The Author’s Pen
Resigned to Death
Already the tempest had continued six days; on the seventh its fury seemed still increasing; and the morning dawned upon us without a prospect of hope, for we had wandered so far from the right track, and were so forcibly driven toward the southeast, that none on board knew where we were. The ship’s company were exhausted by labour and watching, and the courage which had sustained them was now sinking. The shivered masts had been cast into the sea; several leaks appeared, and the ship began to fill. The sailors forbore from swearing; many were at prayer on their knees; while others offered miracles of future piety and goodness, as the condition of their release from danger. “My beloved children,” said I to my four boys, who clung to me in their fright, “God can save us, for nothing is impossible to Him. We must however hold ourselves resigned, and, instead of murmuring at His decree, rely that what He sees fit to do is best, and that should He call us from this earthly scene, we shall be near Him in heaven, and united through eternity. Death may be well supported when it does not separate those who love.”
Reading
The sailors are bargaining with God, promising to be good forever if only they survive, and the father sets himself apart from exactly that. He does not ask for rescue as a deal. He tells his frightened boys that dying together would be bearable, which is a strange comfort to offer children in a sinking ship, but it reveals what he actually values: not survival, but staying together. This is the family's first test, and he answers it not by fighting the storm but by defining what he most fears losing.
