Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-05-26

w NASDA-NO4O-N- III thNsC ud
of moral awakening this pointed ser
mon by DR.. Talmage on personal re-
sponsibility before God will be read
with deep and solemn interest; text,
Daniel V, 81, "Thou art weighed in
the balance and art found wanting"
Babylon was the paradise of archi-
lecture, and driven out from thence
the grandest buildings of modern times
are only the evidence Of her fall. The
site having been selected for the city,
2,000,0 GOO men were employed in the
rearing Of her walls and the building
of her works 1t was city 60 miles in
circumference There was trench all
around the city, from which the ma
terial for the building Of the city had
been digged. There were 90 gates on
each side Of the city; between every
two gates tower of defense springing
into the skies; from each gate on the
one side, 4 street running straight
through to the corresponding gate on
the other side, so that there were so
streets 3 miles long. Through the city
raj branch of the river Euphrates
This river sometimes overfio%ed its
banks. and. TO keep it from running the
city. a lake was constructed into which
the surplus water of the river would
run during the time of freshets, and
the water was kept in this artificial
lake until time of drought, and then
this water would stream down over the
A 80 I-il
ming this Euphrates there was palace
the one palace a mile and a half
around the other palace seven and
half miles around.
The wife of Nebuchadnezzar had been
born and. brought mp in the country,
and in mountainous region, and she
could not bear this fat district of
Babylon, and SO, TO please his wife,
Nebuchadnezzar built in the midst of
the city a mountain 400 feet high. This
mountain was built cut into terraces
supported on arches. On the top of
these arches a layer Of fiat stones, on
the top of that layer Of reeds and
bitumen, ON the top of that two layers
Of bricks closely cemented, on the top
of that heavy sheet of lead. and on
the top of that the soil placed-the soil
SO deep that a Lebanon cedar had room
to anchor its roots There were pumps
worked by mighty machinery, fetching
up the water from the Euphrates to
this hanging garden, as it was called,
so that there were fountains spouting
into the sky Standing below and look
ing up, it must have seemed as if the
clouds were in blossom, or as though
the sky leaned on the shoulder of
cedar. Ali this Nebuchadnezzar did to
please his wife Well she ought to
have been pleased / suppose she was
pleased If that would not please her,
nothing would There was in that city
also the temple of Belus. with towers
one tower the eighth of mile high, in
which there was an observatory where
astronomers talked TO the stars, There
was in that temple an image, just one
image, which wculd cost what would
be our $50, 0OC. 090
Found Wanting.
On. what a city The earth never
saw anything like it, never will see
anything like it, ard yet ] have to tell
you that il is gcGnS to lie destroyed
The king a.d his lrinces are at a feast
They are all intoxicated. Pour out the
rich wine into the chalicesl Drink to
the health of the kingl Drink to the
glory of Babylon Drink to great fu-
turel A thousand lords reel intoxicated.
The king seated upon a chair, with va
cant look, as intoxicated men will
with vacant look stared at the wall
But soon that vacant lool, takes on in
tensity, and it is an affrighted look,
and all the princes begin to look and
wonder what is the matter, and they
look at the same point on the wall, and
then there drops a darkness into the
golden plate, and out of the sleeve Of
the darkness there comes fnger-a
finger of fiery terror circling around
and circling around as though it would
write, and then it comes up and with
sharp tip Of fame it inscribes on the
plastering Of the wall the doom of the
king: weighed il the balances and
found wanting. The bang of heavy
fists against the gates Of the palace is
followed by the breaking il of the doors
A thousand cleaning knives strike into
1000 quivering hearts. Now death is
king, and he is seated on a throne of
corpses. In that hall there is balance
lifted. God swung it. On one side of
the balance are put Belshazzar's oppor-
tunities, or the other side of the bal
ance are put Belsbazzar sins. The sins
come down. His opportunities go up.
Weighed in the balances-found want
ing.
No Perfect Balance.
There has been a great deal of cheat
ing in our country with false weights
and measures and balances, and the
government, to change that state of
things, appointed commissioners whose
business it was to stamp weights and
measures and balances. and great deal
of the wrong has been corrected. But
still, after all, there is no such thing as
perfect balance on earth. The chain
may break or some of the metal may
be clipped or in some way the equipoise
may be disturbed. You cannot always
depend upon earthly balances A pound
is not always pound, and you may
pay for one thing and get another, but
in the balance which is suspended to
the throne of God, pound is a pound
and right is right and wrong is wrong
and soul is soul and eternity is eter-
nifty. God has perfect bushel and a
perfect peck and a perfect gallon. When
merchants weigh their goods in the