Waterbury Democrat., 1901-05-27
MEMORIAL SERVICE.
Rev Mir Lewis of St Johns Church
 Was the Sneaker.

Was the Speaker.
 Wadhams post, G. A. R., Abraham Lincoln camp, $. of ", the Women's Relief corps and others attended the Memorial day service at St Johns church last night. The church was crowded and the service was very i'm pressiye. The Rev MT Lewis, pastor, delivered the sermon. We quote a few paragraphs of his address, as fol lows:
 "There are times when looking into the past is not good for men. It takes them out of the present life of action and transplants them into a life of idleness. But again there are times when it is good for men to look back into the past and let their minds dwell there. It all depends upon the charac- ter of the past life which we are con- Sidering. If it stimulates us to efrorr in the present and future, then it is good for us to go back and review the past If, on the other hand, such a retrospect makes us discontented and inactive. it is not only proftless, but is actually harmful.
 '"There are certain great Memorial days that are generally accepted by men as profitable. They are days of memory which lift the ordinary man
 
 within him a desire to do something worth while to shine upon the world about him. There are some events in the past upon which it is good for you and for me to direct our attention to- night. Such are the events which are brought conspicuously before our minds as we gather in this house of God now.
 "A great deal has happened here in America during the past 40 years. But the mind easily leaps back through all these happenings to the days of the early sixties. Why is this sop do you ask. Why? Because these were days big with achievements. They were epoch-making days. Solong as time shall last the world will feel the influence of them.
 Pause a moment for reflection, my | friends. We hear a great deal to-day of the greatness of this land of ours, of the influence it exerts upon the world at large. How much of to-day S greatness is due to the achievements | of those days of old? It is only few | short months ago that the thrilling events of San Juan, Manila and San | tiago were being recited on every side Our hearts throbbed with pride as we heard of the heroisms of our l soldiers and sailors in the spring and summer of 1899. But these great days were made possible by those other great days of old in the sixties. San | Juan, Manila, Santiago, stand before l the world as the natural fruitage of AIurfreesboro, Antietam and Gettys- 1 burg.
 @Remember the days of old; yes, brothers. give yourselves up to mem | o1, i, 1- fr ho T1qSf (N0 back to those old days again tonight Live them over again. It is good foI you, and for us to do so They were i days of danger, marked by deeds of | daring. They recall to your @inds l sorrow. suffering, death. There were dark days and bright days, marked by some failures and many sue | cesses. You were sometimes moved to feelings of shame for lost opportuni- ties, but generally you were inspired by a conscious pride in a work well done.
 "The bitter cup. and sometimes ii was bitter, was always finally sweet | ened by victory. You won the day Your cause triumphed.. You went l forth as determined men. You came l home as conquering heroes. And now again tonight we ask you. What was | if all forY Was it to protect the rights of the negro? Did you wage war ID order to stamp out slavery? No, broth CTS. it. was not for that, though many men say it was. These were only incl dents that united in bringing about the | war between the states. A deeper | nrinciple than that was involved. You l fought because union was threatened You believed that these several states are and of right ought to be, free ane l independent. but yet there was the | necessity for preserving a vital un
 ion"