The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-01-21
Painting Destruction.
TALMAGE'S VIVID PICTURE OF THE
AWFUL PLUNGE OF THE RAIL
WAY TRAIN OF THE TAY.


WAY TRAIN OF THE TAY.
The Magnificent Scottish River see 4
Summer Dream Of Paradisiacal
Beauty .-- laundering Death, Who
Cannot Tell a TatterdemaliOn's Rags
From a COnquerOr's Plume.
1.-THE Rail Train Falling into the River Tay"
was the subject Of Mr.. TalInagcs sermon this
morning. Services were opened by singing
the hymn:
My days are swiftly gliding BY,
And ] Il pilgrim strangcr.".
Several passages of Scripture appropriate to
the new year were read by Mr.. Talmngc. lie
preached from n text taken from Nahum lie,
/: "Tllr chariot, shall rage in the streets;
they shall .Jostlc against one another III the
broad ways: they shull seem like torches;
they shall run like the lightning
II that be not an express rail train under
full Roadway ut night, what Is il?, The use
OI steam may hnvc been ono OF the lOsl nrts.
Robert Fulton and James Watt, thousands oil
years aItcrward, recovering what was KNOWN
IN the days of Nahum, the prophet. While
reading the text you hear the clash of the car
rifle velocity which ally night may be heard
on the iron track between New York and Buff
fnlo, betwecn Charleston and Savannah, be-
tween Edinburgh and Dundee. -,
TO luOItl dIlQ ICllSlOuS ullGtECS, ! AL
Your minds to the precipitation OF The scot
tish railroad train last Sunday night through
the bridge across the river Tay. All the sur
rOundlngs OF that accident are so vivid In my
memory that | can not refrain iroui this SER
mon. On the morning Of the Dist OF last
July l consulted with friends ut Dundee
whether / had better take the rail train on
the way to Glasgow, or to go pnrt OF the dis
lance on the Tay. Advised to the latter, 1
stepped on the steamer Star O'Gowric, her
flag tluttefing IN the strong wind that blew,
although at the same time the sun was flood
Ing land and water and sky with golden
glory. | had seen the Hudson and the Rhine,
but the beauty and magnitlcencc OF the river
Tuy that SlllnLne morning Tor some reason
thrilled me as no other landscape ever did.
The banks adorned with the signs OF present
wealth ind historical "Reminiscences now lie
In my mind like Il Summer dream OF para
dislacal beauty. From It's birth at Lock lay
to Its translation To the German ocean, 1t Is
one long enclluntmemt. There are orchards
and inrIlstcads and mansions. Elclo Castle.
LindOrrS Abbey and round tower OF Ater-
ncthy and Balnabrcich Castle, suggestive OF
the past till you almost see the flash OF an
cielt clnyllores and hear the battle shout
of Robert Bruce and Wallace und Thomas
dc Longurvill and the challenge Of the clan
Chuttuin to tho clan Quhcle. Did ever such a
bright sky look downintO so enchanting Il
river between such historical banks? Blu
the present must attempt to Guido the past,
ind yondcr it Is! Fairyllke for cNIuisltclcss
and majestic for arcliing spans, the bridge
ACROSS LIlC lay. III lCl VI llllCCh hilIhtSI
from the Dundee docks we come under 1t and
have full opportunity of examining the struc-
tire which Is tie pride of Great Britain.
Have you anything like that In America =
s@id q rudy Tc9'cS InnrIs a two l m ;nswf ionr
and with cighty.ssven spans, eighty feet
above the water, the best view that can he Oh
tnincd OF 1t we had that morning from the
decks OF the Star O'GOwrie. No suggestion
that Summer day of coming calamity, moth
Ing In the glee Of the passengers, nothing In
the cloud crystalline. nothing In the waters
opalinc, nothing III the architectural triumph
looking not as much rs II IL had been bull
up, but us if 1t had gracefully and supcrnatu,
rally allghtcd. When the conductor last
Sabbath 1T Edinburgh lifted his hand In sig
nal to the engineer and the train started,
What more fascinating than that rail tram
in notion! Across the plain how 1t glldcs
Through the village how it darts! Under tht
shadow Of the rocks how IL rushGs, cl;.ll".
