Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-07-06
Calnnase
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talnaee, D. D.

ociHou u ueW Inspect 10 given W tiic
patriotic holiday. The text is III John
IA, Our friends salute thee"
God pity the man without a country!
God pity such a man as Philip Nolan,
whom Edward Everett Hale pictures
In his famous story. who. on account Of
his own sins, has lost the confidence
and the respect of the people among
whom he was born and who on account
Of those sins Is excluded from the land
Of his birth. God pity the man who
does not glory in the sacrifices and tri-
urnphs Of his nations heroes and hero
ines. who does not live in his country's
hopes and who does not feel thrill of
honest pride when he mentions his
birthplace and avows, as did Paul, II
am a man which am Jew Of Tarsus,
q city In Cilicia, citizen Of no mean
city" God pity. say again, the man
who does not feel in every part of his
body, mind and soul that the land Of
his nativity is the best place in oil the
world IN which to be born, that his peo-
pie are the best people In oil the world
with whom TO associate, does not hope
that the place Of his cradle will be tho
place Of his sepulcher.
Such 10 the patriots boast where'er wo
roam:
His first best country ever is at home.
THAT man Is little to be cnvied,"
wrote Inch Kenneth, whose patriot
Ism would not gain force upon his
country's plains Of Marathon and
whose piety would not grow warmer
among her ruins Of Iona" That Amer
leans life Is not to be envicd who,
with a cold, lethargic temperament
and unmoved heart, could go and look
at the Lexington commons, where
little handful Of farmers dared defy
the British soldiers, or upon Breeds
hill, commonly called Bunker Hill.
the call for the minutemen to rally for
Americas liberties. or upon Valley
Forge, where in the awful winter Of
It'll and ITS George Washington and
his brave wife shivered and shook in
camp with the common soldiers. or up
on old Independence hall Of Phladel-
phia, where the immortal document
Of the Declaration Of Independence
was signed. or upon Yorktown, where
CORVALLIS and his officers We're COM
PEELED to surrender their swords to
the allied French and American troops,
which surrender practically ended the
bloody conflict for American freedom.
But as I began to think over my ser
mon which was to precede our national
holiday Of the Fourth Of July said to
myself: Have we truly trlurnphed over
England? Are we truly Independent
Of our mother land? Has not the Brit
fish nation conquered US IN truth and
in fact: Has she not and does she not
annually send over great invading ar
mics and annually demand that we
pay her not only gold, but things more
precious than gold? Yes. yes" l said
to myself, England is not conquered
rival. but conquering friend. In
stead Of preaching q patriotic sermon
to show how the American nation has
triumphed over the British empire
will twist my theme around. would
tell how the British empire has con-
Quered America. And when 1 show
how the British empire has conquered
us l will glory in that conquest. for
as England and Scotland and ireland
have put their impress upon us. so we
in turn through them are helping to
put our impress upon the whole world
for civilization and for Christ"
How the British Conquered America.
The British empire. in the first place.
has conquered America by the power
Of the tongue. The first words that we
learned to lisp at our mothers knee.
the words that we shouted on the play
ground and spoke before the school
desk. the words that we read In the
morning newspaper aud In library
book and hear from our lecture plat
form and pulpit are English words.
The language Of the American people
Is the language Of England's rose and
Of Scotland's thistle and Of Ireland
shamrock. The same tongue we speak
was spoken for centuries In the British
isles. Therefore, though new nation
was born on July 4, 1916. it was not q
new race. 1t was simply the Goddess
Of Liberty as bride leaving the old
English homestead and setting up In
housekeeping for herself She still be-
longed to the old English family. She
still spoke the mother tongue. More
than that, she was dominated by her
mothers accustomed ways Of thinking
and doing things. And this tie Of Ian
guage which binds the American PEG.
pie to their British kindred cannot be
found binding US to any other nation
on earth.
When two nations like the British
people and the American people speak
the same language they must inevita
bly, be one In feeling. 1t does not make
much difference who sits upon the
English throne or who IL in Americas
presidential chair. the two nations are
one. They are one because they have
the same teachers. They are ono be
Rause they have the same legends. They
are one because they naturally think
alike. whether they will or no. This
fact was beautifully illustrated some
years ago when John Hay. then Amer
lean ambassador to London, spoke n,
the unwilling Of the bust Of Sir Walter
Scott In Westminster abbey.
1.-THE books boy reads" said Mr.
Hay. "are those most ardently admired
and longest remembered. and America