Connecticut western news., 1891-08-27
GREAT EXPLOITS FOR US.
DR. TALMAGE POINTS OUT WHAT
 WE MAY DO.

Deed of Greater Worth than Leading
 an Army to Victory in Battle Is the
 Leading of H Human Soul to God.
 OCEAN GROVE, N. J., Aug B. This Is camp meeting Sunday at Ocean Grove. Its celebration is always re garded as the great event of the year at this famous religious watering place This year the attractions of it's observ ance have been enhanced by the pres ence of Dr. Talmage, who preached this afternoon in the Auditorium Every seat was filled and every inch of stand ing room in the aisles was occupied and the greatest enthusiasm prevailed It is estimated that fully fifteen thou sand persons were able to hear the doc tor, and many others.r~ert deprived of that privilege His text was Daniel xii 32. "The people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits" "
 Antiochus Epiphanes. the old sinner, came down three times with his army to desolate the lsraelites advancing one time with a hundred and two trained elephants, swinging their trunks this way and that, and sixtytwo thou sand infantry, and six thousand calvary troops, and they were driven back. Then, the second time. he advanced with seventy thousand armed men, and had been again defeated But the third time he laid successful siege until the navy of Rome came in with the flash of their long banks of oars and demanded that the siege be lifted.
 And Antiochus Epiphanes said he wanted time to consult with his friends about it, and Popilius, one of the Ro man ambassadors took a staff and made circle on the ground around Antiochus Epiphanes and compelled him to decide before he came out of that circle, whereupon he lifted the siege Some of the Hebrews had sub mitted to the invader, but some ot them resisted valorously, as did Eeazer when he had swine's flesh forced into his mouth, spit it out, although he knew he must die for it. and did die for it, and others, as my text says did exploits. e.
 An exploit would define to be an he. roic act, a brave feat, a great achieve ment. Well" you say, ''I admire such things, but there is no chance for me; mine is sort of humdrum life. If l had an Antiochus Epiphanes to fight l also could do exploits You are right, so far asgreat wars are concerned There will probably be no opportunity to distinguish yourself in battle. The most of the brigadier. generals of this country would never have been heard of had it not been for the war
 THREE GRAND OPPORTUNITIES.
 Neither will you probably become a great inventor Nineteen hundred and ninety nine out 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 Morse or an Edi~ son or Humphrey Davy or an Eli Whitney. There is not much probabil- ity that you will be the one out of the hundred who achieves extraordinary success in commercial or legal or medical or literary spheres. What then2 Gan you have no opportunity to do exploits? l am going to show that there are three opportunities open that are grand, thrilling, far reaching, stupendous and overwhelming They are before you now. In one. if not all three of them, you may do exploits. The three great, est things on earth to do are to save man, or save d woman or save a child.
 During the course of his life, almost every man gets into an exigency, is caught between two flres is ground be tween two millstones, sits on the edge of some precipice, or in some other way comes near demolition It may be financial or a moral or domestic or a social or a political exigency You sometimes see it ill courtroons. A young man has got into bad company and he has offended the law, and he is arraigned All blushing and confused. he is ill the presence of judge and jury and lawyers He can be sent right on in the wrong direction. He is feeling disgraced. and he is almost desperate.
 Let the district attorney overhaul him as though he, were an old offender let the ablest attorneys at the bar re- fuse to say a word for him, because he cannot afford d considerable fee; let the judge give no opportunity for present ing the mitigating circu1nst:lces. hur ry up the case. and hustle him up to Auburn or Sing Sing If he live seven ty years, for seventy years he will be d criminal, and each decade of his life will be blacl1er than it's predecessor. In the interregnums of prison life he can get no work, and he is glad to break a window glass, or blow up safe or play the highwaylnan, so as to get back within the walls where he can get something to eat and hide himself from the gaze of the world.
 A HOPELESS oUTCAsT
 Why don't his father come and help him2 His father is dead Why don't his mother come and help him? She is dead. Where are all the ameliorating and salutary influences of society," They do not touch him. Why did not some one long ago in the case under stand that there was an opportunity for the exploit which would be famous in heaven a quadrillion of years after the earth has become scattered ashes in the last whirlwind?
 Why did not the district attorney take that young man into his private office and say My son, see that you are the victim of circumstances This is your first crime. You are sorry will bring the person you wronged into your presence and you will apologize and make all the reparation you can, and I will oive vOu another chance