The Portland daily press., 1896-02-19
GRANDFATHER AND GRANDSON.
Rev. DR.. Talmage's Lecture at City Hall
Last Evening.


Last Evening.
Rev. DIR. Dewitt Talmags was the en-
tertainer in the Stockbridge course at
City hall last evening, and his many
bright sayings were rewarded with much
laughter and app iause. The subject was
"The Grandfather and Grandson.
This title proved to be sort of allie
CORY in which the life and customs of the
past were contrasted with those of he
present.
The lecturer began by saying that men
anu women had not changed in their
esset1al character statistics, but that
there had been great change in customs
during the last hundred years. Generally
speaking, the times of the grandson were
far better than tohse of the grandfather.
while the surroundings were better in
this country i'll the present age than they
were in any other place on the earth.
What's the difference between the old
times and the new?" he asked. "Between
the man under President jackson and
the man under President Cleveland? I'll
tell you the difference. There's no differ
enoe." daughter
Men and women are just the same
now as they were then. God hasn' t
learned anything in six thousand years.
He made man and woman Just as h e
wanted them. There was an awful ao-
cident under the apple tree, but they did
not change. But outward conditions
have greatly changed and changed for
the better The times are better than
those of your grandfather, and the chang
es are that you are better than your an
| cestors
Having said this much the Doctor
satirized the attitude of pessimists who
were always deploring the badness of the
times, and contrasting the present un-
favorably with the good old past. A
good deal of this proceeded from dissatis-
faction. There were a great many COIN
planners, even among those who were we'll
to do. First, people wanted oompe-
tence, then afiuence, then superfuity,
and then more. The first thing was to
have the heart right, and then to have
the digestion right; when these two were
right, people were all right.
Then came a characteristic bit of de-
seription Of an interview with a dyspep-
tic who could see nothing beautiful or
remarkable rem 2, in nature. Too many peo-
pie, said he, 'tpitoh life 20 the wrong
tune. They sing it to Naomi and
Window and not to Ariel or Mt
Pisgah. Vanity OF vanities, all is van
i5y, said Solomon. But Solomon was
not laying down doctrine. He was
only giving his personal experiences.
suppose his rs wives pestered the life out
of him.
eve can't all af..d to go to Yale or
Harvard, but there's one college we all
go through. That is the college of Hard
Knocks. Misfortune, sorrow and disns-
ter are the professors; kicks. cuffs and
! blows are the curriculum. The day we
die is the day we graduate. Some groan,
some grumble and some stand up and
| conquer"
Dr. Talmage contrasted the state of
peace which Americans enjoy with the
frightful bloodshed of antiquity. He
cited the wholesale massacre Of Chingis
Khan. the losses before Troy and on 9TH
or battletelds. Then civil liberty had
been enormously advanced during the
past century. Since the French revolu-
tion the whole earth. had been revolu-
tionized. Many countries had since then
shaken off tyranny, and others were
preparing to do the same. There had
been a great advance of education. In
childhood they were taught that there
was no royal road to learning, yet this
road had been found IN the United
Statee, where children cried to stay away
from school while elsewhere they had to
be whipped to induce them to go.
The speaker cited statistics showing the
agricultural and mineral prosperity of
the country, and showed how the resour
ces Of this great land were only gradual
ly being discovered and exploited. Then
there was the religious element; Eng
land for manufactures Germany for
scholar ships, France for manners, Italy
for pictures. the United States for God.
(Applause.) America is the best place
to live in on the planet, and it has the
best form of government. In Europe
governments are SO expensive that, after
the salaries of the royal families have
been paid, there is not much left to
steal In this country all the officials
The Emperor of Russia the speaker said,
got So, 210, 600. and Queen Victoria 3d.
200, 600; then came the salaries of the va
rious functionaries. We heard in orr
own country talk about mononolies and
| trust, yet our evils were not as great as
| those of the overtaxed military nations
of Europe And we had plenty of coun
try left yet. Why, Texas, Itself was big
ger than the German empire. We need
not be afraid of being overcrowded.
| DIR. Talmage said he never was SO i'm
pressed with the size of the United States
as when. at the end of the war, he wit
messed the march past of the returning
soldiers before the Presidential stand in
Washington. His eloquent picture of
this scene brought the lecture to close.
|