had not been seated very long ere a man of a certain venerablerobustness entered immediately as the stormpelted door flew backupon admitting him a quick regardful eyeing of him by all thecongregation sufficiently attested that this fine old man was thechaplain  it was the famous so called by thewhalemen among whom he was a very great favourite  had been asailor and a harpooneer in his youth but for many years past haddedicated his life to the ministry  the time now write ofwas in the hardy winter of a healthy old age that sortof old age which seems merging into a second flowering youth foramong all the fissures of his wrinkles there shone certain mildgleams of a newly developing bloomthe spring verdure peeping fortheven beneath snow  one having previously heard hishistory could for the first time behold without theutmost interest because there were certain engrafted clericalpeculiarities about him imputable to that adventurous maritime lifehe had led  he entered observed that he carried no umbrellaand certainly had not come in his carriage for his tarpaulin hat randown with melting sleet and his great pilot cloth jacket seemedalmost to drag him to the floor with the weight of the water it hadabsorbed  hat and coat and overshoes were one by oneremoved and hung up in a little space in an adjacent corner whenarrayed in a decent suit he quietly approached the pulpitmost old fashioned pulpits it was a very lofty one and since aregular stairs to such a height would by its long angle with thefloor seriously contract the already small area of the chapel thearchitect it seemed had acted upon the hint of andfinished the pulpit without a stairs substituting a perpendicularside ladder like those used in mounting a ship from a boat at seawife of a whaling captain had provided the chapel with a handsomepair of red worsted manropes for this ladder which being itselfnicely headed and stained with a mahogany colour the wholecontrivance considering what manner of chapel it was seemed by nomeans in bad taste  for an instant at the foot of theladder and with both hands grasping the ornamental knobs of themanropes cast a look upwards and then with a trulysailorlike but still reverential dexterity hand over hand mountedthe steps as if ascending the maintop of his vesselperpendicular parts of this side ladder as is usually the casewith swinging ones were of clothcovered rope only the rounds wereof wood so that at every step there was a joint  my firstglimpse of the pulpit it had not escaped me that however convenientfor a ship these joints in the present instance seemed unnecessarywas not prepared to see after gaining the heightslowly turn round and stooping over the pulpit deliberately drag upthe ladder step by step till the whole was deposited within leavinghim impregnable in his little pondered some time without fully comprehending the reason for thisenjoyed such a wide reputation for sincerity andsanctity that could not suspect him of courting notoriety by anymere tricks of the stage  thought there must be some soberreason for this thing furthermore it must symbolize somethingunseen  it be then that by that act of physical isolation hesignifies his spiritual withdrawal for the time from all outwardworldly ties and connexions  for replenished with the meat andwine of the word to the faithful man of this pulpit see isa selfcontaining strongholda lofty with aperennial well of water within the wallsthe side ladder was not the only strange feature of the placeborrowed from the chaplains former seafarings  the marblecenotaphs on either hand of the pulpit the wall which formed itsback was adorned with a large painting representing a gallant shipbeating against a terrible storm off a lee coast of black rocks andsnowy breakers  high above the flying scud and darkrollingclouds there floated a little isle of sunlight from which beamedforth an angels face and this bright face shed a distinct spot ofradiance upon the ships tossed deck something like that silverplate now inserted into the plank where fell  ship the angel seemed to say beat on beat on thou nobleship and bear a hardy helm for lo the sun is breaking through theclouds are rolling offserenest azure is at handwas the pulpit itself without a trace of the same seataste thathad achieved the ladder and the picture  panelled front was inthe likeness of a ships bluff bows and the rested on aprojecting piece of scroll work fashioned after a shipsfiddleheaded beakcould be more full of meaningfor the pulpit is ever thisearths foremost part all the rest comes in its rear the pulpitleads the world  thence it is the storm of quick wrath isfirst descried and the bow must bear the earliest brunt  it is the of breezes fair or foul is first invoked forfavourable winds  the worlds a ship on its passage out and nota voyage complete and the pulpit is its prow