Milford chronicle., 1888-10-12
TABERNACLE SERVICES.
REV. T. DE WITT TALMAeE's DIS
COURSE LAST SUNDAY MORNING.

COURSE LAST SUNDAY MORNING.
The Three GreatOst Things to DO-Almost
Every Man and Woman Is Some Time
Near Demolition-OppOrtuni for Ex-
ploits.
BROOKLYN, Oct. 7.-Although no building
has been large enough TO hold the audiences
attracted by the Rev. T, De Witt Talmage,
d d.. in any part Of this country or Great
Britain for the last twenty years, the throngs
in and around the immense audience room
of Brooklvn Tabernacle seem to be increas-
ing as the years go by. The opening hymns
tbis morning were heartily sung by the con-
pregation. DR.. Talnage chose for his sub
iect .sTbe Three Greatest Things to Do" His
text was Daniel xi, 81, ''rhe people that do
know their God shall be strong, and do ex-
pIoits.n Following is the sermon;
Antiochus Epiphanes came down three
times with his army to desolate the Jews,
advancing one time with hundred and two
trained elephants swinging their trunks this
wav and that, and sixty-two thousand in
fant,-v and six thousand cavalry troops, and
tbev were driven back Then the second
/ time he advanced with seventy thousand
armed men and had been again defeated.
1 Ruf the third time he laid successful siege
until the navy of Rome came in with the
4 flash of their long banks OF oars and de
| manded that the siege be lifted. And Anti
/ ochus Epiphanes said he wanted time to con-
/ suit with his friends about it, and Popiliusi
1 one of the Roman ambassadors, took stait
md made a circle on the ground around
Antiochus Epiphanes and compelled him to
decide before be came out of that circles
wbereupon he lifteCAthe siege. Some Of the
Jews had submitted to the invader, but some
I of them resisted valorously, as did Eleazer
when he had swine's flesh forced into his
month. spit it out, although he knew he must
die for it, and did die for 1t, and others, as
nv text saws. were enabled to do exploits.
An exploit would define to be a heroic
act a brave feat, a great achievement
uIvell.n YOU say, Il admire such things, but
there is no chance for me; mine is a sort Of
n humdrvlm life. If ! had an Antiochus
Fpiphanes to fight 1 also could do exploits. -
You-are right so far as great wars are con-
cerned. There will probably bo no oppOr-
tunitv to distinguish yourself in battle. The
most of the brigadier generals of this coun-
t7-v would never have been heard of had it
nat been for the war. Gen. Grant would
have remained in the useful work of tanning
hides at Galena, and Stonewail Jackson
would have continued the quiet college pro
fessor in Virginia And whatever military
talents you have will probably lie dormant
forever. Neither will you become great
inventor. Nineteen hundred and nine-nine
ont of every two thousand inventions found in
the patent Office at Washington never yielded
their authors enough money to pay for the
expenses Of securing the patent. So you will
probably never be a Morse or an Edison or a
Humphrey Davy or an Eli Whitney. There
is not much probability that you will be the
one out of a hundred that achieves extraor-
dinary success in commercial or legal or
medical or literary spheres. What then? Can
Won have no opportunity to do ezploitsl
am going to show YOU today that there are
three opportunities open that are grand,
thrilling, far reaching, stupendous and over
vyhelming, They arc before you now. In
one, if not all three of them, you may dc
exploits. The three greatest things on earth
to do are to save man, or save a woman, OF
save a child.
During the course Of his life almost every
man gets into an exigency, is caught be.
tween two fires, is ground between two mill
stones sits on the edge Of some precipice, OF
in some other way comes near demolition
It NAV be financial or a moral or a domes
sic or a social or a political exigency. You
sometimes see it in court rooms. A young
man has got into bad company and he has
offended the law, and he is arraigned. al
blusbing and confused he is in the presencC
of Judge and jury and lawyers He can b'
sent right on in the wrong direction he il
feeling disgraced, and he is almost desperate
Let tho district attorney overhaul him q.
Il off tda LOT l,n oh
ATTORNEYS at the bar refuse to say a word fol
him because he cannot afford a considerabl,
fee, let the judge give no opportunity for pre-
senting the mitigating circumstances, hurry
up the case and hustle him up to Auburn ol
Sing Sing. If he live seventy years, for sew
entv years ho viii be a criminal, and eacl
decade of his life will be blacker than it
predecessor. In the interregnums Of prisoI
life he can get no work, and he is glad t,
break a window glass, or blow up safe, o.
Dlay the highwayman, so as to get bacl
again within the walls where he can ge
something to eat and hide himself from tn
cruel gaze Of the world. Why don't hi
father come and help himl His father i
dead. Why don't his mother come and hell
himg She is dead. Where are all the amelo
Grating and salutary influences of society
They do not touch him. Why did not some on
long ago in the case understand that there wa
mn opportunity for the exploit which woul,
be famous in heaven quadrillion Of year
aftcr the earth has become scattered ashes Il
the last whirlwind' Why did not the dis
trict attorney take that Young man into hi
private office and say: "Aly soa, I see tina
YOU are the victim of circumstances Thi
is your first crime. You are sorry. viii
bring the person you wronged into your pres
ence, and you will apologize and make al
the reparation you can, and viii give yoi
another chance" Or that young man is pre-
sented in the court room and he has n
friends present, and the judge says: "Wh
is your counselT' And he answers: Il Lav
none" And the judge says: "Who will tax
this young mans caseln And therc is
dead halt and no one offers, and after
while the judge turns to some attorney VIII
never had a good case in all his life an
never will, aud whose advocacy viii b
enough to secure the condemnation OF innc
cence itself. And the professional incompe
tent crawls up beside the prisoner, helpless
ness to rescue despair, when there ought t
be a struggle among all the best men OF th
profession as to who should have the homo
Of trying TO help that unfortunate Ho'
r much would such an attorney Lave receive
as his fec for such an advocacyl Nothing i
dollars, but much every way in a happy col
sciousuess that wou make his own lif
brighter and his own dying pillow sweete
and his own heaven happier tho conscious
ness that he had saved n man.
Sc there are commercial exigercics. .
very late spring obliterates the demand 70
spring overcoats and spring hats and sprln
apparel Of all sorts. Hundreds Of thousand
of people say: 1T seems we are going
have no spring, and we shall 60 straight ou
of winter into warm weather. and We ca
get along without the usual spring attire.
Or there is no autumn weather, the hes
plunging into the cold, and the usual clotl
ing, which is a compromise between sunme
and winter, is not required. 1t makes di
ference in the sale of millions and million
of dollars of goods, and some oversanSuin