The Cairo daily bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1870-1872, 1871-10-20
HENRY WARD BEECHER
HIS SERMON on THE FIRE.
From the New York Standard.


Mr.. Beecher sees the bright side of the
Chicago calamity, and in his sermon on
last Sunday in Plymouth church, con.
cluded as follows:
THIS FIRE Is GOOD THING,
then, if only for enlarging our ideas Of
our relations 10 the world. This burning
Of Chicago is great national benefit. Ii
asn't been disaster. We are richer to-
day with Chicago burned than we ever
we're before. lnere were great many
things which should have been burned.
1T we were TO Judge from the cruelty and
lust which TRANSFERRED there, ii would seem
as if God sat upon His throne only to
make misery. Over against this picture,
| like II RAINBOW against the storm cloud,
hangs mother, fair and beautiful. In that
great whfling tornado of fire there was a
bountiful harvest OF good as well Us IL
hideous harvest of evil. How many
selfish men have learned to esteem
others better than themselves!
How many mothers joyfuiiv suffer
ed that their children might be spared
What heroic achievements more than we
know, but not more than the angels chron-
icle. Men are digging through the fire to
lay hot foundations. Manhood is rising
IN its best aspect. Not that think house,,
offices, churches, and banks are the best
crops; but that manhood which the very
next duy rebounded and commenced 10
work is better 10 Us than streets paved with
gold. The sufferers rose superior TO their
misfor,unes. They stand up heavier and
stronger than before, and it, this manhood
that makes the world rich. 1t is treas
ure to Europe, and may arouse her slug
gish Asia. Burn dwellings; go down
churches that we may see what lies be-
hind you. There is a grand-a glorious
bright side TO this so-calied calau ity. ]
mean TO participate in the heroic example
of the sufferers, and pick out the good ly-
ing among the ashes. II may be safely
affirmed that not a man was more than
twelve hours hungry, All the granaries
of the West, and the wardrobes of the East
were thrown open. Fire and steam
did the work Of humanity. A mother
in the'aight never turned quicker to her
mourning babe, than the whole world turn
ed to ease the pain and misery of this great
charred city Creeds might be spread all
over the universe, and not Il Christian be
found on it, Churches might be built up
on every block of land, and the spirit of
Christ b, nowhere visible. We have been
preaching the brotherhood OF man, en-
deavoring to harmonic the rough ele-
ments, but NJ last the work has been done
by the fire and destruction. What do we
see? Churches and theatres working to-
gether.
GOD BLESS THE THEATRES,
and the churches, too Every man feels
that he is more Than Catholic. more than
Protestant-he is man Corporation,
are said TO have no souls; but it seems tc
me they show something very much like
,, it at the present time Ia 1t not worth
while to have disaster which
brings us together so closely? Thi
spectacle is worth more than all the riches
OF Chicago. We couldn't aft, ri TO hsv,
her not burned. When her majesty tele
grsphed to Canada, "Send all the blanket
in the Dominion it touched a deep chord
We have been touched on the other side be
fore now. And when the mayor of Lon
don sends thousand guineas! Thank tn,
| Lord that some city has thousand gum
cas- to give away when Germany, Austria
the Danube and the very Black Sea sen,
sympathetic responses-when the Who'll
world is beating with one heart, then ar
We ready to exclaim, "God DO praised 70
ALL" admit the disaster; but tho bene
fits outweigh all the anguish. believe
would be good economy for New York u
say TO Chicago, what capital you want 70
rebuilding you can have on terms that yo
| can afford to use