Milford chronicle., 1903-05-29
TALMAGE
SERMON
By Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE. DID,.
Pastor Of Jefferson Park Presby.
terian Church, Chicago

approaching celebration of Memorial
day and the decoration of soldiers
graves DR.. Talmage recalled in his ser.
mon this morning the services rendered
to the nation by American sailors and
pleaded that they, too, be remembered
in the patriotic tribute. His text was
Isaiah xxxiii, p, Neither shall gallant
ship pass thereby"
The old Brooklyn navy yard used to
have many interesting sights. There
were its museum and its antiquated
cannon mounted in the yards and its
piles Of empty shells. There were its
famous dry dock and the great sheds
under which lay the keels and the
skeleton ribs of those massive frames
that were laid and knit together to-
ward the close of the civil war, but
never finished. There were also its
uniformed sailors and marines and its
buildings, filed with food and clothing
soon to be sent to the different naval
stations of the world. There often lay
the training ships and the great mem
Of-war just in from foreign ports But
TO me the most interesting place of all
in the Brooklyn navy yard, where /
used to play as a boy, was Rotten
row." Alongside of its wharfs were
tied some Of the decaying vessels that
had helped to make Americas valOr
respected and admired around the
world. These ships were too old to
voyage the sea and too weak to defy
the enemy's shells. They were also
too sacred to be split up for kindling.
There they lay, with a sentimental but
not an intrinsic value. Their decks
were deserted. their hulls empty, their
masts cut down. But there they float
ed at the docks, magnificent reminders
of a glorious past.
Isaiah has been walking in imagina- |
ton along the "Rotten row" of a mil |
lennial dawn. With prophetic vision,
he has been looking ahead to the time |
when all the nayies of the world shall |
go out of commissions when every |
quarter deck of every man-of-war shall |
be a playground for the pattering feet |
of the little children; when the war /
ships decks shall no longer be slippery
with human blood. Neither shall gal
liant ship pass thereby" translated
into the language of ordinary life
means Neither shall gallant men-of-
war ever again sail to destroy life"
And yet Isaiah. speaking Of this glad
some day, cannot refrain from paying
we'll earned compliment to those
patriotic sailors who have always been
willing to fight and. if necessary. to
die for their counry's cause. He
speaks of the man-of-war in words
of martial praise. He calls the naval
vessel gallant ship"
Heroic Deeds of EIuejackets.
Ought the jack tars of old to be
more honored than those of the present
time? Cannot we afford. on this Me-
mortal Sunday. to praise the heroic
deeds of American bluejackets who
fought under John Paul Jones in the |
Ranger and the Bonhomme Richard,
under Captain Hull in the Constitution,
under James Lawrence in the Chesa-
peake, under Decatur In the United
States, under Farragut IN the Hart
AOANf uAAhNA AFGhNg III AAlE Olg lliDlA IL /
the most conspicuous monument in all
London was reared in Trafalgar
square to the memory of Admiral Mel
son. surely we, on this last Sabbath
preceding our annual Memorial day,
should dedicate at least one sermon to
the noble tars who, in the American
wars, won immortal fame upon the
high seas. Gallant ships" is a term
we can we'll apply to the great num-
Der OF man-of-war vessels which have
composed the American navy from
L1I6 down to the present time.
The American navy was always will
ng to fight our wars with the material =
t had on hand. Its officers in the past
lid not estimate the strength of the
nemy. They gathered together what :
'essels and men they could. and then !
hey went forth to battle. no matter /,
Ow great the odds were against them. =
We are all able to recognize this KID :
Z valor when it IS found beating under =
be breast Of an American. When some =
ears ago a tourist was being shown | !,
bout the heights Of Quebec a French y
ulde tauntlngly said. "And these are II
be cannon we captured on Bunker :.
ILL.," Yes" answered the American. :,
you got the guns. but we have the hill. :,
nd we finally got possession Of Bun -
er Hill with soldiers who wore no uni =,
lrm and. for the most part. had no 2,
lilitary education. We won with Il
lrmers' boys. led by farmers like Put
am and Nat Greene" But is the Rev.
soldiers bravery to he praia- =.
more than that of the Revolutionary :.
ilors? Were the most heroic deeds of ~
exington and Princeton and Saratoga a
I'd Valley Forge any more brilliant or q,
.roic than that Of Captain Paul Jones. =,
no with an old tub set sail for Eng =,
nd and set Ere to the British ship =,
ng at White Haven on November. -
"a? Was George Washington cross n,
g the Delaware a more glorious fig 70
e than Captain Jones standing upon he
e deck OF the Bonhomme Richard he
d fighting on until his own ship was hi
wreck. aud then. when the Serapis %