“You had better call on Him to have mercy on your soul.”  So saying, he fell on his knees, and began to pray for him.  His companion soon followed, crying aloud for mercy.  Though a crowd of people quickly assembled and stood round, he took no heed, but continued his supplication until he obtained mercy, and could praise God.

Seeing that some of the by-standers were looking anxious, Sam invited them on board his ship and had a meeting, at which he told them how the Lord had saved his soul.  Having received much encouragement that day, he determined, if possible, that he would get a Bethel flag, and hold services whenever and wherever he could.

On his arrival at Hayle from Cardiff, he went at once to see the wife of the owner of the ship, knowing that she took a great interest in the welfare of sailors.  He told her his plans, and made his request for a Bethel flag, which this lady kindly and generously gave him permission to get.

On obtaining it, Sam came and asked me if I would preach at the first hoisting of it.  This I consented to do, and on the following Sunday afternoon we had a large concourse of people on board, and also on the quay alongside.  I gave out the hymn:—­

“O God of Bethel, by whose hand
Thy people still are fed.”

While I was giving it out, Sam ran his flag up to the masthead in the shape of a ball.  So it remained while we were singing; and during the prayer which followed; and when I gave out my text (Gen. 28:19), “He called the name of that place Bethel,” Sam pulled the halyard, and the flag, some eighteen or twenty feet long, ’flew out in all its grandeur.  Before the sermon was finished, some of the people began to cry for mercy, and dear Sam was in an ecstasy of delight, and rejoiced aloud.  ’Thus his flag was inaugurated with blessing from on high, and “Many is the time since,” said 3am, “when souls have been blessed under it, both at Cardiff and at Hayle.”

I have said nothing about the infidels I had to work amongst when I first came to this place.  Some of them raged and opposed themselves against us for a time, but one by one the ringleaders of this party were brought to God, and eventually their club dwindled away.  The history concerning some I have already published in tracts; but there is one case I feel I must insert here, for besides being a remarkable history, there is much teaching in it.

It is the story of a man who professed to be an infidel, and used to speak very freely of things which he said he did not believe.  For instance, he boasted that he did not believe in God or the Bible, Christ or devil, heaven or hell; though I must say he seemed to believe in himself very considerably.  It was very difficult to deal with a man who took his stand upon nothing but negatives.  He was well known among his neighbours, dreaded by some and quite a mystery to others.  He was continually to be seen about with a gun, especially on Sundays, when he was not ashamed to be thus desecrating God’s holy day; on the contrary, he rather prided himself on not “shifting” his working-day clothes, when other people were dressed in their best.