Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-11-16
MEMS SILENT PARTNERS.
PICTURES OF FEMININE PATIENCE
and LONG SUFFERING.

Wherein the Woman of shune.n was Grea
Stories that DR.. Talmage Declare
Every Island, River, and Nigh
Tell.
In. Y. Sun, Nov. 1?.l
You see hundreds of men who are sue
cessful only because there is a reason a
home why they are successful" said DR.
Talnage yesterday morning. eff a mai
marry a good, honest soul he makes hi
fortune; if he marry a fool, the Lord hell
him. The wife may be a silent partner i,
the firm. There may be only masculine
voices down on the exchange, but there
often comes from the home circle a po
tential and elevating influence. The WON
an of Shunem, at whose house the prophe
Elisha stopped, was a agreat woman, ant
the superior Of her husband. He, as ia,
as l can understand. was what we otter
find in our day, a man of large forum,
and only q modicum of brains, intensel,
aiet.sitting a long while in the same plac,
without moving hand or foot: if you say
yes responding yes if you say mo- re
spoudlng nos inane; eyes half shut
mouth wide open: maintaining his posi-
ton in society only because his has a large
patrimony. His wife belonged to tAat col
lection of people who need no name to
distinguish them. no title of princess OF
queen. Long after the brilliant m OF
the court of Louis XIV. and OF the court oil
Spain, and those who sat on the throne OF
Russia, have been forgotten, some grand.
father will put on his spectacles and. hold.
ing the book the other side of the light.
will read to his grandchildren the story OF
this great woman of Shunen who was SO
kind, courteous, and Christian to the great
! prophet.
She was great N her hospitality. Jupi-
ter has the surname of The Hospitable,
and he was said to avenge the wrongs OF
strangers. Homer extolled hospitality in
his verse. The Arabs were punctilious
about it. OF course I do not mean to de-
fend that vagrant class who go about from
place to place their whole lifetime under
the auspices of some benevolent or philan-
thropic society. quartering themselves on
some Christian family with great piles of
trunks in the hall and CARPET bags porten-
tous of tarrying.
Most beautiful is this grace of hospi-
tality when shown in the house of God. I
am thankful that I nm pastor Of a church
where strangers are always welcome. But
l have entered churches where there was
no hospitality. A stranger would stand in
the yestibule for a while, then make a pill
grimage up the long aisle. No door would
be opened to him. Flushed. excited. en-
barrassed, he would come to some half
filled pew II enter it. The occupants
would glare On him with a look which
seemed to say. Well, If 1 must, I must
Away with such indecent lack of hospital
ity from the house of God.
'She was great in her kindness toward
Gods messenger. We have many books
IN 4 Gay about the trials and hardships
OF Christian ministers. / wish somebody
would write a book about the joys OF the
Christian ministers, the sympathy and
kindness, and genial consideration that he
receives. I could tell you of something
that you would think almost a romance.
A young man graduated from New Bruins
wick theological seminary, and called to
a village church, had not the means TO fin
ish a parsonage. After three or four weeks
preaching the committee of the officers of
the church insisted on his taking a vaca.
ton of a few days. When he came back
an old elder handed him the . kew
of the parsonage, and said: Eve have
been cleaning it out, you had better 60 up
and look at it." INC 10! the hoese was full
~ furnished, the table was set. the fuel was
ready IN the stove, and all the young min
lister had to do to start housekeeping was
to strike a match and light a fire. You tell
me that was apocryphal: Oh. no. That
was I.
Again, she was great in her behavior
under trouble. When her only child die.
she exclaimed, 1t is well. Navigators tell
Us about the great rivers of the Amazon.
the Danube. and the Mississippi that have
been explored: but who can tell the deptil
or the length of the great river o. sorrows
1t is made up Of tears of blood running
through all lands in all ages, bearing the
cargo of family woes and the woes of COM
munities and empires: foaming and with
ing and boiling with the agonies of 5000
years. lEtna and Yesuvius have been de-
scrlbed. but who has ever sketched the
volcano of suffering, iretching up from its
depths the lava and seoria. and pouring
them down its sides to whelm the ma
lions Oh. II | could gather all the
broken heart-strings into a harp I would
play or tia dirge such as was never sound
ed. MythologistS tell US Of Gorgon, Cen
taur, and Titan. g%eologists tell US of ex-
tinct species of monsters; but far greater
than the n,egatherium. and not belonging
to the realm of fable. not of an extirct
species, a monster of iron jaw and a hun
dred iron hoofs has walked across the ma
tons. History, poetry, and sculpture, in
their attempts to describe it have seen it
sweat great drops of blood. This is the
monster Of human suffering. Thank God,
there are those who can conquer as this
woman did-who can say. 1t is we'll; if
my property be gone, if my children be
gone, my house broken up. my health sac
rifced, it is we'll
The onla Of Shunem was great in
her application to domestic duties.
Whether she is entertaining Elisha or Civ
ing careful attention to her sick boy,
every picture of her is a home pic
ture. No public benefactions can ever
atone for domestic negligence. Some la
dies obtained honorable reputation by pre-
senting Kossuth with flowers; but what is
ali that compared with the work of the
plain Hungarian mother who gave to truth
and civilization and the cause of universal
liberty kossuth: The woman of Shunem
was great in her simplicity. What a re-
buke to the strife for precedence in all
ages. How many there are who pretend to
taste in architecture who cannot distin-
UuiSb between Gothic and RrzaDtino.