Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-04-05
TRIALSOF HOUSEKEEPING
REV. TALMAGE AGAIN DEALS
WITH EVERYDAY LIFE.

I
Than Waste Forcing Pinching
Economy at Home-A Pretty Story
About School-boys,
BROOKLYN, N. Y, April 4.-Alter go
ing as far as St. Louis and Kansas City,
and lecturing and preaching in sixteen
cities, and speaking at the Missouri Uni
versity and Central College, Dr.. T. De-
Witt TaImage, DID,, preached to-day in
the Brooklyn Tabernacle the thirteenth
of the series OF sermons on "The Marriage
Ring" entitled "The Trials OF House
keeping. The hymn sung was:
"Glory to God on High,
Let heaven and earth rejoice"
After expounding an appropriate chap
ter of Scripture the preacher took for his
text, Luke X, 40: ''Lord, dOst Thou not
care that my sister hath left me to serve
alone? Bid her, therefore, that she help
me-" Following is the sermon in full:
Yonder is beautiful village home
stead. The man OF the house is dead and
his widow is taking charge of the prem
ises. This is the widow Martha of Bethe-
ny. Yes, will show you also the pet of
the household. This is Mary, the young
er sister, with book under her arm and
her face having no appearance of anxiety
or perturbation. Company has come.
| Christ stands outside the door. and. OF
( course, there is a good deal of excitement
inside the door. The disarranged furni-
| ture is hastily put aside, and the hair is
! brushed back, and the dresses are adjust
ed as well as in 80 short a time Mary and
! Martha can attend 70 these matters.
| They did not keep Christ standing at the
door until they were newly apparelled or
until they had elabOratey arranged
their tresses, then coming out with
| their affected surprise as though
they had not heard the TWO or three previ-
GUS knockings, saying: "Why, is that
| your No. They were ladies' and were
always pTesentable, although they NAV
not have always had on their best, for
none Of US always have on our best; II we
! did. our best would not be worth having
on. They throw open the door and greet
! Christ. They say: ''GoOd-morning. Mas
ter; come in and be seated.D Christ did
not come alone; He had group of friends
with him, and such an influx OF city visit
Ors would throw any country home into
perturbation. | suppose also the walk
from the city had been a good appetizer.
The kitchen department that day was a
very important department, and suppose
that Martha had no sooner greeted the
| shcSbo budn buS neu 10 bndb room. MARY
had no anxiety about household affairs.
She had full confidence that Martha could
get up the best dinnerin Bethany. She
seems to say: "NOw, let us have a d.
vision OF labor. Martha, you cook, and I'll
sit down and be good" SOyou have often
seen great difference between two Sis
ters. There is Martha, hard-working,
painstaking, a good manager, ever In
YentiVe of some new pastry, or discover
in ~ in fEa. i
housekeeping. There is Mary, also, fond
Of conversation, literary, so engaged In
deep questions of ethics shs mas no time
to attend TO the questions OF household
welfare. 1t is noon. Mary is in the par
lOr with Christ. Martha is in the
kitchen. 1t would have been better if
they had divided the work, and then they
could have divided the opportunity of
listening to Jesus; but Mary monopO-
Lies Christ while Martha swelters at the
fire. 1t was very important thing that
they should have good dinner that day.
Christ was hungry, and he did not often
have luxurious entertainment. Alas,
me! if the duty had devolved upon
Mary, what repast that would
| have been. But something went
! wrong in the kitchen. Perhaps the fire
would not burn, or the bread would not
! bake, or Martha scalded her hand, or
! >
| only to have been made brown; and Mar
tina lost her patience, and forgetting the
| proprletles OF the occasion, with besweat-
| ed brow, and, perhaps with pitcher in one
! hand and tongs in the other she rushes
out of the kitchen into the presence OF
! Christ, saying: Lord, dOst Thou not
care that my sister hath lett me
! to serve alOneY Christ scOlded not a
word. If it were scOlding. l should rath-
er have His scolding than anybody else's
| blessing. There was nothing acerb. He
| knew Martha had almost worked herself
| to death TO get Him something to eat, so
he throws a world of tenderness into His
Intonation as he seems to say; "My dear
woman, do not worry; let the dinner 20;
! sit down on this ottoman beside Mary,
| your younger sister. Martha, Martha,
thou art careful and troubled about many
! things, but one thing is needful.D AS
Martha throws open that kitchen door, |
look in and see a great many household per-
plexities and anXietIes.
/ First, there is the trial of nOn-apprecia-
/ tiOn. That is what made Martha so mad
| with Mary. The younger sister had no
estimate of her older sisters fatlgues. As
now, men bothered with the anXieties of
the store, and office, and shop, or coming
from the stock Exchange. they say when
they get home: "Oh, YOU ought TO be- in
our factory little while; you ought to
have TO manage eight, or ten, or twenty
subOrdinates, and then you would know
what trouble and anxiety areV Oh, sir!
the wife and the mother has 10 conduct at
the same time a university, a clothing
establishment, a restaurant, a laundry, "a
library, while she Is health officer police,
and president Of her realm! She must do
thousand things, and do them well, in
order 70 keep things going smoothly; and
so her brain and her nerves are taxed 10
the utmost. l know there are house.
keepers who are so fortunate that they
can SIT in an armchair in the library, or
lie on the belated pillow, and throw OF
all the care upon subordinates who,
having large wages and great experience,
can attend 10 all OF the affairs Of the
household. Those are the exception. /
am speaking this morning OF the great
mass of hOusekeepers-the women TO
whom life is a struggle, and who. at 30
years OF age, look as though they were 40,
and at 40 look as though they were 80, ana
at 80 look as though they were 80. The
fallen at Chalons, aud Austerlitz, and
Gettysburg, and Waterloo, are a small
number compared with the slain In the
great Armageddon OF the kitchen. You
70 out 10 the cemetery, and yOu will see
that the tornbsfones All road beautifuiIv
poetic; but If those tombstOnes
would speak the truth, thousands
OF them would say: "Here lies a
woman killed by too much mending, and
sewing, and baking, and scrubbing, and
securing; the weapon with which she
was slain was broom, or a sewing ma