by it.  He was a profound biblical scholar—­that is, he thought he was.  He believed everything in the Bible, but he had his own methods of arriving at his beliefs.  He was of the “advanced” school of thinkers, and applied natural laws to the interpretation of all miracles, somewhat on the plan of the people who make the six days of creation six geological epochs, and so forth.  Without being aware of it, he was a rather severe satire on modern scientific religionists.  Such a man as I have been describing is rabidly fond of disquisition and argument; one knows that without being told it.

One trip the captain had a clergyman on board, but did not know he was a clergyman, since the passenger-list did not betray the fact.  He took a great liking to this Reverend Mr. Peters, and talked with him a great deal; told him yarns, gave him toothsome scraps of personal history, and wove a glittering streak of profanity through his garrulous fabric that was refreshing to a spirit weary of the dull neutralities of undecorated speech.  One day the captain said, “Peters, do you ever read the Bible?”

“Well—­yes.”

“I judge it ain’t often, by the way you say it.  Now, you tackle it in dead earnest once, and you’ll find it ’ll pay.  Don’t you get discouraged, but hang right on.  First, you won’t understand it; but by and by things will begin to clear up, and then you wouldn’t lay it down to eat.”

“Yes, I have heard that said.”

“And it’s so, too.  There ain’t a book that begins with it.  It lays over ’m all, Peters.  There’s some pretty tough things in it—­there ain’t any getting around that—­but you stick to them and think them out, and when once you get on the inside everything’s plain as day.”

“The miracles, too, captain?”

“Yes, sir! the miracles, too.  Every one of them.  Now, there’s that business with the prophets of Baal; like enough that stumped you?”

“Well, I don’t know but—­”

“Own up now; it stumped you.  Well, I don’t wonder.  You hadn’t had any experience in raveling such things out, and naturally it was too many for you.  Would you like to have me explain that thing to you, and show you how to get at the meat of these matters?”

“Indeed, I would, captain, if you don’t mind.”

Then the captain proceeded as follows:  “I’ll do it with pleasure.  First, you see, I read and read, and thought and thought, till I got to understand what sort of people they were in the old Bible times, and then after that it was all clear and easy.  Now this was the way I put it up, concerning Isaac—­[This is the captain’s own mistake]—­and the prophets of Baal.  There was some mighty sharp men among the public characters of that old ancient day, and Isaac was one of them.  Isaac had his failings —­plenty of them, too; it ain’t for me to apologize for Isaac; he played it on the prophets of Baal, and like enough he was justifiable, considering the odds that was against him.  No, all I say is, ’twa’n’t any miracle, and that I’ll show you so’s’t you can see it yourself.