Connecticut western news., 1899-06-08

sees the ruins of her forum, the ruins of her coliseum, the ruins of her art. the ruins of her aqueducts, the ruins of her catacombs. the ruins of her pal aces.
 If our nation forgets its duty to other nations and practices injustice against other people. however insignificant, it will not take another Edward Gibbon 90 years and through four great vol umes to tell the story of the decline and fall of American institutions By so much as our opportunities have been greater than any nation that ever lived, and the mission to which she has been ordained is more stupendous than any bestowed by the Almighty upon any people, if we forget our God and enact wickedness our overthrow will be quick CT and more tremendous, and wonder capitoline hill, with its architectural magnificence, will become heap of gigantic ruins, to be visited by the peo- pie of other times and other nations. who will read in letters of crushed and crumbled marble that which David wrote many hundred years ago upon parchment, "The way of the wicked he turneth upside down. Y"
 GarInnds For Our Heroes.
 We concluded few days ago the an nual decoration of northern and south ern graves Three years ago. at this sea- son, in memorial sermon proposed the twisting of two garlands-one to be put upon the grave of the northern sol dier and the other to be put on the grave of the southern soldier. But this year we need three garlands, the third 10 be put upon the graves of those who fell in this America Hispanic conflict The third garland needs to be quite as fragrant and as radiant as the other two. These last heroes braved more than bayonets and bombshell. They braved the pestiferous> breath of the tropics whole battalions, whole regiments, whole brigades, whole armies of death ful malaria. They confronted those op- positions of the torrid climes which no sword can pierce, no agility climb, no stratagem flank, no torpedo explode, no courage conquer. Under the awful charge of visible and invisible hosts about S. 000 men went down. come to instant death and others through lin gering bangs in hospital.
 If in this third wreath you twist the crimson rose, suggestive of sanguinary sacrifice, and the white calla lily, sug- gestive of glorious resurrection, put In also few forgetmenots, suggestive of remem brance, and few passion flowers, suggestive of the love that mourns the slain, and few heliotropes, suggestive of the fragrance of their memory. Then the blue eyes of. the violets, and all the soldiers cemeteries be so many censers burning incense before the throne of that God who has been the friend of this nation from the time of Lexington to the time of San Juan Hill, from the guns of the United States warships Constitution and Constellation, at the beginning of this century, to the guns of the United States warships Olympia, Oregon, Brooklyn and other loaded thunders at the close of this century.
 Remember here and now that those brave boys opened up the way for a kind of expansion we all believe in. They swung open tie gates for the speedy gospelization of islands stupid with the superstition of ages. They cleared the way for missionaries and Bibles. They set those islands free Leaving to the United States govern ment to decide what shall be the politi- cal destiny of those peoples, let us all join in a campaign of religious expan- sion-expansion of affection that can take all the world in, expansion of our theologies until none shall reject their broad invitation, expansion of hope that embraces eternity as well as time, expansion of effort that will not cease till the whole earth is saved and the time arrives when the prophecy shall be fulfilled, and "they shall come from the north and the south and the east and the west and sit down in the king dom of God, and the last shall be first and the first last. "
 Week before last, in this capital of the nation, we set three nights on fire in celebration of naval and soldiery heroics, and there were rockets of fire, and wheels of fire, and sheaves of fire, and spouting fountains of fire, and bombardments of fire, and ships of fire sank in pillows of fire, and those three nights were three garlands of fire. But now we are in softer and quieter mood, and the three garlands of today are woven of blossoms and corollas of all colors and all pungencies of aroma. and we bethink ourselves that this third garland was needed to chain together the northern garland of other decorative times to the southern garland of other decorative times. Floral chain of three linksl For the first time in 60 years the north and south stand in complete brotherhood. Heroes of Vermont and Alabama, of Massachusetts and South Carolina, of Maine and Louisiana, shoulder to shoulder May that alliance remain until the last oppression is ex- tirpated from the earth and all nations stand in the liberty with which Christ would make all people freel