The Van Buren press., 1875-04-13
THE TERRIBLE TALMAGE
Beecher's Brooklyn Rival Opens Out on
the Scandal.
"The Trial Is Hell-BrOth, Regularly
Served Up"
from the Brooklyn Eagle

SerNcU Up.
From the Brooklyn Eagle.
The weekly prayer meeting of the Tab
ernacle flock, last evening, was very
largely attended The lecture room and
parlors Of the Lay college building we're
densely crowded. Many people unable
to obtain seats remained standing
throughout the proceedings. Tomorrow
being communion Sunday, it was expect
ed that Talmage's lecture would refer
especially to that event, and the audience
were very much surprised when the rev
erend gentleman took up the Beecher-
1ilton scandal as the theme. This is the
first time that Mr.. Talmagc has referred
to the subject.
After the usual preliminary exercises,
consisting of singing, prayer and read
ing Of the scriptures, Mr.. Talmage step
ped to the front ofthe platform and said ::
BROOKLYN OR soDoM?
To your surprise, the subject Of this,
my Frilsy evening address, is Brook
lyn or Sodom? 7" The time has come
for some one to speak. take the re,
sponsibility, being as able as any man TO
endure the assault which such step may
provoke. People referring to the famous
law suit now in progress, say Brooklyn
is under cloud Nay, Brooklyn is in a
trough of the sea Leaving to the twelve
competent jurors and able counsel on
both sides and an impartial judge the le
gal settlement OF this miserable business,
there is word which the pulpit needs to
utter. Where is ancient Sodom? 1t be.
came 80 polluted that ordinary washing
would not do, so instead Of water, God
took fire and instead of soap He took
birthstone; and the traveller to day picks
up pieces of sulphur or bitumen where
once that great city stood. Brooklyn is
rushing on toward the same licentous-
ness and to as terrible a doom, unless a
merciful God balk the influences now at
work. Down at our courthouse, day af-
ter day, there is uncovered
TIE CORPSE or AN ABoMINATIoN,
vastcr in its blight than Sodom ever
knew 1t is not corpse two or three
days lingering, waiting for Christian bu.
rial but for eight months since last mid
summer it has been rotting in the face of
the sun, and thousand pens are stirring
it up, and thousand gibbets are lifting
it up on exhibition, and the printing
presses are cutting up the loa,hsome car
cass and making it INTO mincemeat for
savory repast morning, n"oa and night.
And as the periodicals don't turn it out
fast enough to satisfy the public appetite
they had to publish it in book form, so
that we can carry it about with us for q
lunch between the morning breakfast and
the evening supper ofputridity. Brook
lvu to-day eats scandal, drinks scandal,
talks scandal, swears scandal. lies scan
dal, sleeps scandal and from Fulton Fer
~ wharf to Bushwick, and from Gowanus
to Hunters Point the city is paved with
scandal and reeks with scandal until one
is tempted to 90 over to Five Points to
get breath of pure air! Sensation.
There are five thousand carrion crows
which alight every morning at eleven
O'Clock on the top of the courthouse
and stay there until four O'Clock in the
north, south, east, west, with an eXultant
- cav! caw 'caw!' Applause. Eter-
nal God. when will this surging, grOan.
ing, stupendous, overwhelming nas,iness
come to an end The city needs thor.
ough fumi9ation.
WILL SOMEBODY BURN RAG,
| laughter or carry about a shovel of
lighted charcoal? Three daily papers
came into my house to day. and in them,
by actual count, one hundred aud twenty.
three feet Of printed pollution. ! meas
urcd it. Give to the houses Of shame in
New York a printing press, and let the
libertincs and adulteresses of the city edit
and print paper, and they could not,
after all their criminal ingenuity had
b zen taxed to the utmost, send forth
more baletul and killing stuff than that
which is thrown into the lap ofyour fam
lily morning and night. The father reads
it. The mother reads it. The son reads
it, The daughters read it The servants
in the basement read it The coachman
at the barn reads it. SO much has the
moral tone Of this city gone down, that
subjects, the mention Of which in your
paror three years ago would have been
an outrage to decency, now cause not
even blush on the check of the most
sensitive Wait for the harvest three or
four years from now! In discovered
families; in quadrupled host Of street
walkers; in 4 generation Of young men
where purity will be the exception unless
some mighty religious influence sweep
over the land, and we Aght fire with fire
the connagration of sin overcome by
the conaagration kindlcd by the Holy
Ghost. Has
OUR DEAR AND BEAUTIFUL CITY
Of Brooklyn come to ths2 When now
by rail among strangers, | am
asked where | live, | answer by saying:
" was born in New Jersey Never mind
where | live now" Laughter. Have
you measuring rod long enough to es
innate the nhacnee OF about 300, 900
morning and evening papers coming lin
contact with the minds Of our Brooklyn
people, bringing about 5,000,0 900 columns
Of RIGHTEOUSNESS into our city every day
How insignificant to stem the tide seem
all your Bibles, and all your tracts, and
all your family altars. and all your
churches? For Gods sake, and for the
sake Of the purity Of the rising genera
ton, respectfully implore the secular