The Portland daily press., 1898-05-30
MEMORIAL SUNDAY.
lis Observance By Grand Army in
Portland and Vicinity.
LARGE CONGREGATIONS AT FIRST
AND SECOND PARISH CHURCHES.

Beautiful Floral Observation-Disclosures
Post Has services at Its Hall-Rev. Mr..
Perkins Delivers a Strong Address
Rev. MIR. Hacks Illustrated Lecture on
Grant-Rev. NIr. Kimmen at South
Portland.
The Sunday before Memorial day has
for number of years past, been known
as Memorial Sunday, as it has been the
habit for the Grand Army to accept an
invitation from some of the churces to at
tend divine service there in the morn
ing This year Rev. John Carroll Per-
kins of the First Parish church extended
the invitation and 1t was accepted by
Bosworth Post, the Relief corps, the Sons
of Veterans and Portland High School
Cadets In the evening Bosworth and
Thatcher Posts, the Relief and Sons of
Veterans attended the Second Parish and
enjoyed Rev. Mr.. Hacks illustrated
lecture on Grant. In the afternoon
Thatcher Post and Relief with the Sons
of Veterans had a service at Thatcher
Post hall and listened to addresses BY
Rev. Mr.. Malvern of the First Free Bap-
tist church and Rev. Mr.. Pearson of Cos
pei Mission.
FIRST PARISH CHURCH.
The skies were lowering yesterday
morning and the air damp and chilly,
but at 1915 a. m. precisely Bosworth
Post, G. A. R., with the South Portland
Veteran association, under the command
of Post Commander Rufus Lamson of
Bosworth Post. and numbering slightly
over one hundred comrades, most of them
in the uniform of the order, marched in
to the church, which was in the charge of
Major Charles 81. Boyd and were seated
in the body pews of the church near the
pulpit. A few moments afterwards Shep-
ley Camp, S. Of. ", Captain Nickerson
in full uniform, twenty-five strong, were
given seats just beihpd the Grand Army,
and then the battalion of High School
Cadets, also in military dress, under COM
mand of Major Charles D. Boyd, filled
the remaining body pews and others on
the side aisles. The Relief were accom-
moQabed In the wing peWS.
The church was very prettily but simply
decorated. The front of the pulpit and
pulpit platform was mass of white
lilacs, tastefuily arranged, and the colors
of the Post were draped effectlvely in the
rear. About the galleries were draped
American flags.
The services were those that usually
pertain to the church. The music by
Mrs. Briggs, Miss King, Mr.. Burke and
DR.. Coleman, and Mr.. Humphrey, Or
ganist. was fine T.is was the musical
programme:
Organ Voluntary-March Pontifical,
Tombelle
Soul, Watson
Gloria, Marston
Babylon, Watson
PoStlude-March, Smart
Rev. Mr.. Perkins, the pastor, gave the
address in the course of which he said:
Ezakiel, 37, 10, IA. Therefore prophesy
and say unto them, thus saith the Lord
God: Behold, o my people, I will open
your graves, and will put my spirit in
you, and ye shall live.
Ezekiel, the prophet, lived in Babylon
In his vision it was as If he stood by the
caves of his people. sorrowing over their
death But his soul caught the song of
Joy. It is the gong of resurrection, teach
ing the lesson that the spirit never dies
We stand in the spirit of our memorial
Sunday, by the graves of our heroes. But
here we linger not as without hope. We
believe these graves can speak to us.
The Memorial day is the nations Sab
bath. In the great thought of our national
life, the unity of religion is absolute and
perfect If the affairs before which we
worship in the spirit of this day were to
fall in ruins, our civilization were turned
into defeat And the idea of the day is
fulfilled, not only when comrades have
placed garlands on the sod, but when TIE
nation as one heart, unites with Bonded
head and sober mind to keep the blessed
treasure of devoted heroism. More sacred
still and of greater meaning comes this
year to us because now for the first time
In third of century, is our nation
plunged into war again. BY the Provi-
dence of God, but two or three have yet
been called to suffer death; but we wake
each day In terror lest some death bearing
nand may seize upon our loved ones and
tear them from us. The old waiting and
suspense that kept aloof from the genera
tion just completed has settled down
again with all the wasting fear. They
who then mourned husbands and fathers,
now are called to give their sons. The
thinned and thinning ranks Of our Sons
of Veterans who worship with US here
today tell the sad tale of men enlisted, Or
dered South again; but thank God; to
another South from that to which our
fathers went. For now there Is no North
nor South for him who fights common
foe. As we stand beside the graves of
our heroes we listen to the voices of their
spirits made alive.
~. They tell us the true meaning of
war. Of war for wars sake, they have
nothing but condemnation. rAWar is never
an end in itself. EIt is the last resort of
justice, when conditions unforeseen and
unprovided for shall close down quickly
on nations life. (2) There are the hor-
rors of bodily disease, of racking heat and
cold. mental suffering, loneliness, fierce
prison life, frenzy of the battlefield. (b)|
There is the dread uncertainty, not only