Presently he got hold of the other man's arm and pulled him up, and he was drunk, sure enough. He lifted him back onto his boat and put him in his berth and worked over him and rubbed him an hour or more, till he began to come to himself. Doing everything possible to make the man comfortable, he came away.
The next morning he pulled over to see how the man was. He was standing leaning over the side of his craft. To a "good morning," he returned no answer. "How are you this morning?" his rescuer said. "What's that to you?" was the surly response. "Why," said the first man, "I can't help taking an interest in you. I saved your life last night." "Get out," responded the other, and roundly cursed him for a liar.
"I turned round my little boat and pulled away to my craft," he said in telling Mr. Pearse. "My heart was like a thing broke. The tears ran down my cheeks. I looked up to Heaven and could hardly get out the words that choked me. 'O Lord Jesus,' I said, 'my blessed Lord Jesus, I am sorry for Thee! I know now how Thou dost feel. That is how the world is always treating Thee. I am terribly sorry for Thee, my dear Lord.'" --The King's Business