Alexandria Gazette

The Sailor Preacher.—Most of our readers are probably aware that a gentleman, the Rev. Mr. Taylor, has for several years been preaching at Boston with great force, and to crowded auditories. His sermons are principally addressed to mariners; and as he was once a sailor himself, and familiar with their habits, condition, and turn of thinking, and possessed withal of uncommon powers of native eloquence, it is not surprising that his labors should be attended with marked and salutary effects. A writer in the Western Monthly Magazine gives the following sketch of one of his appeals to his seafaring hearers, which may be classed with the most eloquent effusions of Whitfield:-

"I once heard him preach, (says the writer) to them; he represented us as on board a ship in a tempest; with really wonderful power, he painted the coming on of the storm—the sky is hid; the ocean awakes; all is made fast; but the tempest becomes every moment more violent; the sails are torn from the yards; the masts are cut away; the ship settles down, as the waves break over her; 'and now,' he said, in that low, calm, distinct, tone, that goes more home to the soul than any other; 'now my friends, that our canvass is gone; not a spar left for a jury-mast, and the leak gaining upon us, what shall we do? Hark! do you not hear the waters as they rush in below? Do you not see her settle by the head? Do you not feel her tremble?' And now he leaned forward, and gradually raised his voice, till it seemed almost to bespeak agony: 'one moment more fellow sailors, and this good ship of ours will sink into the deep; a moment more, and we, who have laughed, and sung, and made merry within the hour, will be struggling with the eternal waves; but we shall swim and struggle in vain; we must die if there be no hope at hand; and is there none? is there no way of escape? Save yourselves, save yourselves if you can.' It was enough—I saw twenty arms thrown up, as if to catch a rope, and an old gray-headed sinner by my side, hung on to the banisters, and trembled more by half, than he would have done, had he been indeed wrecked. After a moment's pause, in a low distinct tone, the preacher continued: 'yes, fellow mariners, you may be saved; you may escape; there is a life boat at hand; seize upon it, in the name of God, seize upon it, and make it yours, and live—that life boat is Jesus Christ.' "