The Washington times., 1902-04-21
Impressive Memorial Ser
vices at the Eastern Pres
byterian Church.
A GREAT THR0NG PRESENT
Distinguished Talents, Combined With
Unselfsh Devotion to the Welfare of
Others, Keynote to a Brilliant Dis
course on Life of Eminent Divine

occupied the pulpit. The church was
crowded to its fullest seating capacity. DR.
Sheldon jackson led the congregation i.
prayer ana dismissed them with his benz
diction.
Or. Easton chose his text from II Samuel
IL: IS. Know We not that there is
prince and great man falIen,'' and froa
Isaiah: l-S, The lord of hosts doth TAX
away the mighty man. the prophet and til
orator" He said in part:
"Tfesc words are from the lamentatoa
of David. the royal head of Israel, over
the death of his great general. Abner. They
constitute his apology to his courtiers and
men of state for the great grief that was
surging through his soul, and for the tears
coursing down his venerable cheeks. Alb
ners death was sudden, startling, and the
monarch was overwhelmed. IN life Abner
was loved and koEored member of the
royal house, and in death proclaimed 4
prince and great man.
Nations are all more or less dependent
on their great leaders whether in the arts
of peace. in the field of battle, or in the
halls of legislation. Both the character
and progress of a nation depend to a
vast extent on its great men, whether
they be statesmen. philosophers. his
torians. scientists, poets, artists. orators,
or preachers. When distinguished talents
are combined with marked unselfsh devo-
tion to the welfare OF others it is becom-
ing in people to voice their grief when
great man is stricken down
All the World Laments.
To-day all the world laments this
American nation, and the whole Church of
lamentation, and their eyes are moist with
the tears of sincere grief. 1t is David once
more eAciaiming: Know we not that there
is prince and great man falIen?' There
is another voice heard and il stills the
tullultuous voice of wailing; it is the
voice of him who is the sovereign of all
sovereigns and III whose sovereignty there
must ever be recognized the wisdom in
numb ring when and where as it pleases
him the worlds greatest men. For be-
hold the Lord; the Lord of hosts doth
take away the mighty man, the prophet
and the eloquent orator Great men de-
serve a nations gratitude while living
and distinguished homer after death.
by a living commemoration of their
services and virtues by eulogy or monu-
mental shafts to their memory-by exc
cutting their unfinished purposes for the
good OF the nation they loved and espe-
cially by services of devout thanksgiving
TO God for their illustrious achievements
in the Kingdom OF Christ great men
should receive the most marked honors.
A truly great man or eloquent orator does
not die
And is he dead whose glorious mind
Lifts thine Oh high?
To live in hearts we leave behind
Is not to die.
Irael who has lert US? Can we compress
the ocean into a dewdrop? No more is it
possible to eondense into one brief hour
what is due to the memory of our beloved
and illustyious friend. Thousands, yes
tens of thousands in this great republic
and in empires across the Atlantic have
said in fearful whispers, We shall not
see his like again. What an exceptional
career. What a glorious man.
Sunshine Not Appreciated.
while the stars shine we prize. them
not. When the sun shines in it's bright
efulgence We stop rot to eulogize its
worth. But let the nights be darkness, as
when Paul was tossed about on the Adri-
attic. as when Egypt was enshrouded in
the gloom Of the plague, and how, then,
are the sun and the stars missed, While
great men are with us to fight our bat
ties, to lead in great affairs of state or
voice appeals in behalf of righteousness,
too often it befalls that, having the
blessings of their happy presence and
their powerful pens,E We are unmindful Of
the men themselves. II honors bud upon
the living they seldom blossom except
above the dead. Death clears our vision
wipes away our preiudices bushes the tu-
multi OF our critical rivalry, and reduces
the Tastness of supposed vaults.
Sudden and Shocking News.
How sudden and shocking was the
voice that whispered through the land
and over all Europe last Sabbath morn
ing. 'Talmage is dead We only knew
he was sick-then hopeless-then dead.
We were accustomed TO think of him as
some tall. wide-spreadng oak hardened
in storms, blessed by the genial sun. and
baptized in showers Of peace. 1t did not
occur to us that Talmage could die. His
unsurpassed preparation for every great
task, his weird ubquiry. like Elijah in
The olden time uplifting his voice in
churches and halls-here at the National
Capital today. tomorrow in some distant
city. in a week across oceans-and his
never failing power of inspiration for the
multitrdes who heard him and the dash
and push by which like Henry of Navarro,
his plume seemed ever waving in the
fore front of the battle line of righteous
ness-this precluded from the public mind
The very thought that Dr. Talmage would
Sc soon Join the hosts of the Ilustrious
dead.
If, as his personal friend for more than
twenty years. / should attempt to open /
up the treasures of his real greatness !
where shall We find more of those ster- |
ling virtues that poets have sung artists |
portrayed and historians commended? He |
was truly a great mana man Of God,
THE last four years of his life were
full of happiness in the living companion
ship of her who sadly mourns his de-
parture. He frequently spoke to me of
the great inspiration brought into these
years by her ceaseless devotion to all his
plans and work. making what was burden
some in HIS accommodating literary duties
a pleasure.
You ask me for his last words and the
sacred scenes Of his translation. The las:
fond look OF recognition was given to his
beloved wife and the last words that.
fell from his lips. when far down In the
valley. was the name of her that ever
WIS the sweetest music to his cars
Eleanor This love for each other was
beautiful and death has glorifed their af-
lection forever.
His moral courage was only equaled by
his giant frame and physical strength. He
was made of the very stuff that martyrs |
are made Of one OF the most remarkable
OF our time. man of no
CASTORlA Fulntsnts and taaaaR
The Kind You Have AIYaYs Bougbt