Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1891-06-01
FLOWERS FOR BOTHSIDE
A UNIQUE MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE
IN BROOKLYN TABERNACLE.

DIR. TaImage breaches Sermon About
the Soldiers of the Civil War, and Of
fers "a Garland for the North and One
for the South.
BROOKLYN, May 31.-Yesterday hay
ing been observed as Decoration Day,
DR. Talmage this morning preached an
appropriate sermon. 1t was novel
and unprecedented service, as in differ
ent parts of the audience were many of
those who had belonged to both Fed
eral and Confederate armies, the sub
iect having been previously announced,
namely. Two Garlands for Northern
and Southern Graves" Over the pull
pit were two wreaths of beautiful flow
ers, and they were linked together so
that they were an object lesson of the
subject presented Text: Isaiah Kill
81 will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Keep not back.
AN APPROPRIATE TEXT.
Just what my text meant by the
north and south | cannot say, but in
the United States the two words are SO
point blank in their meaning that no
one can doubt. They mean more than
east and west, for although between
those last two there have been rivalrles
and disturbing ambitions and infeicities
and silver bills and Worlds fair contrO-
versies. there have been between them
no batteries unlimbered, no intrench-
ments dug, no long lines of sepulchral
mounds thrown up. 1t has never been
Massachusetts, Fourteenth regiment
against Wisconsin zouaves; it has new
er been Virginia artillery against Mis-
sissippi rifles
East and west are distinct words,
and sometimes may mean diversity of
interest, but there is no blood on them.
They can be pronounced without any
intonation of wailing and death groan.
But the north and the south are words
that have been surcharged with TRACE
dies. They are words which suggest
that for forty years the clouds had been
gathering for a four years tempest
which thirty years ago burst in a fury
that shook this planet as it has never
been shaken since it swung out at the
first world building.
| thank God that the words have
lost some of the intensity which they
possessed three decades ago; that a
vast multitude of northern people have
moved south, and vast multitude of
southern people have moved north,
and there have been intermarriages by
the ten thousand, and northern colo
nels have married the daughters of
southern captains and Texas rangers
have united for life with the daughters
of New York abOlitiOnists, and their
children are half northern and half
southern and altogether patriotic. But
north and south are words that need to
be brought into still closer harmoniza-
ton
| thought that now, when we are half
way between presidential elections, and
sectional animOsities are at lowest ebb
and now just after presidential jour
ney. when our chief magistrate, who
was chiefly elected by the north has
been cordially received at the south;
and now, just after two Memorial Days,
one of them a month ago, strewing
flowers on southern graves, and the
other yesterday, strewing flowers on
northern graves, it might be appropri-
ate and useful for me to preach Il ser
mon which would twist two garlands,
one for the northern dead and the
other for the southern dead and have
the two interlocked in a chain of flow
ers that shall bind forever the two sec
tons into one; and who knows but
that this may be the day when the
prophecy of the text made in regard to
the ancients may be fulfilled in regard
to this country, and the north give up its
prejudices and the south keep not back
its confidence Il will say TO the
north, Give up, and to the south, Keep
not back"