The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-07-25

one OF the largest congregations for
some time last night listened TO a SER
mon on ''The Elements Of Heroism." at
the vance Memorial church. bT the
pastor, Rev. c. 3. Austin. Nearly ev-
cry pew In the pretty little church was
taken, many OF the congregation hnv-
tng come out from the city on the 8
O'Clock motor. The song service was
especially good.
Rev. ar. Austin prefaced his dis
oourse by dwelling on the love Of life,
and the struggle all make rather than
70 die, Life is sweet, he said, but not
ali Of life Is to love. nor ali Of death to
DIE. The speaker next dwelt on the law
of aelE-sacrttce, and said that selt.sac-
Ftfice e obliVious to pain and sorrow.
Herolsm begins in the brute creation.
and the speaker gave as an illustration,
the fight In self defense Of the honess
Sor her cubs, and unmindful OF her own
injuries In her desire to protect her on
spring,
There Is In man the same spirit of
self Sacrihce. HeroIsm always Insists In
1ect but daring is not heroism. He who
leaps from the Brooklyn bridge shows
daring, Soolhardiness or nerve, and the
sacrifice = foolish, and there Is proper
" law against such acts.
These thoughts, said Rev. Mr.. Austin.
were suggested BY recent events and
he had come to the conclusion that he
rolsm Is common, though not common
IN the sense OF being cheap, but Of the
kind that Is to be glorlhed by reason OF
its attachments. The hero Is the man OF
moral character, who hnds himself
equal to the occasion like brave John
Maynard, the Lake Erie pilot, who stuck
20 the helm Until his ship was beeched,
losing his life that one hundred others
might be saved. And there was Hob
son with his seven brave men who
sunk the Merrimac amid perils Of mag
nltude There were hours for reflection
between the conception and the fulfill
Enent Of their plans. yet these American
sailors did not fiinch. In his graphic ac-
count of the memorable deed at Santl-
ago harbor. Rev. Mr.. Austin said It
would always live in American history;
Il was the pinnacle Of heroism in the
time Of danger. Such an example Will
oct as an onset to many cowaTd-to
IklOlB VIM 4hAIG4s "a bGAAfbGAAs To-
Among other illustrations the speaker
cited the self-sacrifice Of the rector In a
village close to London, during the
plague IN 1865. The first impulse of the
villagers was to flee when the plague
made It's appearance. The rector told
them they would thus spread the dis
ease to other towns; so ther stared Mt
home, and after seven months OF dark
days until the disease had spent itself,
there were hftV-iiVe Inhabitants re-
manning out OF $50. the rest having died
Other heroes were John Howard, who
spent his life cheering and helping In
mates OF prisons; and Mrs, Frye, who
IN q similar way told the story Of the
cross in cells and dungeons.
And there Is a class In humber life,
continued Rev. AIr. Austin. composed Of
heroes. They are those who do the
commonplace simple service for
which there is no applause. no return
save the approving conscience through
the sense Of duty and faith in God. AZ
ter speaking along this line at some
length, the speaker enumerated the ele-
ments OF heSoism as follows: Danger,
self denial. and service.
The speaker concluded by citing as
the great example OF hero, Christ, and
ne urged the practice OF self denial to
become . moral hero.