Connecticut western news., 1891-11-19
THE TEMPLE OF DIANA.
DR. TALMAGE DRAWS LESSONS FROM
 THAT STRUCTURE.


 THAT STRUCTURE. On the Way from Smyrna to Ephesus. Bandits, Robbers and Pilgrims-Pres-
 ent Appearance of the Place Where Paul Fought with Beasts.
 BROOKLYN. Nov. l5.-Dr Talmage continued this morning his series of ser mons entitled, From the Pyramids to the Acropolis This sermon, which is the fifth of the series, is concerned with the doctors visit to Ephesus. of which city, with it's wonderful temple and other buildings. he gives vivid descrip- tion, with characteristic exegetical com ments on obscure passages of Scripture His text was Acts xix, 34, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
 We have landed this morning at Smyrna, city of Asiatic Turkey. One of the seven churches of Asia once stood here You read in Revelation, ''To the church in Smyrna write." It Is city that has often been shaken by earthquake, swept by conhagration, blasted by plaques, and butchered by war. and here Bishop Polycarp stood in crowded amphitheater, and when he was asked to give up the advocacy of the Christian religion and save him. self from martyrdon. the proconsul saying, Swear and 1 release thee; re- proach Christ" replied. Eighty and six years have I served him, and he never did me wrong; how then can l revile my King and SaviourT'
 When he was brought to the fires into which he was about to be thrust, and the officials were about to fasten him to the stake, he said, ''Let me re- main as l am, for he who giveth me strength to sustain the fire will enable me also without your securing me with nails to remain unmoved in the fire" History says the fires refused to con- sume him, and under the winds the flames bent outward SO that they did not touch his person, and therefore he was slain by swords and spears One cypress bending over his grave is the only monument to Bishop Polycarp But we are on the way to the city of Ephesus, about fifty miles from Smyr- na We are advised not to go to Ephe- sus; the bandits in that region have had an ugly practice of cutting off the ears of travellers and sending these specimens of ears down to Smyrna, de manding a ransom The bandits sug- gest to the friends of the persons from whom the ears have been subtracted that if they would like to have the rest of the body they will please send an ap propriate sum of money. If the money is not sent the mutilated prisoners will be assassinated. One traveller was car ried off to the robbers den and $7, 500 was paid for his rescue. The bandits were caught and beheaded, and pic lures of these ghastly heads are on sale in the shops of Smyrna for any persons who may desire to have something to look at on their way to Ephesus. There have been cases where ten and twenty and thirty and forty thousand dollars have been demanded by these brigands We did not feel like putting our friends to such expense, and it was suggested that we had better omit Ephesus. But that would have been disappointment from which we would never recover. We must see Ephesus associated with the most wonderful apostolic scenes. We hire 8 special l railway train, and in about an hour l and half we arrive at the city of Ephesus, which was called ''The Great Metropolis of Asia," and ''One of the Eyes of Asia," and '"The Empress of Ionia," the capital of all learning and 1 magnifcence. Here, as said, was one l of the seven churches of Asia, and first of all we visit the ruins of that church where once an ecumenical council of two thousand ministers of religion was held.
 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. Mark the fulfillment of the prophecy of the seven churches of Asia; four 1 were commended in the Book of Reve-
 lation and three were doomed. The cities having the four commended | churches still stand; the cities having the three doomed churches are wiped out. It occurred just as the Bible said it would occur. Drive on and you come to the theater, which was 660 feet from wall to wall, capable of hold
 ing 56, 700 spectators. Here and there the walls arise almost unbroken, but
 for the most part the building is down.
 Just enough of it is left to help
 the imagination build it up as it
 was when those audiences shouted
 and clapped at some great spectacular.
 Their huzzas must have been enough
 to stun the heavens.
 As took my place at the center of
 this theater and looked around at it's
 broken layers of stone, gallery upon
 gallery, gallery upon gallery, piled
 up into the bleak skies of that winter
 day, and thought that every hand that
 swung a trowel on those walls, and
 every foot that trod those stairs, and
 theater, and every voice that greeted
 the combatants in that arena had gone
 out of hearing and sight for ages on
 ages, felt thrill of interest that al
 most prostrated me amid the ruins.
 Standing there we could not forget
 that in that building once assembled a
 riotous throng for Paul's condemna-
 ton because what he preached col
 lided with the idolatpy of their national
 goddess Paul tried to get into that
 theater and address the excited multi
 tude, but his friends held him back
 lest he be torn in pieces by the mob,
 and tue recorder of the city had to read
 the riot act among the people, who had shrieked for two mortal hours till their
 throats were sore and they were black
 in the face, Great is Diana of the