The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-04-21
DIR. TALhAGE'S SERMON.
MARTYRS OF THE KITCHEN.

The thirteenth sermon of tho Rev. Dr.. Tai
IMAGES series on the "Marriage Ring"
preached in the Brooklyn Tabernacle, related
to MARTYRS of the Kitchen" and was deliv-
cred from the following text:
Lord, dost Thou not care that my sister
hath left me to serve alonel Bid her there
! fore that she help me."-St. Luke K, 40
| The min ster said:
Yonder is beautiful village homestead
The man of the house is dead and his widow
Martha Of Bethany. Yes, will show you
also the pet of the household. 1t is Mary, the
younger sister, with book under her arm and
in her face no sign Of care or anxiety about
anything. Company has come Christ
appearing at the outside of the
| door makes some excitement inside
the door, The sisters set back the disarranged
furniture and push back the hair, and in a
fash prepare to open the door. They do not
newly appareleG themselves. or elaborately ar
ranged their tresses, and then with affected
not sstp'o to haVe % heard eas' the a0 two S'Sr or
! three previous knockings, say: "Why, is
that yous" NJ, they were ladies, and always
presentable, although perhaps they had not
on their best. None Of us always have on
OUl UcSU, OUuOl HlS0 VOL oOOu Oul OOoV "OUio
! not be worth having on. They throw open
the door and greet Christ They say: ''Gooi
morning, Master, come in and be
seated" Christ brought a company
of friends with Him, and the influx of so
! many city visitors, you do not wonder, threw
, the country home into some perturbation. l
! suppose the walk from the city had been a
keen appetizer. The kitchen department
that day was very important department,
opd T tbip- coon Mortbo bad orraotod
her guests she went to that room. Mary had
no anxiety about the dinner. She had full
confidence that her sister Martha could get
up the best dinner in Bethany, and she prac-
tically said: ''Now let us have division of la
Dor. Martha you cook and III set down and
be goodl" The same difference
you now sometimes see. between
painstaking, good manager, ever inventive
cookery or household affairs. Here is Mary,
fond Of conversation, literary, so full of ques-
! tions of ethics she has no time to discuss
+; questions of household welfare. It is noon.
Mary is in the parlor. Martha is in the
kitchen. 1t would have been better for item
to have divided the toll and then they could
have divided the opportunity of listening to
Christ. But Mary monopolizes Christ while
Martha swelters before th, fire. 1t was very
important that they have good dinner that
day, for Christ was hungry and he did not
often have luxurious entertainment. Alas!
me. If all the responsibility of that entertain
ment had rested with Mary, what repast
they would have had. But something went
wrong in the kitchen. Either the fire would
not burn, OF the bread would not lake, or
something was burned black that ought to
! have been only turned brown, or Martha
scalded herself, and forgetting all the pro-
prieties Of the occasion, with besweated brow
she rushed out Of the kitchen into the parlor,
perhaps with tongs in one hand and pitcher
in the other, and she cried out "Lord, dost
thou not care that my sister has left me
to serve alone! Bid her, therefore, that
she help me-" Christ scolded not word.
If it was scolding I would rather have Him
scold ME than anybody else bless ne. There
was nothing acerb in the Savior's reply. He
knew that Martha had been working herself
to death to get Him something to eat, and He
appreciated her kindness and He practically
said: my dear woman, don't worry, let the
dinner go, sit down here on this ottoman
beside your younger sister Mary, let us
Martha, thou art careful and troubled
about many things, but ons taing is
needful." As Martha throws open
the door look in to-day and I see great
many household auxieties, perplexities, ia
tigues and trials, and about them am going
to speak if the Lord of Mary and Martha and
Lazarus will help me by His grace. As
look into that door, in the first place, see
the trial OF non-app:e iat;on; That was
the younger sister, had no proper estimate of
the older sisters fatigue. Just as now men
having annoyances Of store and factory and
c come home at night and hear Of
some household annoyance and they say:
''Oh, that's nothing: you ought to be in tho
factory day and have ten, CT fifteen or
twenty, or hundred subordinates, then you
would know something about annoyance and
trouble" Oh, man, let me tell you that
wife and mother has to conduct at the same
time a university, clothing establishment,
restaurant, a laundry, a library, and has to
be health officer, police and president of the
whole realm. She has to do thousand things
and to do them well in order to make things
60 smoothly, and that is what puts the awful
tax on a wonan's nerves and
are exceptions to the rule. Sometimes you
will find woman who can sit in the arm
chair of the library all day without any
anxiety, or tarry on the belated pillow, AMI
all the cares of the household are thrown
upon servants who have large wages and
great experience; ut that is the exception.
speak Of the great masses of housekeepers
to whom life is struggle, and who, at
thirty years Of age, look as though they
were forty; and who, at fcrty, look as
though they were fifty; and who, at fifty,
look as though they were sixty. The fallen
at Chalons and Austerlitz and Gettysburg
and Waterloo are small number in compar-
ison with those who have gone down under the
martyrdom Of the kitchen. Go out to the
cemetery and look over the epitaphs on the
tombstones; they are all beautiful and poetic,
but if the tombstones could tell the truth,
thousands of them would say: "Here lies a
woman who was killed by too much
mending and sowing and baking and
securing and scrubbing," and the
weapon with which she was killed was a
broom or sewing g-machine or a ladle. The
housewife rises in the morning half rested.
At an irrevocable hour she must have the
morning repast ready. What if the fire will
not burns what if the clock stop? what
if the marketing has not been sent
in? No matter that, it must be ready at the
irrsvocable hour. Then the children must be
got ready for school. But what if the gar
ments be torn? What if they do not know
their lessons? What if the hat or sash is lost!
of day, or perhaps several days, to plan
out. But what if the butcher sends meat un-
maStcable? What if the grocer furnishes
you articles of food adulterated? What if the
piece Of silver be lost, or favorite chalice be
broken, or the roof leak, or the
plumbing fail, or any one of
thousand things occurs! No matter.
Everything must beready. hespring is CON-
ing and there must be revolution III the family
wardrobe, or the autumn is at hand and you
mustshut out the northern blast, but how if the
N othhas preceded you to the chest? How if the
garments Of the last year do not fit the
children now! What if all the fashions have