The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-02-22

iortn lIoh Ihe paiace EdGe are fasn1l ana
her children. There are homes represented
in this house this morning thai are in danger
of such breaking up. Oh Ahasuerus,
that you should stand in a home, by
dissipated life destroying the peace
and comfort Of that home. God
forbid that your children should
ever have to wiring their hands, and have
people point their hands at them as they pass
down the street, and say, "There goes
drunkard's child" God forbid that the lit
tie feet should ever have to trudse the path
of poverty and wretchedness. Gcd forbid
that any evil spirit born Of the wine cup or
the brandy flask, should come forth and up
root that garden, and. with a blasting, blis-
tering, all consuming curse, shut for ever the
Oh the women and men of sacrifice are
going to take the brightest coronals of heaven!
This woman of the text gave I'D palatial resi-
dence, gave up all for what she considered
right. Sacrifice! Is there anything more
sublime A steamer called the Prairie
Belle, burning on the Mississippi river.
Bludso, the engineer, declared he would keep
off, and he kept his promise. At his post,
scorched and blackened, he persisted, but he
saved all the passengers. Two verses Of pa
thetic poetry describe the scene, but the
verses are little rough, and so changed
word or two:
Jim Bludsos voice was heard,
And hey all had trust In his stubborness,
| And knew he would keep his word.
| And sure's you're born they all got of
| Afore the smokestacks fell:
And Bludso's ghost wentu above,
In the smoke OF the Prairie Belle.
He weren't no saint, but at Judgment
I'd run my chance with Jim,
Longside OF some pious gentlemen
That wouldn't shake hands with him.
He'd seen his duty. dead sure thing,
And went for it there and then,
And Christ is not going to be too hard
On man that died for men.
Once more: I want you to look at Vashti
the silent You do not hear any outcry from
this woman as she goes forth from the palace
gate. From the very dignity of her nature
you know there will be no vociferation
Sometimes in life it is necessary to make
retort; sometimes in life it is necessary to
resist; but there are crises when the most
triumphant thing to do is to keep silence.
The philosopher, confident in his newly dis
covered principle, waited for the coming of
more intelligent generations, willing that
men should laugh at the lightning rod,
and cotton gin and teamboat-waiting for
long years through the scoffing of philo-
sophical schools, in grand and magnificent
silence. Calico, condemned by mathema-
ticians, and monks, and cardinals, caricatured
everywhere, yet waiting and watching with
his telescope to see the coming up Of stellar
re-enforcements, when the stars in their
courses would fight for the Copernican sys-
tenn; then sit ting down in complete blindness
and deafness to wait for the coming of the
generations who would build his monument
and bow at his grave. The reformer, exc
Grated by his contemporaries, fastened in q
pillory, the slow fires Of public contempt
burning under him, ground under the cylin-
ders of the printing press, yet calmly waiting
for the day when purity Of soul and heroism
Of character will get the sanction OF earth
during without any complaint the sharpness
of the pang, and the violence of the storm,
and the heft of the chain, and the darkness
of the night-waiting until q divine hand.
shall be put forth to sooth the pang, and
hush the storm, and release the captive. A
wife abused, prosecuted and perpetual
exile from every earthly comfort-waiting,
waiting, until the Lord shall gather up his
dear children in q heavenly home, and no
poor Vashti will ever be thrust out from the
palace gate. Jesus, in silence, and answer
ing not word, drinking the gall, bearing
the cross, in prospect Of the rapturous con-
summation when
Angels thronged his chariot wheel,
And bore him to his throne;
Then swept their golden harps and sung
The glorious work is done.
helplessly about among the icebergs, and
going on board he found that the captain
was frozen TT his log book, and the helms
man was frozen at the wheel, and the men Oh
the lookout vera frozenin their places. That
was awful, but magnificent. All the Arctlc
blasts and all the icebergs could not drlVe'
them from their duty. Their silence was
louder than thunder. And this old ship OF q
world has many at their posts in the aWfui
chill of neglect, and frozen of the WORLDS
scorn, and their silence shall be the euiogy
of the skies, and be rewarded long after tnls
weather-beaten craft Of planet Snail nave
made its last voyage
thank God that the mightest influences
are the most silent The fires in furnace OF
q factory, or of steamship, roar though
they only move few shuttles or a fe"
thousand tons, but the sun that warns
world rises and sets without cracKle, or
faintest sound Travellers visiting Mount
Etna, having heard of the glories OF sunrise
on that peak, went up to spend the night
there and see the sun rise next morning, but
when it came up it was SO far behind tneir
antcipatiors they actually hissed 1t; Inc
nighGiest influences to-day are like the
planetary systesn-completely silent DON'T
hiss the sun!
o, woman! does not this story Of Vashti
the queen, Vashti the yelled, Vashti the sac,
rifice Vashti the silent, move your souls
hope that none of you may be shut out of the
palace gate of heaven. You can endure the
hardShips and tine privationS, and the
cruelties, and the misfortuneS OF this life, II !
you can only gain admission there. Through
he blood Of the everlasting covenant you
20 through those gates, or never 60 at all.
When Rome was besieged the daughter OF
its ruler saw the golden bracelets on the left
arms of the enemy, and she sent word to them
that she would betray her city and surrender
it to them if they would only give her those
bracelets on their left arms. They accepted
the proffer, and by night this daughter OF
the ruler OF the city opened one of the gates.
The army entered, and keeping their
promise, threw upon her their bracelets,
and also their shields, and under the great
weight she died. Alas that all through the
ages the same folly has been repeated, and
for the trinkets and glttering treas
ures OF this world men and women
swing open the portals of their immortal
soul for an everlasting surrender, and die
under the shining submergement.
Through the rich grace of our LORD Jesus
Christ may you be enabled to initiate the
example Of Rachel and Hannah. and ADJ
gail, and Deborah, and Mary, and Vashtl.
Amenl
Prohibition Enforced.
The number of convictions for the viola.