees their bright eyes fixed upon him.
Another dreadful creature of the deep is the scuttle,” or so-called by the fishermen. It is of the nautilus species, and is very dangerous. It has eight long arms which extend out from both sides of its body, and which look like so many snakes. Its head is so much a part of the round, bag like body from which the arms project that you could scarce tell what it was. Under the long slender arms, or “whips,” are a great many little suckers which look something like rows of buttons. These arms can wiggle and stretch and whip in every direction, and by means of the suckers upon them, they lay hold of their victims and grasp them very tightly and then suck the blood from them.
It does not take long for a large scuttle to kill a man. One day one of them reached up out of the water, caught hold of a man by the leg, and dragged him into the sea. The poor man was not able to help himself, and would soon have been bled to death, had not a fisherman, who saw his sad situation, hastened to get some salt and pour it upon the scuttle. This soon made him loosen his hold, for the scuttle melts under salt just as the snail does, and thus the poor man got free.
We might also speak of the shark which will at one bite cut a man’s body in two, and of other dread creatures of the deep, but you will, perhaps, see without this, something of the dangers that encompass those who go down to the depths of the sea.
The diving-bell is not now used as formerly. It has been replaced by what is called a diving suit. The diver is clad in a dress of heavy India rubber, and then a helmet is put over his head, and screwed tightly on at the neck. In this helmet is a glass which covers the face, and through which he can see to work, as he moves about under the water. When he gets into his “dress,” he steps out on the ladder, which is fastened to the. side of the boat, and leans his head over while the heavy, helmet is being screwed on. Next, the leaden pieces, which weigh three hundred pounds, are brought and fastened to his chest, his back and his feet. Now he is all ready and when he steps from the ladder, these weights will sink him to the bottom of the sea. Do you ask, how can he breathe and live in that close rubber suit through which neither air nor water can come? I will tell you. There is a long tube attached to the suit at one end, and at the other end to a machine on the boat which must be turned constantly in order to give the poor diver air enough to. keep him alive. There are two men to wait on the diver; one at the pump to give him needed air, the other to watch any signals he may give, and thus to wait on him.
Having told you something of what the diver may meet, and the way in which he is clothed for his special work, let me now relate a little incident in the life of a diver who was a Christian His work led him down a hundred and thirty or thirty-five feet below the surface of the water, and there he worked day after day, always feeling received when the time came for him to be drawn up and get his leaden weights off, and to be released from his rubber cage. One day, while at his work, he found great difficulty in getting his breath, and he gave a signal for more air, but there was no answer to this signal; instead of a current of fresh air being pumped in from above, the air became more stifling, and his breathing more difficult. Again he signaled for fresh air, but still no answer came. almost stifled to death, he succeeded in closing a certain valve which caused him to shoot quickly up to the surface of the water. The superintendent of the work, who was there at the moment, saw him rise, and knew at once that there must be something wrong. With the help of one or two others, who were standing by, he succeeded in getting him up and getting the helmet off his head. The poor diver was so nearly suffocated for want of air that he could neither breathe nor speak for about five minutes. A very few minutes more without air would have put him beyond the reach of recovery. But the Lord, whose He was, was watching over him, and he was snatched from the jaws of death.
The trouble all came from neglect on the part of the two men who should have been waiting on him; one of them had gone off for a drink of water, and the other had fallen asleep. Thus his supply of fresh air was cut off, and his signals were unheeded. This carelessness on the part of the men was very wrong, for the life of a fellow-being was at stake, and the superintendent, who realized this, was exceedingly indignant. He said, “You must put them in the lock-up.” “No,” said the diver, “never mind, let it pass.” This the superintendent was not willing to do. He said he would discharge the two men if the diver would not have them put in the “lock-up.” The diver refused to do this; he wished to forgive the men whose guilty carelessness so nearly cost him his life. The superintendent, however, discharged them from his employ. Sometime afterwards he took them back again, and they were then very careful and faithful. They had learned a lesson. Their gratitude toward the diver, who had shown such grace toward them, was great. Their hearts had been melted under it, and now they were ready to do anything in their power for him.
Let us learn from this little incident that God’s watchful care is over His own; also let us learn from it that grace, shown to those who have done us wrong, melts and wins the heart, while wrongs resented only stir up strife and bitterness.
May the Lord give to each of my readers to manifest grace and forgiveness in the little things of life, as well as in the greater.
“Be not overcome of evil, hut overcome evil with good.”
ML 08/21/1904