Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-05-30

The "lsoy Orator " Prsaohes - ths Grand
AFnDy. =,
Salem Church OF God presented an ami
mated appearance last evening. A large
congregation was drawn there by the an
nOunCement that Rev. John G.. St. John,
"the boy orator." a. he 10 called, Of
Brooklyn, N. Y, would preach q sermon
to Geo. H. Thomas post, g. A. II. ......
Promptly at tho appointed hour the
post, numbering between fifty and sixty
men, filed into the church.
The services began with an anthem,
Walk in the light, )" by the choir, and
after prayer and the singing Of" America
the sermon began.
Rev. st. John took for his tsxt, ''But
thanks be unto God, who givoth NJ the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ"
in 1st Cor, Nv. 81. There arc two great
victories which ever confront us: ono
found on tho pages Of history; tho other
on tho pages Of prophecy. One tslls %
Of the struggle for liberty for time the
other for eternity ono mortal, tho other
immortal. It is twenty years since this
nation was awakened from her slumbers
by the cannOn's roar, which was sounded
close to Sumpter's side, and sch0ing and
reverberating over mountain and valley,
bill and vale, struck terrvr tO the free
mans heart. In 81 the shin Of Liberty
was boarded by traitors, her masts were
torn from the yard arms and her sails
shriveled and rent, and attempts made to
sink hor in the deep. But today she
sails on the high sea of prosperity with
more power than ever. Tho speaker then,
gave an elOqeHt and vivid recital Of the
b0mbardment and evacuation of Fort
Sumter; Of the arrival of the Massa.
chusetts 9th in Baltimore, where Il was
attacked by mob Of tho gallant heroism
Of General Geo. H. Thomas at Chickanau-
ga; the four years If carnage and blood
shed, and the subsequent surrender Of
the confederate armies to Grant at Appo-
mattOx. This il . nation Of patriots. The
ink on the presidential call for aid had not
yet dried ere thousands II Aunrieais
nOblest sons left those they loved and an
swered, "Here am - The soldier trials
were then dWelt at length the tedious
marches, doing sentinel duty in the hail
and rain, the mOnOtOnOus camp life, etc.;
the expectation Of tho loyal North = they
watched the progress Of tho march of tho
Union armies, one marching to the head of
the COnfederacy the other to its heart.
Results follow causes, and to-day We 80
Is the result Of those four years If civil
strife-the emancipation Of three million
bondmen and the showing to the world
that ours il indeed tho "HOme Of tho
brave and the Free" He spoke Of the
beautiful custom Of decorating the graves.
Decorate them with the Rose Of Sharon
and the Lily Of the Valley, progncstic Of
the resurrection. Hero followed . fup
perOratiOn on the resurrection VI Christ
and what it teaches us-that We too shall
rise. Tho exercises closed with tho sing
ing Of "Am . Soldier Of the Cross -
Rev. s.. John is scarcely over 81 years
Of ago and is Of very youthful ap-
pearance. His sermon, - . whole, vas .
good one, and abounded in many eloqusnt
utterances, He has . good vOice which il
heard to advantage. His nannss On tAe
pulpit tends to the tragicaL Il vas svi
dent that he was laboring from illness, a.
he stopped during his sermon from sick
headache.