{"id":"01KG8AKC4VZ5P11J83JPY4MNXB","cid":"bafkreigo7pqlikbgz7n6igkmfnrizzp4ajzpl3kgifvcccxtrvo4vv56oq","type":"chunk","properties":{"end_line":10949,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:47:57.726Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Chunk 8","source_file":"01KG89J1JMR8XVKPA0G8ADAPC4","start_line":10881,"text":"boat, \"Ah, sir, though every one must be pleased at the thought of the\r\npresence in public places of such a book, yet there is something that\r\nabates the satisfaction. Look at this volume; on the outside, battered\r\nas any old valise in the baggage-room; and inside, white and virgin as\r\nthe hearts of lilies in bud.\"\r\n\r\n\"So it is, so it is,\" said the old man sadly, his attention for the\r\nfirst directed to the circumstance.\r\n\r\n\"Nor is this the only time,\" continued the other, \"that I have observed\r\nthese public Bibles in boats and hotels. All much like this--old\r\nwithout, and new within. True, this aptly typifies that internal\r\nfreshness, the best mark of truth, however ancient; but then, it speaks\r\nnot so well as could be wished for the good book's esteem in the minds\r\nof the traveling public. I may err, but it seems to me that if more\r\nconfidence was put in it by the traveling public, it would hardly be\r\nso.\"\r\n\r\nWith an expression very unlike that with which he had bent over the\r\nDetector, the old man sat meditating upon his companions remarks a\r\nwhile; and, at last, with a rapt look, said: \"And yet, of all people,\r\nthe traveling public most need to put trust in that guardianship which\r\nis made known in this book.\"\r\n\r\n\"True, true,\" thoughtfully assented the other. \"And one would think they\r\nwould want to, and be glad to,\" continued the old man kindling; \"for,\r\nin all our wanderings through this vale, how pleasant, not less than\r\nobligatory, to feel that we need start at no wild alarms, provide for no\r\nwild perils; trusting in that Power which is alike able and willing to\r\nprotect us when we cannot ourselves.\"\r\n\r\nHis manner produced something answering to it in the cosmopolitan, who,\r\nleaning over towards him, said sadly: \"Though this is a theme on which\r\ntravelers seldom talk to each other, yet, to you, sir, I will say, that\r\nI share something of your sense of security. I have moved much about the\r\nworld, and still keep at it; nevertheless, though in this land, and\r\nespecially in these parts of it, some stories are told about steamboats\r\nand railroads fitted to make one a little apprehensive, yet, I may say\r\nthat, neither by land nor by water, am I ever seriously disquieted,\r\nhowever, at times, transiently uneasy; since, with you, sir, I believe\r\nin a Committee of Safety, holding silent sessions over all, in an\r\ninvisible patrol, most alert when we soundest sleep, and whose beat lies\r\nas much through forests as towns, along rivers as streets. In short, I\r\nnever forget that passage of Scripture which says, 'Jehovah shall be thy\r\nconfidence.' The traveler who has not this trust, what miserable\r\nmisgivings must be his; or, what vain, short-sighted care must he take\r\nof himself.\"\r\n\r\n\"Even so,\" said the old man, lowly.\r\n\r\n\"There is a chapter,\" continued the other, again taking the book,\r\n\"which, as not amiss, I must read you. But this lamp, solar-lamp as it\r\nis, begins to burn dimly.\"\r\n\r\n\"So it does, so it does,\" said the old man with changed air, \"dear me,\r\nit must be very late. I must to bed, to bed! Let me see,\" rising and\r\nlooking wistfully all round, first on the stools and settees, and then\r\non the carpet, \"let me see, let me see;--is there anything I have\r\nforgot,--forgot? Something I a sort of dimly remember. Something, my\r\nson--careful man--told me at starting this morning, this very morning.\r\nSomething about seeing to--something before I got into my berth. What\r\ncould it be? Something for safety. Oh, my poor old memory!\"\r\n\r\n\"Let me give a little guess, sir. Life-preserver?\"\r\n\r\n\"So it was. He told me not to omit seeing I had a life-preserver in my\r\nstate-room; said the boat supplied them, too. But where are they? I\r\ndon't see any. What are they like?\"\r\n\r","title":"Chunk 8"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJNPWTERPN2J92AFP8QXB","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J1JMR8XVKPA0G8ADAPC4","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AKC4QMMWJHEQPBV6Y0QQ0","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG8AKCVANG974VZX54DGWFYS","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"next"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:02.203Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:48:15.886Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF0H3YRP9ZSM033AM0QJ47H"}}