hour. But what peril ahead! Will not some
switchnnn run out with the rcd flag OF dan
ger? Will not some echo OF the rocks cry
"StOp," or some voice of the Wild night vino
halt the doomed procession? How dumb ant
u~nSylnpathctic the earth seems ut such Times
OF awful crisis! Stop that train! The pres
sure OF an engineers foot on the brakes, and
from one to :hrcc hund red lives Will be saved
: from precipitation. But the train moves on
Us by memorable fate and reaches the abut
! mcnt, and sets its iron feet OH the bridge
which from hrncciorth becomes more memo
rablc than that OF Eorwnik or AshG.ouLa
Some one from the shore thinks he sees !
shower Of fire and the falling lights OF tho
train. Not until the last day will II be known
whether the spans had already disappeared
in the whirlwlnd, making n chaSlli down
which the passenger cars chased each other
or, more likely, the great procession oil hl'
man life, waved to and fro under the arms o
curoilydon, to and fro with mighty swing, Il
and fro with ~ lurch that makes the blool
-...II. .. .r,l yr. tEt fhn utInnlS III In
track, and smoking-cnginc and lighted coach
cS, locomotivc-drivcr and stokcr, guardsmai
and passengers, are hurled with lightning We
locity through the night, through the SPACES
through the waters, down, II hundred Ice
down! Crash! crash /! ! crahh!!!
All dead! Some by fright, some by drown'
Ing, some by bruisc, but all dead! Death cap
tured the train, put his foot on the brakes
collected the tickets, stopped the royal mai
bags, arrested the speed and shocked christ
cndOm, They were fathers and mothers, they
were SONS and daughters, they were brother:
and sisters, and the Queens telegram tia
mcnt OF all nations. They had Il merry Christ
mas just behind them. They had II happy
New Year just before them. But half way be
tween the lighted candles Of tho Christmas
tee and tho SITUATIONS Of the opening yc;l
they disappeared forever; the laughter q
holiday festivities broken up by the shrek o
unparalleled casualty. The bridge broke
Whit text for Il sermon! There may be un
wise and morbid people who will say, 80
much for the misunderstanding There arr
those who arc very generous In the dlstrlbu'
ton Of Gods Judgments, and If Il sailing pir
ty on the Lords day drown themselves, rel
| gious critics Immediately take the rcspolisi
bility Of announcing the disaster us " cOnsc
uuencc Of the inirnction of holy hours. Now
| have no patience with that style OF moral
zlns; | would like to drive 1t out Of our sun
strict observance of the Christian Sabbath,
think the Lords tllundcrboltS are too heavy
for us TO handle. / don't know what ncccssi
ty may have started the travellers OH tina
Sabbath Journey. Ii your child or husDant
or father were sick Or dying fur away, how
long would IL take you this morning to get t
II rail train? From the way these religious
critics argue, / should conclude that SlbUltl
travel Is Trustworthy, because of AL the raj
trains IN both hcmisphcrcS travelling on Tina
day, with tens of thousands OF passengers
tins train was the only one That pcriSlicd;
md rs out of every thousand OF travellers tina
Sabbath nine hundred and ninety-nine go
hu,ne safely, ergo, sabbath travelling Is com
mcndablc. You see their argument Is un'
founded. The Lord knows that If we, safe
and happy to-day, had received II rjust DIES
ertS, there would have been . bridge:
enough to take us all down. Pushing aside
this unhealthy moraliZatiOn of Sabbath ctltas
trophc, | want To take Il broad, common SENSE
and Christian view of this event which drops
one, two, three, four, five, six, seven rail- cars
into u watcry sepulchrc. Look, look, at tho
tiushipg lights rs they 80 "
From this ruin ut the Tay bridge l learn
first, that God is mighticr than human !nvcn
ton, and That it becomes science to be rever
entail and worshipiul. This. Tay bridge, was
considered II triumph OF engineering. Ihom
as Bouch, the faniou architect, backed up by
81, 7jU,OOu, thought he had constructed some
! thing to stand the floods and the winds ant
the rail trains. l hold In my hand q pamph
let which l purchased on the river Tuy thai
Summer morning, which says: What vii,
help to both extend and perpctuatc this local
ity is the erection of the Tay bridge. which