Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-11-30
Calr,naSe
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaee, b, D.

Los Angeles, Cal, Nov. 2e.-Tor the
countless material blessings peculiar
to this progressive age, as we'll az for
the many spiritual blessings of o,re |day,
the preacher in this sermon gives ex-
preston to the nations thankfulness.
The text Ia Ecclesiastcs vii, %. "They
have sought out many Inventions"
A new star has arisen In the artistic
armament. Mcteorlike a new star has
flashed its light over the western hori-
zon. a new star has come to lead us
down to the manger Of Bethlehem Of
| Judaca. What General Lew Wallace
has done with the novelists pen young
Byam Shaw Is doing with the painters
brush. The Indiana author and the
young English artist. the latter born
In Madras and educated In European
studios. have both been bold strong,
powerful and independent interpreters
Of religious themes. Lew Wallace's
Ben. Hur" 1.-THE Prince Of India" and
THE Boyhood Of Christ" teach lessons
similar 10 those Of Byam Shaws THE
Comforter" "'rhe Outcast' and "Nei-
Their Hath He Power In the Day Of
Death" With the touch Of true mas.
tiers the inspired novelist and the In.
spired artist both teach that the only
true comforter in times Of earthly trou-
bile is that Saviour whom we lovingly
call Jesus, the Prince Of Peace"
But, though Byam Shaw has painted
many pictures, thei. is one, based upon
the book of Ecclesiastes, which has
specially impressed me. 1t Is one H.
Illustrating the theme Of my text. The
young artist in his original way seems
to open for us one Of the rooms of the
British museum. In the FOREGROUND of
his picture he places a I.ondoner a
British aristocrat. dressed in the height
Of fashion of the time of Disraeli.
Then he seems to surround this man,
clothed in kid gloves. silk hat and i'm
maculate linen. with the mighty Brit
ish library of over 2OOO.OOO volumes,
in which are recorded the scientific and
social trumphs Of past ages. As you
gaze on that picture, in imagination
you seem to hear the whistle of fac
the railroad engine. and the hoarse
voice Of the great Cunardcr's fog horn
sending her warning call among the
mists Of Newfoundland. and the ring
ing Of the telephone bell. and we seem
to see the fash of the electric spark.
Then, under this powerful picture with
its up to date Bible application the
young English artist has written the
words of my text IS, this only have
| In CoI kot1 do I'm
right. but they have sought out many
inventions" Never did these Solomon
ic words burn themselves INTO my mind
and heart more deeply than when saw
them in the brilliant colors Of Byam
Shaw's strange and YET powerful and
startling picture.
Modern Inventions.
But when studying that picture l
asked myself these questions: do all
modern inventions truly make men
wretched and miserable. as King Solo
mon implies? Did King Solomon him
self mean that all modern inventions
were bad? OF course the greater op-
portunities Of life. which come through
the revolving wheels of machinery and
the concentration of capital, do nat
urally offer greater opportunities for
great inventions agents Of evil?" NO"
I answered. "As greater opportunities
Of life offer greater evils for wicked
men. so greater opportunities of ma
chnery and inventions afford grea ter
opportunities Of good for good men"
Thus on this Sabbath preceding our
national Thanksgiving day will cata-
logue some OF the blessings which, in
good sense, come to good men from
the sewing machine, the railroad, the
factory, the telephone. the typewriter,
the printing press and from all the
other inventions that have made the
past century the most remarkable, in a
scientific sense, Of all the ages.
Most blessed of inventions, In the
first place, those that deal with health,
among which We class the sewerage
pipes, by which a great city Is kept
pure and clean. and the great aquc-
ducts through which it is supplied with
life giving water to drink. What Vip.
sanius Agrippa tried to do when he
built the famous aqueduct of Mines,
which brought the water of the Foun-
tain D'Eure, twenty miles away. to the
baths OF Diana; what the Emperor
Claudnls did when he carried the water
from the Alban hills down to the cap
ital Of the Caesars, which aqueduct
still bears his name; what King Solo
mon did when he built his three fa-
nous pools, from which reservoirs he
, carried the water by subterranean pas
sages to the city Of Jerusalem; what
Tarquinius Priscus did 600 years be
fore Christ when he built the famous
canal Cloaca Maxima, the oldest and
the most famous drainage canal In the
, world and which Is still used to carry
the refuse out of the city OF Rome to
the Tiber the great engineers ON al
|, enlarged scale arc doing for our own
, cities. These engineers may not have
, tho title M D." adlxed to their names
but they are the greatest Of oil prevent
, crs Of disease. Truly they have don't
eaeiy work well.
Underground Works.
II you do not realize how well they
have succeeded, then study under
ground New York or Chicago or Phil
adeiphia or 81. Louis or Boston. Mar
velous. staggering. wonderful and 81
,nont Uncomfortable are tho aiRhta "a,