Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1891-09-03
ALL MEN MAY BE GREAT
THE WORLD WILL NOT KNOW IT,
BUT ALMIGHTY GOD WILL


Which Men and Women May Do-save
. Haman Soul for Heaven and the
Lord
OCEAN GROVE, n. j., Aug. 2s.-This is
camp meeting Sunday at Ocean Grove. It's
celebration is always regarded as the great
event Of the year at this famous religious
watering place This year the attractions
OF Its observance have been enhanced by
the presence of DR.. Talmage, who preached
this afternoon in the Auditorium. Every
seat was filled and every inch Of standing
room in the aisles was occupied, and the
greatest enthusiasm prevailed. 1t is esti-
mated that fully fifteen thousand persons
were able to hear the doctor, and many
others were deprived of that privilege.
His text was Daniel XII, &c. ''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 Israelites, advancing one time
with hundred and two trained elephants,
swinging their trunks this way and that,
and sixty-two thousand infantry and six
thousand cavalry 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 fash 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 Roman ambassadors, took 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 submitted to the invader,
but some of them resisted valorously, as
did Eleazer 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.
ALL HAVE THREE OPPORTUNITIES.
An exploit would define to be an heroic
act, brave feat, great achievement.
"Well," you say, 81 admire such things,
but there is no chance for me; mine is
sort of humdrum life. If had an Antio-
chus Epiphanos to fight, also could do
exploits" You are right, so far as great
wars are concerned. There will probably
be no opportunity to distinguish yourself
in battle. The most of the brigadier gen
erals of this country would never have
been heard of had it not been for the war
Neither will you probably become 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 a
Morse or an Edison or Humphrey Davy
or an Eli Whitney. There is not much
probability that you will be the one out of
the hundred who achieves extraordinary
success in commercial or legal or medical
or literary spheres What thenP Can you
have no opportunity to do exploits2 am
going to show that there are three oppor-
tunities 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 greatest things on earth to do
are to save a man, or save a woman, or
save child
During the course of his life almost
every man gets into an exigency, is caught
between two fires, is ground between two
millstones, sits on the edge Of some prec-
pice, or in some other way comes near dem
clifton 1t may be financial or a moral
or a domestic or a social or a political ext
gency 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. All blushing and con
fused he is in the presence of judge ana
jury and lawyers. He can be sent right or
in the wrong direction He is feeling dis
yl baI Ia aIy
Let the district attorney overhaul him
as though he were an old offender; let the
ablest attorneys at the bar refuse to say g
word for him, because he cannot afford 8
considerable fee; let the judge give no op
portunity for presenting the mitigating
circumstances, hurry up the case and hus
tie him up to Auburn or Sing Sing. If hi
live seventy years, for seventy years he will
be criminal, and each decade of his life
will be blacker than it's predecessor. IL
he interregnums of prison life he can gel
no work, and he is glad to break window
glass or blow up safe or play the high
wayman so as to get back within the wall!
where he can get something to eat anC
hide himself from the gaze of the world.
HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN SAVED.
Why don't his father come and help him
His father is dead Why don't his mother
come and help himS She is dead. Wher
are all the ameliorating and salutary in
fuences of society," They do not toucl
him. Why did not some one long ago il
the case understand that there was an op
portunity for the exploit which would b
famous in heaven a quadrillion of year
after the earth has become scattered ashe
in the last whirlwind? Why did not tn
district attorney take that young man int
his private office and say: my son, l Sc
that you are the victim of circumstances
This is your first crime. You are sorry.
will bring the person you wronged int
your presence, and you will apologize an
make all the reparation you can, and vii
give you another chance" Or that youn
man is presented in the courtroom, an
he has no friends present, and the judg
says, who is your counsel" And he ar
swers, II have none" And the judg
says, who will take this young man
casew
And there is a dead halt, and no on
offers, and after awhile the judge turns t
some attorney, who never had good cas-
in all his life and never will, and whose aC
vocacy would be enough to secure the col
demnation of innocence itself. And th
professional incompetent crawls up besld
the prisoner, helplessness to rescue despair
where there ought.to be struggle anon
all the best men of the profession as to VIII
should have the honor of trying to hel
that unfortunate How much would sue
an attorney have received as his fee fc
such an advocacy9 Nothing in dollar