Connecticut western news., 1895-02-07
RE ON THE LOOKOUT.
SERMON ON OPPORTUNITY BY REV.
 OR. TALliAGE IN NEW YORK.

Thing. That Do Not Last-The Lesson In the Farm Wagon Opportunities That Made Men Famous-The Great Chance of All-Its Fruits.
 NRw YORK, Feb 3.-Rev Dr. Tal- mage again found himself facing vast Iadience at the Academy of Music this afternoon, while thousands surged around the entrances unable to gain ad- mission. The Academy was crowded shortly after o'clock, and the prelim- mary service of song was participated in by the throngs that filled the corri- dors and by many of those at the doors on both Irving place and Fourteenth street as we'll The distinguished divine took for his subject Opportunity, rho text selected being Galatians vi, 10, As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good.
 At Denver years ago an audience had assembled for divine worship, The pas tor of the church for whom 1 was to preach that night, interested in the eating of the people, stood in the pull pit looking from side to side, and when no more people could be crowded within the walls he turned to me and said, with startling emphasis, "What an op- portunityr' Immediately that word be- gan to enlarge, and while hymn was being sung at every stanza the word opportunity" swiftly and nightly nnfolded. and while the opening prayer was being made the word piled up into Alps and Himalayas of meaning and spread out into other attitudes and longitudes of significance until it be- came hemispheric and it still grew in altitude and circumference until 1t en- circled other words and swept out and on and around until it was as big as eternity. Never since have read or heard that word without being thrilled with it's magnitude and momentum. Opportunity Although in the text to some it may seem a mild and quiet note, in the great gospel harmony it is a staocato passage. It is one of the love- Hest and awfulest words in our lan guage of more than 100, 900 words of English vocabulary. "As we have op- portunity. let us do good.
 Opportunity Defined.
 What is an opportunity? The lexi- cographer would coolly tell you it is a conjunction of favorable circumstances for accomplishing a purpose, but words cannot tell what it is. Take 1000 years to manufacture definition, and you could not successfully describe it Op- portunityl The measuring rod with which the angel of tho Apocalypse mea- sured heaven could not measure this pivotal word of my text. Stand on the edge of the precipice of all time and let down the fathoming line hand under hand and lower down and lower down and for quintillion of years let it sink, and the lead will not strike bottom. Opportunity But while I do not at tempt to measure or define the word will, God helping me, take the respon- sibility of telling you something about opportunity.
 First, it is very swift in its motions. Sometimes within one minute it starts from the throne of God, sweeps around the earth and reascends the throne from which it started Within less than 60 seconds it fulfilled its mission.
 In the second place, opportunity never comes back. Perhaps an oppor- tunity very much like it may arrive, but that one never. Naturalists tell us of insects which are born, fulfill their mission and expire in an hour, but many opportunities die so soon after they are born that their brevity of life Is incalculable. What most amazes me is that opportunities do such overshadow- ing, far reaching and tremendous work in such short earthly allowance. You are business man of large experience. The past IS months have been hard on business men. Ayoung merchant at his wits end came into your office or your house, and you said: "Times are hard now, but better days will come have seen things as bad or worse, but we got out, and we will get out of this The brightest days that this country ever saw are yet to come" The young man to whom you said that was ready for suicide or something worse-namely, fraudulent turn to get out of his de- spairful position. Your hopefulness in spired him for all time, and 30 years
 
 the advantage of your optimism. Your opportunity to do that one thing for that young man was not half as long as the time have taken to rehearse it.
 Little Things That Decide Destiny.
 In yonder third gallery you sit, man of the world, but you wish every body we'll. While the clerks are standing nd in cf0 fha factory are taking their noon spell, some one says, Have you heard that one oi our men has been converted at the re- vival meeting in the Methodist church?' While it is being talked over you say: Well, 1 do not believe in revivals. Those things do not last. People gel excited and join the church and are nc better than they were before. 1 wish our men would keep away from those meetings" Do you know, o man. what you did i'll that minute of depre citation? There were two young men 1T that group who that night would hay, gone to those meetings and been saved for this wc-ld and the next, but yo1 decided them not to go. They are socia natures. They already drink more thai is good for them and are disposed to b. wild. From the time they heard yol say that they accelerated their steps ol the downward road In ten years the, will be through with their dissipation and pass into the great beyond. Tha little talk of yours decided their desti ny for this world and the next Yo' had an opportunity that you misim proved, and how will you feel whel you confront those two immortals in tn last judgment and they tell you of tha unfortunate talk of yours that funi them over the precipice? 0 man o the world, why did you not say in that noon spell of conversation: "Goodl am glad that man has got religion. wish had it myself. Let us all go to night. Come on. Twill meet you at the church door at 8 o'clock?" You see, yor would bava taken them all tO heaven