Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-10-08

them! The bondsvoma, r...
1'Trhts'fess. Hagar kept crowd;no s 20 pe
ELI, III small wheelof the watch which haa,,.;
ua. Went treading its golden nsthua.
s vans to be the balance wheel. p and ,hs
h hpasrow with chagrin drops into the hron,, /
o;..as use IL cannot, like the enole. ont =
circle under the sun. ' '"e'e' cut
IN the Lords army we nj, vo,t IN =.
m u,agadler general. The sloop saws: SHORE
thas more tonnage, more canvas. OH
r; ,u. ! were topsail schooner or a full.
N ~ Dr,g or q Cunard steamer!n And 40
h no word Is filled with cries Of discomfort
o1 Isause we IRE not willing to STAY in the
ba WI Where God put us and intended US to
onr4,y friends, be not too proud to do
iacn .n VI God tells you to do. For the
the heh , oi right disposition in this respect
ana lshmaels. God has given each one Of
US work to do. You carry a semitic If
coai up that dark alley. You Distribute
INA. IN Christian tract. You give $40. 900 to
VIC missionary cause. You for fifteen
years SIT with chronic rheumatism. dis
PMlaaS'ng the beauty of Christian submission,
WhateSer God calls you to, whether it win
MISSES or huzzas, whether to walk under
,r.iumphal arch or lift the sot out of the
altch, whether it be TO preach on a Pente-
cost or tell some wandercr of the street of
the mercy of Christ or of Mary Magdalene.
whetner 1t be to weave garland for a
laughing child on spring morning and call
ner May queen, or to comb out the
tangled locks of waif of the street, and
cut up one Of your old dresses to fit her out
1or the sanctuary-do it, and do it right
away. Whether it be n crown or yoke, do
n0G 6fDaf rIoc l.
VINO do their work, and do their whole
work, and are contented in the sphere in
which God has put them; while there is
wandering, and exile, and desolation, and
wilderness for disconnected Hagar and
Ishmael.
2. Again, find in this oriental scene n
lesson of sympathy with woman when she
goes forth trudging in the desert. What a
great change it was for this Hagar! There
was the tent and all the surrounding of
Abraham's house, beautiful and luxurious,
no doubt. Now she is going out into the
hot sands of the desert. OH what change
1t was! And in our day we often see the
wheel of fortune turn. Here is some one
who lived in the very bright home of her
father. She had everything possible to
administer to her happiness-plenty at the
table, music in the drawing room, welcome
at the door. She is led forth into life by
some one who cannot appreciate her. A
dlssipated soul comes and takes her out in
the desert. Cruelties blot out all the lights
of that home circle. Harsh words wear
out her spirits. The high hope that shonc
out over the marriage altar, while the ring
was being set and the VOWS given and the
benediction pronounced, have all faded
with the orange blossoms, and there she is
Tod Sc
joys and present desolation and coming
anguish. Hagar in the wilderness!
Here is beautiful home. You cannot
For years there has not been the suggestion
of sigle trouble. Bright and happy chill
dren fill the house with laughter and song.
Books to read. Pictures to look at.
Lounges to rest on. Cup of domestic Joy
full and running over. Dark night drops.
Pillow hot. Pulses futter. Eyes close.
And the foot whose well-known steps on
the door-sill brought the whole household
out at eventide crying, Fathers coming"
will never sound on The DOORS sill again. A
long, deep grief plowed through all that
brightness Of domestic life. Paradise lost.
Widowhood. Hagar in the wilderness!
How often is it We see the weak arm of
woman conscripted for this battle with the
rough world. Who is she, going down the
street in the early light of the morning,
pale with exhausting work, not half slept
out with the slumbcrs of Inst night, trage-
dies of suffering written all over hor face,
her lustreless eyes looking far ahead. as
though for the coming of some other
trouble? Her parents called her Mary, or
Bertha, or Agnes, on the day when they
held her up to the front and the Christian
minister sprinkled Oh the infants face the
washings Of holy baptism. Her name is
changed now. l hear it in the shuttle of
the wornout shoes. l see it in the figure
of the faded calico. find it in the Inca
ments of the woe-be-gonc countenance.
Not Mary, nor Bertha, nor Agnes, but
Hagar in the wilderness. May God have
mercy upon woman in her tolls, her strug-
giles, her hardships, her desolation, and
may the great heart of divine sympathy in
close her forever.
3. Again, find in this oriental scene the
fact that every mother leads forth tremen-
dous destinies. You say: "That isn't an
unusual scene, q mother leading her child
by the hand" Who is it that she is lead
ing? Ishmael, you say. Who is Ishmael?
a great nation is to be founded; a nation
SO strong that it is to stand for thousands
of years against all the armies of the
NOFlO. Icy CU uuu ABS I1d
it, but in vain. Gaulus brings up his
his army, and his army is smitten. Alex
ander decides upon campaign. brings up
his hosts, and dies. For long while that
nation monopolizes the learning of the
world. IT is the nation Of the Arabs. Who
founded it? Ishmael, the lad that Hagar
led into the wilderness. She had no idea
that she was leading forth such destinies.
Neither does any mother. You pass along
the street and see boys and girls who will
vet make the earth quake with their infu-
ence. Who is that boy ut Sutton Pool,
Plymouth, England, bare footed, wading
down into the slush and slime, until his
bare feet come upon piece of glass and
he lifts it, bleeding and pain-struck2 That
wound in his foot decides that he be sed-
entary in his life, decides that he be stu
dent. That wound by the glass in his foot
decides that he shall be John Kitto, who
shall provide the best religious encyclo-
pedia the world has ever had provided. and
with his other writings as we'll, throwing a
light upon the Word of God such as has
come from no other man in this century.
Oh, mother, mother, that little hand that
wanders over your face my yet be lifted to
hurl thunderbolts of war or drop benedic-
tons. That little voice may blaspheme
God in the grog- shop, or cry, Coward"
to the Lords hosts rs they so out for their
Ia ST victory